Any statement, therefore, that contains the phrase "I am" is possibly spurious and without firm foundation because it rests on this brand of illusion. If it is learned from a teacher or some sort (including personal experience), it still rests on opinion even if this is based on "real" observation because observation itself is conditioned by perception and that is far from objective.

The diagram to the right outlines this process showing an event, object or phenomenon that is observed in the world. This observation is then subjected to almost instantaneous analysis and a meaning or significance is applied to it. Now, the reaction to this applied meaning is all that is left and has no direct bearing on the original phenomenon simply because the meaning will override the actual event. While it should be clear that this is a choice, the actual ability to chose a reaction to any particular event is usually limited by the emotional loadedness of the event class in the individual's meaning frame. In some instances this is so powerful that the individual is absolved of legal responsibility for an obviously illegal act if it is committed in response to a sufficiently strong meaning, in this instance, referred to as a value.

The Enneagram describes nine comprehensive meaning frames which, it is supposed, cover the entirety of humanity.

Each and every human being is equipped with a meaning frame during the process of ego development and these are usually rendered beyond question and doubt before attaining adulthood. This "locked frame" thus becomes the system whereby the world is perceived and thorough which all reactions to the world are mediated. Because it is felt to be "right", it is not available for criticism or even discussion in most instances.

When we raise the issue of Transformation, a very popular topic in recent times, we are proposing not only raising the frame to awareness but, suggesting that it can be changed. Against the already established background here, it is not a likely situation.

The Way of Miracles

The Enneagram article made mention of the channeled works that have emerged that provide an alternative definition of self and it is these that we propose may provide a way to change the way we operate by providing an alternative definition of self. These works make various references to a "power greater than ourselves" (to use the vernacular of Alcoholics Anonymous) which is simply referred to as God or, in the case of Abraham-Hicks, Source. In order to demystify this concept, let us suppose that the truth about ourselves is contained within ourselves but is obscured by the definition that we evolve to alternatively describe ourselves based on our life experience. Bear in mind that our life experience is of necessity based on our perceptions and we have already led that these are unreliable as a result of the attribution of meaning.

This superior truth, called the "Holy Spirit" in The Course in Miracles, needs to be allowed to replace our self-constructed truth and eclipse it. Yet, to do this, the old and long-accepted idea of self has to be relinquished. The Course in Miracles suggests that we forget everything that we ever learned about ourselves (ACIM, T-7 II.6) and goes on to suggest that forgetting, in this sense, is a way of remembering better. What needs to be remembered, however, rests on the central idea in the course which simply states "I am as God created me." To most, it is quite difficult to understand that this means that you are perfect regardless of what you believe about yourself.

Squarely at the center of this idea lies the concept of sin. Make no mistake about the usefulness of this concept because while, on the one side, it allows us to make black sheep out of ourselves, it allows us to slip responsibility for our reactions to events in the world squarely onto other people or, for that matter, things. If you think about it, you cannot really blame others or objects for your anger if you react to their "behaviour" in this way. Their behaviour is essentially neutral yet, if you become angry at it, this is a choice you have made. Now, saying that "he made me angry" or "it makes me crazy" rests on spurious reasoning because you are attributing your choice to something outside of yourself. This act of attribution represents a common mistake we make and because it absolves us of responsibility, turns us into innocent victims.

If we acknowledge responsibility for our feelings, we make ourselves strong. If we make ourselves into victims, we make ourselves weak.

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It is not readily clear that it is feeling guilty that drives us to make others guilty. This is the process of projection which may be simply stated as "if you spot it, youv'e got it". Yes, this does mean that if you feel another is wronging you by some element of his or her behaviour, it is your own guilt that you are projecting outwards. And, yes, it is easy to discount this but, remember, denial is always the strongest and (usually) most available defense. This really exposes a process: I was made to feel guilty and to make this feel better, let me find someone else who I can make guilty. Although this may sound silly put like this, it is a very common strategy and one which The Course is quick to identify as "giving something away in order to keep it." This is because each time we use this type of strategy, it makes the idea of guilt stronger in our minds and further aggrivates the process.

The Art of Forgiveness

People commonly hold resentment against others whose behaviour they interpret as "wrong" or "hurtful" yet, against the background of the argument we have developed here, it is difficult to escape the significance of their past experience in this interpretation and also, the involvement of their own projected guilt. A Course in Miracles is quite clear in defining forgiveness. To simplify its language somewhat, forgiveness means that what you thought was done to you did not really happen. It does not involve pointing out something "wrong" that was done to you and then discounting its significance or tolerating it in a magnanimous way. It rather suggests that the meaning that was placed on the event be removed entirely. Therefore, forgiveness becomes self-directed and concentrates on your intepretation of the event rather than the event itself.

To make this easier to implement, the course consistently presents the idea that there are only two forms of behaviour in the world. The one is "loving" and when we encounter this class of behaviour, the response is usually equally loving. All other behaviour it interprets as "a call for love" and suggests that we also react lovingly towards this (in response to the call). In effect, this simply asks that we react lovingly to everything. Most people encountering this idea conclude that the Course is insane. Naturally, these ideas are merely restatements of the Christian ethic of "Love one another as I have loved you" and turning the other cheek. There is little doubt that these values are, to most people, really very difficult to implement.

Expressing resentment makes us feel strong while reinforcing the idea that we are vulnerable.

The problem arises that each time we lay blame or react to events in the world less than positively, we are reinforcing the idea that we are weak and vulnerable and much in need of protection. This hightens the need for the ego's defenses and we fall back into the patterned behaviour. Yet, if we follow this suggestion, we find these defenses less necessary and become free to explore different behavioural patterns.

A Practical Technique

Ken Wilbur provides a very useful technique for exploring resentful processes which he calls the 3-2-1.

Step 1: Recall a relationship which is emotionally charged and causes you irritation. The more irritating it is the better because in order for it to be irritating, you are investing it with a strong interpretation. Write a page on the nature of this relationship concentrating on the past, the present and how you forsee it in the future. Include all the elements of the other person's behaviour that irritates you. If you need more than a single sheet of paper, use it! Read what you have written and try to get to the feelings that this relationship evoke.

Step 2: Now write a dialog with the specific person where you explain to them how you feel and record the answers that you imagine they will give. If you can, let the conversation become heated and emotional. Really say what you want to say but, always let the other person answer you. It must not be a monologue. That was the purpose of step one.

Step 3: As a last step, let the other person have a voice. In a similar manner to your initial monologue, let them say what they think and feel about you. Again let it be as emotional as possible and get them to really air their feelings.

Now, review what you have learned about yourself from the exercise. To structure it, extract ten learning points about you and for each of these, note how you would like to behave differently. Take note of how you feel when you behave in the new ways you describe.

There are a number of important questions about this exercise:

• How quickly did you see that the resentment was your stuff and had little to do with the other person?
• Did you identify ways in which you can change your reactions to the world and as a result feel better about yourself?
• Did you feel a little foolish at the end of this exercise?

Concluding Ideas

The Enneagram is a useful tool for identifying repeated behaviour patterns be they self-directred or towards others. These patterns, initially established as defenses, become a self-created prison of which we are often completely unaware. If we are able to see that they are based in our interpretation of past events as "hurtful", we have the choice of changing the interpretation and, potentially giving up the repetative behaviour. Failing to do so will inevertably sustain unhappiness because each time we react to the associated stimuli, we unintentionally reinforce the memory and effect of the original experience.

We can see things very differently if we would only allow ourselves to do so.

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Download Psychotherapy - Purpose, Process and Practice (an additional part of A Course in Miracles).

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As the scientific understanding of human behaviour has progressed, it has become increasingly clear that the Hiesenberg Uncertainty Principle has application in this area. Simply stated, it is not possible to observe a phenomenon without, in some way, influencing the phenomenon under observation. This, clearly, discounts the idea of objectivity and (by extension) renders everything under observation subjective.

Our topic here is the exploration of repeated patterns of behaviour based in a belief about the self. This is introduced in the separate Enneagram discussion in which we concluded that what you believe about yourself is real in its consequences for you. Because this rests firmly on self-observation, the Uncertainty Principle equally firmly applies. The manner in which a belief about the self is established is of little consequence because it is the existence of such a belief and the significance with which it is accorded that needs to be questioned. In effect, it rests on a question:

Does what you believe about yourself need to be based in "reality" or is it possibly an illusion without objective basis from the outset?