Whack That Mole

Good Morning DearHearts,

I first discovered the “Whack-A-Mole” game when my son was enamored with game arcades, this was many years ago.  As he played for tokens I would walk around and watch what other entertainment options were available.  During one of these walkabouts I found that mole game.  I didn’t immediately connect it with a spiritual lesson it seemed much more connected to anger management.

One evening during A Course in Miracles group I made a comparison of the “mole” game to the ego mind and it suddenly was all so very obvious.

I always find it amazing how quickly one small throw away thought can develop into an unexpected issue. Have you ever followed the run -away train of your mind? Perhaps you haven’t, but we have all experienced the effects of one idea piled on top of another. The ego thought system can turn making the car payment a day late into impending financial ruin.

From a spiritual growth perspective it’s easy to see the ego’s hand in this game of life.  Whenever I reach a place where everything seems to be falling into place (by my standards) and my “to do” list shrinks there always is an emergence of new emergencies. Can this always be a coincidence? We all know the answer to that rhetorical question.

 My ego mind is the one pushing that poor rodent up through the holes for me to whack time after time. When I find peace and solitude my ego hits that button in my head and another mole appears in my mind. Two of the biggest enemies of the ego mind are peace and quiet. When my mind is quiet all of those garden rodents are peacefully sleeping.

I do want to be clear, not every thought is a fearful one. The problem is simply too many thoughts.  Our minds are not really equipped to handle more than one thought at a time and we have an average of 6200 thoughts every day.

The sheer volume of ideas can easily place me in a space where I want to whack away at any intruding thought that threatens the peace I’m trying to acquire. Each belief that shows up in my stream of consciousness can bring with it a reason to become upset or remain calm.  Many of the 6200 can bring me the perception of a problem and some even convince me they are “real” problems, either way I want to swat at them. 

Problems play an integral part in our life.  Problems are one of the many ways used to define and develop our “story”.  We tell others of the adverse conditions we have overcome.  These scenarios can be how we grew up without parental love and caring, they can be how we overcame many obstacles to get to and through school.  Our problems often are about relationships that have disappointed or disappeared. Although it may not be readily noticeable all of our problems have to do with “body” thoughts.

The belief in problems and adversity fuels the many appearances of the “mole”. Any long held thought will manifest into a visible reality, because I will believe it even more when I see it. 

The thing about the belief in problems is the only way to dismantle it is to expose the unreality of the belief. This is generally a very difficult task due to the strength of the problem belief system a/k/a the ego. 

However, when held up to certain “tests” about its truthful reality the smoke and mirrors holding false beliefs together disappear.  A wonderful spiritual teacher, Bryon Katie offers the test of whether the belief is true in all situations.  A Course in Miracles also uses this litmus test for any belief.  If anything is actually TRUE then its truthfulness will remain constant.  When I hold up every fear thought to this standard it will always be resolved.

The real challenge to every perceived problem or upset is to realize the answer is actually closer than believed.  This means the problem must be examined from a different perspective than the one that made the problem appear. Einstein of course had a widely known quote exactly about this solution. A Course in Miracles simply states “Let me recognize my problem so it can be solved”[1] 

Without recognition of the actual problem what occurs is I have my hammer poised and ready. Now ask yourself, isn’t that hammer getting heavy?

Here’s another question to ask yourself, when did attacking anything (person, place or object) ever solve a problem or make it better? An attack will always beget another attack.  Nothing is resolved in this plan.

I believe it’s time to forget whacking moles or other innocents and instead change how we think about every perceived problem that arises day after day. Many problems will simply vanish when we examine the reality in the situation. We can always pick the hammer up again, but for now we can rest our arm.

Please visit my website www.JanetWeissman.com where you can purchase my book “Good Morning DearHearts”. Does that sound familiar?

If you are a student or interested in A Course in Miracles, please look for my offering of the daily lessons on YouTube – search Janet Weissman.  Be sure to subscribe while you’re there.

Until my next blog post – please remember

You ARE Loved Beyond Your Beliefs.

In Love, Light and Peace

Janet Weissman

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[1] ACIM Workbook Lesson 79 Heading