Toy Stories: Torturing Specifics – with CA Brooks and Bruce Rawles

In this audio recording, CA Brooks and Bruce Rawles talk about another brilliant audio recording “Toy Story – The Ego’s Idols of Specialness” by Kenneth Wapnick (released by FACIM June 2021.) This workshop on A Course In Miracles (ACIM) offers in-depth examples of how our mind in “ego mode” engages in self-inflicted torture when we needlessly preoccupy ourselves with specific (special love/hate) idols. These idols comprise our pantheon of cruel, tyrannical masters of our imagined fates as dream figures in a crazy world where toys (our dream investments in guilt-induced grievances) are more important than reality.

“Anything that encourages you to differentiate, to separate, and or disparage other people … turn your back on it.” – CA Brooks, paraphrasing a suggestion from the Toy Story audio program.

This doesn’t mean, of course, that we should act aloof or behave unkindly in any manner whatsoever. In fact, if we are alert to ego’s maladaptive strategy of making “big deals” of its vested interests (toys) of expectations about specific (special) outcomes, we can look at this ego trap – without condemnation – and begin to drop that ineffective (not sinful, evil or wicked but just silly) strategy. This also gives us a real foundation for true compassion for each other and ourselves, since when we drop our toy stories we’re free to choose truly helpful thoughts – shared innocence that is independent of space/time dream dramas.

“The only thing that’s important in the illusion is recognizing there’s nothing of importance in the illusion – that’s what forgiveness is.” – Ken Wapnick

Here are related quotes that we read from among the 31 instances of the word “toy” in ACIM):

“This Easter, look with different eyes upon your brother. ²You have forgiven me. ³And yet I cannot use your gift of lilies while you see them not. ⁴Nor can you use what I have given unless you share it. ⁵The Holy Spirit’s vision is no idle gift, no plaything to be tossed about a while and laid aside. ⁶Listen and hear this carefully, nor think it but a dream, a careless thought to play with, or a toy you would pick up from time to time and then put by. ⁷For if you do, so will it be to you.” (ACIM, T-20.II.6:1-7)

…

“4. There can be no salvation in the dream as you are dreaming it. ²For idols must be part of it, to save you from what you believe you have accomplished, and have done to make you sinful and put out the light within you. ³Little child, the light is there. ⁴You do but dream, and idols are the toys you dream you play with. ⁵Who has need of toys but children? ⁶They pretend they rule the world, and give their toys the power to move about, and talk and think and feel and speak for them. ⁷Yet everything their toys appear to do is in the minds of those who play with them. ⁸But they are eager to forget that they made up the dream in which their toys are real, nor recognize their wishes are their own.

5. Nightmares are childish dreams. ²The toys have turned against the child who thought he made them real. ³Yet can a dream attack? ⁴Or can a toy grow large and dangerous and fierce and wild? ⁵This does the child believe, because he fears his thoughts and gives them to the toys instead. ⁶And their reality becomes his own, because they seem to save him from his thoughts. ⁷Yet do they keep his thoughts alive and real, but seen outside himself, where they can turn against him for his treachery to them. ⁸He thinks he needs them that he may escape his thoughts, because he thinks the thoughts are real. ⁹And so he makes of anything a toy, to make his world remain outside himself, and play that he is but a part of it.

(This recording was made and first aired June 28, 2021, on 12Radio.)

If you like interacting with other ACIM students online, here are some online programs – both live and pre-recorded – that you might enjoy, including classes, study groups, and webinars. These provide opportunities to share and learn together and learn to be truly helpful.

Here are a few of the current free online ACIM connection/class/webinar/etc. opportunities: