"If I hadn't believed it,
I never would have seen it"


Your premise is the total of all you believe about life, yourself, and your relationship to everything. This system of beliefs will also be referred to as ego. The best way to define ego is this: it's "What I think I am." It is not the reality of what you are, but everything you have come to believe is true about you. Here are some important aspects of your premise or ego.

1. It is not Truth. If it were, it would remain constant, and would be the same for everyone.

2. You made it up, and it changes every moment of every day, so it is like a fantasy or an illusion.

3. Because you made it, you love it, and you must defend it at all costs.

What are the beliefs that you have made up, and are therefore proud of, and must defend? Obviously, there are thousands. Ironically many of them contradict others, which explains your occasional indecisiveness and confusion. When you have mixed feelings about something, it must divide your allegiance, your effort and your effectiveness, and in the extreme it will immobilize you.

For more about your beliefs, read YOUR OWNER'S MANUAL by Burt Hotchkiss.

Your OWNER'S MANUAL has assisted thousands of students of A Course in Miracles.
Copyright owner of A Course in Miracles is The Foundation for Inner Peace, Mill Valley, CA