Still Alice

The concept of the self has always been the great preoccupation of the world ... You will make many concepts of the self as learning goes along. Each one will show the changes in your own relationships, as your perception of yourself is changed. There will be some confusion every time there is a shift, but be you thankful that the learning of the world is loosening its grasp upon your mind. And be you sure and happy in the confidence that it will go at last, and leave your mind at peace. (T-31.V)

 

Who you are is pure Love and far greater than the sum of the memories, skills and achievements that you believe yourself to be in this lifetime. Relating through roles motivated by concern is not love, and it is only as these false ideas are released from the mind that an experience of real relationship is allowed in.

 

The greatest fear in undoing the ego is that of being vulnerable and unable to function in the world. The part of the mind that is afraid holds on to “who” it thinks it is because it doesn’t know any other way. 

 

Alice has early onset of Alzheimer’s, and there is nothing she can do to stop her intellectual capabilities and self-concept from being washed away. One by one her roles slip from her grasp, and she is no longer able to be a linguistic professor, mother, or wife. Although devastating to the ego, the process is one of forgiveness and surrender; it is a return to Love.