Stuck in Neutral. (4 min 9 sec)
You can't be neutral on a moving train. - Howard Zinn
1. The illusion of neutrality in a world of choices.
The world we perceive is a projection of the ego’s thought system, which thrives on separation, conflict, and fear. The moving train is the ongoing momentum of the ego’s false world. Whether we consciously recognize it or not, we are participants in this illusion simply by being identified with our ego and body. The train is constantly moving, driven by time, attachment, and judgment — the foundations of the ego’s reality.
Choosing not to choose between love and fear is still a choice. If you don’t actively choose love (spirit, forgiveness, oneness), then you are allowing fear (ego, conflict, separation) to guide you. By remaining "neutral" (or passive) in the face of the ego’s motion, you are essentially choosing to stay on the ego’s train, reinforcing its illusions.
Neutrality is a Choice for the Ego
Neutrality in the face of illusion is impossible because the mind is always choosing. "You are either choosing miracles (love) or grievances (fear)" at every moment. Pretending to be neutral or not engaging with the world’s issues is still a form of participation. By not opposing the ego's ongoing conflict and separation, you are allowing it to run its course — you are agreeing with its destination.
True neutrality would only exist in the perfect stillness of the mind when aligned with the Holy Spirit’s perspective, beyond judgment. But while we remain in the world of form, our minds are constantly asked to choose between the ego's perception of attack or the Holy Spirit’s perception of forgiveness. The "train" is the world’s insane belief system, and without a conscious effort to forgive, you’re along for the ride.
The Power of Choice – Align with Spirit or Ego
Our real power lies in the ability to choose between two teachers: the ego or the Holy Spirit. If you claim to be neutral, you are simply allowing the ego to make the decision for you, which always leads to conflict, guilt, and suffering. You must actively choose the Holy Spirit (love, forgiveness) if you want to "get off the train."
The Course tells us, “I am responsible for what I see. I choose the feelings I experience, and I decide upon the goal I would achieve. And everything that seems to happen to me I ask for, and receive as I have asked.” (T-21.II.2:3-5). If you’re on the moving train of the world’s ego-based insanity, it’s because you asked for it by not choosing the miracle of forgiveness.
The Train’s Destination is Separation and Suffering
The ego’s train only has one destination: continued separation, pain, and fear. By thinking you can be "neutral" in this world, you are allowing the ego’s journey to continue uninterrupted. You are silently agreeing to the false belief in separation and limitation. Only by actively stepping off the train (choosing love and forgiveness) can you change your experience.
You cannot passively hope for peace while you remain on the ego’s path. "The ego’s goal is quite explicitly ego autonomy. From the beginning, its purpose is to separate, and if possible, make separation everlasting." (T-11.V.4:4-5). The longer you ride the ego's train, the deeper into separation you go. Neutrality here is self-deception, because the ego will keep driving you further away from the truth of your oneness.
Forgiveness as the Exit
To "get off the train," you must practice forgiveness — releasing the false perception of separation and conflict, and recognizing the shared innocence of all. Forgiveness is the means by which you stop participating in the ego’s journey and instead choose to see with the eyes of the Holy Spirit.
Forgiveness is the conscious choice to reject the ego’s thought system. You are no longer neutral, but instead, an active agent of peace. Only by forgiving the illusion of separation can you experience true peace. "Forgiveness is the key to happiness." (W-121). It is how you disembark from the ego's train and return to your true home in the mind of God.
No One Stays on the Train Forever
Eventually, the realization dawns that the ego’s train is going nowhere —it’s a vicious loop of conflict, suffering, and fear. Neutrality is a delay tactic, a defense mechanism that avoids the deeper work of the mind. Wake up to your real power and choose differently. The sooner you choose forgiveness, the sooner you realize that the train never existed, and you are already at your destination: eternal peace, love, and unity with God.
"You can’t be neutral on a moving train" echoes the core of ACIM’s teaching: you cannot ride along with the ego’s narrative of separation without consequence. Neutrality is an illusion the ego uses to keep you passive and complicit in its game. The Holy Spirit calls for active participation in choosing love, forgiveness, and awakening. Only then do you disembark from the ego’s journey and recognize the truth of who you really are — beyond the train, beyond the illusion, beyond all separation.
#thinkgod
I am sorry.
Please forgive me.
Thank you.
I love you.
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