It’s a Bullsh*t Question
(For those serious ACIM students who “remembered to laugh”)
There’s a courtroom scene in My Cousin Vinny that perfectly sums up the absurdity of so many questions we ask about life, the body, and the world. If you haven’t seen it—or even if you have—it’s worth watching this clip of Mona Lisa Vito dismantling the prosecutor’s “trick question.” The prosecutor smugly asks her about the correct ignition timing on a 1964 Buick Skylark, expecting to trip her up. But Mona Lisa, with her trademark sass and genius-level car knowledge, leans in and calls it like it is:
“It’s a bullsht question!”
She proceeds to explain—down to the last mechanical detail—that the car in question wasn’t even a Skylark, so the prosecutor’s entire question is meaningless. His question is rooted in a false premise, which makes it unanswerable except by tearing down the assumption that gave rise to it in the first place.
This scene is comedy gold. But it’s also a perfect metaphor for the way the ego approaches life. Nearly every question we ask about the body, the world, or our problems is exactly the same—a bullsh*t question—because it starts with the false assumption that we are bodies living in a world of suffering and scarcity.
The Original Bullsh*t Question
“Into eternity, where all is one, there crept a tiny, mad idea, at which the Son of God remembered not to laugh. In his forgetting did the thought become a serious idea, and possible of both accomplishment and real effects.” (T-27.VIII.6:2-3)
This is where all the bullsh*t started. That “tiny mad idea” was the original bad question:
- “What if I could be separate from God?”
It was a ridiculous, impossible question—like asking Mona Lisa about the timing on a car that doesn’t exist. But instead of laughing at the insanity of it, we took it seriously. We built an entire illusion of a world around it, and now we ask follow-up questions like:
- “How can I live longer?”
- “Why do I get sick?”
- “How do I find happiness in a world that doesn’t last?”
ACIM would look at all of these and say: “It’s a bullsh*t question!”
ACIM’s Perspective on Bullsh*t Questions
ACIM doesn’t mince words about the world and the body:
- “The world you see is an illusion of a world. God did not create it, for what He creates must be eternal as Himself.” (W-132.6:2)
- “You think you must obey the ‘laws’ of medicine, of immunization, of the body’s protection… These are not laws, but madness.” (W-76.4:4-5)
So when we ask, “What’s the perfect diet?” or “How do I avoid aging?” ACIM is basically rolling its eyes with Mona Lisa’s smirk, saying: “Honey, you’re asking the wrong question. You’re asking about the ignition timing of an illusion.”
Mona Lisa Vito as a Spiritual Teacher
In that courtroom scene, Mona Lisa’s role is similar to the Holy Spirit’s. She doesn’t get caught in the prosecutor’s egoic trap. Instead, she dismantles the false premise:
“The 1964 Skylark had a regular rear axle. The car that made those tire marks had independent rear suspension. It’s a bullsh*t question.”
ACIM reminds us of the same truth: the ego’s questions can’t be answered because they are designed to reinforce the lie that we are separate. The Holy Spirit doesn’t answer these questions directly; it simply redirects us toward the truth:
“The Holy Spirit will answer every specific problem as long as you believe that problems are specific. His answer is both many and one, as long as you believe that the one is many.” (T-11.VIII.5:5-6)
In other words, the Spirit gently tells us that all our ego-driven questions boil down to one root confusion—the belief in separation.
The Body: The Biggest Bullsh*t Question
The ego is obsessed with the body. It wants us to measure it, fix it, pamper it, and fear it. But ACIM states:
“The body is a fence the Son of God imagines he has built, to separate parts of his Self from other parts.” (W-72.2:1)
Asking, “How do I make my body last forever?” is like asking Mona Lisa how to keep a 1964 Buick Skylark in mint condition for all eternity. It’s not the right question because the car was never meant to be permanent. The body is just a temporary learning tool, and our real identity has nothing to do with it.
Remembering to Laugh
The Course reminds us that our original “sin” (which was never real) was simply that we forgot to laugh at the ego’s absurdity. Mona Lisa’s line—“It’s a bullsh*t question!”—is the laugh we forgot to have when the tiny mad idea first crept into our mind.
Every time we take the world too seriously—every time we obsess about what’s “wrong” with our bodies, our lives, or our futures—we are essentially staring at the prosecutor and nodding along as he grills us about a car that never existed. ACIM says:
“The Holy Spirit uses logic as easily, and as well, as does the ego, except that His conclusions are not insane. They take a direction exactly opposite, pointing as clearly to Heaven as the ego points to darkness and to death.” (T-14.XI.1:2-3)
The way out isn’t to find a better answer to the ego’s questions, but to recognize they’re meaningless—and laugh.
Real Questions vs. Bullsh*t Questions
The only real question worth asking is: “What am I?”
Everything else—“What’s the best career?” “How do I get rich?” “What’s wrong with my body?”—are distractions. They all assume we are something we are not.
Real questions bypass the illusion:
- “How can I see this situation through love?”
- “What is the truth of who I am?”
- “What would You have me do?”
These are questions the Holy Spirit can answer because they point to reality, not illusion.
Conclusion: Laughing with Mona Lisa
If Mona Lisa Vito were an ACIM teacher, she’d still have that Bronx sass. She’d say:
“The ego’s questions? All bullsh*t. Don’t fall for them. They’re based on the illusion that you’re something you’re not. Laugh at them. Remember to laugh.”
The world will keep asking its trick questions. The body will give us excuses to ask more. But the next time you’re tempted to take the ego seriously, remember Mona Lisa—and the tiny mad idea—and just laugh. Because the correct ignition timing for your life is this: stop asking the ego for answers and start listening to the quiet voice within that tells you the truth.
Robert@dinojamesbooks.com