ACIM VOLUME I
HLC TEXT
{proof reader’s V 4.4 © 2004- 2006 Doug Thompson
Updated APRIL 5, 2007
Concordance Tags Edition}
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Chapter I 1 - INTRODUCTION TO MIRACLES
T 1 A. Introduction
T 1 A 1. This is a course in miracles. It is a required course. Only the
time you take it is voluntary. Free will does not mean that you can establish
the curriculum. It means only that you may elect what you want to take at a
given time.
T 1 A 2. The course does not aim at teaching the meaning of love, for that is
beyond what can be taught. It does aim, however, at removing the blocks to the
awareness of Love's Presence [T1], Which is your natural inheritance. The
opposite of love is fear, but what is all-encompassing can have no opposite.
T 1 A 3. This course can therefore be summed up very simply in this way:
Nothing real can be threatened. Nothing unreal exists. Herein lies the Peace
of God.
T 1 B. Principles of Miracles
T 1 B 1. There is no order of difficulty among miracles. One is not "harder"
or "bigger" than another. They are all the same. All expressions of love are
maximal.
T 1 B 2. Miracles as such do not matter. The only thing that matters is their
Source, Which is far beyond human evaluation.
T 1 B 3. Miracles occur naturally as expressions of love. The real miracle is
the love that inspires them. In this sense, everything that comes from love is
a miracle.
T 1 B 4. All miracles mean life, and God is the Giver of life. His Voice will
direct you very specifically. You will be told all you need to know.
T 1 B 5. Miracles are habits and should be involuntary. They should not be
under conscious control. Consciously selected miracles can be misguided.
T 1 B 6. Miracles are natural. When they do NOT occur something has gone
wrong.
T 1 B 7. Miracles are everyone's right, but purification is necessary first.
T 1 B 8. Miracles are healing because they supply a lack in that they are
performed by those who temporarily have more for those who temporarily have
less.
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T 1 B 9. Miracles are a kind of exchange. Like all expressions of love, which
are ALWAYS miraculous in the true sense, the exchange reverses the physical
laws. They bring MORE love both to the giver AND the receiver.
T 1 B 10. The use of miracles as spectacles to INDUCE belief is wrong; or,
better, is a misunderstanding of their purpose. They are really used FOR and BY
believers.
T 1 B 11. Prayer is the medium of miracles. Prayer is the natural
communication of the created with the Creator. Through prayer love is received,
and through miracles love is expressed.
T 1 B 12. Miracles are thoughts. Thoughts can represent lower-order or
higher-order reality. This is the basic distinction between intellectualizing
and thinking. One makes the physical and the other creates the spiritual, and
we believe in what we make or create [T2].
T 1 B 13. Miracles are both beginnings and endings. They thus alter the
temporal order. They are always affirmations of rebirth, which seem to go back,
but really go forward. They undo the past in the present, and thus release the
future.
T 1 B 14. Miracles bear witness to truth. They are convincing because they
arise from conviction. Without conviction they deteriorate into magic, which is
mindless, and therefore destructive; or rather, the uncreative use of mind.
T 1 B 15. Each day should be devoted to miracles. The purpose of time is to
enable man to learn to use it constructively. Time is thus a teaching device,
and a means to an end. It will cease when it is no longer useful in
facilitating learning.
T 1 B 16. Miracles are teaching devices for demonstrating that it is more
blessed to give than to receive. They simultaneously increase the strength of
the giver and supply strength to the receiver.
T 1 B 17. Miracles are the transcendence of the body. They are sudden shifts
into invisibility, away from a sense of lower-order reality. That is why they
heal.
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T 1 B 18. A miracle is a service. It is the maximal service one individual can
render another. It is a way of loving your neighbor as yourself. The doer
recognizes his own and his neighbor's inestimable worth simultaneously.
T 1 B 19. Miracles make minds one in God. They depend on cooperation, because
the Sonship is the sum of all the Souls God created. Miracles therefore rest on
the laws of eternity, not of time.
T 1 B 20. Miracles re-awaken the awareness that the Spirit, not the body, is
the altar of truth. This is the recognition that leads to the healing power of
the miracle.
T 1 B 21. Miracles are natural expressions of total forgiveness. Through
miracles, man accepts God's forgiveness by extending it to others.
T 1 B 22. Miracles are associated with fear only because of the fallacious
belief that darkness can HIDE. Man believes that what he cannot see does not
exist, and his physical eyes cannot see in the dark. This is a very primitive
solution, and has led to a denial of the Spiritual eye. [T3] The escape from
darkness involves two stages:
A. The recognition that darkness CANNOT hide. This step usually entails fear.
B. The recognition that there is nothing you WANT to hide, even if you COULD.
This step brings ESCAPE from fear.
T 1 B 23a. Miracles rearrange perception, and place the levels of perception in
true perspective. This heals at ALL levels, because sickness comes from
confusing the levels.
T 1 B 23b. When you have become willing to hide nothing, you will not only be
willing to enter into communion, but will also understand peace and joy. Your
commitment is not yet total, and that is why you still have more to learn than
to teach. When your equilibrium stabilizes, you will be able to teach as much
as you learn, which will give you the proper balance. Meanwhile, remember that
no effort is wasted, for unless you remember this, you cannot avail yourselves
of MY efforts, which ARE limitless. Only eternity is real. Why not use the
illusion of time constructively?
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T 1 B 24. Miracles enable man to heal the sick and raise the dead because he
made sickness and death himself, and can abolish both. YOU are a miracle,
capable of creating in the likeness of your Creator. Everything else is only
your own nightmare, and does not exist. Only the Creations of Light are real.
T 1 B 25a. Miracles are part of an interlocking chain of forgiveness which [T4],
when completed, is the Atonement. This process works all the time, and in all
the dimensions of time.
T 1 B 25b. I am in charge of the process of Atonement, which I undertook to
begin. When you offer a miracle unto any of my brothers, you do it unto
YOURSELF and me. The reason YOU come before ME is that I do not need miracles
for my own Atonement, but I stand at the end in case you fail temporarily. The
purpose of my part in the Atonement is the cancelling out of all lacks of love
which men could not otherwise correct. The word "sin" should be changed to
"lack of love," because "sin" is a man-made word with threat connotations which
he made up himself. No REAL threat is involved anywhere. Nothing is gained by
frightening yourselves, and it is very destructive to do so.
T 1 B 26a. Miracles represent FREEDOM from fear. "Atoning" really means
"undoing." The undoing of fear is an essential part of the Atonement value of
miracles.
T 1 B 26b. The purpose of the Atonement is to restore EVERYTHING to you; or
rather, to restore it to your AWARENESS. You were GIVEN everything when you
were created, just as everyone was. When you have been restored to the
recognition of your original state, you naturally become part of the Atonement
yourself. As you share MY inability to tolerate lack of love in yourself and
others, you MUST join the Great Crusade to correct it. The slogan for the
Crusade is "Listen, learn, and DO;" Listen to my voice, learn to undo error, and
DO something to correct it.
T 1 B 26c. The power to work miracles BELONGS to you. I will provide the
opportunities to do them, but YOU must be ready and willing, since you are
already able. Doing them will bring conviction in the ability, since
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T 1 B conviction really comes through accomplishment. The ability is the
potential; the achievement is its expression; and the Atonement is the Purpose.
T 1 B 27a. A miracle is a universal blessing from God through me to ALL my
brothers. It is the privilege of the forgiven to forgive.
T 1 B 27b. The disciples were specifically told to be physicians of the Lord and
to heal others. They were also told to HEAL THEMSELVES, and were promised that
I would never leave them or forsake them. Atonement is the natural profession
of the Children of God, because they have professed me. "Heaven and earth shall
pass away" simply means that they will not continue to exist as separate states.
My word, which is the Resurrection and the Light, shall not pass away because
Light is eternal. YOU are the work of God, and His work is wholly lovable and
wholly loving. This is how a man MUST think of himself in his heart, because
this is what he IS.
T 1 B 28a. Miracles are a means of organizing different levels of consciousness.
T 1 B 28b. Miracles come from the below or subconscious level. Revelations come
from the above or super-conscious level. The conscious level is in between, and
reacts to either sub- or super-conscious impulses in varying ratios.
Consciousness is the level which engages in the world, and is capable of
responding to both. Having no impulses from itself, and being primarily a
mechanism for inducing response, it can be very wrong.
T 1 B 28c. Revelation induces complete but temporary suspension of doubt and
fear. It represents the original form of communication between God and His
Souls, involving an extremely personal sense of closeness to Creation, which man
tries to find in physical relationships. Physical closeness CANNOT achieve
this. The subconscious impulses properly induce miracles, which are genuinely
interpersonal, and result in real closeness to others. This can be
misunderstood by a PERSONALLY willful consciousness as impulses toward physical
gratification.
T 1 B 28d. Revelation unites Souls directly with God. Miracles unite minds
directly with each other. Neither emanates from consciousness, but both are
EXPERIENCED there. This is essential, since consciousness is the state which
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T 1 B induces action, though it does NOT inspire it. Man is free to believe
what he chooses, and what he DOES attests to what he believes. The deeper
levels of the subconscious ALWAYS contain the impulse to miracles, but man is
free to fill its more superficial levels, which are closer to consciousness,
with the impulses of this world, and to identify himself with them. This
results in DENYING himself access to the miracle level underneath. In his
actions, then, his relationships also become superficial, and miracle-inspired
relating becomes impossible.
T 1 B 29a. Miracles are a way of EARNING release from fear.
T 1 B 29b. Revelation induces a state in which fear has ALREADY been abolished.
Miracles are thus a means, and revelation is an end. Miracles do not depend on
revelation; they INDUCE it. Revelation is intensely personal, and cannot
actually be translated into conscious content at all. That is why any attempt
to describe it in words is usually incomprehensible. Revelation induces ONLY
experience. Miracles, on the other hand, induce ACTION. Miracles are more
useful now, because of their interpersonal nature. In this phase of learning,
working miracles is more important because freedom from fear cannot be thrust
upon you.
T 1 B 30. Miracles praise God through men. They praise God by honoring His
Creations, affirming their perfection. They heal because they deny
body-identification and affirm Soul-identification. By perceiving the Spirit,
they adjust the levels and see them in proper alignment. This places the Spirit
at the center, where Souls can communicate directly.
T 1 B 31a. Miracles should inspire gratitude, not awe. Man should thank God for
what he really is. The Children of God are very holy, and the miracle honors
their holiness.
T 1 B 31b. God's Creations never lose their holiness, although it can be hidden.
The miracle uncovers it, and brings it into the light where it belongs.
Holiness can never be really hidden in darkness, but man can deceive himself
about it. This illusion makes him fearful, because he knows in his heart it IS
an illusion, and he exerts enormous efforts to establish its reality. The
miracle sets reality where it belongs. Eternal reality belongs only to the
Soul, and the miracle acknowledges only the truth. It thus dispels man's
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T 1 B illusions about himself, and puts him in communion with himself AND God.
T 1 B 32a. Christ inspires all miracles, which are really intercessions. They
intercede for man's holiness, and make his perceptions holy. By placing him
beyond the physical laws, they raise him into the sphere of celestial order. In
THIS order, man IS perfect.
T 1 B 32b. The Soul never loses its communion with God. Only the mind NEEDS
Atonement. The miracle joins in the Atonement of Christ by placing the mind in
the service of the Spirit. This establishes the proper function of the mind,
and corrects its errors.
T 1 B 33. Miracles honor man BECAUSE he is lovable. They dispel illusions
about him, and perceive the Light in him. They thus atone for his errors by
freeing him from his own nightmares. They release him from a prison in which he
has imprisoned HIMSELF, and by freeing his mind from illusions, they restore his
sanity. Man's mind CAN be possessed by illusions, but his Spirit is eternally
free. If a mind perceives without love it perceives an empty shell, and is
unaware of the Spirit within it. But the Atonement restores the Soul to its
proper place. The mind that serves the Spirit is invulnerable.
T 1 B 34a. Miracles restore the mind to its fullness. By atoning for lack, they
establish perfect protection. The strength of the Soul leaves no room for
intrusions. The forgiven are filled with the Soul, and they forgive in return.
It is the duty of the released to release their brothers.
T 1 B 34b. The forgiven ARE the means of Atonement. Those released by Christ
must join in releasing their brothers, for this is the Plan of the Atonement.
Miracles are the way in which minds which serve the Spirit unite with Christ for
the salvation, or release, of all God's Creations.
T 1 B 35. Miracles are expressions of love, but it does NOT follow that they
will always have observable effects. I am the only one who can perform miracles
indiscriminately, because I AM the Atonement. You have a ROLE in the Atonement,
which I will dictate TO you. Ask ME which miracles you should perform. This
spares you exhaustion, because you will act under direct communication.
T 1 B 36a. Christ-controlled miracles are part of the Atonement, but
Christ-guidance is personal and leads to PERSONAL salvation. The impersonal
nature of miracles is an essential [T5]
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ingredient, because this enables ME to control their distribution.
Christ-guidance leads to the highly PERSONAL experience of Revelation. This is
why it involves PERSONAL choice. A guide does NOT control, but he DOES direct,
leaving the following up to you. "Lead us not into temptation" means "guide us
out of our own errors." "Take up thy cross and follow me" means "recognize your
errors and choose to abandon them by following my guidance."
T 1 B 36b. Remember that error cannot really threaten truth, which can ALWAYS
withstand it. ONLY the error is really vulnerable. You are free to establish
your kingdom where you see fit, but the right choice is inevitable if you
remember this:
The Soul is in a state of grace forever.
Man's reality is ONLY his Soul.
Therefore man is in a state of grace forever.
Atonement undoes all errors in this respect, and thus uproots the REAL source of
fear. Whenever God's reassurances are experienced as threat, it is ALWAYS
because you are defending misplaced and misdirected loyalty. That is what
projection always involves. Error is lack of love. When man projects this onto
others, he DOES imprison them, but only to the extent that he reinforces errors
they have ALREADY made. This makes them vulnerable to the distortions of
others, since their OWN perception of themselves is distorted. The miracle
worker can ONLY bless, and this undoes their distortions, and frees them from
prison.
T 1 B 37. Miracles are examples of right thinking. Reality contact at all
levels becomes strong and accurate, thus permitting correct delineation of
intra- and interpersonal boundaries. As a result, the doer's perceptions are
aligned with truth as God created it.
T 1 B 38. A miracle is a correction factor introduced into false thinking by
me. It acts as a catalyst, shaking up erroneous perception, and reorganizing it
properly. This places man under the Atonement principle, where his perception
is healed. Until this has occurred, perception [T6] of the Divine order is
impossible.
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T 1 B 39. The Spiritual eye is the mechanism of miracles because what It
perceives IS true. It perceives both the Creations of God and the creations of
man. Among the creations of man, It can also separate the true from the false
by Its ability to perceive totally, rather than selectively. It thus becomes
the proper instrument for reality testing, which always involves the necessary
distinction between the false and the true.
T 1 B 40a. The miracle dissolves error because the Spiritual eye identifies
error as false, or unreal. This is the same as saying that by perceiving light,
darkness automatically disappears.
T 1 B 40b. Darkness is lack of light, as sin is lack of love. It has no unique
properties of its own. It is an example of the "scarcity" fallacy, from which
ONLY error can proceed. Truth is always abundant. Those who perceive and
acknowledge that they have everything have no need for driven behavior of ANY
kind.
T 1 B 41a. The miracle acknowledges all men as your brothers and mine. It is a
way of perceiving the universal mark of God in them. The specialness of God's
Sons does NOT stem from exclusion, but from inclusion. ALL my brothers are
special. If they believe they are deprived of anything, their perception
becomes distorted. When this occurs, the whole family of God, or the Sonship,
is impaired in its relationships. Ultimately, every member of the family of God
must return. The miracle calls him to return, because it blesses and honors him
even though he may be absent in spirit.
T 1 B 41b. "God is not mocked" is not a warning, but a reassurance on this
point. God WOULD be mocked if any of His Creations lacked holiness. The
Creation IS whole, and the mark of wholeness is holiness.
T 1 B 42a. Wholeness is the perceptual content of miracles. It thus corrects,
or atones for, the faulty perception of lack anywhere.
T 1 B 42b. Here we begin to make the fundamental distinction between miracles
and projection. The stimulus MUST precede the response, and will also determine
the kind of response that is evoked. Behavior IS response, so that the
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question "response to what?" becomes crucial. Since stimuli are identified
through perception, you first perceive the stimulus and then behave accordingly.
It follows, then, that:
As ye perceive,
So shall ye behave.
T 1 B 42c. The Golden Rule asks you to behave toward others as you would have
them behave toward you. This means that the perception of BOTH must be
accurate. The Golden Rule is the rule for appropriate behavior. You cannot
behave appropriately unless you perceive accurately, because appropriate
behavior DEPENDS on lack of level confusion. The presence of level confusion
ALWAYS results in variable reality testing, and therefore in variability in
behavioral appropriateness. Since you and your neighbor are equal members of
the same family, as you perceive both, so you will behave toward both. The way
to perceive for Golden Rule behavior is to look out from the perception of your
OWN holiness, and perceive the holiness of others.
T 1 B 42d. The emptiness engendered by fear should be replaced by love, because
love and its absence are in the same dimension, and correction cannot be
undertaken except WITHIN a dimension. Otherwise, there has been a confusion of
levels. Death is a human affirmation of a belief in "fate," or level confusion.
That is why the Bible says, "There IS no death," and why I demonstrated that
death does not exist. I came to fulfill the law by REINTERPRETING it. The law
itself, if properly understood, offers only protection to man. It is those who
have not yet "changed their minds" who entered the "hellfire" concept into it.
T 1 B 42e. I assure you that I will witness for anyone who lets me, and to
whatever extent he permits it. YOUR witnessing demonstrates YOUR belief, and
thus strengthens it. Those who witness for me are expressing, through their
miracles, that they have abandoned the belief in deprivation in favor of the
abundance they have learned BELONGS to them.
T 1 B 43a. A MAJOR contribution of miracles is their strength in releasing man
from his misplaced sense of isolation, deprivation and lack.
T 1 B 43b. Miracles are affirmations of Sonship, which is a state of completion
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and abundance. Whatever is true and real is eternal, and CANNOT change or BE
changed. The Soul is therefore unalterable because it is ALREADY perfect, but
the mind can elect the level it chooses to serve. The ONLY limit which is put
on its choice is that it CANNOT serve two masters.
T 1 B 43c. The mind, if it elects to do so, becomes a medium by which the Soul
creates along the line of its own Creation. If it does not freely elect to do
so, it retains its creative POTENTIAL, but places itself under tyrannous rather
than genuinely authoritative control. As a result it imprisons, because such
are the dictates of tyrants. To change your mind means to place it at the
disposal of TRUE Authority.
T 1 B 43d. The miracle is thus a sign that the mind has chosen to be led by
Christ in His service. The abundance of Christ is the natural result of
choosing to follow Him. ALL shallow roots must be uprooted, because they are
not deep enough to sustain you. The illusion that shallow roots can be
DEEPENED, and thus made to hold, is one of the distortions on which the REVERSAL
of the Golden Rule rests. As these false underpinnings are given up, the
equilibrium is temporarily experienced as unstable. However, the fact is that
NOTHING is less stable than an orientation that is upside down. Nor can
anything which holds it that way be really conducive to greater stability.
T 1 B 44. Miracles arise from a miraculous state of mind. By being one, this
state of mind goes out to ANYONE, even without the awareness of the miracle
worker himself. The impersonal nature of miracles is because the Atonement
itself is one, uniting all creations with their Creator.
T 1 B 45. The miracle is an expression of an inner awareness of Christ, and the
acceptance of His Atonement. The mind is then in a state of grace, and
naturally becomes gracious, both to the Host within and the stranger without.
By bringing in the stranger, he becomes your brother.
T 1 B 46a. A miracle is never lost. It touches many people you do not even
know, and sometimes produces undreamed of changes in forces of which you are not
even aware. That is not your concern. The miracle will always bless YOU.
T 1 B 46b. The miracles you are NOT asked to perform have not lost their value.
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They are still expressions of your own state of grace, but the ACTION aspect of
the miracle should be Christ-controlled because of His complete awareness of the
Whole Plan. The impersonal nature of miracle-mindedness ensures YOUR grace, but
only Christ is in a position to know where grace can be BESTOWED.
T 1 B 47. Miracle-mindedness means miracle-readiness. Readiness means that you
should always keep your perceptions straight, so that you will ALWAYS be ready,
willing and able. These are the essentials for "listen, learn and do." You
must be READY to listen, WILLING to learn, and ABLE to do. Only the last is
involuntary, because it is the APPLICATION of miracles which must be
Christ-controlled. The other two, which are the VOLUNTARY aspects of
miracle-mindedness, ARE up to you.
T 1 B 48a. Awe is an inappropriate response to miracles.
T 1 B 48b. Revelation is literally unspeakable because it is an experience of
unspeakable love. Awe should be reserved for revelation, to which it is
perfectly and correctly applicable. It is NOT appropriate for miracles because
a state of awe is worshipful. It implies that one of a lesser order stands
before a greater one. This is the case ONLY when a Soul stands before its
Creator. Souls are perfect creations, and experience awe only in the Presence
of the Creator of perfection.
T 1 B 48c. The miracle, on the other hand, is a sign of love among equals.
Equals cannot be in awe of one another because awe implies inequality. It is
therefore an inappropriate reaction to me. An elder brother is entitled to
respect for his greater experience, and [T7] obedience for his greater wisdom. He
is also entitled to love because he IS a brother, and also to devotion if he is
devoted. It is only my devotion that entitles me to yours. There is nothing
about me that YOU cannot attain. I have nothing that does not come from God.
The main difference between us as yet is that I have NOTHING ELSE. This leaves
me in a state of true holiness, which is only a POTENTIAL in you.
T 1 B 48d. "No man cometh unto the Father but by me" is among the most
misunderstood statements in the Bible. It does NOT mean that I am in any way
separate
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T 1 B or different from you EXCEPT IN TIME, which does not really exist at all.
Actually, the quotation is more meaningful if it is considered on a vertical
rather than a horizontal axis. Regarded along the vertical, man stands below me
and I stand below God. In the process of "rising up," I AM higher. This is
because, without me, the distance between God and man would be too great for you
to encompass.
T 1 B 48e. I bridge the distance as an elder brother to man on the one hand, and
as a Son of God on the other. My devotion to my brothers has placed me in
charge of the Sonship, which I can render complete only to the extent to which I
can SHARE it. This may appear to contradict the statement "I and my Father are
one," but there are still separate parts in the statement, in recognition that
the Father is greater. (The original statement was "are of one kind"). The
Holy Spirit is the Bringer of Revelations. Revelations are INDIRECTLY inspired
by me, because I am close to the Holy Spirit, and alert to the
revelation-readiness of my brothers. I can thus BRING down to them more than
they can DRAW down to themselves.
T 1 B 49. The Holy Spirit is the Highest Communication Medium. Miracles do not
involve this type of communication because they are TEMPORARY communication
devices. When man returns to his original form of communication with God, the
need for miracles is over. The Holy Spirit mediates higher to lower
communication, keeping the direct channel from God to man open for revelation.
Revelation is not reciprocal. It is always FROM God TO man. The miracle IS
reciprocal because it involves equality.
T 1 B 50a. The miracle is a learning device which lessens the need for time. In
the longitudinal or horizontal plane, the recognition of the true equality of
all the members of the Sonship appears to involve almost endless time. But we
know that time is only an artifact introduced as a learning aid. [T8] However, the
sudden shifts from horizontal to vertical perception which the miracle entails
introduce [T9] an interval from which the doer and the receiver BOTH emerge much
farther along in time than they would otherwise have been.
T 1 B 50b. The miracle thus has the unique property of abolishing [T10] time by
rendering the space of time it occupies unnecessary. There is NO relationship
between the time a miracle TAKES and the time it COVERS. It substitutes for
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learning that might have taken thousands of years. It does this by the
underlying recognition of perfect equality and holiness between the doer and the
receiver on which the miracle rests.
T 1 B 50c. We said before that the miracle abolishes time. It does this by a
process of COLLAPSING it, and thus abolishing certain INTERVALS within it. It
does this, however, WITHIN the larger temporal sequence. It establishes an
out-of-pattern time interval which is NOT under the usual laws of time. Only in
this sense is it timeless. By collapsing time it literally saves time, much as
daylight saving time does. It rearranges the distribution of light.
T 1 B 51a. The miracle is the only device which man has at his immediate
disposal for controlling time. Only revelation TRANSCENDS time, having nothing
to do with time at all.
T 1 B 51b. The miracle is much like the body, in that both are learning aids
which aim at facilitating a state in which they are unnecessary. When the
Soul's original state of direct communication is reached, neither the body nor
the miracle serves any purpose. While he believes he is in a body, however, man
can choose between loveless and miraculous channels of expression. He can make
an empty shell, but he CANNOT express nothing at all. He can wait, delay,
paralyze himself, reduce his creativity to almost nothing, and even introduce a
developmental arrest or even a regression. But he CANNOT abolish his
creativity. He can destroy his medium of communication, but NOT his potential.
T 1 B 51c. Man was NOT created by his own free will alone. Only what HE creates
is his to decide. The basic decision of the miracle-minded is not to wait on
time any longer than is necessary. Time can waste as well as be wasted. The
miracle-worker, therefore, accepts the time-control factor gladly, because he
recognizes that every collapse of time brings all men closer to the ultimate
RELEASE from time, in which the Son and the Father ARE one.
T 1 B 51d. Equality does not imply homogeneity NOW. When everyone recognizes
that he has everything, individual contributions to the Sonship will no longer
be
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necessary. When the Atonement has been completed, ALL talents will be shared by
ALL the Sons of God. God is NOT partial. All His children have His total Love,
and ALL his gifts are freely given to everyone alike. "Except ye become as
little children" means that, unless you fully recognize your complete dependence
on God, you cannot know the real power of the Son in his true relationship with
the Father.
T 1 B 51e. You who want peace can find it only by complete forgiveness. You
never really WANTED peace before, so there was no point in being told how to
achieve it. No learning is acquired by anyone unless he wants to learn it, and
believes in some way that he NEEDS it. While the concept of lack does not exist
in the Creation of God, it is VERY apparent in the creations of man. It is, in
fact, the essential difference. A need implies lack by definition. It involves
the recognition that you would be better off in a state which is somehow
different from the one you are in.
T 1 B 51f. Until the "separation," which is a better term than the "fall,"
nothing was lacking. This meant that man had no needs at all. If he had not
deprived himself, he would never have experienced them. After the separation,
needs became the most powerful source of motivation for human action. All
behavior is essentially motivated by needs, but behavior itself is not a Divine
attribute. The body is the mechanism for behavior. The belief that he COULD be
better off is the reason why man has this mechanism at his disposal.
T 1 B 51g. Each one acts according to the particular hierarchy of needs he
establishes for himself. His hierarchy, in turn, depends on his perception of
what he IS; that is, what he LACKS. A sense of separation from God is the ONLY
lack he really needs to correct. This sense of separation would never have
occurred if he had not distorted his perception of truth, and thus perceived
HIMSELF as lacking. The concept of ANY sort of need hierarchy arose because,
having made this fundamental error, he had already fragmented himself into
levels with different needs. As he integrates HE becomes one, and his needs
become one accordingly.
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T 1 B 51h. Unified need produces unified action because it produces a lack of
ambivalence. The concept of a need hierarchy, a corollary to the original error
that man can be separated from God, requires correction at its own level, before
the error of perceiving levels at all can be corrected. Man cannot behave
effectively while he operates at split levels. However, while he does,
correction must be introduced from the bottom UP. This is because he now
operates in space, where concepts such as "up" and "down" are meaningful.
Ultimately, space is as meaningless as time. The concept is really one of
space-time BELIEF.
T 1 B 51i. The physical world exists only because man can use it to correct his
UNBELIEF, which placed him in it originally. He can never control the effects
of fear himself because he MADE fear, and believes in what he made. In
attitude, then, though NOT in content, he resembles his own Creator, Who has
perfect faith in His creations BECAUSE He created them. Belief in a creation
produces its existence. That is why a man can believe in what no one else
thinks is true. It is true for him because it was made BY him.
T 1 B 51j. Every aspect of fear proceeds from upside-down perception. The more
truly creative devote their efforts to correcting perceptual distortions. The
neurotic devotes his to compromise. The psychotic tries to escape by
establishing the certain truth of his own errors. It is most difficult to free
him by ordinary means, because he is more consistent in his own denial of truth.
The miracle, however, makes no such distinctions. It corrects errors BECAUSE
they are errors. Thus, the next point to remember about miracles is,
T 1 B 52a. The miracle makes NO distinction among degrees of misperception. It
is a device for perception-correction, effective quite apart from either the
degree or the direction of the error. This is its TRUE indiscriminateness.
T 1 B 52b. Christ-controlled miracles are selective ONLY in the sense that they
are directed toward those who can use them for THEMSELVES. Since this makes it
inevitable that they will extend them to others, a strong chain of Atonement
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is welded. However, Christ-control takes no account at all of the magnitude of
the miracle itself, because the concept of size exists in a plane that is itself
unreal. Since the miracle aims at RESTORING the awareness of reality it would
hardly be useful if it were bound by the laws which govern the [T11] error it aims
to correct. Only man makes this kind of mistake. It is an example of the
foolish consistency which his own false beliefs have engendered.
T 1 B 52c. The power and strength of man's creative will must be understood
before the real meaning of denial can be appreciated and relinquished. Denial
is NOT mere negation. It is a positive miscreation. While the miscreation is
NECESSARILY believed in by its maker, it does not exist at all at the level of
true creation.
T 1 B 53a. The miracle compares what man has made with the higher level of
creation, accepting what is IN ACCORD as true and rejecting the DISCORDANT [T12]
as false. ALL aspects of fear are untrue because they do not exist at the
higher creative level, and therefore do not exist at all. To whatever extent a
man is willing to submit his beliefs to this test, to that extent are his
perceptions corrected.
T 1 B 53b. In sorting out the false from the true, the miracle proceeds along
the following lines: [T13]
If perfect love casts out fear,
And if fear exists,
Then there is NOT perfect love.
But
Only perfect love REALLY exists.
If there IS fear,
It creates a state which does not exist.
Believe this, and you WILL be free. Only God can establish this solution and
THIS faith IS His gift.
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T 1 C. Distortions of Miracle Impulses
T 1 C 1. You are involved in unconscious distortions which are producing a
dense cover over miracle impulses, and which make it hard for them to reach
consciousness. The nature of any interpersonal relationship is limited or
defined by what you want it to DO. Relating is a way of achieving an outcome.
The danger of defenses lies in their propensity for holding misperceptions
rigidly in place. All actions which stem from reverse thinking are literally
the behavioral expressions of those who know not what they do. A rigid
orientation can be extremely reliable, even if it is upside-down. In fact, the
more consistently upside-down it is, the MORE reliable it is.
T 1 C 2. However, validity is still the ultimate goal, which reliability can
only serve. Hostility, triumph, vengeance, self-debasement, and all kinds of
expressions of lack of love are often very clearly seen in the fantasies which
accompany them. But it is a PROFOUND error to imagine that because these
fantasies are so frequent, or occur so reliably, that this implies validity.
Remember that while validity implies reliability, the relationship is NOT
reversible. You can be wholly reliable and ENTIRELY wrong. While a reliable
instrument DOES measure something, what USE is it unless you discover what the
"something" is? This course, then, will concentrate on validity, and let
reliability fall naturally into place.
T 1 C 3. The confusion of miracle impulses with physical impulses is a major
source of perceptual distortion because it INDUCES, rather than straightens out,
the basic level confusion which underlies the perception of all those who seek
happiness with the instruments of this world. Inappropriate physical impulses
(or misdirected miracle impulses) result in conscious guilt if expressed and
depression if denied. ALL real pleasure comes from doing God's Will. This is
because NOT doing It is a denial of self. DENIAL of error results in
projection. CORRECTION of error brings release. "Lead us not into temptation"
means "do not let us deceive ourselves into believing that we can relate in
peace to God or to our brothers with ANYTHING external."
T 1 C 4. Child of God, you were created to create the good, the beautiful,
and the holy. Do not lose sight of this. The love of God, for a little while,
must still be expressed through one body to another because the real vision is
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still so dim. Everyone can use his body best by enlarging man's perception so
he can see the REAL vision. THIS vision is invisible to the physical eye. The
ultimate purpose of the body is to render itself unnecessary. Learning to do
this is the only real reason for its creation.
T 1 C 5. Fantasies of any kind are distorted forms of thinking because they
ALWAYS involve twisting perception into unreality. Fantasy is a debased form of
vision. Vision and revelation are closely related, while fantasy and projection
are more closely associated because both attempt to control external reality
according to false internal needs. Twist reality in ANY way, and you are
perceiving destructively. Reality was lost through usurpation, which in turn
produced tyranny. I told you that you are now restored to your former role in
the plan of Atonement, but you must still choose freely to devote yourselves to
the greater restoration. As long as a single slave remains to walk the earth,
your release is not complete. COMPLETE restoration of the Sonship is the only
true goal of the miracle-minded.
T 1 C 6. NO fantasies are true. They are distortions of perception, by
definition. They are a means of making false associations, and obtaining
pleasure from them. Man can do this only because he IS creative. But although
he can perceive false associations, he can never make them real EXCEPT TO
HIMSELF. Man believes in what he creates. If he creates miracles, he will be
equally strong in his belief in THEM. The strength of HIS conviction will then
sustain the belief of the miracle receiver. And fantasies become totally
unnecessary as the wholly satisfying nature of reality becomes apparent to both.
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Chapter II 2 - THE ILLUSION OF SEPARATION
T 2 A. Introduction
T 2 A 1. This section deals with a fundamental misuse of knowledge, referred
to in the Bible as the cause of the "fall," or separation. There are some
definitions which I asked you to take from the dictionary which will be helpful
here. They are somewhat unusual, since they are not the first definitions which
are given. Nevertheless, the fact that each of them does appear in the
dictionary should be reassuring:
Project (verb): to extend forward or out.
Project (noun): a plan in the mind.
World: a natural grand division.
We will refer later to projection as related to both mental health and mental
illness. We have already observed that man can create an empty shell, but he
cannot create nothing at all. This emptiness provides the screen for the misuse
of projection.
T 2 A 2. The Garden of Eden, which is described as a literal garden in the
Bible, was not an actual garden at all. It was merely a mental state of
complete need-lack. Even in the literal account, it is noteworthy that the
pre-separation state was essentially one in which man needed nothing. The "tree
of knowledge" is also an overly literal figure. These concepts need to be
clarified before the real meaning of the separation, or the "detour into fear,"
can be fully understood.
T 2 A 3. To "project," as defined above, is a fundamental attribute of God,
which He gave to His Son. In the Creation, God projected His Creative Ability
from Himself to the Souls He created, and He also imbued them with the same
loving will to create. The Soul has not only been fully created, but has also
been created perfect. There is NO emptiness in it. Because of its likeness to
its Creator, it is creative. No Child of God can lose this ability because it
is inherent in what he IS, but he CAN use it inappropriately. Whenever
projection is used inappropriately, it ALWAYS implies that some emptiness or
lack exists, and that it is in man's ability to put his OWN ideas there INSTEAD
of truth.
T 2 A 4. If you consider carefully what this entails, the following will
become quite apparent:
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5. First, the assumption is implicit that what God created can be CHANGED by
the mind of man.
T 2 A 6. Second, the concept that what is perfect can be rendered imperfect, or
wanting, is accepted.
T 2 A 7. Third, the belief that man can distort the Creations of God, INCLUDING
HIMSELF, is accepted.
T 2 A 8. Fourth, the idea that, since man can create himself, the direction of
his own creation is up to HIM, is implied.
T 2 A 9. These related distortions represent a picture of what actually
occurred in the separation. None of this existed before, nor does it actually
exist now. The world WAS made as "a natural grand division," or a projecting
outward of God. That is why everything that He created is like Him.
Projection, as undertaken by God, is very similar to the kind of inner radiance
which the Children of the Father inherit from Him. It is important to note that
the term "project outward" necessarily implies that the REAL source of
projection is internal. This is as true of the Son as of the Father.
T 2 A 10. The world, in the original connotation of the term, included both the
proper Creation of man by God AND the proper creation by man in his right mind.
The latter required the endowment of man by God with free will, because ALL
loving creation is freely given. Nothing in these statements implies any sort
of level involvement, or, in fact, anything except one continuous line of
creation, in which all aspects are of the same order.
T 2 A 11. When the "lies of the serpent" were introduced, they were
specifically called "lies" because they are not true. When man listened, all he
heard was untruth. He does not have to continue to believe what is not true
unless he chooses to do so. All of his miscreations can literally disappear in
"the twinkling of an eye," because they are merely visual misperceptions. Man's
Spiritual eye can sleep, but a sleeping eye can still see. What is seen in
dreams seems to be very real. The Bible mentions that "a deep sleep fell upon
Adam," and nowhere is there any reference to his waking up.
T 2 A 12. The history of man in the world as he sees it has not yet been marked
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by any genuine or comprehensive re-awakening or rebirth. This is impossible as
long as man projects in the spirit of miscreation. It still remains within him,
however, to project as God projected His Own Spirit to him. In reality, this is
his ONLY choice, because his free will was given him for his own joy in creating
the perfect.
T 2 A 13. All fear is ultimately reducible to the basic misperception that man
has the ability to USURP the power of God. It can only be emphasized that he
neither CAN nor HAS BEEN able to do this. In this fact lies the real
justification for his escape from fear. The escape is brought about by his
acceptance of the Atonement, which places him in a position to realize that his
own errors never really occurred. When the "deep sleep" fell upon Adam, he was
in a condition to experience nightmares BECAUSE he was asleep. If a light is
suddenly turned on while someone is dreaming a fearful dream, he may initially
interpret the light itself as part of his own dream, and be afraid of it.
However, when he awakens, the light is correctly perceived as the RELEASE from
the dream, which is no longer accorded reality.
T 2 A 14. It is quite apparent that this release does NOT depend on the kind of
"knowledge" which is nothing more than deceiving lies. The knowledge which
illuminates rather than obscures is the knowledge which not only SETS you free,
but which also shows you clearly that you ARE free. Whatever lies you may
believe are of no concern to the miracle, which can heal ANY of them with equal
ease. It makes NO distinctions among misperceptions. Its SOLE concern is to
distinguish between truth on the one hand, and ALL kinds of errors on the other.
Some miracles may SEEM to be of greater magnitude than others, [T14] but remember
the first point in this course; that there is NO order of difficulty in
miracles.
T 2 A 15. In reality, you are perfectly unaffected by ALL expressions of lack
of love. These can be either from yourself AND others, or from yourself TO
others, or from others to YOU. Peace is an attribute in YOU. You cannot find
it outside. All mental illness is some form of EXTERNAL searching. Mental
health is INNER peace. It enables you to remain unshaken by lack of love from
without, and capable, through your own miracles, of correcting the external
conditions which proceed from lack of love in others.
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T 2 B. The Reinterpretation of Defenses
T 2 B 1. When you are afraid of ANYTHING, you are acknowledging its power to
hurt you. Remember that where your heart is, there is your treasure also. This
means that you believe in what you VALUE. If you are afraid, you are VALUING
WRONGLY. Human understanding will inevitably value wrongly, and, by endowing
all human thoughts with equal power, will inevitably DESTROY peace. That is why
the Bible speaks of "The peace of God which PASSETH (human) understanding."
THIS peace is totally incapable of being shaken by human errors of ANY kind. It
denies the ability of ANYTHING which is not of God to affect you in ANY way.
T 2 B 2. This is the PROPER use of denial. It is not used to HIDE anything,
but to CORRECT error. It brings ALL error into the light, and since error and
darkness are the same, it corrects error automatically. True denial is a
powerful protective device. You can and should deny any belief that error can
hurt you. This kind of denial is not a concealment device, but a correction
device. The "right mind" of the mentally healthy DEPENDS on it. You can do
ANYTHING I ask. I have asked you to perform miracles, and have made it clear
that miracles are NATURAL, CORRECTIVE, HEALING, AND UNIVERSAL. There is nothing
good they cannot do, but they cannot be performed in the spirit of doubt.
T 2 B 3. God and the Souls He created are COMPLETELY dependent on each other.
The creation of the Soul has already been perfectly accomplished, but the
creation BY Souls has not. God created Souls so He could depend on them BECAUSE
He created them perfectly. He gave them His peace so they could not be shaken,
and would be unable to be deceived. Whenever you are afraid, you ARE deceived.
Your mind is NOT serving the Soul. This literally starves the Soul by denying
its daily bread. God offers ONLY mercy. YOUR words should reflect only mercy
because that is what you have received, and that is what you should GIVE.
T 2 B 4. Justice is a temporary expedient, or an attempt to teach man the
meaning of mercy. Its judgmental side arises only because man is capable of
INjustice, if that is what his mind creates. You are afraid of God's Will
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because you have used your own will, which He created in the likeness of His
Own, to MISCREATE. What you do NOT realize is that the mind can miscreate ONLY
when it is NOT free. An imprisoned mind is not free, by definition. It is
possessed, or held back, by ITSELF. Its will is therefore limited, and is not
free to assert itself. The real meaning of "are of one kind," which was
mentioned before, is "are of one mind or will." When the Will of the Sonship
and the Father are One, their perfect accord IS Heaven.
T 2 B 5. Denial of error is a powerful defense of truth. You will note that
we have been shifting the emphasis from the negative to the positive use of
denial. As we have already stated, denial is not a purely negative device; it
results in positive miscreation. That is the way the mentally ill DO employ it.
But remember a very early thought of your own; - "Never underestimate the power
of denial." In the service of the "right mind," the denial of ERROR frees the
mind and re-establishes the freedom of the will. When the will is REALLY free,
it CANNOT miscreate because it recognizes ONLY truth.
T 2 B 6. False projection arises out of false denial, NOT out of its proper
use. My own role in the Atonement is one of TRUE projection; I can project to
YOU the affirmation of truth. If you project error to me, or to yourself, you
are interfering with the process. MY use of projection, which can also be
yours, is NOT based on faulty denial. It DOES involve, however, the very
powerful use of the denial of errors. The miracle worker is one who accepts my
kind of denial and projection, unites his own inherent abilities to deny and
project with mine, and imposes them back on himself and others. This
establishes the total LACK of threat anywhere. Together we can then work for
the real time of peace, which is eternal.
T 2 B 7. The improper use of defenses is quite widely recognized, but their
proper use has not been sufficiently understood as yet. They can INDEED create
man's perception, both of himself and of the world. They can distort or
correct, depending on what you use them FOR.
T 2 B 8. Denial should be directed only to error, and projection should be
reserved only for truth. You should truly give as you have truly received. The
Golden Rule can work effectively only on this basis.
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T 2 B 9. Intellectualization is a term which stems from the mind-brain
confusion. "Right-mindedness" is the device which defends the RIGHT mind, and
gives it control over the body. "Intellectualization" implies a split, while
"right-mindedness" involves healing.
T 2 B 10. Withdrawal is properly employed in the service of withdrawing from
the meaningless. It is NOT a device for escape, but for consolidation. There
IS only one mind.
T 2 B 11. Dissociation is quite similar. You SHOULD split off or dissociate
yourself from error, but only in defense of integration.
T 2 B 12. Detachment is essentially a weaker form of dissociation.
T 2 B 13. Flight can be undertaken in whatever direction you choose, but note
that the concept itself implies flight FROM something. Flight from error is
perfectly appropriate.
T 2 B 14. Distantiation can be properly used as a way of putting distance
between yourself and what you SHOULD fly from.
T 2 B 15. Regression is an effort to return to your own original state. It can
thus be utilized to RESTORE, rather than to go back to the LESS mature.
T 2 B 16. Sublimation should be a redirection of effort to the sublime.
T 2 B 17. There are many other so-called "dynamic" concepts which are profound
errors due essentially to the misuse of defenses. Among them is the concept of
different levels of aspiration, which actually result from level confusion.
However, the main point to be understood from this section is that you can
defend truth as well as error, and, in fact, much better.
T 2 B 18. The means are easier to clarify after the value of the goal itself is
firmly established. Everyone defends his own treasure. You do not have to tell
him to do so, because he will do it automatically. The real questions still
remain WHAT do you treasure, and HOW MUCH do you treasure it? Once you have
learned to consider these two questions, and to bring them into ALL your actions
as the true criteria for behavior, I will have little difficulty in clarifying
the means. You have not learned to be consistent about this as yet. I have
therefore concentrated on showing you that the means ARE available whenever you
ASK. You can, however, save a lot of time if you do not
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extend this step unduly. The correct focus will shorten it immeasurably.
T 2 B 19. The Atonement is the ONLY defense which cannot be used destructively.
That is because, while everyone must eventually join it, it is NOT a device
which was generated by man. The Atonement PRINCIPLE was in effect long before
the Atonement itself began. The principle was love, and the Atonement itself
was an ACT of love. Acts were not necessary before the separation, because the
time-space belief did not exist. It was only after the separation that the
defense of Atonement, and the necessary conditions for its fulfillment, were
planned.
T 2 B 20. It became increasingly apparent that all of the defenses which man
can choose to use constructively OR destructively were not enough to save him.
It was therefore decided that he needed a defense which was so splendid that he
could not misuse it, although he COULD refuse it. His choice could not,
however, turn it into a weapon of attack, which is the inherent characteristic
of all other defenses. The Atonement thus becomes the ONLY defense which is NOT
a two-edged sword.
T 2 B 21. The Atonement actually began long before the crucifixion. Many Souls
offered their efforts on behalf of the separated ones, but they could not
withstand the strength of the attack and had to be brought back. Angels came,
too, but their protection did not suffice, because the separated ones were not
interested in peace. They had already split their minds, and were bent on
further dividing, rather than reintegrating. The levels they introduced into
their minds turned against each other, and they established differences,
divisions, cleavages, dispersions, and all the other concepts related to the
increasing splits which they produced.
T 2 B 22. Not being in their right minds, they turned their defenses from
protection to assault, and acted literally insanely. It was essential to
introduce a split-proof device which could be used ONLY to heal, if it were used
at all. The Atonement was built into the space-time belief in order to set a
limit on the need for the belief, and ultimately to make learning complete. The
Atonement IS the final lesson. Learning itself, like the classrooms in
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T 2 B which it occurs, is temporary. The ability to learn has no value when
change of understanding is no longer necessary. The eternally creative have
nothing to learn. Only after the separation was it necessary to direct the
creative forces to learning, because changed behavior had become mandatory.
T 2 B 23. Men can learn to improve their behavior, and can also learn to become
better and better learners. This serves to bring them into closer and closer
accord with the Sonship, but the Sonship Itself is a perfect Creation, and
perfection is NOT a matter of degree. Only while there are different degrees is
learning meaningful. The "evolution" of man is merely a process by which he
proceeds from one degree to the next. He corrects his previous missteps by
stepping forward. This represents a process which is actually incomprehensible
in temporal terms, because he RETURNS as he goes forward.
T 2 B 24. The Atonement is the device by which he can free himself from the
past as he goes ahead. It UNDOES his past errors, thus making it unnecessary
for him to keep retracing his steps without advancing to his return. In this
sense the Atonement saves time, but, like the miracle which serves it, does NOT
abolish it. As long as there is need for Atonement there is need for time. But
the Atonement, as a completed plan, does have a unique relationship TO time.
Until the Atonement is finished, its various phases will proceed IN time, but
the whole Atonement stands at time's end. At this point, the bridge of the
return has been built.
T 2 B 25. The Atonement is a TOTAL commitment. You still think this is
associated with loss. This is the same mistake ALL the separated ones make, in
one way or another. They cannot believe that a defense which cannot attack IS
the best defense. This is what is meant by "the meek shall inherit the earth."
They will literally take it over because of their strength. A two-way defense
is inherently weak precisely BECAUSE it has two edges, and can turn against the
self very unexpectedly. This tendency cannot be controlled EXCEPT by miracles.
T 2 B 26. The miracle turns the defense of Atonement to the protection of the
inner self, which, as it becomes more and more secure, assumes its natural
talent of protecting others. The inner self knows itself as both a brother AND
a Son. You know that when defenses are disrupted there is a period of
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real disorientation, accompanied by fear, guilt, and usually vacillations
between anxiety and depression. This course is different in that defenses are
NOT being disrupted but REINTERPRETED, even though you may experience it as the
same thing. In the reinterpretation of defenses, only their use for ATTACK is
lost. Since this means they can be used only ONE way, they become much stronger
and much more dependable. They no longer oppose the Atonement, but greatly
facilitate it.
T 2 B 27. The Atonement can only be accepted WITHIN you. You have perceived it
largely as EXTERNAL thus far, and that is why your experience of it has been
minimal. The reinterpretation of defenses is essential in releasing the INNER
light. Since the separation, man's defenses have been used almost entirely to
defend himself AGAINST the Atonement, and thus maintain the separation. They
themselves generally see this as a need to protect the BODY. The many body
fantasies with which men's minds are engaged arise from the distorted belief
that the body can be used as a means for attaining "atonement."
T 2 B 28. Perceiving the body as a temple is only the first step in correcting
this kind of distortion. It alters part of the misperception, but not all of
it. It DOES recognize, however, that the concept of Atonement in physical terms
is not appropriate. However, the next step is to realize that a temple is not a
building at all. Its REAL holiness lies in the INNER altar, around which the
building is built. The inappropriate emphasis men have put on beautiful church
buildings is a sign of their FEAR of Atonement, and their unwillingness to reach
the altar itself. The REAL beauty of the temple cannot be seen with the
physical eye. The Spiritual eye, on the other hand, cannot see the building at
all because It has perfect sight. It CAN, however, see the altar with PERFECT
clarity.
T 2 B 29. For perfect effectiveness, the Atonement belongs at the center of the
inner altar, where it undoes the separation and restores the wholeness of the
mind. Before the separation the mind was invulnerable to fear, because fear did
not exist. Both the separation AND the fear are miscreations of the
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mind, which must be undone. This is what is meant by "the restoration of the
temple." It does not mean the restoration of the building, but the opening of
the altar to receive the Atonement. This heals the separation, and places
WITHIN man the one defense against ALL separation mind-errors which can make him
perfectly invulnerable.
T 2 B 30. The acceptance of the Atonement by everyone is only a matter of time.
In fact, both time AND matter were created for this purpose. This appears to
contradict free will because of the inevitability of the final decision. If you
review the idea carefully, however, you will realize that this is not true.
Everything is limited in some way by the manner of its creation. Free will can
temporize, and is capable of enormous procrastination. But it cannot depart
entirely from its Creator, Who set the limits on its ability to miscreate by
virtue of its own REAL purpose.
T 2 B 31. The misuse of will engenders a situation which, in the extreme,
becomes altogether intolerable. Pain thresholds can be high, but they are not
limitless. Eventually everyone begins to recognize, however dimly, that there
MUST be a better way. As this recognition becomes more firmly established, it
becomes a perceptual turning-point. This ultimately re-awakens the Spiritual
eye, simultaneously weakening the investment in physical sight. The alternating
investment in the two types or levels of perception is usually experienced as
conflict for a long time, and can become very acute. But the outcome is as
certain as God.
T 2 B 32. The Spiritual eye literally CANNOT SEE error and merely looks for
Atonement. All the solutions which the physical eyes seek dissolve in Its
sight. The Spiritual eye, which looks within, recognizes immediately that the
altar has been defiled, and needs to be repaired and protected. Perfectly aware
of the RIGHT defense, It passes over all others, looking past error to truth.
Because of the real strength of ITS vision, It pulls the will into Its service
and impels the mind to concur. This re-establishes the true power of the will,
and makes it increasingly unable to tolerate delay. The mind then realizes with
increasing certainty that delay is only a way of increasing unnecessary pain
which it need not tolerate at all. The pain threshold drops accordingly,
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and the mind becomes increasingly sensitive to what it would once have regarded
as very minor intrusions of discomfort.
T 2 B 33. The Children of God are ENTITLED to perfect comfort, which comes from
a sense of perfect trust. Until they achieve this, they waste themselves and
their true creative powers on useless attempts to make themselves more
comfortable by inappropriate means. But the real means is ALREADY provided, and
does not involve any effort at all on their part. Their egocentricity usually
misperceives this as personally insulting, an interpretation which obviously
arises from their misperception of themselves. Egocentricity and communion
CANNOT coexist. Even the terms are contradictory.
T 2 B 34. The Atonement is the only gift that is worthy of being offered
to the altar of God. This is because of the inestimable value of the altar
itself. It was created perfect, and is entirely worthy of receiving perfection.
God IS lonely without His Souls and THEY are lonely without Him. Men must
learn to perceive the world as a means of HEALING the separation. The Atonement
is the GUARANTEE that they will ultimately succeed.
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T 2 C. Healing as Release from Fear
T 2 C 1. The emphasis will now be on healing. The miracle is the means, the
Atonement is the principle, and healing is the result. Those who speak of "a
miracle of healing" are combining two orders of reality inappropriately.
Healing is NOT a miracle. The Atonement, or the final miracle, is a REMEDY,
while any type of healing is a result. The KIND of error to which Atonement is
applied is irrelevant. Essentially, ALL healing is the release from fear. To
undertake this, you CANNOT be fearful yourself. You do not understand healing
because of your OWN fear.
T 2 C 2. A major step in the Atonement plan is to undo error at ALL levels.
Illness, which is really "not-right-mindedness," is the result of level
confusion in the sense that it always entails the belief that what is amiss in
one level can adversely affect another. We have constantly referred to miracles
as the means of correcting level confusion, and all mistakes must be corrected
at the level at [T15] which they occur. Only the MIND is capable of error. The
body can ACT erroneously, but this is only because it is responding to
mis-thought. The body cannot create, and the belief that it CAN, a fundamental
error, produces all physical symptoms.
T 2 C 3. All physical illness represents a belief in magic. The whole
distortion which created magic rests on the belief that there is a creative
ability in matter which the mind cannot control. This error can take two forms;
it can be believed that the mind can miscreate IN the body, or that the body can
miscreate in the mind. If it is understood that the mind, which is the ONLY
level of creation, cannot create beyond itself, neither type of confusion need
occur.
T 2 C 4. The reason only the mind can create is more obvious than may be
immediately apparent. The Soul HAS BEEN created. The body is a learning device
for the mind. Learning devices are not lessons in themselves. Their purpose is
merely to facilitate the thinking of the learner. The most that a faulty use of
a learning device can do is to fail to facilitate learning. It has no power in
itself to introduce actual learning errors.
T 2 C 5. The body, if properly understood, shares the invulnerability of the
Atonement to two-edged application. This is not because the body is a miracle,
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but because it is not INHERENTLY open to misinterpretation. The body is merely
a fact in human experience. Its abilities can be, and frequently are,
overevaluated. However, it is almost impossible to deny its existence. Those
who do so are engaging in a particularly unworthy form of denial. The term
"unworthy" here implies simply that it is not necessary to protect the mind by
denying the unmindful. There is little doubt that the mind can miscreate. [T16]
If one denies this unfortunate aspect of the mind's power, one is also denying
the power itself.
T 2 C 6. All material means which man accepts as remedies for bodily ills are
merely restatements of magic principles. It was the first level of the error to
believe that the body created its own illness. It is a second misstep to
attempt to heal it through non-creative agents. It does not follow, however,
that the use of these very weak corrective devices is [T17] evil. Sometimes the
illness has a sufficiently great hold over a mind to render a person
inaccessible to Atonement. In this case it may be wise to utilize a compromise
approach to mind AND body, in which something from the OUTSIDE is temporarily
given healing belief.
T 2 C 7. This is because the LAST thing that can help the non-right-minded, or
the sick, is an INCREASE in fear. They are already IN a fear-weakened state.
If they are inappropriately exposed to an "undiluted" miracle, they may be
precipitated into panic. This is particularly likely to occur when upside-down
perception has induced the belief that miracles are frightening.
T 2 C 8. The value of the Atonement does not lie in the manner in which it is
expressed. In fact, if it is truly used, it will inevitably BE expressed in
whatever way is most helpful to the receiver. This means that a miracle, to
attain its full efficacy, MUST be expressed in a language which the recipient
can understand WITHOUT fear. It does not follow, by any means, that this is the
highest level of communication of which he is capable. It DOES mean, however,
that it is the highest level of communication of which he is capable NOW. The
whole aim of the miracle is to RAISE the level of communication, not to impose
regression in the improper sense upon it.
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T 2 C 9. Before miracle workers are ready to undertake their function in this
world, it is essential that they fully understand the FEAR OF RELEASE.
Otherwise, they may unwittingly foster the belief that release is imprisonment,
a belief that is very prevalent. This misperception arose from the underlying
misbelief that harm can be limited to the body. This was because of the much
greater fear that the mind can hurt itself. Neither error is really meaningful,
because the miscreations of the mind do not really exist. THIS recognition is a
far better protective device than ANY form of level confusion because it
introduces correction at the level of the error.
T 2 C 10. It is essential to remember that ONLY the mind can create. Implicit
in this is the corollary that correction belongs at the THOUGHT level. To
repeat an earlier statement and to extend it somewhat, the Soul is already
perfect, and therefore does not require correction. The body does not really
exist except as a learning device for the mind. This learning device is NOT
subject to errors of its own because it was created, but is NOT creating. It
should be obvious, then, that correcting the creator, or inducing it to give up
its miscreations, is the only application of creative ability which is truly
meaningful.
T 2 C 11. Magic is essentially mindless, or the miscreative use of the
mind. Physical medications are forms of "spells." Those who are AFRAID to use
the mind to heal should not attempt to do so. The very fact that they ARE
afraid has made them vulnerable to miscreation. They are therefore likely to
misunderstand any healing they might induce, and, because egocentricity and fear
usually occur together, may be unable to accept the real Source of the healing.
Under these conditions, it is safer for them to rely TEMPORARILY on physical
healing devices, because they cannot misperceive them as their own creations.
As long as their sense of vulnerability persists, they should be preserved from
even attempting miracles.
T 2 C 12. We have already said that the miracle is an expression of
miracle-mindedness. Miracle-mindedness merely means right-mindedness in the
sense that we are now using it. The right-minded neither exalt nor depreciate
the
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mind of the miracle worker OR the miracle receiver. However, as a creative act,
the miracle need not await the right-mindedness of the receiver. In fact, its
purpose is to RESTORE him to his right mind. It is essential, however, that the
miracle WORKER be in his right mind, or he will be unable to reestablish
right-mindedness in someone else.
T 2 C 13. The healer who relies on his OWN readiness is endangering his
understanding. He is perfectly safe as long as he is completely unconcerned
about HIS readiness, but maintains a consistent trust in MINE. If your miracle
working propensities are not functioning properly, it is ALWAYS because fear has
intruded on your right-mindedness, and has literally upset it (or turned it
upside-down). All forms of not-right-mindedness are the result of refusal to
accept the Atonement FOR YOURSELF. If the miracle worker DOES accept it, he
places himself in a position to recognize that those who need to be healed are
simply those who have not realized that right-mindedness IS healing.
T 2 C 14. The SOLE responsibility of the miracle worker is to accept the
Atonement for himself. This means that he recognizes that mind is the only
creative level, and that its errors ARE healed by the Atonement. Once he
accepts this, his mind can ONLY heal. By denying his mind any destructive
potential, and reinstating its purely constructive powers, he has placed himself
in a position where he can undo the level confusion of others. The message he
then gives to others is the truth that THEIR minds are similarly constructive,
and that THEIR miscreations cannot hurt them. By affirming this, the miracle
worker releases the mind from overevaluating its own learning device (the body),
and restores the mind to its true position as the learner.
T 2 C 15. It should be emphasized again that the body does not learn, any
more than it creates. As a learning device it merely follows the learner, but
if it is falsely endowed with self-initiative, it becomes a serious obstruction
to the very learning it should facilitate. ONLY the mind is capable of
illumination. The Soul is already illuminated, and the body in itself is too
dense. The mind, however, can bring ITS illumination TO the body by recognizing
that density is the opposite of intelligence, and therefore unamenable to
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T 2 C independent learning. It is, however, easily brought into alignment with
a mind which has learned to look beyond density toward light.
T 2 C 16. Corrective learning always begins with the awakening of the
Spiritual eye, and the turning away from the belief in physical sight. The
reason this so often entails fear is because man is afraid of what his Spiritual
eye will see. We said before that the Spiritual eye cannot see error, and is
capable only of looking beyond it to the defense of Atonement. There is no
doubt that the Spiritual eye DOES produce extreme discomfort by what It sees.
Yet what man forgets is that the discomfort is NOT the final outcome of Its
perception. When the Spiritual eye is permitted to look upon the defilement of
the altar, it also looks IMMEDIATELY toward the Atonement.
T 2 C 17. NOTHING the Spiritual eye perceives can induce fear.
EVERYTHING that results from accurate spiritual awareness is merely channelized
toward correction. Discomfort is aroused only to bring the NEED for correction
forcibly into awareness. What the physical eye sees is NOT corrective, nor can
it be corrected by ANY device which can be seen physically. As long as a man
believes in what his physical sight tells him, ALL his corrective behavior will
be misdirected. The REAL vision is obscured because man cannot endure to see
his own defiled altar. But since the altar HAS been defiled, his state becomes
doubly dangerous unless it IS perceived.
T 2 C 18. The fear of healing arises, in the end, from an unwillingness
to accept the unequivocal fact that healing is necessary. Man is not willing to
look on what he has done TO HIMSELF. Healing is an ability lent to man after
the separation, before which it was completely unnecessary. Like all aspects of
the space-time belief, healing ability is temporary. However, as long as time
persists, healing is needed as a means for human protection. This is because
healing rests on charity, and charity is a way of perceiving the perfection of
another even if he cannot perceive it himself.
T 2 C 19. Most of the loftier concepts of which man is capable now are
time-dependent. Charity is really a weaker reflection of a much more powerful
love-encompassment which is FAR beyond any form of charity that man can conceive
of as yet. Charity is essential to right-mindedness in the limited
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sense in which right-mindedness can now be attained. Charity is a way of
looking at another AS IF he had already gone far beyond his actual
accomplishments in time. Since his own thinking is faulty he cannot see the
Atonement for himself, or he would have no need for charity. The charity which
is accorded him is both an acknowledgment that he IS weak and a recognition that
he COULD BE stronger.
T 2 C 20. The way in which both of these perceptions are stated clearly
implies their dependence on time, making it quite apparent that charity lies
within the human limitations, though toward its higher levels. We said before
that only revelation transcends time. The miracle, as an expression of true
human charity, can only shorten time at most. It must be understood, however,
that whenever a man offers a miracle to another, he is shortening the suffering
of BOTH. This introduces a correction into the whole record which corrects
retroactively as well as progressively.
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T 2 D. Fear as Lack of Love
T 2 D 1. You believe that "being afraid" is involuntary; something beyond your
control. Yet I have told you several times that only CONSTRUCTIVE acts should
be involuntary. We have said that Christ-control can take over everything that
does NOT matter, while Christ-guidance can direct everything that DOES, if you
so choose. Fear cannot be Christ-controlled, but it CAN be self-controlled. It
PREVENTS me from controlling it. The correction is therefore a matter of YOUR
will, because its presence shows that you have raised the UNIMPORTANT to a
higher level than it warrants. You have thus brought it under YOUR will, where
it does not belong. This means that YOU feel responsible for it. The level
confusion here is obvious.
T 2 D 2. The reason I cannot control fear for you is that you are attempting to
raise to the mind level the proper content of lower-order reality. I do not
foster level confusion, but YOU can choose to correct it. You would not
tolerate insane BEHAVIOR on your part, and would hardly advance the excuse that
you could not help it. Why should you tolerate insane THINKING? There is a
confusion here which you would do well to look at clearly. YOU believe that you
are responsible for what you DO, but NOT for what you THINK. The truth is that
you ARE responsible for what you think because it is only at this level that you
CAN exercise choice.
T 2 D 3. What you do COMES FROM what you think. You cannot separate yourself
from the truth by "giving" autonomy to behavior. This is controlled by me
automatically, as soon as you place what you think under my guidance. Whenever
you are afraid, it is a sure sign that you have allowed your mind to miscreate,
or have NOT allowed me to guide it. It is pointless to believe that controlling
the OUTCOME of mis-thought can result in healing. When you are fearful you have
willed wrongly. This is why you feel responsible for it. You must change your
MIND, not your behavior, and this IS a matter of will.
T 2 D 4. You do not need guidance EXCEPT at the mind level. Correction belongs
ONLY at the level where creation is possible. The term does not mean anything
at the symptom level, where it cannot work. The correction of fear IS your
responsibility. When you ask for release from fear, you are implying that it is
not. You should ask, instead, for help in the conditions which have brought
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the fear about. These conditions ALWAYS entail a separated mind willingness.
At that level, you CAN help it. You are much too tolerant of mind wandering,
thus passively condoning its miscreations. The particular result does not
matter, but the fundamental error DOES. The correction is always the same.
Before you will to do anything, ask me if your will is in accord with mine. If
you are sure that it is, there will BE no fear.
T 2 D 5. Fear is always a sign of strain, which arises whenever the WILL to do
conflicts with WHAT you do. This situation arises in two ways: [T18]
1. You can will to do conflicting things, either simultaneously or
successively. This produces conflicted behavior, which is intolerable to
yourself because the part of the will that wants to do something ELSE is
outraged.
2. You can BEHAVE as you think you should, but without entirely WILLING to do
so. This produces consistent behavior, but entails great strain WITHIN the
self.
T 2 D 6. [T19] In both cases, the will and the behavior are out of accord,
resulting in a situation in which you are doing what you do NOT will. This
arouses a sense of coercion, which usually produces rage. The rage then invades
the mind, and projection in the wrong sense is likely to follow. Depression or
anxiety is virtually certain.
T 2 D 7. Remember that whenever there is fear, it is because you have NOT MADE
UP YOUR MIND. Your will is split, and your behavior inevitably becomes erratic.
Correcting at the behavioral level can shift the error from the first to the
second type of strain described above, but will NOT obliterate the fear. It is
possible to reach a state in which you bring your will under my guidance without
much conscious effort, but this implies habit patterns which you have not
developed dependably as yet. God cannot ask MORE than you will. The strength
to DO comes from your own undivided WILL to do. There is NO strain in doing
God's Will as soon as you recognize that it is also your OWN.
T 2 D 8. The lesson here is quite simple, but particularly apt to be
overlooked. I will therefore repeat it, urging you to listen. Only your MIND
can produce
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fear. It does so whenever it is conflicted in what it wills, thus producing
inevitable strain because willing and doing become discordant. This cannot be
corrected by better DOING, but it CAN be corrected by higher WILLING.
T 2 E. The Correction for Lack of Love
T 2 E 1. The first corrective step is KNOW FIRST that this is an expression of
fear. Then say to yourself that you must somehow have willed not to love, or
the fear which arises from behavior-will conflict could not have arisen. Then
the whole process is nothing more than a series of pragmatic steps in the larger
process of accepting the Atonement as THE remedy. These steps can be summarized
as follows:
1. Know first that this is fear.
2. Fear arises from lack of love.
3. The ONLY remedy for lack of love is perfect love.
4. Perfect love is the Atonement.
T 2 E 2. We have emphasized that the miracle, or the EXPRESSION of Atonement,
is always a sign of real respect FROM the worthy TO the worthy. This worth IS
re-established by the Atonement. It is obvious, then, that when you are afraid
you have placed yourself in a position where you NEED Atonement, because you
have done something loveless, having willed without love. This is precisely the
situation for which the Atonement was offered. The need for the remedy inspired
its creation. As long as you recognize only the need for the remedy, you will
remain fearful. However, as soon as you REMEDY it, you have also abolished the
fear. This is how true healing occurs.
T 2 E 3. Everyone experiences fear, and no one enjoys it. Yet it would take
very little right-thinking to realize why fear occurs. Very few people
appreciate the real power of the mind, and no one remains fully aware of it all
the time. However, if anyone hopes to spare himself from fear, there are some
things he must realize, and realize fully. The mind is a very powerful creator,
and it never loses its creative force. It never sleeps. Every instant it is
creating, and ALWAYS as you will. Many of your ordinary expressions reflect
this. For example, when you say, "Don't give it a thought," you imply that if
you do not think about something, it will have no effect on you. And this is
true enough. [T20]
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T 2 E 4. On the other hand, many other expressions clearly illustrate the
prevailing LACK of awareness of thought-power. For example, you say, "Just an
idle thought," and mean that the thought has no effect. You also speak of some
actions as "thoughtless," implying that if the person had thought, he would not
behave as he did. While expressions like "think big" give some recognition to
the power of thought, they still come nowhere near the truth. You do not expect
to grow when you say it, because you do not really think that you will.
T 2 E 5. It is hard to recognize that thought and belief combine into a power
surge that can literally move mountains. It appears at first glance that to
believe such power about yourself is merely arrogant, but that is not the real
reason why you do not believe it. People PREFER to believe that their thoughts
cannot exert real control because they are literally AFRAID of them. Many
psychotherapists attempt to help people who are afraid, say, of their death
wishes by depreciating the power of the wish. They even try to "free" the
patient by persuading him that he can think whatever he wants without any REAL
effect at all.
T 2 E 6. There is a real dilemma here which only the truly right-minded can
escape. Death wishes do not kill in the physical sense, but they DO kill
spiritual awareness. ALL destructive thinking is dangerous. Given a death
wish, a man has no choice except to ACT upon the thought, or behave CONTRARY to
it. He thus chooses ONLY between homicide and fear. The other possibility is
that he depreciates the power of his thought. This is the usual psychoanalytic
approach. It DOES allay guilt, but at the cost of rendering thinking impotent.
If you believe that what you think is ineffectual you may cease to be overly
afraid of it, but you are hardly likely to respect it.
T 2 E 7. The world is full of examples of how man has depreciated himself
because he is afraid of his own thoughts. In some forms of insanity thoughts
are glorified, but this is only because the underlying depreciation was too
effective for tolerance. The truth is that there ARE no "idle" thoughts. ALL
thinking produces form at some level. The reason people are afraid of ESP and
so often react against it is because they KNOW that thoughts can hurt them.
Their own thoughts have made them vulnerable.
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T 2 E 8. You who constantly complain about fear still persist in creating it.
I told you before that you cannot ask ME to release you from fear because I
KNOW it does not exist, but YOU do not. If I merely intervened between your
thoughts and their results, I would be tampering with a basic law of cause and
effect, the most fundamental law there is in this world. I would hardly help if
I depreciated the power of your own thinking. This would be in direct
opposition to the purpose of this course. It is much more helpful to remind you
that you do not guard your thoughts carefully except for a small part of the
day, and somewhat inconsistently even then. You may feel at this point that it
would take a miracle to enable you to do this, which is perfectly true.
T 2 E 9. Men are not used to miraculous thinking, but they can be TRAINED to
think that way. All miracle workers need that kind of training. I cannot let
them leave their minds unguarded or they will not be able to help me. Miracle
working entails a full realization of the power of thought, and real avoidance
of miscreation. Otherwise a miracle will be necessary to set the mind ITSELF
straight, a circular process which would hardly foster the time collapse for
which the miracle was intended. Nor would it induce the healthy respect for
true cause and effect which every miracle worker must have.
T 2 E 10. Both miracles AND fear come from thoughts, and if you were not free
to choose one, you would also not be free to choose the other. By choosing the
miracle you HAVE rejected fear. You have been afraid of God, of me, of
yourselves, and of practically everyone you know at one time or another. This
is because you have misperceived or miscreated us, and believe in what you have
made. You would never have done this if you were not afraid of your own
thoughts. The vulnerable are essentially miscreators because they misperceive
creation.
T 2 E 11. You persist in believing that, when you do not consciously watch your
mind, it is unmindful. It is time, however, to consider the whole world of the
unconscious or "unwatched" mind. This may well frighten you because it is the
SOURCE of fear. The unwatched mind is responsible for the whole content
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of the unconscious which lies ABOVE the miracle level. All psychoanalytic
theorists have made some contribution in this connection, but none of them has
seen it in its true entirety. They have all made one common error in that they
attempted to uncover unconscious CONTENT. You cannot understand unconscious
activity in these terms because "content" is applicable ONLY to the more
superficial unconscious levels, to which the individual himself contributes.
This is the level at which he can readily introduce fear, and usually does.
T 2 E 12. When man miscreates he is in pain. The Cause and Effect [T21]
principle here is temporarily a real expediter. Actually, "Cause" is a term
properly belonging to God, and "Effect," which should also be capitalized, is
His Son. This entails a set of Cause and Effect relationships which are totally
different from those which man introduced into his own miscreations. The
fundamental opponents in the real basic conflict are Creation and miscreation.
ALL FEAR is implicit in the second, just as all LOVE is inherent in the first.
Because of this difference, the basic conflict IS one between love and fear.
T 2 E 13. It has already been said that man believes he CANNOT control fear
because he himself created it. His belief in it seems to render it out of his
control by definition. Yet any attempt to resolve the basic conflict through
the concept of MASTERY of fear is meaningless. In fact, it asserts the POWER of
fear by the simple assumption that it NEED be mastered. The essential
resolution rests entirely on the mastery of LOVE. In the interim, the SENSE of
conflict is inevitable, since man has placed himself in a strangely illogical
position. He believes in the power of what does not exist.
T 2 E 14. Two concepts which CANNOT coexist are "nothing" and "everything." To
whatever extent one is believed in, the other HAS BEEN denied. In the conflict
fear is really nothing, and love is everything. This is because whenever light
enters darkness, the darkness IS abolished. What man believes IS true for him.
In this sense the separation HAS occurred, and to deny this is merely to misuse
denial. However, to concentrate on error is merely a further misuse of
defenses. The true corrective procedure is to recognize error temporarily, but
ONLY as an
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indication that IMMEDIATE correction is mandatory. This establishes a state of
mind in which the Atonement can be accepted WITHOUT delay.
T 2 E 15. It should be emphasized, however, that ultimately there IS no
compromise possible between everything and nothing. Time is essentially a
device by which all compromise in this respect can be given up. It seems to be
abolished by degrees because time itself involves a concept of intervals which
do not really exist. The faulty use of creation made this necessary as a
corrective device. "And God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten
Son that whosoever believeth on Him shall not perish, but have eternal life"
needs only one slight correction to be entirely meaningful in this context. It
should read, "He gave it TO His only begotten Son."
T 2 E 16. It should especially be noted that God has only ONE Son. If all the
Souls God created ARE His Sons, then every Soul MUST be an integral part of the
whole Sonship. You do not find the concept that the whole is greater than its
parts difficult to understand. You should, therefore, not have too much trouble
in understanding this. The Sonship in its Oneness DOES transcend the sum of its
parts. However, this is obscured as long as any of its parts are missing. That
is why the conflict cannot ultimately be resolved until ALL the parts of the
Sonship have returned. Only then can the meaning of wholeness, in the true
sense, be fully understood.
T 2 E 17. Any part of the Sonship can believe in error or incompleteness, if he
so elects. However, if he does so, he is believing in the existence of
nothingness. The correction of this error is the Atonement. We have already
briefly spoken about readiness, but there are some additional points which might
be helpful here. Readiness is nothing more than the PREREQUISITE for
accomplishment. The two should not be confused. As soon as a state of
readiness occurs, there is usually some will to accomplish, but this is by no
means necessarily undivided. The state does not imply more than a POTENTIAL for
a shift of will.
T 2 E 18. Confidence cannot develop fully until mastery has been accomplished.
We have already attempted to correct the fundamental error that fear can be
mastered, and have emphasized that only LOVE can be mastered. You have attested
only to your readiness. Mastery of love involved a much more complete
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confidence than either of you has attained. However, the readiness at least is
an indication that you believe this is possible. That is only the beginning of
confidence. In case this be misunderstood to imply that an enormous amount of
time will be necessary between readiness and mastery, let me remind you that
time and space are under my control.
T 2 E 19. One of the chief ways in which man can correct his magic-miracle
confusion is to remember that he did not create himself. He is apt to forget
this when he becomes egocentric, and this places him in a position where the
belief in magic in some form is virtually inevitable. His will to create was
given him by his own Creator, Who was expressing the same Will in His Creation.
Since creative ability rests in the mind, everything that man creates is
necessarily a matter of will. It also follows that whatever he creates is real
in his own sight, but not necessarily in the Sight of God. This basic
distinction leads us directly into the real meaning of the Last Judgment.
T 2 F. The Meaning of the Last Judgment
T 2 F 1. The Last Judgment is one of the greatest threat concepts in man's
perception. This is only because he does not understand it. Judgment is not an
essential attribute of God. Man brought judgment into being only because of the
separation. After the separation, however, there WAS a place for judgment as
one of the many learning devices which had to be built into the overall plan.
Just as the separation occurred over many millions of years, the Last Judgment
will extend over a similarly long period, and perhaps an even longer one. Its
length depends, however, on the effectiveness of the present speed-up.
T 2 F 2. We have frequently noted that the miracle is a device for shortening
but not abolishing time. If a sufficient number of people become truly
miracle-minded quickly, the shortening process can be almost immeasurable. It
is essential, however, that these individuals free themselves from fear sooner
than would ordinarily be the case, because they must emerge from the conflict if
they are to bring peace to other minds.
T 2 F 3. The Last Judgment is generally thought of as a procedure undertaken
by God. Actually it will be undertaken by man, with my help. It is a Final
Healing, rather than a meting out of punishment, however much man may think
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that punishment is deserved. Punishment is a concept in TOTAL opposition to
right-mindedness. The aim of the Last Judgment is to RESTORE right-mindedness
to man.
T 2 F 4. The Last Judgment might be called a process of right evaluation. It
simply means that finally all men will come to understand what is worthy and
what is not. After this, their ability to choose can be directed reasonably.
Until this distinction is made, however, the vacillations between free and
imprisoned will cannot BUT continue. The first step toward freedom MUST entail
a sorting out of the false from the true. This is a process of division only in
the constructive sense, and reflects the true meaning of the Apocalypse. Man
will ultimately look upon his own creations, and will to preserve only what is
good, just as God Himself looked upon what He had created and knew that it WAS
good.
T 2 F 5. At this point, the will can begin to look with love on its own
creations because of their great worthiness. The mind will inevitably disown
its miscreations which, without the mind's belief, will no longer exist. The
term "Last Judgment" is frightening not only because it has been falsely
projected onto God, but also because of the association of "last" with death.
This is an outstanding example of upside-down perception. Actually, if the
meaning of the Last Judgment is objectively examined, it is quite apparent that
it is really the doorway to life.
T 2 F 6. No one who lives in fear is really alive. His own last judgment
cannot be directed toward himself because he is not his own creation. He can,
however, apply it meaningfully and at ANY time to everything he has created, and
retain in his memory ONLY what is good. This is what his right-mindedness
cannot BUT dictate. The purpose of time is solely to "give him time" to achieve
this judgment. It is his own perfect judgment of his own creations. When
everything he retains is lovable, there IS no reason for fear to remain with
him. This IS his part in the Atonement.
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Chapter III 3 - RETRAINING THE MIND
T 3 A. Introduction
T 3 A 1. This is a course in MIND TRAINING. All learning involves attention
and study at some level. Some of the later parts of the course rest too heavily
on these earlier sections not to require their study. You will also need them
for preparation. Without this, you may become much too fearful when the
unexpected DOES occur to make constructive use of it. However, as you study
these earlier sections, you will begin to see some of their implications, which
will be amplified considerably later on.
T 3 A 2. The reason a solid foundation is necessary is because of the
confusion between fear and awe to which we have already referred [T22], and which
so many people hold. You will remember that we said that awe is inappropriate
in connection with the Sons of God because you should not experience awe in the
presence of your equals. However, it was also emphasized that awe IS a proper
reaction in the presence of your Creator. I have been careful to clarify my own
role in the Atonement, without either over or understating it. I have also
tried to do the same in connection with yours. I have stressed that awe is NOT
an appropriate reaction to me because of our inherent equality.
T 3 A 3. Some of the later steps in this course, however, DO involve a more
direct approach to God Himself. It would be most unwise to start on these steps
without careful preparation, or awe will be confused with fear, and the
experience will be more traumatic than beatific. Healing is of God in the end.
The means are being carefully explained to you. Revelation may occasionally
REVEAL the end to you, but to reach it the means are needed.
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T 3 B. Special Principles for Miracle Workers
T 3 B 1. The miracle abolishes the need for lower-order concerns. Since it is
an out-of-pattern time interval, the ordinary considerations of time and space
do not apply. When YOU perform a miracle, I will arrange both time and space to
adjust to it.
T 3 B 2. Clear distinction between what HAS BEEN created and what IS BEING
created is essential. ALL forms of correction (or healing) rest on this
FUNDAMENTAL correction in level perception.
T 3 B 3. Another way of stating the above point is: - Never confuse right with
wrong-mindedness. Responding to ANY form of miscreation with anything EXCEPT A
DESIRE TO HEAL (or a miracle) is an expression of this confusion.
T 3 B 4. The miracle is always a DENIAL of this error and an affirmation of the
truth. Only right-mindedness CAN create in a way that has any real effect.
Pragmatically, what has no real effect has no real existence. Its effect, then,
is emptiness. Being without substantial content, it lends itself to projection
in the improper sense.
T 3 B 5. The level-adjustment power of the miracle induces the right perception
for healing. Until this has occurred healing cannot be understood. Forgiveness
is an empty gesture unless it entails correction. Without this, it is
essentially judgmental rather than healing.
T 3 B 6. Miraculous forgiveness is ONLY correction. It has NO element of
judgment at all. "Father forgive them for they know not what they do" in no way
evaluates WHAT they do. It is strictly limited to an appeal to God to heal
their minds. There is no reference to the outcome of their misthought. THAT
does not matter.
T 3 B 7. The Biblical injunction "Be of one mind" is the statement for
revelation-readiness. My OWN injunction "Do this in remembrance of me" is the
request for cooperation from miracle-workers. It should be noted that the two
statements are not in the same order of reality. The latter involves a time
awareness, since to remember implies recalling the past in the present. Time is
under MY direction, but Timelessness belongs to God alone. In time we exist for
and with each other. In Timelessness we coexist with God.
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T 3 C. Atonement without Sacrifice
T 3 C 1. There is another point which must be perfectly clear before any
residual fear which may still be associated with miracles becomes entirely
groundless. The crucifixion did NOT establish the Atonement. The Resurrection
did. This is a point which many very sincere Christians have misunderstood. No
one who is free of the scarcity-error could POSSIBLY make this mistake. If the
crucifixion is seen from an upside-down point of view, it DOES appear as if God
permitted, and even encouraged, one of his Sons to suffer BECAUSE he was good.
Many ministers preach this every day.
T 3 C 2. This particularly unfortunate interpretation, which arose out of the
combined misprojections of a large number of my would-be followers, has led many
people to be bitterly afraid of God. This particularly anti-religious concept
enters into many religions, and this is neither by chance nor by coincidence.
Yet the real Christian would have to pause and ask, "How could this be?" Is it
likely that God Himself would be capable of the kind of thinking which His own
words have clearly stated is unworthy of man?
T 3 C 3. The best defense, as always, is not to attack another's position,
but rather to protect the truth. It is unwise to accept ANY concept, if you
have to turn a whole frame of reference around in order to justify it. This
procedure is painful in its minor applications, and genuinely tragic on a mass
basis. Persecution is a frequent result, undertaken to justify the terrible
misperception that God Himself persecuted His own Son on behalf of salvation.
The very words are meaningless.
T 3 C 4. It has been particularly difficult to overcome this because,
although the error itself is no harder to overcome than any other error, men
were unwilling to give this one up because of its prominent "escape" value. In
milder forms, a parent says, "This hurts me more than it hurts you," and feels
exonerated in beating a child. Can you believe that the Father REALLY thinks
this way? It is so essential that ALL such thinking be dispelled that we must
be very sure that NOTHING of this kind remains in your mind. I was NOT punished
because YOU were bad. The wholly benign lesson the Atonement teaches is lost if
it is tainted with this kind of distortion in ANY form.
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T 3 C 5. "Vengeance is Mine sayeth the Lord" is a strictly karmic viewpoint.
It is a real misperception of truth, by which man assigns his own "evil" past
to God. The "evil conscience" from the past has nothing to do with God. He did
not create it and He does not maintain it. God does NOT believe in karmic
retribution. His Divine Mind does not create that way. HE does not hold the
evil deeds of a man even against himself. Is it likely, then, that He would
hold against anyone the evil that ANOTHER did?
T 3 C 6. Be very sure that you recognize how utterly impossible this
assumption really is, and how ENTIRELY it arises from misprojection. This kind
of error is responsible for a host of related errors, including the belief that
God rejected man, and forced him out of the Garden of Eden. It is also
responsible for the fact that you may believe, from time to time, that I am
misdirecting you. I have made every effort to use words that are almost
impossible to distort, but man is very inventive when it comes to twisting
symbols around.
T 3 C 7. God Himself is NOT symbolic; He is FACT. The Atonement, too, is
totally without symbolism. It is perfectly clear because it exists in light.
Only man's [T23] attempts to shroud it in darkness have made it inaccessible to
the unwilling and ambiguous to the partly willing. The Atonement itself
radiates nothing but truth. It therefore epitomizes harmlessness and sheds ONLY
blessing. It could not do this if it arose from anything but perfect innocence.
Innocence is wisdom because it is unaware of evil, which does not exist. It
is, however, PERFECTLY aware of EVERYTHING that is true.
T 3 C 8. The Resurrection demonstrated that NOTHING can destroy truth. Good
can withstand ANY form of evil because light abolishes ALL forms of darkness.
The Atonement is thus the perfect lesson. It is the final demonstration that
all of the other lessons which I taught are true. Man is released from ALL
errors if he believes in this. The deductive approach to teaching accepts the
generalization which is applicable to ALL single instances, rather than building
up the generalization after analyzing numerous single instances separately. If
you can accept the ONE generalization NOW, there will be no need to learn from
many smaller lessons.
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T 3 C 9. NOTHING can prevail against a Son of God who commends his Spirit
into the hands of his Father. By doing this, the mind awakens from its sleep
and remembers its Creator. All sense of separation disappears, and level
confusion vanishes. The Son of God IS part of the Holy Trinity, but the Trinity
Itself is ONE. There is no confusion within Its levels because they are of One
Mind and One Will. This Single Purpose creates perfect integration and
establishes the peace of God. Yet this Vision can be perceived only by the
truly innocent.
T 3 C 10. Because their hearts are pure, the innocent defend true perception
instead of defending themselves AGAINST it. Understanding the lesson of the
Atonement, they are without the will to attack, and therefore they see truly.
This is what the Bible means when it says, "When He shall appear (or be
perceived) we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He IS."
T 3 C 11. Sacrifice is a notion totally unknown to God. It arises solely from
fear. This is particularly unfortunate because frightened people are apt to be
vicious. Sacrificing another in ANY way is a clear-cut violation of God's Own
injunction that man should be merciful even as his Father in Heaven. It has
been hard for many Christians to realize that this commandment (or assignment)
also applies to THEMSELVES. Good teachers never terrorize their students. To
terrorize is to attack, and this results in rejection of what the teacher
offers. The result is learning failure.
T 3 C 12. I have been correctly referred to as "The Lamb of God who taketh away
the sins of the world." Those who represent the lamb as blood-stained, an
all-too-widespread error, do NOT understand the meaning of the symbol.
Correctly understood, it is a very simple parable which merely speaks of my
innocence. The lion and the lamb lying down together refers to the fact that
strength and innocence are NOT in conflict, but naturally live in peace.
"Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God" is another way of saying
the same thing.
T 3 C 13. There has been some human controversy about the nature of seeing in
relation to the integrative powers of the brain. Correctly understood, the
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issue revolves around the question of whether the body or the mind can see (or
understand). This is not really open to question at all. The body is not
capable of understanding, and only the mind can perceive ANYTHING. A pure mind
knows the truth, and this IS its strength. It cannot attack the body because it
recognizes exactly what the body IS. This is what "a sane mind in a sane body"
really means. It does NOT confuse destruction with innocence because it
associates innocence with strength, NOT with weakness.
T 3 C 14. Innocence is INCAPABLE of sacrificing anything, because the innocent
mind HAS everything and strives only to PROTECT its wholeness. This is why it
CANNOT misproject. It can only honor man, because honor is the natural greeting
of the truly loved to others who are like them. The lamb taketh away the sins
of the world only in the sense that the state of innocence, or grace, is one in
which the meaning of the Atonement is perfectly apparent. The innocence of God
is the true state of the mind of His Son. In this state, man's mind DOES see
God in the sense that he sees Him as He is, and realizes that the Atonement, NOT
sacrifice, is the ONLY appropriate gift to His Own altar, where nothing except
true perfection belongs. The understanding of the innocent is TRUTH. That is
why their altars are truly radiant.
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T 3 D. Miracles as Accurate Perception
T 3 D 1. We have repeatedly stated that the basic concepts referred to in
this course are NOT matters of degree. Certain fundamental concepts CANNOT be
meaningfully understood in terms of coexisting polarities. It is impossible to
conceive of light and darkness, or everything and nothing, as joint
possibilities. They are all true OR all false. It is essential that you
realize that behavior is erratic until a firm commitment to one or the other is
made.
T 3 D 2. A firm commitment to darkness or nothingness is impossible. No one
has ever lived who has not experienced SOME light and SOME thing. This makes
everyone really unable to deny truth totally, even if he generally deceives
himself in this connection. That is why those who live largely in darkness and
emptiness never find any lasting solace. Innocence is NOT a partial attribute.
It is not a real defense UNTIL it is total. When it is partial, it is
characterized by the same erratic nature that holds for other two-edged
defenses.
T 3 D 3. The partly innocent are apt to be quite stupid at times. It is not
until their innocence becomes a genuine viewpoint which is universal in its
application that it becomes wisdom. Innocent (or true) perception means that
you NEVER misperceive and ALWAYS see truly. More simply, it means that you
never see what does not really exist. When you lack confidence in what someone
will do, you are attesting to your belief that he is not in his right mind.
This is hardly a miracle-based frame of reference. It also has the disastrous
effect of denying the creative power of the miracle.
T 3 D 4. The miracle perceives everything AS IT IS. If nothing but the truth
exists, (and this is really a redundant statement because what is not true
CANNOT exist), right-minded seeing cannot see anything BUT perfection. We have
said many times that ONLY what God creates, or what man creates with the same
will, has any real existence. This, then, is all the innocent can see. They do
not suffer from the distortions of the separated ones. The way to correct all
such distortions is to withdraw your FAITH from them, and invest it ONLY in what
is true.
T 3 D 5. You CANNOT validate the invalid. I would suggest that you
voluntarily give up all such attempts, because they can only be frantic. If you
are willing
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to validate what IS true in everything you perceive, you will make it true for
YOU. Truth overcomes ALL error. This means that if you perceive truly, you are
cancelling out misperceptions in yourself AND in others simultaneously. Because
you see them as they are, you offer them your own validation of THEIR truth.
This is the healing which the miracle actively fosters.
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T 3 E. Perception versus Knowledge
T 3 E 1. We have been emphasizing perception and have said very little about
cognition as yet, because you are confused about the difference between them.
The reason we have dealt so little with cognition is because you must get your
perceptions straightened out before you can KNOW anything. To know is to be
certain. Uncertainty merely means that you do NOT know. Knowledge is power
BECAUSE it is certain, and certainty is strength. Perception is merely
temporary. It is an attribute of the space-time belief, and is therefore
subject to fear or love. Misperceptions produce fear, and true perceptions
produce love. NEITHER produces certainty, because ALL perception varies. That
is why it is NOT knowledge.
T 3 E 2. True perception is the BASIS for knowledge, but KNOWING is the
affirmation of truth. All your difficulties ultimately stem from the fact that
you do not recognize or KNOW yourselves, each other, or God. To recognize means
to "know again," implying that you knew before. You can see in many ways,
because perception involves different interpretations, and this means that it is
not whole. The miracle is a way of perceiving, NOT of knowing. It is the right
answer to a question, and you do not ask questions at all when you know.
T 3 E 3. Questioning illusions is the first step in undoing them. The
miracle, or the "right answer," corrects them. Since perceptions CHANGE, their
dependence on time is obvious. They are subject to transitory states, and this
necessarily implies variability. How you perceive at any given time determines
what you DO, and action MUST occur in time. Knowledge is timeless because
certainty is NOT questionable. You KNOW when you have CEASED to ask questions.
T 3 E 4. The questioning mind perceives itself in time, and therefore looks
for FUTURE answers. The unquestioning mind is closed because it believes the
future and present will be the same. This establishes an unchanged state, or
stasis. It is usually an attempt to counteract an underlying fear that the
future will be WORSE than the present, and this fear inhibits the tendency to
question at all.
T 3 E 5. Visions are the natural perception of the Spiritual eye, but they
are still corrections. The Spiritual eye is symbolic, and therefore not a
device
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for knowing. It IS, however, a means of right perception, which brings it into
the proper domain of the miracle. Properly speaking, "a vision of God" is a
miracle rather than a revelation. The fact that perception is involved at all
removes the experience from the realm of knowledge. That is why visions do not
last.
T 3 E 6. The Bible instructs you to "KNOW yourself," or BE CERTAIN.
Certainty is ALWAYS of God. When you love someone, you have perceived him as he
is, and this makes it possible for you to KNOW him. However, it is not until
you RECOGNIZE him that you CAN know him. While you ask questions about God, you
are clearly implying that you do NOT know Him. Certainty does not require
action. When you say that you are ACTING on the basis of knowledge, you are
really confusing perception and cognition. Knowledge brings the mental strength
for creative THINKING, but NOT for right DOING. Perception, miracles and doing
are closely related. Knowledge is the result of revelation, and induces only
thought. Perception involves the body even in its most spiritualized form.
Knowledge comes from the altar within, and is timeless because it is certain.
To perceive the truth is NOT the same as knowing it.
T 3 E 7. If you attack error in one another, you will hurt yourself. You
cannot RECOGNIZE each other when you attack. Attack is ALWAYS made on a
stranger. You are MAKING him a stranger by misperceiving him, so that you
CANNOT know him. It is BECAUSE you have made him a stranger that you are afraid
of him. PERCEIVE him correctly so that you can KNOW him. Right perception is
necessary before God can communicate directly to His own altars, which He has
established in His Sons. There He can communicate His certainty, and HIS
knowledge will bring peace WITHOUT question.
T 3 E 8. God is not a stranger to His Sons, and His Sons are not strangers to
each other. Knowledge preceded both perception and time, and will ultimately
replace them. That is the real meaning of the Biblical description of God as
"Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End." It also explains the quotation,
"Before Abraham was I AM." Perception can and must be stabilized, but knowledge
IS stable. "Fear God and keep His commandments" should read "KNOW God and
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accept His certainty." There are no strangers in His Creation. To create as He
created, you can create only what you KNOW and accept as yours. God knows His
Children with perfect certainty. He created them BY knowing them. He
recognized them perfectly. When they do not recognize each other, they do not
recognize Him.
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T 3 F. Conflict and the Ego
T 3 F 1. The abilities man now possesses are only shadows of his real
strengths. All of his functions are equivocal and open to question or doubt.
This is because he is not certain how he will USE them. He is therefore
incapable of knowledge, being uncertain. He is also incapable of knowledge
because he can perceive lovelessly. He cannot create surely because his
perception deceives. Perception did not exist until the separation had
introduced degrees, aspects and intervals. The Soul has no levels, and ALL
conflict arises from the concept of levels. Only the Levels of the Trinity are
capable of Unity. The levels which man created by the separation cannot BUT
conflict. This is because they are essentially meaningless to each other.
T 3 F 2. Freud realized this perfectly, and that is why he conceived the
different levels in his view of the psyche as forever irreconcilable. They were
conflict-prone by definition because they wanted different things and obeyed
different principles. In OUR picture of the psyche, there is an unconscious
level which properly consists ONLY of the miracle ability, and which should be
under MY direction. There is also a conscious level, which perceives or is
aware of impulses from both the unconscious and the super-conscious.
Consciousness is thus the level of perception, but NOT of knowledge. Again, to
perceive is NOT to know.
T 3 F 3. Consciousness was the first split that man introduced into himself.
He became a PERCEIVER, rather than a creator in the true sense. Consciousness
is correctly identified as the domain of the ego. The ego is a man-made attempt
to perceive himself as he WISHED to be, rather than as he IS. This is an
example of the created-creator confusion we have spoken of before. Yet man can
only KNOW himself as he IS because that is all he can be SURE of. Everything
else IS open to question.
T 3 F 4. The ego is the questioning compartment in the post-separation psyche
which man created for himself. It is capable of asking valid questions but NOT
of perceiving valid answers, because these are cognitive and cannot BE
perceived. The endless speculation about the meaning of mind has led to
considerable confusion because the mind IS confused. Only One-Mindedness is
without confusion. A separated or divided mind MUST be confused; it is
uncertain by definition.
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It HAS to be in conflict because it is out of accord with itself.
T 3 F 5. Intrapersonal conflict arises from the same basis as interpersonal
conflict. One part of the psyche perceives another part as on a different
level, and does not understand it. This makes the parts strangers to each
other, without recognition. This is the essence of the fear-prone condition, in
which attack is ALWAYS possible. Man has every reason to feel afraid, as he
perceives himself. This is why he cannot escape from fear until he KNOWS that
he did not and could not create himself. He can NEVER make his misperceptions
valid. His creation is beyond his own error, and that is why he MUST eventually
choose to heal the separation.
T 3 F 6. Right-mindedness is not to be confused with the KNOWING mind because
it is applicable only to right perception. You can be right-minded or
wrong-minded, and even this is subject to degrees, a fact which clearly
demonstrates a lack of association with knowledge. The term "right-mindedness"
is properly used as the CORRECTION for "wrong-mindedness," and applies to the
state of mind which induces accurate perception. It is miraculous because it
HEALS misperception, and this is indeed a miracle in view of how man perceives
himself.
T 3 F 7. Perception ALWAYS involves some misuse of will because it involves
the mind in areas of uncertainty. The mind is very active because it has
will-power. When it willed the separation, it willed to perceive. Until then,
it willed ONLY to know. Afterwards it willed ambiguously, and the only way OUT
of ambiguity IS clear perception. The mind returns to its proper function only
when it WILLS TO KNOW. This places it in the Soul's service, where perception
is meaningless. The super-conscious is the level of the mind which wills this.
T 3 F 8. The mind chose to divide itself when it willed to create both its
own levels AND the ability to perceive, but it could not entirely separate
itself from the Soul because it is FROM the Soul that it derives its whole power
to create. Even in miscreation will is affirming its source, or it would merely
cease to be. This is impossible because it is part of the Soul, which God
created and which is therefore eternal.
T 3 F 9. The ability to perceive made the body possible because you must
perceive SOMETHING, and WITH something. This is why perception involves an
exchange or
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translation, which knowledge does not need. The interpretive function of
perception, actually a distorted form of creation, then permitted man to
interpret the body as HIMSELF, which, though depressing, was an attempt to
escape from the conflict he had induced. The super-conscious, which KNOWS, could
not be reconciled with this loss of power because it is incapable of darkness.
This is why it became almost inaccessible to the mind and entirely inaccessible
to the body.
T 3 F 10. Thereafter, the super-conscious was perceived as a threat, because
light does abolish darkness merely by establishing the fact that it is not
there. The truth will ALWAYS overcome error in this sense. This is not an
ACTIVE process of destruction at all. We have already emphasized that knowledge
does not DO ANYTHING. It can be PERCEIVED as an attacker, but it CANNOT attack.
What man perceives as its attack is merely his own vague recognition of the
fact that it can always be REMEMBERED, never having been destroyed.
T 3 F 11. God and the Souls He created remain in surety, and therefore KNOW
that no miscreation exists. Truth cannot deal with unwilling error, because it
does not will to be blocked out. I was a man who remembered the Soul and its
knowledge, and as a man, I did not attempt to COUNTERACT error with knowledge so
much as to CORRECT error from the bottom up. I demonstrated both the
powerlessness of the body AND the power of the mind. By uniting my will with
that of my Creator, I naturally remembered the Soul and its own real purpose.
T 3 F 12. I cannot unite your will with God's FOR you, but I CAN erase all
misperceptions from your mind if you will bring it under my guidance. ONLY your
misperceptions stand in your own way. Without them your choice is certain.
Sane perception INDUCES sane choosing. The Atonement was an act based on true
perception. I cannot choose for you, but I CAN help you make your own right
choice. "Many are called but few are chosen" should read, "ALL are called but
few choose to listen. Therefore, they do not choose RIGHT."
T 3 F 13. The "chosen ones" are merely those who choose right SOONER. This is
the real meaning of the celestial speed-up. Strong wills can do this NOW, and
you WILL find rest for your Souls. God knows you only in peace, and this IS
your reality.
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T 3 G. The Loss of Certainty
T 3 G 1. We said before that the abilities which man possesses are only
shadows of his real strengths, and that the intrusion of the ability to
perceive, which is inherently judgmental, was introduced only AFTER the
separation. No one has been sure of anything since. You will also remember,
however, that I made it clear that the Resurrection was the means for the RETURN
to knowledge, which was accomplished by the union of my will with the Father's.
We can now make a distinction which will greatly facilitate clarity in our
subsequent statements.
T 3 G 2. Since the separation, the words "create" and "make" have been
greatly confused. When you make something, you make it out of a sense of lack
or need. Anything that is made is made for a specific purpose, and has no true
generalizability. When you make something to fill a perceived lack, which is
obviously why you would want to make anything, you are tacitly implying that you
believe in separation. Knowing, as we have frequently observed, does not lead
to doing at all.
T 3 G 3. The confusion between your own creation and what YOU create is so
profound that it has become literally impossible for you to know anything.
Knowledge is always stable, and it is quite evident that human beings are not.
Nevertheless, they ARE perfectly stable as God created them. In this sense,
when their behavior is unstable they are DISAGREEING with God's Idea of the
Creation. Man can do this if he chooses, but he would hardly WANT to do it if
he were in his right mind. The problem that bothers you most is the fundamental
question which man continually asks of himself, but which cannot properly be
directed to himself at all. He keeps asking himself what he IS. This implies
that the answer is not only one which he knows, but is also one which is up to
him to supply.
T 3 G 4. Man CANNOT perceive himself correctly. He HAS [T24] no image. The
word "image" is always perception-related, and NOT a product of learning.
Images are symbolic, and stand for something else. The current emphasis on
"changing your image" merely recognizes the power of perception, but it also
implies that there is nothing to KNOW. Knowing is NOT open to interpretation.
It is possible to "interpret" meaning,
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but this is always open to error because it refers to the PERCEPTION of meaning.
Such wholly needless complexities are the result of man's attempt to regard
himself as both separated and unseparated at the same time. It is impossible to
undertake a confusion as fundamental as this without engaging in further
confusion.
T 3 G 5. Methodologically man's mind has been very creative, but, as always
occurs when method and content are separated, it has not been utilized for
anything but an attempt to escape a fundamental and entirely inescapable
impasse. This kind of thinking cannot result in a creative outcome, although it
has resulted in considerable ingenuity. It is noteworthy, however, that this
ingenuity has almost totally divorced him from knowledge. Knowledge does not
REQUIRE ingenuity. When we say "the truth shall set you free," we mean that all
this kind of thinking is a waste of time, but that you ARE free of the need to
engage in it if you are willing to let it go.
T 3 G 6. Prayer is a way of asking for something. Prayer is the medium of
miracles, but the only meaningful prayer is for forgiveness, because those who
have been forgiven HAVE everything. Once forgiveness has been accepted, prayer
in the usual sense becomes utterly meaningless. Essentially, a prayer for
forgiveness is nothing more than a request that we may be able to RECOGNIZE
something we already have. In electing to perceive instead of to know, man
placed himself in a position where he could resemble his Father ONLY by
miraculously perceiving. He has lost the knowledge that he HIMSELF is a
miracle. Miraculous creation was his Source, and also his real function.
T 3 G 7. "God created man in his Own image and likeness" is correct in
meaning, but the words are open to considerable misinterpretation. This is
avoided, however, if "image" is understood to mean "thought" and "likeness" is
taken as "of a like quality." God DID create the Soul in His Own Thought, and
of a quality like to His Own. There IS nothing else. Perception, on the other
hand, is impossible WITHOUT a belief in "more" and "less." Perception at every
level involves selectivity, and is incapable of organization without it. In all
types of perception there is a
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continual process of accepting and rejecting, or organizing and reorganizing, of
shifting and changing focus. Evaluation is an essential part of perception
because judgments MUST be made for selection.
T 3 G 8. What happens to perceptions if there ARE no judgments and there is
nothing but perfect equality? Perception becomes impossible. Truth can only be
KNOWN. All of it is equally true, and knowing any part of it IS to know all of
it. Only perception involves partial awareness. Knowledge transcends ALL the
laws which govern perception because partial knowledge is impossible. It is all
One and HAS no separate parts. You who are really one with it need but know
YOURSELF, and your knowledge is complete. To know God's Miracle is to know Him.
T 3 G 9. Forgiveness is the healing of the perception of separation. Correct
perception OF EACH OTHER is necessary, because minds have willed to see
themselves as separate. Each Soul knows God completely. That IS the miraculous
power of the Soul. The fact that each One has this power completely is a fact
that is entirely alien to human thinking, in which if anyone has everything,
there is nothing LEFT. God's Miracles are as total as His Thoughts because they
ARE His Thoughts.
T 3 G 10. As long as perception lasts prayer has a place. Since perception
rests on lack, those who perceive have not totally accepted the Atonement and
given themselves over to truth. Perception IS a separated state, and a
perceiver DOES need healing. Communion, not prayer, is the natural state of
those who know. God and His Miracles ARE inseparable. How beautiful indeed are
the Thoughts of God Who live in His Light! Your worth is beyond perception
because it is beyond doubt. Do not perceive yourself in different lights. KNOW
yourself in the One Light where the miracle that is you is perfectly clear.
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T 3 H. Judgment and the Authority Problem
T 3 H 1. We have already discussed the Last Judgment in some though
insufficient detail. After the Last Judgment there will be no more. This is
symbolic only in the sense that everyone is much better off WITHOUT judgment.
When the Bible says "Judge not that ye be not judged" it merely means that if
you judge the reality of others at all, you will be unable to avoid judging your
own. The choice to judge rather than to know was the cause of the loss of
peace. Judgment is the process on which perception, but NOT cognition, rests.
We have discussed this before in terms of the selectivity of perception,
pointing out that evaluation is its obvious prerequisite.
T 3 H 2. Judgment ALWAYS involves rejection. It is NOT an ability which
emphasizes only the positive aspects of what is judged, whether it be in or out
of the self. However, what has been perceived and rejected, - or judged and
found wanting, - remains in the unconscious because it HAS been perceived. One
of the illusions from which man suffers is the belief that what he judged
against has no effect. This cannot be true unless he also believes that what he
judged against does not exist. He evidently does NOT believe this, or he would
not have judged against it. It does not matter, in the end, whether you judge
right or wrong. Either way, you are placing your belief in the unreal. This
cannot be avoided in any type of judgment, because it implies the belief that
reality is yours to choose FROM.
T 3 H 3. You have no idea of the tremendous release and deep peace that comes
from meeting yourselves and your brothers totally without judgment. When you
recognize what you and your brothers ARE, you will realize that judging them in
ANY way is without meaning. In fact, their meaning is lost to you precisely
BECAUSE you are judging them. All uncertainty comes from a totally fallacious
belief that you are under the coercion of judgment. You do not need judgment to
organize your life, and you certainly do not need it to organize yourselves. In
the presence of knowledge ALL judgment is automatically suspended, and this is
the process which enables recognition to REPLACE perception.
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T 3 H 4. Man is very fearful of everything he has perceived but has refused
to accept. He believes that, because he has refused to accept it, he has lost
control over it. This is why he sees it in nightmares, or in pleasant disguises
in what seem to be his happier dreams. Nothing that you have refused to accept
can be brought into awareness. It does NOT follow that it is dangerous, but it
DOES follow that you have MADE it dangerous.
T 3 H 5. When you feel tired, it is merely because you have judged yourself
as capable of being tired. When you laugh at someone, it is because you have
judged him as debased. When you laugh at yourself you are singularly likely to
laugh at others, if only because you cannot tolerate the idea of being more
debased than they are. All of this does make you feel tired because it is
essentially disheartening. You are not REALLY capable of being tired, but you
are VERY capable of wearying yourselves. The strain of constant judgment is
virtually intolerable. It is a curious thing that any ability which is so
debilitating should be so deeply cherished.
T 3 H 6. Yet, if you wish to be the author of reality, which is totally
impossible anyway, you WILL insist on holding on to judgment. You will also use
the term with considerable fear, believing that judgment will someday be used
against YOU. To whatever extent it IS used against you, it is due only to your
belief in its efficacy as a weapon of defense for your own authority. The issue
of authority is really a question of authorship. When an individual has an
"authority problem," it is ALWAYS because he believes he is the author of
himself, projects his delusion onto others, and then perceives the situation as
one in which people are literally fighting him for his authorship. This is the
fundamental error of all those who believe they have usurped the power of God.
T 3 H 7. The belief is very frightening to THEM, but hardly troubles God. He
is, however, eager to undo it, NOT to punish His children, but ONLY because He
knows that it makes them unhappy. Souls were GIVEN their true Authorship, but
men preferred to be anonymous when they chose to separate themselves from their
Author. The word "authority" has been one of their most fearful
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symbols ever since. Authority has been used for great cruelty because, being
uncertain of their true Authorship, men believe that their creation was
anonymous. This has left them in a position where it SOUNDS meaningful to
consider the possibility that they must have created themselves.
T 3 H 8. The dispute over authorship has left such uncertainty in the minds
of men that some have even doubted whether they really exist at all. Despite
the apparent contradiction in this position, it is in one sense more tenable
than the view that they created themselves. At least it acknowledges the fact
that SOME true authorship is necessary for existence.
T 3 H 9. Only those who give over all desire to reject can KNOW that their
own rejection is impossible. You have NOT usurped the power of God, but you
HAVE lost it. Fortunately, when you lose something, it does not mean that the
"something" has gone. It merely means that you do not know where it is.
Existence does not depend on your ability to identify it, nor even to place it.
It is perfectly possible to look on reality without judgment, and merely KNOW
that it is there.
T 3 H 10. Peace is a natural heritage of the Soul. Everyone is free to refuse
to ACCEPT his inheritance, but he is NOT free to establish what his inheritance
IS. The problem which everyone must decide is the fundamental question of
authorship. All fear comes ultimately, and sometimes by way of very devious
routes, from the denial of Authorship. The offense is never to God, but only to
those who deny Him. To deny His Authorship is to deny themselves the reason for
their own peace, so that they see themselves only in pieces. This strange
perception IS the authority problem.
T 3 H 11. There is no man who does not feel that he is imprisoned in some way.
If this is the result of his own free will, he must regard his will as if it
were NOT free, or the obviously circular reasoning involved in his position
would be quite apparent. Free will MUST lead to freedom. Judgment ALWAYS
imprisons, because it separates segments of reality according to the highly
unstable scales of desire. Wishes are not facts by definition. To wish is
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to imply that willing is not sufficient. Yet no one believes that what is
wished is as real as what is willed. Instead of "seek ye first the Kingdom of
Heaven" say, "WILL ye first the Kingdom of Heaven," and you have said, "I know
what I am, and I will to accept my own inheritance."
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T 3 I. Creating versus the Self-Image
T 3 I 1. Every system of thought must have a starting point. It begins with
either a making or a creating, a difference which we have discussed already.
Their resemblance lies in their power as FOUNDATIONS. Their difference lies in
what rests upon them. Both are cornerstones for systems of belief by which men
live. It is a mistake to believe that a thought system which is based on lies
is weak. NOTHING made by a child of God is without power. It is essential to
realize this, because otherwise you will not understand why you have so much
trouble with this course, and will be unable to escape from the prisons which
you have made for yourselves.
T 3 I 2. You cannot resolve the authority problem by depreciating the power
of your minds. To do so is to deceive yourself, and this will hurt you because
you KNOW the strength of the mind. You also know that you CANNOT weaken it, any
more than you can weaken God. The "devil" is a frightening concept because he
is thought of as extremely powerful and extremely active. He is perceived as a
force in combat with God, battling Him for possession of the Souls He created.
He deceives by lies, and builds kingdoms of his own, in which everything is in
direct opposition to God. Yet he ATTRACTS men rather than repels them, and they
are seen as willing to "sell" him their Souls in return for gifts they RECOGNIZE
are of no real worth.
T 3 I 3. This makes absolutely no sense. The whole picture is one in which
man acts in a way he HIMSELF realizes is self-destructive, but which he does not
choose to correct, and therefore perceives the cause as beyond his control. We
have discussed the fall, or separation, before, but its meaning must be clearly
understood without symbols. The separation is not symbolic. It is an order of
reality, or a system of thought that is real enough in time, though NOT in
eternity. All beliefs are real to the believer.
T 3 I 4. The fruit of only ONE tree was "forbidden" to man in his symbolic
garden. But GOD could not have forbidden it, or it could not have BEEN eaten.
If God knows His children, and I assure you that He does, would He have put them
in a position where their own destruction was possible? The
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"tree" which was forbidden was named the "tree of knowledge." Yet God created
knowledge, and gave it freely to His creations. The symbolism here has been
given many interpretations, but you may be sure that ANY interpretation which
sees either God OR His creations as capable of destroying their own Purpose is
in error.
T 3 I 5. Eating of the fruit of the tree of knowledge is a symbolic
expression for incorporating into the self the ability for self-creating. This
is the ONLY sense in which God and His Souls are NOT co-creators. The belief
that they ARE is implicit in the "self-concept," [T25] a concept now made
acceptable by its WEAKNESS, and explained by a tendency of the self to create an
IMAGE of itself. Its fear aspect is often ascribed to fear of retaliation by a
"father figure," a particularly curious idea in view of the fact that no one
uses the term to refer to the physical father. It refers to an IMAGE of a
father in relation to an IMAGE of the self.
T 3 I 6. Images are perceived, NOT known. Knowledge cannot deceive, but
perception CAN. Man can perceive himself as self-creating, but he cannot do
more than BELIEVE it. He CANNOT make it true. And, as we said before, when you
finally perceive correctly, you can only be glad that you cannot. But until
then, the belief that you CAN is the central foundation stone in your thought
system, and all your defenses are used to attack ideas which might bring it to
light. You still believe you are images of your own creation. Your minds are
split with your Souls on this point, and there is NO resolution while you
believe the one thing that is literally inconceivable. That is why you CANNOT
create, and are filled with fear about what you make.
T 3 I 7. The mind can make the belief in separation VERY real and VERY
fearful, and this belief IS the "devil." It is powerful, active, destructive,
and clearly in opposition to God because it literally denies His Fatherhood.
Never underestimate the power of this denial. Look at your lives, and see what
the devil has made. But KNOW that this making will surely dissolve in the light
of truth, because its FOUNDATION is a lie.
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T 3 I 8. Your creation by God is the ONLY foundation which cannot be shaken
because the light is IN it. Your starting point is truth, and you must return
to this Beginning. Much has been perceived since then, but nothing else has
happened. That is why your Souls are still in peace, even though your minds are
in conflict. You have not yet gone back far enough, and that is why you become
so fearful. As you approach the Beginning, you feel the fear of the destruction
of your thought system upon you, as if it were the fear of death. There IS no
death, but there IS a belief in death.
T 3 I 9. The Bible says that the branch that bears no fruit will be cut off
and will wither away. Be glad! The light WILL shine from the true Foundation
of Life, and your own thought system WILL stand corrected. It CANNOT stand
otherwise. You who fear salvation are WILLING death. Life and death, light and
darkness, knowledge and perception are irreconcilable. To believe that they can
be reconciled is to believe that God and man can NOT. Only the Oneness of
knowledge is conflictless. Your kingdom is not of this world because it was
given you from BEYOND this world. Only IN this world is the idea of an
authority problem meaningful. The world is not left by death but by truth, and
truth CAN be known by all those for whom the Kingdom was created, and for whom
it waits.
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Chapter IV 4 - THE ROOT OF ALL EVIL
T 4 A. Introduction
T 4 A 1. The Bible says that you should go with a brother twice as far as he
asks. It certainly does not suggest that you set him back on his journey.
Devotion to a brother cannot set YOU back, either. It can lead ONLY to mutual
progress. The result of genuine devotion is inspiration, a word which, properly
understood, is the opposite of fatigue. To be fatigued is to be DIS-spirited,
but to be inspired is to be in the spirit. To be egocentric IS to be
dispirited, but to be self-centered in the right sense is to be inspired, or in
the Soul. The truly inspired are enlightened, and cannot abide in darkness.
T 4 A 2. You can speak from the Soul or from the ego, precisely as you
choose. If you speak from the Soul, you have chosen "to be still and know that
I am God." These words are inspired because they come from knowledge. If you
speak from the ego, you are disclaiming knowledge instead of affirming it, and
are thus dispiriting yourself. Do not embark on foolish journeys, because they
are indeed in vain. The ego may desire them, but the Soul cannot embark on them
because it is forever unwilling to depart from its Foundation.
T 4 A 3. The journey to the cross should be the last foolish journey for
every mind. Do not dwell upon it, but dismiss it as accomplished. If you can
accept it as your OWN last foolish journey, you are also free to join my
Resurrection. Human living has indeed been needlessly wasted in a repetition
compulsion. It re-enacts the separation, the loss of power, the foolish journey
of the ego in an attempt at reparation, and finally, the crucifixion of the
body, or death.
T 4 A 4. Repetition compulsions can be endless unless they are given up by an
act of will. Do not make the pathetic human error of "clinging to the old
rugged cross." The only message of the crucifixion was that we can OVERCOME the
cross. Unless you do so, you are free to crucify yourself as often as you
choose. But this is not the Gospel I intended to offer you. We have another
journey to undertake, and if you will read these lessons carefully, they will
help to prepare you to undertake it.
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T 4 B. Right Teaching and Right Learning
T 4 B 1. We have spoken of many different human symptoms, and at this level
there is almost endless variation. There is, however, only ONE cause of all of
them. The authority problem IS "the root of all evil." Money is but one of its
many reflections, and is a reasonably representative example of the kind of
thinking which stems from it. The idea of buying and selling implies precisely
the kind of exchange that the Soul cannot understand at all, because its Supply
is always abundant and all its demands are fully met.
T 4 B 2. Every symptom which the ego has made involves a contradiction in
terms. This is because the mind is split between the ego and the Soul, so that
WHATEVER the ego makes is incomplete and contradictory. This untenable position
is the result of the authority problem which, because it accepts the one
inconceivable thought as its premise, can only produce ideas which are
inconceivable. The term "profess" is used quite frequently in the Bible. To
profess is to identify with an idea, and offer the idea to others to be their
own. The idea does not lessen; it becomes STRONGER.
T 4 B 3. A good teacher clarifies his own ideas, and strengthens them by
teaching them. Teacher and pupil are alike in the learning process. They are
in the same order of learning, and unless they SHARE their lessons, they will
lack conviction. A good teacher must believe in the ideas which he professes,
but he must meet another condition; he must also believe in the students to whom
he offers his ideas. Many stand guard over their ideas because they want to
protect their thought systems as they are, and learning means change. Change is
always fearful to the separated ones, because they cannot conceive of it as a
change toward HEALING the separation. They ALWAYS perceive it as a change
toward further separation, because the separation was their first experience of
change.
T 4 B 4. You believe that, if you allow no change to enter into your ego,
your Soul will find peace. This profound confusion is possible only if one
maintains that the same thought system can stand on two foundations. NOTHING
can
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reach the Soul from the ego, and nothing FROM the Soul can strengthen the ego,
or reduce the conflict within it. The ego IS a contradiction. Man's self and
God's Self ARE in opposition. They are opposed in creation, in will, and in
outcome. They are fundamentally irreconcilable because the Soul cannot perceive
and the ego cannot know. They are therefore NOT IN COMMUNICATION, and can never
BE in communication. Nevertheless, the ego can learn because its maker can be
misguided, but CANNOT make the totally lifeless out of the life-given. The Soul
need not be taught, but the ego MUST.
T 4 B 5. The ultimate reason why learning is perceived as frightening is
because learning DOES lead to the relinquishment, NOT destruction [T26], of the
ego to the Light of the Soul. This is the change the ego MUST fear because it
does not share my charity. My lesson was like yours, and because I learned it I
can teach it. I never attack your egos, but I DO try to teach you how their
thought systems arose. When I remind you of your TRUE creation, your egos
cannot BUT respond with fear.
T 4 B 6. Teaching and learning are your greatest strengths now because you
MUST change your mind and help others change theirs. It is pointless to refuse
to tolerate change because you believe you can demonstrate that, by doing so,
the separation has not occurred. The dreamer who doubts the reality of his
dream while he is still dreaming is not really healing the level-split. You
HAVE dreamed of a separated ego, and you HAVE believed in a world which rests
upon it. This is very real to you. You cannot undo this by doing nothing and
NOT changing.
T 4 B 7. If you are willing to renounce the role of guardian of your thought
system and open it to me, I will correct it very gently and lead you home.
Every good teacher hopes to give his students so much of his own thinking that
they will one day no longer need him. This is the one real goal of the parent,
teacher and therapist. This goal will not be achieved by those who believe that
they will LOSE their child or pupil or patient if they succeed. It is
IMPOSSIBLE to convince the ego of this because it goes against all of
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its own laws. But remember that laws are set up to protect the continuity of
the system in which the law-maker BELIEVES.
T 4 B 8. It is natural enough for the ego to try to protect itself, once you
have made it, but it is NOT natural for YOU to want to obey its laws unless YOU
believe in them. The ego cannot make this choice because of the nature of its
origin. YOU can because of the nature of YOURS. Egos can clash in any
situation, but Souls cannot clash at all. If you perceive a teacher as merely a
"larger ego," you WILL be afraid, because to ENLARGE an ego IS to increase
separation anxiety. I will teach with you and live with you if you will think
with me, but my goal will always be to absolve you finally from the NEED for a
teacher.
T 4 B 9. This is the OPPOSITE of the ego-oriented teacher's goal. He is
concerned with the effect of HIS ego on OTHER egos, and therefore interprets
their interaction as a means of ego preservation. I would not be able to devote
myself to teaching if I believed this, and YOU will not be a devoted teacher as
long as YOU maintain it. I am constantly being perceived as a teacher either to
be exalted or rejected, but I do not accept either perception for myself.
T 4 B 10. Your worth is NOT established by your teaching OR your learning.
Your worth was established by God. As long as you dispute this EVERYTHING you
do will be fearful, particularly any situation which lends itself to the
"superiority-inferiority" fallacy. Teachers must be patient, and repeat their
lessons until they are learned. I am willing to do this because I have no right
to set your learning limits for you. Once again, [T27] NOTHING you do or think or
wish or make is necessary to establish your worth. This point is NOT debatable
except in delusions. Your ego is NEVER at stake because God did NOT create it.
Your Soul is never at stake because He DID. ANY confusion on this point is a
delusion and no form of devotion is possible as long as this delusion lasts.
T 4 B 11. The ego tries to exploit ALL situations into forms of praise for
itself in order to overcome its doubts. It will be doubtful forever, or rather,
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as long as you believe in it. You who made it CANNOT trust it because you KNOW
it is not real. The only SANE solution is not to try to change reality, which
is indeed a fearful attempt, but to see it as it IS. YOU are part of reality,
which stands unchanged beyond the reach of your ego, but within easy reach of
your Soul. When you are afraid, be still and KNOW that God is real and YOU are
His beloved Son in whom He is well pleased. Do not let your ego dispute this,
because the ego cannot know what is as far beyond its reach as you are.
T 4 B 12. God is NOT the author of fear. YOU are. You have chosen, therefore,
to create unlike Him, and you have made fear for yourselves. You are not at
peace because you are not fulfilling your function. God gave you a very lofty
responsibility which you are not meeting. You KNOW this, and you are afraid.
In fact, your egos have chosen to be afraid INSTEAD of meeting it. When you
awaken, you will not be able to understand this because it is literally
incredible. DO NOT BELIEVE THE INCREDIBLE NOW. Any attempt to increase its
believability [T28] is merely to postpone the inevitable.
T 4 B 13. The word "inevitable" is fearful to the ego, but joyous to the Soul.
God IS inevitable, and you CANNOT avoid Him any more than He can avoid YOU. The
ego is afraid of the Soul's joy because, once you have experienced it, you will
withdraw all protection from the ego, and become totally without the investment
in fear. Your investment is great now because fear is a witness to the
separation, and your ego rejoices when you witness to it. Leave it behind! Do
not listen to it, and do not preserve it. Listen only to God, Who is as
incapable of deception as are the Souls He created.
T 4 B 14. Release yourselves and release others. Do not present a false and
unworthy picture of yourself to others, and do not accept such a picture of them
yourselves. The ego has built a shabby and unsheltering home for you because it
cannot build otherwise. Do not try to make this impoverished house stand. ITS
weakness is YOUR strength. Only God could make a home that is worthy of His
creations, who have chosen to leave it empty by their own dispossession. Yet
His home will stand forever, and is ready for you when
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you choose to enter it. Of this you can be wholly certain. God is as incapable
of creating the perishable as the ego is of making the eternal.
T 4 B 15. Of your egos you can do nothing to save yourselves or others, but of
your Souls you can do everything for the salvation of both. Humility is a
lesson for the ego, NOT for the Soul. The Soul is beyond humility because it
recognizes its radiance, and gladly sheds its light everywhere. The meek shall
inherit the earth because their egos are humble, and this gives them better
perception. The Kingdom of Heaven is the RIGHT of the Soul, whose beauty and
dignity are far beyond doubt, beyond perception, and stand forever as the mark
of the Love of God for His creations, who are wholly worthy of Him and ONLY of
Him. Nothing else is sufficiently worthy to be a gift for a creation of God
Himself.
T 4 B 16. I will substitute for your ego if you wish, but NEVER for your Soul.
A father can safely leave a child with an elder brother who has shown himself
responsible, but this involves no confusion about the child's origin. The
brother can protect the child's body and his ego, which are VERY closely
related, but he does not confuse HIMSELF with the father because he does this,
although the child may. I can be entrusted with your body and your ego simply
because this enables you NOT to be concerned with them, and lets ME teach you
their unimportance. I could not understand their importance to YOU if I had not
once been tempted to believe in them myself.
T 4 B 17. Let us undertake to learn this lesson together, so we can be free of
them together. I need devoted teachers who share my aim of healing the mind.
The Soul is far beyond the need of your protection OR mine. Remember this:
"In this world you NEED not have tribulation BECAUSE I have overcome the world."
THAT is why you should be of good cheer.
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T 4 C. The Ego and False Autonomy
T 4 C 1. You have asked lately how the mind could ever have made the ego.
This is a perfectly reasonable question; in fact, the best question you could
ask. There is, however, no point in giving an historical answer because the
past does not matter in human terms, and history would not exist if the same
errors were not being repeated in the present. Abstract thought applies to
knowledge because knowledge is completely impersonal, and examples are
irrelevant to its understanding. Perception, however, is always specific, and
therefore quite concrete.
T 4 C 2. Each man makes one ego for himself, although it is subject to
enormous variation because of its instability, and one for everyone he
perceives, which is equally variable. Their interaction is a process which
literally alters both, because they were not made either BY or WITH the
unalterable. It is particularly important to realize that this alteration can
and does occur as readily when the interaction takes place IN THE MIND as when
it involves physical presence. THINKING about another ego is as effective in
changing relative perception as is physical interaction. There could be no
better example of the fact that the ego is an idea, though not a reality-based
thought.
T 4 C 3. Your own present state is a good example of how the mind made the
ego. You DO have knowledge at times, but when you throw it away it is as if you
never had it. This willfulness is so apparent that one need only perceive it to
see that it DOES happen. If it can occur that way in the present, why is it
surprising that it occurred that way in the past? Psychology rests on the
principle of the continuity of behavior. Surprise is a reasonable response to
the unfamiliar, but hardly to something that has occurred with such persistence.
I would therefore like to use your present state [T29] as an example of how the
mind CAN work, provided you fully recognize that it NEED not work that way. Why
are you surprised that something happened in the dim past when it is so clearly
happening right now?
T 4 C 4. You forget the love that animals have for their own offspring, and
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the need they feel to protect them. This is because they regard them as part of
themselves. No one disowns something he regards as a very real part of himself.
Man reacts to his ego much as God does to His Souls;- with love, protection and
great charity. The reaction of man to the self he made is not at all
surprising. In fact it duplicates, in many ways, how he will one day react to
his REAL creations, which are as timeless as he is. The question is not HOW man
responds to his ego, but what he believes he IS.
T 4 C 5. Belief is an ego function, and as long as your origin is open to
belief at all, you ARE regarding it from an ego viewpoint. When teaching is no
longer necessary, you will merely KNOW God. Belief that there IS another way is
the loftiest idea of which ego thinking is capable. That is because it contains
a hint of recognition that the ego is NOT the self. Undermining the ego's
thought system MUST be perceived as painful, even though this is anything but
true. Babies scream in rage if you take away a knife or scissors [T30], even
though they may well harm themselves if you do not. The speed-up has placed you
in the same position.
T 4 C 6. You are NOT prepared, and in this sense you ARE babies. You have no
sense of real self-preservation, and are very likely to decide that you need
precisely what would hurt you most. Whether you know it now or not, however,
you HAVE willed to cooperate in a concerted and very commendable effort to
become both harmLESS and helpFUL, two attributes which MUST go together. Your
attitudes, even toward this, are necessarily conflicted because ALL attitudes
are ego-based. This will not last. Be patient awhile, and remember that the
outcome is as certain as God.
T 4 C 7. Only those who have a real and lasting sense of abundance CAN be
truly charitable. This is quite obvious when you consider the concepts
involved. To the ego, to give anything implies that you will do without it.
When you associate giving with sacrifice, then, you give only because you
believe that you are somehow getting something better, so that you can do
without the thing you give. "Giving to get" is an inescapable law of the ego,
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which ALWAYS evaluates itself in relation to other egos, and is therefore
continually preoccupied with the scarcity principle which gave rise to it. This
is the meaning of Freud's "reality principle," since Freud thought of the ego as
very weak and deprived, capable of functioning ONLY as a thing in need.
T 4 C 8. The "reality principle" of the ego is not real at all. The ego is
forced to perceive the "reality" of other egos because it cannot establish the
reality of ITSELF. In fact, its whole perception of other egos AS real is only
an attempt to convince itself that IT is real. "Self esteem," in ego terms,
means nothing more than that the ego has deluded itself into accepting its
reality, and is therefore temporarily less predatory. This "self esteem" is
ALWAYS vulnerable to stress, a term which actually refers to a condition in
which the delusion of the ego's reality is threatened. This produces either ego
deflation or ego inflation, resulting in either withdrawal or attack.
T 4 C 9. The ego literally lives by comparisons. This means that equality is
beyond its grasp, and charity becomes impossible. The ego NEVER gives out of
abundance, because it was made as a SUBSTITUTE for it. That is why the concept
of "getting" arose in the ego's thought system. All appetites are "getting"
mechanisms, representing the ego's need to confirm itself. This is as true of
bodily appetites as it is of the so-called "higher" ego needs. Bodily appetites
are NOT physical in origin. The ego regards the body as its home and DOES try
to satisfy itself through the body, but the IDEA that this is possible is a
decision of the ego, which is completely confused about what is REALLY possible.
This accounts for its erratic nature.
T 4 C 10. The ego believes it is completely on its own, which is merely another
way of describing how it originated. This is such a fearful state that it can
only turn to other egos and try to unite with them in a feeble attempt at
identification, or attack them in an equally feeble show of strength. It
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is NOT free, however, to consider the validity of the premise itself because
this premise is its FOUNDATION. The ego IS the belief of the mind that it is
completely on its own. Its ceaseless attempts to gain the Soul's
acknowledgment, and thus to establish its own existence, are utterly useless.
T 4 C 11. The Soul in its knowledge is unaware of the ego. It does not attack
it; it merely cannot conceive of it at all. While the ego is equally unaware of
the Soul, it DOES perceive itself as rejected by "something" which is greater
than itself. This is why self-esteem in ego terms MUST be a delusion. The
creations of God do not create myths, although the creative efforts of man CAN
turn to mythology. It can do so, however, only under one condition; what man
then makes is no longer creative. Myths are entirely perceptions, and are so
ambiguous in form and so characteristically good and evil in nature that the
most benevolent of them is not without fearful components, if only by innuendo.
T 4 C 12. Myths and magic are closely associated in that myths are usually
related to the ego origins, and magic to the powers which the ego ascribes to
itself. Every mythological system includes some account of "the creation," and
associates this with its particular perception of magic. The "battle for
survival" is nothing more than the ego's struggle to preserve itself and its
interpretation of its own beginning. This beginning is always associated with
physical birth, because no one maintains that the ego existed before that point
in time. The religiously ego-oriented believe that the Soul existed before and
will continue to exist afterwards, after a temporary lapse in ego life. Some
actually believe that the Soul will be punished for this lapse, even though in
reality, it could not possibly know anything about it.
T 4 C 13. The term "salvation" does NOT apply to the Soul, which is not in
danger, and does not need to be salvaged. Salvation is nothing more than
"right-mindedness," which is not the One-Mindedness of the Soul, but which must
be accomplished before One-Mindedness can be restored. Right-mindedness
dictates the next step automatically because right perception is uniformly
without attack, so that wrong-mindedness is obliterated. The ego cannot
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survive without judgment, and is laid aside accordingly. The mind then has only
ONE direction in which it can move. The direction which the mind will take is
always automatic, because it cannot BUT be dictated by the thought system to
which the mind adheres.
T 4 C 14. Every thought system has internal consistency, and this provides the
basis for the continuity of behavior. However, this is a matter of reliability,
and not validity. "Reliable behavior" is a meaningful perception, as far as ego
thinking goes. However, "valid behavior" is an expression which is inherently
contradictory, because validity is an END and behavior is a MEANS. These cannot
be combined logically because, when an end has been attained, the means for its
attainment are no longer meaningful.
T 4 C 15. A hypothesis is either false or true, to be accepted or rejected
accordingly. If it is shown to be true it becomes a fact, after which no one
attempts to evaluate it unless its status AS fact is questioned. EVERY idea to
which the ego has accorded the status of fact is questionable, because facts are
in the realm of knowledge.
T 4 C 16. Confusing realms of discourse is a thinking error which philosophers
have recognized for centuries. Psychologists are generally quite deficient in
this respect, as are many theologians. Data from one realm of discourse do not
mean anything in another because they can be understood only WITHIN the thought
system of which they are a part. That is why psychologists are concentrating
increasingly on the ego, in an attempt to unify their clearly unrelated data.
It need hardly be said that an attempt to relate the unrelated CANNOT succeed.
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T 4 C 17. The more recent ecological emphases are but another ingenious way of
trying to impose order on chaos. We have already credited the ego with
considerable ingenuity, though not with creativeness. It should, however, be
remembered that inventiveness is really wasted effort, even in its most
ingenious forms. We do not have to explain ANYTHING. This is why we need not
trouble ourselves with inventiveness. The highly specific nature of invention
is not worthy of the abstract creativity of God's creations.
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T 4 D. Love without Conflict
T 4 D 1. You have never understood what "the Kingdom of Heaven is within you"
means. The reason you have not understood it is because it is NOT
understandable to the ego, which interprets it as if something outside is
inside, and this does not mean anything. The word "within" is unnecessary. The
Kingdom of Heaven IS you. What else BUT you did the Creator create, and what
else BUT you is His Kingdom? This is the whole message of the Atonement, a
message, which, in its totality, transcends the sum of its parts. Christmas is
not a time; it is a state of mind. The Christ Mind wills from the Soul, NOT
from the ego, and the Christ Mind IS yours.
T 4 D 2. You, too, have a kingdom which your Soul created. It has NOT ceased
to create because your ego has set you on the road of perception. Your Soul's
creations are no more fatherless than YOU are. Your ego and your Soul will
never be co-creators, but your Soul and YOUR Creator will ALWAYS be. Be
confident that your creations are as safe as you are.
The Kingdom is perfectly united and perfectly protected,
and the ego will NOT prevail against
it, - Amen.
That was written in that form because it is a good thing to use as a kind of a
prayer in moments of temptation. It is a Declaration of Independence. You will
find it very helpful if you understand it fully.
T 4 D 3. In its characteristically upside-down way, the ego has taken the
impulses from the super-conscious and perceives them as if they arise in the
unconscious. The ego judges what is to be accepted, and the impulses from the
super-conscious are unacceptable to it because they clearly point to the
nonexistence of the ego itself. The ego therefore experiences threat, and not
only censors but also reinterprets the data. However, as Freud correctly
pointed out, what you have repressed can retain a very active life BEYOND your
awareness.
T 4 D 4. Repression thus operates to conceal not only the baser impulses but
also the most lofty ones from awareness because BOTH are threatening to the ego
and, being concerned primarily with its own preservation in the face of threat,
the ego perceives them AS THE SAME. The threat-value of the lofty is
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actually much greater to the ego because the pull of God Himself can hardly be
equated with the pull of human appetites. By perceiving them AS the same, the
ego attempts to save itself from being swept away, as it would surely BE in the
presence of knowledge.
T 4 D 5. The upper level of the unconscious thus contains the Call of God as
well as the call of the body. That is why the basic conflict between Love and
fear is unconscious; the ego cannot tolerate either, and represses both by
resorting to inhibition. Society depends on inhibiting the latter, but
SALVATION depends on DISinhibiting the former. The reason you need MY help is
because you have repressed your own Guide, and therefore need guidance. My role
is to separate the true from the false in your unconscious, so it can break
through the barriers the ego has set up, and shine into your minds. Against our
united strength the ego CANNOT prevail.
T 4 D 6. It should be apparent to you by now why the ego regards the Soul as
its "enemy." The ego arose from the separation, and its continued existence
depends on YOUR continuing belief in the separation. Having reduced the Soul
impulses to the unconscious, the ego has to offer you some sort of reward for
maintaining this belief. All it CAN offer is a sense of temporary existence,
which begins with its OWN beginning and ends with its OWN ending. It tells you
this life is YOUR existence because it IS its own. Against this sense of
temporary existence the Soul offers you the knowledge of permanence and
unshakable BEING. No one who has experienced the revelation of THIS can ever
fully believe in the ego again. How can its meager offering to you prevail
against the glorious gift of God?
T 4 D 7. You who identify WITH your egos cannot believe that God loves you.
YOU do not love what you have made, and what you made does not love YOU. Being
made out of the denial of the Father, the ego has no allegiance to its own
maker. You cannot conceive of the real relationship which exists between God
and His Souls because of the hatred you have for the self YOU have made. You
project onto your OWN idea of yourself the will to separate, which conflicts
with the love you feel for what you made BECAUSE you made it.
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No human love is without this ambivalence, and since no ego has experienced love
WITHOUT ambivalence, the concept is beyond its understanding.
T 4 D 8. Love will enter immediately into ANY mind which truly wants it, but
it MUST want it truly. This means that it wants it WITHOUT ambivalence, and
this kind of wanting is wholly without the ego's "drive to get." There is a
kind of experience which is so different from anything the ego can offer that
you will never recover. The word "recover" is used quite literally here, - you
will never be able to cover or hide again. It is necessary to repeat here that
your belief in darkness and in hiding IS why the Light cannot enter. The Bible
gives many references to the immeasurable gifts which are FOR you, but for which
YOU must ask. This is not a condition as the ego sets conditions. It is the
glorious condition of what you ARE.
T 4 D 9. No force except your own will is strong enough or worthy enough to
guide you. In this you are as free as God, and must remain so forever. You can
never be bound except in honor, and that is always voluntary. Let us ask the
Father in my name to keep you mindful of His Love for you and yours for Him. He
has never failed to answer this request because it asks only for what He has
already willed. Those who call truly are ALWAYS answered. Thou shalt have no
other gods before Him because there ARE none.
T 4 D 10. It has never really entered your mind to give up every idea you ever
had that OPPOSES knowledge. You retain thousands of little scraps of meanness
which prevent the Holy One from entering. Light cannot penetrate through the
walls you make to block it, and it is forever unwilling to destroy what you have
made. No one can see THROUGH a wall, but I can step around it. Watch your
minds for the scraps of meanness, or you will be unable to ask me to do so. I
can help you only as our Father created us. I will love you and honor you and
maintain complete respect for what you have made, but I will neither honor it
nor love it unless it is true.
T 4 D 11. I will never forsake you, any more than God will, but I MUST wait as
long as you choose to forsake yourself. Because I wait in love and not in
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impatience you will surely ask me truly. I will come in response to a single
unequivocal call. Watch carefully and see what it is you are really asking for.
Be very honest with yourself about this, for we must hide nothing from each
other. If you will really try to do this, you have taken the first step toward
preparing your mind for the Holy One to enter. We will prepare for this
together, for once He has come you will be ready to help me make other minds
ready for Him. How long will you deny Him His Kingdom?
T 4 D 12. In your own unconscious, deeply repressed by the ego, is the
declaration of your release. GOD HAS GIVEN YOU EVERYTHING. This is the one
fact that means the ego does not exist, and which therefore makes it profoundly
afraid. In the ego's language, remember, "to have" and "to be" are different,
but they are identical to the Soul. The Soul knows that you both HAVE
everything and ARE everything. Any distinction in this respect is meaningful
only when the idea of "getting," which implies a lack, has ALREADY been
accepted. That is why we made no distinction before between HAVING the Kingdom
of God and BEING the Kingdom of God.
T 4 D 13. The calm being of God's Kingdom, which in your sane mind is perfectly
conscious, is ruthlessly banished from the part of the mind which the ego rules.
The ego is desperate because it opposes literally invincible odds, whether you
are asleep or awake. Consider how much vigilance you have been willing to exert
to protect your ego, and how little you have been willing to expend to protect
your higher mind. Who but the insane would undertake to believe what is not
true, and then protect this belief at the COST of truth?
T 4 E. The Escape from Fear
T 4 E 1. If you cannot hear the Voice of God, it is because you do not choose
to listen. The fact that you DO listen to the voice of your ego is demonstrated
by your attitudes, your feelings and your behavior. Your attitudes are
obviously conflicted, your feelings have a narrow range on the negative side but
are never purely joyous, and your behavior is either strained or unpredictable.
Yet this is what you WANT. This is what you are fighting to keep and what you
are vigilant to save. Your minds are filled with schemes
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to save the face of your egos, and you do not seek the Face of God. The glass
in which the ego seeks to see its face is dark indeed. How can it maintain the
trick of its existence except with mirrors? But where YOU look to find yourself
is up to you.
T 4 E 2. We have said that you cannot change your mind by changing your
behavior, but we have also said, and many times before, that you CAN change your
mind. When your mood tells you that you have chosen wrongly, and this is so
whenever you are not joyous, then KNOW this need not be. In every case you have
thought wrongly about some Soul that God created, and are perceiving images your
ego makes in a darkened glass. Think honestly what you have thought that God
would NOT have thought, and what you have NOT thought that God would have you
think. Search sincerely for what you have done and left undone accordingly, and
then change your minds TO THINK WITH GOD'S.
T 4 E 3. This may seem hard to you, but it is much easier than trying to
think AGAINST It. Your mind IS one with God's. Denying this and thinking
otherwise has held your ego together, but has literally split your mind. As a
loving brother, I am deeply concerned with your mind, and urge you to follow my
example as you look at yourselves and at each other, and see in both the
glorious creations of a glorious Father.
T 4 E 4. When you are sad, KNOW THAT THIS NEED NOT BE. Depression ALWAYS
arises ultimately from a sense of being deprived of something you want and do
not have. KNOW you are deprived of nothing except by your own decisions, and
then decide otherwise.
T 4 E 5. When you are anxious, KNOW that all anxiety comes from the
capriciousness of the ego, AND NEED NOT BE. You can be as vigilant AGAINST the
ego's dictates as FOR them.
T 4 E 6. When you feel guilty, KNOW that the ego has indeed violated the laws
of God, but YOU have not. Leave the sins of the ego to me. That is what
Atonement is for. But until you change your mind about those your ego has hurt,
the Atonement cannot release you. As long as you feel guilty your ego
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is in command because only the ego CAN experience guilt. THIS NEED NOT BE.
T 4 E 7. Watch your mind for the temptations of the ego, and do not be
deceived by it. KNOW it offers you nothing. When you have given up this
voluntary dispiriting, you will see how your mind can focus and rise above
fatigue and heal. Yet you are not sufficiently vigilant AGAINST the demands of
the ego to disengage yourself. THIS NEED NOT BE.
T 4 E 8. The habit of engaging WITH God and His creations is easily made if
you actively refuse to let your minds slip away. The problem is NOT one of
concentration; it is the belief that no one, including yourself, is WORTH
consistent effort. Side with me CONSISTENTLY against this deception, and do not
permit this shabby belief to pull you back. The disheartened are useless to
themselves and to me, but only the ego can BE disheartened. Have you REALLY
considered how many opportunities you have to gladden yourselves, and how many
of them you have refused? There is no limit to the power of a Son of God, but
he himself can limit the expression of his power as much as he chooses.
T 4 E 9. Your mind and mine can unite in shining your ego away, and releasing
the strength of God into everything you think and will and do. Do not settle
for anything LESS than this, and refuse to accept anything BUT this as your
goal. Watch your minds carefully for ANY beliefs that hinder its
accomplishment, and step away from them. Judge how well you have done this by
your own feelings, for this is the one RIGHT use of judgment. Judgment, like
any other defense, can be used to attack or protect, to hurt or to heal. The
ego SHOULD be brought to your judgment and found wanting there. Without your
own allegiance, protection and love, it cannot exist. Judge your ego truly and
you MUST withdraw allegiance, protection and love from it.
T 4 E 10. You are mirrors of truth in which God Himself shines in perfect
Light. To the ego's dark glass you need but say, "I will not look there because
I KNOW these images are not true." Then let the Holy One shine on you in peace,
knowing that this and ONLY this must be. His Mind shone on you in
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your creation and brought YOUR mind into being. His Mind still shines on you,
and must shine THROUGH you. Your ego cannot prevent HIM from shining on you,
but it CAN prevent you from letting Him shine THROUGH you.
T 4 E 11. The first coming of Christ is just another name for the creation, for
Christ is the Son of God. The SECOND coming of Christ means nothing more than
the end of the ego's rule over part of the minds of men, and the healing of the
mind. I was created like you in the first, and I have called you to join with
me in the second. If you will think over your lives you will see how carefully
the preparations were made. I am in charge of the Second Coming, and my
judgment, which is used only for protection, cannot be wrong because it NEVER
attacks. YOURS is so distorted that you believe I was mistaken in choosing you.
I assure you this is a mistake of your egos. Do NOT mistake it for humility.
T 4 E 12. Your egos are trying to convince you that THEY are real and I am not,
because if I am real, I am no more real than YOU are. That knowledge, and I
assure you that it IS knowledge, means that Christ must come into your minds and
heal them. Although I am NOT attacking your egos, I AM working with your higher
mind whether you are asleep or awake, just as your ego does with your lower
mind. I am your vigilance in this because you are too confused to recognize
your own hope. I was NOT mistaken. Your minds WILL elect to join with mine,
and together we are invincible.
T 4 E 13. You will yet come together in my name and your sanity will be
restored. I raised the dead by KNOWING that life is an eternal attribute of
everything that the living God created. Why do you believe it is harder for me
to inspire the dispirited, or to stabilize the unstable? I do not believe that
there is an order of difficulty in miracles; YOU do. I have called, and you
will answer. I KNOW that miracles are natural because they are expressions of
love. My calling you is as natural as your answer, and as inevitable.
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T 4 F. The Ego-Body Illusion
T 4 F 1. ALL things work together for good. There are NO exceptions except
in the ego's judgment. Control is a central factor in what the ego permits into
consciousness, and one to which it devotes its maximum vigilance. This is NOT
the way a balanced mind holds together. ITS control is unconscious. The ego is
further off balance by keeping its primary MOTIVATION unconscious, and raising
control rather than sensible judgment to predominance. The ego has every reason
to do this, according to the thought system which gave rise to it, and which it
serves. Sane judgment would inevitably judge AGAINST the ego, and must be
obliterated BY the ego in the interest of its self-preservation.
T 4 F 2. A major source of the ego's off-balanced state is its lack of
discrimination between impulses from God and from the body. Any thought system
which makes this confusion MUST be insane. Yet this demented state is ESSENTIAL
to the ego, which judges only in terms of threat or non-threat TO ITSELF. In
one sense the ego's fear of the idea of God is at least logical, since this idea
DOES dispel the ego. Fear of dissolution from the Higher Source, then, makes
SOME sense in ego-terms. But fear of the body, with which the ego identifies so
closely, is more blatantly senseless.
T 4 F 3. The body is the ego's home by its own election. It is the only
identification with which the ego feels safe because the body's vulnerability is
its own best argument that you CANNOT be of God. This is the belief that the
ego sponsors eagerly. Yet the ego hates the body because it does not accept the
idea that the body is GOOD enough to be its home. Here is where the mind
becomes actually dazed. Being told by the ego that it is really part of the
body and that the body is its protector, the mind is also constantly informed
that the body can NOT protect it. This, of course, is not only accurate but
perfectly obvious.
T 4 F 4. Therefore the mind asks, "Where can I go for protection?" to which
the ego replies, "Turn to me." The mind, and not without cause, reminds the ego
that it has itself insisted that it IS identified with the body, so there
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is no point in turning to it for protection. The ego has no real answer to this
because there IS none, but it DOES have a typical solution. It obliterates the
QUESTION from the mind's awareness. Once unconscious, the question can and does
produce uneasiness, but it cannot be answered because it cannot be ASKED. This
is the question which MUST be asked: "Where am I to go for protection?" Even
the insane ask it unconsciously, but it requires real sanity to ask it
consciously.
T 4 F 5. When the Bible says, "Seek and ye shall find," it does not mean that
you should seek blindly and desperately for something you would not recognize.
Meaningful seeking is consciously undertaken, consciously organized, and
consciously directed. The goal must be formulated clearly AND KEPT IN MIND. As
a teacher with some experience, let me remind you that learning and WANTING to
learn are inseparable. All learners learn best when they believe that what they
are trying to learn is of VALUE to them. However, values in this world are
hierarchical, and not everything you may want to learn has lasting value.
T 4 F 6. Indeed, many of the things you want to learn are chosen BECAUSE
their value will not last. The ego thinks it is an advantage not to commit
itself to ANYTHING that is eternal because the eternal MUST come from God.
Eternalness is the one function which the ego has tried to develop, but has
systematically failed. It may surprise you to learn that had the ego wished to
do so it could have made the eternal because, as a product of the mind, it IS
endowed with the power of its own creator. However, the DECISION to do this,
rather than the ability to do it, is what the ego cannot tolerate. That is
because the decision, from which the ability would naturally develop, would
necessarily involve accurate perception, a state of clarity which the ego,
fearful of being judged truly, MUST avoid.
T 4 F 7. The results of this dilemma are peculiar, but no more so than the
dilemma itself. The ego has reacted characteristically here as elsewhere
because mental illness, which is ALWAYS a form of ego involvement, is not a
matter of reliability as much as of validity. The ego compromises with the
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issue of the eternal, just as it does with all issues that touch on the real
question in any way. By compromising in connection with all TANGENTIAL
questions, it hopes to hide the real question AND KEEP IT OUT OF MIND. The
ego's characteristic busyness with non-essentials is for precisely that purpose.
T 4 F 8. Consider the alchemist's age-old attempts to turn base metal into
gold. The one question which the alchemist did not permit himself to ask was,
"What FOR?" He could not ask this, because it would immediately become apparent
that there was no sense in his efforts even if he succeeded. If gold became
more plentiful its value would decrease, and his own purpose would be defeated.
The ego has countenanced some strange compromises with the idea of the eternal,
making many odd attempts to relate the concept to the UNimportant, in an effort
to satisfy the mind without jeopardizing itself. Thus, it has permitted minds
to devote themselves to the possibility of perpetual MOTION, but NOT to
perpetual thoughts.
T 4 F 9. Ideational preoccupations with problems set up to be incapable of
solution are also favorite ego devices for impeding the strong-willed from
making real learning progress. The problems of squaring the circle and carrying
pi to infinity are good examples. A more recent ego attempt is particularly
noteworthy. The idea of preserving the BODY by suspension, thus giving it the
kind of limited immortality which the ego can tolerate, is among its more recent
appeals to the mind. It is noticeable, however, that in all these diversionary
tactics, the one question which is NEVER asked by those who pursue them is,
"What FOR?"
T 4 F 10. This is the question which YOU must learn to ask, in connection with
EVERYTHING your mind wishes to undertake. What is the purpose? Whatever it is,
you cannot doubt that it will channelize your efforts automatically. When you
make a decision of purpose, then, you have made a decision about your future
effort, a decision which will remain in effect unless you change the DECISION.
T 4 F 11. Psychologists are in a good position to realize that the ego is
capable of making and accepting as real some very distorted associations.
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The confusion of sex with aggression, and the resulting behavior which is
perceived as the same for both, serves as an example. This is "understandable"
to the psychologist, and does not produce surprise. The lack of surprise,
however, is NOT a sign of understanding. It is a symptom of the psychologist's
ability to accept as reasonable a compromise which is clearly senseless; to
attribute it to the mental illness of the patient, rather than his own, and to
limit his questions about both the patient AND himself to the trivial.
T 4 F 12. Such relatively minor confusions of the ego are not among its more
profound misassociations, although they do reflect them. Your egos have been
blocking the more important questions which your minds SHOULD ask. You do not
understand a patient while you yourselves are willing to limit the questions you
raise about HIS mind, because you are also accepting these limits for YOURS.
This makes you unable to heal him AND yourselves. Be always unwilling to adapt
to ANY situation in which miracle-mindedness is unthinkable. That state in
itself is enough to demonstrate that the perception is wrong.
T 4 G. The Constant State
T 4 G 1. It cannot be emphasized too often that correcting perception is
merely a temporary expedient. It is necessary to do so only because
misperception is a block to knowledge, while accurate perception is a
stepping-stone TOWARD it. The whole value of right perception lies in the
inevitable judgment which it entails that it IS unnecessary. This removes the
block entirely. You may ask how this is possible as long as you appear to be
living in this world, and since this is a sensible question, it has a sensible
answer. You must be careful, however, that you really understand the question.
What IS the "you" who are living in this world?
T 4 G 2. Immortality is a constant state. It is as true now as it ever was
or ever will be, because it implies NO CHANGE AT ALL. It is not a continuum,
nor is it understood by being compared to an opposite. Knowledge never involves
comparisons. That is its essential difference from everything else the mind can
grasp. "A little knowledge" is not dangerous except to the
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ego. Vaguely it senses threat, and being unable to realize that "a little
knowledge" is a meaningless phrase since "all" and "a little" in this context
are the same, the ego decides that since "all" is impossible, the fear does not
lie there. "A little," however, is a scarcity concept, and THIS the ego
understands well. "A little," then, is perceived as the real threat.
T 4 G 3. The essential thing to remember is that the ego DOES NOT RECOGNIZE
the real source of its perceived threat, and if YOU associate yourself with the
ego, YOU do not perceive the whole situation as it is. Only your allegiance to
it gives the ego ANY power over you. We have spoken of the ego as if it were a
separate thing acting on its own. This was necessary to persuade you that you
cannot dismiss it lightly, and must realize how much of your thinking is
ego-directed. We cannot safely let it go at that, however, or you will regard
yourselves as necessarily conflicted as long as you are here, or more properly,
as long as you BELIEVE that you are here.
T 4 G 4. The ego is nothing more than a PART of your belief about yourselves.
Your other life has continued without interruption, and has been and always
will be totally unaffected by your attempts to dissociate. The ratio of
repression and dissociation varies with the individual ego-illusion, but
dissociation is always involved, or you would not believe that you ARE here. In
learning to escape from the illusions you have made, your great debt to each
other is something you must never forget. It is exactly the same debt that you
owe to me. Whenever you react egotistically toward each other, you are throwing
away the graciousness of your indebtedness, and the holy perception it would
produce.
T 4 G 5. The term "holy" can be used here because, as you learn how much you
ARE indebted to the whole Sonship, which INCLUDES me, you come as close to
knowledge as perception ever can. The gap is then so small that knowledge can
easily flow across it, and obliterate it forever. You have very little trust in
me as yet, but it will increase as you turn more and more often to me INSTEAD of
your egos for guidance. The results will convince you
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increasingly that your choice in turning to me is the only sane one you can
make. No one who has learned from experience that one choice brings peace and
joy, while another brings chaos and disaster, needs much conditioning.
T 4 G 6. The ego cannot withstand the conditioning process because the
process itself DEMONSTRATES that there is another way. Conditioning by rewards
has always been more effective than conditioning by pain because pain is an
ego-illusion, and can never induce more than a temporary effect. The rewards of
God, however, are immediately recognized as eternal. Since this recognition is
made by you and NOT the ego, the recognition ITSELF establishes that you and
your ego CANNOT be identical. You may believe that you have already accepted
the difference, but you are by no means convinced as yet. The very fact that
you are preoccupied with the idea of escaping FROM the ego shows this.
T 4 G 7. You CANNOT escape from the ego by humbling it or controlling it or
punishing it. Remember that the ego and the Soul DO NOT KNOW each other. The
separated mind cannot maintain the separation EXCEPT by dissociating. Having
done this, it utilizes repression against all truly natural impulses, not
because the EGO is a separate thing, but because you want to believe that YOU
are. The ego is a device for maintaining this belief, but it is still only YOUR
willingness to use the device that enables it to endure.
T 4 G 8. My trust in you is greater than yours in me at the moment, but it
will not always be that way. Your mission is very simple. You have been chosen
to live so as to demonstrate that you are NOT an ego. I repeat that I do not
choose God's channels wrongly. The Holy One shares my trust, and always
approves my Atonement decisions because my will is never out of accord with His.
I have told you before that I am in charge of the whole Atonement. This is
ONLY because I completed my part in it as a man, and can now complete it through
other men. My chosen receiving and sending channels cannot fail because I will
lend them MY strength as long as theirs is wanting.
T 4 G 9. I will go with you to the Holy One, and through MY perception HE can
bridge the little gap. Your gratitude to EACH OTHER is the only gift I want.
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I will bring it to God for you, knowing that to know your brother IS to know
God. A little knowledge is an all-encompassing thing. If you are grateful to
each other, you are grateful to God for what He created. Through your gratitude
you can come to know each other, and one moment of real recognition makes all
men your brothers, because they are all of your Father. Love does not conquer
all things, but it DOES set all things right. Because you are all the Kingdom
of God, I can lead you back to your own creations, which you do not yet know.
What has been dissociated is still there.
T 4 G 10. As you come closer to a brother you DO approach me, and as you
withdraw from him, I become distant to you. Your giant step forward was to
insist on a "collaborative venture." This does not go against the true spirit
of meditation; it is inherent in it. Meditation is a collaborative venture with
God. It CANNOT be undertaken successfully by those who disengage themselves
from the Sonship, because they are disengaging themselves from me. God will
come to you ONLY as you will give Him to your brothers. Learn first of them,
and you will be ready to hear God as you hear them. That is because the
function of love is one.
T 4 G 11. How can you teach someone the value of something he has deliberately
thrown away? He must have thrown it away because he did not value it. You can
only show him how miserable he is without it, and bring it near very slowly, so
he can learn how his misery lessens as he approaches it. This conditions him to
associate his misery with its absence, and to associate the opposite of misery
with its presence. It gradually becomes desirable, as he changes his mind about
its worth.
T 4 G 12. I am conditioning you to associate misery with the ego and joy with
the Soul. You have conditioned yourselves the other way around. A far greater
reward, however, will break through any conditioning, if it is repeatedly
offered whenever the old habit pattern is broken. You are still free to choose,
but can you really WANT the rewards of the ego in the presence of the rewards of
God?
T 4 H. Creation and Communication
T 4 H 1. It should be clear by now that, while the content of any particular
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ego-illusion does not matter, it is usually more helpful to correct it in a
specific context. Ego-illusions are QUITE specific, although they frequently
change, and although the mind is naturally abstract. The mind nevertheless
becomes concrete voluntarily as soon as it splits. However, only PART of it
splits, so only PART of it is concrete. The concrete part is the same part that
believes in the ego because the ego DEPENDS on the specific. It is the part
that believes your existence means you are SEPARATE.
T 4 H 2. Everything the ego perceives is a separate whole, without the
relationships that imply BEING. The ego is thus AGAINST communication, except
in so far as it is utilized to ESTABLISH separateness rather than to abolish it.
The communication system of the ego is based on its own thought system, as is
everything else it dictates. Its communication is controlled by its need to
protect itself, and it will disrupt communication when it experiences threat.
While this is always so, individual egos perceive different kinds of threat,
which are quite specific in their own judgment. For example, although all forms
of perceived demands may be classified, or judged, by the ego as coercive
communication which must be disrupted, the response of breaking communication
will nevertheless be to a SPECIFIC person or persons.
T 4 H 3. The specificity of the ego's thinking, then, results in a spurious
kind of generalization which is really not abstract at all. It will respond in
certain specific ways to ALL stimuli which it perceives as related. In
contrast, the Soul reacts in the same way to everything it knows is true, and
does not respond at all to anything else. Nor does it make any attempt to
ESTABLISH what is true. It knows that what is true is everything that God
created. It is in complete and direct communication with every aspect of
creation because it is in complete and direct communication with its Creator.
T 4 H 4. THIS communication IS the Will of God. Creation and communication
are synonymous. God created every mind by communicating His Mind to it, thus
establishing it forever as a channel for the reception of His Mind and Will.
Since only beings of a like order can truly communicate, His creations
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naturally communicate WITH Him and LIKE Him. This communication is perfectly
abstract in that its quality is universal in application, and not subject to ANY
judgment, ANY exception, or ANY alteration. God created you BY this and FOR
this. The mind can distort its function, but it cannot endow itself with
functions it was not given. That is why the mind cannot totally lose the
ability to communicate, even though it may refuse to utilize it on behalf of
being.
T 4 H 5. Existence as well as being rests on communication. Existence,
however, is SPECIFIC in how, what, and with whom communication is judged to be
worth undertaking. Being is completely without these distinctions. It is a
state in which the mind IS in communication with everything that is real,
including the Soul. To whatever extent you permit this state to be curtailed,
you are limiting your sense of your OWN reality, which becomes total only by
your recognizing ALL reality in the glorious context of its REAL relationship to
you. This IS your reality. Do not desecrate it or recoil from it. It is your
real home, your real temple, and your real Self.
T 4 H 6. God, Who encompasses ALL being, nevertheless created beings who have
everything individually, but who want to share it to increase their joy.
Nothing that is real can be increased EXCEPT by sharing. That is why God
Himself created you. Divine Abstraction takes joy in application, and that is
what creation MEANS. "How," "what" and "to whom" are irrelevant because real
creation gives everything, since it can create ONLY like itself. Remember that
in being there is no difference between "having" and "being," as there is in
existence. In the state of being, the mind gives everything always.
T 4 H 7. The Bible repeatedly states that you should praise God. This hardly
means that you should tell Him how wonderful He is. He has no ego with which to
accept such thanks, and no perception with which to judge such offerings. But
unless you take your part in the creation, His joy is not complete because YOURS
is incomplete. And THIS He does know. He knows it in His own Being and
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Its experience of His Son's experience. The constant GOING OUT of His Love is
blocked when His channels are closed, and He IS lonely when the minds He created
do not communicate fully with Him.
T 4 H 8. God HAS kept your kingdom for you, but He cannot share His joy with
you until you know it with your whole mind. Even revelation is not enough,
because it is communication FROM God. It is not enough until it is SHARED. God
does not need revelation returned to Him, which would clearly be impossible, but
He DOES want revelation brought to others. This cannot be done with the actual
revelation because its content cannot be expressed, and it is intensely personal
to the mind which receives it. It can, however, still be returned BY that mind
through its attitudes to OTHER minds which the knowledge from the revelation
brings.
T 4 H 9. God is praised whenever any mind learns to be wholly helpful. This
is impossible without being wholly harmless because the two beliefs coexist.
The truly helpful are invulnerable because they are NOT protecting their egos,
so that nothing CAN hurt them. Their helpfulness IS their praise of God, and He
will return their praise of Him because they are like Him, and they can rejoice
together. God goes out to them and through them, and there is great joy
throughout the Kingdom. Every mind that is changed adds to this joy with its
own individual willingness to share in it. The truly helpful are God's miracle
workers, whom I direct until we are all united in the joy of the Kingdom. I
will direct you to wherever you can be truly helpful, and to whoever can follow
my guidance through you.
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T 4 I. True Rehabilitation
T 4 I 1. Every mind which is split needs rehabilitation. The medical
orientation to rehabilitation emphasizes the body, while the vocational
orientation stresses the ego. The "team" approach generally leads more to
confusion than to anything else because it is too often misused as a way of
exerting the ego's domination over other egos, rather than as a real experiment
in the cooperation of minds. Rehabilitation as a movement is an improvement
over the overt neglect of those in need of help, but it is often little more
than a painful attempt on the part of the halt to lead the blind.
T 4 I 2. The ego is likely to fear broken bodies because it cannot tolerate
them. The ego cannot tolerate ego weakness either without ambivalence because
it is afraid of its own weakness as well as the weakness of its chosen home.
When it is threatened, the ego blocks your natural impulse to help, placing you
under the strain of divided will. You may then be tempted to withdraw to allow
your ego to recover and to gain enough strength to be helpful again on a basis
limited enough NOT to threaten your ego, but too limited to give YOU joy. Those
with broken bodies are often looked down on by the ego because of its belief
that nothing but a perfect body is worthy as its OWN temple.
T 4 I 3. A mind that recoils from a hurt body is in great need of
rehabilitation itself. ALL symptoms of hurt need true helpfulness, and whenever
they are met with this, the mind that so meets them heals ITSELF.
Rehabilitation is an attitude of praising God as He Himself knows praise. He
offers praise to you, and you must offer it to others. The chief handicaps of
the clinicians lie in their attitudes to those whom their egos perceive as
weakened and damaged. BY these evaluations, they have weakened and damaged
their own helpfulness, and have thus set their own rehabilitation back.
Rehabilitation is NOT concerned either with the ego's fight for control, or its
need to avoid and withdraw. You can do much on behalf of your own
rehabilitation AND that of others if, in a situation calling for healing, you
think of it this way:
I am here ONLY to be truly helpful.
I am here to represent Christ, Who sent me.
I do NOT have to worry about what to say or what to do because
He Who sent me will direct me.
I am content to be wherever He wishes, knowing He goes there with me.
I will be healed as I let Him teach me to heal.
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Chapter V 5 - HEALING AND WHOLENESS
T 5 A. Introduction
T 5 A 1. To heal is to make happy. I have told you before to think how many
opportunities you have to gladden yourselves, and how many you have refused.
This is exactly the same as telling you that you have refused to heal
yourselves. The light that belongs to you is the light of joy. Radiance is not
associated with sorrow. Depression is often contagious, but although it may
affect those who come in contact with it, they do not yield to the influence
wholeheartedly. But joy calls forth an integrated willingness to share in it,
and thus promotes the mind’s natural impulse TO RESPOND AS ONE.
T 5 A 2. Those who attempt to heal without being wholly joyous themselves
call forth different kinds of responses at the same time, and thus deprive
others of the joy of responding wholeheartedly. To be wholehearted, you MUST be
happy. If fear and love cannot coexist, and if it is impossible to be wholly
fearful and remain alive, then the only possible whole state IS that of love.
There is no difference between love and joy. Therefore, the only possible whole
state is the wholly joyous. To heal or to make joyous is therefore the same as
to integrate and to MAKE ONE. That is why it makes no difference to what part
or by what part of the Sonship the healing is done. EVERY part benefits, and
benefits equally.
T 5 A 3. YOU are being blessed by every beneficent thought of any of your
brothers anywhere. You should want to bless them in return, out of gratitude.
You do not have to know them individually, or they you. The light is so strong
that it radiates throughout the Sonship, and returns thanks to the Father for
radiating His joy upon it. Only God's holy children are worthy to be channels
of His beautiful joy, because only they are beautiful enough to hold it by
sharing it. It is impossible for a Child of God to love his neighbor EXCEPT as
himself. That is why the healer's prayer is:
"Let me know this brother as I know myself."
T 5 B. Healing as Joining
T 5 B 1. Healing is an act of thought by which two minds perceive their
oneness and become glad. This gladness calls to every part of the Sonship to
rejoice with them, and lets God Himself go out into them and through them. Only
the
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healed mind can experience revelation with lasting effect because revelation is
an experience of pure joy. If you do not choose to be wholly joyous, your mind
cannot HAVE what it does not choose to BE. Remember that the Soul knows no
difference between "being" and "having." The higher mind thinks according to
the laws which the Soul obeys, and therefore honors only the laws of God. To
Him, getting is meaningless and giving is all. Having everything, the Soul
HOLDS everything BY giving it, and thus creates as the Father created.
T 5 B 2. If you think about it, you will see that, while this kind of
thinking is totally alien to having THINGS, even to the lower mind it is quite
comprehensible in connection with IDEAS. If you share a physical possession,
you DO divide its ownership. If you share an idea, however, you do NOT lessen
it. ALL of it is still yours, although all of it has been given away. Further,
if the person to whom you give it accepts it as HIS, he reinforces it in YOUR
mind, and thus INCREASES it. If you can accept the concept that the world IS
one of ideas, the whole belief in the false association which the ego makes
between giving and LOSING is gone.
T 5 B 3. Let us start our process of re-awakening with just a few simple
concepts:
Thoughts INCREASE by being given away.
The more who believe in them, the STRONGER they become. EVERYTHING is an idea.
How, then, is it possible that giving and losing CAN be meaningfully
associated?
This is the invitation to the Holy Spirit. I told you that I could reach up and
bring the Holy Spirit down to you, but I can bring Him to you ONLY at your own
invitation. The Holy Spirit is nothing more than your own right mind. He was
also mine. The Bible says, "May the mind be in you that was also in Christ
Jesus," and uses this as a BLESSING. It is the blessing of miracle-mindedness.
It asks that you may think as I thought, joining with me in Christ-thinking.
T 5 B 4. The Holy Spirit is the only part of the Holy Trinity which is
symbolic. He is referred to in the Bible as the Healer, the Comforter, and the
Guide. He is also described as something "separate," apart from the Father and
from the Son. I myself said, "If I go I will send you another comforter, and He
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will abide with you." The Holy Spirit is a difficult concept to grasp precisely
because it IS symbolic, and therefore open to many different interpretations.
As a man and as one of God's creations, my right thinking, which came from the
Universal Inspiration which IS the Holy Spirit, taught me first and foremost
that this Inspiration is for all. I could not have It myself WITHOUT knowing
this.
T 5 B 5. The word "know" is proper in this context, because the Holy
Inspiration is so close to knowledge that It calls it forth; or better, allows
it to come. We have spoken before of the higher, or the "true" perception,
which is so close to truth that God Himself can flow across the little gap.
Knowledge is always ready to flow everywhere, but it cannot oppose. Therefore,
you can obstruct it, although you can never lose it. The Holy Spirit is the
Christ Mind Which senses the knowledge that lies beyond perception. It came
into being with the separation as a protection, inspiring the beginning of the
Atonement at the same time. Before that, there was no need for healing, and no
one was comfortless.
T 5 C. The Mind of the Atonement
T 5 C 1. God honored even the miscreations of His Children because they had
made them, but He also blessed them with a way of thinking that could raise
their perceptions until they became so lofty that they could reach almost back
to Him. The Holy Spirit is the Mind of the Atonement. It represents a state of
mind that comes close enough to One-Mindedness that transfer to it is at last
possible. Transfer depends on common elements in the old learning and the new
situation to which it is transferred. Perception is not knowledge, but it can
be transferred TO knowledge, or CROSS OVER into it. It might even be more
helpful here to use the literal meaning of "carried" over, since the last step
is taken by God.
T 5 C 2. The Holy Spirit, the shared Inspiration of all the Sonship, induces
a kind of perception in which many elements are like those in the Kingdom of
Heaven itself.
T 5 C 3. First, its universality is perfectly clear, and no one who receives
it could ever believe for one instant that sharing it involves anything BUT
gain.
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T 5 C 4. Second, it is incapable of attack, and is therefore truly open.
This means that, although it does not engender knowledge, it does not OBSTRUCT
it in any way. There is a point at which sufficient quantitative changes
produce real qualitative differences. The next point requires real
understanding because it is the point at which the shift occurs. [T31]
T 5 C 5. Finally, it points the way BEYOND the healing which it brings, and
leads the mind beyond its own integration into the paths of creation.
T 5 C 6. Healing is not creating; it is reparation. The Holy Spirit promotes
healing by looking BEYOND it, to what the Children of God were before healing
was needed, and will be when they have BEEN healed. This alteration of the time
sequence should be quite familiar because it is very similar to the shift in
time perception which the miracle introduces. The Holy Spirit is the MOTIVATION
for miracle-mindedness; the will to HEAL the separation by letting it go. This
will is IN you because God placed it in your mind, and although you can keep it
asleep, you cannot obliterate it.
T 5 C 7. God Himself keeps this will alive by transmitting it from His Mind
to yours as long as there is time. It is partly His and partly yours. The
miracle itself is just this fusion or union of will between Father and Son. The
Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Joy [T32]. He is the Call to return with which God
blessed the minds of His separated Sons. This is the vocation of the mind. The
mind had no calling until the separation because, before that, it had only
BEING, and would not have understood the call to right thinking. The Holy
Spirit was God’s Answer to the separation, the means by which the Atonement
could repair [T33] until the whole mind returned to creating.
T 5 C 8. The Atonement and the separation began at the same time. When man
made the ego, God placed in him the call to joy. This call is so strong that
the ego always dissolves at its sound. That is why you can choose to listen to
two voices within you. One you made yourself, and that one is not of God. But
the other is given you BY God, Who asks you only to listen to it. The Holy
Spirit is in you in a very literal sense. His is the Voice that calls you back
to where you were before, and will be again.
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T 5 D. The Voice for God
T 5 D 1. It is possible, even in this world, to hear ONLY that voice and no
other. It takes effort and great willingness to learn. It is the final lesson
that I learned, and God's Sons are as equal as learners as they are as Souls.
The Voice of the Holy Spirit IS the call to Atonement, or the restoration of the
integrity of the mind. When the Atonement is complete and the whole Sonship is
healed, there will be no call to return, but what God creates is eternal. The
Holy Spirit will remain with the Sons of God, to bless THEIR creations, and keep
them in the light of joy.
T 5 D 2. You ARE the Kingdom of Heaven, but you have let the belief in
darkness enter your minds, and so you need a new light. The Holy Spirit is the
radiance that you must let banish the idea of darkness. His is the glory before
which dissociation falls away, and the Kingdom of Heaven breaks through into its
own. Before the separation you did not need guidance. You KNEW as you will
know again, but as you do NOT know now. God does not guide because he can share
only perfect knowledge. Guidance is evaluative because it implies that there is
a RIGHT way and also a WRONG way, one to be chosen and the other to be avoided.
By choosing one, you give up the other.
T 5 D 3. This IS a conflict state. It MEANS that knowledge has been lost
because knowledge is sure. God is not in you in a literal sense; YOU are part
of HIM. When you chose to leave Him, He gave you a Voice to speak FOR Him
because He could no longer share His knowledge with you without hindrance.
Direct communication was broken because you had made another voice through
another will. The Holy Spirit calls you both to remember and to forget. You
have chosen to be in a state of opposition, in which opposites are possible. As
a result, there ARE choices which you must make. In the holy state, the will is
free in the sense that its CREATIVE power is unlimited, but choice itself is
meaningless.
T 5 D 4. Freedom to choose is the same POWER as freedom to create, but its
APPLICATION is different. Choosing MEANS divided will. The Holy Spirit is one
way of choosing. This way is in you because there is also ANOTHER way.
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God did not leave His Children comfortless, even though they chose to leave Him.
The voice they put in their minds was NOT the voice of His Will, for which the
Holy Spirit speaks. The call to return is stronger than the call to depart, but
it speaks in a different way.
T 5 D 5. The Voice of the Holy Spirit does not command because it is
incapable of arrogance. It does not demand because it does not seek control.
It does not overcome because it does not attack. It merely REMINDS. It is
compelling only because of what it reminds you OF. It brings to your mind the
OTHER way, remaining quiet even in the midst of the turmoil you have made for
yourselves. The Voice for God is always quiet because it speaks of peace. Yet
peace is stronger than war because it heals. War is division, not increase. No
one gains from strife.
T 5 D 6. "What profiteth it a man if he gain the whole world and lose his own
Soul?" That means that if he listens to the wrong voice, he has LOST SIGHT of
his Soul. He CANNOT lose it, but he CAN not know it. It is therefore LOST TO
HIM until he chooses right. The Holy Spirit is your Guide in choosing. He is
the part of your mind which ALWAYS speaks for the right choice because He speaks
for God. He is your remaining communication with God, which you can interrupt
but cannot destroy.
T 5 D 7. The Holy Spirit is the way in which God's Will can be done on earth
as it is in Heaven. Both Heaven and earth are in YOU because the call of both
is in your will, and therefore in your mind. The Voice for God comes from your
own altars to Him. These altars are not things; they are DEVOTIONS. Yet you
have other devotions now. Your divided devotion has given you the two voices,
and you must choose at which altar you will to serve. The call you answer now
IS an evaluation because it is a DECISION. The decision itself is very simple.
It is made on the basis of which call is worth more to you.
T 5 D 8. My mind will always be like yours because we were created as equals.
It was only my DECISION that gave me all power in Heaven and earth. My only
gift to you is to help you make the same decision FOR YOURSELF. The will for
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this decision is the will to SHARE it because the decision itself IS the
decision to share. It is MADE BY GIVING, and is therefore the ONE act of mind
that resembles true creation. You understand the role of "models" in the
learning process, and the importance of the models you value and choose to
follow in determining what you will to learn. I am your model for decision. By
deciding for God I showed you that this decision CAN be made, and that YOU can
make it.
T 5 D 9. I promised you that the mind that made the decision for me is also
in YOU, and that you can let it change you just as it changed me. This mind is
unequivocal because it hears only ONE voice and answers in only ONE way. You
are the light of the world with me. Rest does not come from sleeping but from
waking. The Holy Spirit is the call to awake and be glad. The world is very
tired because it IS the idea of weariness. Our task is the joyous one of waking
it to the Call for God. Everyone will answer the Call of the Holy Spirit, or
the Sonship cannot be as one. What better vocation could there be for any part
of the Kingdom than to restore it to the perfect integration that can make it
whole?
T 5 D 10. Hear only this through the Holy Spirit within you, and teach your
brothers to listen as I am teaching you. When you are tempted by the wrong
voice, call on me to remind you how to heal by sharing my decision AND MAKING IT
STRONGER. As we share this goal we increase its power to attract the whole
Sonship, and to bring it back into the Oneness in which it was created.
Remember that "yoke [T34] " means "join together" and "burden" means message. Let
us reconsider the Biblical statement "my yoke [T35] is easy and my burden light"
in this way; let us join together, for my message is Light.
T 5 D 11. I came into your minds because you had grown vaguely aware of the
fact that there IS another way, or another Voice. Having given this invitation
to the Holy Spirit, I could come to provide the model for HOW TO THINK.
Psychology has become the study of BEHAVIOR, but no one denies the basic law
that behavior is a response to MOTIVATION, and motivation is will.
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I have enjoined you to behave as I behaved, but we must respond to the same mind
to do this. This mind is the Holy Spirit, Whose will is for God always. He
teaches you how to keep me as the model for your thought, and to behave like me
as a result.
T 5 D 12. The power of our joint motivation is beyond belief but NOT beyond
accomplishment. What we can accomplish together HAS no limits because the Call
for God IS the call to the unlimited. Child of God, my message is for YOU, to
hear and give away as you answer the Holy Spirit within you.
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T 5 E. The Guide to Salvation
T 5 E 1. The way to learn to know your brother is by perceiving the Holy
Spirit in him. We have already said that the Holy Spirit is the bridge or
thought-transfer of perception to knowledge, so we can use the terms as if they
were related because, in His mind, they ARE. This relationship MUST be in His
mind because, unless it were, the separation between the two ways of thinking
would not be open to healing. He is part of the Holy Trinity because His mind
is partly yours and also partly God's. This needs clarification, not in
statement since we have said it before, but in EXPERIENCE.
T 5 E 2. The Holy Spirit is the IDEA of healing. Being thought, the idea
GAINS AS IT IS SHARED. Being the Call FOR God, it is also the idea OF God.
Since YOU are part of God, it is also the idea of YOURSELF, as well as of all
the parts of God. The idea of the Holy Spirit shares the property of other
ideas because it follows the laws of the Universe of which it is a part.
Therefore, it is strengthened by being given away. It increases in YOU as you
give it to your brothers. Since thoughts do not have to be conscious to exist,
your brother does not have to be aware of the Holy Spirit, either in himself or
in you, for this miracle to occur.
T 5 E 3. Your brother may have dissociated the Call for God, just as YOU
have. The dissociation is healed in BOTH of you as YOU become aware of the Call
for God in him, and thus acknowledge its BEING. There are two ways of seeing
your brother which are diametrically opposed to each other. They must both be
in YOUR mind because YOU are the perceiver. They must also be in HIS because
you are perceiving HIM. See him through the Holy Spirit in HIS mind, and you
will recognize Him in YOURS. What you acknowledge in your brother you ARE
acknowledging in yourself, and what you share you strengthen.
T 5 E 4. The Voice of the Holy Spirit IS weak in you. That is why you MUST
share it. It must be INCREASED in strength before YOU can hear it. It is
impossible to hear it in yourself while it is so weak in your OWN mind. It is
not weak in itself, but it IS limited by your unwillingness to hear it. Will
itself is an idea, and is therefore strengthened by being shared. If
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you make the mistake of looking for the Holy Spirit in yourself alone, your
meditations will frighten you because, by ADOPTING the ego's viewpoint, you are
undertaking an ego-alien journey with the ego as GUIDE. This is BOUND to
produce fear.
T 5 E 5. Delay is of the ego because time is ITS concept. Delay is obviously
a time idea. Both time and delay are meaningless in eternity. We have said
before that the Holy Spirit is God's ANSWER to the ego. Everything of which the
Holy Spirit reminds you is in direct opposition to the ego's notions because
true and false perceptions are THEMSELVES opposed. The Holy Spirit has the task
of UNDOING what the ego has made. He undoes it in the same realm of discourse
in which the ego itself operates, or the mind would be unable to understand the
change.
T 5 E 6. We have repeatedly emphasized that one level of the mind is not
understandable to another. So it is with the ego and the Soul; with time and
eternity. Eternity is an idea of God, so the Soul understands it perfectly.
Time is a belief of the ego, so the lower mind, which IS the ego's domain,
accepts it without question. The only aspect of time which is really eternal is
NOW. That is what we really mean when we say that "now is the only time." The
literal nature of this statement does not mean anything to the ego, which
interprets it, at best, to mean "don't worry about the future." That is not
what it really means at all.
T 5 E 7. The Holy Spirit is the Mediator between the interpretations of the
ego and the knowledge of the Soul. His ability to deal with symbols enables Him
to work AGAINST the ego's beliefs in its own language. His equal ability to
look BEYOND symbols into eternity also enables Him to understand the laws of
God, for which He speaks. He can thus perform the function of REINTERPRETING
what the ego makes, NOT by destruction, but by UNDERSTANDING. Understanding is
light, and light leads to knowledge. The Holy Spirit is IN light because He is
in you who ARE light, but you yourselves do not know this. It is therefore the
task of the Holy Spirit to re-interpret YOU on behalf of God.
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T 5 E 8. You cannot understand yourselves alone. This is because you have no
meaning APART from your rightful place in the Sonship, and the rightful place of
the Sonship in God. This is your life, your eternity, and YOURSELF. It is of
this that the Holy Spirit reminds you. It is this that the Holy Spirit SEES.
This vision invariably frightens the ego because it is so calm. Peace is the
ego's greatest enemy because, according to ITS interpretation of reality, war is
the guarantee of its survival. The ego becomes strong in strife. If you
believe there IS strife, you will react viciously because the idea of danger has
entered your mind. The idea itself IS an appeal to the ego.
T 5 E 9. The Holy Spirit is as vigilant as the ego to the call of danger,
opposing it with His strength just as the ego WELCOMES it with all its might.
The Holy Spirit counters this welcome by welcoming peace. Peace and eternity
are as closely related as are time and war. Perception as well as knowledge
derives meaning from relationships. Those which you accept are the foundations
of your beliefs. The separation is merely another term for a split mind. It
was not an act, but a THOUGHT. Therefore, the idea of separation can be given
away, just as the idea of unity can. Either way, the idea will be strengthened
IN THE MIND OF THE GIVER.
T 5 E 10. The ego is the symbol of separation, just as the Holy Spirit is the
symbol of peace. What you perceive in others you are strengthening in YOURSELF.
You let your mind misperceive, but the Holy Spirit lets your mind reinterpret
its own misperceptions. The Holy Spirit is the perfect teacher. He uses only
what your minds ALREADY understand to teach you that you do NOT understand it.
The Holy Spirit can deal with an unwilling learner without going counter to his
will because part of his will IS still for God. Despite the ego's attempts to
conceal this part it is still much stronger than the ego, even though the ego
does not recognize it. The Holy Spirit recognizes it perfectly because it is
His own dwelling place, or the place in the mind where He is at home.
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T 5 E 11. YOU are at home there, too, because it is a place of peace and peace
is of God. You who are part of God are not at home EXCEPT in His peace. If
peace is eternal, you are at home only in eternity. The ego made the world as
IT perceives it, but the Holy Spirit, the REINTERPRETER of what the ego made,
sees it only as a teaching device for bringing you home. The Holy Spirit must
perceive time and re-interpret it into the timeless. The mind must be led into
eternity THROUGH time because, having made time, it is capable of perceiving its
opposite.
T 5 E 12. The Holy Spirit must work through opposites because He must work with
and for a mind that IS in opposition. Correct and learn, and be open to
learning. You have NOT made truth, but truth can still set you free. Look as
the Holy Spirit looks and understand as He understands. His understanding looks
back to God in remembrance of me. He is in Holy Communion always, and He is
part of YOU. He is your Guide to salvation because He holds the remembrance of
things past and to come. He holds this gladness gently in your minds, asking
only that you INCREASE it in His name by sharing it to increase His joy in YOU.
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T 5 F. Therapy and Teaching
T 5 F 1. You must have noticed how often I have used your own ideas to help
you. You have learned to be a loving, wise and very understanding therapist
EXCEPT FOR YOURSELF. That exception has given you more than perception for
others because of what you saw in THEM, but LESS than knowledge of your real
relationships TO them because you did not accept them as PART of you.
Understanding IS beyond perception because it introduces meaning. It is,
however, below knowledge, even though it can grow TOWARD it. It is possible,
with great effort, to understand someone else to some extent and to be quite
helpful to him, but the effort is misdirected. The misdirection is quite
apparent; it is directed away from YOU.
T 5 F 2. This does not mean that it is LOST to you, but it DOES mean that you
are not aware of it. I have saved all your kindnesses and every loving thought
you have had. I have purified them of the errors which hid their light, and
have kept them for you in their own perfect radiance. They are beyond
destruction and beyond guilt. They came from the Holy Spirit within YOU, and we
know what God creates is eternal. What fear has hidden still is part of you.
T 5 F 3. Joining the Atonement, which I have repeatedly asked you to do, is
always a way OUT of fear. This does not mean that you can safely fail to
acknowledge anything that is true. However, the Holy Spirit will not fail to
help you re-interpret everything that you perceive as fearful, and teach you
that ONLY what is loving IS true. Truth is beyond your ability to destroy, but
entirely within your grasp. It belongs to you because you created it. It is
yours because it is a part of you, just as you are part of God because He
created YOU.
T 5 F 4. The Atonement is the GUARANTEE of the safety of the Kingdom.
Nothing good is lost because it comes from the Holy Spirit, the Voice for
creation. Nothing that is NOT good was ever created, and therefore CANNOT be
protected. What the ego makes it KEEPS TO ITSELF, and so it is without
strength. Its unshared existence does not die; it was merely never born. Real
birth is not a beginning; it is a CONTINUING. Everything that can
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continue has BEEN born, but it can INCREASE as you are willing to return the
part of your mind that needs healing to the higher part, and thus render your
creating undivided.
T 5 F 5. As a therapist, you yourself tell your patients that the real
difference between neurotic and "healthy" guilt feelings is that neurotic guilt
feelings DO NOT HELP ANYONE. This distinction is wise though incomplete. Let
us make the distinction a little sharper now. Neurotic guilt feelings are a
device of the ego for "atoning" without sharing, and for asking pardon without
change. The ego NEVER calls for REAL Atonement, and cannot tolerate
forgiveness, which IS change.
T 5 F 6. Your concept of "healthy guilt feelings" has merit, but without the
concept of the Atonement it lacks the healing potential it holds. You made the
distinction in terms of feelings which led to a decision not to REPEAT the
error, which is only PART of healing. Your concept lacked the idea of UNDOING
it. What you were really advocating, then, was adopting a policy of sharing
without a real FOUNDATION. I have come to GIVE you the foundation, so your own
thoughts can make you REALLY free. You have carried the burden of the ideas you
did not share and which were therefore too weak to increase, but you did not
recognize how to undo their existence BECAUSE you had made them.
T 5 F 7. You CANNOT cancel out your past errors alone. They will NOT
disappear from your mind without remedy. The remedy is NOT of your making, any
more than YOU are. The Atonement cannot be understood except as a PURE ACT OF
SHARING. That is what is meant when we said it is possible, even in this world,
to listen to ONE voice. If you are part of God and the Sonship is one, you
CANNOT be limited to the "self" the ego sees. Every loving thought held in ANY
part of the Sonship belongs to every part. It is shared BECAUSE it is loving.
Sharing is God's way of creating, and also YOURS. Your ego can keep you in
exile FROM the Kingdom, but in the Kingdom itself it has no power.
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T 5 F 8. You have become willing to receive my messages as I give them
without interference by the ego, so we can clarify an earlier point. We said
that you will one day teach as much as you learn, and that will keep you in
balance. The time is now because you have LET it be now. You cannot learn
EXCEPT by teaching. I heard one voice because I had learned that learning is
attained BY teaching. I understood that I COULD NOT ATONE FOR MYSELF ALONE.
Listening to one voice means the will to SHARE the voice in order to hear it
yourself. The mind that was in me is still irresistibly drawn to every mind
created by God because God's Wholeness IS the wholeness of His Son.
T 5 F 9. Turning the other cheek does NOT mean that you should submit to
violence without protest. It means that you cannot BE hurt, and do not want to
show your brother anything EXCEPT your wholeness. Show him that he CANNOT hurt
you and hold nothing against him, or you hold it against yourself. Teaching is
done in many ways, - by formal means, by guidance, and above all BY EXAMPLE.
Teaching is therapy because it means the SHARING of ideas, and the awareness
that to share them is to STRENGTHEN them. The union of the Sonship IS its
protection. The ego cannot prevail against the Kingdom BECAUSE it is united,
and the ego fades away and is undone in the presence of the attraction of the
parts of the Sonship which hear the call of the Holy Spirit to be as One.
T 5 F 10. I cannot forget my need to teach what I have learned, which arose in
me BECAUSE I learned it. I call upon you to teach what you have learned
because, by so doing, YOU can depend on it. Make it dependable in my name
because my name is the name of God's Son. What I learned I give you freely, and
the mind which was in me rejoices as YOU choose to hear it. The Holy Spirit
atones in all of us by UNDOING, and thus lifts the burden you have placed in
your mind. By following Him, He leads you back to God where you belong, and how
can you find this way except by taking your brother with you?
T 5 F 11. My part in the Atonement is not complete until YOU join it and give
it away. As you teach, so shall you learn. I will never leave you or forsake
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you, because to forsake you would be to forsake myself and God who created me.
You will forsake yourselves and God if you forsake ANY of your brothers. You
are more than your brother's keeper. In fact, you do not WANT to keep him. You
must learn to see him as he is, and KNOW that he belongs to God as you do. How
could you treat your brother better than by rendering unto God the things which
are God's?
T 5 F 12. Ideas do not LEAVE the mind which thought them to have a separate
being, nor do separate thoughts conflict with one another in space because they
do not occupy space at all. However, human ideas CAN conflict in content
because they occur at different levels, and include opposite thoughts at the
SAME level. IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO SHARE OPPOSING THOUGHTS. The Holy Spirit does
not LET you forsake your brothers. Therefore, you can really share ONLY the
parts of your thoughts which are of Him, and which He also keeps for YOU. And
of such is the Kingdom of Heaven. All the rest remains with you until He has
re-interpreted them in the light of the Kingdom, making them, too, worthy of
being shared. When they have been sufficiently purified He lets you give them
away. The will to share them IS their purification.
T 5 F 13. The Atonement gives you the power of a healed mind, but the power to
create is of God. Therefore, those who have been forgiven must devote
themselves first to healing because, having RECEIVED the idea of healing, they
must GIVE it to HOLD it. The full power of creation cannot be expressed as long
as ANY of God's ideas withhold it from the Kingdom. The joint will of ALL the
Sonship is the only creator that can create like the Father, because only the
complete can think completely, and the thinking of God lacks nothing.
Everything you think that is not through the Holy Spirit IS lacking.
T 5 F 14. How can you who are so holy suffer? All your past, except its
beauty, is gone, and nothing is left except a blessing. You can indeed depart
in peace because I have loved you as I loved myself. You go WITH my blessing
and FOR my blessing. Hold it and share it, that it may always be ours. I place
the peace of God in your heart and in your hands, to hold and share. The heart
is pure to hold it and the hands are strong to give it. We cannot
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lose. My judgment is as strong as the wisdom of God, in Whose Heart and Hands
we have our being. His quiet children are His blessed Sons. The Thoughts of
God are with you.
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T 5 G. The Two Decisions
T 5 G 1. Perhaps some of our concepts will become clearer and more personally
meaningful if the ego's use of guilt is clarified. The ego has a purpose, just
as the Holy Spirit has. The ego's purpose is FEAR, because ONLY the fearful can
BE egotistic. The ego's logic is as impeccable as that of the Holy Spirit
because your mind has all the means at its disposal to side with Heaven or
earth, as it elects. But again, let us remember that both are in YOU. In
Heaven there is no guilt because the Kingdom is attained through the Atonement,
which releases you to create. The word "create" is appropriate here because,
once what YOU have made is undone by the Holy Spirit, the blessed residue is
restored, and therefore continues in creation.
T 5 G 2. What is truly blessed is incapable of giving rise to guilt, and MUST
give rise to joy. This makes it invulnerable to the ego because its peace is
unassailable. It is invulnerable to disruption BECAUSE it is whole. Guilt is
ALWAYS disruptive. Anything that engenders fear is divisive because it obeys
the law of division. If the ego is the symbol of the separation, it is also the
symbol of guilt. Guilt is more than merely not of God. It is the symbol of the
ATTACK on God. This is a totally meaningless concept EXCEPT to the ego, but do
not underestimate the power of the ego's belief in it. This is the belief from
which ALL guilt really stems.
T 5 G 3. The ego IS the part of the mind which believes in division. How can
part of God detach itself WITHOUT believing it is attacking Him? We spoke
before of the authority problem as involving the concept of USURPING God's
power. The ego believes that this is what YOU did because it believes it IS
you. It follows, then, that if you identify WITH the ego, you MUST perceive
yourself as guilty. Whenever you respond to your ego you WILL experience guilt,
and you WILL fear punishment. The ego is quite literally a fearful thought.
T 5 G 4. However ridiculous the idea of attacking God may be to the SANE
mind, never forget that the ego is NOT sane. It represents a delusional system,
and it speaks FOR it. Listening to the ego's voice MEANS that you believe it is
possible to attack God. You believe that a part of Him has been torn
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away by YOU. The classic picture of fear of retaliation FROM WITHOUT then
follows because the severity of the guilt is so acute that it MUST be projected.
Although Freud was wrong about the basic conflict itself, he was very accurate
in describing its effects.
T 5 G 5. Whatever you accept INTO your mind has reality for you. It is,
however, only your ACCEPTANCE of it that makes it real. If you enthrone the ego
in it, the fact that you have accepted it or allowed it to enter MAKES it your
reality. This is because the mind, as God created it, IS capable of creating
reality. We said before that you must learn to think WITH God. To think with
Him is to think LIKE Him. This engenders joy, not guilt, because it is natural.
Guilt is a sure sign that your thinking is UNnatural. Perverted thinking will
ALWAYS be attended with guilt because it IS the belief in sin.
T 5 G 6. The ego does not perceive sin as a lack of love. It perceives sin
as a POSITIVE ACT OF ASSAULT. This is an interpretation which is necessary to
the ego's survival because, as soon as you regard sin as a LACK, you will
automatically attempt to remedy the situation. And you will succeed. The ego
regards this as doom, but YOU must learn to regard it as freedom. The guiltless
mind CANNOT suffer. Being sane, it heals the body because IT has been healed.
The sane mind cannot conceive of illness because it cannot conceive of attacking
anyone or anything.
T 5 G 7. We said before that illness is a form of magic. It might be better
to say that it is a form of magical solution. The ego believes that by
punishing ITSELF it will mitigate the punishment of God. Yet even in this it is
arrogant. It attributes to God a punishing intent, and then takes over this
intent as its OWN prerogative. It tries to usurp ALL the functions of God as it
perceives them because it recognizes that only total allegiance can be trusted.
T 5 G 8. The ego cannot OPPOSE the laws of God any more than YOU can, but it
can INTERPRET them according to what it wants, just as YOU can. That is why the
question, "What DO you want?" must be answered. You ARE answering it
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every minute and every second, and each moment of decision is a judgment which
is anything BUT ineffectual. Its effects will follow automatically UNTIL THE
DECISION IS CHANGED. This is repeated here because you have not learned it.
But again, your decision can be UNMADE as well as made. Remember, though, that
the ALTERNATIVES are unalterable.
T 5 G 9. The Holy Spirit, like the ego, is a decision. Together they
constitute all the alternatives which the mind can accept and obey. The ego and
the Holy Spirit are the ONLY choices open to you. God created one, and so you
CANNOT eradicate it. YOU made the other, and so you CAN. ONLY what God creates
is irreversible and unchangeable. What YOU have made can always be changed
because, when you do not think LIKE God, you are not really thinking at all.
Delusional ideas are not real thoughts, although you CAN believe in them. But
you are wrong. The function of thought comes FROM God and is IN God. As part
of His Thought, you cannot think APART from Him.
T 5 G 10. Irrational thought is a thought DISORDER. God Himself orders your
thought because your thought was created BY Him. Guilt feelings are always a
sign that you do not know this. They also show that you believe you can think
apart from God AND WANT TO. Every thought disorder is attended by guilt at its
inception and maintained by guilt in its continuance. Guilt is inescapable for
those who believe they order their own thought and must therefore obey its
orders. This makes them feel RESPONSIBLE for their mind errors, without
recognizing that, by ACCEPTING this responsibility, they are really reacting
irresponsibly. If the SOLE responsibility of the miracle worker is to accept
the Atonement for himself, and I assure you that it is, then the responsibility
for what is atoned FOR cannot BE yours.
T 5 G 11. The dilemma cannot be resolved except by accepting the solution of
UNDOING. You WOULD be responsible for the effects of all your wrong thinking if
it could not be undone. The purpose of the Atonement is to save the past in
purified form only. If you accept the remedy for a thought disorder, and a
remedy whose efficacy is beyond doubt, how can its symptoms remain? You have
reason to question the validity of symptom cure, but NO ONE believes
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that the symptoms can remain if the underlying CAUSE is removed.
T 5 H. Time and Eternity
T 5 H 1. The CONTINUING will to remain separated is the only possible reason
for continuing guilt feelings. We have said this before, but we did not
emphasize the destructive results of this decision at that time. ANY decision
of the mind will affect both behavior AND experience. What you will, you
EXPECT. This is not delusional. Your mind DOES create your future, and it can
turn it back to full creation at any minute, IF IT ACCEPTS THE ATONEMENT FIRST.
It will also turn back to full creation the instant it has done so. Having
given up its thought disorder, the proper ordering of thought becomes quite
apparent.
T 5 H 2. God in His knowledge is not waiting, but His Kingdom is bereft while
YOU wait. All the Sons of God are waiting for your return, just as YOU are
waiting for THEIRS. Delay does not matter in eternity, but it IS tragic in
time. You have elected to be in time rather than eternity, and have therefore
changed your belief in your status. Yet your election is both free and
alterable. You do not belong in time. Your place is ONLY in eternity, where
God Himself placed you forever.
T 5 H 3. Guilt feelings are the PRESERVERS of time. They induce fears of
future retaliation or abandonment, and thus ensure that the future will remain
like the past. This is the ego's continuity, and gives it a false sense of
security through the belief that you cannot escape [T36] from it. But you can and
MUST. God offers you the continuity of eternity in exchange. When you choose
to make this exchange, you will simultaneously exchange guilt for joy,
viciousness for love, and pain for peace. My role is only to unchain your will
and make it free. Your ego cannot accept this freedom, and will oppose your
free decision at every possible moment and in every possible way. And as its
maker you recognize what it can do because you GAVE it the power to do it.
T 5 H 4. The mind does indeed know its power, because the mind does indeed
know God. Remember the Kingdom always, and remember that you who are part of
the Kingdom CANNOT be lost. The mind that was in me IS in you, for God creates
with perfect fairness. Let the Holy Spirit remind you always of His fairness,
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and let me teach you how to share it with your brothers. How else can the
chance to claim it for yourself be given you? What you do not understand is
that the two voices speak for different interpretations of the same thing
simultaneously, or almost simultaneously, for the ego always speaks first.
Alternate interpretations were unnecessary until the first one was made, and
speaking itself was unnecessary before the ego was made.
T 5 H 5. The ego speaks in judgment and the Holy Spirit reverses its
decisions, much as the Supreme Court has the power to reverse the lower courts'
decisions about the laws of this world. The ego's decisions are ALWAYS wrong
because they are based on a complete fallacy which they were made to uphold.
NOTHING the ego perceives is interpreted correctly. Not only does it cite
Scripture for its purpose, but it even interprets Scripture as a witness for
itself. The Bible is a fearful thing to the ego because of its prejudiced
judgment. Perceiving it as fearful, it interprets it fearfully. Having made
YOU afraid, you do not appeal to the Higher Court because you believe its
judgment would be AGAINST you.
T 5 H 6. We need cite only a few examples to see how the ego's
interpretations have misled you. A favorite ego quotation is "As ye sow, so
shall ye reap." Another is "Vengeance is mine, sayeth the Lord." Still another
is "I will visit the sins of the father unto the third and fourth generation,"
and also "The wicked shall perish." There are many others, but if you will let
the Holy Spirit re-interpret these in His own light, they will suffice.
T 5 H 7. "As ye sow, so shall ye reap" merely means that what you believe to
be worth cultivating you will cultivate in yourself. Your judgment of what is
worthy MAKES it worthy for you. "Vengeance is mine, sayeth the Lord" is easily
explained if you remember that ideas increase only by being shared. This
quotation therefore emphasizes the fact that vengeance CANNOT be shared. Give
it therefore to the Holy Spirit, Who will undo it in you because it does not
belong in your mind, which is part of God.
T 5 H 8. "I will visit the sins of the fathers unto the third and fourth
generation," as interpreted by the ego, is particularly vicious. It is used,
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in fact, as an attempt to guarantee its survival beyond itself. Actually, all
the quotation means is that the Holy Spirit, in later generations, retains the
power to interpret CORRECTLY what former generations have thought, and thus
release THEIR thoughts from the ability to produce fear anywhere in the Sonship.
"The wicked shall perish" is merely a statement of fact, if the word "perish"
is properly understood. Every loveless thought MUST be undone. Even the word
"undone" is fearful to the ego, which interprets "I am undone" as "I am
destroyed."
T 5 H 9. The ego will NOT be destroyed because it is part of your thought,
but because it is uncreative, and therefore unsharing, it WILL be re-interpreted
entirely, to release you from fear. The part of your thought which you have
given to the ego will merely return to the Kingdom where your whole mind
BELONGS. The ego is a form of arrest, but arrest is merely delay. It does NOT
involve the concept of punishment, although the ego welcomes that
interpretation. You CAN delay the completion of the Kingdom, but you CANNOT
introduce the concept of assault into it.
T 5 H 10. When I said, "I am come as a light into the world," I surely came to
share the light with you. Remember the symbolic reference we made before to the
ego's dark glass, and remember also that we said, "Do not look there." It is
still true that "where you look to find yourself is up to you." The Higher
Court will NOT condemn you. It will merely dismiss the case against you. There
can BE no case against a Child of God, and every witness to guilt in God's
creations is bearing false witness to God Himself.
T 5 H 11. Appeal everything you believe gladly to God's Own Higher Court
because it speaks for Him, and therefore speaks truly. It will dismiss the case
against you however carefully YOU have built it. The case may be foolproof, but
it is NOT God-proof. The Voice for God will not hear it at all because He can
only witness truly. His verdict will always be "Thine is the Kingdom" because
He was GIVEN you to remind you of what you are.
T 5 H 12. Your patience with each other is your patience with yourselves. Is
not a Child of God WORTH patience? I have shown you infinite patience because
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my will IS that of our Father, from Whom I learned of infinite patience. His
Voice was in me as it is in you, speaking for patience toward the Sonship in the
Name of its Creator. What you need to learn now is that only infinite patience
CAN produce immediate effects. This is the way in which time is exchanged for
eternity. Infinite patience calls upon infinite love, and by producing results
NOW it renders time unnecessary.
T 5 H 13. To say that time is temporary is merely redundant. We have
repeatedly said that time is a learning device which will be abolished when it
is no longer useful. The Holy Spirit, Who speaks for God in time, also knows
that time is meaningless. He reminds you of this in every passing moment of
time because it is His special function to return you to eternity, and remain to
bless YOUR creations there. He is the only blessing you can truly give because
He is so truly blessed, and because He has been given you so freely by God, you
must give Him as you received Him.
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T 5 I. The Eternal Fixation
T 5 I 1. The idea of "set" is among the better psychological concepts.
Actually, it is used quite frequently in the Bible and also in this course under
many different terms. For example, "God will keep him in perfect peace whose
mind is stayed (or set) on Him," a statement which means that God's peace is set
in the Holy Spirit because it is fixed on God. It is also fixed in you. You,
then, ARE fixed in the peace of God. The concept of "fixation" is also a very
helpful one which Freud understood perfectly. Unfortunately, he lost his
understanding because he was afraid, and, as you know all too well, fear is
incompatible with good judgment. Fear distorts thinking, and therefore
DISorders thought.
T 5 I 2. Freud's system of thought was extremely ingenious because Freud was
extremely ingenious [T37], and a mind MUST endow its thoughts with its own
attributes. This is its inherent strength, although it may misuse its power.
Freud lost much of the potential value of his thought system because he did NOT
include himself in it. This is a dissociated state because the thinker cuts
himself off from his thoughts. Freud's thought was so conflicted that he could
not have retained his sanity as HE saw it WITHOUT dissociation. That is why the
many contradictions which are quite apparent in his thinking became increasingly
less apparent to HIM. A man who knows what fixation really means and yet does
not yield to it is terribly afraid.
T 5 I 3. Fixation is the pull of God, on Whom your mind IS fixed because of
the Holy Spirit's irrevocable set. "Irrevocable" means "cannot be called back
or redirected." The irrevocable nature of the Holy Spirit's set is the basis
for His unequivocal Voice. The Holy Spirit NEVER changes His mind. Clarity of
thought CANNOT occur under conditions of vacillation. Unless a mind is fixed in
its purpose it is NOT clear. Clarity literally means the state of light, and
enlightenment IS understanding. Enlightenment stands UNDER perception because
you have denied it as the REAL foundation of thought. This is the basis for ALL
delusional systems.
T 5 I 4. The concept of fixation, as Freud saw it, has a number of learning
advantages. First, it recognizes that man can be fixated at a point in
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development which does NOT accord with a point in time. This clearly could have
been a means toward real release from the time belief had Freud pursued it with
an open mind. Freud, however, suffered all his life from refusal to allow
eternity to dawn upon his mind and enlighten it truly. As a result, he
overlooked NOW entirely, and merely saw the continuity of past and future.
T 5 I 5. Second, although Freud misinterpreted what the Holy Spirit told him,
or better, reminded him of, he was too honest to deny more than was necessary to
keep his fear in tolerable bounds as he perceived the situation. Therefore, he
emphasized that the point in development at which the mind is fixated is more
real to ITSELF than the external reality with which it disagrees. This, again,
could have been a powerful RELEASE mechanism had Freud not decided to involve it
in a strong DEFENSE system because he perceived it as an attack.
T 5 I 6. Third, although Freud interpreted fixation as involving irrevocable
"danger points" to which the mind could always regress, the concept can also be
interpreted as an irrevocable call to sanity which the mind cannot LOSE. Freud
himself could not accept this interpretation, but throughout his thought system,
the "threat" of fixation remained, and could never be eliminated by any living
human being. Essentially, this was the basis of Freud's pessimism, personally
as well as theoretically. He tried every means his very inventive mind could
devise to set up a form of therapy which could enable the mind to escape from
fixation forever, even though he KNEW this was impossible.
T 5 I 7. This knowledge plagued Freud's belief in his own thought system at
every turn because he was both an honest man and a healer. He was therefore
only partially insane, and was unable to relinquish the HOPE of release even
though he could not cope with it. The reason for this amount of detail is
because YOU are in the same position. You were eternally fixated on God in your
creation, and the pull of this fixation is so strong that you will never
overcome it. The reason is perfectly clear. The fixation is on a level so high
that it cannot BE surmounted. You are ALWAYS being pulled back to your Creator
because you BELONG to Him.
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T 5 I 8. Do you REALLY believe you can make a voice that can drown out His?
Do you REALLY believe that you can devise a thought system which can separate
you from His? Do you REALLY believe that you can plan for your safety and joy
better than He can? You need be neither careful nor careless; you need merely
cast your cares upon Him because He careth for YOU. You ARE His care because He
loves you. His Voice reminds you always that all hope is yours BECAUSE of His
care. You CANNOT choose to escape His care because that is not His Will, but
you CAN choose to accept His care and use the infinite power OF His care for all
those He created BY it.
T 5 I 9. There have been many healers who did not heal themselves. They have
not moved mountains by their faith because their faith was not whole. Some of
them have healed the sick at times, but they have not raised the dead. Unless
the healer heals HIMSELF he does NOT believe that there is no order of
difficulty in miracles. He has not learned that EVERY mind God created is
equally worthy of being healed BECAUSE GOD CREATED IT WHOLE. You are merely
asked to return to God the mind as HE created it. He asks you only for what He
gave, knowing that this giving will heal you. Sanity IS wholeness, and the
sanity of your brothers IS yours.
T 5 I 10. Why should you listen to the endless insane calls which you think are
made upon you when you KNOW the Voice of God Himself is in you? God commended
His Spirit to you, and asks that you commend yours to Him. He wills to keep it
in perfect peace because you are of one mind and Spirit with Him. Excluding
yourself from the Atonement is the ego's last-ditch defense of its OWN
existence. It reflects both the ego's need to separate, and your willingness to
side with its separateness. This willingness means THAT YOU DO NOT WANT TO BE
HEALED.
T 5 I 11. But the time IS now. You have not been asked to work out the plan of
salvation yourselves because, as I told you before, the remedy is NOT of your
making. God Himself gave you the perfect correction for everything you have
made which is NOT in accord with His holy Will. I have made His plan perfectly
explicit to you, and have also told you of your part in His plan,
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and how urgent it is that you fulfill it. There is time for delay, but there
need not be. God weeps at the "sacrifice" of His Children who believe they are
lost to Him.
T 5 I 12. I have already told you that whenever you are not wholly joyous it is
because you have reacted with a lack of love to some Soul which God created.
Perceiving this as "sin," you become defensive because you EXPECT ATTACK. The
decision to react in this way, however, is YOURS, and can therefore be undone.
It CANNOT be undone by repentance in the usual sense, because this implies
guilt. If you allow yourself to feel guilty you will REINFORCE the error rather
than allow it to be undone FOR you.
T 5 I 13. Decisions CANNOT be difficult. This is obvious if you realize that
you must ALREADY have made a decision NOT to be wholly joyous if that is how you
feel. Therefore, the first step in the undoing is to recognize that you
ACTIVELY DECIDED WRONGLY, but can AS ACTIVELY DECIDE OTHERWISE. Be very firm
with yourselves in this, and keep yourselves fully aware of the fact that the
undoing process, which does NOT come from you, is nevertheless WITHIN you
because God placed it there. YOUR part is merely to return your thinking to the
point at which the error was made, and give it over to the Atonement in peace.
Say to yourselves the following as sincerely as you can, remembering that the
Holy Spirit will respond fully to your slightest invitation:
I must have decided wrongly because I am NOT at peace. I made the decision
myself, but I can also decide otherwise. I WILL to decide otherwise because I
WANT to be at peace.
I do NOT feel guilty because the Holy Spirit will undo all
the consequences of my wrong decision IF I WILL LET HIM.
I WILL to let Him by allowing Him to decide for God for me.
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Chapter VI 6 - ATTACK AND FEAR
T 6 A. Introduction
T 6 A 1. The relationship of anger to attack is obvious, but the inevitable
association of anger and FEAR is not always so clear. Anger ALWAYS involves
PROJECTION OF SEPARATION, which must ultimately be accepted as entirely one's
own responsibility. Anger cannot occur unless you believe that you have been
attacked, that your attack(er) was (un)justified [T38], and that YOU are in no way
responsible. Given these three wholly irrational premises, the equally
irrational conclusion that a brother is WORTHY of attack rather than of love
follows. What can be expected from insane premises except an insane conclusion?
T 6 A 2. The way to undo an insane conclusion is to consider the sanity of
the premises on which it rests. You cannot BE attacked; attack HAS no
justification; and you ARE responsible for what you believe. You have been
asked to take me as your model for learning, since an extreme example is a
particularly helpful learning device. Everyone teaches, and teaches all the
time. This is a responsibility which he inevitably assumes the moment he
accepts any premise at all, and no one can organize his life without ANY thought
system. Once he has developed a thought system of any kind, he lives by it AND
TEACHES IT.
T 6 A 3. You have been chosen to teach the Atonement precisely because you
have been extreme examples of allegiance to your thought systems, and therefore
have developed the CAPACITY for allegiance. It has indeed been misplaced, but
it IS a form of faith, which you yourselves have been willing to redirect. You
cannot doubt the strength of your devotion, when you consider how faithfully you
have observed it. It was quite evident that you had already developed the
ability to follow a better model, if you could accept it.
T 6 B. The Message of the Crucifixion
T 6 B 1. For teaching purposes, let us consider the crucifixion again. We
have not dwelt on it before, because of its fearful connotations. The only
emphasis we laid upon it was that it was NOT a form of punishment. Nothing,
however, can be really explained in negative terms only. There is a positive
interpretation of the crucifixion which is wholly devoid of fear, and therefore
wholly benign in what it teaches, if it is properly understood. The crucifixion
is nothing more than an extreme example. Its value, like the value of
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any teaching device, lies solely in the kind of learning it facilitates. It can
be, and has been, misunderstood. This is only because the fearful are apt to
perceive fearfully.
T 6 B 2. I have already told you that you can always call on me to share my
decision and thus MAKE IT STRONGER. I also told you that the crucifixion was
the last foolish journey that the Sonship need take, and that it should mean
RELEASE from fear to anyone who understands it. While we emphasized only the
resurrection before, the purpose of the crucifixion and how it actually LED to
the resurrection was not clarified at that time. Nevertheless, it has a
definite contribution to make to your own lives, and if you will consider it
WITHOUT fear, it will help you understand your own role as teachers.
T 6 B 3. You have reacted for years AS IF you were being crucified. This is
a marked tendency of the separated ones, who always refuse to consider what they
have done TO THEMSELVES. Projection means anger, anger fosters assault, and
assault promotes fear. The real meaning of the crucifixion lies in the APPARENT
intensity of the assault of some of the Sons of God upon another. This, of
course, is impossible, and must be fully understood AS an impossibility. In
fact, unless it IS fully understood as only that, I cannot serve as a real model
for learning.
T 6 B 4. Assault can ultimately be made ONLY on the body. There is little
doubt that one BODY can assault another, and can even destroy it. Yet if
destruction ITSELF is impossible, then anything that is destructible cannot be
REAL. Therefore, its destruction does NOT justify anger. To the extent to
which you believe that it DOES, you must be accepting false premises AND
TEACHING THEM TO OTHERS. The message which the crucifixion was intended to
teach was that it is not necessary to perceive ANY form of assault in
persecution because you cannot BE persecuted. If you respond with anger you
must be equating yourself with the destructible, and are therefore regarding
yourself insanely.
T 6 B 5. I have made it perfectly clear that I am like you and you are like
me, but our fundamental equality can be demonstrated only through joint
DECISION.
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You are free to perceive yourselves as persecuted if you choose. You might
remember, however, when you DO choose to react that way, that I WAS persecuted
as the world judges, and did NOT share this evaluation for myself. And because
I did not share it I did not STRENGTHEN it. I therefore offered a DIFFERENT
interpretation of attack, and one which I DO want to share with you. If you
will BELIEVE it, you will help me to TEACH it.
T 6 B 6. We have said before, "As you teach so shall you learn." If you
react as if you are persecuted, you are TEACHING persecution. This is not a
lesson which the Sons of God should WANT to teach if they are to realize their
own salvation. Rather teach your own perfect immunity, which IS the truth in
you, and KNOW that it cannot be assailed. Do not protect it yourselves, or you
have believed that it IS assailable. You are not asked to BE crucified, which
was part of my own teaching contribution. You are merely asked to follow my
example in the face of much LESS extreme temptations to misperceive, and NOT to
accept them falsely as justifications for anger.
T 6 B 7. There can BE no justification for the unjustifiable. Do not believe
there is, and do not TEACH that there is. Remember always that what you
believe, you WILL teach. Believe with me, and we will become equal as teachers.
YOUR resurrection is your re-awakening. I am the model for rebirth, but
rebirth itself is merely the dawning on your minds of what is already in them.
God placed it there Himself, and so it is true forever. I believed in it, and
therefore made it forever true for me. Help me to teach it to our brothers in
the name of the Kingdom of God, but first believe that it is true for YOU, or
you will teach amiss.
T 6 B 8. My brothers slept during the so-called "agony" in the garden, but I
could not be angry with them because I had learned I could not BE abandoned.
Peter swore he would never deny me, but he did so three times. He did offer to
defend me with the sword, which I naturally refused, not being at all in need of
bodily protection. I AM sorry when my brothers do not share my decision to hear
only one voice, because it weakens them as teachers AND as learners. Yet I know
that they cannot really betray themselves OR me, and
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that it is still on them that I must build my church.
T 6 B 9. There is no choice in this because only you can BE the foundation of
God's church. A church is where an altar is, and the presence of the altar is
what MAKES it a church. Any church which does not inspire love has a hidden
altar which is not serving the purpose for which God intended it. I must found
His church on you because you who accept me as a model are literally my
disciples. Disciples are followers, but if the model they follow has chosen to
save them pain in all respects, they are probably unwise NOT to follow him.
T 6 B 10. I elected, both for your sake AND mine, to demonstrate that the most
outrageous assault, as judged by the ego, did not matter. As the world judges
these things, but NOT as God KNOWS them, I was betrayed, abandoned, beaten,
torn, and finally killed. It was perfectly clear that this was only because of
the projection of others, because I had not harmed anyone and had healed many.
We are still equal as learners, even though we need not have equal experiences.
The Holy Spirit is glad when you can learn enough from mine to be re-awakened by
them. That was their only purpose, and that is the only way in which I can be
perceived as the Way, the Truth and the Light.
T 6 B 11. When you hear only one voice you are NEVER called on to sacrifice.
On the contrary, by enabling yourselves to hear the Holy Spirit in others, you
can learn from their experiences, and gain from them WITHOUT experiencing them
yourselves. That is because the Holy Spirit is one, and anyone who listens is
inevitably led to demonstrate His way for all. You are not persecuted, nor was
I. You are not asked to REPEAT my experiences because the Holy Spirit, Whom we
SHARE, makes this unnecessary. To USE my experiences constructively, however,
you must still follow my example in how to perceive them.
T 6 B 12. My brothers and yours are constantly engaged in justifying the
unjustifiable. My one lesson, which I must teach as I learned, is that no
perception which is out of accord with the judgment of the Holy Spirit CAN be
justified. I undertook to show this was true in a very extreme case merely
because it would serve as a good teaching aid to those whose temptations to
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give in to anger and assault would NOT be so extreme. I will, with God, that
none of His Sons should suffer.
T 6 B 13. Remember that the Holy Spirit is the communication link between God
the Father and His separated Sons. If you will listen to His Voice, you will
know that you cannot either hurt or BE hurt, and that many need your blessing to
help them hear this for themselves. When you perceive ONLY this need in them,
and do not respond to ANY other, you will have learned of me, and will be as
eager to share your learning as I am. The crucifixion CANNOT be shared because
it is the symbol of projection, but the resurrection is the symbol of SHARING
because the re-awakening of every Son of God is necessary to enable the Sonship
to know its wholeness. Only this IS knowledge.
T 6 B 14. The message of the crucifixion is perfectly clear:
"Teach ONLY love, for that is what you ARE."
If you interpret the crucifixion in any other way, you are using it as a weapon
for assault rather than as the call for peace for which it was intended. The
Apostles often misunderstood it, and always for the same reason that makes
anyone misunderstand anything. Their own imperfect love made them vulnerable to
projection, and out of their own fear they spoke of the "wrath of God" as His
retaliatory weapon. Nor could they speak of the crucifixion entirely without
anger because their own sense of guilt had MADE them angry.
T 6 B 15. There are two glaring examples of upside-down thinking in the New
Testament, whose whole gospel is ONLY the message of love. These are not like
the several slips into impatience which I made. I had learned the Atonement
prayer, which I also came to teach, too well to engage in upside-down thinking
myself. If the Apostles had not felt guilty they never could have quoted me as
saying, "I come not to bring peace but a sword." This is clearly the exact
opposite of everything I taught.
T 6 B 16. Nor could they have described my reactions to Judas as they did if
they had really understood me. They would have realized I COULD not have said,
"Betrayest thou the Son of Man with a kiss?" unless I BELIEVED in betrayal.
The whole message of the crucifixion was simply that I did NOT.
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The "punishment" which I am said to have called forth upon Judas was a similar
reversal. Judas was my brother and a Son of God, as much a part of the Sonship
as myself. Was it likely that I would condemn him when I was ready to
demonstrate that condemnation is impossible?
T 6 B 17. I am very grateful to the Apostles for their teaching and fully aware
of the extent of their devotion to me. Nevertheless, as you read their
teachings, remember that I told them myself that there was much they would
understand later because they were NOT wholly ready to follow me at the time. I
emphasize this only because I do not want you to allow ANY fear to enter into
the thought system toward which I am guiding you. I do NOT call for martyrs,
but for TEACHERS. No one is "punished" for sins, and the Sons of God are not
sinners.
T 6 B 18. ANY concept of "punishment" involves the projection of blame, and
REINFORCES the idea that blame is justified. The behavior that results is a
LESSON IN BLAME, just as all behavior teaches the beliefs which motivate it.
The crucifixion was a complex of behaviors arising out of clearly opposed
thought systems. As such, it was the perfect symbol of conflict between the ego
and the Son of God. The conflict is just as real now, and its lessons, too,
have equal reality WHEN THEY ARE LEARNED. I do not need gratitude any more than
I needed protection, but YOU need to develop your weakened ability to BE
grateful, or you cannot appreciate God. HE does not need your appreciation, but
YOU do.
T 6 B 19. You cannot love what you do not appreciate, and FEAR MAKES
APPRECIATION IMPOSSIBLE. Whenever you are afraid of what you are you do NOT
appreciate it, and will therefore reject it. As a result, you will TEACH
REJECTION. The power of the Sons of God is operating all the time because they
were created as creators. Their influence on EACH OTHER is without limit, and
MUST be used for their joint salvation. Each one must learn to teach that all
forms of rejection are utterly meaningless. The separation IS the notion of
rejection. As long as you TEACH this, you still believe it. This is NOT as God
thinks, and you must think as He thinks if you are to know Him again.
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T 6 C. The Uses of Projection
T 6 C 1. Any split in will MUST involve a rejection of part of it, and this
IS the belief in separation. The wholeness of God, which IS His peace, cannot
be appreciated EXCEPT by a whole mind, which recognizes the wholeness of God's
creation, and BY this recognition, knows its Creator. Exclusion and separation
are synonymous, as are separation and dissociation. We have said before that
the separation was and IS dissociation, and also that, once it had occurred,
projection became its main defense, or the device that KEEPS IT GOING. The
reason, however, may not be as clear as you think.
T 6 C 2. In the ego's use of projection, to which we are obviously referring,
what you project you disown, and therefore DO NOT BELIEVE IS YOURS. You are
EXCLUDING yourself by the very statement you are making that you are DIFFERENT
from the one on whom you project. Since you have also judged AGAINST what you
project, you continue to attack it because you have already attacked it BY
projecting it. By doing this unconsciously, you try to keep the fact that you
must have attacked yourself FIRST out of awareness, and thus imagine that you
have made yourself safe.
T 6 C 3. Projection will ALWAYS hurt you. It reinforces your belief in your
own split mind, and its ONLY purpose is TO KEEP THE SEPARATION GOING. It is
SOLELY a device of the ego to make you feel DIFFERENT from your brothers, and
separated from them. The ego justifies this on the wholly spurious grounds that
it makes you seem "better" than they are, thus obscuring your equality with them
still further. Projection and attack are inevitably related because projection
is ALWAYS a means of justifying attack. Anger without projection is impossible.
T 6 C 4. The ego uses projection ONLY to distort your perception both of
yourself AND your brothers. The process begins by excluding something you
think [T39] exists in you which you do not want, and leads directly to excluding
you from your brothers. We have learned, however, that there is another use of
projection. Every ability of the ego has a better counterpart because its
abilities are directed by the mind, which has a better Voice. The Holy Spirit
as well as
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the ego utilizes projection, but since their goals are opposed, so is the
result.
T 6 C 5. The Holy Spirit begins by perceiving YOU as perfect. KNOWING this
perfection is shared, He recognizes it in others, thus strengthening it in both.
Instead of anger this arouses love for both BECAUSE IT ESTABLISHES INCLUSION.
Perceiving equality, the Holy Spirit perceives equal needs. This invites
Atonement automatically because Atonement IS the one need which, in this world,
IS universal. To perceive yourself this way is the ONLY way in which you can
find happiness in the world. That is because it is the acknowledgment that you
are NOT in this world, for the world IS unhappy.
T 6 C 6. How else can you find joy in a joyless place EXCEPT by realizing
that you are NOT there? You cannot be anywhere that God did not put you, and
God created you as part of Him. That is both WHERE you are and WHAT you are.
It is COMPLETELY unalterable. It is total inclusion. You cannot change it now
or ever. It is forever true. It is not a belief, but a FACT. Anything that
God created is as true as He is. Its truth lies only in its perfect inclusion
in Him Who alone IS perfect. To deny this in any way is to deny yourself AND
Him, since it is impossible to accept one WITHOUT the other.
T 6 C 7. The perfect equality of the Holy Spirit's perception is the
counterpart of the perfect equality of God's knowing. The ego's perception HAS
no counterpart in God, but the Holy Spirit remains the bridge between perception
and knowledge. By enabling you to use perception in a way that PARALLELS
knowledge, you will ultimately meet it and KNOW it. The ego would prefer to
believe that this meeting is impossible, yet it is YOUR perception which the
Holy Spirit guides. You might remember that the human eye perceives parallel
lines AS IF they meet in the distance, which is the same as in the future, if
time and space are one dimension. Your perception WILL end where it began.
EVERYTHING meets in God because everything was created BY Him and IN Him.
T 6 C 8. God created His Sons by extending His thought and retaining the
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extensions of His Thought in His Mind. ALL His Thoughts are thus perfectly
united within themselves and with each other because they were created [T40]
neither partially nor in part. The Holy Spirit enables you TO PERCEIVE THIS
WHOLENESS NOW. You can no more pray for yourselves alone than you can find joy
for yourself alone. Prayer is the re-statement of INCLUSION, directed by the
Holy Spirit under the laws of God. God created you to create. You cannot
EXTEND His Kingdom until you know of its wholeness.
T 6 C 9. Thoughts begin in the mind of the thinker, from which they extend
outward. This is as true of God's Thinking as it is of yours. Because your
minds are split, you can also perceive as well as think. Yet perception cannot
escape from the basic laws of mind. You perceive FROM your mind and extend your
perceptions outward. Although perception of any kind is unnecessary, YOU made
it, and the Holy Spirit can therefore use it well. He can INSPIRE perception
and lead it toward God by making it PARALLEL to God's [T41] way of thinking, and
thus guarantee their ultimate meeting. This convergence SEEMS to be far in the
future only because your mind is not in perfect alignment with the idea, and
therefore DOES NOT WANT IT NOW.
T 6 C 10. The Holy Spirit USES time, but does NOT believe in it. Coming from
God He uses everything for good, but He does not BELIEVE in what is not true.
Since the Holy Spirit is IN your minds, your minds must also be able to believe
only what is true. The Holy Spirit can speak only for this, because He speaks
for God. He tells you to return your whole mind to God BECAUSE IT HAS NEVER
LEFT HIM. If it has never left Him you need only perceive it AS IT IS to BE
returned. The full awareness of the Atonement, then, is the RECOGNITION THAT
THE SEPARATION NEVER OCCURRED. The ego cannot prevail against this because it
is an explicit statement that the EGO never occurred.
T 6 C 11. The ego CAN accept the idea that return is necessary because it can
so easily make the idea seem so difficult. Yet the Holy Spirit tells you that
even return is unnecessary because what never happened cannot involve [T42] ANY
problem. It does NOT follow, however, that YOU cannot make the idea of
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return both necessary AND difficult. It is surely clear, however, that the
perfect NEED nothing, and CANNOT experience perfection as a difficult
accomplishment because that is what they ARE.
T 6 C 12. This is the way in which you MUST perceive God's creations, bringing
all of your perceptions into the one parallel line which the Holy Spirit sees.
This line is the direct line of communication with God, and lets your mind
converge with HIS. There is no conflict anywhere in this perception because it
means that ALL perception is guided by the Holy Spirit, Whose mind is fixed on
God. ONLY the Holy Spirit can resolve conflict because ONLY the Holy Spirit is
conflict-free. He perceives ONLY what is true in your mind, and extends outward
ONLY to what is true in other minds.
T 6 C 13. The difference between the ego's use of projection and projection as
the Holy Spirit uses it is very simple. The ego projects to EXCLUDE, and
therefore to deceive. The Holy Spirit projects by RECOGNIZING HIMSELF in every
mind, and thus perceives them as ONE. Nothing conflicts in this perception
because what the Holy Spirit perceives IS the same. Wherever He looks He sees
Himself, and because He is united, He offers the whole Kingdom always. This is
the one message God gave TO Him, and for which He must speak because that is
what He IS. The peace of God lies in that message, and so the peace of God lies
in YOU.
T 6 C 14. The great peace of the Kingdom shines in your mind forever, but it
must shine OUTWARD to make YOU aware of it. The Holy Spirit was given you with
perfect impartiality, and only by perceiving Him impartially can you perceive
Him at all. The ego is legion, but the Holy Spirit is One. No darkness abides
anywhere in the Kingdom, but your part is only to allow no darkness to abide in
your OWN mind. This alignment with Light is unlimited because it is in
alignment with the Light of the world. Each of us IS the Light of the world,
and by joining our minds IN this Light, we proclaim the Kingdom of God together
and AS ONE.
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T 6 D. The Relinquishment of Attack
T 6 D 1. We have used many words as synonymous which are not ordinarily
regarded as the same. We began with having and being, and more recently have
used others. Hearing and being are examples, to which we can also add teaching
and being, learning and being, and, above all, PROJECTING and being. This is
because, as we have said before, every idea begins in the mind of the thinker
and extends outward. Therefore, what extends FROM the mind IS STILL IN IT, and
from what it extends it knows ITSELF. That is its natural talent. The word
"knows" is correct here, even though the ego does NOT know, and is not concerned
with being at all.
T 6 D 2. The Holy Spirit still holds knowledge safe through His impartial
perception. By attacking nothing, He presents no barrier at all to the
communication of God. Thus, being is never threatened. Your Godlike mind can
never BE defiled. The ego never was and never will be part of it, but THROUGH
the ego you can hear and teach and learn WHAT IS NOT TRUE. From this, which YOU
have made, you have taught yourselves to believe that you ARE NOT what you ARE.
You CANNOT teach what you have not learned, and what you teach you strengthen in
yourselves BECAUSE you are sharing it. Every lesson you teach, YOU are
learning.
T 6 D 3. That is why you must teach only ONE lesson. If you are to be
conflict-free yourselves, you must learn ONLY from the Holy Spirit, and teach
ONLY by Him. You ARE only love, but when you denied this you made what you ARE
something you must LEARN. We said before that the message of the crucifixion
was, "Teach only love, for that is what you ARE." This is the ONE lesson which
is perfectly unified because it is the only lesson which IS one. Only BY
teaching it can you learn it. "As you teach so will you learn." If that is
true, and it is true indeed, you must never forget that what you teach is
teaching YOU. What you project you BELIEVE.
T 6 D 4. The only REAL safety lies in projecting only the Holy Spirit,
because as you see His gentleness in others, your OWN mind perceives ITSELF as
totally harmless. Once it can accept this fully, it does NOT see the need to
PROTECT ITSELF. The protection of God then dawns upon it, assuring it that it
is
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perfectly safe forever. The perfectly safe are wholly benign. They bless
because they know they ARE blessed. Without anxiety the mind is wholly kind,
and because it PROJECTS beneficence, it IS beneficent.
T 6 D 5. Safety is THE COMPLETE RELINQUISHMENT OF ATTACK. No compromise is
possible in this. Teach attack in ANY form, and YOU HAVE LEARNED IT AND IT WILL
HURT YOU. Yet your learning is not immortal, and you can unlearn it BY NOT
TEACHING IT. Since you cannot NOT teach, your salvation lies in teaching the
exact OPPOSITE of everything the ego believes. This is how YOU will learn the
truth that will set you free, and keep you so as others learn it of YOU. The
only way to HAVE peace is to TEACH peace. By learning it through projection, it
becomes a part of what you KNOW because you cannot teach what you have
dissociated.
T 6 D 6. Only thus can you win back the knowledge that you threw away. An
idea which you SHARE you must HAVE. It awakens in you through the conviction of
teaching. Remember that if teaching is being and learning is being, then
teaching is learning. EVERYTHING you teach you are learning. Teach only love,
and learn that love is yours, and YOU are love.
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T 6 E. The Only Answer
T 6 E 1. Remember that the Holy Spirit is the ANSWER, NOT the question. The
ego always speaks first because it is capricious, and does NOT mean its maker
well. That is because it believes, and correctly, that its maker may withdraw
his support from it at any moment. If it meant you well it would be glad, as
the Holy Spirit will be glad when He has brought you home, and you no longer
need His guidance. The ego does not regard itself as PART of you. Herein lies
its primary perceptual error, the foundation of its whole thought system.
T 6 E 2. When God created you, He made you part of Him. That is why attack
WITHIN the Kingdom is impossible. YOU made the ego without love, and so it does
not love YOU. You could not remain WITHIN the Kingdom without love, and since
the Kingdom IS love, you believe that you are WITHOUT it. This enables the ego
to regard itself as separate and OUTSIDE its maker, thus speaking for the part
of your mind that believes YOU are separate and outside the Mind of God. The
ego, then, raised the first question that was ever asked, but one which it can
never answer. That question, - "What are you?" - was the beginning of doubt.
T 6 E 3. The ego has never answered ANY questions since, although it has
raised a great many. The most inventive activities of the ego have never done
more than OBSCURE THE QUESTION because you HAVE the answer, and THE EGO IS
AFRAID OF YOU. You cannot understand the conflict until you fully understand
one basic fact that the ego does NOT know. The Holy Spirit does not speak
first, BUT HE ALWAYS ANSWERS. Everyone has called upon Him for help at one time
or another and in one way or another AND HAS BEEN ANSWERED. Since the Holy
Spirit answers truly, He answers FOR ALL TIME, which means that everyone has the
answer NOW.
T 6 E 4. The ego cannot hear the Holy Spirit, but it DOES believe that part
of the same mind that made it is AGAINST it. It interprets this as a
justification for ATTACKING its maker. It believes that the best defense IS
attack, and WANTS YOU TO BELIEVE IT. Unless you DO believe it you will not side
with it, and the ego feels badly in need of allies, though NOT of brothers.
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Perceiving something alien to itself in your mind, the ego turns to the body,
NOT the mind, as its ally because the body is NOT part of you. This makes the
body the ego's friend. It is an alliance frankly based on separation. If you
SIDE with this alliance you WILL be afraid, because you are siding with an
alliance of fear.
T 6 E 5. The ego and the body conspire AGAINST your minds, and because the
ego realizes that its "enemy" CAN end them both merely by knowing they are NOT
part of him, they join in the attack together. This is perhaps the strangest
perception of all, if you consider what it really involves. The ego, which is
NOT real, attempts to persuade the mind, which IS real, that the mind is its own
learning device, and that the learning device is more real than IT is. No one
in his right mind could POSSIBLY believe this, and no one in his right mind DOES
believe it.
T 6 E 6. Hear, then, the ONE answer of the Holy Spirit to ALL the questions
which the ego raises. You are a Child of God, a priceless part of His Kingdom,
which He created as part of Him. Nothing else exists and ONLY this is real.
You have chosen a sleep in which you have had bad dreams, but the sleep is not
real, and God calls you to awake. There will be nothing left of your dream when
you hear Him because you WILL be awake. Your dreams have contained many of the
ego's symbols, and they have confused you. Yet that was only because you were
asleep AND DID NOT KNOW. When you awake you will see the truth around you and
in you, and you will no longer believe in dreams because they will have no
reality for you.
T 6 E 7. Yet the Kingdom and all that you have created there will have great
reality for you because they are beautiful and true. In the Kingdom, where you
are and what you are is perfectly certain. There is no doubt there because the
first question was never asked. Having finally been wholly answered, IT HAS
NEVER BEEN. Being alone lives in the Kingdom, where everything lives in God
without question. The time that was spent on questioning in the dream has given
way to creation and to its eternity.
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T 6 E 8. YOU are as certain as God because you are as true as He is, but what
was once quite certain in your minds has become only the ABILITY for certainty.
The introduction of abilities into being was the beginning of UNcertainty
because abilities are potentials, NOT accomplishments. Your abilities are
totally useless in the presence of God's accomplishments, and also of yours.
Accomplishments are results which HAVE BEEN achieved. When they are perfect,
abilities are meaningless. It is curious that the perfect must now be
perfected. In fact, it is impossible. You must remember, however, that when
you put yourselves in an impossible situation, you believed that the impossible
WAS possible.
T 6 E 9. Abilities must be DEVELOPED, or you cannot use them. This is not
true of anything that God created, but it is the kindest solution possible to
what YOU have made. In an impossible situation you can develop your abilities
to the point where they can GET YOU OUT OF IT. You have a Guide to how to
develop them, but you have no COMMANDER except yourself. This leaves YOU in
charge of the Kingdom, with both a Guide to FIND it and a means to KEEP it. You
have a model to follow who will STRENGTHEN your command, and never detract from
it in any way. You therefore retain the central place in your perceived
enslavement, a fact which ITSELF demonstrates that you are NOT enslaved.
T 6 E 10. You are in an impossible situation only because you thought it was
possible to be in one. You WOULD be in an impossible situation if God showed
you your perfection and PROVED to you that you were wrong. This would
demonstrate that the perfect were inadequate to bring THEMSELVES to the
awareness of their perfection, and thus side with the belief that those who have
everything need help and are therefore helpless. This is the kind of
"reasoning" which the ego engages in, but God, Who KNOWS that His creations are
perfect, does NOT insult them. This would be as impossible as the ego's notion
that IT has insulted HIM.
T 6 E 11. That is why the Holy Spirit NEVER commands. To command is to assume
INequality, which the Holy Spirit demonstrates does not exist. Fidelity to
premises is a law of mind, and everything God created is faithful to His laws.
Fidelity to other laws is also possible, however, not because the laws are
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true, but because YOU MADE THEM. What would be gained if God proved to you that
you have thought insanely? Can God lose His own certainty? We have frequently
stated that what you teach you ARE. Would you have God teach you that you have
sinned? If He confronted the self you made with the truth He created for you,
what could you be but afraid? You would doubt your sanity, which is the one
thing in which you can FIND the sanity He gave you.
T 6 E 12. God does not teach. To teach is to imply a lack which God KNOWS is
not there. God is not conflicted. Teaching aims at change, but God created
only the changeless. The separation was not a loss of perfection, but a failure
in communication. A harsh and strident form of communication arose as the ego's
voice. It could not shatter the peace of God, but it COULD shatter YOURS. God
did not blot it out, because to eradicate it would be to attack it. Being
questioned, He did not question. He merely gave the Answer. His Answer is your
Teacher.
T 6 F. I. "To Have, Give All to All"
T 6 F 1. Like any good teacher, the Holy Spirit does know more than you do
NOW, but He teaches only to make you EQUAL with Him. This is because you had
already taught wrongly, having believed what was not true. YOU DID NOT BELIEVE
IN YOUR OWN PERFECTION. Could God teach you that you had made a split mind,
when He knows your mind only as whole? What God DOES know is that His
communication channels are not open to Him, so that He cannot impart His joy,
and know that His Children are wholly joyous. This is an ongoing process, not
in time, but in eternity. God's extending outward, though not His completeness,
is blocked when the Sonship does not communicate with Him as one. So He
thought, "My Children sleep, and must be awakened."
T 6 F 2. How can you wake children better and more kindly than by a gentle
Voice that will not frighten them, but will merely remind them that the night is
over and the Light has come? You do not inform them that the nightmares which
frightened them so badly were not real because children BELIEVE in magic. You
merely reassure them that they are safe NOW. Then you train them to RECOGNIZE
THE DIFFERENCE between sleeping and waking, so that they will understand they
need not be afraid of dreams. Then, when bad dreams come, they will
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T 6 call on the light THEMSELVES to dispel them.
T 6 F 3. A wise teacher teaches through approach, NOT avoidance. He does NOT
emphasize what you must avoid to escape from harm so much as what you need to
learn to have joy. This is true even of the world's teachers. Consider the
confusion a child would experience if he were told, "Do not do THIS because it
might hurt you and make you unsafe, but if you do THAT you will escape from harm
and be safe, and then you will not be afraid." All of this could be included in
only three words: "Do ONLY that!" This simple statement is perfectly clear,
easily understood, and very easily remembered.
T 6 F 4. The Holy Spirit NEVER itemizes errors because He does not frighten
children, and those who lack wisdom ARE children. Yet He ALWAYS answers their
call, and His dependability makes THEM more certain. Children DO confuse
fantasy and reality, and they ARE frightened because they do not know the
difference. The Holy Spirit makes NO distinction among dreams. He merely
shines them away. His Light is ALWAYS the call to awake, whatever you have been
dreaming. Nothing lasting lies in dreams, and the Holy Spirit, shining with the
Light from God Himself, speaks only for what lasts forever.
T 6 F 5. When your body and your ego and your dreams are gone, you will know
that YOU will last forever. Many think this is accomplished through death, but
NOTHING is accomplished through death because death IS nothing. EVERYTHING is
accomplished through life, and life is of the mind and IN the Mind. The body
neither lives nor dies because it cannot contain you who ARE life. If we share
the same mind, you can overcome death BECAUSE I DID. Death is an attempt to
resolve conflict by not willing at all. Like any other impossible solution
which the ego attempts, IT WILL NOT WORK.
T 6 F 6. God did not make the body because it is destructible, and therefore
not of the Kingdom. The body is the symbol of what you THINK you are. It is
clearly a separation device, and therefore does not exist. The Holy Spirit, as
always, takes what you have made and translates it into a learning device FOR
you. Again as always, He re-interprets what the ego uses as an argument FOR
separation into a demonstration AGAINST it. If the mind can heal the body but
the body cannot heal the mind, then the mind must be STRONGER. Every
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miracle demonstrates this.
T 6 F 7. We have said that the Holy Spirit is the MOTIVATION for miracles.
This is because He always tells you that ONLY the mind is real since ONLY the
mind CAN BE SHARED. The body IS separate, and therefore CANNOT be part of you.
To be of one mind IS meaningful, but to be of one BODY is meaningless. By the
laws of mind, then, the BODY is meaningless. To the Holy Spirit THERE IS NO
ORDER OF DIFFICULTY IN MIRACLES. This is FAMILIAR enough to you by now, but it
has not yet become believable. Therefore, you do not understand it and cannot
USE it.
T 6 F 8. We have too much to accomplish on behalf of the Kingdom to let this
crucial concept slip away. It is a real foundation stone of the thought system
I teach and want YOU to teach. You cannot perform miracles without believing it
because it is a belief in perfect equality. Only one equal gift CAN be offered
to the equal Sons of God, and that is FULL APPRECIATION. Nothing more and
nothing less. Without a range, [T43] an order of difficulty IS meaningless, and
there must BE no range in what you offer to each other.
T 6 F 9. The Holy Spirit, Who leads to God, translates communication into
being, just as He ultimately translates perception into knowledge. You DO NOT
LOSE WHAT YOU COMMUNICATE. [T44] The ego uses the body for attack, for pleasure,
and for pride. The insanity of this perception makes it a fearful one indeed.
The Holy Spirit sees the body ONLY as a means of COMMUNICATION, and because
communicating is sharing, it becomes communion. You might argue that fear as
well as love can be communicated, and therefore can be shared. Yet this is not
so real as it sounds. Those who communicate fear are promoting attack and
attack always BREAKS communication, making it impossible.
T 6 F 10. Egos DO join together in temporary allegiance, but always for WHAT
EACH ONE CAN GET SEPARATELY. The Holy Spirit communicates only WHAT EACH ONE
CAN GIVE TO ALL. He never takes anything back because He wants YOU to keep it.
Therefore, His teaching begins with the lesson:
"To HAVE, GIVE all TO all."
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This is a very preliminary step, and the only one you must take for yourself.
It is not even necessary that you COMPLETE the step yourself, but it IS
necessary that you turn in that direction. Having chosen to go that way, you
place YOURSELF in charge of the journey, where you and ONLY you must remain.
T 6 F 11. This step APPEARS to exacerbate conflict rather than resolve it
because it is the BEGINNING step in reversing your perception, and turning it
right-side up. This conflicts with the upside-down perception which you have
not yet abandoned, or the change in direction would not have been necessary.
Some people remain at this step for a very long time, experiencing VERY acute
conflict. At this point many try to accept the CONFLICT, rather than take the
next step toward its resolution. Having taken the first step, however, they
WILL be helped. Once they have chosen what they CANNOT complete alone, THEY ARE
NO LONGER ALONE.
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T 6 G. II. "To Have Peace, Teach Peace to Learn It"
T 6 G 1. All the separated ones have a basic fear of retaliation and
abandonment. This is because they BELIEVE in attack and rejection, so this is
what they perceive and teach and LEARN. These insane concepts are clearly the
result of their own dissociation and projection. What you teach you are, but it
is quite apparent that you can teach wrongly, and therefore TEACH YOURSELVES
WRONGLY [T45]. Many thought that I was attacking them, even though it was quite
apparent that I was not. An insane learner learns strange lessons.
T 6 G 2. What you must understand is that, when you do not SHARE a thought
system, you ARE weakening it. Those who BELIEVE in it therefore perceive this
as an attack ON THEM. This is because everyone identifies HIMSELF with his
thought system, and EVERY thought system centers on WHAT YOU BELIEVE YOU ARE.
If the center of the thought system is true, only truth extends from it. But if
a lie is at its center, only DECEPTION proceeds from it. All good teachers
realize that only fundamental change will last, but they do not BEGIN at that
level. Strengthening MOTIVATION for change is their first and foremost goal.
It is also their last and final one.
T 6 G 3. Increasing motivation for change IN THE LEARNER is all that a
teacher NEED do to guarantee change. This is because a change in motivation IS
a change of mind, and this will inevitably produce fundamental change because
the mind IS fundamental. The first step in the reversal or undoing process,
then, is the undoing of the GETTING concept. Accordingly, the Holy Spirit's
first lesson was "To HAVE, GIVE all TO all." We said that this is apt to
increase conflict temporarily, and we can clarify this still further now.
T 6 G 4. At this point, the equality of "having" and "being" is not yet
perceived. Until it IS, "having" appears to be the OPPOSITE of "being."
Therefore, the first lesson SEEMS to contain a contradiction, since it is being
learned BY A CONFLICTED MIND. This MEANS conflicting motivation, and so the
lesson CANNOT be learned consistently as yet. Further, the mind of the learner
projects its own split, and thus does NOT perceive consistent minds in others,
making him suspicious of THEIR motivation. This is the real reason why, in many
respects, the first lesson is the hardest to learn. Still strongly
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aware of the ego in himself, and responding primarily to the ego in others, he
is being taught to react to both as if what he DOES believe is NOT true.
T 6 G 5. Upside-down as always, the ego perceives the first lesson as insane.
In fact, this is its only alternative here, since the other one, which would be
much LESS acceptable to it, would obviously be that IT is insane. The ego's
judgment, then, is predetermined by what it IS, though no more so than is any
other product of thought. The fundamental change will still occur with the
change of mind IN THE THINKER. Meanwhile, the increasing clarity of the Holy
Spirit's Voice makes it impossible for the learner NOT to listen. For a time,
then, he IS receiving conflicting messages, AND ACCEPTING BOTH. This is the
classic "double bind" in communication.
T 6 G 6. The way OUT of conflict between two opposing thought systems is
clearly TO CHOOSE ONE and RELINQUISH THE OTHER. If you IDENTIFY with your
thought system, and you cannot escape this, and if you accept two thought
systems which are in COMPLETE disagreement, peace of mind IS impossible. If you
TEACH both, which you will surely do as long as you ACCEPT both, you are
teaching conflict and LEARNING it. Yet you DO want peace, or you would not have
called upon the Voice for peace to help you. His LESSON is not insane; the
CONFLICT is.
T 6 G 7. There can BE no conflict between sanity and insanity. Only one is
true, and therefore only one is REAL. The ego tries to persuade you that it is
up to YOU to decide which voice is true, but the Holy Spirit teaches you that
truth was created by God, and YOUR decision CANNOT change it. As you begin to
realize the quiet power of the Holy Spirit's Voice AND ITS PERFECT CONSISTENCY,
it MUST dawn on your minds that you are trying to undo a decision which was made
irrevocably FOR you. That is why we suggested before that there was help in
reminding yourselves to allow the Holy Spirit to decide for God for YOU.
T 6 G 8. You are NOT asked to make insane decisions, although you are free to
THINK you are. It MUST, however, be insane to believe that IT IS UP TO YOU
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to decide what God's creations ARE. The Holy Spirit perceives the conflict
exactly as it is. Therefore, His second lesson is:
"To HAVE peace, TEACH peace to LEARN it."
This is still a preliminary step, since "having" and "being" are still not
equated. It is, however, more advanced than the first step, which is really
only a thought REVERSAL. The second step is a positive affirmation of WHAT YOU
WANT. This, then, is a step in the direction OUT of conflict, since it means
that alternatives have been considered, and ONE has been chosen as MORE
DESIRABLE.
T 6 G 9. Nevertheless, the evaluation "more desirable" still implies that the
desirable has DEGREES. Therefore, although this step is essential for the
ultimate decision, it is clearly NOT the final one. It is clear, at this point,
that the lack of order of difficulty in miracles has not yet been accepted,
because nothing is difficult that is WHOLLY DESIRED. To desire wholly is to
CREATE, and creating CANNOT be difficult if God Himself created you AS a
creator. The second step, then, is still perceptual, although it is a giant
step toward the unified perception which parallels God's knowing.
T 6 G 10. As you take this step and HOLD THIS DIRECTION, you will be pushing
toward the center of your thought system, where the FUNDAMENTAL change will
occur. You are only beginning this step now, but you have started on this way
by realizing that ONLY ONE WAY IS POSSIBLE. You do not yet realize this
consistently and so your progress is intermittent, but the second step is easier
than the first because it FOLLOWS. The very fact that you have accepted THAT is
a demonstration of your growing awareness that the Holy Spirit WILL lead you on.
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T 6 H. III. "Be Vigilant Only for God and His Kingdom"
T 6 H 1. For your own salvation you must be critical, since your salvation IS
critical to the whole Sonship. We said before that the Holy Spirit is
evaluative, and MUST be. Yet His evaluation does not extend BEYOND you, or you
would share it. In YOUR mind, and your mind ONLY, He sorts out the true from
the false, and teaches you to judge every thought that you allow to enter your
mind in the light of what God PUT there. Whatever is IN ACCORD with this light
He retains, to strengthen the Kingdom in YOU. What is PARTLY in accord with
truth He accepts and purifies. But what is OUT OF ACCORD entirely He rejects by
judging AGAINST. This is how He keeps the Kingdom perfectly consistent and
perfectly unified.
T 6 H 2. What you must remember, however, is that what the Holy Spirit
rejects the ego ACCEPTS. This is because they are in fundamental disagreement
about everything, being in fundamental disagreement about WHAT YOU ARE. The
ego's beliefs on this crucial issue vary, and that is why it promotes different
moods. The Holy Spirit NEVER varies on this point, and so the ONE mood He
engenders is joy. He PROTECTS it by rejecting everything that does NOT foster
joy, and so He alone can keep you wholly joyous.
T 6 H 3. The Holy Spirit does not teach your mind to be critical of other
minds because He does not want you to teach errors AND LEARN THEM YOURSELVES.
He would hardly be consistent if He allowed you to STRENGTHEN what you must
learn to AVOID. In the mind of the THINKER, then, He IS judgmental, but only in
order to unify the mind so it can perceive WITHOUT judgment. This enables the
mind to TEACH without judgment, and therefore to learn to BE without judgment.
The undoing is necessary only in YOUR mind, so that you cannot project falsely.
God Himself has established what you can project with perfect safety.
Therefore, the Holy Spirit's third lesson is: "Be vigilant ONLY for God and HIS
Kingdom."
T 6 H 4. This is a major step toward FUNDAMENTAL change. Yet is still a
lesson in thought reversal, since it implies that there is something you must be
vigilant AGAINST. It has advanced far from the first lesson which
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was PRIMARILY a reversal, and also from the second which was essentially the
identification of what is MORE desirable. THIS step, which follows from the
second as the second follows from the first, emphasizes the DICHOTOMY between
the desirable and the undesirable. It therefore makes the ULTIMATE choice
inevitable.
T 6 H 5. While the first step seems to INCREASE conflict and the second step
still entails it to some extent, this one calls for CONSISTENT EFFORT AGAINST
IT. We said already that you can be as vigilant AGAINST the ego as FOR it.
This lesson teaches not only that you CAN be, but that you MUST be. It does not
concern itself with order of difficulty, but with CLEAR-CUT PRIORITY FOR
VIGILANCE. This step is unequivocal in that it teaches there must be NO
exceptions, although it does not deny that the temptation to MAKE exceptions
will occur. Here, then, your consistency is called on DESPITE chaos. Yet chaos
and consistency CANNOT coexist for long, since they are mutually exclusive.
T 6 H 6. As long as you must be vigilant against anything, however, you are
not recognizing this mutual exclusiveness, and are holding the belief that you
can CHOOSE EITHER ONE. By teaching WHAT to choose, the Holy Spirit will
ultimately be able to teach you that YOU NEED NOT CHOOSE AT ALL. This will
finally liberate your will FROM choice, and direct it toward creation WITHIN the
Kingdom. Choosing through the Holy Spirit will lead you TO the Kingdom. You
create by what you ARE, but this is what you must learn. The way to learn it is
inherent in the third step, which brings together the lessons implied in the
others, and goes beyond them toward real integration.
T 6 H 7. If you allow yourselves to have in your minds ONLY what God put
there, you ARE acknowledging your mind as God created it. Therefore, you are
accepting it AS IT IS. Since it IS whole, you are teaching peace BECAUSE you
believe in it. The final step will still be taken FOR you by God, but by the
third step, the Holy Spirit has PREPARED you for God. He is GETTING YOU READY
for the translation of having into being by the very nature of the steps
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you must take with Him.
T 6 H 8. You learn first that having rests on GIVING, and NOT on getting.
Next you learn that you learn what you TEACH, and that you WANT TO LEARN PEACE.
This is the CONDITION for identifying with the Kingdom, since it is the
condition OF the Kingdom. You have believed that you are WITHOUT the Kingdom,
and have therefore excluded yourself FROM it in your belief. It is therefore
essential to teach you that you must be INCLUDED, and that the BELIEF that you
are NOT is the ONLY thing that you must exclude.
T 6 H 9. The third step is thus one of PROTECTION for your minds, allowing
you to identify ONLY with the center, where God placed the altar to Himself. We
have already said that altars are beliefs, but God and His creations are BEYOND
belief because they are beyond question. The Voice for God speaks only for
BELIEF beyond question, which is the preparation for BEING without question. As
long as belief in God and His Kingdom is assailed by ANY doubts in your minds,
His perfect accomplishment is NOT apparent to you. This is why you must be
vigilant ON GOD'S BEHALF. The ego speaks AGAINST His creation, and therefore
DOES engender doubt. You cannot go BEYOND belief until you believe fully.
T 6 H 10. Transfer, which IS extension, is a measure of learning because it is
its MEASURABLE RESULT. This, however, does not mean that what it transfers TO
is measurable. On the contrary, unless it transfers to the whole Sonship, which
is immeasurable because it was created BY the Immeasurable, the learning itself
MUST be incomplete. To teach the whole Sonship WITHOUT EXCEPTION demonstrates
that you PERCEIVE its wholeness, and have learned that it IS one. Now you must
be vigilant to HOLD its oneness in your minds because, if you let doubt enter,
you will LOSE awareness of its wholeness AND WILL BE UNABLE TO TEACH IT.
T 6 H 11. The wholeness of the Kingdom does NOT depend on your perception, but
your AWARENESS of its wholeness DOES. It is only your awareness which NEEDS
protection, since your being cannot BE assailed. Yet a real sense of being
CANNOT be yours while you are doubtful of what you ARE. THIS IS WHY
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VIGILANCE IS ESSENTIAL. Doubts about being must not enter your mind, or you
CANNOT know what you are with certainty. Certainty is OF God for YOU.
Vigilance is not necessary for truth, but it IS necessary against ILLUSIONS.
T 6 H 12. Truth is WITHOUT illusions, and therefore WITHIN the Kingdom.
Everything OUTSIDE the Kingdom IS illusion, but you must learn to accept truth
because you threw it away. You therefore saw yourself AS IF you were without
it. By making another kingdom which you VALUED, you did not keep ONLY the
Kingdom of God in your minds, and thus placed part of your mind OUTSIDE it.
What you have made has thus divided your will, and given you a sick mind which
MUST be healed. Your vigilance AGAINST this sickness IS the way to heal it.
Once your mind is healed, it radiates health and thereby TEACHES healing. This
establishes you as a teacher who teaches like me. Vigilance was required of me
as much as of you, but remember that those who will to teach the same thing must
be in agreement about what they believe.
T 6 H 13. The third step, then, is a statement of what you WANT to believe, and
entails a willingness TO RELINQUISH EVERYTHING ELSE. I told you that you were
just beginning the second step, but I also told you that the third one FOLLOWS
it. The Holy Spirit WILL enable you to go on, if you follow Him. Your
vigilance is the sign that you WANT Him to guide you. Vigilance DOES require
effort, but only to teach you that effort ITSELF is unnecessary. You have
exerted great effort to preserve what you made BECAUSE it was not true.
Therefore, you must now turn your effort AGAINST it. Only this can cancel out
the NEED for effort, and call upon the BEING which you both HAVE and ARE. THIS
recognition is wholly WITHOUT effort, since it is ALREADY true and NEEDS no
protection. It is in the perfect safety of God. Therefore inclusion is total
and creation is without limit.
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Chapter VII 7 - THE CONSISTENCY OF THE KINGDOM
T 7 A. Introduction
T 7 A 1. The creative power of both God and His creations is limitless, but
they are not in reciprocal relationship. You DO communicate fully with God, as
He does with you. This is an ongoing process in which you share, and BECAUSE
you share it, you are inspired to create LIKE God. Yet in creation you are not
in reciprocal relation to God, since He created YOU, but You did NOT create Him.
We have already said that only in this respect your creative power differs from
His. Even in this world there is a parallel. Parents give birth to children,
but children do not give birth to parents. They DO, however, give birth to
THEIR children and thus give birth AS their parents do.
T 7 A 2. If you created God and He created you, the Kingdom could not
increase through its own creative thought. Creation would therefore be limited,
and you would not be co-creators with God. As God's creative Thought proceeds
from Him to you, so must your creative thought proceed from you to YOUR
creations. Only in this way can all creative power extend outward. God's
accomplishments are not yours, but yours are LIKE His. HE created the Sonship,
and you INCREASE it. You have the power to ADD to the Kingdom, but not to add
to the CREATOR of the Kingdom. You claim this power when you become vigilant
only for God and His Kingdom. BY ACCEPTING this power as yours, you have
learned to be what you are.
T 7 A 3. Your creations belong in you, as you belong in God. You are part of
God, as your sons are part of His Sons. To create is to love. Love extends
outward simply because it cannot be contained. Being limitless, IT DOES NOT
STOP. It creates forever, but not in time. God's creations have always been,
because HE has always been. YOUR creations have always been, because you can
create only as God creates. Eternity is yours because He created you eternal.
T 7 B. Bargaining versus Healing
T 7 B 1. The ego demands reciprocal rights, because it is competitive rather
than loving. It is always willing to make a "deal," but it cannot understand
that to be LIKE another means that NO deals are possible. To gain you must
give, not bargain. To bargain is to limit giving, and this is not God's Will.
To will with God is to create like Him. God does not limit His gifts in any
way. YOU are His gifts, and so your gifts must be like His.
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Your gifts TO the Kingdom must be like His Gifts to YOU.
T 7 B 2. I gave ONLY love to the Kingdom because I believed that was what I
WAS. What you believe you are DETERMINES your gifts, and if God created you by
extending Himself AS you, you can only extend YOURSELF as He did. Only joy
increases forever, since joy and eternity are inseparable. God extends outward
beyond limits and beyond time, and you, who are co-creators with Him, extend His
Kingdom forever and beyond limit. Eternity is the indelible stamp of creation.
The eternal are in peace and joy forever.
T 7 B 3. To think like God is to share His CERTAINTY of what you are, and to
CREATE like Him is to share the perfect Love He shares with YOU. To this the
Holy Spirit leads you, that your joy may be complete because the Kingdom of God
is whole. We have said that the last step in the re-awakening of knowledge is
taken by God. This is true, but it is hard to explain in words, because words
are symbols, and nothing that is true NEEDS to be explained. However, the Holy
Spirit has the task of translating the useLESS into the useFUL, the meaningLESS
into the meaningFUL, and the temporary into the timeless. He CAN, therefore,
tell you something about this last step, although this one you must know
yourself, since BY it you know what you are. This IS your being.
T 7 B 4. God does not TAKE steps because His accomplishments are not gradual.
He does not teach because His creations are changeless. He does nothing LAST
because He created FIRST and FOR ALWAYS. It must be understood that the word
"first" as applied to Him is NOT a time concept. He is first in the sense that
He is the first in the Holy Trinity Itself. He is the Prime Creator because He
created His co-creators. BECAUSE He did, time applies neither to Him NOR to
what He created. The "last step" that God will take was therefore true in the
beginning, is true now, and will be true forever.
T 7 B 5. What is timeless is ALWAYS there because its BEING is eternally
changeless. It does not change by increase because it was forever created TO
increase. If you perceive it as NOT increasing, you do not know what it IS.
You also do not know what created it, or Who HE is. God does not REVEAL
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this to you because it was never hidden. His Light was never obscured because
it is His Will to SHARE it. How can what is fully shared be withheld, and THEN
revealed?
T 7 B 6. To heal is the only kind of thinking in this world that resembles
the Thought of God, and because of the elements which they share, can transfer
TO It. When a brother perceives himself as sick, he is perceiving himself as
NOT WHOLE, and therefore IN NEED. If you, too, see him this way, you are seeing
him as if he were absent from the Kingdom or separated from it, thus making the
Kingdom itself obscure to BOTH of you. Sickness and separation are not of God,
but the Kingdom is. If you obscure the Kingdom, you are perceiving what is NOT
OF GOD.
T 7 C. The Laws of Mind
T 7 C 1. To heal, then, is to correct perception in your brother AND yourself
by sharing the Holy Spirit with him. This places [T46] you BOTH within the
Kingdom, and restores its wholeness in your minds. This parallels creation
because it UNIFIES BY INCREASING and INTEGRATES BY EXTENDING. What you project
you believe. This is an immutable law of the mind in this world as well as in
the Kingdom. However, the content is different in this world, because the
thoughts it governs are very different from the thoughts in the Kingdom. Laws
must be adapted to circumstances, if they are to maintain order.
T 7 C 2. The outstanding characteristic of the laws of mind as they operate
in this world is that by obeying them - and I assure you that you MUST obey them
- you can arrive at diametrically opposed results. This is because the laws
have adapted to the circumstances of this world, in which diametrically opposed
outcomes ARE believed [T47] in. The laws of mind govern thoughts, and you DO
respond to two conflicting voices. You have heard many arguments on behalf of
"the freedoms," which would indeed have been freedom if man had not chosen to
FIGHT for them. That is why they perceive "the freedoms" as many, instead of as
one. Yet the argument that underlies the defense of freedom is perfectly valid.
Because it is true it should not be FOUGHT for, but it SHOULD be sided WITH.
T 7 C 3. Those who are against freedom believe that its outcome will HURT
them, which CANNOT be true. But those who are FOR freedom, even if they are
misguided in how to defend [T48] it, are siding with the one thing in this world
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which IS true. Whenever anyone can listen fairly to both sides of ANY issue, he
will make the right decision. This is because he HAS the answer. Conflict can
SEEM to be interpersonal, but it MUST be intrapersonal first.
T 7 C 4. The term "intrapersonal" is an ego term, because "personal" implies
"of ONE person," and NOT of others. "Interpersonal" has a similar error, in
that it refers to something that exists among different or SEPARATE people.
When we spoke before of the extremely PERSONAL nature of revelation, we followed
this statement immediately with a description of the inevitable outcomes of the
revelation in terms of SHARING. A person conceives of himself as separate
largely because he perceives OF himself as bounded by a body. ONLY if he
perceives himself as a MIND can this be overcome. Then he is free to use terms
like "intramental" and "intermental" WITHOUT seeing them as different or
conflicting because minds CAN be in perfect accord.
T 7 C 5. OUTSIDE the Kingdom, the law which prevails INSIDE it is adapted to
"what you project you BELIEVE." This is its TEACHING form, since outside the
Kingdom teaching is mandatory because LEARNING is essential. This form of the
law clearly implies that you will learn what YOU are from what you have
projected onto others, and therefore believe THEY are. IN the Kingdom there is
no teaching OR learning because there is no BELIEF. There is only CERTAINTY.
God and His Sons, in the surety of being, KNOW that what you project you ARE.
That form of the law is not adapted at all, being the Law of Creation. God
Himself created the law by creating BY it. And His Sons, who create like Him,
follow it gladly, knowing that the increase of the Kingdom depends on it, just
as their own creation did.
T 7 C 6. Laws must be communicated if they are to be helpful. In effect,
they must be TRANSLATED for those who speak a different language. Nevertheless,
a good translator, although he must alter the FORM of what he translates, NEVER
changes the meaning. In fact, his whole purpose is to change the form SO THAT
the original meaning is retained. The Holy Spirit is the TRANSLATOR of the Laws
of God to those who do NOT understand them. You could not do this yourselves
because conflicted minds CANNOT be faithful to one meaning, and
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will therefore CHANGE THE MEANING TO PRESERVE THE FORM.
T 7 C 7. The Holy Spirit's purpose in translating is naturally EXACTLY the
opposite. He translates only to PRESERVE the original meaning in ALL respects
and in ALL languages. Therefore, He opposes differences in form as meaningful,
emphasizing always that THESE DIFFERENCES DO NOT MATTER. The meaning of His
message is ALWAYS the same, and ONLY the meaning matters. God's Law of Creation
in perfect form does not involve the USE of truth to convince His Sons OF truth.
The EXTENSION of truth, which IS the Law of the Kingdom, rests only on the
knowledge of what truth IS. This is your inheritance and requires no learning
at all, but when you DISinherited yourselves, you BECAME learners.
T 7 C 8. No one questions the intimate connection of learning and memory.
Learning is impossible WITHOUT memory since it cannot be consistent UNLESS it is
remembered. That is why the Holy Spirit IS a lesson in remembering. We said
before that He teaches remembering and forgetting, but the forgetting aspect is
only TO MAKE THE REMEMBERING CONSISTENT. You forget in order to REMEMBER
BETTER. You will NOT understand His translations while you listen to two ways
of perceiving them. Therefore, you must forget, or relinquish, one to
UNDERSTAND the other. This is the only way you CAN learn consistency, so that
you can finally BE consistent.
T 7 C 9. What can the perfect consistency of the Kingdom mean to the
confused? It is apparent that confusion INTERFERES with meaning, and therefore
PREVENTS THE LEARNER FROM APPRECIATING it. There is NO confusion in the
Kingdom, because there is only ONE meaning. This meaning comes from God and IS
God. Because it is also YOU, you share it and EXTEND it as your Creator did.
This needs no translation because it is perfectly understood, but it DOES need
extension because it MEANS extension. Communication is perfectly direct and
perfectly united. It is totally without strain because nothing discordant EVER
enters. That is why it IS the Kingdom of God. It belongs to Him, and is
therefore LIKE Him. That is its reality, and nothing CAN assail it.
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T 7 D. The Unified Curriculum
T 7 D 1. To heal is to liberate totally. We once said there is no order of
difficulty in miracles because they are ALL maximal expressions of love. This
has no range at all. The non-maximal only APPEARS to have a range. This is
because it SEEMS to be meaningful to measure it FROM the maximum, and identify
its position by HOW MUCH it is NOT there. Actually, this does not mean
anything. It is like negative numbers in that the concept can be used
theoretically, but it has no application practically. It is true that if you
put three apples on the table and then take them away, the three apples are not
there. But it is NOT true that the table is now MINUS three apples. If there
is NOTHING on the table, it does not matter what WAS there in terms of amount.
The "nothing" is neither greater nor less because of what is absent.
T 7 D 2. That is why "all" and "nothing" are dichotomous, WITHOUT a range.
This is perfectly clear in considering psychological tests of maximal
performance. You cannot interpret the results AT ALL unless you assume either
MAXIMAL motivation or NO motivation at all. Only in these two conditions can
you validly compare responses, and you MUST assume the former because, if the
latter were true, the subject would not do ANYTHING. Given VARIABLE motivation
he WILL do something, but YOU cannot understand WHAT IT IS.
T 7 D 3. The results of such tests are evaluated relatively ASSUMING maximal
motivation, but this is because we are dealing with ABILITIES, where degree of
development is meaningful. This does NOT mean that what the ability is used FOR
is necessarily either limited OR divided. Yet one thing is certain [T49].
Abilities are POTENTIALS for learning, and you will apply them to what you WANT
to learn. Learning is EFFORT, and effort means WILL. We have used the term
"abilities" in the plural because abilities began with the ego, which perceived
them as POTENTIALS FOR EXCELLING. This is how the ego STILL perceives them and
uses them.
T 7 D 4. The ego does not WANT to teach everyone all it has learned, because
that would DEFEAT its purpose. Therefore, it does not REALLY learn at all. The
Holy Spirit teaches you to use what the ego has made to teach the
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OPPOSITE of what the ego has learned. The KIND of learning is as irrelevant as
is the particular ability which was applied TO the learning. You could not have
a better example of the Holy Spirit's unified purpose than this course. The
Holy Spirit has taken very diversified areas of YOUR learning, and has applied
them to a UNIFIED curriculum. The fact that this was NOT the ego's reason for
learning is totally irrelevant.
T 7 D 5. YOU made the effort to learn, and the Holy Spirit has a unified goal
for ALL effort. He ADAPTS the ego's potentials for excelling to potentials for
EQUALIZING. This makes them USELESS for the ego's purpose, but VERY useful for
His. If different abilities are applied long enough to one goal, the abilities
THEMSELVES become unified. This is because they are channelized in one
direction, or in one WAY. Ultimately, then, they all contribute to ONE RESULT,
and by so doing, their similarity rather than their differences is emphasized.
You can EXCEL in many DIFFERENT ways, but you can EQUALIZE in ONE WAY ONLY.
Equality is NOT a variable state, by definition.
T 7 D 6. That is why you will be able to perform ALL aspects of your work
with ease when you have learned THIS course. To the ego there appears to be no
connection because the EGO is discontinuous. Yet the Holy Spirit teaches ONE
lesson, and applies it to ALL individuals in ALL situations. Being
conflict-free, He maximizes ALL efforts and ALL results. By teaching the power
of the Kingdom of God Himself, He teaches you that ALL POWER IS YOURS. Its
application does not matter. It is ALWAYS maximal. Your vigilance does not
ESTABLISH it as yours, but it DOES enable you to use it ALWAYS and in ALL WAYS.
T 7 D 7. When I said, "I am with you always," I meant it literally. I am not
absent to ANYONE, in ANY situation. BECAUSE I am always with you, YOU are the
Way and the Truth and the Light. You did not make this power any more than I
did. It was created to BE shared, and therefore cannot be meaningfully
perceived as belonging to anyone AT THE EXPENSE of another. Such a perception
makes it meaningless by eliminating or overlooking its REAL and ONLY meaning.
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T 7 E. The Recognition of Truth
T 7 E 1. God's meaning waits in the Kingdom because that is where He placed
it. It does not wait in time. It merely RESTS in the Kingdom because it
BELONGS there, as You do. How can you, who ARE God's meaning, perceive
yourselves as absent FROM it? You can see yourselves as separated from your
meaning only BY EXPERIENCING YOURSELF AS UNREAL. This is why the ego is insane;
it teaches that you are NOT what you ARE. This is so contradictory that it is
clearly impossible. It is therefore a lesson which you CANNOT REALLY LEARN, and
therefore, CANNOT REALLY TEACH. Yet you ARE always teaching. You MUST,
therefore, be teaching something ELSE as well, even though the ego DOES NOT KNOW
WHAT IT IS.
T 7 E 2. The ego, then, IS always being undone, and DOES suspect your
motives. Your mind CANNOT be unified in allegiance to the ego, because the mind
does NOT belong to it. Yet what is "treacherous" to the ego IS faithful to
peace. The ego's "enemy" is therefore YOUR friend. We said before that the
ego's friend is not part of you, since the ego perceives itself as at war, and
therefore in need of allies. YOU, who are NOT at war, must look for brothers
and RECOGNIZE all whom you see AS brothers, because ONLY equals are at peace.
T 7 E 3. Because God's equal Sons have everything, they CANNOT compete. Yet
if they perceive ANY of their brothers as anything other than their perfect
equals, the idea of competition HAS entered their minds. Do not underestimate
your need to be vigilant AGAINST this idea, because ALL your conflicts come from
it. It is the belief that conflicting interests are possible, and therefore you
have accepted the impossible as TRUE. How is that different from saying that
you are perceiving YOURSELF as unreal?
T 7 E 4. To be IN the Kingdom is merely to focus your full attention ON it.
As long as you believe that you can attend to what is NOT true, you are
accepting conflict as your CHOICE. Is it REALLY a choice? It SEEMS to be, but
seeming and reality are hardly the same. You who ARE the Kingdom are not
concerned with seeming. Reality is yours because you ARE reality. This is how
having and being are ultimately reconciled, not in the Kingdom, but IN YOUR
MINDS. The altar there is the ONLY reality. The altar is perfectly clear in
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thought because it is a reflection of PERFECT Thought. It sees only brothers
because it sees ONLY in its own Light.
T 7 E 5. God has lit your minds Himself, and keeps your minds lit by His
Light because His Light is what your minds ARE. This is TOTALLY beyond
question, and when you questioned it, you WERE answered. The answer merely
UNDOES the question by establishing the fact that to question reality is to
question meaninglessly. That is why the Holy Spirit NEVER questions. His sole
function is to UNDO the questionable, and thus lead to CERTAINTY. The certain
are perfectly calm because they are not in doubt. They do not raise questions
because nothing questionable ENTERS their minds. This holds them in perfect
serenity because this is what they share, KNOWING what they are.
T 7 E 6. As has so often been said, healing is both an art and a science. It
is an art because it depends on inspiration in the sense that we have already
used the term. Inspiration is the opposite of dispiriting, and therefore means
to make joyous. The dispirited are depressed because they believe that they are
literally "without the Spirit," which is an illusion. You do not PUT the Spirit
in them by inspiring them because that would be magic, and therefore would not
be real healing. You DO, however, recognize the Spirit that is ALREADY there,
and thereby RE-AWAKEN it. This is why the healer is part of the resurrection
and the LIFE. The Spirit is not asleep in the minds of the sick, but the part
of the mind that can perceive it and be glad IS.
T 7 E 7. Healing is also a science because it obeys the laws of God, Whose
laws are true. BECAUSE they are true they are perfectly dependable, and
therefore universal in application. The REAL aim of science is neither
prediction nor control, but ONLY understanding. This is because it does NOT
establish the laws it seeks; CANNOT discover them through prediction; and has NO
control over them at all. Science is nothing more than an approach to WHAT
ALREADY IS. Like inspiration it can be misunderstood as magic, and WILL be
whenever it is undertaken as SEPARATE from what already is, and perceived as a
means for ESTABLISHING it. To believe this is possible is to believe YOU CAN DO
IT.
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This can ONLY be the voice of the ego.
T 7 E 8. Truth can only be RECOGNIZED, and NEED only be recognized.
Inspiration is of the Spirit, and certainty is of God according to His laws.
Both, therefore, come from the same Source, since inspiration comes from the
Voice FOR God and certainty comes from the laws OF God. Healing does not come
DIRECTLY from God, Who knows His creations as perfectly whole. Yet healing is
still OF God because it proceeds from His Voice and from His laws. It is their
result, in a state of mind which does NOT know Him. The STATE is unknown to Him
and therefore does not exist, but those who sleep ARE stupefied, or better,
UNAWARE. BECAUSE they are unaware, they do NOT know.
T 7 E 9. The Holy Spirit must work THROUGH you to teach you He is IN you.
This is an intermediary step toward the knowledge that you are in God because
you are part of Him. The miracles which the Holy Spirit inspires can have no
order of difficulty because every part of creation is of ONE order. This is
God's Will AND YOURS. The laws of God ESTABLISH this, and the Holy Spirit
reminds you OF it. When you heal, you are REMEMBERING the laws of God and
forgetting the laws of the ego. We said before that forgetting is merely a way
of remembering BETTER. It is therefore NOT the opposite of remembering, when it
is properly perceived. Perceived IMPROPERLY, it induces a perception of
CONFLICT with something ELSE, as all incorrect perception does. PROPERLY
perceived, it can be used as a way OUT of conflict, as all proper perception
can.
T 7 E 10. ALL abilities, then, should be given over to the Holy Spirit WHO
KNOWS HOW TO USE THEM PROPERLY. He can use them ONLY for healing because He
knows you ONLY as whole. BY healing you learn of wholeness, and by learning of
wholeness you learn to remember God. You HAVE forgotten Him, but the Holy
Spirit still knows that your forgetting must be translated into a way of
REMEMBERING, and NOT perceived as a separate ability which opposes an opposite.
That is the way in which the ego tries to use ALL abilities, since its goal is
always to make you believe that YOU are in opposition.
T 7 E 11. The ego's goal is as unified as the Holy Spirit's, and it is because
of this that their goals can NEVER be reconciled in ANY way or to ANY extent.
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The ego ALWAYS seeks to divide and separate. The Holy Spirit ALWAYS seeks to
unify and heal. As you heal you ARE healed because the Holy Spirit sees no
order of healing. Healing is the way to UNDO the belief in differences, being
the ONLY way of perceiving the Sonship without this belief. This perception is
therefore IN accord with the laws of God even in a state of mind which is OUT of
accord with His. The strength of right perception is so great that it brings
the mind INTO accord with His because it yields to His pull, which is in all of
you.
T 7 E 12. To OPPOSE the pull or the Will of God is not an ability but a real
DELUSION. The ego believes that it HAS this ability, and can offer it to you as
a gift. YOU DO NOT WANT IT. It is NOT a gift. It is NOTHING AT ALL. God has
given you a gift which you both have and are. When you do not use it, you do
not know you HAVE it. By NOT knowing this, you do not know what you are.
Healing, then, is a way of APPROACHING knowledge by thinking IN ACCORDANCE with
the laws of God, and recognizing their UNIVERSALITY. Without this recognition,
you have made the laws themselves meaningless to you. Yet the LAWS are not
meaningless since all meaning is contained BY them and IN them.
T 7 E 13. Seek ye FIRST the Kingdom of Heaven because that is where the laws of
God operate truly, and they can operate ONLY truly, since they are the laws of
Truth. But seek this ONLY because you can FIND nothing else. There IS nothing
else. God is all in all in a very literal sense. All being is in Him Who IS
all Being. YOU are therefore in Him since YOUR being IS His. Healing is a way
of forgetting the sense of danger the ego has induced in YOU by NOT recognizing
its existence in your brothers. This strengthens the Holy Spirit in BOTH of you
because it is a REFUSAL to acknowledge fear. Love needs only this invitation.
It comes freely to ALL the Sonship, being what the Sonship IS. By your
awakening TO it, you are merely forgetting what you are NOT. This enables you
to remember what you ARE.
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T 7 F. Healing and the Changelessness of Mind
T 7 F 1. The body is nothing more than a framework for developing abilities.
It is therefore a means for developing POTENTIALS, which is quite apart from
what the potential is used FOR. THAT is a DECISION. The effects of the ego's
decision in this matter are so apparent that they need no elaboration here, but
the Holy Spirit's decision to use the body ONLY for communication has such a
direct connection with healing that it DOES need clarification. The unhealed
healer OBVIOUSLY does not understand his own vocation.
T 7 F 2. ONLY minds communicate. Since the ego CANNOT obliterate the impulse
to communicate because it is also the impulse to create, the ego can only teach
you that the BODY can both communicate AND create, and therefore does not NEED
the mind. The ego thus tries to teach you that the body can ACT like the mind,
and is therefore self-sufficient. Yet we have learned that behavior is NOT the
level for either teaching OR learning. This must be so, since you CAN act in
accordance with what you do NOT believe. To do this, however, will weaken you
as teachers AND learners because, as has been repeatedly emphasized, you teach
what you DO believe. An inconsistent lesson will be poorly taught AND POORLY
LEARNED. If you teach both sickness AND healing you are both a poor teacher AND
a poor learner.
T 7 F 3. Healing is the one ability which everyone can develop and MUST
develop, if he is to be healed. Healing is the Holy Spirit's form of
communication, and the ONLY one He knows. He recognizes no other because he
does not accept the ego's confusion of mind and body. Minds can communicate,
but they CANNOT hurt. The body in the service of the ego can hurt other BODIES,
but this cannot occur unless the body has ALREADY been confused with the mind.
This fact, too, can be used either for healing or for magic, but you must
remember that magic is ALWAYS the belief that healing is HARMFUL. This is its
totally insane premise, and so it proceeds accordingly.
T 7 F 4. Healing only STRENGTHENS. Magic ALWAYS tries to weaken. Healing
perceives NOTHING in the healer that everyone else does not SHARE with him.
Magic ALWAYS sees something "special" in the healer, which he believes he can
offer as a gift to someone who does NOT have it. He may believe that the gift
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comes FROM God to Him, but it is quite evident that he does not understand God
if he thinks he has something that others LACK. You might well ask, then, why
some healing CAN result from this kind of thinking, and there is a reason for
this. [T50]
T 7 F 5. However misguided the "magical healer" may be, he is ALSO trying to
help. He is conflicted and unstable, but AT TIMES he is offering something to
the Sonship, and the only thing the Sonship can ACCEPT is healing. When the
so-called "healing" works, then, the impulse to help and to BE helped have
coincided. This is coincidental, because the healer may NOT be experiencing
himself as truly helpful at the time, but the belief that he IS, in the mind of
another, helps HIM.
T 7 F 6. The Holy Spirit does NOT work by chance, and healing that is of Him
ALWAYS works. Unless the healer ALWAYS heals by Him, the results WILL vary.
Yet healing itself IS consistence, since ONLY consistence is conflict-free, and
only the conflict-free ARE whole. By accepting exceptions and acknowledging
that he can sometimes heal and sometimes not, the healer is OBVIOUSLY accepting
inconsistency. He is therefore IN conflict and TEACHING conflict. Can anything
of God NOT be for all and for always?
T 7 F 7. Love is incapable of ANY exceptions. Only if there is fear does the
IDEA of exceptions seem to be meaningful. Exceptions are fearful because they
are made BY fear. The "fearful healer" is a contradiction in terms, and is
therefore a concept which ONLY a conflicted mind could possibly perceive as
meaningful. Fear does NOT gladden. Healing DOES. Fear ALWAYS makes
exceptions. Healing NEVER does. Fear produces dissociation because it induces
SEPARATION. Healing ALWAYS produces harmony because it proceeds from
integration.
T 7 F 8. Healing is predictable because it can be counted on. EVERYTHING
that is of God can be counted on, because everything of God is wholly REAL.
Healing can be counted on BECAUSE it is inspired by His Voice, and is in accord
with His laws. Yet if healing IS consistence, it cannot be inconsistently
understood. Understanding MEANS consistence because GOD means consistence.
Since that is HIS meaning, it is also YOURS. Your meaning cannot BE out of
accord with His because your whole meaning, and your ONLY meaning, comes FROM
His and is LIKE His. God cannot be out of accord with HIMSELF,
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and YOU cannot be out of accord with Him. You cannot separate your SELF from
your Creator, Who created you by sharing HIS Being WITH you.
T 7 F 9. The unhealed healer wants gratitude FROM his brothers, but he is not
grateful TO them. This is because he thinks he is GIVING something TO them and
is NOT receiving something equally desirable in return. His TEACHING is limited
because he is LEARNING so little. His healing lesson is limited by his own
ingratitude, which is a lesson in SICKNESS. Learning is constant, and so vital
in its power for change that a Son of God can recognize his power in one
instant, and change the world in the next. That is because, by changing HIS
mind, he has changed the most powerful device that was ever created FOR change.
T 7 F 10. This in no way contradicts the changelessness of mind as GOD created
it, but you think that you HAVE changed it as long as you learn through the ego.
This DOES place you in a position of needing to learn a lesson which seems
contradictory;- you must learn to change your mind ABOUT your mind. Only by
this can you learn that it IS changeless. When you heal, that is exactly what
you ARE learning. You are recognizing the changeless mind in your brother by
realizing that he COULD not have changed his mind. That is how you perceive the
Holy Spirit in him. It is ONLY the Holy Spirit in him that never changes His
mind. He himself must think he CAN, or he would not perceive himself as sick.
He therefore does not know what his self IS.
T 7 F 11. If YOU see only the changeless in him, you have not really changed
him at all. By changing YOUR mind about his FOR him, you help him UNDO the
change his ego thinks it has made in him. As you can hear two voices, so you
can see in two ways. One way shows you an image, or better, an idol, which you
may worship out of fear, but which you will never love. The other shows you
only truth, which you will love because you will UNDERSTAND it. Understanding
is APPRECIATION, because what you understand you can IDENTIFY with, and by
making it part of YOU, you have accepted it with love.
T 7 F 12. That is how God Himself created YOU, [T51] in understanding, in
appreciation, and in love. The ego is totally unable to understand this because
it does
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NOT understand what it makes; it does NOT appreciate it, and it does NOT love
it. It incorporates to TAKE AWAY. It literally believes that every time it
deprives someone of something, IT has increased. We have spoken often of the
increase of the Kingdom by YOUR creations, which can only be created as YOU
were. The whole glory and perfect joy that IS the Kingdom lies in you to give.
Do you not WANT to give it?
T 7 F 13. You CANNOT forget the Father because I am with you, and I cannot
forget Him. To forget ME is to forget yourself and Him Who [T52] created you.
Our brothers ARE forgetful. That is why they need your remembrance of me, and
Him who created me. Through this remembrance you can change their minds about
THEMSELVES, as I can change YOURS. Your minds are so powerful a light that you
can look into theirs and enlighten them, as I can enlighten yours. I do not
want to share my BODY in communion because that is to share nothing. Would I
try to share an illusion with the most holy children of a most Holy Father? [T53]
Yet I do want to share my MIND with you because we ARE of one Mind, and that
Mind IS ours.
T 7 F 14. See ONLY this Mind everywhere, because only this IS everywhere and in
everything. It IS everything because it encompasses all things within ITSELF.
Blessed are you who perceive only this, because you perceive only what is true.
Come therefore unto me, and learn of the truth in YOU. The Mind we share is
shared by all our brothers, and as we see them truly, they WILL be healed. Let
YOUR mind shine with mine upon their minds, and by our gratitude to them, make
them aware of the light in THEM.
T 7 F 15. This light will shine back upon YOU and on the whole Sonship because
this is your proper gift to God. He will accept it and give it to the Sonship
because it is acceptable to Him, and therefore to His Sons. This is the true
communion of the Spirit Who sees the altar of God in everyone, and by bringing
it to YOUR appreciation, calls upon you to love God AND His creations. You can
appreciate the Sonship ONLY as one. This is part of the law of creation, and
therefore governs ALL thought.
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T 7 G. From Vigilance to Peace
T 7 G 1. Although you can LOVE the Sonship only as one, you can PERCEIVE it
as fragmented. It is impossible, however, for you to see something in PART of
it that you will not attribute to ALL of it. That is why attack is NEVER
discrete, and why attack must be relinquished ENTIRELY. If it is NOT
relinquished entirely, it is not relinquished at all. Fear and love are equally
reciprocal. They make or create depending on whether the ego or the Holy Spirit
begets or inspires them, but they WILL return to the mind of the thinker, and
they WILL affect his total perception. That includes his perception of God, of
His creations, and of his own. He will not appreciate ANY of them if he regards
them fearfully. He will appreciate ALL of them if he regards them with love.
T 7 G 2. The mind that accepts attack CANNOT love. That is because it
believes that it can DESTROY love, and therefore does not understand what love
IS. If it does not understand what love is, it CANNOT perceive itself as
loving. This loses the awareness of being, induces feelings of unreality, [T54]
and results in utter confusion. Your own thinking has done this because of its
power, but your own thinking can also save you FROM this because its power is
NOT of your making. Your ability to DIRECT your thinking as you will is PART of
its power. If you do not believe you can do this, you have DENIED the power of
your thought, and thus rendered it powerless in your BELIEF.
T 7 G 3. The ingeniousness of the ego to preserve itself is enormous, but it
stems from the power of the mind which the ego DENIES. This means that the ego
ATTACKS what is PRESERVING it, and this MUST be a source of extreme anxiety.
That is why the ego NEVER knows what it is doing. It is perfectly logical, but
clearly insane. The ego draws upon the one source which is totally inimical to
its existence FOR its existence. Fearful of perceiving the POWER of this
source, it is forced to depreciate it. This threatens its OWN existence, a
state which it finds intolerable.
T 7 G 4. Remaining logical but still insane, the ego resolves this completely
insane dilemma in a completely insane way. It does not perceive ITS existence
as threatened by projecting the threat onto YOU, and perceiving your BEING
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as nonexistent. This ensures ITS continuance, if you side with it, by
guaranteeing that you will not know your OWN safety. The ego cannot afford to
know ANYTHING. Knowledge is total, and the ego does not BELIEVE in totality.
This unbelief is its origin, and while the ego does not love YOU, it IS faithful
to its own antecedents, begetting as it was begotten.
T 7 G 5. Mind ALWAYS reproduces as it was produced. Produced by fear, the
ego reproduces fear. This is its allegiance, and this allegiance makes it
treacherous to love BECAUSE you are love. Love is your power, which the ego
must deny. It must also deny everything which this power gives you because it
gives you EVERYTHING. No one who has everything WANTS the ego. Its own maker,
then, does not want it. Rejection is therefore the only decision which the ego
could possibly encounter, if the mind which made it knew ITSELF. And if it
recognized ANY part of the Sonship it WOULD know itself.
T 7 G 6. The ego therefore opposes ALL appreciation, ALL recognition, ALL
sane perception and ALL knowledge. It perceives their threat as total because
it senses the fact that ALL commitments the mind makes ARE total. Forced,
therefore, to detach itself from you who ARE mind, it is willing to attach
itself to ANYTHING else. But there IS nothing else. It does not follow that
the mind cannot make illusions, but it DOES follow that, if it makes illusions,
it will believe in them, because that is HOW it made them.
T 7 G 7. The Holy Spirit undoes illusions without attacking them merely
because He cannot perceive them at all. They therefore do not exist for Him.
He resolves the APPARENT conflict which they engender by perceiving CONFLICT as
meaningless. We said before that the Holy Spirit perceives the conflict exactly
as it is, and it IS meaningless. The Holy Spirit does not want you to
UNDERSTAND conflict; He wants you to realize that BECAUSE conflict is
meaningless, it cannot BE understood. We have already said that understanding
brings appreciation, and appreciation brings love. Nothing else CAN be
understood because nothing else is REAL, and therefore nothing else HAS meaning.
T 7 G 8. If you will keep in mind what the Holy Spirit offers you, you cannot
be vigilant for anything BUT God and His Kingdom. The only reason you find
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this difficult is because you think there IS something else. Belief does not
require vigilance UNLESS it is conflicted. If it is, there ARE conflicting
components within it which have engendered a state of war, and vigilance
therefore has become essential. Vigilance has no place at all in peace. It is
necessary against beliefs which are NOT true, and would never have been called
upon by the Holy Spirit if you had NOT believed the untrue. You cannot deny
that when you believe something, you have MADE it true for YOU.
T 7 G 9. When you believe what God does not KNOW, your thought seems to
CONTRADICT His, and this makes it appear AS IF you are attacking Him. We have
repeatedly emphasized that the ego DOES believe it can attack God, and tries to
persuade you that YOU have done this. If the mind CANNOT attack, the ego
proceeds perfectly logically to the position that you cannot BE mind. By not
seeing you as you ARE, it can see ITSELF as it WANTS to be. Aware of its
weakness the ego wants your allegiance, but not as you really are. The ego
therefore wants to engage your mind in its OWN delusional system because
otherwise the light of YOUR understanding would dispel it.
T 7 G 10. The ego wants no part of truth because the truth is that the EGO is
not true. IF truth is total the untrue CANNOT exist. Commitment to either must
be TOTAL, since they cannot co-exist in your minds WITHOUT splitting them. If
they cannot co-exist in peace, and if you WANT peace, you must give up the idea
of conflict ENTIRELY and for ALL TIME. This requires vigilance ONLY as long as
YOU DO NOT RECOGNIZE WHAT IS TRUE. [T55] While you believe that two totally
contradictory thought systems SHARE truth, your need for vigilance is apparent.
Your minds ARE dividing their allegiance between two kingdoms, and you are
totally committed to neither.
T 7 G 11. Your identification with the Kingdom is totally beyond question
except by you, when you are thinking insanely. What you are is not established
by your perception, and is not influenced BY it at all. All perceived problems
in identification at any level are NOT problems of fact. They are problems of
UNDERSTANDING, since they MEAN that you believe what you can understand IS up to
you to decide. The ego believes this totally, being FULLY committed to it. It
is not true. The ego therefore is totally committed to untruth,
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perceiving in total contradiction to the Holy Spirit and to the knowledge of
God.
T 7 G 12. You can be perceived with meaning ONLY by the Holy Spirit because
your being IS the knowledge of God. Any belief that you accept which is apart
from this will obscure God's Voice in you, and will therefore obscure God TO
you. Unless you perceive His creation truly you cannot know the Creator, since
God and His creation are not separate. The Oneness of the Creator and the
creation is your wholeness, your sanity, and your limitless power. This
limitless power is God's gift to you because it is what you ARE. If you
dissociate your mind from it, you are perceiving the most powerful force in the
universe as if it were weak because you do not believe YOU are part of it.
T 7 G 13. Perceived WITHOUT your part in it God's creation IS perceived as
weak, and those who see themselves as weakened DO attack. The attack must be
blind, however, because there is nothing TO attack. Therefore they make up
images, perceive them as unworthy, and attack them for their unworthiness. That
is all the world of the ego is. NOTHING. It has no meaning. It does not
exist. Do not try to understand it because, if you do, you are believing that
it can BE understood, and is therefore capable of being appreciated and loved.
That would justify it, and it cannot BE justified. You cannot make the
meaningless meaningful. This can ONLY be an insane attempt.
T 7 G 14. Allowing insanity to enter your minds means that you have not judged
sanity as WHOLLY DESIRABLE. If you WANT something else you will MAKE something
else, but because it IS something else it will attack your thought system and
divide your allegiance. You cannot create in this divided state, and you must
be vigilant AGAINST this divided state because only peace can BE extended. Your
divided minds are blocking the extension of the Kingdom, and its extension IS
your joy. If you do not extend the Kingdom, you are not thinking with your
Creator and creating as He created.
T 7 G 15. In this depressing state the Holy Spirit reminds you gently that you
are sad because you are not fulfilling your function as co-creators with God,
and are therefore depriving yourselves of joy. This is not God's Will, but
YOURS. If your will is out of accord with God's, you are willing without
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meaning. Yet because God's Will is unchangeable, no REAL conflict of will is
possible. This is the Holy Spirit's perfectly consistent teaching. Creation,
NOT separation, is your will BECAUSE it is God's, and nothing that opposes this
means anything at all. Being a perfect accomplishment, the Sonship can only
accomplish perfectly, extending the joy in which it was created, and identifying
itself with both its Creator and its creations, KNOWING they are One.
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T 7 H. The Total Commitment
T 7 H 1. Whenever you deny a blessing to a brother YOU will feel deprived.
This is because denial is as total as love. It is as impossible to deny part of
the Sonship as it is to love it in part. Nor is it possible to love it totally
AT TIMES. You cannot be TOTALLY committed SOMETIMES. Remember a very early
lesson;- "Never underestimate the power of denial." It has no power in itself,
but you can give it the power of YOUR mind, whose power is without limit of any
kind. If you use it to deny reality, reality IS gone for you. REALITY CANNOT
BE PARTLY APPRECIATED. That is why denying any part of it means you have lost
awareness of ALL of it.
T 7 H 2. That is the negative side of the law, as it operates in this world.
Yet denial is a defense, and so it is as capable of being used positively as it
is of being used destructively. Used negatively it WILL be destructive because
it will be used for attack, but in the service of the Holy Spirit, the law
requires you to recognize only PART of reality to appreciate ALL of it. Mind is
too powerful to be subject to exclusion. You will NEVER be able to exclude
yourself from what you project.
T 7 H 3. When a brother acts insanely, he is offering you an opportunity to
bless him. His need is YOURS. You NEED the blessing you can offer him. There
is no way for you to have it EXCEPT by giving it. This is the law of God, and
it has NO exceptions. What you deny you LACK, not because it IS lacking, but
because you have denied it in another, and are therefore not aware of it in YOU.
Every response you make is determined by what you THINK you are, and what you
WANT to be IS what you think you are. Therefore, what you want to be determines
every response you make.
T 7 H 4. You do not need God's blessing, since that you have forever, but you
DO need YOURS. The picture you see of yourselves is deprived, unloving and very
vulnerable. You CANNOT love this. Yet you can very easily escape from it, or
better, leave it behind. You are not THERE, and that is not YOU. Do not see
this picture in anyone, or you have accepted it AS you. ALL illusions about the
Sonship are dispelled together, as they were MADE together. Teach no one that
he is what YOU would NOT want to be. Your brother is the mirror
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in which you will see the image of yourself, as long as perception lasts. And
perception WILL last until the Sonship knows itself as whole.
T 7 H 5. You made perception, and it must last as long as you WANT it.
Illusions are investments. They will last as long as you value them. Values
are relative, but they are powerful because they are mental judgments. The only
way to dispel illusions is to withdraw ALL investment from them, and they will
have no life for you because you have put them OUT OF YOUR MIND. While you
include them IN it, you are GIVING life to them. Except there is nothing there
to receive your gift.
T 7 H 6. The gift of life IS yours to give, because it was given YOU. You
are unaware of your gift BECAUSE you do not give it. You cannot make nothing
live, since it cannot BE enlivened. Therefore, you are not extending the gift
you both have and are, and so you do not know your being. ALL confusion comes
from not extending life, since that is NOT the Will of your Creator. You can do
nothing apart from Him, and you DO do nothing apart from Him. Keep His way to
remember yourselves, and teach His way, lest you forget yourselves. Give only
honor to the Sons of the Living God, and count yourselves among them gladly.
T 7 H 7. ONLY honor is a fitting gift for those whom God Himself created
worthy of honor, and whom He honors. Give them the appreciation which God
accords them always, because they are His beloved Sons in whom He is well
pleased. You cannot BE apart from them because you are not apart from Him.
Rest in His Love, and protect your rest by loving. But love EVERYTHING He
created, of which you are a part, or you cannot learn of His peace, and accept
His gift for YOURSELF and AS yourself. You cannot know your own perfection
until you have honored all those who were created LIKE you.
T 7 H 8. One Child of God is the ONLY teacher sufficiently worthy to teach
another. One Teacher is in all your minds, and He teaches the same lesson to
all. He always teaches you the inestimable worth of EVERY Son of God, teaching
it with infinite patience born of the infinite Love for which he speaks. Every
attack is a call for His patience since ONLY His patience can
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translate attack into blessing. Those who attack do not KNOW they are blessed.
They attack because they believe they are DEPRIVED. Give, therefore, of YOUR
abundance, and teach your brothers THEIRS. Do not share their delusions of
scarcity, or you will perceive YOURSELF as lacking.
T 7 H 9. Attack could never promote attack unless you perceived it as a means
of depriving you of something you WANT. Yet you cannot LOSE anything unless YOU
did not value it, and therefore did not WANT it. This makes you feel DEPRIVED
of it, and by projecting your own rejection, you believe that others are taking
it FROM you. One MUST be fearful, if he believes that his brother is attacking
him to tear the Kingdom of Heaven from him. This is the ultimate basis for ALL
of the ego's projection.
T 7 H 10. Being the part of your mind which does not believe it is responsible
for ITSELF, and being without allegiance to God, the ego is incapable of trust.
Projecting its insane belief that YOU have been treacherous to YOUR Creator, it
believes that your brothers, who are as incapable of this as YOU are, are out to
take God FROM you. Whenever a brother attacks another, this IS what he
believes. Projection ALWAYS sees your will in others. If you will to separate
yourself from God, that IS what you will think others are doing TO you.
T 7 H 11. You ARE the Will of God. Do not accept anything else AS your will,
or you are denying what you are. Deny this and you WILL attack, believing you
have BEEN attacked. But see the Love of God in you, and you will see It
everywhere because It IS everywhere. See His abundance in everyone, and you
will know that you are in Him WITH them. They are part of you, as you are part
of God. YOU are as lonely without understanding this as God Himself is lonely
when His Sons do not know Him. The peace of God IS understanding this. There
is only one way OUT of the world's thinking, just as there was only one way INTO
it. Understand totally by understanding TOTALITY.
T 7 H 12. Perceive ANY part of the ego's thought system as wholly insane,
wholly delusional and wholly undesirable, and you have correctly evaluated ALL
of it. This correction enables you to perceive ANY part of creation as
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wholly real, wholly perfect, and WHOLLY DESIRABLE. Wanting this ONLY, you will
HAVE this only, and giving this only, you will BE only this. The gifts you
offer to the ego are ALWAYS experienced as sacrifices, but the gifts you offer
to the Kingdom are gifts to YOU. They will always be treasured by God because
they belong to His beloved Sons, who belong to Him. All power and glory are
yours BECAUSE the Kingdom is His.
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T 7 I. The Defense of Conflict
T 7 I 1. We once said that without projection there can be no anger, but it
is also true that without projection there can be no love. Projection is a
fundamental law of the mind, and therefore one which ALWAYS operates. It is the
law by which you create and were created. It is the law which unifies the
Kingdom, and keeps it in the Mind of God. To the ego, the law is perceived as a
way of getting RID of something it does NOT want. To the Holy Spirit, it is the
fundamental law of sharing by which you GIVE what you value in order to keep it
in your OWN mind.
T 7 I 2. Projection, to the Holy Spirit, is the law of extension. To the
ego, it is the law of deprivation. It therefore produces abundance or scarcity,
depending on how you choose to apply it. This choice IS up to you, but it is
NOT up to you to decide whether or not you will UTILIZE projection. Every mind
MUST project because that is how it lives, and every mind IS life. The ego's
use of projection must be fully understood before the [T56] inevitable association
between projection and anger can be finally undone.
T 7 I 3. The ego ALWAYS tries to preserve conflict. It is very ingenious in
devising ways which SEEM to diminish conflict because it does NOT want you to
find conflict so intolerable that you will INSIST on giving it up. Therefore,
the ego tries to persuade you that IT can free you of conflict, lest you give
the EGO up and free YOURSELF. The ego, using its own warped version of the laws
of God, utilizes the power of the mind ONLY to defeat the mind's real purpose.
It projects conflict FROM your mind to OTHER minds, in an attempt to persuade
you that you have gotten RID of it. This has several fallacies which may not be
so apparent.
T 7 I 4. Strictly speaking, conflict cannot BE projected precisely BECAUSE it
cannot be fully shared. Any attempt to keep PART of it and get rid of another
part does not really mean ANYTHING. Remember that a conflicted teacher is a
poor teacher AND A POOR LEARNER. His lessons are confused, and their transfer
value is severely limited BY his confusion. A second fallacy is the idea that
you can get RID of something you do not want by giving it away. GIVING it is
how you KEEP it. The belief that by giving it OUT you have excluded it from
WITHIN is a complete distortion of the power of extension.
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T 7 I 5. That is why those who project from the ego are vigilant for their
OWN safety. They ARE afraid that their projections will return and hurt them.
They DO believe they have blotted their projections from their OWN minds, but
they also believe their projections are trying to creep back INTO them. That is
because the projections have NOT left their minds, and this, in turn, forces
them to engage in compulsive activity in order NOT to recognize this. You
CANNOT perpetuate an illusion about another WITHOUT perpetuating it about
yourself. There is no way out of this because it is IMPOSSIBLE to fragment the
mind.
T 7 I 6. To fragment is to break into pieces, and mind CANNOT attack or BE
attacked. The belief that it CAN, a fallacy which the ego ALWAYS makes,
underlies its whole use of projection. It does not understand what mind IS, and
therefore does not understand what YOU are. Yet its existence is dependent on
your mind because the ego IS your belief. The ego is therefore a confusion in
identification which never had a consistent model, and never developed
consistently. It is the distorted product of the misapplication of the laws of
God, by distorted minds which are misusing their own power.
T 7 I 7. DO NOT BE AFRAID OF THE EGO. It DOES depend on your mind, and as
you made it by believing in it, so you can dispel it by withdrawing belief FROM
it. Do not project the responsibility for your belief in it onto anyone ELSE,
or you will PRESERVE the belief. When you are willing to accept sole
responsibility for the ego's existence YOURSELF you will have laid aside all
anger and all attack, because they COME from an attempt to project
responsibility for your OWN errors. But having ACCEPTED the errors as yours, DO
NOT KEEP THEM. Give them over quickly to the Holy Spirit to be undone
completely, so that ALL their effects will vanish from your minds, and from the
Sonship AS A WHOLE.
T 7 I 8. The Holy Spirit will teach you to perceive BEYOND belief because
truth IS beyond belief, and His perception IS true. The ego can be completely
forgotten at ANY time because it was always a belief that is totally incredible.
No one can KEEP a belief he has judged to be unbelievable. The more
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you learn about the ego, the more you realize that it cannot BE believed. The
incredible cannot be understood because it IS unbelievable. The utter
meaninglessness of all perception that comes from the unbelievable must be
apparent, but it is not RECOGNIZED as beyond belief because it was made BY
belief.
T 7 I 9. The whole purpose of this course is to teach you that the ego is
unbelievable and will forever BE unbelievable. You who made the ego by
believing the unbelievable cannot make this judgment alone. By accepting the
Atonement for YOURSELF, you are deciding against the belief that you can BE
alone, thus dispelling the idea of separation, and affirming your true
identification with the whole Kingdom as literally PART of you. This
identification is as beyond doubt as it is beyond belief. Your wholeness has no
limits because being is in infinity.
T 7 J. The Extension of the Kingdom
T 7 J 1. Only YOU can limit your creative power, but God wills to release it.
He no more wills you to deprive yourself of your creations than He wills to
deprive Himself of His. Do not withhold your gifts to the Sonship, or you
withhold yourself from God. Selfishness is of the ego, but self-fullness is of
the Soul because that is how God created it. The Holy Spirit is the part of the
mind that lies between the ego and the Soul, mediating between them ALWAYS in
favor of the Soul. To the ego this is partiality, and it therefore responds as
if it were the part that is being sided AGAINST. To the Soul this is truth,
because it knows its fullness, and cannot conceive of any part from which it is
excluded.
T 7 J 2. The Soul KNOWS that the consciousness of all its brothers is
included in its own, as IT is included in God. The power of the whole Sonship
AND of its Creator is therefore the Soul's own fullness, rendering its creations
equally whole and equal in perfection. The ego cannot prevail against a
totality which includes God, and any totality MUST include God. Everything He
created is given all His power because it is part of Him and shares His Being
with Him. Creating is the opposite of loss, as blessing is the opposite of
sacrifice. Being MUST be extended. That is how it retains
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the knowledge of ITSELF.
T 7 J 3. The Soul yearns to share its being as ITS Creator did. Created BY
sharing, its will is to create. It does not wish to CONTAIN God but to EXTEND
His Being. The extension of God's Being is the Soul's ONLY function. Its
fullness cannot be contained, any more than can the fullness of its Creator.
Fullness IS extension. The ego's whole thought system blocks extension, and
thus blocks your only function. It therefore blocks your joy, and that is why
you perceive yourselves as unfulfilled. Unless you create you ARE unfulfilled,
but God does not know of unfulfillment, and therefore you MUST create. YOU may
not know your own creations, but this can no more interfere with their reality
than your unawareness of your Soul can interfere with its being.
T 7 J 4. The Kingdom is forever extending because it is in the Mind of God.
You do not KNOW your joy because you do not know your own self-fullness.
Exclude ANY part of the Kingdom from yourself, and you are NOT whole. A split
mind cannot perceive its fullness, and needs the miracle of its wholeness to
dawn upon it and heal it. This re-awakens the wholeness in it, and restores it
to the Kingdom because of its ACCEPTANCE of wholeness. The full appreciation of
its self-fullness makes selfishness impossible and extension inevitable. That
is why there is perfect peace in the Kingdom. Every Soul IS fulfilling its
function, and only complete fulfillment IS peace.
T 7 J 5. Insanity APPEARS to add to reality, but no one would claim that what
it adds is true. Insanity is therefore the NON-extension of truth, which blocks
joy because it blocks creation, and thus blocks self-fulfillment. The
unfulfilled MUST be depressed because their self-fullness is unknown to them.
Your creations are protected FOR you because the Holy Spirit, Who is in your
mind, knows of them and can bring them INTO your awareness whenever you will let
Him. They are there as part of your own being because your fulfillment INCLUDES
them. The creations of every Son of God are yours since every creation belongs
to everyone, being created for the Sonship as a whole.
T 7 J 6. You have NOT failed to add to the inheritance of the Sons of God,
and
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thus have not failed to secure it for yourselves. If it was the Will of God to
give it to you, He gave it forever. If it was His Will that you have it
forever, He gave you the means for keeping it, AND YOU HAVE DONE SO. Disobeying
God's Will is meaningful only to the insane. In truth it is impossible. Your
self-fullness is as boundless as God's. Like His, it extends forever and in
perfect peace. Its radiance is so intense that it creates in perfect joy, and
only the whole can be born of its wholeness.
T 7 J 7. Be confident that you have never lost your identity and the
extensions which maintain it in wholeness and peace. Miracles are an EXPRESSION
of this confidence. They are reflections both of your own proper identification
with your brothers, and of your own awareness that your identification IS
maintained by extension. The miracle is a LESSON IN TOTAL PERCEPTION. By
including ANY part of totality in the lesson, you HAVE included the whole. You
have said that, when you write of the Kingdom and your creations which belong in
it, you are describing WHAT YOU DO NOT KNOW. That is true in a sense, but no
more true than your failure to acknowledge the whole result of the ego's
premises. The Kingdom is the result of premises, just as this world is.
T 7 J 8. You HAVE carried the ego's reasoning to its logical conclusion,
which is TOTAL CONFUSION ABOUT EVERYTHING. Yet you do not really BELIEVE this,
or you could not possibly maintain it. If you really saw this result, you could
not WANT it. The only reason why you could possibly [T57] want ANY part of it is
because you do NOT see the whole of it. You are willing to look at the ego's
premises, but NOT at their logical outcome. Is it not possible that you have
done the same thing with the premises of God?
T 7 J 9. Your creations ARE the logical outcome of His premises. HIS
thinking has established them FOR you. They are therefore there, EXACTLY where
they belong. They belong in your mind as part of your identification with His,
but your state of mind and your recognition of what is IN your mind depends, at
any given moment, on what you believe ABOUT your mind. Whatever these beliefs
may be, they are the premises which will determine what you accept INTO your
mind. It is surely clear that you can both accept into your mind what
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is not really there, and deny what IS. Neither of these possibilities requires
further elaboration here, but both are clearly indefensible, even if you elect
to defend them.
T 7 J 10. Yet the function which God Himself gave your minds through His you
may deny, but you cannot prevent. It is the logical outcome of what you ARE.
The ability to see a logical outcome depends on the WILLINGNESS to see it, but
its truth has nothing to do with your willingness at all. Truth is GOD'S Will.
SHARE His Will, and you share what He knows. DENY His Will as yours, and you
are denying His Kingdom AND yours. The Holy Spirit will direct you only so as
to avoid pain. The undoing of pain must obviously avoid pain. Surely no one
would object to this goal IF HE RECOGNIZED IT. The problem is not whether what
the Holy Spirit says is true, but whether you want to LISTEN to what He says.
T 7 K. The Confusion of Strength and Weakness
T 7 K 1. You no more recognize what is painful than you know what is joyful,
and are, in fact, very apt to confuse the two. The Holy Spirit's main function
is to teach you TO TELL THEM APART. However strange it may seem that this is
necessary, it obviously IS. The reason is equally obvious. What is joyful to
you IS painful to the ego, and as long as you are in doubt about what YOU are,
you will be confused about joy and pain. This confusion is the cause of the
whole idea of sacrifice. Obey the Holy Spirit and you WILL be giving up the
ego. But you will be sacrificing NOTHING. On the contrary, you will be gaining
EVERYTHING. If you believed this, there would BE no conflict.
T 7 K 2. That is why you need to DEMONSTRATE the obvious to yourself. It is
NOT obvious to you. You believe that doing the OPPOSITE of God's Will can be
better for you. You also believe that it is possible to DO the opposite of
God's Will. Therefore, you believe that an impossible choice is open to you,
and one which is both very fearful AND very desirable. Yet God WILLS. He does
NOT wish. YOUR will is as powerful as His because it IS His. The ego's wishes
do not mean anything, because the ego wishes for the impossible. You can WISH
for the impossible, but you can WILL only with God. This is the ego's weakness,
and YOUR strength.
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T 7 K 3. The Holy Spirit ALWAYS sides with you and with your strength. As
long as you avoid His guidance in any way, you WANT to be weak. Yet weakness IS
frightening. What else, then, can this decision mean except that you WANT to be
fearful? The Holy Spirit NEVER asks for sacrifice, but the ego ALWAYS does.
When you are confused about this VERY clear distinction in motivation, it can
ONLY be due to projection. Projection of this kind IS a confusion in
motivation, and GIVEN this confusion, trust becomes impossible.
T 7 K 4. No one obeys gladly a guide he does not trust, but this does not
mean that the GUIDE is untrustworthy. In this case, it ALWAYS means that the
FOLLOWER is. However, this, too, is merely a matter of his own belief.
Believing that HE can betray, he believes that everything can betray HIM. Yet
this is only because he has ELECTED TO FOLLOW FALSE GUIDANCE. Unable to follow
this guidance WITHOUT fear, he associates fear WITH guidance, and refuses to
follow ANY guidance at all. If the result of this decision is confusion, this
is hardly surprising. [T58] The Holy Spirit is perfectly trustworthy, as YOU are.
God Himself trusts you, and therefore your trustworthiness IS beyond question.
It will always remain beyond question, however much YOU may question it.
T 7 K 5. We said before that you ARE the Will of God. His Will is not an
idle wish, and your identification WITH His Will is not optional since it IS
what you are. Sharing His Will with me is not really open to choice, though it
may seem to be. The whole separation lies in this fallacy. The only way OUT of
the fallacy is to decide that you do not have to decide ANYTHING. Everything
has been given you by GOD’S decision. That IS His Will, and you can NOT undo
it. Even the relinquishment of your false decision-making prerogative, which
the ego guards so jealously, is not accomplished by your wish. It was
accomplished FOR you by the Will of God, Who has not left you comfortless. His
Voice WILL teach you how to distinguish between pain and joy, and WILL lead you
out of the confusion which you have made. There IS no confusion in the mind of
a Son of God, whose will MUST be the Will of the Father because the Father's
Will IS His Son.
T 7 K 6. Miracles are IN ACCORD with the Will of God, Whose Will you do not
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know, because you are confused about what YOU will. This means that you are
confused about what you are. If you ARE God's Will and do not ACCEPT His Will,
you ARE denying joy. The miracle is therefore a lesson in WHAT JOY IS. Being a
lesson in sharing, it is a lesson in love, which IS joy. Every miracle is thus
a lesson in truth, and by offering truth you are learning the difference between
pain and joy.
T 7 L. The State of Grace
T 7 L 1. The Holy Spirit will ALWAYS guide you truly, because YOUR joy is
HIS. This is His Will for everyone, because He speaks for the Kingdom of God,
which IS joy. Following Him is therefore the easiest thing in the world, and
the only thing that IS easy, because it is not of the world, and is therefore
NATURAL. The world GOES AGAINST your nature, being out of accord with God's
laws. The world perceives orders of difficulty in everything. This is because
the ego perceives nothing as wholly desirable. By demonstrating to yourselves
that there IS no order of difficulty in miracles, you will convince yourselves
that, in your NATURAL state, there is no difficulty because it is a state of
grace.
T 7 L 2. Grace is the NATURAL state of every Son of God. When he is NOT in a
state of grace, he is out of his natural environment and does not function well.
Everything he does becomes a strain, because he was not created for the
environment that he has made. He therefore CANNOT adapt to it, nor can he adapt
IT to HIM. There is no point in trying. A Son of God is happy ONLY when he
knows he is with God. That is the only environment in which he will not
experience strain, because that is where he belongs. It is also the only
environment that is worthy of him, because his own worth is beyond anything he
can make.
T 7 L 3. Consider the kingdom YOU have made, and judge its worth fairly. Is
it worthy to be a home for a Child of God? Does it protect his peace, and shine
love upon him? Does it keep his heart untouched by fear, and allow him to give
always, without any sense of loss? Does it teach him that this giving IS his
joy, and that God Himself thanks him for his giving? That is the ONLY
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environment in which you can be happy. You cannot make it, any more than you
can make yourselves. It has been created FOR you, as you were created for it.
God watches over His Children and denies them nothing. Yet when they deny Him
they do not know this, because they deny THEMSELVES everything.
T 7 L 4. You who could give the Love of God to everything you see and touch
and remember are literally denying Heaven to yourselves. I call upon you again
to remember that I have chosen you to teach the Kingdom TO the Kingdom. There
are no exceptions to this lesson because the lack of exceptions IS the lesson.
Every Son who returns to the Kingdom with this lesson in his heart has healed
the Sonship and given thanks to God. Everyone who learns this lesson has become
the perfect teacher because he has learned it of the Holy Spirit, Who wants to
teach him everything He knows. When a mind HAS only light, it KNOWS only light.
Its own radiance shines all around it, and extends out into the darkness of
other minds, transforming them into majesty.
T 7 L 5. The Majesty of God is there, for you to recognize and appreciate and
KNOW. Perceiving the Majesty of God AS your brother is to accept your OWN
inheritance. God gives only equally. If you recognize His gift in anyone else,
you have acknowledged what He has given YOU. Nothing is as easy to perceive as
truth. This is the perception which is immediate, clear and natural. You have
trained yourselves NOT to see it, and this has been very difficult for you. OUT
of your natural environment you may well ask, "What is truth?" since truth IS
the environment by which and for which you were created.
T 7 L 6. You do not know yourselves because you do not know YOUR Creator.
You do not know your creations because you do not know your brothers, who
created them WITH you. We said before that only the whole Sonship is worthy to
be co-creator with God because only the whole Sonship can create LIKE Him.
Whenever you heal a brother by recognizing his worth, you are acknowledging HIS
power to create AND YOURS. He cannot have lost what YOU recognize, and YOU must
have the glory you see in Him. He is a co-creator with God with YOU. Deny HIS
creative power, and you are denying yours AND THAT OF GOD WHO CREATED YOU. You
cannot deny part of truth. You do not know your creations because you do
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not know their creator. You do not know yourselves because you do not know
YOURS.
T 7 L 7. Your creations cannot establish your reality, any more than you can
establish God's. But you can KNOW both. Being is known by sharing. BECAUSE
God shared His Being with you, you can know Him. But you must also know all He
created, to know what THEY have shared. Without your Father, you will not know
your fatherhood. The Kingdom of God includes all His Sons and their children,
who are like the Sons as they are like the Father. Know, then, the Sons of God,
and you will know ALL creation.
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Chapter VIII 8 - THE JOURNEY BACK
T 8 A. Introduction
T 8 A 1. You are hampered in your progress by your demands to know what you
do NOT know. This is actually a way of holding on to deprivation. You cannot
reasonably object to following instructions in a course FOR knowing on the
grounds that you do NOT know. The need for the course is implicit in your
objection. Knowledge is not the motivation for learning this course. PEACE is.
As the prerequisite for knowledge, peace MUST be learned. This is only because
those who are in conflict are NOT peaceful, and peace is the CONDITION of
knowledge, because it is the condition of the Kingdom.
T 8 A 2. Knowledge will be restored when you meet its conditions. This is
not a bargain made by God, Who makes NO bargains. It is merely the result of
your misuse of His laws on behalf of a will that is not His. Knowledge IS His
Will. If you are OPPOSING His Will, how can you have knowledge? I have told
you what knowledge offers you, but it is clear that you do not regard this as
wholly desirable. If you did, you would hardly be willing to throw it away so
readily, when the ego asks for your allegiance. The distraction of the ego
seems to interfere with your learning, but the ego HAS no power to distract you,
unless you GIVE it the power.
T 8 A 3. The ego's voice is an [T59] hallucination. You cannot expect it to
say "I am not real." Hallucinations ARE inaccurate perceptions of reality. Yet
you are not asked to dispel them alone. You are merely asked to evaluate them
in terms of their results to YOU. If you do not want them on the basis of loss
of peace, they will be removed from your mind FOR you. Every response to the
ego is a call to war, and war DOES deprive you of peace. Yet in this war there
is no opponent. THIS is the reinterpretation of reality which you must make to
secure peace, and the only one you need EVER make.
T 8 B. The Direction of the Curriculum
T 8 B 1. Those whom you perceive as opponents are PART of your peace, which
YOU are giving up by attacking them. How can you HAVE what you give up? You
SHARE to have, but you do not give it up yourself. When you give up peace, you
are EXCLUDING yourself from it. This is a condition which is so alien to the
Kingdom that you cannot understand the state which prevails within it.
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Your past learning must have taught you the wrong things, simply because it has
not made you happy. On this basis alone, its value should be questioned.
T 8 B 2. If learning aims at change, and that is ALWAYS its purpose, are you
satisfied with the changes YOUR learning has brought you? Dissatisfaction with
learning outcomes must be a sign of learning failure, since it means that you
did not get what you WANT. The curriculum of the Atonement is the opposite of
the curriculum you have established for yourselves, BUT SO IS ITS OUTCOME. If
the outcome of yours has made you unhappy, and if you WANT a different one, a
change in the curriculum is obviously necessary.
T 8 B 3. The first change that must be introduced is a change in DIRECTION.
A meaningful curriculum CANNOT be inconsistent. If it is planned by two
teachers, each believing in diametrically opposed ideas, it cannot BE
integrated. If it is carried out by these two teachers simultaneously, each one
merely INTERFERES with the other. This leads to fluctuation, but NOT to change.
The volatile HAVE NO direction. They cannot choose one, because they cannot
relinquish the other even if the other does not exist. Their conflicted
curriculum teaches them that ALL directions exist, and gives them no rationale
for choice.
T 8 B 4. The total senselessness of such a curriculum must be fully
recognized before a real change in direction becomes possible. You CANNOT learn
simultaneously from two teachers who are in TOTAL disagreement about everything.
Their joint curriculum presents an impossible learning task. They are teaching
you ENTIRELY different things in ENTIRELY different ways, which might be
possible, except for the crucial fact that both are TEACHING YOU ABOUT YOURSELF.
Your reality is unaffected by both, but if you LISTEN to both, your mind will
be split about what your reality IS.
T 8 C. The Rationale for Choice
T 8 C 1. There IS a rationale for choice. Only one Teacher KNOWS what your
reality is. If learning that is the PURPOSE of the curriculum, you must learn
it of Him. The ego does not KNOW what it is trying to teach. It is trying to
teach you what you are WITHOUT knowing it. The ego is expert only in confusion.
It does not understand anything else. As a teacher, then, it
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is totally confused and TOTALLY CONFUSING. Even if you could disregard the Holy
Spirit entirely, which is quite impossible, you could learn nothing from the ego
because the ego KNOWS nothing.
T 8 C 2. Is there ANY possible reason for choosing a teacher such as this?
Does the total disregard of anything it teaches make anything BUT sense? Is
THIS the teacher to whom a Son of God should turn to find HIMSELF? The ego has
never given you a sensible answer to ANYTHING. Simply on the grounds of your
own experience with the ego's teaching, should not this alone disqualify it as
your future teacher? Yet the ego has done more harm to your learning than this
alone. Learning is joyful if it leads you along your natural path, and
facilitates the development of what you HAVE. When you are taught AGAINST your
nature, however, you will LOSE by your learning because your learning will
imprison you. Your will is IN your nature, and therefore CANNOT go against it.
T 8 C 3. The ego cannot teach you anything as long as your will is free
because you will not LISTEN to it. It is NOT your will to be imprisoned BECAUSE
your will is free. That is why the ego is the DENIAL of free will. It is NEVER
God Who coerces you because He SHARES His Will with you. His Voice teaches ONLY
His Will, but that is not the Holy Spirit's lesson because that is what you ARE.
The LESSON is that your will and God's cannot be out of accord BECAUSE they are
one. This is the undoing of EVERYTHING the ego tries to teach. It is not,
then, only the direction of the curriculum which must be unconflicted, but also
the CONTENT.
T 8 C 4. The ego wants to teach you that you want to OPPOSE God's Will. This
unnatural lesson cannot BE learned, but the ATTEMPT to learn it is a violation
of your own freedom, and makes you afraid of your will BECAUSE it is free. The
Holy Spirit opposes ANY imprisoning of the will of a Son of God, KNOWING that
the will of the Son IS the Father's. The Holy Spirit leads you steadily along
the path of freedom, teaching you how to disregard, or look beyond, EVERYTHING
that would hold you back.
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T 8 C 5. We said before that the Holy Spirit teaches you the difference
between pain and joy. That is the same as saying that He teaches you the
difference between imprisonment and freedom. YOU cannot make this distinction
WITHOUT Him. That is because you have taught yourself that imprisonment IS
freedom. Believing them to be the same, how CAN you tell them apart? Can you
ask the part of your mind that taught you to believe they ARE the same to teach
you the DIFFERENCE between them?
T 8 C 6. The Holy Spirit's teaching takes only ONE direction and has only ONE
goal. His direction is freedom and His goal is God. Yet He cannot conceive of
God without YOU because it is not God's Will to BE without you. When you have
learned that your will IS God's, you could no more will to be without Him than
He could will to be without YOU. This IS freedom and this IS joy. Deny
yourself this and you ARE denying God His Kingdom because He created you FOR
this.
T 8 C 7. When we said, "All power and glory are yours because the Kingdom is
His," this is what we meant: [T60] The Will of God is without limit, and all power
and glory lie within it. It is boundless in strength and in love and in peace.
It has no boundaries because Its extension is unlimited, and It encompasses all
things because It created all things. By creating all things It made them part
of Itself. YOU are the Will of God because this is how you were created.
Because your Creator creates ONLY like Himself, you ARE like Him. You are part
of Him Who IS all power and glory, and are therefore as unlimited as He is.
T 8 C 8. To what else EXCEPT all power and glory can the Holy Spirit appeal
to restore God's Kingdom? His appeal, then, is merely to what the Kingdom IS,
and for its own acknowledgment of what it is. When you acknowledge this, you
bring the acknowledgment automatically to everyone because you HAVE acknowledged
everyone. By YOUR recognition you awaken THEIRS, and through theirs YOURS is
extended. Awakening runs easily and gladly through the Kingdom, in answer to
the Call of God. This is the natural response of every Son of God to the Voice
of his Creator, because it is the Voice for HIS creations and for his own
extension.
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T 8 D. The Holy Encounter
T 8 D 1. Glory be to God in the highest, and to YOU because He has so willed
it. Ask and it shall be given you because it has already BEEN given. Ask for
light and learn that you ARE light. If you want understanding and enlightenment
you WILL learn it, because your will to learn it is your decision to listen to
the Teacher Who KNOWS of light, and can therefore TEACH it to you. There is no
limit on your learning because there is no limit on your MINDS. There is no
limit on His will to teach because He was created TO teach. KNOWING His
function perfectly He wills to fulfill it perfectly, because that is His joy and
YOURS.
T 8 D 2. To fulfill the Will of God perfectly is the only joy and peace that
can be fully known because it is the only function that can be fully
EXPERIENCED. When this is accomplished, then, there IS no other experience.
Yet the WISH for other experience will block its accomplishment because God's
Will cannot be forced upon you, being an experience of total WILLINGNESS. The
Holy Spirit knows how to teach this, but YOU do not. That is why you need Him
and why God GAVE Him to you. Only HIS teaching will release your will to God's,
uniting it with His power and glory, and establishing them as YOURS. You share
them as God shares them because this is the natural outcome of their being.
T 8 D 3. The Will of the Father and of the Son are One together BY THEIR
EXTENSION. Their extension is the RESULT of their Oneness, holding their unity
together by extending their JOINT Will. This is perfect creation by the
perfectly created in union with the Perfect Creator. The Father MUST give
fatherhood to His Son because His Own Fatherhood must be extended outward. You
who belong in God have the holy function of extending His Fatherhood by placing
NO limits upon It. Let the Holy Spirit teach you HOW to do this, for you will
know what it MEANS of God Himself.
T 8 D 4. When you meet anyone, remember it is a holy encounter. As you see
him you will see yourself. As you treat him you will treat yourself. As you
think of him you will think of yourself. Never forget this, for in him you will
find yourself or lose sight of yourself. Whenever two Sons of God meet,
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they are given another chance at salvation. Do not leave anyone without giving
salvation TO him and receiving it yourself. For I am always there with you, in
remembrance of YOU.
T 8 D 5. The goal of the curriculum, regardless of the teacher you choose, is
KNOW THYSELF. There is nothing else to learn. Everyone is looking for himself,
and for the power and glory he thinks he has lost. Whenever you are with
anyone, you have another opportunity to find them. Your power and glory are in
him BECAUSE they are yours. The ego tries to find them in YOURSELF because it
does not know where to look. The Holy Spirit teaches you that, if you look ONLY
at yourself, you CANNOT find yourself because that is not what you ARE.
T 8 D 6. Whenever you are with a brother, you are learning what you are
because you are TEACHING what you are. He will respond either with pain or with
joy, depending on which teacher YOU are following. HE will be imprisoned or
released according to your decision, AND SO WILL YOU. Never forget your
responsibility to him because it is your responsibility to YOURSELF. Give him
HIS place in the Kingdom, and you will have YOURS. The Kingdom CANNOT be found
alone, and you who ARE the Kingdom cannot find YOURSELVES alone.
T 8 D 7. To achieve the goal of the curriculum, then, you CANNOT listen to
the ego. ITS purpose is to DEFEAT its own goal. The ego does not know this
because it does not know anything. But YOU can know this, and you WILL know it
if you are willing to look at what the ego has made of YOU. This IS your
responsibility because, once you have really done this, you WILL accept the
Atonement for yourself. What other choice could you make? Having made this
choice, you will begin to learn and understand why you have believed that, when
you met someone else, you had thought that he WAS someone else. And every holy
encounter in which YOU enter fully will teach you THIS IS NOT SO.
T 8 D 8. You can encounter ONLY part of yourself because you are part of God,
Who IS everything. His power and glory are everywhere, and you
CANNOT be excluded from them. The ego teaches that your strength is in you
ALONE. The Holy Spirit teaches that ALL strength is in God and THEREFORE in
you.
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God wills NO ONE suffer. He does not will anyone to suffer for a wrong
decision, INCLUDING YOU. That is why He has given you the means for UNDOING it.
Through His power and glory all your wrong decisions are undone COMPLETELY
releasing you AND your brothers from EVERY imprisoning thought ANY part of the
Sonship has accepted. Wrong decisions have no power BECAUSE they are not true.
The imprisonment which they SEEM to produce is no more true than THEY are.
T 8 D 9. Power and glory belong to God alone. So do YOU. God gives WHATEVER
belongs to Him because He gives of Himself, and EVERYTHING belongs to Him.
Giving of YOUR self is the function He gave you. Fulfilling it perfectly will
teach you what you HAVE of Him, and this will teach you what you ARE in Him.
You CANNOT be powerless to do this because this IS your power. Glory is God's
gift to you because that is what HE is. See this glory everywhere to learn what
YOU are.
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T 8 E. The Light of the World
T 8 E 1. If God's Will for you is complete peace and joy, unless you
experience ONLY this you must be refusing to ACKNOWLEDGE His Will. His Will
does not vacillate, being changeless forever. When you are not at peace, it can
only be because you do not believe you ARE in Him. Yet He is all in all. His
peace is complete, and you MUST be included in it. His laws govern you because
they govern EVERYTHING. You cannot exempt yourself from His laws, although you
can disobey them. Yet if you do, and ONLY if you do, you WILL feel lonely and
helpless because you are denying yourself everything.
T 8 E 2. I am come as a light into a world that DOES deny itself everything.
It does this simply by dissociating itself FROM everything. It is therefore an
illusion of isolation, maintained by fear of the same loneliness which IS its
illusion. I have told you that I am with you always, even to the end of the
world. That is WHY I am the light of the world. If I am with you in the
loneliness of the world, THE LONELINESS IS GONE. You CANNOT maintain the
illusion of loneliness if you are NOT alone. My purpose, then, IS to overcome
the world. I do not attack it, but my light must dispel it because of what it
IS.
T 8 E 3. Light does not attack darkness, but it DOES shine it away. If my
light goes with you everywhere, YOU shine it away WITH me. The light becomes
OURS, and you cannot abide in darkness any more than darkness can abide wherever
you go. The remembrance of me IS the remembrance of yourself and of Him Who
sent me to you. You were in darkness until God's Will was done completely by
ANY part of the Sonship. When this was done, it was perfectly accomplished by
ALL. How else could it BE perfectly accomplished? My mission was simply to
unite the will of the Sonship with the Will of the Father by being aware of the
Father's Will myself. This is the awareness I came to give YOU, and your
problem in accepting it IS the problem of this world. Dispelling it is
salvation, and in this sense I AM the salvation of the world.
T 8 E 4. The world must despise and reject me because the world IS the belief
that love is impossible. YOUR reactions to me are the reactions of the world
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to God. If you will accept the fact that I am with you, you are DENYING the
world and ACCEPTING God. My will is His, and YOUR will to hear me is the
decision to hear His Voice and abide in His Will. As God sent me to you, so
will I send you to others. And I will go to them WITH you, so we can teach them
peace and union.
T 8 E 5. Do you not think the world NEEDS peace as much as you do? Do you
not want to GIVE it to the world as much as you want to RECEIVE it? For unless
you do, you will NOT receive it. If you will to have it of me, you MUST give
it. Rehabilitation does not come from anyone else. You can have guidance from
without, but you must ACCEPT it from within. The guidance must be what YOU
want, or it will be meaningless to you. That is why rehabilitation is a
collaborative venture.
T 8 E 6. I can tell you what to do, but this will not help you unless you
collaborate by believing that I KNOW what to do. Only then will your mind
choose to follow me. Without YOUR will you cannot BE rehabilitated. MOTIVATION
to be healed is the crucial factor in rehabilitation. Without this, you are
deciding AGAINST healing, and your veto of my will for you MAKES HEALING
IMPOSSIBLE. If healing IS our joint will, unless our wills ARE joined you
CANNOT be healed. This is obvious when you consider what healing is FOR.
Healing is the way in which the separation is overcome. Separation is overcome
by UNION. It cannot be overcome by separating.
T 8 E 7. The WILL to unite must be unequivocal, or the will ITSELF is
divided, or not whole. Your will is the means by which you determine your own
condition because will is the MECHANISM of decision. It is the power by which
you separate or join, and experience pain or joy accordingly. My will cannot
OVERCOME yours because yours is as powerful as mine. If it were not so, the
Sons of God would be unequal. All things are possible through our JOINT will,
but my will alone cannot help you. Your will is as free as mine, and God
Himself would not go against it. I cannot will what God does NOT will. I can
offer you my will to make YOURS invincible by this sharing, but I cannot OPPOSE
yours without competing with it, and thereby violating God's Will for you.
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T 8 E 8. Nothing God created can oppose your will, as nothing God created can
oppose His. God GAVE your will its power, which I can only acknowledge in honor
of HIS. If you want to be like me I will help you, knowing that we ARE alike.
If you want to be different, I will wait until you change your mind. I can
TEACH you, but only you can choose to LISTEN to my teaching. How else can it
be, if God's Kingdom IS freedom? Freedom cannot be learned by tyranny of any
kind, and the perfect equality of ALL God's Sons cannot be recognized through
the dominion of one will over another. God's Sons are equal in will, all being
the Will of their Father. This is the ONLY lesson I came to teach, knowing that
it is true.
T 8 E 9. When your will is NOT mine, it is not our Father's. This means that
you have imprisoned YOURS, and have not LET it be free. Of yourselves you can
do nothing because of yourselves you ARE nothing. I am nothing without the
Father, and YOU are nothing without ME because, by denying the Father, you deny
YOURSELF. I will ALWAYS remember you, and in MY remembrance of you lies your
remembrance of YOURSELF. In our remembrance of EACH OTHER lies our remembrance
of God. And in this remembrance lies your freedom because your freedom IS in
Him. Join, then, with me in praise of Him AND you whom He created. This is our
gift of gratitude to Him, which He will share with ALL His creations, to whom He
gives equally whatever is acceptable to Him. BECAUSE it is acceptable to Him it
is the gift of freedom, which IS His Will for all His Sons. By OFFERING
freedom, YOU will be free.
T 8 E 10. Freedom is the only gift you can offer to God's Sons, being an
acknowledgment of what THEY are and what HE is. Freedom is creation because it
is love. What you seek to imprison you do NOT love. Therefore, when you seek
to imprison anyone, including YOURSELF, you do not love him, and you cannot
identify WITH him. When you imprison yourself, you are losing sight of your
true identification with me and with the Father. Your identification IS with
the Father and with the Son. It CANNOT be with one and not the other. If you
are part of one, you must be part of the other because they ARE One.
T 8 E 11. The Holy Trinity is holy BECAUSE It is One. If you exclude YOURSELF
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from this union, you are perceiving the Holy Trinity as separated. You must be
included IN It, because It IS everything. Unless you take your place in It and
fulfill your function as PART of It, It is as bereft as YOU are. No part of It
can be imprisoned if Its truth is to be known. Can you be separated from your
identification and be at peace? Dissociation is not a solution; it is a
DELUSION. The delusional believe that truth will assail them, and so they do
not SEE it because they PREFER the delusion. Judging truth as something they do
NOT want, they perceive deception and block knowledge.
T 8 E 12. Help them by offering them YOUR unified will on their behalf, as I am
offering you mine on YOURS. Alone we can do nothing, but TOGETHER, our wills
fuse into something whose power is far beyond the power of its separate parts.
By NOT BEING SEPARATE, the Will of God is established IN ours and AS ours. This
Will is invincible BECAUSE it is undivided. The undivided will of the Sonship
is the perfect creator, being wholly in the likeness of God, Whose Will it IS.
YOU cannot be exempt from it, if you are to understand what IT is and what YOU
are. By separating your will FROM mine, you are exempting yourself from the
Will of God Which IS yourself.
T 8 E 13. Yet to heal is still to make whole. Therefore, to heal is to UNITE
with those who are like you because perceiving this likeness IS to recognize the
Father. If YOUR perfection is in Him and ONLY in Him, how can you KNOW it
without recognizing Him? The recognition of God IS the recognition of yourself.
There IS no separation of God and His creation. You will learn this as you
learn that there is no separation of YOUR will and MINE. Let the Love of God
shine upon you by your acceptance of me. MY reality is yours AND His. By
joining your will with mine, you are signifying your awareness that the Will of
God is One.
T 8 E 14. God's Oneness and ours are not separate because His Oneness
ENCOMPASSES ours. To join with me is to restore His power to you BECAUSE we are
sharing it. I offer you only the RECOGNITION of His power in you, but in that
lies ALL truth. As WE unite, we unite with Him. Glory be to the union of God
and His holy Sons! All glory lies in them BECAUSE they are united.
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The miracles we do bear witness to the Will of the Father for His Son, and to
our joy in uniting WITH His Will for us.
T 8 E 15. When you unite with me, you are uniting WITHOUT the ego because I
have renounced the ego in myself, and therefore CANNOT unite with yours. OUR
union is therefore the way to renounce the ego in YOURSELF. The truth in both
of us is BEYOND the ego. By willing that, you HAVE gone beyond it toward truth.
Our success in transcending the ego is guaranteed by God, and I can share this
confidence for both of us and ALL of us. I bring God's peace back to all His
Children because I received it of Him for us all. Nothing can prevail against
our united wills because nothing can prevail against God's. Would you know the
Will of God for YOU? Ask it of me who knows it FOR you, and you will find it.
I will deny you nothing, as God denies ME nothing.
T 8 E 16. Ours is simply the journey back to God, Who is our home. Whenever
fear intrudes anywhere along the road to peace, it is ALWAYS because the ego has
attempted to join the journey with us, AND CANNOT DO SO. Sensing defeat and
angered by it, the ego regards itself as rejected and becomes retaliative. You
are invulnerable to its retaliation BECAUSE I AM WITH YOU. On this journey, you
have chosen me as your companion INSTEAD of the ego. Do not try to hold on to
both, or you will try to go in different directions, and will lose the way.
T 8 E 17. The ego's way is not mine, but it is also NOT YOURS. The Holy Spirit
has ONE direction for ALL minds, and the one He taught me is YOURS. Let us not
lose sight of His direction through illusions, for only illusions of another
direction can obscure the one for which God's Voice speaks in all of us. Never
accord the ego the power to interfere with the journey because it HAS none,
since the journey is the way to what is true. Leave ALL deception behind, and
reach beyond all attempts of the ego to hold you back. I go before you because
I AM beyond the ego. Reach, therefore, for my hand because you WANT to
transcend the ego. My will will NEVER be wanting, and if you WANT to share it,
you WILL. I give it willingly and gladly because I need you as much as you need
me.
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T 8 F. The Power of Joint Decision
T 8 F 1. WE are the joint will of the Sonship, whose wholeness is for all.
We begin the journey back by setting out TOGETHER, and gather in our brothers as
we CONTINUE together. Every gain in our strength is offered for all, so they,
too, can lay aside their weakness and add their strength to us. God's welcome
waits for us all, and He will welcome us as I am welcoming you. Forget not the
Kingdom of God for anything the world has to offer. The world can add nothing
to the power and the glory of God and His holy Sons, but it CAN blind the Sons
to the Father if they behold it. You cannot behold the world and know God.
Only one is true.
T 8 F 2. I am come to tell you that the choice of which is true is not yours.
If it were, you would have destroyed yourselves. Yet God did not will the
destruction of His creations, having created them for eternity. His Will has
saved you, not from yourselves, but from your ILLUSIONS of yourselves. He has
saved you FOR yourselves. Let us glorify Him Whom the world denies, for over
His Kingdom it has no power. No one created by God can find joy in anything
EXCEPT the eternal. That is not because he is deprived of anything else, but
because nothing else is WORTHY of him. What God and His Sons create IS eternal,
and in this and this only is their joy.
T 8 F 3. Listen to the story of the prodigal son, and learn what God's
treasure is and YOURS: This son of a loving father left his home and thought he
squandered everything for nothing of any value, although he did not know its
worthlessness at the time. He was ashamed to return to his father because he
thought he had hurt him. Yet when he came home, the father welcomed him with
joy because only the son himself WAS his father's treasure. He WANTED nothing
else.
T 8 F 4. God wants only His Son because His Son is His only treasure. You
want YOUR creations as He wants HIS. Your creations are your gift to the Holy
Trinity, created in gratitude for YOUR creation. They do not leave you any more
than you have left YOUR Creator, but they EXTEND your creation as God extended
Himself to YOU. Can the creations of God Himself take joy in what is
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not real? And what IS real except the creations of God and those which are
created like His? YOUR creations love you as your Soul loves your Father for
the gift of creation. There IS no other gift which is eternal, and therefore
there is no other gift which is TRUE.
T 8 F 5. How, then, can you ACCEPT anything else or GIVE anything else, and
expect joy in return? And what else but joy would you WANT? You made neither
yourself nor your function. You made only the DECISION to be unworthy of both.
Yet you could not make YOURSELF unworthy, because you are the treasure of God.
What HE values IS valuable. There can BE no question of its worth because its
value lies in God's sharing Himself with it and ESTABLISHING its value forever.
T 8 F 6. YOUR function is to add to God's treasure by creating YOURS. His
Will TO you is His Will FOR you. He would not withhold creation from you
because HIS joy is in it. You cannot find joy EXCEPT as God does. HIS joy lay
in creating YOU, and He extends His Fatherhood to you so that you can extend
yourself as He did. You do not understand this because you do not understand
HIM. No one who does not know his function can understand it, and no one CAN
know his function unless he knows who he IS. Creation is the Will of God. His
Will created you to create. Your will was not created separate from His, and so
it wills as HE wills.
T 8 F 7. An "unwilling will" does not mean anything, being a contradiction in
terms which actually leaves nothing. When you THINK you are unwilling to will
with God, YOU ARE NOT THINKING. God's Will IS thought. It cannot be
contradicted BY thought. God does not contradict HIMSELF, and His Sons, who are
like Him, cannot contradict themselves OR Him. Yet their thought is so powerful
that they can even imprison the minds of God's Sons, IF THEY SO CHOOSE. This
choice DOES make the Son's function unknown to HIM, but NEVER to his Creator.
And BECAUSE it is not unknown to his Creator, it is forever knowable to him.
T 8 F 8. There is no question but one you should ever ask of yourself: "Do I
WANT to know my Father's Will for me?" HE will not hide it. He has
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revealed it to me because I asked it of Him, and learned of what He had already
given. Our function is to function together because, APART from each other, we
cannot function at all. The whole power of God's Son lies in all of us, but not
in any of us alone. God would not have us be alone because HE does not will to
be alone. That is why He created His Son, and gave him the power to create with
Him.
T 8 F 9. Our creations are as holy as we are, and we are the Sons of God
Himself, and therefore as holy as He is. Through our creations we extend our
love, and thus increase the joy of the Holy Trinity. You do not understand this
for a very simple reason. You who are God's own treasure do not regard
yourselves as valuable. Given this belief, you cannot understand ANYTHING. I
share with God the knowledge of the value HE puts upon you. My devotion to you
is of Him, being born of my knowledge of myself AND Him. We cannot BE
separated. Whom God has joined cannot be separated, and God has joined all His
Sons with Himself. Can you be separated from your life and your being?
T 8 F 10. The journey to God is merely the re-awakening of the knowledge of
WHERE you are always, and WHAT you are forever. It is a journey without
distance to a goal that has never changed. Truth can only be EXPERIENCED. It
cannot be described, and it cannot be explained. I can make you aware of the
CONDITIONS of truth, but the experience is of God. Together we can meet its
conditions, but truth will dawn upon you of itself.
T 8 F 11. What God has willed for you IS yours. He has given His Will to His
treasure, whose treasure It is. Your heart lies where your treasure is, as His
does. You who are beloved of God are wholly blessed. Learn this of me, and
free the holy will of all those who are as blessed as YOU are.
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T 8 G. Communication and the Ego-Body Equation
T 8 G 1. Attack is ALWAYS physical. When attack in any form enters your
mind, you are EQUATING yourself with a body. This is the ego's INTERPRETATION
of the body. You do not have to attack physically to accept this
interpretation. You are accepting it simply by the belief that attack can GET
you something you want. If you did not believe this, the idea of attack would
have no appeal for you. When you equate yourself with a body you will ALWAYS
experience depression. When a Child of God thinks of himself in this way he is
belittling himself and seeing his brothers as similarly belittled. Since he can
find himself ONLY in them, he has cut himself off from salvation.
T 8 G 2. Remember that the Holy Spirit interprets the body only as a means of
communication. Being the communication link between God and His separated Sons,
the Holy Spirit interprets everything YOU have made in the light of what HE is.
The ego SEPARATES through the body. The Holy Spirit REACHES THROUGH it to
others. You do not perceive your brothers as the Holy Spirit does because you
do not interpret their bodies and yours solely as a means of joining their MINDS
and uniting them with yours and mine. This interpretation of the body will
change your mind entirely about its value. Of itself it has NONE.
T 8 G 3. If you use the body for attack, it IS harmful to you. If you use it
only to reach the minds of those who believe they are bodies, and teach them
THROUGH the body that this is not so, you will begin to understand the power of
the mind that is in both of you. If you use the body for this and ONLY for
this, you CANNOT use it for attack. In the service of uniting, it becomes a
beautiful lesson in communion, which has value until communion IS. This is
God's way of making unlimited what you have limited. The Holy Spirit does not
see the body as you do because He knows the ONLY reality anything can have is
the service it can render God on behalf of the function He has given it.
T 8 G 4. Communication ENDS separation. Attack PROMOTES it. The body is
beautiful or ugly, holy or savage, helpful or harmful, according to the use to
which it is put. And in the body of another you will SEE the use to which you
have put yours. If the body becomes for you a means which you give to the Holy
Spirit to use on behalf of union of the Sonship, you will not see anything
physical except as what it is. Use it for truth, and you will see it truly.
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MISUSE it, and you WILL misunderstand it because you have already done so BY
misusing it. Interpret ANYTHING apart from the Holy Spirit, and you will
mistrust it. This will lead you to hatred and attack AND LOSS OF PEACE.
T 8 G 5. Yet all loss comes only from your own misunderstanding. Loss of ANY
kind is impossible. When you look upon a brother as a physical entity, HIS
power and glory are lost TO YOU, and so are YOURS. You HAVE attacked him, but
you MUST have attacked yourself first. Do not see him this way for your OWN
salvation, which must bring him HIS. Do not allow him to belittle himself in
YOUR mind, but give him freedom from his belief in littleness, and thus escape
from YOURS. As part of you, HE is holy. As part of me, YOU are. To
communicate with part of God Himself is to reach beyond the Kingdom to its
Creator, through His Voice Which He has established as part of YOU.
T 8 G 6. Rejoice, then, that of yourselves you can do nothing. You are not
OF yourselves. He of Whom you ARE has willed your power and glory FOR you, with
which you can perfectly accomplish His holy Will for you, when you so will it
yourself. He has not withdrawn His gifts from you, but YOU have withdrawn them
from Him. Let no Son of God remain hidden for His Name's sake, because His Name
is YOURS.
T 8 G 7. Remember that the Bible says, "The Word [T61] (or thought) was made
flesh." Strictly speaking this is impossible, since it seems to involve the
translation of one order of reality into another. Different orders of reality
merely APPEAR to exist, just as different orders of miracles do. Thought cannot
be made into flesh except by belief, since thought is NOT physical. Yet thought
IS communication, for which the body CAN be used. This is the only NATURAL use
to which it CAN be put. To use the body unnaturally is to lose sight of the
Holy Spirit's purpose, and thus to confuse the goal of His curriculum.
T 8 G 8. There is nothing so frustrating to a learner as to be placed in a
curriculum which he cannot learn. His sense of adequacy suffers, and he MUST
become depressed. Being faced with an impossible learning situation, regardless
of why it is impossible, is the most depressing thing in the world.
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In fact, it is ultimately WHY the world is depressing. The Holy Spirit's
curriculum is NEVER depressing because it is a curriculum of joy. Whenever the
reaction to learning is depression, it is only because the goal of the
curriculum has been lost sight of.
T 8 G 9. In the world, not even the body is perceived as whole. Its purpose
is seen as fragmented into many functions which bear little or no relationship
to each other, so that it appears to be ruled by chaos. Guided by the ego, it
IS. Guided by the Holy Spirit, it is NOT. It becomes only a means by which the
part of the mind which you have separated from your Soul can reach beyond its
distortions, and RETURN to the Soul. The ego's temple thus becomes the temple
of the Holy Spirit, where devotion to Him replaces devotion to the ego. In this
sense the body DOES become a temple to God, because His Voice abides in it by
directing the use to which it is put.
T 8 G 10. Healing is the result of using the body SOLELY for communication.
Since this is natural, it heals by making whole, which is ALSO natural. ALL
mind is whole, and the belief that part of it is physical, or NOT mind, is a
fragmented (or sick) interpretation. Mind CANNOT be made physical, but it CAN
be made manifest THROUGH the physical if it uses the body to go BEYOND itself.
By reaching OUT, the mind extends itself. It does not STOP at the body, for if
it does, it is blocked in its purpose. A mind which has been blocked has
allowed itself to be vulnerable to attack because it has TURNED AGAINST ITSELF.
T 8 G 11. The removal of blocks, then, is the ONLY way to guarantee help and
healing. Help and healing are the normal expressions of a mind which is working
THROUGH the body, but not IN it. If the mind believes the body is its GOAL, it
WILL distort its perception of the body, and by blocking its own [T62] extension
beyond it, will induce illness by fostering SEPARATION. Perceiving the body as
a SEPARATE entity cannot BUT foster illness, because it is not true. A medium
of communication will LOSE its usefulness if it is used for anything else. To
use a medium of communication as a medium of
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ATTACK is an obvious confusion in purpose.
T 8 G 12. To communicate is to join, and to attack is to separate. How can you
do both simultaneously with the SAME THING, and NOT suffer? Perception of the
body can be unified only by ONE purpose. This releases the mind from the
temptation to see the body in many lights, and gives it over ENTIRELY to the One
Light in which it can be really understood at all. To confuse a learning device
with a curriculum GOAL is a fundamental confusion. Learning can hardly be
arrested at its own aids with hope of understanding either the aids OR the
learning's real purpose. Learning must lead BEYOND the body to the
re-establishment of the power of the mind in it. This can be accomplished ONLY
if the mind extends to other minds, and does not ARREST itself in its extension.
T 8 G 13. The arrest of the mind's extension is the cause of ALL illness
because ONLY extension is the mind's function. The opposite of joy is
depression. When your learning promotes depression INSTEAD of joy, you CANNOT
be listening to God's joyous Teacher, and you MUST be learning amiss. To see a
body as anything except a means of pure extension is to limit your mind and HURT
YOURSELF. Health is therefore nothing more than united purpose. If the body is
brought under the purpose of the mind, the body becomes whole because the MIND'S
purpose IS one. Attack can only be an ASSUMED purpose of the body, because
APART from the mind the body HAS NO PURPOSE AT ALL.
T 8 G 14. You are NOT limited by the body, and thought CANNOT be made flesh.
Yet mind can be manifested through the body if it goes beyond it and DOES NOT
INTERPRET IT AS LIMITATION. Whenever you see another as limited TO or BY the
body, you are imposing this limit ON YOURSELF. Are you willing to ACCEPT this,
when your whole purpose for learning should be to ESCAPE from limitations? To
conceive of the body as a means of attack of any kind and to entertain even the
possibility that joy could POSSIBLY result, is a clear-cut indication of a poor
learner. He has accepted a learning goal in obvious contradiction to the
unified purpose of the curriculum, and is interfering with his ability to accept
its purpose as his OWN.
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T 8 G 15. Joy is unified purpose, and unified purpose is ONLY God's. When
yours is unified, it IS His. Interfere with His purpose, and you NEED
salvation. You have condemned yourself, but condemnation is NOT of God.
Therefore, it is not true. No more are any of the RESULTS of your condemnation.
When you see a brother as a body, you are condemning him BECAUSE you have
condemned yourself. Yet if all condemnation is unreal, and it MUST be unreal
since it is a form of attack, then it can HAVE no results.
T 8 G 16. Do not allow yourselves to suffer from the results of what is not
true. Free your minds from the belief that this is POSSIBLE. In its complete
impossibility, and your full awareness OF its complete impossibility, lie your
only hope for release. But what other hope would you want? Freedom from
illusions lies only in not BELIEVING them. There IS no attack, but there IS
unlimited communication, and therefore unlimited power and wholeness. The power
of wholeness is extension. Do not arrest your thought in this world, and you
will open your mind to creation in God.
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T 8 H. The Body as Means or End
T 8 H 1. Attitudes toward the body are attitudes toward ATTACK. The ego's
definitions of EVERYTHING are childish, and always based on what it believes a
thing is FOR. This is because it is incapable of true generalizations, and
equates what it sees with the function IT ascribes to it. It does NOT equate it
with what it IS. To the ego, the body is to ATTACK with. Equating YOU with the
body, it teaches that YOU are to attack with because this is what it believes.
The body, then, is not the source of its own health. The body's condition lies
solely in your interpretation of its function.
T 8 H 2. The reason why definitions in terms of function are inferior is that
they may well be inaccurate. Functions are part of being since they arise from
it, but the relationship is not reciprocal. The whole DOES define the part, but
the part does NOT define the whole. This is as true of knowledge as it is of
perception. The reason to KNOW in part is to know ENTIRELY is because of the
fundamental DIFFERENCE between knowledge and perception. In perception the
whole is built up of parts, which CAN separate and reassemble in different
constellations. Knowledge never changes, so ITS constellation is permanent.
The only areas in which part-whole relationships have ANY meaning are those in
which change is possible. There IS no difference between the whole and the part
where change is impossible.
T 8 H 3. The body exists in a world which SEEMS to contain two voices which
are fighting for its possession. In this perceived constellation, the body is
regarded as capable of shifting its control from one to the other, making the
concept of both health AND sickness possible. The ego makes a fundamental
confusion between means and ends, as it always does. Regarding the body as an
end, the ego has no REAL use for it because it is NOT an end. You must have
noticed an outstanding characteristic of every end that the ego has accepted as
its own. When you have achieved it, IT HAS NOT SATISFIED YOU. This is why the
ego is forced to shift from one end to another without ceasing, so that YOU will
continue to hope that it can yet offer you something.
T 8 H 4. It has been particularly difficult to overcome the ego's belief in
the body as an end because this is synonymous with the belief in ATTACK as an
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end. The ego has a real INVESTMENT in sickness. If you are sick, how can you
OBJECT to the ego's firm belief that you are NOT invulnerable? This is a
particularly appealing argument from the ego's point of view because it obscures
the obvious ATTACK which underlies the sickness. If you accepted THIS and also
decided AGAINST attack, you could not give this false witness to the ego's
stand.
T 8 H 5. It is hard to perceive sickness AS a false witness, because you do
not realize that it IS entirely out of keeping with what you want. This
witness, then, APPEARS to be innocent and trustworthy because you have not
seriously cross-examined him. If you did, you would not consider sickness such
a strong witness on behalf of the ego's views. A more honest statement would be
as follows: [T63] Those who WANT the ego are predisposed to defend it. Therefore,
their choice of witnesses should be suspect from the beginning. The ego does
not call upon witnesses who would disagree with its case, NOR DOES THE HOLY
Spirit. We have said that judgment IS the function of the Holy Spirit, and one
which He is perfectly equipped to fulfill. The ego, as a judge, gives anything
BUT an impartial judgment. When the ego calls on a witness, it has ALREADY made
the witness an ally.
T 8 H 6. It is still true that the body has no function of itself because it
is NOT an end. The ego, however, establishes it AS an end because, as such, it
will lose its TRUE function. This is the purpose of everything the ego does.
Its sole aim is to lose sight of the function of EVERYTHING. A sick body does
not make any SENSE. It COULD not make sense because sickness is not what the
body is FOR. Sickness is meaningful only if the two basic premises on which the
ego's interpretation of the body rests are true. Specifically, these are that
the body is for attack, and that you ARE a body. Without these premises,
sickness is completely inconceivable.
T 8 H 7. Sickness is a way of demonstrating that YOU CAN BE HURT. It is a
witness to your frailty, your vulnerability, and your extreme need to depend on
EXTERNAL guidance. The ego uses this as its best argument for your need for ITS
guidance. It dictates endless prescriptions for AVOIDING catastrophic
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outcomes. The Holy Spirit, perfectly aware of the same data, does not bother to
analyze them at all. If the data are meaningless, there is no point in
considering them. The function of truth is to collect data which are TRUE.
There is no point in trying to make sense out of meaningless data. ANY way you
handle them results in nothing. The more complicated the results become, the
harder it may be to recognize their nothingness, but it is not necessary to
examine ALL possible outcomes to which premises give rise to judge them truly.
T 8 H 8. A learning device is NOT a teacher. IT cannot tell you how YOU
feel. YOU do not know how you feel because you have ACCEPTED the ego's
confusion, and YOU think that a learning device CAN tell you how you feel.
Sickness is merely another example of your insistence on asking the guidance of
a teacher WHO DOES NOT KNOW THE ANSWER. The ego is INCAPABLE of knowing how you
feel. When we said that the ego does not know ANYTHING, we said the one thing
about the ego that IS wholly true. But there IS a corollary; if knowledge is
being and the ego has no knowledge, then the ego has no BEING.
T 8 H 9. You might well ask how the voice of something which does not exist
can be so insistent. Have you ever seriously considered the distorting power of
something you WANT, even if it is NOT true? You have had many instances of how
what you want can distort what you see and hear. No one can doubt the ego's
skill in building up false cases. Nor can anyone doubt your willingness to
listen until YOU will not to tolerate anything EXCEPT truth. When YOU lay the
ego aside, it will be gone. The Holy Spirit's Voice is as loud as your
willingness to listen. It cannot be louder without violating your will, which
the Holy Spirit seeks to free, but NEVER to command.
T 8 H 10. The Holy Spirit teaches you to use your body ONLY to reach your
brothers, so He can teach His message THROUGH you. This will heal them and
THEREFORE heal YOU. Everything used in accordance with its function as the Holy
Spirit sees it CANNOT be sick. Everything used otherwise IS. Do not allow the
body to be a mirror of a split mind. Do not let it be an image of your own
perception of littleness. Do not let it reflect your will to attack.
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Health is the natural state of anything whose interpretation is left to the Holy
Spirit, Who perceives no attack on anything. Health is the result of
relinquishing ALL attempts to use the body lovelessly. Health is the beginning
of the proper perspective on life under the guidance of the one Teacher Who
knows what life IS, being the Voice for Life Itself.
T 8 I. Healing as Corrected Perception
T 8 I 1. We once said that the Holy Spirit is the ANSWER. He is the Answer
to everything, because He knows what the answer to everything IS. The ego does
not know what a real question is, although it asks an endless number. Yet YOU
can learn this as you learn to question the value of the ego, and thus establish
your ability to evaluate its questions. When the ego tempts you to sickness, do
not ask the Holy Spirit to heal the BODY, for this would merely be to accept the
ego's belief that the body is the proper aim for healing. Ask, rather, that the
Holy Spirit teach you the right PERCEPTION of the body, for perception alone can
be distorted. ONLY perception can be sick, because only perception can be
WRONG.
T 8 I 2. Wrong perception is DISTORTED WILLING, which wants things to be as
they are not. The REALITY of everything is totally harmless, because total
harmlessness is the CONDITION of its reality. It is also the condition of your
AWARENESS of its reality. You do not have to seek reality. It will seek YOU
and find you, when you meet its conditions. Its conditions are part of what it
IS. And this part only is up to you. The rest is of Itself. You need do so
little, because It is so powerful that your little part will bring the whole TO
you. Accept, then, your little part, and LET the whole be yours.
T 8 I 3. Wholeness heals because it is of the mind. ALL forms of sickness,
even unto death, are physical expressions of the FEAR OF AWAKENING. They are
attempts to reinforce UNCONSCIOUSNESS out of fear of CONSCIOUSNESS. This is a
pathetic way of trying NOT to know by rendering the faculties for knowing
ineffectual. "Rest in peace" is a blessing for the living, not the dead,
because rest comes from WAKING, not from sleeping. Sleep is withdrawing; waking
is joining. Dreams are ILLUSIONS of joining, taking on the ego's distortions
about what joining means if you are sleeping under its guidance.
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Yet the Holy Spirit, too, has use for sleep, and can use dreams on behalf of
WAKING, if you will let Him.
T 8 I 4. How you wake is the sign of how you have used sleep. To whom did
you give it? Under which teacher did you place it? Whenever you wake
dispiritedly, it was NOT of the Holy Spirit. ONLY when you awaken joyously have
you utilized sleep according to the Holy Spirit's purpose. You can indeed
be [T64] "drugged by sleep," but this is always because you have MISUSED it on
behalf of sickness. Sleep is no more a form of death than death is a form of
unconsciousness. UNCONSCIOUSNESS IS IMPOSSIBLE. You can rest in peace only
BECAUSE you are awake.
T 8 I 5. Healing is release from the fear of waking, and the substitution of
the WILL TO WAKE. The will to wake is the will to love, since ALL healing
involves replacing fear with love. The Holy Spirit cannot distinguish among
degrees of error, for if He taught that one form of sickness is more serious
than another, He would be teaching that one error can be MORE REAL than another.
His function is to distinguish ONLY between the false and the true, REPLACING
the false with the true.
T 8 I 6. The ego, which always WEAKENS the will, wants to SEPARATE the body
from the mind. This is an attempt to DESTROY it, yet the ego actually believes
that it is PROTECTING it. This is because the ego believes that MIND IS
DANGEROUS, and that to MAKE MINDLESS is to heal. But to make mindless is
impossible, since it would mean to make nothing out of what God created. The
ego DESPISES weakness, even though it makes every effort to INDUCE it. The ego
WANTS only what it hates. To the ego this is perfectly sensible. Believing in
the power of attack, the ego WANTS attack.
T 8 I 7. You have surely begun to realize that this is a very practical
course, which means EXACTLY what it says. So does the Bible, if it is properly
understood. There has been a marked tendency on the part of many of the Bible's
followers, and also its translators, to be entirely literal about fear and ITS
effects, but NOT about love and ITS results. Thus, "hellfire" means
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"burning," but raising the dead becomes allegorical. Actually, it is
PARTICULARLY the references to the outcomes of love which SHOULD be taken
literally because the Bible is ABOUT love, being about God.
T 8 I 8. The Bible enjoins you to be perfect, to heal ALL errors, to take no
thought of the body AS SEPARATE, and to accomplish all things in my name. This
is not my name alone, for ours is a shared identification. The Name of God's
Son is one, and you are enjoined to do the works of love because we SHARE this
oneness. Our minds are whole BECAUSE they are one. If you are sick you are
withdrawing from me. Yet you cannot withdraw from me alone. You can only
withdraw from yourself AND me.
T 8 I 9. I would not ask you to do things you cannot do, and it is impossible
that I could do things you cannot do. Given this, and given this QUITE
LITERALLY, there can be nothing which prevents you from doing EXACTLY what I
ask, and everything which argues FOR your doing it. I give you no limits
because God lays none upon you. When you limit YOURSELF we are NOT of one mind,
and that IS sickness. Yet sickness is not of the body, but of the MIND. ALL
forms of dysfunction are merely signs that the mind has split, and does not
accept a unified purpose.
T 8 I 10. The unification of PURPOSE, then, is the Holy Spirit's ONLY way of
healing. This is because it is the only level at which healing means anything.
The re-establishing of meaning in a chaotic thought system IS the only way to
heal it. We have said that your task is only to meet the conditions FOR
meaning, since meaning itself is of God. Yet your RETURN to meaning is
essential to HIS because your meaning is PART of His. Your healing, then, is
part of HIS health since it is part of His Wholeness. He cannot LOSE this, but
YOU can not KNOW it. Yet it is still His Will for you, and His Will MUST stand
forever and in all things.
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T 8 J. The Acceptance of Reality
T 8 J 1. Fear of the Will of God is one of the strangest beliefs that the
human mind has ever made. This could not possibly have occurred unless the mind
were ALREADY profoundly split, making it possible for the mind to be AFRAID of
what it really is. It is apparent that reality cannot "threaten" anything
EXCEPT illusions, since reality can only uphold truth. The very fact that the
Will of God, which is what you ARE, is perceived as fearful to you demonstrates
that you ARE afraid of what you are. It is not, then, the Will of God of which
you are afraid, but YOURS. Your will is NOT the ego's, and that is WHY the ego
is against you. What seems to be the fear of God is really only the fear OF
YOUR OWN REALITY.
T 8 J 2. It is impossible to learn anything consistently in a state of panic.
If the purpose of this course is to learn what you are, and if you have already
DECIDED that what you are is fearful, then it MUST follow that you will NOT
learn this course. Yet you might remember that the reason FOR the course is
that you do NOT know who you are. If you do not know your reality, how would
you know whether it is fearful or not?
T 8 J 3. The association of truth and fear, which would be highly artificial
at most, is particularly inappropriate in the minds of those who do not know
what truth IS. All that this kind of association means is that you are
arbitrarily endowing something quite beyond your awareness with something you DO
NOT WANT. It is evident, then, that you are judging something of which you are
totally UNAWARE. You have set this strange situation up so that it is
completely impossible to escape from it WITHOUT a Guide Who DOES know what your
reality is. The purpose of this Guide is merely to remind you of what you WANT.
He is not attempting to force an alien will UPON you. He is merely making
every possible effort, within the limits you impose on Him, to RE-ESTABLISH your
own will in your consciousness.
T 8 J 4. You have IMPRISONED your will in your UNCONSCIOUS, where it remains
available but cannot help you. When we said that the Holy Spirit's function is
to sort out the true from the false in your unconscious, we meant that He has
the power to look into what YOU have hidden and perceive the Will of God
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there. HIS perception of this Will can make it real to YOU because He is in
your mind, and therefore He IS your reality. If, then, His perception of your
mind brings its reality to YOU, He IS teaching you what you are.
T 8 J 5. The only source of fear in this whole process can ONLY be what you
think you LOSE. Yet it is only what the Holy Spirit sees that you can possibly
HAVE. We have emphasized many times that the Holy Spirit will never call upon
you to sacrifice ANYTHING. But if you ask the sacrifice of reality OF YOURSELF,
the Holy Spirit MUST remind you that this is not God's Will BECAUSE it is not
yours. There is NO DIFFERENCE between your will and God's. If you did not have
split minds, you would recognize that willing is salvation BECAUSE it is
communication. It is impossible to communicate in alien tongues. You and your
Creator can communicate through creation because that, and ONLY that, IS your
joint Will.
T 8 J 6. Divided wills do not communicate because they speak for different
things TO THE SAME MIND. This loses the ability to communicate simply because
confused communication does not mean ANYTHING. A message cannot be said to be
communicated UNLESS it makes sense. How sensible can your messages be when you
ask for what you do NOT want? Yet as long as you are AFRAID of your will, this
is precisely what you WILL ask for. You may insist that the Holy Spirit does
not answer you, but it might be wiser to consider the kind of ASKER you are.
T 8 J 7. You do NOT ask only for what you want. This is SOLELY because you
are afraid you might RECEIVE it, AND YOU WOULD. This is really why you persist
in asking the teacher who could not possibly TEACH you your will. Of him you
can NEVER learn it, and this gives you the illusion of safety. Yet you cannot
be safe FROM truth, but only IN it. Reality is the ONLY safety. Your will is
your salvation BECAUSE it is the same as God's. The separation is nothing more
than the belief that it is DIFFERENT.
T 8 J 8. No mind can believe that its will is STRONGER than God's. If, then,
a mind believes that ITS will is different from His, it can only decide either
that there IS no God or that GOD'S WILL IS FEARFUL. The former
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accounts for the atheist, and the latter for the martyr. Martyrdom takes many
forms, the category including ALL doctrines which hold that God demands
sacrifices of ANY kind. Either basic type of insane decision will induce panic
because the atheist believes he is alone, and the martyr believes that God is
crucifying him. Both really fear abandonment and retaliation, but the atheist
is more reactive against abandonment, and the martyr against retaliation.
T 8 J 9. The atheist maintains that God has left him, but he does not care.
He will, however, become very fearful, and hence very angry, if anyone suggests
that God has NOT left him. The martyr, on the other hand, is more aware of
guilt, and believing that punishment is inevitable, attempts to teach himself to
LIKE it. The truth is, very simply, that no one wants EITHER abandonment OR
retaliation. Many people SEEK both, but it is still true that they do not WANT
them. Can you ask the Holy Spirit for "gifts" such as these, and actually
expect to RECEIVE them? He cannot make you want something you do NOT want.
When you ask the Universal Giver for what you do not want, you are asking for
what CANNOT be given BECAUSE IT WAS NEVER CREATED. It was never created because
it was never your will for YOU.
T 8 J 10. Ultimately everyone must remember the Will of God because ultimately
everyone must recognize HIMSELF. This recognition IS the recognition that HIS
WILL AND GOD'S ARE ONE. In the presence of truth there are NO unbelievers and
NO sacrifices. In the security of reality, fear is totally meaningless. To
deny what IS can only SEEM to be fearful. Fear cannot be real without a cause,
and God is the ONLY Cause. God is Love, and you DO want Him. This IS your
will. Ask for this and you WILL be answered because you will be asking only for
what BELONGS to you.
T 8 J 11. When you ask the Holy Spirit for what would hurt you, He cannot
answer because NOTHING can hurt you, AND SO YOU ARE ASKING FOR NOTHING. ANY
desire which stems from the ego IS a desire for nothing, and to ask for it is
NOT A REQUEST. It is merely a denial in the FORM of a request. The Holy Spirit
is not concerned with form at all, being aware only of MEANING. The
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ego cannot ask the Holy Spirit for ANYTHING because there is COMPLETE
COMMUNICATION FAILURE between them. Yet YOU can ask for EVERYTHING of the Holy
Spirit because YOUR requests are real, being of your will. Would the Holy
Spirit deny the Will of God? And could He fail to recognize It in His Sons?
T 8 J 12. The energy which you withdraw from creation you expend on fear. This
is not because your energy is limited, but because YOU HAVE LIMITED IT. You do
not recognize the enormous waste of energy which you expend in denying truth.
What would you say of someone who persisted in attempting the impossible,
believing that to ACHIEVE it is SUCCESS? The belief that you MUST have the
impossible in order to be happy is totally at variance with the principle of
creation. God COULD not will that happiness DEPENDED on what you could never
HAVE.
T 8 J 13. The fact that God is love does not require belief, but it DOES
require acceptance. It is indeed possible for you to DENY facts, although it is
impossible for you to CHANGE them. If you hold your hands over your eyes, you
will NOT see because you are interfering with the laws of seeing. If you deny
love, you will NOT know it because your cooperation is THE LAW OF ITS BEING.
You cannot change laws you did not make, and the laws of happiness were created
FOR you, not BY you.
T 8 J 14. Attempts of any kind to deny what IS are fearful, and if they are
strong, they WILL induce panic. Willing AGAINST reality, though impossible, can
be MADE into a very persistent goal EVEN THOUGH YOU DO NOT WANT IT. But
consider the result of this strange decision. You are DEVOTING your mind to
what you do not want. How real can this devotion BE? If you do not want it, it
was never created. If it was never created, it is nothing. Can you REALLY
devote yourself to nothing?
T 8 J 15. God, in His devotion to you, created you devoted to EVERYTHING, and
GAVE you what you are devoted to. Otherwise, you would not have been created
perfect. Reality IS everything, and therefore you have everything BECAUSE you
are real. You cannot make the unreal because the ABSENCE of reality is fearful,
and fear cannot BE created. As long as you believe that fear is possible, YOU
WILL NOT CREATE. Opposing orders of reality MAKE REALITY
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MEANINGLESS, and reality IS meaning.
T 8 J 16. Remember, then, that God's Will is ALREADY possible, and nothing else
will EVER be. This is the simple acceptance of reality because only this IS
real. You cannot DISTORT reality and KNOW WHAT IT IS. And if you DO distort
reality, you will experience anxiety, depression and ultimately panic because
you are trying to MAKE yourself unreal. When you feel these things do not try
to look BEYOND yourself for truth, for truth can only be WITHIN you. Say,
therefore:
"Christ is in me and where He is God MUST be,
for Christ is PART of Him."
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T 8 K. The Answer to Prayer
T 8 K 1. Everyone who has ever tried to use prayer to request something has
experienced what appears to be failure. This is not only true in connection
with specific things which might be harmful, but also in connection with
requests which are strictly in line with this course. The latter, in
particular, might be incorrectly interpreted as "proof" that the course does not
mean what it says. You must remember, however, that the course does state, and
repeatedly, that its purpose is the ESCAPE from fear.
T 8 K 2. Let us suppose, then, that what you request of the Holy Spirit IS
what you really want, but you are still AFRAID of it. Should this be the case,
your ATTAINMENT of it would no longer BE what you want, even if IT is. This
accounts for why certain SPECIFIC forms of healing are not achieved, even though
the state of healing IS. It frequently happens that an individual asks for
physical healing because he is fearful of BODILY harm. At the same time,
however, if he WERE healed physically, the threat to his thought system would be
considerably MORE fearful to him than its physical expression. In this case he
is not really asking for RELEASE from fear, but for the removal of a symptom
which HE has selected. This request is, therefore, NOT for healing at all.
T 8 K 3. The Bible emphasizes that ALL prayers are answered, and this must be
true if no effort is wasted. The very fact that one has asked the Holy Spirit
for ANYTHING will ensure a response. Yet it is equally certain that NO response
given by the Holy Spirit will EVER be one which would increase fear. It is
possible that His answer will not be heard at all. It is IMPOSSIBLE, however,
that it will be lost. There are many answers which you have already received,
but have not yet HEARD. I assure you that they are waiting for you. It is
indeed true that no effort is wasted.
T 8 K 4. If you would know your prayers are answered, never doubt a Son of
God. Do not question him and do not confound him, for your faith in him is your
faith in YOURSELF. If you would know God and His Answer, believe in me whose
faith in you cannot be shaken. Can you ask of the Holy Spirit truly, and doubt
your brother? Believe his words are true because of the truth which is IN him.
You will unite with the truth in him, and his words will BE true. As you hear
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HIM you will hear ME. LISTENING to truth is the only way you can hear it now
and finally KNOW it.
T 8 K 5. The message your brother gives you is UP TO YOU. What does he say
to you? What would you HAVE him say? Your decision ABOUT him determines the
message you receive. Remember that the Holy Spirit is in him, and His Voice
speaks to you THROUGH him. What can so holy a brother tell you EXCEPT truth?
But are you LISTENING to it? Your brother may not know who he is, but there is
a Light in his mind which DOES know. This Light can shine into yours, making
HIS words true and making YOU able to hear them. His words ARE the Holy
Spirit's answer to you. Is your faith in him strong enough to let you hear?
T 8 K 6. Salvation is of your brother. The Holy Spirit extends from your
mind to his, and answers YOU. You cannot hear the Voice for God in yourself
alone because you are NOT alone. And His answer is only for what you ARE. You
will not know the trust I have in you unless you EXTEND it. You will not trust
the guidance of the Holy Spirit, or believe that it is for you, unless you hear
it in others. It MUST be for your brother BECAUSE it is for you. Would God
have created a Voice for you alone? Could you hear His answer EXCEPT as He
answers ALL of God's Sons? Hear of your brother what you would have me hear of
you, for you would not want ME to be deceived.
T 8 K 7. I love you for the truth in you, as God does. Your deceptions may
deceive YOU, but they CANNOT deceive ME. Knowing what you are, I CANNOT doubt
you. I hear only the Holy Spirit in you, Who speaks to me through YOU. If you
would hear ME, hear my brothers in whom God's Voice speaks. The answer to ALL
prayers lies in them. You will be answered as you hear the answer in EVERYONE.
Do not listen to anything else or you will not hear truth.
T 8 K 8. Believe in your brothers BECAUSE I believe in you, and you will
learn that my belief in you is justified. Believe in me BY believing in them,
for the sake of what God gave them. They WILL answer you, if you learn to ask
truth of them. Do not ask for blessings without blessing them, for only in
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this way can you learn how blessed YOU are. By following this way, you ARE
looking for the truth in you. This is not going BEYOND yourself but TOWARD
yourself. Hear only God's Answer in His Sons, and you ARE answered.
T 8 K 9. To disbelieve is to side against, or to ATTACK. To believe is to
accept, and to SIDE WITH. To believe is not to be credulous, but to accept and
APPRECIATE. What you do not believe you do not appreciate, and you CANNOT be
grateful for what you do not value. There is a price you will pay for judgment
because judgment IS the setting of a price. And as you set it you WILL pay it.
T 8 K 10. If paying is equated with GETTING, you will set the price low but
demand a high RETURN. You will have forgotten, however, that your return is in
PROPORTION to your judgment of worth. If paying is associated with GIVING, it
cannot BE perceived as loss, and the RECIPROCAL relationship of giving and
receiving will be recognized. The price will then be set high because of the
value of the return. To [T65] price for GETTING is to lose sight of value, making
it inevitable that you will NOT value what you receive. Valuing it little, you
will not appreciate it and you will not WANT it.
T 8 K 11. Never forget, then, that YOU have set the value on what you receive,
and have priced it by what you give. To believe that it is possible to get much
for little is to believe that you can bargain with God. God's laws are ALWAYS
fair and perfectly consistent. BY giving you receive. But to receive is to
ACCEPT, not to get. It is impossible not to HAVE, but it IS possible not to
KNOW you have. The recognition of having is the willingness for GIVING, and
ONLY by this willingness can you recognize what you have. What you give is
therefore the value you put on what you have, being the exact measure of the
value you put upon it. And this, in turn, is the measure of how much you WANT
it.
T 8 K 12. You can ASK of the Holy Spirit, then, only by giving TO Him, and you
can GIVE to Him only where you SEE Him. If you see Him in everyone, consider
how much you will be ASKING of Him, and HOW MUCH YOU WILL RECEIVE. He will deny
you nothing because you have denied HIM nothing, and so you can
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share everything. This is the way, and the ONLY way, to have His answer because
His answer is all you CAN ask for and WANT. Say, then, to everyone:
"Because I will to know myself
I see you as God's Son and my brother."
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Chapter IX 9 - THE CORRECTION OF ERROR
T 9 A. Introduction
T 9 A 1. The alertness of the ego to the errors which other egos make is not
the kind of vigilance the Holy Spirit would have you maintain. Egos are
critical in terms of the kind of "sense" they stand for. THEY understand this
kind of sense, because it IS sensible to them. To the Holy Spirit, it makes no
sense at all. To the ego, it is kind and right and good to point out errors and
"correct" them. This makes perfect sense to the ego, which is totally unaware
of what errors ARE and what correction IS.
T 9 A 2. Errors ARE of the ego, and correction of errors of any kind lies
solely in the RELINQUISHMENT of the ego. When you correct a brother, you are
telling him that he is wrong. He may be making no sense at the time, and it is
certain that, if he is speaking from the ego, he WILL be making no sense. But
your task is still to tell him he is RIGHT. You do not tell him this verbally,
if he is speaking foolishly, because he needs correction at ANOTHER level, since
his error IS at another level. HE is still right, because he is a Son of God.
His ego is always wrong, no matter WHAT it says or does.
T 9 A 3. If you point out the errors of your brother's ego, you must be
seeing through YOURS, because the Holy Spirit does not perceive his errors.
This must be true if there is no communication at all between the ego and the
Holy Spirit. The ego makes no sense, and the Holy Spirit does not attempt to
understand anything that arises from it. Since He does not understand it, He
does not JUDGE it, knowing that nothing it engenders means anything.
T 9 B. Sanity and Perception
T 9 B 1. When you react AT ALL to errors, you are not listening to the Holy
Spirit. He has merely disregarded them, and if you attend to them, you are not
hearing HIM. If you do not hear Him, you ARE listening to your ego, and making
as little sense as the brother whose errors you perceive. This cannot be
correction. Yet it is more than merely lack of correction for him. It is the
giving up of correction in YOURSELF.
T 9 B 2. When a brother behaves insanely, you can heal him only by perceiving
the SANITY in him. If you perceive his errors and ACCEPT them, you are
accepting YOURS. If you want to give yours over to the Holy Spirit, you must do
this with his. Unless this becomes the one way in which you handle
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ALL errors, you cannot understand how all errors are UNDONE. How is this
different from telling you that what you teach you learn? Your brother is as
right as you are, and if you think he is wrong you are condemning yourself.
T 9 B 3. YOU cannot correct YOURSELF. Is it possible, then, for you to
correct another? Yet you CAN see him truly because it is possible for you to
see YOURSELF [T66] truly. It is not up to you to change him, but merely to accept
him as he IS. His errors do not come from the truth that is in him, and only
this truth is yours. His errors cannot change this, and can have no effect at
all on the truth in YOU. To perceive errors in anyone, and to react to them as
if they were real, is to MAKE them real to you. You will not escape paying the
price for this, not because you are being punished for it, but because you are
following the wrong guide, and will lose your way.
T 9 B 4. Your brother's errors are not of him, any more than yours are of
YOU. Accept his errors as real, and you have attacked YOURSELF. If you would
find your way and keep it see only truth beside you, for you walk together. The
Holy Spirit in you forgives all things in you AND in your brother. HIS errors
are forgiven WITH yours. Atonement is no more separate than love. Atonement
cannot be separate because it COMES from love. ANY attempt you make to correct
a brother means that you believe correction by YOU is possible, and this can
ONLY be the arrogance of the ego. Correction is of God, Who does not know of
arrogance. The Holy Spirit forgives everything BECAUSE God created everything.
T 9 B 5. Do not undertake HIS function or you will forget YOURS. Accept ONLY
the function of healing in time because that is what time is FOR. God GAVE you
the function to create in eternity. You do not need to learn this, but you DO
need to learn to WANT this, and for this all learning was made. This is the
Holy Spirit's good use of an ability which you do not NEED, but which you HAVE
made. Give it to Him! You do not know how to use it. He will teach you how to
see yourself without condemnation by learning how to look on EVERYTHING without
it. Condemnation will then not be real to you, and all your errors WILL be
forgiven.
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T 9 C. Atonement as a Lesson in Sharing
T 9 C 1. Atonement is for all because it is the way to UNDO the belief that
anything is for you alone. To forgive is to OVERLOOK. Look, then, BEYOND
error, and do not let your perception rest UPON it, for you will believe what
your perception holds. Accept as true only what your brother IS, if you would
know yourself. Perceive what he is NOT, and you cannot know what you are
BECAUSE you see him falsely. Remember always that your identity is shared, and
that its sharing IS its reality.
T 9 C 2. You have a part to play in the Atonement, but the plan of the
Atonement IS beyond you. You do not know how to overlook errors, or you would
not make them. It would merely be further error to think either that you do NOT
make them, or that you can correct them WITHOUT a Guide to correction. And if
you do not FOLLOW this Guide, your errors will NOT be corrected. The plan is
not yours BECAUSE of your limited ideas of what you are. This limitation is
where ALL errors arise. The way to undo them, therefore, is not OF you but FOR
you.
T 9 C 3. The Atonement is a lesson in sharing, which is given you because YOU
HAVE FORGOTTEN HOW TO DO IT. The Holy Spirit merely reminds you of what is your
natural ability. By reinterpreting the ability to attack, which you DID make,
into the ability to SHARE, He translates what you have made into what God
created. If you would accomplish this THROUGH Him, you cannot look on your
abilities through the eyes of the ego, or you will judge them as IT does. All
their harmfulness lies in its judgment. All their helpfulness lies in the
judgment of the Holy Spirit.
T 9 C 4. The ego, too, has a plan of forgiveness because you are ASKING for
one, though not of the right teacher. The ego's plan, of course, MAKES NO SENSE
and WILL NOT WORK. By following it you will merely place yourself in an
impossible situation, to which the ego ALWAYS leads you. The ego's plan is to
have you see error clearly FIRST, and THEN overlook it. Yet how can you
overlook what you have made real? By seeing it clearly you HAVE made it real
and CANNOT overlook it.
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T 9 C 5. This is where the ego is forced to appeal to "mysteries," and begins
to insist that you must accept the meaningless to save yourself. Many have
tried to do this in my name, forgetting that my words make PERFECT sense because
they come from God. They are as sensible now as they ever were because they
speak of ideas which are eternal. Forgiveness that is learned of me does NOT
use fear to UNDO fear. Nor does it make real the UNREAL and then destroy it.
T 9 C 6. Forgiveness through the Holy Spirit lies simply in looking beyond
error from the beginning, and thus KEEPING it unreal for you. Do not let any
belief in its realness enter your minds AT ALL, or you will also believe that
YOU must undo what you have made in order to be forgiven. What has no effect
does not exist, and to the Holy Spirit the effects of error are TOTALLY
nonexistent. By steadily and consistently cancelling out ALL its effects,
EVERYWHERE and in ALL respects, He teaches that the ego does not exist, and
PROVES it. Follow His teaching in forgiveness, then, because forgiveness IS His
function, and He knows how to fulfill it perfectly. That is what we meant when
we once said that miracles are NATURAL, and when they do NOT occur something has
gone wrong.
T 9 C 7. Miracles are merely the sign of your willingness to follow the Holy
Spirit's plan of salvation, in recognition of the fact that you do NOT know what
it is. His work is NOT your function, and unless you accept this, you cannot
learn what YOUR function is. The confusion of functions is so typical of the
ego that you should be quite familiar with it by now. The ego believes that ALL
functions belong to it, even though it has no idea what they ARE. This is more
than mere confusion. It is a particularly dangerous combination of grandiosity
AND confusion which makes it likely that the ego will attack anyone and anything
for no reason at all. This is exactly what the ego DOES. It is TOTALLY
unpredictable in its responses because it has no idea of WHAT it perceives.
T 9 C 8. If one has no idea of what is happening, how appropriately can you
EXPECT him to react? You might still ask yourself, regardless of how
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you can ACCOUNT for the reactions, whether they place the ego in a very sound
position as the guide for YOURS. It seems absurd to have to emphasize
repeatedly that the ego's qualifications as a guide are singularly unfortunate,
and that it is a remarkably poor choice as a teacher of salvation. Yet this
question, ridiculous as it seems, is really the crucial issue in the whole
separation fantasy. Anyone who elects a totally insane guide MUST be totally
insane himself.
T 9 C 9. It is not true that you do not know the guide is insane. YOU know
it because I know it, and you HAVE judged it by the same standard as I have.
The ego literally lives on borrowed time, and its days are numbered. Do not
fear the Last Judgment, but welcome it and do not wait, for the ego's time is
borrowed from YOUR eternity. This IS the Second Coming, which was made FOR you
as the First was created. The Second Coming is merely the return of SENSE. Can
this POSSIBLY be fearful?
T 9 C 10. What can be fearful but fantasy, and no one turns to fantasy unless
he despairs of finding satisfaction in reality. Yet it is certain that he will
NEVER find satisfaction in fantasy, so that his only hope is to CHANGE HIS MIND
ABOUT REALITY. Only if the decision that reality is fearful is WRONG can God be
right. And I assure you that God IS right. Be glad, then, that you HAVE been
wrong, but this was only because you did not know who you were. Had you
remembered, you could no more have been wrong than God can. The impossible can
happen ONLY in fantasy. When you search for reality in fantasies you will not
find it. The symbols of fantasy are of the ego, and of THESE you will find
many. But do not look for meaning in them. They have no more meaning than the
fantasies into which they are woven.
T 9 C 11. Fairy tales can be pleasant or fearful, pretty or ugly, but no one
calls them TRUE. Children may believe them, and so, for a while, the tales ARE
true for them. Yet when reality dawns the fantasies are gone. REALITY has not
gone in the meanwhile. The Second Coming is the AWARENESS of reality, not its
RETURN. Behold, my children, reality is here. It belongs to you and me and
God, and is perfectly satisfying to all of us. ONLY this awareness heals,
because it is the awareness of truth.
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T 9 D. The Unhealed Healer
T 9 D 1. The ego's plan for forgiveness is far more widely used than God's.
This is because it is undertaken by unhealed healers, and is therefore of the
ego. Let us consider the unhealed healer more carefully now. By definition, he
is trying to GIVE what he has not RECEIVED. If he is a theologian, he may begin
with the premise, "I am a miserable sinner and so are you." If he is a
psychotherapist, he is more likely to start with the equally incredible idea
that HE really believes in attack and so does the patient, but it does not
matter in either case.
T 9 D 2. We have repeatedly stated that beliefs of the ego cannot be shared,
and this is WHY they are unreal. How, then, can "uncovering" them MAKE them
real? Every healer who searches fantasies for truth MUST be unhealed because he
does not KNOW where to look for truth, and therefore does not have the answer to
the problem of healing. There is an advantage to bringing nightmares into
awareness, but ONLY to teach that they are not real, and that ANYTHING they
contain is meaningless. The unhealed healer cannot do this because he does not
BELIEVE it.
T 9 D 3. All unhealed healers follow the ego's plan for forgiveness in one
form or another. If they are theologians, they are likely to condemn
themselves, teach condemnation, and advocate a very fearful solution.
Projecting condemnation onto God, they make Him appear retaliative and fear His
retribution. What they have done is merely to IDENTIFY with the ego, and by
perceiving clearly what IT does, condemn themselves because of this profound
confusion. It is understandable that there has been a revolt against this
concept, but to revolt AGAINST it is still to BELIEVE in it. The FORM of the
revolt, then, is different, but NOT the content.
T 9 D 4. The newer forms of the ego's plan are as unhelpful as the older
ones, because form does not matter to the Holy Spirit, and therefore does not
matter at all. According to the newer forms of the ego's plan, the therapist
interprets the ego's symbols in the nightmare, and then uses them to prove that
the NIGHTMARE is real. Having MADE it real, he then attempts to dispel its
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effects by depreciating the importance OF THE DREAMER. This WOULD be a healing
approach if the dreamer were properly identified as unreal. Yet if the dreamer
is equated with the MIND, the mind's corrective power through the Holy Spirit is
DENIED.
T 9 D 5. It is noteworthy that this is a contradiction even in the ego's
terms, and one which it usually DOES note, even in its confusion. If the way to
counteract fear is to REDUCE the importance of the fearer, how can this build
ego STRENGTH? These perfectly self-evident inconsistencies account for why,
except in certain stylized verbal accounts, no one can EXPLAIN what happens in
psychotherapy. Nothing real DOES. Nothing real has happened to the unhealed
healer, and he learns from his own teaching.
T 9 D 6. BECAUSE His ego is involved, it always attempts to gain some support
from the situation. Seeking to get something for HIMSELF the unhealed healer
does not know how to GIVE, and consequently cannot share. He cannot correct
because he is not working CORRECTIVELY. He believes that it is up to him to
teach the patient what is REAL, but he does not know it himself. What, then,
SHOULD happen? When God said, "Let there be light" there WAS light. Can you
find light by analyzing darkness as the psychotherapist does, or like the
theologian by acknowledging darkness in yourself and looking for a distant light
to remove it while EMPHASIZING the distance?
T 9 D 7. Healing is NOT mysterious. Nothing will occur unless you understand
it since light IS understanding. A "miserable sinner" cannot be healed without
magic, nor can an "unimportant mind" esteem itself without magic. Both forms of
the ego's approach, then, must arrive at an impasse, the characteristic
"impossible situation" to which the ego ALWAYS leads. It CAN be helpful to
point out to a patient where he is heading, but the point is lost unless he can
change his direction. The therapist cannot do this for him, but he also cannot
do this for HIMSELF.
T 9 D 8. The ONLY meaningful contribution the therapist can make is to
present an example of one whose direction has been changed FOR him, and who no
longer believes in nightmares of ANY kind. The light in HIS mind will therefore
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ANSWER the questioner, who must decide with God that there IS light because he
SEES it. And by HIS acknowledgment the THERAPIST knows it is there. That is
how perception ultimately is translated into knowledge. The miracle worker
begins by PERCEIVING light, and translates HIS perception into sureness by
continually extending it and accepting its acknowledgment. Its EFFECTS assure
him it is there.
T 9 D 9. The therapist does not heal; HE LETS HEALING BE. He can point to
darkness, but he cannot bring light of HIMSELF, for light is not of him. Yet,
being FOR him, it must also be for his patient. The Holy Spirit is the ONLY
Therapist. He makes healing perfectly clear in ANY situation in which He is the
Guide. The human therapist can only let Him FULFILL His function. He needs no
help for this. He will tell you EXACTLY what to do to help ANYONE He sends to
you for help, and will speak to him through you, if you do not INTERFERE.
Remember that you ARE choosing a guide for helping, and the WRONG choice will
NOT help. But remember also that the RIGHT one WILL. Trust Him, for help is
His function, and He is of God.
T 9 D 10. As you awaken other minds to the Holy Spirit through Him, and NOT
yourself, you will understand that you are not obeying the laws of this world,
but that the laws you are obeying WORK. "The good is what works" is a sound
though insufficient statement. ONLY the good CAN work. Nothing else works at
all. This course is a guide to behavior. Being a very direct and very simple
learning situation, it provides the Guide Who TELLS you what to do. If you do
it, you will SEE that it works. Its RESULTS are more convincing than its words.
They will convince you that the words are true. By following the right Guide
you will learn the simplest of all lessons:
"By their fruits ye shall know
them, and THEY shall know THEMSELVES."
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T 9 E. The Awareness of the Holy Spirit
T 9 E 1. How can you become increasingly aware of the Holy Spirit in you
EXCEPT by His effects? You cannot see Him with your eyes, nor hear Him with
your ears. How, then, can you perceive Him at all? If you inspire joy, and
others react to you WITH joy, even though you are not experiencing joy yourself,
there MUST be something in you that is capable of producing it. If it IS in you
and CAN produce joy, and if you see that it DOES produce joy in others, you MUST
be dissociating it in yourself.
T 9 E 2. It seems to you that the Holy Spirit does NOT produce joy
consistently in you ONLY because you do not consistently AROUSE joy in others.
Their reactions to you ARE your evaluations of His consistency. When you are
inconsistent you will not always GIVE RISE to joy, and so you will not always
RECOGNIZE His consistency. What you offer to your brother you offer to Him,
because He cannot go BEYOND your offering in His giving. This is not because He
limits His giving, but simply because you have limited your RECEIVING. The will
to receive is the will to accept.
T 9 E 3. If your brothers ARE part of you, will you ACCEPT them? Only they
can teach you what you are, and your learning is the result of what you taught
them. What you call upon in them you call upon in YOURSELF. And as you call
upon it in them it becomes real to YOU. God has but one Son, knowing them all
AS one. Only God Himself is more than they, but they are not less than He is.
Would you know what this means? If what you do to my brother you do to me, and
if you do everything for yourself because we are PART of you, everything WE do
belongs to you as well. Every Soul God created IS part of you, and shares His
glory WITH you. His Glory belongs to Him, but it is equally YOURS. You cannot,
then, be LESS glorious than He is.
T 9 E 4. God is more than you only because He CREATED you, but not even this
would He keep from you. Therefore you CAN create as He did, and your
dissociation will NOT alter this. Neither God's Light NOR YOURS is dimmed
because you do not see. Because the Sonship MUST create as one, you remember
creation whenever you recognize PART of creation. Each part you remember adds
to YOUR wholeness because each part IS whole. Wholeness is indivisible,
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but you cannot learn of your wholeness until you see it EVERYWHERE. You can
KNOW yourself only as God knows His Son, for knowledge is shared WITH God. When
you awake in Him you will know your magnitude by accepting His limitlessness as
YOURS, but meanwhile you will judge it as you judge your brothers', and will
accept it as you accept THEIRS.
T 9 E 5. You are not yet awake, but you can learn HOW to awaken. Very simply
the Holy Spirit teaches you to awaken others. As you see them waken you will
learn what waking MEANS, and because you have willed to wake them, their
gratitude and their appreciation of what you have given them will teach YOU its
value. THEY will become the witnesses to your reality, as YOU were created
witnesses to God's. Yet when the Sonship comes together and ACCEPTS its
oneness, it will be known by its creations, who witness to its reality as the
Son does to the Father.
T 9 E 6. Miracles have no place in eternity because they are reparative. Yet
while you still need healing, your miracles are the only witnesses to your
reality which you can RECOGNIZE. You cannot perform a miracle for YOURSELF
because miracles are a way of GIVING acceptance AND receiving it. In time the
giving comes first, though they are simultaneous in eternity, where they cannot
BE separated. When you have learned that they ARE the same, the need for time
is over.
T 9 E 7. Eternity is ONE time, its only dimension being "always." This
cannot mean anything to you, however, until you remember God's open arms and
finally know His open Mind. Like Him, YOU are "always," in His Mind and with a
mind like His. In YOUR open mind are YOUR creations, in perfect communication
born of perfect understanding. Could you but accept one of them, you would not
want ANYTHING the world has to offer. Everything else would be totally
meaningless. God's meaning is incomplete without you, and you are incomplete
without your creations. Accept your brother in this world and accept NOTHING
ELSE, for in him you will find your creations because he created them WITH you.
You will never know that you are co-creator with God until you learn that your
brother is a co-creator with YOU.
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T 9 F. Salvation and God's Will
T 9 F 1. God's Will is your salvation. Would He not have given you the means
to find it? If He wills you to HAVE it, He must have made it possible and very
easy to obtain it. Your brothers are everywhere. You do not have to seek far
for salvation. Every minute and every second gives you a chance to save
YOURSELF. Do not lose these chances, not because they will not return, but
because delay of joy is needless. God wills you perfect happiness NOW. Is it
possible that this is not also YOUR will? And is it possible that this is not
ALSO the will of your brothers?
T 9 F 2. Consider, then, that in this joint will you ARE all united, and in
this ONLY. There will be disagreement on anything else, but NOT on this. This,
then, is where peace ABIDES. And YOU abide in peace when you so decide. Yet
you cannot abide in peace unless you accept the Atonement because the Atonement
IS the way to peace. The reason is very simple, and so obvious that it is often
overlooked. That is because the ego is AFRAID of the obvious, since obviousness
is the essential characteristic of reality. Yet YOU cannot overlook it unless
you are NOT LOOKING.
T 9 F 3. It is PERFECTLY obvious that, if the Holy Spirit looks with love on
ALL He perceives, He looks with love on YOU. His evaluation of you is based on
His knowledge of what you are, and so He evaluates you truly. And this
evaluation MUST be in your mind because HE is. The ego is also in your mind
because you have ACCEPTED it there. ITS evaluation of you, however, is the
exact opposite of the Holy Spirit's because the ego does NOT love you. It is
unaware of what you are, and wholly mistrustful of EVERYTHING it perceives
because its own perceptions are so shifting. The ego is therefore capable of
suspiciousness at best and viciousness at worst. That is its range. It cannot
exceed it because of its uncertainty. And it can never go BEYOND it because it
can never BE certain.
T 9 F 4. You, then, have two CONFLICTING evaluations of yourself in your
minds, and they CANNOT both be true. You do not yet realize how COMPLETELY
different these evaluations are because you do not understand how lofty the Holy
Spirit's perception of you really is. He is not deceived by anything you do
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because He never forgets what you ARE. The ego is deceived by everything you
do, even when you respond to the Holy Spirit, because at such times its
confusion INCREASES. The ego is, therefore, particularly likely to attack you
when you react lovingly because it has evaluated you as UNLOVING, and you are
going AGAINST its judgment.
T 9 F 5. The ego will begin to ATTACK your motives as soon as they become
clearly out of accord with its perception of you. This is when it will shift
abruptly from suspiciousness to viciousness, since its uncertainty is increased.
Yet it is surely pointless to attack in return. What can this mean except that
you are AGREEING with the ego's evaluation of what you are? If you are willing
to see yourself as unloving, you will NOT be happy. You are condemning
yourself, and MUST therefore regard yourself as inadequate. Would you look to
the ego to help you escape from a sense of inadequacy it has PRODUCED, and must
MAINTAIN for its existence? Can you ESCAPE from its evaluation of you by using
its methods for keeping this picture INTACT?
T 9 F 6. You cannot evaluate an insane belief system from WITHIN it. Its own
range precludes this. You can only go BEYOND it, look back from a point where
SANITY exists, AND SEE THE CONTRAST. Only BY this contrast can insanity be
judged as insane. With the grandeur of God in you, you have chosen to be little
and to lament your littleness. WITHIN the system which dictated this choice the
lament IS inevitable. Your littleness is taken for granted there, and you do
NOT ask, "Who granted it?" The question is meaningless within the ego's thought
system because it opens the WHOLE thought system to question.
T 9 F 7. We said before that the ego does not know what a real question is.
Lack of knowledge of any kind is always associated with UNWILLINGNESS to know,
and produces a total lack of knowledge simply because knowledge IS total. NOT
to question your littleness, therefore, is to deny ALL knowledge and keep the
ego's WHOLE thought system intact. You cannot retain PART of a thought system
because it can be questioned ONLY at its foundation. And this must be
questioned from beyond it because WITHIN it its foundation DOES stand. The
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Holy Spirit judges against the reality of the ego's thought system merely
because He knows its FOUNDATION is not true. Therefore, nothing that arises
from it means anything. The Holy Spirit judges every belief you hold in terms
of where it comes from. If it comes from God, He knows it to be true. If it
does not, He knows that it is meaningless
T 9 F 8. Whenever you question your value, say:
"God Himself is incomplete without me."
Remember this when the ego speaks, and you will not hear it. The truth about
you is so lofty that nothing unworthy of God is worthy of you. Choose, then,
what you want in these terms, and accept nothing that you would not offer to God
as wholly fitting for Him, for you do not WANT anything else. Return your part
of Him, and He will give you all of Himself in exchange for your return of what
belongs to Him and renders Him complete.
T 9 G. Grandeur versus Grandiosity
T 9 G 1. Grandeur is of God, and ONLY of Him. Therefore, it is in you.
Whenever you become aware of it, however dimly, you abandon the ego
automatically because, in the presence of the grandeur of God, the
meaninglessness of the ego becomes perfectly apparent. Though it does not
understand this, the ego believes that its "enemy" has struck, and attempts to
offer gifts to induce you to return to its "protection." SELF-inflation of the
ego is its alternative to the grandeur of God. Which will you choose?
T 9 G 2. Grandiosity is ALWAYS a cover for despair. It is without hope
because it is not real. It is an attempt to counteract your littleness, based
on the belief that the littleness is REAL. Without this belief grandiosity is
meaningless, and you could not possibly want it. The essence of grandiosity is
competitiveness, because it ALWAYS involves attack. It is a delusional attempt
to OUTDO, but NOT to undo. We said before that the ego vacillates [T67] between
suspiciousness and viciousness. It remains suspicious as long as you despair of
yourself. It shifts to viciousness whenever you will not tolerate
self-abasement and seek relief. Then it offers you the illusion of attack as a
solution.
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T 9 G 3. The ego does not know the difference between grandeur and
grandiosity because it does not know the difference between miracle impulses and
ego-alien beliefs of its own. We once said that the ego IS aware of threat, but
does not make distinctions between two entirely different kinds of threat to its
existence. Its own profound sense of vulnerability renders it incapable of
judgment EXCEPT in terms of attack. When it experiences threat, its only
decision is whether to attack NOW, or to withdraw to attack later. If you
accept its offer of grandiosity, it will attack immediately. If you do not, it
will wait.
T 9 G 4. The ego is immobilized in the presence of God's grandeur because HIS
grandeur establishes YOUR freedom. Even the faintest hint of your reality
literally drives the ego from your mind because of complete lack of investment
in it. Grandeur is totally WITHOUT illusions, and because it is real, it is
compellingly convincing. Yet the conviction of reality will not remain with you
unless you do not allow the ego to attack it. The ego will make every effort to
recover and mobilize its energies AGAINST your release. It will tell you that
you are insane, and argue that grandeur CANNOT be a real part of you because of
the littleness in which IT believes.
T 9 G 5. Yet your grandeur is not delusional BECAUSE you did not make it.
YOU have made grandiosity and are afraid of it because it is a form of attack,
but your grandeur is of God, Who created it out of His Love. From your grandeur
you can only bless because your grandeur is your ABUNDANCE. By blessing you
hold it in your minds, protecting it from illusions and keeping yourself in the
Mind of God. Remember always that you cannot be anywhere EXCEPT in the Mind of
God. When you forget this, you WILL despair and you WILL attack.
T 9 G 6. The ego depends SOLELY on your willingness to tolerate it. If you
are willing to look upon your grandeur you CANNOT despair, and therefore you
cannot WANT the ego. Your grandeur is God's ANSWER to the ego because it is
true. Littleness and grandeur cannot co-exist, nor is it possible for them to
alternate in your awareness. Littleness and grandiosity can and MUST
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alternate in your awareness since both are untrue, and are therefore on the same
level. Being the level of shift it is experienced as shifting, and extremes are
its essential characteristic.
T 9 G 7. Truth and littleness are DENIALS of each other because grandeur IS
truth. Truth does not vacillate; it is ALWAYS true. When grandeur slips away
from you, you have replaced it with something YOU have made. Perhaps it is the
belief in littleness; perhaps it is the belief in grandiosity. Yet it MUST be
insane because it is NOT true. Your grandeur will NEVER deceive you, but your
illusions ALWAYS will. Illusions ARE deceptions. You cannot triumph, but you
ARE exalted. And in your exalted state you seek others like you and rejoice
with them.
T 9 G 8. It is easy to distinguish grandeur from grandiosity because love is
returned, but pride is not. Pride will not produce miracles, and therefore will
deprive you of your true witnesses to your reality. Truth is not obscure nor
hidden, but its obviousness to YOU lies in the joy you bring to its witnesses,
who SHOW it to you. They attest to your grandeur, but they cannot attest to
pride because pride is not shared. God WANTS you to behold what He created
because it is His joy.
T 9 G 9. Can your grandeur be arrogant when God Himself witnesses to it? And
what can be real that HAS no witnesses? What good can come of it? And if no
good can come of it, the Holy Spirit cannot use it. What He cannot transform to
the Will of God does not exist at all. Grandiosity is delusional because it is
used to REPLACE your grandeur. Yet what God has created cannot BE replaced.
God is incomplete without you because His grandeur is total, and you cannot BE
missing from it.
T 9 G 10. You are altogether irreplaceable in the Mind of God. No one else can
fill your part of It, and while you leave your part of It empty, your eternal
place merely waits for your return. God, through His Voice, reminds you of It,
and God Himself keeps your extensions safe within It. Yet You do not know them
until you return to them. You CANNOT replace the Kingdom, and you cannot
replace YOURSELF. God, Who KNOWS your value, would not have
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it so, and so it is NOT so. Your value is in GOD'S Mind, and therefore not in
yours alone. To accept yourself as God created you cannot be arrogance because
it is the DENIAL of arrogance. To accept your littleness IS arrogant because it
means that you believe YOUR evaluation of yourself is TRUER than God's.
T 9 G 11. Yet if truth is indivisible your evaluation of yourself must BE
God's. You did not establish your value, and it NEEDS no defense. Nothing can
attack it or prevail over it. It does not vary. It merely IS. Ask the Holy
Spirit WHAT it is and He will tell you, but do not be afraid of His answer, for
it comes from God. It IS an exalted answer because of its Source, but the
Source is true and so is Its answer. Listen and do not question what you hear,
for God does not deceive. He would have you replace the ego's belief in
littleness with His own exalted answer to the question of your being, so that
you can cease to question it and KNOW it for what it IS.
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T 9 H. The Inclusiveness of Creation
T 9 H 1. Nothing beyond yourself can make you fearful or loving because
nothing IS beyond you. Time and eternity are both in your minds, and WILL
conflict until you perceive time solely as a means to REGAIN eternity. You
cannot do this as long as you believe that ANYTHING which happens to you is
caused by factors OUTSIDE yourself. You must learn that time is solely at YOUR
disposal, and that nothing in the world can take this responsibility from you.
You can VIOLATE God's laws in your imagination, but you cannot ESCAPE from them.
They were established for your protection, and are as inviolate as your safety.
T 9 H 2. God created nothing beside you and nothing beside you exists, for
you are part of Him. What except Him CAN exist? Nothing BEYOND Him can happen
because nothing EXCEPT Him is real. Your creations add to Him as YOU do, but
nothing is added that is different because everything has always BEEN. What can
upset you except the ephemeral, and how can the ephemeral be real if you are
God's ONLY creation and He created you eternal? Your holy will establishes
EVERYTHING that happens to you. EVERY response you make to EVERYTHING you
perceive is up to you because your will determines your perception of it.
T 9 H 3. God does not change His Mind about YOU, for He is not uncertain of
HIMSELF. And what He knows CAN be known because He does not know only for
Himself. He created you for Himself, but He gave you the power to create for
YOUR self so you would be like Him. That is WHY your will is holy. Can
anything exceed the Love of God? Can anything, then, exceed YOUR will? Nothing
can reach you from beyond it because, being in God, YOU encompass everything.
Believe this, and you WILL realize how much is up to you. When anything
threatens your peace of mind, ask yourself: [T68]
"Has God changed His Mind about me?"
Then ACCEPT His decision, for it is indeed changeless, and refuse to change your
mind about YOURSELF. God will never decide AGAINST you, or He would be deciding
against Himself.
T 9 H 4. The reason you do not know YOUR creations is simply that you would
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decide against them as long as your minds are split, and to attack what you have
created is impossible. But remember that it is AS IMPOSSIBLE FOR GOD. The law
of creation is that you love your creations as yourself because they ARE part of
you. Everything that was created is therefore perfectly safe because the laws
of God protect it by His Love. Any part of your mind that does not know this
has banished itself from knowledge because it has not met its conditions.
T 9 H 5. Who could have done this but you? Recognize this gladly, for in
this recognition lies the realization that your banishment is NOT of God, and
therefore does not exist. You are at home in God, dreaming of exile, but
perfectly capable of awakening to reality. Is it your will to do so? You know,
from your own experience, that what you see in dreams you think is real as long
as you are asleep. Yet the instant you waken you KNOW that everything that
SEEMED to happen did not happen at all. You do not think this mysterious, even
though all the laws of what you awakened TO were violated while you slept. Is
it not possible that you merely shifted from one dream to another, without
REALLY wakening?
T 9 H 6. Would you bother to reconcile what happened in conflicting dreams,
or would you dismiss both together if you discovered that reality is in accord
with neither? You do not remember being awake. When you hear the Holy Spirit
you merely feel better because loving seems POSSIBLE to you, but you do NOT
remember yet that it once was so. And it is in this remembering that you will
know it can be so again. What is possible has not yet been accomplished. Yet
what has once been is so NOW, if it is eternal. When you remember, you will
know what you remember IS eternal, and therefore IS now.
T 9 H 7. You will remember everything the instant you DESIRE IT WHOLLY, for
if to desire wholly is to create, you will have willed away the separation,
returning your mind simultaneously to your Creator and your creations. Knowing
THEM you will have no wish to sleep, but only the will to waken and be glad.
Dreams will be impossible because you will WANT only truth, and being at last
your will it will be yours.
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T 9 I. The Decision to Forget
T 9 I 1. Unless you KNOW something you CANNOT dissociate it. Knowledge
therefore PRECEDES dissociation, and dissociation is nothing more than a
DECISION TO FORGET. What has been forgotten then appears to be fearful, but
ONLY because the dissociation was an ATTACK on truth. You are fearful BECAUSE
you have forgotten. And you have REPLACED your knowledge by an awareness of
dreams because you are AFRAID of your dissociation, NOT of what you have
dissociated. Even in this world's therapy, when dissociated material is
ACCEPTED it ceases to be fearful, for the laws of mind always hold.
T 9 I 2. Yet to give up the dissociation of REALITY brings more than merely
lack of fear. In THIS decision lie joy and peace and the glory of creation.
Offer the Holy Spirit only your will to remember, for He retains the knowledge
of God and of yourself FOR you, waiting for your acceptance. Give up gladly
EVERYTHING that would stand in the way of your remembering, for God is in your
memory, and His Voice will tell you that you are part of Him when you are
willing to remember Him and know your own reality again. Let nothing in this
world delay your remembering of Him, for in this remembering is the knowledge of
YOURSELF.
T 9 I 3. To remember is merely to restore to your mind WHAT IS ALREADY THERE.
You do not MAKE what you remember; you merely accept again what has been made
but was rejected. The ability to accept truth in this world is the perceptual
counterpart of creating in the Kingdom. God will do His part if you will do
yours, and HIS return in exchange for yours is the exchange of knowledge FOR
perception. NOTHING is beyond His Will for you. But signify your will to
remember Him, and behold! He will give you everything but for the asking.
T 9 I 4. When you attack you are denying YOURSELF. You are specifically
teaching yourself that you are NOT what you are. Your denial of reality
precludes the ACCEPTANCE of God's gift because you have accepted something ELSE
in its place. If you understand that the misuse of defenses always constitutes
an attack on truth, and truth is God, you will realize why this is ALWAYS
fearful. If you further recognize that you are PART of God, you will
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understand why it is that you always attack yourself FIRST.
T 9 I 5. ALL attack is self attack. It cannot BE anything else. Arising from
your OWN decision NOT to be what you ARE, IT IS AN ATTACK ON YOUR
IDENTIFICATION. Attack is thus the way in which your identification is lost,
because, when you attack, you MUST have forgotten what you are. And if your
reality is God’s, when YOU attack, you are not remembering HIM. This is not
because He is gone, but because you are ACTIVELY WILLING NOT TO REMEMBER
HIM. [T69]
T 9 I 6. If you realized the complete havoc this makes of your peace of mind,
you could not make such an insane decision. You make it only because you still
believe that it can GET you something you WANT. It follows, then, that you want
something OTHER than peace of mind, but you have not considered what it must be.
Yet the logical outcome of your decision is perfectly clear, if you will LOOK
at it. By deciding AGAINST your reality, you have made yourself vigilant
AGAINST God and His Kingdom. And it is THIS vigilance that makes you afraid to
remember Him.
T 9 I 7. You have NOT attacked God and you DO love Him. Can you change your
reality? No one can will to destroy himself. When you think you are attacking
your SELF [T70], it is a sure sign that you hate what you THINK you are. And
this, and ONLY this, can BE attacked by you. What you THINK you are can be
hateful, and what this strange image makes you do can be very destructive. Yet
the destruction is no more real than the image, although those who make idols DO
worship them. The idols are nothing, but their worshippers are the Sons of God
in sickness.
T 9 I 8. God would have them released from their sickness and returned to His
Mind. He will not LIMIT your power to help them because He has GIVEN it to you.
Do not be afraid of it because it is your salvation. What Comforter can there
be for the sick Children of God except His power through YOU? Remember that it
does not matter WHERE in the Sonship He is accepted. He is ALWAYS accepted for
all, and when YOUR mind receives Him the remembrance of Him awakens throughout
the Sonship. Heal your brothers simply by accepting God FOR them.
T 9 I 9. Your minds are not separate, and God has only one channel for
healing because He has but one Son. His remaining communication link with all
His Children joins them together, and them to Him. To be aware of this is to
heal them because it is the awareness that no one is separate, and so no one is
sick. To believe that a Son of God CAN be sick is to believe that part of God
can suffer. Love CANNOT suffer because it can not attack. The remembrance
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of love therefore brings invulnerability with it.
T 9 I 10. Do not side with sickness in the presence of a Son of God even if HE
believes in it, for YOUR acceptance of God in him ACKNOWLEDGES the Love of God
which he has forgotten. Your recognition of him as PART of God teaches him the
truth about himself, which HE is denying. Would you STRENGTHEN his denial of
God, and thus lose sight of YOURSELF? Or would you remind him of his wholeness,
and remember your Creator WITH him? To believe a Son of God is sick is to
worship the same idol he does. God created love, NOT idolatry. All forms of
idolatry are caricatures of creation, taught by sick minds which are too divided
to know that creation SHARES power and NEVER usurps it. Sickness is idolatry
because it is the belief that power can be taken FROM you. Yet this is
impossible because you are part of God, Who IS all power.
T 9 I 11. A sick god MUST be an idol, made in the image of what its maker
thinks HE is. And that is exactly what the ego DOES perceive in a Son of God; a
sick god, self-created, self-sufficient, very vicious, and very vulnerable. Is
THIS the idol you would worship? Is THIS the image you would be vigilant to
SAVE? Are you REALLY afraid of losing THIS? [T71] Look calmly at the logical
conclusion of the ego's thought system, and judge whether its offering is really
what you want, for this IS what it offers you. To OBTAIN this you are willing
to attack the Divinity of your brothers, and thus lose sight of YOURS. And you
are willing to keep it hidden and to protect this idol, which you think will
save you from the dangers which the idol itself STANDS FOR, but which do not
exist.
T 9 I 12. There are no idolaters in the Kingdom, but there is great
appreciation for every Soul which God created because of the calm knowledge that
each one is part of Him. God's Son knows no idols, but He DOES know His [T72]
Father. Health in this world is the counterpart of value in Heaven. It is not
my merit that I contribute to you but my love, for you do not value yourselves.
When you do not value yourself you become sick, but MY value of you can heal you
because the value of God's Son is one. When I said, "My peace I give unto you,"
I meant it. Peace came from God through me to YOU. It was for you although
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you did not ask.
T 9 I 13. When a brother is sick it is because he is NOT asking for peace, and
therefore does not know he HAS it. The ACCEPTANCE of peace is the denial of
illusion, and sickness IS an illusion. Yet every Son of God has the power to
deny illusions ANYWHERE in the Kingdom merely by denying them completely in
himself. I can heal you because I KNOW you. I know your value FOR you, and it
is this value that makes you whole. A whole mind is not idolatrous, and does
not know of conflicting laws. I will heal you merely because I have only ONE
message, and it is true. Your faith in it will make you whole when you have
faith in me.
T 9 I 14. I do not bring God's message with deception, and you will learn this
as you learn that you always receive as much as you ACCEPT. You could accept
peace NOW for everyone you meet, and offer them perfect freedom from ALL
illusions because YOU heard. But have no other gods before Him, or you will NOT
hear. God is not jealous of the gods you make, but YOU are. You would save
them and serve them because you believe that they made YOU. You think they are
your father because you are projecting onto them the fearful fact that YOU made
them to REPLACE God. Yet when they seem to speak to you remember that nothing
CAN replace God, and whatever replacements you have attempted ARE nothing.
T 9 I 15. Very simply, then, you may BELIEVE you are afraid of nothingness, but
you are really afraid of NOTHING. And in THAT awareness you are healed. You
WILL hear the god you listen to. You MADE the god of sickness, and BY making
him, you made yourself able to hear him. Yet you did not create him because he
is NOT the Will of the Father. He is therefore not eternal, and will be UNMADE
for you the instant you signify your willingness to accept ONLY the eternal. If
God has but one Son, there is but one God. You share reality with Him BECAUSE
reality is not divided. To accept other gods before Him is to place other
images before YOURSELF.
T 9 I 16. You do not realize how much you listen to your gods, and how vigilant
you are on their behalf. Yet they exist only BECAUSE you honor them. Place
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honor where it is due, and peace will be yours. It is your inheritance from
your REAL Father. You cannot make your Father, and the father you made did not
make you. Honor is not due to illusions, for to honor them is to honor nothing.
Yet fear is not due them either, for nothing cannot be fearful. You have
chosen to fear love BECAUSE of its perfect harmlessness, and because of this
fear, you have been willing to give up your own perfect helpfulness and your own
perfect Help.
T 9 I 17. Only at the altar of God will you find peace. And this altar is in
you because God put it there. His Voice still calls you to return, and He will
be heard when you place no other gods before Him. You can give up the god of
sickness for your brothers; in fact, you would HAVE to do so if you give him up
for yourself. For if you see him anywhere, you have accepted him. And if you
accept him, you WILL bow down and worship him, because he was made as God's
replacement. He is the belief that you can CHOOSE which god is real. Although
it is perfectly clear that this has nothing to do with reality, it is equally
clear that it has EVERYTHING to do with reality as you perceive it.
T 9 J. Magic versus Miracles
T 9 J 1. All magic is a form of reconciling the irreconcilable. All religion
is the recognition that the irreconcilable cannot BE reconciled. Sickness and
perfection ARE irreconcilable. If God created you perfect, you ARE perfect. If
you believe you can be sick, you have placed other gods before Him. God is not
at war with the god of sickness you made, but YOU are. He is the symbol of
willing AGAINST God, and you are afraid of him BECAUSE he cannot be reconciled
with God's Will. If you attack him, you will make him real to you. But if you
refuse to worship him in whatever form he may appear to you and wherever you
think you see him, he will disappear into the nothingness out of which he was
made.
T 9 J 2. Reality can dawn only on an unclouded mind. It is always there to
be accepted, but its acceptance depends on your willingness to HAVE it. To know
reality must involve the willingness to judge UNREALITY for what it is. This is
the RIGHT use of selective perception. To overlook nothingness is merely to
judge it correctly, and because of your ability to evaluate it truly, TO LET IT
GO. Knowledge cannot dawn on a mind full of illusions, because truth
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and illusions are irreconcilable. Truth is whole, and CANNOT be known by part
of a mind.
T 9 J 3. The Sonship cannot be perceived as PARTLY sick because to perceive
it that way is not to perceive it at all. If the Sonship is one, it is one in
ALL respects. Oneness CANNOT be divided. If you perceive other gods your mind
is split, and you will not be able to LIMIT the split because the split IS the
sign that you have removed part of your mind from God's Will, and this means it
is out of control. To be out of control is to be out of REASON, and the mind
DOES become unreasonable without reason. This is merely a matter of definition.
By DEFINING the mind wrongly, you perceive it as FUNCTIONING wrongly.
T 9 J 4. God's laws will keep your minds at peace because peace is His Will,
and His laws are established to uphold it. His are the laws of freedom, but
yours are the laws of bondage. Since freedom and bondage are irreconcilable,
their laws cannot BE understood together. The laws of God work only for your
good, and there ARE no other laws beside His. Everything else is merely
lawless, and therefore chaotic. Yet God Himself has protected everything He
created BY His laws. Therefore, everything that is not under them does not
exist. "Laws of chaos" are meaningless by definition. Creation is perfectly
lawful, and the chaotic is without meaning because it is without GOD. You have
given your peace to the gods you made, but they are not there to take it from
you, and you are not able to give it to them.
T 9 J 5. You are NOT free to give up freedom, but only to DENY it. You
CANNOT do what God did not intend because what He did not intend DOES NOT
HAPPEN. Your gods do not BRING chaos; you are ENDOWING them with chaos and
accepting it of them. All this has never been. Nothing but the laws of God has
ever operated, and nothing except His Will will ever be. You were created
through His laws and by His Will, and the manner of your creation established
you AS creators. What you have made is so unworthy of you that you could hardly
want it if you were willing to see it AS IT IS. You will see nothing at all.
And your vision will automatically look beyond it to what is in you and all
around
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you. Reality cannot break through the obstructions you interpose, but it WILL
envelop you completely when you let them go.
T 9 J 6. When you have experienced the protection of God the making of idols
becomes inconceivable. There are no strange images in the Mind of God, and what
is not in His Mind cannot be in yours because you are of ONE Mind, and that Mind
belongs to HIM. It is yours BECAUSE it belongs to Him, for ownership is sharing
to Him. And if it is so for Him, it is so for you. His definitions ARE His
laws, for by them He established the universe as what it is. No false gods you
attempt to interpose between yourself and your reality affect truth at all.
Peace is yours because God created you. And He created nothing else.
T 9 J 7. The miracle is the act of a Son of God who has laid aside all false
gods, and who calls on his brothers to do likewise. It is an act of faith
because it is the recognition that his brother can do it. It is a call to the
Holy Spirit in his mind, a call to Him which is strengthened by this joining.
Because the miracle worker has heard Him he strengthens His Voice in a sick
brother by weakening his BELIEF in sickness, which he does NOT share. The power
of one mind CAN shine into another because all the lamps of God were lit by the
same spark. It is everywhere and it is eternal.
T 9 J 8. In many only the spark remains, for the Great Rays [T73] are obscured.
Yet God has kept the spark alive so that the Rays [T74] can never be completely
forgotten. If you but see the little spark you will learn of the greater light,
for the Rays [T75] are there unseen. Perceiving the spark will heal, but knowing
the Light [T76] will create. Yet in the returning, [T77] the little light must be
acknowledged first, for the separation was a descent from magnitude to
littleness. But the spark is still as pure as the Great Light [T78] because it is
the remaining call of creation. Put all your faith in it, and God Himself will
answer you.
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T 9 K. The Denial of God
T 9 K 1. The rituals of the god of sickness are strange and very demanding.
Joy is never permitted, for depression is the sign of allegiance to him.
Depression means that you have forsworn God. Men are afraid of blasphemy, but
they do not know what it means. They do not realize that to deny God is to deny
their OWN identity, and in this sense the wages of sin IS death. The sense is
very literal; denial of Life perceives its opposite, as ALL forms of denial
replace what IS with what is NOT. No one can really do this, but that you can
THINK you can and believe you HAVE is beyond dispute.
T 9 K 2. Do not forget, however, that to deny God will inevitably result in
projection, and you will believe that others AND NOT YOURSELF have done this to
you. You will receive the message you give because it is the message you WANT.
You may believe that you judge your brothers by the messages they give YOU, but
YOU have judged THEM by the message you give to THEM. Do not attribute your
denial of joy to them, or you cannot see the spark in them that could bring joy
to YOU. It is the DENIAL of the spark that brings depression, and whenever you
see your brothers WITHOUT it, you ARE denying God.
T 9 K 3. Allegiance to the denial of God is the ego's religion. The god of
sickness obviously demands the denial of health because health is in direct
opposition to its own survival. But consider what this means to YOU. UNLESS
you are sick you cannot keep the gods you made, for only in sickness could you
possibly WANT them. Blasphemy, then, is SELF-destructive, NOT God-destructive.
It means that you are willing NOT to know yourself IN ORDER to be sick. This is
the offering which your god demands because, having made him out of YOUR
insanity, he is an insane idea. He has many forms, but although he may seem
like many different things he is but one idea; - the denial of God.
T 9 K 4. Sickness and death entered the mind of God's Son AGAINST His Will.
The "attack on God" made His Son think he was fatherless, and out of his
depression he made the god of depression. This was his alternative to joy
because he would not accept the fact that, although he was a creator, he had
been created. Yet the Son IS helpless without the Father, Who alone is his
Help. We said before that of yourselves you can do nothing, but you are not
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OF yourselves. If you were, what you have made would be true, and you could
NEVER escape.
T 9 K 5. It is BECAUSE you did not make yourselves that you need be troubled
by nothing. Your gods are nothing because your Father did not create them. You
cannot make creators who are unlike your Creator any more than He could have
created a Son who was unlike Him. If creation is sharing it cannot create what
is unlike itself. It can share only what it IS. Depression is isolation, and
so it could not have BEEN created.
T 9 K 6. Son of God, you have not sinned, but you HAVE been much mistaken.
Yet this can be corrected, and God will help you, KNOWING that you could not sin
against Him. You denied Him BECAUSE you loved Him, knowing that, if you
RECOGNIZED your love for Him you COULD not deny Him. Your denial of Him
therefore means that you love Him, and that you know HE loves YOU. Remember
that what you deny you MUST have known. And if you accept denial, you can
accept its UNDOING.
T 9 K 7. Your Father has not denied you. He does not retaliate, but He DOES
call to you to return. When you think He has not answered your call, YOU have
not answered HIS. He calls to you from every part of the Sonship because of His
Love for His Son. If you HEAR His message He has answered you, and you will
learn of Him if you hear aright. The Love of God is in everything He created,
for His Son is everywhere. Look with peace upon your brothers, and God will
come rushing into your heart in gratitude for your gift to Him.
T 9 K 8. Do not look to the god of sickness for healing but only to the God
of love, for healing is the ACKNOWLEDGMENT of Him. When you acknowledge Him you
will KNOW that He has never ceased to acknowledge YOU, and that in His
acknowledgment of you lies your Being. You are not sick and you cannot die.
But you CAN confuse yourself with things that do. Remember, though, that to do
this IS blasphemy, for it means that you are looking without love on God and His
creation, from which He cannot BE separated. Only the eternal can be loved, for
love does not die. What is of God is His forever, and you ARE of God. Would He
allow Himself to suffer? And would He offer His Son
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anything that is not acceptable to Him?
T 9 K 9. If you will accept yourself as God created you, you will be
incapable of suffering. Yet to do this, you must acknowledge Him as your
Creator. This is not because you will be punished otherwise. It is merely
because your acknowledgment of your Father IS the acknowledgment of yourself as
you are. Your Father created you wholly without sin, wholly without pain, and
wholly without suffering of any kind. If you deny Him you bring sin, pain and
suffering into your OWN mind because of the power He gave it. Your mind is
capable of creating worlds, but it can also deny what it creates because it is
free.
T 9 K 10. You do not realize how much you have denied yourself, and how much
God, in His Love, would not have it so. Yet He would not interfere with you
because He would not know His Son if he were not free. To interfere with you
would be to attack Himself, and God is not insane. When you denied Him, YOU
were insane. Would you have Him SHARE your insanity? God will never cease to
love His Son, and His Son will never cease to love Him. That was the condition
of His Son's creation, fixed forever in the Mind of God. To know that is
sanity. To deny it is insanity. God gave Himself to you in your creation, and
His gifts are eternal. Would you deny yourself to Him?
T 9 K 11. Out of your gifts to Him the Kingdom will be restored to His Son.
His Son removed himself FROM His gift by refusing to accept what had been
created for him, and what he himself had created in the Name of his Father.
Heaven waits for his return, for it was created as the dwelling place of God's
Son. You are not at home anywhere else, or in any other condition. Do not deny
yourself the joy which was created for you for the misery you have made for
yourselves. God has given you the means for undoing what you have made.
Listen, and you WILL learn what you are.
T 9 K 12. If God knows His Children as wholly sinless, it is blasphemous to
perceive them as guilty. If God knows His Children as wholly without pain, it
is blasphemous to perceive suffering anywhere. If God knows His Children to be
wholly joyous, it is blasphemous to feel depressed. All of these illusions, and
the many other forms which blasphemy may take, are REFUSALS to accept
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creation as it is. If God created His Son perfect, that is how you must learn
to see him to learn of his reality. And as PART of the Sonship, that is how you
must see YOURSELF to learn of YOURS.
T 9 K 13. Do not perceive ANYTHING God did not create, or you are denying HIM.
His is the ONLY Fatherhood, and it is yours only because HE has given it to you.
Your gifts to yourself are meaningless, but your gifts to YOUR creations are
like His because they are given in His Name. That is why your creations are as
real as His. Yet the real Fatherhood must be acknowledged if the real Son is to
be known. You believe that the sick things which you have made are your real
creations because you believe that the sick images you perceive ARE the Sons of
God.
T 9 K 14. Only if you accept the Fatherhood of God will you have ANYTHING
because His Fatherhood GAVE you everything. That is why to deny Him IS to deny
yourself. Arrogance is the denial of love because love SHARES and arrogance
WITHHOLDS. As long as both appear to you to be desirable, the concept of
choice, which is NOT of God, will remain with you. While this is not true in
eternity, it IS true in time, so that, while time lasts in YOUR minds, there
WILL be choices. Time ITSELF was your choice.
T 9 K 15. If you would remember eternity, you must learn to look ONLY on the
eternal. If you allow yourselves to become preoccupied with the temporal, you
ARE living in time. As always, your choice is determined by what you value.
Time and eternity cannot both be real because they contradict each other. If
you will accept only what is timeless as real, you will begin to understand
eternity, and make it yours.
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Chapter X 10 - GOD AND THE EGO
T 10 A. Introduction
T 10 A 1. Either God or the ego is insane. If you will examine the
evidence on both sides fairly, you will realize that this must be true. Neither
God nor the ego proposes a partial thought system. Each is internally
consistent, but they are diametrically opposed in all respects, so that partial
allegiance is impossible. Remember, too, that their results are as different as
their foundations, and their fundamentally irreconcilable natures CANNOT be
reconciled by your vacillations. Nothing alive is fatherless, for life is
creation. Therefore, your decision is always an answer to the question, "Who is
my father?" And you will be faithful to the father you choose.
T 10 A 2. Yet what would you say to someone who really believed this
question involves conflict? If YOU made the ego, how can the ego have made you?
The authority problem remains the only source of perceived conflict, because
the ego was made out of the wish of God's Son to father Him. The ego, then, is
nothing more than a delusional system, in which you made your own father. Make
no mistake about this. It sounds insane when it is stated with perfect honesty,
but the ego never looks upon what it does with perfect honesty. Yet that IS its
insane premise, which is carefully hidden in the dark cornerstone of its thought
system. And either the ego, which you made, IS your father, or its whole
thought system will not stand.
T 10 B. Projection versus Extension
T 10 B 1. You have made by projection, but God has created by extension.
The cornerstone of God's creation is YOU, for His thought system is light.
Remember the Rays [T79] that are there unseen. The more you approach the center
of His thought system, the clearer the light becomes. The closer you come to
the foundation of [T80] the ego's thought system, the darker and more obscure
becomes the way. Yet even the little spark in your mind is enough to lighten
it. Bring this light fearlessly with you, and hold it up to the foundation of
the ego's thought system bravely. Be willing to judge it with perfect honesty.
Open the dark cornerstone of terror on which it rests, and bring it out into the
light. There you will see that it rests on meaninglessness, and that everything
of which you have been afraid was based on nothing.
T 10 B 2. My brother, you are part of God and part of me. When you have
at
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last looked at the ego's foundation without shrinking, you will also have looked
upon OURS. I come to you from our Father to offer you everything again. Do not
refuse it in order to keep a dark cornerstone hidden, for ITS protection will
not save you. I GIVE you the lamp and I will go WITH you. You will not take
this journey alone. I will lead you to your true Father, Who hath need of you,
as I have. Will you not answer the call of love with joy?
T 10 B 3. You have learned your need of healing. Would you bring
anything ELSE to the Sonship, recognizing your need of healing for yourself?
For in this lies the beginning of knowledge; the foundation on which God will
help you build again the thought system which you share with HIM. Not one stone
you place upon it but will be blessed by Him, for you will be restoring the holy
dwelling place of His Son, where He wills His Son to be and where he IS. In
whatever part of the mind of God's Son you restore this reality, you restore it
to YOURSELF. For you dwell in the Mind of God WITH your brother, for God
Himself did not will to be alone.
T 10 B 4. To be alone is to be separated from infinity, but how can this
be if infinity has no end? No one can be BEYOND the limitless because what has
no limits must be everywhere. There are no beginnings and no endings in God,
Whose universe is Himself. Can you exclude yourself from the universe, or from
God Who IS the universe? I and my Father are one with YOU, for you are part of
US. Do you really believe that part of God can be missing or lost to Him?
T 10 B 5. If you were not part of God, His Will would not be unified. Is
this conceivable? Can part of His Mind contain nothing? If your place in His
Mind cannot be filled by anyone EXCEPT you, and your filling it WAS your
creation, WITHOUT you there would be an empty place in God's Mind. Extension
cannot be blocked and it HAS no voids. It continues forever, however much it is
denied. Your denial of its reality arrests it in time, but NOT in eternity.
That is why your creations have not ceased to be extended, and why so much is
waiting for your return.
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T 10 B 6. Waiting is possible ONLY in time, but time has no meaning. You
who made delay can leave time behind simply by recognizing that neither
beginnings nor endings were created by the Eternal, Who placed no limits on His
creation, nor upon those who create like Him. You do not know this simply
because you have tried to limit what HE created, and so you believe that ALL
creation, is limited. How, then, could you know your creations, having DENIED
infinity? The laws of the universe do not permit contradiction. What holds for
God holds for YOU. If you believe YOU are absent from God, you WILL believe
that He is absent from YOU.
T 10 B 7. Infinity is meaningless WITHOUT you, and YOU are meaningless
without God. There IS no end to God and His Son, for we ARE the universe. God
is not incomplete, and He is not childless. Because He did not will to be
alone, He created a Son like Himself. Do not deny Him His Son, for your
unwillingness to accept His Fatherhood has denied you YOURS. See His creations
as HIS Son, for yours were created in honor of Him. The universe of love does
not stop because you do not see it, and your closed eyes have not lost the
ability to see. Look upon the glory of His creation, and you will learn what
God has KEPT for you.
T 10 B 8. God has given you a place in His Mind which is yours forever.
Yet you could keep it only by GIVING it, as it was given YOU. Could YOU be
alone there, if it was given you because God did not will to be alone? God's
Mind cannot BE lessened. It can ONLY be increased, and everything He creates
has the function of creating. Love does not limit, and what it creates is not
limited. To give without limit is God's Will for you because only this can
bring you the joy which is His, and which He wills to SHARE with you. Your love
is as boundless as His because it IS His.
T 10 B 9. Could any part of God be WITHOUT His Love, and could any part
of His Love be contained? God is your heritage because His one gift is Himself.
How can you give except like Him, if you would know His gift to YOU? Give,
then, without limit and without end, to learn how much HE has given YOU. Your
ability to ACCEPT Him depends on your willingness to give as He gives. Your
fatherhood and your Father ARE One. God willed to create, and your will is His.
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It follows, then, that YOU will to create, since your will follows from His.
And being an extension of His Will, yours must be the same.
T 10 B 10. Yet what you will you do not know. This is not strange when
you realize that to deny is to "NOT know." God's Will is that you are His Son.
By denying this you denied your OWN will, and therefore do NOT know what it is.
The reason you must ask what God's Will is in everything is merely because It IS
yours. You do not know what it is, but the Holy Spirit remembers it FOR you.
Ask Him, therefore, what God's Will is for you, and He will tell you YOURS. It
cannot be too often repeated that you do NOT know it. Whenever what the Holy
Spirit tells you appears to be coercive, it is only because you do not RECOGNIZE
your own will.
T 10 B 11. The projection of the ego makes it appear as if God's Will is
OUTSIDE yourself, and therefore NOT yours. In this interpretation, it IS
possible for God's Will and yours to conflict. God, then, may SEEM to demand of
you what you do not want to give, and thus deprive you of what you want. Would
God, Who wants ONLY your will, be capable of this? Your will is His Life, which
He has given to you. Even in time you cannot live apart from Him, for sleep is
not death. What He created can sleep, but it CANNOT die. Immortality is His
Will for His Son, and His Son's will for HIMSELF. God's Son cannot will death
for himself because His Father is Life, and His Son is like Him. Creation is
your will BECAUSE it is His.
T 10 B 12. You cannot be happy unless you do what you will truly, and you
cannot change this because it is immutable. It is immutable by God's Will AND
YOURS, for otherwise His Will would not have been extended. You are afraid to
know God's Will because you believe it is NOT yours. This belief is your whole
sickness and your whole fear. Every symptom of sickness and fear arises here
because this is the belief that makes you WANT not to know. Believing this, you
hide in darkness, denying that the Light is in you.
T 10 B 13. You are asked to trust the Holy Spirit only because He speaks
for YOU. He is the Voice for God, but never forget that God did not will to be
alone. He SHARES His Will with you; He does not thrust It UPON you. Always
remember
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that what He gives He holds, so that nothing He gives can contradict Him. You
who share His Life must share it to know it, for sharing IS knowing. Blessed
are you who learn that to hear the Will of your Father is to know your OWN. For
it is YOUR will to be like Him, Whose Will it is that it be so. God's Will is
that His Son be one, and united with Him in His Oneness. That is why healing is
the beginning of the recognition that your will IS His.
T 10 C. The Willingness for Healing
T 10 C 1. If sickness is separation, the will to heal and be healed is the
first step toward RECOGNIZING what you truly want. Every attack is a step away
from this, and every healing thought brings it closer. The Son of God HAS both
Father and Son because he IS both Father and Son. To unite having and being is
only to unite your will with His, for He wills you Himself. And you will
yourself to Him because, in your perfect understanding of Him, you KNOW there is
but One Will. Yet when you attack any part of God and His Kingdom, your
understanding is not perfect, and what you will is therefore lost to you.
T 10 C 2. Healing thus becomes a lesson in UNDERSTANDING, and the more you
practice it, the better teacher AND LEARNER you become. If you have denied
truth, what better witnesses to its reality could you have than those who have
been healed by it? But be sure to count yourself among them, for in your
willingness to join them is YOUR healing accomplished. Every miracle which you
accomplish speaks to you of the Fatherhood of God. Every healing thought which
you accept, either from your brother or in your own mind, teaches you that you
are God's Son. In every hurtful thought you hold, wherever you perceive it,
lies the denial of God's Fatherhood and your Sonship.
T 10 C 3. And denial is as total as love. You cannot deny part of yourself,
because the remainder will seem to be unintegrated, and therefore without
meaning. And being without meaning to you, you will not understand it. To deny
meaning MUST be to fail to understand. You can heal only yourself, for only
God's Son NEEDS healing. He needs it because he does not understand himself,
and therefore knows not what he does. Having forgotten his will, he does not
know what he wants.
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T 10 C 4. Healing is a sign that he wants TO MAKE WHOLE. And this willingness
opens his OWN ears to the Voice of the Holy Spirit, Whose message IS wholeness.
He will enable you to go far beyond the healing YOU would undertake, for beside
your small willingness to make whole He will lay His Own COMPLETE Will and make
YOURS whole. What can the Son of God NOT accomplish with the Fatherhood of God
in him? And yet the invitation must come from you, for you have surely learned
that whom you invite as your guest WILL abide with you.
T 10 C 5. The Holy Spirit cannot speak to an unwelcoming host because He will
NOT BE HEARD. The Eternal Guest remains, but His Voice grows faint in alien
company. He needs your protection, but only because your care is a sign that
you WANT Him. Think like Him ever so slightly, and the little spark becomes a
blazing light that fills your mind so that He becomes your ONLY Guest. Whenever
you ask the ego to enter, you lessen His welcome. He will remain, but YOU have
allied yourself AGAINST Him. Whatever journey you choose to take, He will go
with you, waiting. You can safely trust His patience, for He cannot leave a
part of God. Yet you need far more than patience.
T 10 C 6. You will never rest until you know your function AND FULFILL IT, for
only in this can your will and your Father's be wholly joined. To HAVE Him is
to be LIKE Him, and He has given Himself to you. You who have God MUST be as
God, for HIS function became YOURS with His gift. Invite this knowledge back
into your minds, and let nothing that will obscure it enter. The Guest Whom God
sent you will teach you how to do this, if you but recognize the little spark
and are willing to LET IT GROW. YOUR willingness need not be perfect because
His IS. If you will merely offer Him a little place, He will lighten it so much
that you will gladly extend it. And by THIS extending, you will begin to
remember creation.
T 10 C 7. Would you be hostage to the ego or host to God? You will accept only
whom YOU invite. You are free to determine who shall be your guest, and how
long he shall remain with you. Yet this is not REAL freedom, for it still
depends on how you see it. The Holy Spirit is THERE although He cannot help you
without your invitation, and the ego is nothing whether you invite it in or not.
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Real freedom depends on welcoming REALITY, and of your guests only He is real.
Know, then, Who abides with you merely by recognizing what is there ALREADY, and
do not be satisfied with imaginary comforters, for the Comforter of God is in
you.
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T 10 D. From Darkness to Light
T 10 D 1. When you are weary, remember you have hurt yourself. Your Comforter
will rest you, but YOU cannot. You do not know HOW, for if you did you could
never have grown weary. Unless you have hurt yourselves you could never suffer
in ANY way, for that is not God's Will for His Son. Pain is not of Him, for He
knows no attack and His peace surrounds you silently. God is very quiet, for
there is no conflict in Him. Conflict is the root of all evil, for being blind
it does not see whom it attacks. Yet it ALWAYS attacks the Son of God, and the
Son of God is YOU.
T 10 D 2. God's Son is indeed in need of comfort, for he knows not what he
does, believing his will is not his own. The Kingdom is his, and yet he wanders
homelessly. At home in God he is lonely, and amid all his brothers he is
friendless. Would God LET this be real if He did not will to be alone Himself?
And if your will is His, it cannot be true of you BECAUSE it is not true of Him.
Oh, my children, if you knew what God wills for you your joy would be complete!
And what He wills HAS happened, for it was ALWAYS true.
T 10 D 3. When the light comes and you have said, "God's Will is mine," you
will see such beauty that you will KNOW it is not of you. Out of your joy you
will create beauty in His name, for YOUR joy could no more be contained than
His. The bleak little world will vanish into nothingness, and your heart will
be so filled with joy that it will leap into Heaven and into the Presence of
God. I cannot tell you what this will be like, for your hearts are not ready.
Yet I CAN tell you, and remind you often, that what God wills for Himself He
wills for YOU, and what He wills for you IS yours.
T 10 D 4. The way is not hard, but it IS very different. Yours is the way of
pain, of which God knows nothing. THAT way is hard indeed, and very lonely.
Fear and grief are your guests, and they go with you and abide with you on the
way. But the dark journey is not the way of God's Son. Walk in light and do
not see the dark companions, for they are not fit companions for the Son of God,
who was created OF Light and IN Light. The Great Light always surrounds you and
shines out FROM you. How can you see the dark companions
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in a Light such as this? If you see THEM it is only because you are DENYING the
Light. But deny THEM instead, for the Light is here and the way is clear.
T 10 D 5. God hides nothing from His Son, even though His Son would hide
himself. Yet the Son of God cannot hide his glory, for God wills him to be
glorious, and gave him the Light that shines in him. You will never lose your
way for God leads you. When you wander you but undertake a journey which is not
real. The dark companions, the dark way, are all illusions. Turn toward the
Light, for the little spark in you is part of a Light so great that It can sweep
you out of all darkness forever. For your Father IS your Creator and you ARE
like Him.
T 10 D 6. The Children of Light cannot abide in darkness, for darkness is not
in them. Do not be deceived by the dark comforters, and never let them enter
the mind of God's Son, for they have no place in His temple. When you are
tempted to deny Him, remember that there ARE no other gods that you can place
before Him, and accept His Will for you in peace. For you CANNOT accept it
otherwise.
T 10 D 7. Only God's Comforter CAN comfort you. In the quiet of His temple, He
waits to give you the peace that is yours. GIVE His peace that you may enter
the temple and find it waiting for you. But be holy in the Presence of God, or
you will not know that you are there. For what is unlike God cannot enter His
Mind because it was not His Thought, and therefore does not belong to Him. And
YOUR minds must be as pure as His, if you would know what belongs to YOU. Guard
carefully His temple, for He Himself dwells there, and abides in peace. You
cannot enter God's Presence with the dark companions beside you, but you also
cannot enter alone.
T 10 D 8. ALL your brothers must enter WITH you, for until you have accepted
them YOU cannot enter. For you cannot understand Wholeness unless YOU are
whole, and no part of the Son can be excluded if he would know the Wholeness of
his Father. In your mind you can accept the whole Sonship, and bless it with
the Light your Father gave it. Then you will be worthy to dwell in the
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temple WITH Him because it is YOUR will not to be alone. God blessed His Son
forever. If you will bless him in time, you will BE in eternity. Time cannot
separate you from God if you use it on BEHALF of the eternal.
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T 10 E. The Inheritance of God's Son
T 10 E 1. Never forget that the Sonship is your salvation for the Sonship is
your Soul. As God's creation it is yours, and belonging to you, it is His.
Your Soul does not need salvation, but your mind needs to learn what salvation
IS. You are not saved FROM anything, but you are saved FOR glory. Glory is
your inheritance, given your Soul by its Creator that you might EXTEND it. Yet
if you hate part of your own Soul ALL your understanding is lost, because you
are looking on what God created as YOURSELF without love. And since what He
created is part of Him, you are denying Him His place in His own altar.
T 10 E 2. Could you try to make God homeless and know that YOU are at home?
Can the Son deny the Father WITHOUT believing that the Father has denied HIM?
God's laws hold only for your protection, and they never hold in vain. What you
experience when you deny your Father is still for your protection, for the power
of your will cannot be lessened without the intervention of God AGAINST it, and
any limitation on your power is not the Will of God. Therefore, look ONLY to
the power that God gave to save you, remembering that it is yours BECAUSE it is
His, and join with your brothers in His peace.
T 10 E 3. The peace of your Soul lies in its limitlessness. Limit the peace
you share, and your own Soul MUST be unknown to you. Every altar to God is part
of your Soul because the Light He created is One with Him. Would you cut off a
brother from the Light that is yours? You would not do so if you realized that
you can only darken your OWN mind. As you bring HIM back, so will YOUR mind
return. That is the law of God, for the protection of the wholeness of His Son.
T 10 E 4. ONLY YOU CAN DEPRIVE YOURSELF OF ANYTHING. Do not oppose this
realization, for it is truly the beginning of the dawn of light. Remember also
that the denial of this simple fact takes many forms, and these you must learn
to recognize, and to oppose steadfastly and WITHOUT EXCEPTION. This is a
crucial step in the re-awakening. The beginning phases of this reversal are
often quite painful, for as blame is withdrawn from without
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there is a strong tendency to harbor it within. It is difficult, at first, to
realize that this is EXACTLY the same thing, for there IS no distinction between
within and without.
T 10 E 5. If your brothers are part of you and you blame THEM for your
deprivation, you ARE blaming yourself. And you cannot blame yourself WITHOUT
blaming them. That is why blame must be undone, NOT re-allocated. Lay it to
yourself and you cannot KNOW yourself, for ONLY the ego blames at all.
Self-blame is therefore ego identification, and as strong an ego defense as
blaming others. YOU CANNOT ENTER GOD'S PRESENCE IF YOU ATTACK HIS SON. When
His Son lifts his voice in praise of his Creator, he WILL hear the Voice of his
Father. Yet the Creator cannot be praised WITHOUT His Son, for their glory is
shared, and they are glorified together.
T 10 E 6. Christ is at God's altar, waiting to welcome His Son. But come
wholly without condemnation, for otherwise you will believe that the door is
barred and you cannot enter. The door is NOT barred, and it is impossible for
you to be unable to enter the place where God would have you be. But love
yourself with the Love of Christ, for so does your Father love you. You can
REFUSE to enter, but you CANNOT bar the door which Christ holds open. Come unto
me who holds it open FOR you, for while I live it cannot be shut, and I live
forever. God is my life AND YOURS, and nothing is denied by God to His Son.
T 10 E 7. At God's altar Christ waits for the restoration of Himself in YOU.
God knows His Son as wholly blameless as Himself, and He is approached through
the appreciation of His Son. Christ waits for your acceptance of Him as
YOURSELF, and of His Wholeness as YOURS. For Christ is the Son of God Who lives
in His Creator and shines with His glory. Christ is the extension of the Love
and the Loveliness of God, as perfect as his Creator, and at peace with Him.
T 10 E 8. Blessed is the Son of God, whose radiance is of his Father, and whose
glory he wills to share as his Father shares it with him. There is no
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condemnation in the Son for there is no condemnation in the Father. Sharing the
perfect Love of the Father the Son must share what belongs to Him, for otherwise
he will not know the Father OR the Son. Peace be unto you who rest in God and
in whom the whole Sonship rests.
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T 10 F. The "Dynamics" of the Ego
T 10 F 1. No one can escape from illusions unless he looks at them, for NOT
looking is the way they are PROTECTED. There is no need to shrink from
illusions, for they cannot be dangerous. We are ready to look more closely at
the ego's thought system because, together, we have the lamp that will dispel
it, and since you realize you do not WANT it YOU must be ready. Let us be very
calm in doing this, for we are merely looking honestly for truth. The
"dynamics" of the ego will be our lesson for a while, for we must look first at
this to look beyond it since you HAVE made it real. We will UNDO this error
quietly together, and then look beyond it to truth.
T 10 F 2. What is healing but the removal of all that STANDS IN THE WAY of
knowledge? And how else can one dispel illusions EXCEPT by looking at them
directly, WITHOUT protecting them? Be not afraid, therefore, for what you will
be looking at IS the source of fear, but you have surely learned by now that
FEAR is not real. We have accepted the fact already that its EFFECTS can be
dispelled merely by denying their reality. The next step is obviously to
recognize that what has no effects DOES NOT EXIST. Laws do not operate in a
vacuum, and what leads to nothing HAS NOT HAPPENED. If reality is recognized by
its EXTENSION, what extends to nothing cannot BE real.
T 10 F 3. Do not be afraid, then, to look upon fear, for it cannot BE seen.
Clarity undoes confusion by definition, and to look upon darkness through light
MUST dispel it. Let us begin this lesson in "ego dynamics" by understanding
that the term itself does not mean anything. In fact, it contains exactly the
contradiction in terms which MAKES it meaningless. "Dynamics" implies the power
to DO something, and the whole separation FALLACY lies in the belief that the
ego has the power to do ANYTHING. The ego is fearful to you BECAUSE you believe
this. Yet the truth is very simple; ALL POWER IS OF GOD. What is NOT of Him
has no power to do ANYTHING.
T 10 F 4. When we look at the ego, then, we are not considering dynamics, but
delusions. We can surely regard a delusional system without fear, for it cannot
have any effects if its source is not true. Fear becomes more obviously
inappropriate if one recognizes the ego's GOAL, which is so clearly
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senseless that any effort exerted on its behalf is NECESSARILY expended on
nothing. The ego's goal is quite explicitly ego AUTONOMY. From the beginning,
then, its PURPOSE is to be separate, sufficient unto itself, and independent of
any power EXCEPT its own. This is WHY it is the symbol of separation.
T 10 F 5. Every idea has a purpose, and its purpose is always the natural
extension of what it IS. Everything that stems from the ego is the natural
outcome of its central belief, and the way to undo its RESULTS is merely to
recognize that their SOURCE is not natural, being out of accord with your TRUE
nature. We once said that to will contrary to God is wishful thinking, and not
real willing. His Will is One because the extension of His Will cannot be
unlike Itself. The real conflict you experience, then, is between the ego's
idle wishes and the Will of God, Which you share. Can this BE a real conflict?
T 10 F 6. Yours is the independence of creation, NOT of autonomy. Your whole
creative function lies in your complete DEPENDENCE on God, Whose function He
shares with YOU. By HIS willingness to share it, He became as dependent on you
as you are on HIM. Do not ascribe the ego's arrogance to Him Who wills not to
be independent of YOU. He has INCLUDED you in His Autonomy. Can YOU believe
that autonomy is meaningful APART from Him? The belief in EGO autonomy is
costing you the knowledge of your dependence on God IN WHICH YOUR FREEDOM LIES.
The ego sees ALL dependency as threatening, and has twisted even your longing
for God into a means of establishing ITSELF. But do not be deceived by ITS
interpretation of your conflict.
T 10 F 7. The ego ALWAYS attacks on behalf of separation. Believing it has the
power to do this it does nothing else, because its goal of autonomy IS nothing
else. The ego is totally confused about reality, but it does NOT lose sight of
its goal. It is much more vigilant than YOU are because it is perfectly certain
of its purpose. YOU are confused because you do NOT know YOURS.
T 10 F 8. What you must learn to recognize is that the LAST thing the ego
wishes you to realize is that YOU ARE AFRAID OF IT. For if the ego gives
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rise to fear it is DIMINISHING your independence and WEAKENING your power. Yet
its one claim to your allegiance is that it can GIVE power to you. Without this
belief you would not listen to it at all. How, then, can its existence continue
if you realize that, BY accepting it, you ARE belittling yourself and DEPRIVING
yourself of power?
T 10 F 9. The ego can and does allow you to regard yourself as supercilious,
unbelieving, "lighthearted," distant, emotionally shallow, callous, uninvolved,
and even desperate, but NOT REALLY AFRAID. MINIMIZING fear, but NOT its
undoing, is the ego's constant effort, and is indeed the skill at which it is
very ingenious. How can it preach separation WITHOUT upholding it through fear,
and would you listen to it if you recognized this IS what it is doing?
T 10 F 10. YOUR recognition that whatever seems to separate you from God
is ONLY fear, regardless of the form it takes and quite apart from how the EGO
wants you to experience it, is therefore the basic ego threat. Its dream of
autonomy is shaken to its foundation by this awareness. For though you may
countenance a false idea of independence, you will NOT accept the cost of fear
IF YOU RECOGNIZE IT. Yet this IS the cost, and the ego CANNOT minimize it. For
if you overlook love you are overlooking YOURSELF, and you MUST fear unreality
BECAUSE you have denied yourself. By believing that you have successfully
ATTACKED truth, you are believing that attack has POWER. Very simply, then, you
have become afraid of YOURSELF. And no one wills to learn what he believes
would destroy him.
T 10 F 11. If the ego's goal of autonomy could be accomplished God's
purpose could be defeated, and this IS impossible. Only by learning what fear
IS can you finally learn to distinguish the possible from the impossible and the
false from the true. According to the ego's teaching, ITS goal can be
accomplished, and God's purpose can NOT. According to the Holy Spirit's
teaching, ONLY God's purpose is (capable of?) [T81] accomplishment, and it is
ALREADY accomplished.
T 10 F 12. God is as dependent on you as you are on Him because His
autonomy
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ENCOMPASSES yours, and is therefore incomplete WITHOUT it. You can only
establish your autonomy by identifying WITH Him, and fulfilling your function AS
IT EXISTS IN TRUTH. The ego believes that to accomplish ITS goal is happiness.
But it is given YOU to know that God's function IS yours, and happiness cannot
be found apart from your JOINT will. Recognize only that the ego's goal, which
you have pursued quite diligently, has merely brought you FEAR, and it becomes
difficult to maintain that fear IS happiness.
T 10 F 13. UPHELD by fear, this IS what the ego would have you believe.
Yet God's Son is not insane, and CANNOT believe it. Let him but RECOGNIZE it,
and he will NOT accept it. For only the insane would choose fear IN PLACE of
love, and only the insane could believe that love can be gained by attack. But
the sane know that only attack could produce FEAR, from which the Love of God
completely protects them.
T 10 F 14. The ego analyzes; the Holy Spirit ACCEPTS. The appreciation of
wholeness comes ONLY through acceptance, for to analyze means to separate out.
The attempt to understand totality by breaking it up is clearly the
characteristically contradictory approach of the ego to everything. Never
forget that the ego believes that power, understanding and TRUTH lie in
separation, and to ESTABLISH this belief it MUST attack. Unaware that the
belief cannot BE established, and obsessed with the conviction that separation
IS salvation, the ego attacks everything it perceives by breaking it up into
small and disconnected parts, without meaningful relationships, and thus without
meaning. The ego will ALWAYS substitute chaos for meaning, for if separation is
salvation, harmony is threat.
T 10 F 15. The ego's interpretations [T82] of the laws of perception are,
and would HAVE to be, the exact opposite of the Holy Spirit's. The ego focuses
on ERROR, and overlooks TRUTH. It makes real EVERY mistake it perceives, and
with characteristically circular reasoning concludes that BECAUSE of the
mistake, consistent truth must be meaningless. The next step, then, is
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obvious. If consistent truth is meaningless, INCONSISTENCY must be true if
truth has meaning. Holding error clearly in mind, and protecting what it has
made real, the ego proceeds to the next step in its thought system; that error
is real and TRUTH IS ERROR.
T 10 F 16. The ego makes no attempt to understand this, and it is clearly
NOT understandable, but the ego does make EVERY attempt to DEMONSTRATE it, and
this it does constantly. Analyzing to attack meaning, the ego DOES succeed in
overlooking it, and is left with a series of fragmented perceptions which it
unifies on behalf of ITSELF. This, then, becomes the universe it perceives.
And it is this universe which, in turn, becomes its demonstration of its own
reality.
T 10 F 17. Do not underestimate the appeal of the ego's demonstrations to
those who would listen. Selective perception chooses its witnesses carefully,
and its witnesses ARE consistent. The case for insanity IS strong to the
insane. For reasoning ends at its beginning, and no thought system transcends
its source. Yet reasoning without meaning CANNOT demonstrate anything, and
those who are convinced by it MUST be deluded. Can the ego teach truly when it
OVERLOOKS truth? Can it perceive what it has DENIED? Its witnesses DO attest
to its denial, but hardly to what it has denied! The ego looks straight at the
Father and does not see Him, for it has denied His Son.
T 10 F 18. Would YOU remember the Father? Accept His Son and you WILL
remember Him. Nothing can demonstrate that His Son is unworthy, for nothing can
prove that a lie is true. What you see of His Son through the eyes of the ego
is a demonstration that His Son does not exist, yet where the Son is, [T83] the
Father MUST be. Accept what God does NOT deny, and HE will demonstrate its
truth. The witnesses for God stand in His Light and behold what HE created.
Their silence is the sign that they have beheld God's Son, and in the Presence
of Christ they need demonstrate nothing, for Christ speaks to them of Himself
and of His Father. They are silent because Christ speaks to them, and it is His
words that THEY speak.
T 10 F 19. Every brother you meet becomes a witness for Christ or for the
ego,
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depending on what you perceive in him. Everyone convinces you of what you WANT
to perceive, and of the reality of the kingdom you have chosen for your
vigilance. Everything you perceive is a witness to the thought system you WANT
to be true. Every brother has the power to release you IF YOU WILL TO BE FREE.
You cannot accept false witness of HIM unless you have evoked [T84] false
witnesses AGAINST him. If HE speaks not of Christ to you, YOU spoke not of
Christ to him. You hear but your OWN voice, and if Christ speaks THROUGH you,
YOU will hear Him.
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T 10 G. Experience and Perception
T 10 G 1. It is impossible not to believe what you see, but it is equally
impossible to see what you do NOT believe. Perceptions are built up on the
basis of experience, and experience leads to beliefs. It is not until beliefs
are fixed that perceptions stabilize. In effect, then, what you believe you DO
see. That is what I meant when I said, "Blessed are ye who have not seen and
still believe," for those who believe in the resurrection WILL see it. The
resurrection is the complete triumph of Christ over the ego, not by attack, but
by transcendence. For Christ DOES rise above the ego and all its works, and
ascends to the Father and HIS Kingdom.
T 10 G 2. Would you join in the resurrection or the crucifixion? Would you
condemn your brothers or free them? Would you transcend YOUR prison and ascend
to the Father? For these questions are all the same, and are answered together.
There has been much confusion about what perception means, because the same
word is used both for awareness and for the INTERPRETATION of awareness. Yet
you cannot BE aware without interpretation, and what you perceive IS your
interpretation. This course is perfectly clear. You do not see it clearly
because you are interpreting AGAINST it, and therefore do not BELIEVE it. And
if belief determines perception, you do NOT perceive what it means and therefore
do not ACCEPT it.
3. Yet different experiences lead to different beliefs, and with them
different perceptions. For perceptions are learned WITH beliefs [T85], and
experience teaches. I am leading you to a new kind of experience which you will
become less and less willing to deny. Learning of Christ is easy, for to
perceive with Him involves no strain at all. HIS perceptions are your NATURAL
awareness, and it is only distortions which YOU introduce that tire you. Let
the Christ in you interpret FOR you, and do not try to limit what you see by
narrow little beliefs which are unworthy of God's Son. For until Christ comes
into His Own, the Son of God WILL see himself as fatherless.
T 10 G 4. I am YOUR resurrection and YOUR life. You live in me because you
live in God. And everyone lives in YOU, as YOU live in everyone. Can you,
then, perceive unworthiness in a brother and NOT perceive it in yourself? And
can you perceive it in yourself and NOT perceive it in God? Believe in
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the resurrection because it has BEEN accomplished, and it has been accomplished
IN YOU. This is as true now as it will ever be, for the resurrection is the
Will of God, Which knows no time and no exceptions. But make no exceptions
yourself, or you will not perceive what has been accomplished FOR you. For we
ascend unto the Father together, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever
shall be, for such is the nature of God's Son as His Father created him.
T 10 G 5. Do not underestimate the power of the devotion of God's Son, nor the
power of the god he worships over him. For he places HIMSELF at the altar of
his god, whether it be the god he made or the God Who created him. That is why
his slavery is as complete as his freedom, for he will obey ONLY the god he
accepts. The god of the crucifixion demands that he crucify, and his
worshippers obey. In his name they crucify THEMSELVES, believing that the power
of the Son of God is born of sacrifice and pain. The God of the resurrection
demands NOTHING, for He does not will to take away. He does not require
obedience, for obedience implies submission. He would only have you learn your
OWN will and follow it, not in the spirit of sacrifice and submission, but in
the gladness of freedom.
T 10 G 6. Resurrection must compel your allegiance gladly because it is the
symbol of joy. Its whole compelling power lies in the fact that it represents
what YOU want to be. The freedom to leave behind everything that hurts you and
humbles you and frightens you cannot be thrust upon you, but it CAN be offered
you through the grace of God. And you can ACCEPT it by His grace, for God IS
gracious to His Son, accepting him without question as His Own. Who, then, is
YOUR own? The Father has given you all that is His, and He Himself is yours
WITH them. Guard them in their resurrection, for otherwise you will not awake
in God, safely surrounded by what is yours forever.
T 10 G 7. You will not find peace until you have removed the nails from the
hands of God's Son and taken the last thorn from his forehead. The Love of God
surrounds His Son whom the god of the crucifixion condemns. Teach not that I
died in vain. Teach rather that I did NOT die by demonstrating that I live IN
YOU. For the UNDOING of the crucifixion of God's Son is the work
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of the redemption, in which everyone has a part of equal value. God does not
judge His blameless Son. Having given HIMSELF to him, how could it be
otherwise?
T 10 G 8. You have nailed YOURSELF to a cross and placed a crown of thorns upon
your OWN head. Yet you CANNOT crucify God's Son, for the Will of God cannot
die. His Son HAS BEEN redeemed from his own crucifixion, and you cannot assign
to death whom God has given eternal life. The dream of crucifixion still lies
heavy on your eyes, but what you see in dreams is not reality. While you
perceive the Son of God as crucified you are asleep. And as long as you believe
that YOU can crucify him you are only having nightmares. You who are beginning
to wake are still aware of dreams and have not yet forgotten them. The
forgetting of dreams and the awareness of Christ comes with the awakening of
others to SHARE your redemption.
T 10 G 9. You will awaken to your OWN call, for the Call to awake is WITHIN
you. If I live in you, you ARE awake. Yet you must see the works I do through
you, or you will not perceive that I have done them UNTO you. Do not set limits
on what you believe I can do through you, or you will not accept what I can do
FOR you. For it is done ALREADY, and unless you give all that you have
received, you will not know that your Redeemer liveth and that YOU have awakened
WITH Him. Redemption is recognized ONLY by sharing it.
T 10 G 10. God's Son IS saved. Bring only THIS awareness to the Sonship,
and you will have a part in the redemption as valuable as mine. For your part
must be LIKE mine if you learn it of me. If you believe that YOURS is limited,
YOU are limiting MINE. There is no order of difficulty in miracles because all
of God's Sons are of equal value, and their equality is their Oneness. The
whole power of God is in every part of Him, and nothing contradictory to His
Will is either great or small. What does not exist has NO size and NO measure.
To God ALL things are possible. And to Christ it is given to be LIKE the
Father.
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T 10 H. The Problem and the Answer
T 10 H 1. The world as YOU perceive it cannot have been created by the Father,
for the world is NOT as you see it. God created ONLY the eternal, and
everything you see is perishable. Therefore, there must be another world which
you do NOT see. The Bible speaks of a NEW Heaven and a NEW earth, yet this
cannot be literally true, for the eternal are not RE-created. To perceive ANEW
is merely to perceive AGAIN, implying that before, or in the interval, you were
not perceiving AT ALL. What, then, is the world that awaits your perception
when you SEE it?
T 10 H 2. Every loving thought that the Son of God ever had is eternal. Those
which his mind perceived in this world are the world's ONLY reality. They are
still perceptions because he still believes that he is separate. Yet they are
eternal because they are loving. And being loving, they are like the Father,
and therefore cannot die. The real world can ACTUALLY BE PERCEIVED. All that
is necessary is a willingness to perceive nothing ELSE. For if you perceive
both good AND evil, you are accepting both the false AND the true AND MAKING NO
DISTINCTION BETWEEN THEM.
T 10 H 3. The ego sees SOME good, but never ONLY good. That is why its
perceptions are so variable. It does not reject goodness entirely for that you
could not accept, but it always adds something that is NOT real to the real,
THUS CONFUSING ILLUSION AND REALITY. For perceptions cannot be partly true. If
you believe in truth AND illusion you cannot tell WHICH is true. To establish
your PERSONAL autonomy you tried to create unlike your Father, believing what
you made to be capable of BEING unlike Him. Yet everything in what you have
made that IS true IS like Him. Only this is the real world, and perceiving ONLY
this will lead you to the real Heaven because it will make you capable of
UNDERSTANDING it.
T 10 H 4. The perception of goodness is not knowledge, but the denial of the
OPPOSITE of goodness enables you to perceive a condition in which opposites do
not exist. And this IS the condition of knowledge. WITHOUT this awareness you
have not met its conditions, and until you do you will not know that it is yours
already. You have made many ideas which you have placed between
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yourselves and your Creator, and these beliefs are the world as you perceive it.
Truth is not absent here, but it IS obscure. You do not know the difference
between what you have made and what God created, and so you do not know the
difference between what you have made and what YOU have created.
T 10 H 5. To believe that you can perceive the real world is to believe that
you can know yourself. You can know God because it is His Will to BE known.
The real world is all that the Holy Spirit has saved for you out of what you
have made, and to perceive only this is salvation because it is the recognition
that reality is ONLY what is true. This is a very simple course. Perhaps you
do not feel that a course which, in the end, teaches nothing more than that only
reality is true is necessary. BUT DO YOU BELIEVE IT? When you have perceived
the real world, you will recognize that you did NOT believe it. Yet the
swiftness with which your new and ONLY real perception will be translated into
knowledge will leave you only an instant to realize that this judgment is true.
T 10 H 6. And then everything you made will be forgotten, the good and the bad,
the false and the true. For as Heaven and earth become one, even the real world
will vanish from your sight. The end of the world is not its destruction but
its TRANSLATION into Heaven. The re-interpretation of the world is the transfer
of ALL perception to knowledge. The Bible tells you to become as little
children. Little children recognize that they do not understand what they
perceive, and so they ASK what it means. Do not make the mistake of believing
that YOU understand what you perceive, for its meaning is lost to you. Yet the
Holy Spirit has saved its meaning FOR you, and if you will LET Him interpret it
for you, He will restore what you have thrown away. As long as you think YOU
know its meaning, you will see no need to ask it of Him.
T 10 H 7. You do not know the meaning of ANYTHING you perceive. NOT ONE
THOUGHT YOU HOLD IS WHOLLY TRUE. The recognition of this is your firm
beginning. You are not misguided; you have accepted no guide at all.
Instruction in perception is your great need, for you understand nothing.
Recognize this but
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do not ACCEPT it, for understanding is your inheritance. Perceptions are
learned, and you are not without a Teacher. Yet your willingness to learn of
Him depends on your willingness to question EVERYTHING you have learned of
yourself, for you who have learned amiss should not be your own teachers.
T 10 H 8. No one can withhold truth except from himself. Yet God will not
refuse the answer He GAVE you. Ask, then, for what is yours but which you did
not make, and do not defend yourself AGAINST truth. YOU made the problem which
God has answered. Ask yourselves, therefore, but one simple question: [T86]
"Do I want the problem or do I want the answer?"
Decide for the answer and you will have it, for you will see it as it is, and it
is yours already.
T 10 H 9. You complain that this course is not sufficiently specific for you to
understand it and USE it. Yet it has been VERY specific, and you have NOT done
what it specifically advocates. This is not a course in the play of ideas, but
in their PRACTICAL APPLICATION. Nothing could be more specific than to be told
very clearly that if you ask you WILL receive. 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.
Realize that you are AFRAID of His specificity, for fear of what you think it
will DEMAND of you. Yet only by asking will you learn that nothing that is of
God demands ANYTHING of you. God GIVES; He does NOT take.
T 10 H 10. You are refusing to ask because you believe that asking is
TAKING, and you do NOT perceive it as sharing. The Holy Spirit will give you
only what is yours, and will take NOTHING in return. For what is yours IS
everything, and you share it with God. This IS its reality. Would the Holy
Spirit, Who wills only to RESTORE, be capable of misinterpreting the question
you must ask to learn His answer?
T 10 H 11. You HAVE heard the answer, but you have misunderstood the
QUESTION. You have believed that to ask for guidance of the Holy Spirit is to
ask for DEPRIVATION. Little children of God, you do not understand your Father.
You believe in a world that takes because you believe that you can GET by
taking.
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And BY that perception you have lost sight of the real world. You are afraid of
the world as YOU see it, but the real world is still yours for the asking. Do
not deny it to yourself, for it can ONLY free you. Nothing of God will enslave
His Son, whom He created free and whose freedom is protected by His Being.
T 10 H 12. Blessed are you who will ask the truth of God without fear, for
only thus can you learn that His answer IS the release from fear. Beautiful
Child of God, you are asking only for what I promised you. Do you believe I
would deceive you? The Kingdom of Heaven IS within you. Believe that the truth
is in me, for I KNOW that it is in YOU. God's Sons have nothing which they do
not share. Ask for truth of any Son of God, and you have asked it of me. No
one of us but has the answer in him, to give to anyone who asks it of him. Ask
anything of God's Son and His Father will answer you, for Christ is not deceived
in His Father and His Father is not deceived in Him.
T 10 H 13. Do not, then, be deceived in your brother, and see only his
loving thoughts as his reality, for by denying that HIS mind is split you will
heal YOURS. Accept him as his Father accepts him and heal him unto Christ, for
Christ is his healing AND yours. Christ is the Son of God Who is in no way
separate from His Father, Whose EVERY thought is as loving as the Thought of His
Father by which He was created. Be not deceived in God's Son, for thereby you
MUST be deceived in yourself. And being deceived in yourself you ARE deceived
in your Father, in Whom no deceit is possible.
T 10 H 14. In the real world there is no sickness, for there is no
separation and no division. Only loving thoughts are recognized, and because no
one is WITHOUT your help the Help of God goes with YOU everywhere. As you
become willing to ACCEPT this Help by ASKING for it, you will give it because
you WANT it. Nothing will be beyond your healing power because nothing will be
denied your simple request. What problems will not disappear in the presence of
God’s Answer? Ask, then, to learn of the reality of your brother because this
is what you WILL perceive in him, and you will see YOUR beauty reflected in him.
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T 10 H 15. Do not accept your brother's variable perception of himself,
for his split mind is yours, and you will not accept YOUR healing without his.
For you share the real world as you share Heaven, and his healing IS yours. To
love yourself is to HEAL yourself, and you cannot perceive part of you as sick
and achieve your OWN goal. Brother, we heal together as we live together and
love together. Be not deceived in God's Son, for he is one with himself and One
with his Father. Love him who is beloved of His Father, and you will learn of
the Father's Love for YOU.
T 10 H 16. If you perceive offense in a brother pluck the offense from
your mind, for you are offended by Christ, and are deceived in Him. HEAL in
Christ and be not offended by Him, for there IS no offense in Him. If what you
perceive offends you, you are offended in YOURSELF and are condemning God's Son
whom God condemneth not. Let the Holy Spirit remove ALL offense of God's Son
against himself and perceive no one but through His guidance, for He would save
you from ALL condemnation. Accept His healing power and use it for all He sends
you, for He wills to heal the Son of God in whom He is not deceived.
T 10 H 17. Children perceive terrifying ghosts and monsters and dragons
and they are terrified. Yet if they ask someone they trust for the REAL meaning
of what they perceive, and are willing to let their interpretations go in FAVOR
of reality, their fear goes with them. When a child is helped to translate his
"ghost" into a curtain, his "monster" into a shadow and his "dragon" into a
dream he is no longer afraid, and laughs happily at his own fear. You, my
children, are afraid of your brothers and of your Father and of YOURSELVES. But
you are merely DECEIVED in them.
T 10 H 18. Ask what they ARE of the Teacher of Reality, and hearing His
answer, you too will laugh at your fears and replace them with peace. For fear
lies not in reality, but in the minds of children who do not understand reality.
It is only their LACK of understanding which frightens them, and when they
learn to perceive truly they are not afraid. And because of this they will
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ask for truth again when they are frightened. It is not the REALITY of your
brothers or your Father or yourself which frightens you. You do not know what
they ARE, and so you perceive them as ghosts and monsters and dragons. ASK of
their reality from the One Who knows it, and He will TELL you what they are.
For you do not understand them, and because you are deceived by what you see,
you NEED reality to dispel your fears.
T 10 H 19. Would you not exchange your fears for truth if the exchange is
yours for the asking? For if God is not deceived in you, you can be deceived
only in YOURSELF. Yet you can learn the truth of yourself of the Holy Spirit,
Who will teach you that, as part of God, deceit in YOU is impossible. When you
perceive yourself without deceit, you will accept the real world in place of the
false one you have made. And then your Father will lean down to you and take
the last step for you by raising you unto Himself.
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Chapter XI 11 - GOD'S PLAN FOR SALVATION
T 11 A. Introduction
T 11 A 1. You have been told not to make error real, and the way to do this is
very simple. If you WANT to believe in error, you would HAVE to make it real,
because it is not true. But truth is real in its own right, and to believe in
truth, YOU DO NOT HAVE TO DO ANYTHING. Understand that you do not respond to
stimuli, but to stimuli AS YOU INTERPRET THEM. Your interpretation thus becomes
the justification for the response. That is why analyzing the motives of others
is hazardous to YOU. If you decide that someone is really trying to attack you
or desert you or enslave you, you will respond AS IF he had actually done so,
because you have made his error REAL to you. To interpret error is to give it
power, and having done this, you WILL overlook truth.
T 11 A 2. The analysis of ego-motivation is very complicated, very obscuring,
and NEVER without the risk of your own ego-involvement. The whole process
represents a clear-cut attempt to demonstrate your OWN ability to understand
what you perceive. This is shown by the fact that you react to your
interpretations AS IF they were correct, and control your reactions
behaviorally, but not emotionally. This is quite evidently a mental split, in
which you have attacked the integrity of your mind, and pitted one level within
it against another.
T 11 B. The Judgment of the Holy Spirit
T 11 B 1. There is but one interpretation of all motivation that makes any
sense. And because it is the Holy Spirit's judgment, it requires no effort at
all on your part. Every loving thought is true. Everything else is an appeal
for healing and help. That is what it is, regardless of the form it takes. Can
anyone be justified in responding with anger to a plea for help? No response
can be appropriate except the willingness to give it to him, for this and ONLY
this is what he is asking for. Offer him anything else, and you are assuming
the right to attack his reality by interpreting it as YOU see fit.
T 11 B 2. Perhaps the danger of this to your own mind is not yet fully apparent
to you, but this by no means signifies that it is not perfectly clear. If
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you maintain that an appeal for help is something else you will REACT to
something else, and your response will be inappropriate to reality as IT is, but
NOT to your perception of it. This is poor reality testing by definition.
There is nothing to prevent you from recognizing ALL calls for help as exactly
what they are except your own perceived NEED to attack. It is only THIS that
makes you willing to engage in endless "battles" with reality, in which you DENY
the reality of the need for healing by making IT unreal. You would not do this
except for your UNWILLINGNESS to perceive reality, which you withhold from
YOURSELF.
T 11 B 3. It is surely good advice to tell you not to judge what you do not
understand. No one with a personal investment is a reliable witness, for truth
to him has become what he WANTS it to be. If you are unwilling to perceive an
appeal for help as what it IS, it is because you are unwilling to GIVE help AND
TO RECEIVE IT. The analysis of the ego's "real" motivation is the modern
equivalent of the inquisition, for in both a brother's errors are "uncovered"
and he is then attacked FOR HIS OWN GOOD. What can this be BUT projection? For
HIS errors lay in the minds of his interpreters, for which they punished HIM.
T 11 B 4. Whenever you fail to recognize a call for help you are REFUSING help.
Would you maintain that you do not NEED it? Yet this IS what you are
maintaining when you refuse to recognize a brother's appeal, for only by
ANSWERING his appeal can YOU be helped. Deny him your help and you will not
perceive God’s Answer to YOU. The Holy Spirit does not need your help in
interpreting motivation, but you DO need HIS. Only APPRECIATION is an
appropriate response to your brother. Gratitude is due him for both his loving
thoughts and his appeals for help, for both are capable of bringing love into
YOUR awareness if you perceive them truly. And ALL your sense of strain comes
from your attempts NOT to do just this.
T 11 B 5. How simple, then, is God's plan for salvation. There is but ONE
response to reality, for reality evokes no conflict at all. There is but ONE
Teacher of reality, Who understands what it IS. He does not change His Mind
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about reality because REALITY does not change. Although YOUR interpretations of
reality are meaningless in your divided state, His remain consistently true. He
GIVES them to you because they are FOR you. Do not attempt to "help" a brother
in YOUR way, for you cannot help yourselves. But hear his call for the help of
God, and you will recognize your OWN need for the Father.
T 11 B 6. Your interpretations of your brother's need is your interpretation of
YOURS. By GIVING help you are ASKING for it, and if you perceive but one need
in yourself you WILL be healed. For you will recognize God’s Answer as you want
it to be, and if you want it in truth it will be truly yours. Every appeal you
answer in the Name of Christ brings the remembrance of your Father closer to
YOUR awareness. For the sake of YOUR need, then, hear every call for help as
what it is, so God can answer YOU.
T 11 B 7. By applying the Holy Spirit's interpretation of the reactions of
others more and more consistently, you will gain an increasing awareness that
HIS criteria are equally applicable to YOU. For to RECOGNIZE fear is not enough
to escape from it, although the recognition is necessary to demonstrate the need
for escape. The Holy Spirit must still TRANSLATE it into truth. If you were
LEFT with the fear, having recognized it, you would have taken a step AWAY from
reality, not TOWARD it. Yet we have repeatedly emphasized the need to recognize
fear and face it WITHOUT disguise as a crucial step in the undoing of the ego.
Consider how well the Holy Spirit's interpretation of the motives of others will
serve you then.
T 11 B 8. Having taught you to accept only loving thoughts in others and to
regard everything else as an appeal for help, He has taught you that FEAR is an
appeal for help. This is what recognizing it REALLY means. If you do not
PROTECT it, HE will re-interpret it. That is the ultimate value TO YOU in
learning to perceive attack as a call for love. We have learned surely that
fear and attack are inevitably associated. If ONLY attack produces fear, and if
you see attack as the call for help that it IS, the unreality of fear MUST dawn
upon you. For fear IS a call for love, in unconscious recognition of what has
been denied.
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T 11 C. The Mechanism of Miracles
T 11 C 1. Fear is a symptom of your deep sense of loss. If when you perceive
it in others you learn to SUPPLY the loss, the basic CAUSE of fear is removed.
Thereby you teach yourself that fear does not exist IN YOU, for you have IN
YOURSELF the means for removing it, and have demonstrated this by GIVING it.
Fear and love are the only emotions of which you are capable. One is false for
it was made out of denial, and denial depends on the real belief in what is
denied for its OWN existence.
T 11 C 2. By interpreting fear correctly AS A POSITIVE AFFIRMATION OF THE
UNDERLYING BELIEF IT MASKS, you are undermining its perceived usefulness by
rendering it useless. Defenses which do not work at all are AUTOMATICALLY
discarded. If you raise what fear conceals to CLEAR-CUT, UNEQUIVOCAL
PREDOMINANCE, fear becomes meaningless. You have denied its power to conceal
love, which was its only purpose. The mask which YOU have drawn across the face
of love has disappeared.
T 11 C 3. If you would look upon love, which IS the world's reality, how could
you do better than to recognize, in every defense AGAINST it, the underlying
appeal FOR it? And how could you better learn of its reality than by answering
the appeal for it by GIVING it? The Holy Spirit's interpretation of fear DOES
dispel it, for the AWARENESS of truth cannot BE denied. Thus does the Holy
Spirit replace fear with love and translate error into truth. And thus will YOU
learn of Him how to replace your dream of separation with the fact of unity.
For the separation is only the DENIAL of union, and correctly interpreted,
attests to your eternal knowledge that union is true.
T 11 C 4. Miracles are merely the translation of denial into truth. If to love
oneself is to HEAL oneself, those who are sick do NOT love themselves.
Therefore, they are asking for the love that would heal them, but which they are
denying to themselves. If they knew the truth about themselves they could not
BE sick. The task of the miracle-worker thus becomes TO DENY THE DENIAL OF
TRUTH. The sick must heal THEMSELVES, for the truth is in them. Yet, having
OBSCURED it, the light in ANOTHER mind must shine into theirs because that light
IS theirs.
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T 11 C 5. The light in them shines as brightly REGARDLESS of the density
of the fog that obscures it. If YOU give no power to the fog to obscure the
light it HAS none, for it has power only because the Son of God gave power to
it. He must HIMSELF withdraw that power, remembering that ALL power is of God.
YOU CAN REMEMBER THIS FOR ALL THE SONSHIP. Do not allow your brother not to
remember, for his forgetfulness is YOURS. But YOUR remembering is HIS, for God
cannot be remembered alone. THIS IS WHAT YOU HAVE FORGOTTEN. To perceive the
healing of your brother as the healing of yourself is thus the way to remember
God. For you forgot your brothers WITH Him, and God’s Answer to your forgetting
is but the way to remember.
T 11 C 6. Perceive in sickness but another call for love, and offer your
brother what he believes he cannot offer himself. Whatever the sickness, there
is but ONE remedy. You will be made whole as you MAKE whole, for to perceive in
sickness the appeal for health is to recognize in hatred the call for love. And
to give a brother what he REALLY wants is to offer it unto yourself, for your
Father wills you to know your brother AS yourself. Answer HIS call for love and
YOURS is answered. Healing is the love of Christ for His Father and for
HIMSELF.
T 11 C 7. Remember what we said about the frightening perceptions of little
children, which terrify them because they do not understand them. If they ask
for enlightenment and ACCEPT it their fears vanish, but if they HIDE their
nightmares they will KEEP them. It is easy to help an uncertain child, for he
recognizes that he does not know what his perceptions mean. Yet you believe
that you DO know. Little children, you are hiding your heads under the covers
of the heavy blankets you have laid upon yourselves. You are hiding your
nightmares in the darkness of your own certainty, and refusing to open your eyes
AND LOOK AT THEM.
T 11 C 8. Let us not save nightmares, for they are not fitting offerings for
Christ, and so they are not fit gifts for YOU. Take off the covers and look at
what you are afraid of. Only the ANTICIPATION will frighten you, for the
reality of nothingness cannot BE frightening. Let us not delay this, for
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your dream of hatred will not leave you without help, and help is here. Learn
to be quiet in the midst of turmoil, for quietness is the end of strife and this
is the journey to peace. Look straight at every image that rises to delay you,
for the goal is inevitable because it is eternal. The goal of love is but your
right, and it belongs to you DESPITE your preference.
T 11 C 9. YOU STILL WANT WHAT GOD WILLS, and no nightmare can defeat a Child of
God in his purpose. For your purpose was given you by God, and you must
accomplish it BECAUSE it is His Will. Awake and remember your purpose, for it
is YOUR will to do so. What has been accomplished for you MUST be yours. Do
not let your hatred stand in the way of love, for NOTHING can withstand the love
of Christ for His Father, or His Father's Love for Him.
T 11 C 10. A little while and you WILL see me, for I am not hidden because
YOU are hiding. I will awaken you as surely as I awakened myself, for I awoke
FOR you. In MY resurrection is YOUR release. Our mission is to escape
CRUCIFIXION, not redemption. Trust in my help for I did not walk alone, and I
will walk with you as our Father walked with me. Did you not know that I walked
with Him in peace? And does not that mean that peace goes with US on the
journey?
T 11 C 11. There is no fear in perfect love. We will but be making
perfect to you what is ALREADY perfect IN you. You do not fear the UNKNOWN but
the KNOWN. You will not fail in your mission because I failed not in mine.
Give me but a little trust in the name of the COMPLETE trust I have in you, and
we will easily accomplish the goal of perfection together. For perfection IS,
and cannot BE denied. To deny the denial of perfection is not so difficult as
the denial of truth, and what we can accomplish together MUST be believed when
you SEE it as accomplished.
T 11 C 12. You who have tried to banish love have not succeeded, but you
who choose to banish fear WILL succeed. The Lord is with you, but you know it
not. Yet your Redeemer liveth, and abideth in you in the peace out of which He
was created. Would you not exchange THIS awareness for the awareness of your
fear? When we have overcome fear, not by hiding it, not by minimizing
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it, and not by denying its full import in any way, this IS what you will really
see. You cannot lay aside the obstacle to real vision without looking upon it,
for to lay aside means to judge AGAINST. If YOU will look the Holy Spirit will
judge, and will judge truly. He cannot shine away what YOU keep hidden, for you
have not offered it to Him, and He cannot take it FROM you.
T 11 C 13. We are therefore embarking on an organized, well-structured and
carefully planned program aimed at learning how to offer to the Holy Spirit
everything you do NOT want. HE knows what to do with it. You do NOT know how
to use what He knows. Whatever is revealed to Him that is not of God is gone.
Yet you must reveal it to YOURSELF in perfect willingness, for otherwise His
knowledge remains useless to you. Surely He will not fail to help you, since
help is His ONLY purpose. Do you not have greater reason for fearing the world
as YOU perceive it than for looking at the cause of fear, and letting it go
forever?
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T 11 D. The Investment in Reality
T 11 D 1. I once asked if you were willing to sell all you have and give to the
poor and follow me. This is what I meant: If you had no investment in anything
in this world, you could teach the poor where their treasure IS. The poor are
merely those who have invested wrongly, and they are poor indeed! Because they
are in need it is given you to help them, since YOU are among them. Consider
how perfectly your lesson would be learned if you were unwilling to SHARE their
poverty. For poverty is lack, and there is but ONE lack since there is but ONE
need.
T 11 D 2. Suppose a brother insists on having you do something you think you do
not want to do. The very fact of his insistence should tell you that he
believes salvation lies in it. If you insist on refusing and experience a quick
response of opposition, you are believing that YOUR salvation lies in NOT doing
it. You, then, are making the same mistake that he is, and are making his error
real to BOTH of you. Insistence means investment, and what you invest in is
ALWAYS related to your notion of salvation. The question is always two-fold;
first, WHAT is to be saved, and second, HOW can it be saved?
T 11 D 3. Whenever you become angry with a brother, for WHATEVER reason, you
are believing that the EGO is to be saved, and to be saved by ATTACK. If HE
attacks you are agreeing with this belief, and if YOU attack you are reinforcing
it. REMEMBER THAT THOSE WHO ATTACK ARE POOR. Their poverty asks for gifts, NOT
for further impoverishment. You who could help them are surely acting
destructively if you accept their poverty as YOURS. If you had not invested as
THEY had, it would never occur to you to overlook their need.
T 11 D 4. Recognize WHAT DOES NOT MATTER, and if your brothers ask you for
something "outrageous," do it BECAUSE it does not matter. Refuse, and your
opposition establishes that it DOES matter to you. It is only YOU, therefore,
who have made the request outrageous, for nothing can BE asked of you, and every
request of a brother is for YOU. Why would you insist in DENYING him? For to
do so is to deny yourself and impoverish both. HE is
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asking for salvation, as YOU are. Poverty is of the ego, and NEVER of God. No
"outrageous" request can be made of one who recognizes what is valuable and
wants to accept nothing else.
T 11 D 5. Salvation is for the mind, and it is attained through peace. This is
the ONLY thing that can be saved and the ONLY way to save it. Any response
OTHER than love arises from a confusion about the "what" and the "how" of
salvation, and this is the ONLY answer. Never lose sight of this, and never
allow yourself to believe, even for an instant, that there IS another answer.
For you will surely place yourself among the poor, who do not understand that
they dwell in abundance and that salvation is come.
T 11 D 6. To identify with the ego is to attack yourself and MAKE yourself
poor. That is why everyone who identifies with the ego feels deprived. What he
EXPERIENCES then is depression or anger, but what he DID is to exchange his
self-love for self-hate, making him AFRAID of himself. He does NOT realize
this. Even if he is fully aware of anxiety he does not perceive its source as
his own EGO IDENTIFICATION, and he ALWAYS tries to handle it by making some sort
of insane "arrangement" with the world. He always perceives this world as
OUTSIDE himself, for this is crucial to his adjustment. He does not realize
that he MAKES this world, for there IS no world outside of him.
T 11 D 7. If only the loving thoughts of God's Son are the world's reality, the
real world MUST be in his mind. His insane thoughts, too, must be in his mind,
but an internal conflict of this magnitude he cannot tolerate. A split mind IS
endangered, and the recognition that it encompasses completely opposed thoughts
within itself IS intolerable. Therefore the mind projects the split, NOT the
reality. Everything you perceive as the outside world is merely your attempt to
maintain your ego identification, for everyone believes that identification is
salvation. Yet consider what has happened, for thoughts DO have consequences to
the thinker.
T 11 D 8. You are AT ODDS with the world as you perceive it because you think
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IT is antagonistic to YOU. This is a necessary consequence of what you have
done. You have projected outward what IS antagonistic to what is inward, and
therefore you would HAVE to perceive it this way. That is why you must realize
that your hatred is IN your mind and NOT outside it before you can get rid of
it; and why you must get rid of it BEFORE you can perceive the world as it
really is.
T 11 D 9. We once said that God so loved the world that He gave it to His
only-begotten Son. God DOES love the real world, and those who perceive ITS
reality cannot SEE the world of death. For death is NOT of the real world, in
which everything is eternal. God gave you the real world in exchange for the
one you made out of your split mind, and which IS the symbol of death. For if
you could REALLY separate yourselves from the Mind of God you WOULD die, and the
world you perceive IS a world of separation.
T 11 D 10. You were willing to accept even death to deny your Father. Yet
He would not have it so, and so it is NOT so. You still could not will against
Him, and that is why you have no control over the world you made. It is not a
world of will because it is governed by the desire to be unlike Him, and this
desire is NOT will. The world you made is therefore totally chaotic, governed
by arbitrary and senseless "laws," and without meaning of ANY kind. For it was
made out of what you do NOT want, projected from your mind because you were
afraid of it.
T 11 D 11. Yet this world is ONLY in the mind of its maker, along with his
REAL salvation. Do not believe it is outside of yourself, for only by
recognizing WHERE it is will you gain control over it. For you DO have control
over your mind, since the mind is the mechanism of decision. If you will
recognize that ALL attack which you perceive is in your own mind AND NOWHERE
ELSE, you will at last have placed its source, and where it began it must end.
For in this same place also lies salvation. The altar of God where Christ
abideth is there.
T 11 D 12. You have defiled the altar but NOT the world. Yet Christ has
placed the Atonement on the altar FOR you. Bring your perceptions of the
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world to this altar, for it is the altar to truth. There you will see your
vision changed, and there you will learn to see truly. From this place, where
God and His Son dwell in peace and where you are welcome, you will look out in
peace and behold the world truly. Yet to find the place, you must relinquish
your investment in the world as YOU have projected it, allowing the Holy Spirit
to project the real world to you from the altar of God.
T 11 E. Seeking and Finding
T 11 E 1. The ego is certain that love is dangerous, and this is always its
central teaching. It never PUTS it this way; on the contrary, everyone who
believes that the ego is salvation is intensely engaged in the search for love.
Yet the ego, though encouraging the search very actively, makes one proviso; do
not FIND it. Its dictates, then, can be summed up simply as: "Seek and do NOT
find." This is the one promise the ego holds out to you, and the one promise it
will KEEP. For the ego pursues its goal with fanatic insistence, and its
reality testing, though severely impaired, is completely consistent.
T 11 E 2. The search which the ego undertakes is therefore bound to be
defeated. And since it also teaches that it is YOUR identification, its
guidance leads you to a journey which must end in perceived SELF-defeat. For
the ego CANNOT love, and in its frantic search for love, it is seeking what it
is AFRAID to find. The search is inevitable because the ego is part of your
mind, and because of its source, the ego is not wholly split off, or it could
not be believed at all. For it is YOUR mind that believes in it, and gives
existence to it. Yet it is also your mind that has the power to DENY the ego's
existence, and you will surely do so when you realize exactly what the journey
is on which the ego sets you.
T 11 E 3. It is surely obvious that no one wants to find what would UTTERLY
defeat him. Being unable to love, the ego would be totally inadequate in love's
presence, for it could not respond at all. You would HAVE to abandon the ego's
guidance, for it would be quite apparent that it had not taught you
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the response pattern you NEED. The ego will therefore DISTORT love, and teach
you that love calls forth the responses which the ego CAN teach. Follow its
teaching, then, and you will SEARCH for love, but will not RECOGNIZE it.
T 11 E 4. Do you realize that the ego must set you on a journey which cannot
BUT lead to a sense of futility and depression? To seek and NOT to find is
hardly joyous. Is this the promise YOU would keep? The Holy Spirit offers you
another promise, and one that will lead to joy. For HIS promise is always,
"Seek and you will FIND," and under His guidance you cannot BE defeated. His is
the journey to ACCOMPLISHMENT, and the goal He sets before you He will GIVE you.
For He will never deceive God's Son, whom He loves with the Love of the Father.
T 11 E 5. You WILL undertake a journey because you are NOT at home in this
world. And you WILL search for your home whether you know where it is or not.
If you believe it is outside yourself the search will be futile, for you will be
seeking it where it is not. You do not know how to look within yourself, for
you do not BELIEVE your home is there. Yet the Holy Spirit knows it FOR you,
and He will guide you TO your home because that is His mission. As He fulfills
HIS mission He will teach you YOURS, for your mission is the same as His. By
guiding your BROTHERS home you are but following Him.
T 11 E 6. Behold the Guide your Father gave you that you might learn you have
eternal life. For death is not your Father's Will nor yours, and whatever is
true IS the Will of the Father. You pay no price for life for that was given
you, but you DO pay a price for death, and a very heavy one. If death is your
treasure, you will sell everything else to purchase it. And you will believe
that you HAVE purchased it BECAUSE you have sold everything else. Yet you
CANNOT sell the Kingdom of Heaven. Your inheritance can neither be bought NOR
sold. There can BE no disinherited parts of the Sonship, for God is whole, and
all His extensions are like Him.
T 11 E 7. The Atonement was not the price of your wholeness, but it WAS the
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price of your AWARENESS of your wholeness. For what you chose to "sell" had to
be kept for you, since you could not "buy" it back. Yet YOU must invest in it,
not with money, but WITH YOUR SPIRIT. For Spirit is will, and will IS the
"price" of the Kingdom. Your inheritance awaits only the recognition that you
have BEEN redeemed. The Holy Spirit guides you into life eternal, but YOU must
relinquish your investment in death, or you will not SEE life though it is all
around you.
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T 11 F. The Sane Curriculum
T 11 F 1. Only love is strong because it is UNDIVIDED. The strong do not
attack because they see no need to do so. BEFORE the idea of attack can enter
your mind you must have PERCEIVED yourself as weak. Because you had attacked
yourself and believed that the attack was EFFECTIVE, you behold yourself as
weakened. No longer perceiving yourself and all your brothers as equal, and
regarding yourself as WEAKER, you attempt to "equalize" the situation YOU have
made. You use attack to do so because you believe that attack was successful in
weakening YOU.
T 11 F 2. That is why the recognition of your OWN invulnerability is so
important in the restoration of your sanity. For if you accept your
invulnerability, you are recognizing that attack HAS no effect. Although you
have attacked yourself, and very brutally, you will demonstrate that NOTHING
HAPPENED. Therefore, by attacking you have not done ANYTHING. Once you realize
this there is no longer any SENSE in attack, for it manifestly DOES NOT WORK,
and CANNOT protect you. Yet the recognition of your invulnerability has more
than negative value. If your attacks on yourself have FAILED to weaken you YOU
ARE STILL STRONG. You therefore have no need to "equalize" the situation to
establish your strength.
T 11 F 3. You will never realize the utter uselessness of attack EXCEPT by
recognizing that your attack on YOURSELF had no effects. For others DO react to
attack if they perceive it, and if you are trying to attack THEM you will be
unable to avoid interpreting this as reinforcement. The ONLY place where you
can cancel out all reinforcement is in YOURSELF. For YOU are always the first
point of your attack, and if THIS has never been it HAS no consequences.
T 11 F 4. The Holy Spirit's love is your strength, for yours is divided and
therefore not real. You could not trust your own love when you have ATTACKED
it. You cannot learn of perfect love with a split mind because a split mind
has [T87] MADE itself a poor learner. You tried to make the separation eternal
because you wanted to retain the characteristics of creation with your own
CONTENT. Yet creation is NOT of you, and poor learners need special
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teaching. You have learning handicaps in a very literal sense.
T 11 F 5. There are areas in your learning skills which are so impaired that
you can progress only under constant, clear-cut direction, provided by a Teacher
Who can TRANSCEND your limited resources. He BECOMES your Resource, because of
YOURSELF you CANNOT learn. The learning situation in which you placed yourself
IS impossible, and in this situation you clearly require a special Teacher and a
special curriculum. Poor learners are not good choices for teachers, either for
themselves or for anyone else. You would hardly turn to THEM to establish the
curriculum by which they can ESCAPE from their limitations. If they understood
what is beyond them they would not BE handicapped.
T 11 F 6. You do not know the meaning of love, and that IS your handicap. Do
not attempt to teach yourselves what you do not understand, and do not try to
set up curriculum goals where yours have clearly failed. YOUR learning goal has
been NOT to learn, and this CANNOT lead to successful learning. You cannot
transfer what you have not learned, and the impairment of the ability to
generalize is a crucial learning failure. Would you ask those who have FAILED
to learn what learning aids are FOR? THEY DO NOT KNOW. For if they could
interpret the aids correctly they would have learned from them.
T 11 F 7. We have said that the ego's rule is, "Seek and do NOT find."
Translated into curricular terms, this is the same as saying, "TRY to learn but
do NOT succeed." The result of this curriculum goal is obvious. Every
legitimate teaching aid, every real instruction, and every sensible guide to
learning WILL BE MISINTERPRETED. For they are all for learning facilitation,
which this strange curriculum goal is AGAINST. If you are trying to learn how
NOT to learn, and are using the aim of teaching to DEFEAT itself, what can you
expect BUT confusion? The curriculum does not make SENSE.
T 11 F 8. This kind of "learning" has so weakened your mind that you CANNOT
love, for the curriculum you have chosen is AGAINST love, and amounts to a
course in HOW TO ATTACK YOURSELF. A necessary minor, supplementing this major
curriculum goal, is learning how NOT to overcome the split which made
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this goal believable. And you can NOT overcome it, for all YOUR learning is on
its BEHALF. Yet your will speaks against your learning as your learning speaks
against your will, and so you fight AGAINST learning and succeed, for that IS
your will. But you do not realize, even yet, that there IS something you DO
will to learn, and that you can learn it because it IS your will to do so.
T 11 F 9. You who have tried to learn what you do NOT will should take heart,
for although the curriculum you set yourself is depressing indeed, it is merely
ridiculous, if you look at it. Is it POSSIBLE that the way to achieve a goal is
NOT to attain it? Resign NOW as your own teachers. THIS resignation will NOT
lead to depression. It is merely the result of an honest appraisal of what you
have taught yourselves, and of the learning outcomes which have resulted. Under
the proper learning conditions, which you can neither provide nor understand,
you will become excellent learners AND teachers. But it is not so yet, and will
not BE so until the whole learning situation, as YOU have set it up, is
reversed.
T 11 F 10. Your learning POTENTIAL, properly understood, is limitless
because it will lead you to God. You can TEACH the way to Him AND learn it, if
you follow the Teacher Who knows it, and His curriculum for learning it. The
curriculum is totally unambiguous because the goal is NOT divided, and the means
and the end are in COMPLETE accord. You need offer only UNDIVIDED ATTENTION.
Everything else will be GIVEN you. For it is YOUR will to learn aright, and
nothing can oppose the will of God's Son. His learning is as unlimited as HE
is.
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T 11 G. The Vision of Christ
T 11 G 1. The ego is trying to teach you how to gain the whole world and lose
your own Soul. The Holy Spirit teaches that you CANNOT lose your Soul and there
IS no gain in the world, for OF ITSELF it profits nothing. To invest in
something without profit is surely to impoverish yourself, and the overhead is
high. Not only is there no profit in the investment, but the cost to YOU is
enormous. For this investment costs you the world's reality by denying YOURS,
and gives you nothing in return. You CANNOT sell your Soul, but you CAN sell
your AWARENESS of it. You cannot perceive your Soul, but you will not KNOW it
while you perceive anything ELSE as more valuable.
T 11 G 2. The Holy Spirit is your strength because He perceives nothing BUT
your Soul as you. He is perfectly aware that you do NOT know yourselves, and
perfectly aware of how to teach you what you are. BECAUSE He loves you, He will
gladly teach you what He loves, for He wills to share it. Remembering you
always, He cannot let you forget your worth. For the Father never ceases to
remind Him of His Son, and He never ceases to remind His Son of the Father. God
is in your memory BECAUSE of Him. You chose to forget your Father but you did
not WILL to do so, and therefore you can decide otherwise. As it was MY
decision, so is it YOURS.
T 11 G 3. You do not WANT the world. The only thing of value in it is whatever
part of it you look upon with love. This gives it the only reality it will ever
have. Its value is NOT in itself, but yours IS in you. As self-value comes
from self-EXTENSION, so does the PERCEPTION of self-value come from the
projection of loving thoughts outward. Make the world real unto YOURSELF, for
the real world is the gift of the Holy Spirit, and so it BELONGS to you.
T 11 G 4. Correction is for all who cannot see. To open the eyes of the blind
is the Holy Spirit's mission, for He knows that they have not lost their vision,
but merely sleep. He would awaken them from the sleep of forgetting to the
remembering of God. Christ's eyes are open, and He will look upon whatever you
see with love if you accept His vision as yours.
T 11 G 5. The Holy Spirit keeps the vision of Christ for every Son of God who
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sleeps. In His sight the Son of God is perfect, and He longs to share His
vision with you. He will show you the real world because God gave you Heaven.
Through Him your Father calls His Son to remember. The awakening of His Son
begins with his investment in the REAL world, and by this he will learn to
re-invest in HIMSELF. For reality is one with the Father AND the Son, and the
Holy Spirit blesses the real world in Their Name.
T 11 G 6. When you have seen this real world, as you will surely do, you WILL
remember us. Yet you must learn the cost of sleeping, and REFUSE to pay it.
Only then will you decide to awaken. And then the real world will spring to
your sight, for Christ has never slept. He is waiting to be seen, for He has
never lost sight of YOU. He looks quietly on the real world, which He would
share with you because He knows of the Father's Love for Him. And knowing this,
He would give you what is yours. In perfect peace He waits for you at His
Father's altar, holding out the Father's Love to you in the quiet light of the
Holy Spirit's blessing. For the Holy Spirit will lead everyone home to his
Father, where Christ waits as his Self.
T 11 G 7. Every Child of God is one in Christ, for his Being is in Christ as
Christ's is in God. Christ's love for you is His love for His Father, which He
knows because He knows His Father's Love for Him. When the Holy Spirit has at
last led you to Christ at the altar to His Father, perception fuses into
knowledge because perception has become so holy that its transfer to holiness is
merely its natural extension. Love transfers to love without any interference,
for the situations are identical. As you perceive more and more common elements
in ALL situations, the transfer of your training under the Holy Spirit's
guidance increases and becomes generalized. Gradually you learn to apply it to
everyone and everything, for its applicability IS universal. When this has been
accomplished, perception and knowledge have become so similar that they share
the unification of the laws of God.
T 11 G 8. What is one cannot be perceived as separate, and the denial of the
separation IS the re-instatement of knowledge. At the altar of God, the
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holy perception of God's Son becomes so enlightened that light streams into it,
and the Spirit of God's Son shines in the Mind of the Father and becomes One
with It. Very gently does God shine upon Himself, loving the extension of
Himself which is His Son. The world has no purpose as it blends into the
Purpose of God. For the real world has slipped quietly into Heaven, where
everything eternal in it has always been. There the Redeemer and the redeemed
join in perfect love of God and of each other. Heaven is your home, and being
in God it must ALSO be in you.
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T 11 H. The Guide for Miracles
T 11 H 1. Miracles demonstrate that learning has occurred under the right
guidance, for learning is invisible, and what has been learned can be recognized
only by its RESULTS. Its generalization is demonstrated as you use it in more
and more situations. You will recognize that you have learned there is no order
of difficulty in miracles when you have applied them to ALL situations. There
IS no situation to which miracles do not apply, and by applying them to all
situations you will gain the real world. For in this holy perception you will
be made whole, and the Atonement will radiate from YOUR acceptance of it for
YOURSELF to everyone the Holy Spirit sends you for your blessing. In every
Child of God His blessing lies, and in YOUR blessing of the Children of God is
His blessing to YOU.
T 11 H 2. Everyone in the world must play his part in the redemption of the
world, to recognize that the world HAS BEEN redeemed. You cannot see the
invisible. Yet if you see its effects you KNOW it must be there. By perceiving
what it DOES, you recognize its being. And by WHAT it does, you learn what it
IS. You cannot SEE your abilities, but you gain confidence in their existence
as they enable you to ACT. And the RESULTS of your actions you CAN see.
T 11 H 3. The Holy Spirit is invisible, but you can see the RESULTS of His
Presence, and through them you will learn that He is there. What He enables you
to do is clearly NOT of this world, for miracles violate every law of reality as
this world judges it. Every law of time and space, of magnitude and mass, of
prediction and control is transcended, for what the Holy Spirit enables you to
do is clearly beyond ALL of them. Perceiving His results, you will understand
WHERE He must be, and finally KNOW what He is.
T 11 H 4. You cannot see the Holy Spirit, but you can see His manifestations.
And unless you do, you will not realize He is there. Miracles are His
witnesses, and speak for His Presence. What you cannot see becomes real to you
only through the witnesses who speak for it. For you can be AWARE of what you
cannot see, and it can become compellingly real to you as its presence becomes
manifest THROUGH you. Do the Holy Spirit's work, for you SHARE in His
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function. As your function in Heaven is creation, so your function on earth is
healing. God shares His function with you in Heaven, and the Holy Spirit shares
His with you on earth.
T 11 H 5. As long as you believe you have two functions, so long will you need
correction. For this belief is the DESTRUCTION of peace, a goal in direct
opposition to the Holy Spirit's purpose. You see what you EXPECT, and you
expect what you INVITE. Your perception is the result of your invitation,
coming to you as you sent for it. Whose manifestations would you see? Of whose
presence would you be convinced? For you will believe in what you MANIFEST, and
as you look out so will you see in. Two ways of looking at the world are in
your mind, and your perception will reflect the guidance you chose.
T 11 H 6. I am the manifestation of the Holy Spirit, and when you see me it
will be because you have invited Him. For He WILL send you His witnesses if you
will but look upon them. Remember always that you see what you seek, for what
you seek you WILL find. The ego finds what IT seeks, and ONLY that. It does
not find love, for that is NOT what it is seeking. Yet seeking and finding are
the same, and if you seek for two goals you will find them, but you will
RECOGNIZE NEITHER. For you will think they are the same because you WANT them
both. The mind always strives for integration, and if it is split and wants to
KEEP the split, it will believe it has one goal by MAKING it one.
T 11 H 7. We said before that WHAT you project is up to you, but it is NOT up
to you WHETHER to project, for projection is a law of mind. Perception IS
projection, and you look in BEFORE you look out. As you look in you choose the
guide for seeing, and THEN you look out and behold his witnesses. This is WHY
you find what you seek. What you want in YOURSELF you will make manifest by
projection, and you will accept it FROM the world because you put it there BY
wanting it.
T 11 H 8. When you think you are projecting what you do NOT want, it is still
because you DO want it. This leads directly to dissociation, for it
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represents the acceptance of two goals, each perceived in a DIFFERENT place,
separated from each other BECAUSE you made them different. The mind then sees a
divided world OUTSIDE itself, but not WITHIN. This gives it an illusion of
integrity, and enables it to believe that it is pursuing one goal. As long as
you perceive the world as split, YOU are not healed. For to be healed is to
pursue one goal because you have ACCEPTED only one, and WANT but one.
T 11 H 9. When you want ONLY love you will see nothing else. The contradictory
nature of the witnesses you perceive is merely the reflection of your
conflicting invitations. You have looked upon your minds and accepted
opposition there, having SOUGHT it there. But do not then believe that the
witnesses for opposition are true, for they attest only to YOUR decision about
reality, returning to you the message you GAVE them. Love is recognized by its
messengers. If you make love manifest, its messengers will come to you because
you INVITED them.
T 11 H 10. The power of decision is your one remaining freedom as a
prisoner of this world. YOU CAN DECIDE TO SEE IT RIGHT. What YOU made of it is
NOT its reality, for its reality is only what you GAVE it. You cannot really
give anything but love to anyone or anything, nor can you really RECEIVE
anything else from them. If you think you have received anything else, it is
because you have looked within and thought you saw the power to give something
else WITHIN YOURSELF. It was only this decision that determined what you found,
for it was the decision of what you SOUGHT.
T 11 H 11. You are afraid of me because you looked within and are afraid
of what you saw. Yet you could not have seen reality, for the reality of your
mind is the loveliest of God's creations. Coming only from God, its power and
grandeur could only bring you peace IF YOU REALLY LOOKED UPON IT. If you are
afraid, it is because you saw something THAT IS NOT THERE. Yet in that same
place you could have looked upon me and all your brothers, in the perfect safety
of the Mind Which created us. For we are there in the peace
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of the Father, who wills to project His peace through YOU.
T 11 H 12. When you have accepted your mission to PROJECT peace you will
FIND it, for by MAKING IT MANIFEST you will SEE it. Its holy witnesses will
surround you because you CALLED upon them and they will come to you. I have
heard your call and I have answered it, but you will not look upon me nor HEAR
the answer which you sought. That is because you do not yet want ONLY that.
Yet as I become more real to you, you will learn that you DO want only that.
And you will see me as you look within, and we will look upon the world as God
created it together. Through the eyes of Christ ONLY the real world exists and
can BE seen. As you decide so will you see. And all that you see but witnesses
to your decision.
T 11 H 13. When you look within and see me, it will be because you have
decided to manifest truth. And as you manifest it you will see it both without
AND within, for you will see it without BECAUSE you saw it first within.
Everything you behold without is a judgment of what you beheld within. If it is
YOUR judgment it will be wrong, for judgment is not your function. If it is the
judgment of the Holy Spirit it will be right, for judgment IS His function. You
share His function only by judging as HE does, reserving no judgment at all unto
yourselves. For you will judge AGAINST yourselves, but HE will judge FOR you.
T 11 H 14. Remember, then, that whenever you look without and react
unfavorably to what you see, you have judged yourself unworthy and have
condemned yourself to death. The death penalty is the ego's ultimate goal, for
it fully believes that you are a criminal, as deserving of death as God knows
you are deserving of life. The death penalty never leaves the ego's mind, for
that is what it always reserves for you in the end. Wanting to kill you as the
final expression of its feeling for you, it lets you live but to await death.
It will torment you while you live, but its hatred is not satisfied until you
die. For your destruction is the one end toward which it works, and the only
end with which it will be satisfied.
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15. The ego is not a traitor to God to Whom treachery is impossible, but it IS
a traitor to you who believe YOU have been treacherous to your Father. That is
why the UNDOING of guilt is an essential part of the Holy Spirit's teaching.
For as long as you feel guilty you are listening to the voice of the ego, which
tells you that you HAVE been treacherous to God and therefore DESERVE death.
You will think that death comes from God and NOT from the ego because, by
confusing yourself WITH the ego, you believe that YOU want death. And from what
you want God does NOT save you.
T 11 H 16. When you are tempted to yield to the desire for death REMEMBER
THAT I DID NOT DIE. You will realize that this is true when you look within and
SEE me. Would I have overcome death for myself alone? And would eternal life
have been given me of the Father UNLESS He had also given it to you? When you
learn to make ME manifest YOU will never see death. For you will have looked
upon the deathless in YOURSELF, and you will see only the eternal as you look
out upon a world that CANNOT die.
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T 11 I. Reality and Redemption
T 11 I 1. Do you REALLY believe that you can kill the Son of God? The Father
has hidden His Son safely within Himself and kept him far away from your
destructive thoughts, but YOU know neither the Father nor the Son because of
them. You attack the real world every day and every hour and every minute, and
yet you are surprised that you cannot see it. If you seek love in order to
attack it you will NEVER find it. For if love is sharing, how can you find it
except through ITSELF? Offer it and it will come to you because it is drawn to
itself. But offer attack and it will remain hidden, for it can live only in
peace.
T 11 I 2. God's Son is as safe as his Father, for the Son knows his Father's
protection and CANNOT fear. His Father's Love holds him in perfect peace, and
needing nothing, he ASKS for nothing. Yet he is far from you whose Self he is,
for you chose to attack him, and he disappeared from your sight into his Father.
HE did not change, but YOU did. For a split mind and all its works were not
created by the Father, and could not live in the knowledge of Him.
T 11 I 3. When you made what is NOT true visible, what IS true became
invisible. Yet it cannot be invisible in ITSELF, for the Holy Spirit sees it
with perfect clarity. It is invisible to you because you are looking at
something ELSE. Yet it is no more up to you to decide what is visible and what
is invisible than it is up to you to decide what reality is. What can be seen
is what the HOLY SPIRIT sees. The definition of reality is God's, not yours.
HE created it, and HE knows what it is. You who knew have forgotten, and unless
He had given you a way to remember you would have condemned yourselves to
oblivion.
T 11 I 4. Because of your Father's Love you can NEVER forget Him, for no one
can forget what God Himself placed in his memory. You can DENY it, but you
cannot LOSE it. A Voice will answer every question you ask, and a Vision will
correct the perception of everything you see. For what you have made invisible
is the ONLY truth, and what you have not heard is the ONLY answer.
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God would reunite you with yourself, and did not abandon you in your seeming
distress. You are waiting only for Him and do not know it. Yet His memory
shines in your minds and cannot BE obliterated. It is no more past than future,
being forever always.
T 11 I 5. You have but to ask for this memory and you WILL remember. Yet the
memory of God cannot shine in a mind which has MADE it invisible and wants to
KEEP it so. For the memory of God can dawn only in a mind that wills to
remember, and that has relinquished the insane desire to control reality. You
who cannot even control yourselves should hardly aspire to control the universe.
But look upon what you have made of it, and rejoice that it is not so. Son of
God, be not content with nothing! What is not real cannot BE seen and HAS no
value. God could not offer His Son what has no value, nor could His Son receive
it. You were redeemed the instant you thought you had deserted Him.
T 11 I 6. Everything you made has never been, and is invisible because the Holy
Spirit does not see it. Yet what He DOES see is yours to behold, and through
His vision your perception is healed. You have made the invisible the only
truth that this world holds. Valuing nothing, you have sought nothing and FOUND
nothing. By making nothing REAL to you, you have SEEN it. BUT IT IS NOT THERE.
And Christ is invisible to you because of what you have made visible to
YOURSELVES. Yet it does not matter how much distance you have tried to
interpose between your awareness and truth. God's Son CAN be seen because his
vision is shared. The Holy Spirit looks upon him, and sees nothing else in YOU.
What is invisible to you is perfect in His sight, and encompasses ALL of it.
He has remembered you because He forgot not the Father.
T 11 I 7. You looked upon the unreal and found despair. Yet by seeking the
unreal, what else COULD you find? The unreal world IS a thing of despair, for
it can never be. And you who share God's Being with Him could never be content
without reality. What God did not give you has no power over you, and the
attraction of love for love remains irresistible. For it is the
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function of love to unite all things unto itself, and to hold all things
together by extending its wholeness.
T 11 I 8. The real world was given you by God in loving exchange for the world
YOU made and which YOU see. But take it from the hand of Christ and look upon
it. Its reality will make everything else invisible, for beholding it is TOTAL
perception. And as you look upon it, you will remember that it was always so.
Nothingness will become invisible, for you will at last have seen truly.
Redeemed perception is easily translated into knowledge, for ONLY perception is
capable of error, and perception has never been. Being corrected it gives place
to knowledge, which is forever the ONLY reality. The Atonement is but the way
back to what was never lost. Your Father could not cease to love His Son.
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T 11 J. Guiltlessness and Invulnerability
T 11 J 1. If you did not feel guilty you COULD not attack, for condemnation is
the root of attack. It is the judgment of one mind by another as UNWORTHY of
love and DESERVING of punishment. But herein lies the split. For the mind that
judges perceives itself as SEPARATE from the mind being judged, believing that
by punishing another IT will escape punishment. All this is but the delusional
attempt of the mind to deny itself and ESCAPE THE PENALTY OF DENIAL. It is not
an attempt to RELINQUISH denial, but to HOLD ON to it. For it is guilt that has
obscured the Father to you, and it is guilt that has driven you insane.
T 11 J 2. The acceptance of guilt into the mind of God's Son was the beginning
of the separation, as the acceptance of the Atonement is its end. The world you
see is the delusional system of those made mad by guilt. Look carefully at this
world, and you will realize that this is so. For this world is the symbol of
punishment, and all the laws which seem to govern it are the laws of death.
Children are born into it through pain and in pain. Their growth is attended by
suffering, and they learn of sorrow and separation and death. Their minds are
trapped in their brain, and its powers decline if their bodies are hurt. They
seem to love, yet they desert and are deserted. They appear to lose what they
love, perhaps the most insane belief of all. And their bodies wither and gasp
and are laid in the ground and seem to be no more. Not one of them but has
thought that God is cruel.
T 11 J 3. If this WERE the real world God WOULD be cruel. For no father could
subject his children to this as the price of salvation and BE loving. LOVE DOES
NOT KILL TO SAVE. If it did, attack WOULD be salvation, and this is the EGO'S
interpretation, NOT God's. Only the world of guilt could demand this, for only
the guilty could CONCEIVE of it. Adam's "sin" could have touched none of you
had you not believed that it was the FATHER Who drove him out of paradise. For
in that belief the knowledge of the Father was lost, since only those who do NOT
understand Him COULD believe it.
T 11 J 4. This world IS a picture of the crucifixion of God's Son. And until
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you realize that God's Son cannot BE crucified, this is the world you will see.
Yet you will not realize this until you accept the eternal fact that God's Son
is NOT GUILTY. He DESERVES only love because he has GIVEN only love. He cannot
BE condemned because he has never condemned. The Atonement is the final lesson
he need learn, for it teaches him that, never having sinned, he has no NEED of
salvation.
T 11 J 5. Long ago we said that the Holy Spirit shares the goal of all good
teachers, whose ultimate aim is to make themselves unnecessary by teaching their
pupils all they know. The Holy Spirit wills ONLY this, for sharing the Father's
Love for His Son, He wills to remove ALL guilt from his mind that he may
remember his Father in peace. For peace and guilt are antithetical, and the
Father can be remembered ONLY in peace. Love and guilt cannot coexist, and to
accept one is to DENY the other. Guilt hides Christ from your sight, for it is
the denial of the blamelessness of God's Son.
T 11 J 6. In this strange world which you have made, the Son of God HAS sinned.
How could you SEE him, then? By making him invisible, the world of retribution
rose in the black cloud of guilt which you accepted, and you hold it dear. For
the blamelessness of Christ is the proof that the ego never was and can never
be. Without guilt the ego HAS no life, and God's Son IS without guilt. As you
look upon yourselves and judge what you do honestly, as you have been asked to
do, you may be tempted to wonder how you CAN be guiltless.
T 11 J 7. Yet consider this: [T88] You are not guiltless in time, but in
ETERNITY. You HAVE "sinned" in the past, but there IS no past. Always has NO
direction. Time seems to go in one direction, but when you reach its end it
will roll up like a long carpet which has spread along the past behind you and
will disappear. As long as you believe the Son of God is guilty you will walk
along this carpet, believing that it leads to death. And the journey will seem
long and cruel and senseless, for so it IS.
T 11 J 8. The journey which the Son of God has set himself is foolish indeed,
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but the journey on which his Father sets him is one of release and joy. The
Father is NOT cruel, and His Son CANNOT hurt himself. The retaliation he fears
and which he SEES will never touch him, for although he believes in it the Holy
Spirit KNOWS it is not true. The Holy Spirit stands at the END of time, where
YOU must be because He is WITH you. He has ALWAYS undone everything unworthy of
the Son of God, for such was His mission, given Him by God. And what God gives
has ALWAYS been.
T 11 J 9. You will see me as you learn the Son of God is guiltless. He has
always sought his guiltlessness, and he has FOUND it. For everyone is seeking
to escape from the prison he has made, and the way to find release is not denied
him. Being IN him, he HAS found it. WHEN he finds it is only a matter of time,
and time is but an illusion. For the Son of God is guiltless NOW, and the
brightness of his purity shines untouched forever in God's Mind. God's Son will
ALWAYS be as he was created. Deny YOUR world and judge him not, for his eternal
guiltlessness is in the Mind of his Father, and protects him forever.
T 11 J 10. When you have accepted the Atonement for yourselves, you will
realize that there IS no guilt in God's Son. And ONLY as you look upon him as
guiltless can you understand his oneness. For the idea of guilt brings a belief
in condemnation of one by another, projecting separation in place of unity. You
can condemn only YOURSELF, and by so doing you cannot know that you ARE God's
Son. You have denied the condition of his Being, which is his perfect
blamelessness. Out of Love he was created, and in Love he abides. Goodness and
mercy have always followed him, for he has always extended the Love of his
Father.
T 11 J 11. As you perceive the holy companions who travel with you, you
will realize that there IS no journey, but only an awakening. The Son of God,
who sleepeth not, has kept faith with his Father FOR you. There is no road to
travel on, and no time to travel through. For God waits not for His Son in
time, being forever unwilling to be without him. And so it has always
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been. Let the holiness of God's Son shine away the cloud of guilt that darkens
your mind, and by accepting his purity as yours, learn of him that it IS yours.
T 11 J 12. You are invulnerable BECAUSE you are guiltless. You can hold
on to the past ONLY through guilt. For guilt establishes that you will be
punished for what you have done, and thus depends on one-dimensional time,
proceeding from past to future. No one who believes this can understand what
ALWAYS means. And therefore guilt MUST deprive you of the appreciation of
eternity. You are immortal BECAUSE you are eternal, and always MUST be now.
Guilt, then, is a way of holding past and future in your minds to ensure the
ego's continuity. For if what has been WILL be punished, the ego's continuity
is guaranteed. Yet the guarantee of your continuity is God's, not the ego's.
And immortality is the opposite of time, for time passes away, while immortality
is constant.
T 11 J 13. Accepting the Atonement teaches you what immortality IS, for by
accepting your guiltlessness you learn that the past has never been, and so the
future is needless. The future, in time, is always associated with expiation,
and ONLY guilt could induce a sense of NEED for expiation. Accepting the
guiltlessness of the Son of God as YOURS is therefore God's way of reminding you
of His Son, and what he is in truth. For God has never condemned His Son, and
being guiltless he IS eternal.
T 11 J 14. You cannot dispel guilt by making it real and THEN atoning for
it. This is the ego's plan, which it offers INSTEAD of dispelling it. The ego
believes in atonement through ATTACK, being fully committed to the insane notion
that attack IS salvation. And you who cherish guilt must ALSO believe it, for
how else but by identifying WITH the ego could you hold dear what you do not
want?
T 11 J 15. The ego teaches you to attack yourself BECAUSE you are guilty,
and this must INCREASE the guilt, for guilt is the RESULT of attack. In the
ego's teaching, then, there IS no escape from guilt. For attack makes
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guilt real, and if it is real there IS no way to overcome it. The Holy Spirit
dispels it simply through the calm recognition that it has never been. As He
looks upon the guiltless Son of God, He KNOWS this is true. And being true for
YOU you CANNOT attack yourself, for without guilt attack is impossible. You,
then, ARE saved because God's Son is guiltless. And being wholly pure, you ARE
invulnerable.
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Chapter XII 12 - THE PROBLEM OF GUILT
T 12 A. Introduction
T 12 A 1. The ultimate purpose of projection as the ego uses it is ALWAYS to
get rid of guilt. Yet, characteristically, the ego attempts to get rid of guilt
from ITS viewpoint only, for much as the ego wants to retain guilt, YOU find it
intolerable, since guilt stands in the way of your remembering God, Whose pull
is so strong that you CANNOT resist it. On this issue, then, the deepest split
of all occurs, for if you are to retain guilt, as the ego insists, YOU CANNOT BE
YOU. Only by persuading you that IT is you could the ego possibly induce you to
project guilt, and thereby KEEP it in your mind.
T 12 A 2. Yet consider how strange a solution the ego's arrangement is. You
project guilt to get rid of it, but you are actually merely concealing it. You
DO experience guilt feelings, but you have no idea why. On the contrary, you
associate them with a weird assortment of ego ideals, which the ego claims you
have failed. Yet you have no idea that you are failing the Son of God by seeing
him as guilty. Believing you are no longer you, you do not realize that you are
failing YOURSELF.
T 12 B. Crucifixion by Guilt
T 12 B 1. The darkest of your hidden cornerstones holds your belief in guilt
from your awareness. For in that dark and secret place is the realization that
you have betrayed God's Son by condemning him to death. You do not even suspect
this murderous but insane idea lies hidden there, for the ego's destructive urge
is so intense that nothing short of the crucifixion of God's Son can ultimately
satisfy it. It does not know who the Son of God is, because it is blind. Yet
let it perceive guiltlessness anywhere, and it will try to destroy it, because
it is afraid.
T 12 B 2. Much of the ego's strange behavior is directly attributable to its
definition of guilt. To the ego, THE GUILTLESS ARE GUILTY. Those who do not
attack are its "enemies," because, by not valuing its interpretation of
salvation, they are in an excellent position TO LET IT GO. They have approached
the darkest and deepest cornerstone in the ego's foundation, and while the ego
can withstand your raising all else to question, it guards this one
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secret with its life, for its existence DOES depend on keeping this secret. So
it is this secret that we must look upon calmly, for the ego cannot protect you
against truth, and in ITS presence the ego is dispelled.
T 12 B 3. In the calm light of truth, let us recognize that you believe you
HAVE crucified God's Son. You have not admitted to this "terrible" secret
because you STILL wish to crucify him if you could FIND him. Yet the wish has
hidden him from you because it is very fearful, and you are AFRAID to find him.
You have handled this wish to kill YOURSELF by NOT KNOWING who you are, and
identifying with something ELSE. You have projected guilt blindly and
indiscriminately, but you have NOT uncovered its source. For the ego DOES want
to kill you, and if you identify WITH it you must believe ITS goal is YOURS.
T 12 B 4. We once said that the crucifixion is the symbol of the ego. When it
was confronted with the REAL guiltlessness of God's Son it DID attempt to kill
him, and the reason it gave was that guiltlessness is blasphemous to God. To
the ego THE EGO is god, and guiltlessness MUST be interpreted as the final guilt
which fully justifies murder. You do not yet understand that all your fear of
this course stems ultimately from this interpretation, but if you will consider
your reactions to it, you will become increasingly convinced that this is so.
T 12 B 5. This course has explicitly stated that its goal for you is happiness
and peace. Yet you are AFRAID of it. You have been told again and again that
it will make you free, yet you react as if it is trying to imprison you. Most
of the time you dismiss it, but you do NOT dismiss the EGO'S thought system.
You have SEEN its results and you STILL lack faith in it. You MUST, then,
believe that by NOT learning the course you are PROTECTING yourself. And you do
not realize that it is only your guiltlessness which CAN protect you.
T 12 B 6. The Atonement has always been interpreted as the release from guilt,
and this is correct if it is understood. Yet even when I have interpreted it
FOR you, you have rejected it and have NOT accepted it for yourself.
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You have recognized the futility of the ego and its offerings, but though you do
not want the ego you do not look upon the alternative with gladness. You are
AFRAID of redemption, and you believe it will kill you. Make no mistake about
the depth of your fear. For you believe that, in the presence of truth, you
will turn on yourself and destroy yourself.
T 12 B 7. Little children, this is not so. Your "guilty secret" is nothing,
and if you will but bring it to light the Light [T89] will dispel it. And then no
dark cloud will remain between you and the remembrance of your Father, for you
will remember His guiltless Son, who did not die because he is immortal. And
you will see that you were redeemed WITH him, and have never been separated FROM
him. In this understanding lies your remembering, for it is the recognition of
love WITHOUT fear. There will be great joy in Heaven on your home-coming, and
the joy will be YOURS. For the redeemed son of man IS the guiltless Son of God,
and to recognize him IS your redemption.
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T 12 C. The Fear of Redemption
T 12 C 1. You may wonder why it is so crucial that you look upon your hatred
and realize its full extent. You may also think that it would be easy enough
for the Holy Spirit to show it to you and dispel it WITHOUT the need for you to
raise it to awareness yourself. Yet there is one more complication which you
have interposed between yourself and the Atonement which you do not yet realize.
We have said that no one will countenance fear if he RECOGNIZES it. Yet in
your disordered state, you are NOT afraid of fear. You do not like it, but it
is not your desire to attack which REALLY frightens you. You are not seriously
disturbed by your hostility. You keep it hidden because you are MORE afraid of
what it covers.
T 12 C 2. You could look even upon the ego's darkest cornerstone without fear
if you did not believe that, WITHOUT the ego, you would find within yourself
something you fear even more. You are NOT afraid of crucifixion. Your real
terror is of REDEMPTION. Under the ego's dark foundation is the memory of God,
and it is of THIS that you are really afraid. For this memory would INSTANTLY
restore you to your proper place, and it is this place that you have sought to
LEAVE.
T 12 C 3. Your fear of attack is nothing compared to your fear of love. You
would be willing to look even upon your savage wish to kill God's Son if you did
not believe that it SAVES you from love. For this wish CAUSED the separation.
You have protected it because you do not WANT the separation healed, and you
realize that, by REMOVING the dark cloud that obscures it, your love for your
Father would impel you to answer His call and leap into Heaven. You believe
that attack is salvation to prevent you from THIS. For still deeper than the
ego's foundation, and much stronger than it will ever be, is your intense and
burning love of God, and His for you. This is what you REALLY want to hide.
T 12 C 4. In honesty, is it not harder for you to say "I love" than "I hate?"
You associate love with weakness and hatred with strength, and your own REAL
power seems to you as your real WEAKNESS. For you could not control your
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joyous response to the call of love if you heard it, and the whole world you
think you control WOULD vanish. The Holy Spirit, then, seems to be attacking
your fortress, for you would shut out God, and He does not will to BE excluded.
T 12 C 5. You have built your whole insane belief system because you think you
would be helpless in God's Presence, and you would SAVE yourself from His Love
because you think It [T90] would crush you into nothingness. You are afraid It
would sweep you away from yourself, and make you little. For you believe that
magnitude lies in defiance, and that attack is grandeur. You think you have
made a world which God would destroy; and by loving Him, which you DO, you would
throw this world away, which you WOULD. Therefore, you have used the world to
COVER your love, and the deeper you go into the blackness of the ego's
foundation, the closer you come to the Love that is hidden there. AND IT IS
THIS THAT FRIGHTENS YOU.
T 12 C 6. You can accept insanity because you made it, but you cannot accept
love because you did NOT. You would rather be slaves of the crucifixion than
Sons of God in redemption. For your INDIVIDUAL death is more valued than your
living oneness, and what is GIVEN you is not so dear as what YOU made. You are
more afraid of God than of the ego, and love cannot enter where it is not
welcome. But hatred can, for it enters of ITS will and cares not for yours.
T 12 C 7. The reason you must look upon your delusions and not keep them hidden
is that they do NOT rest on their own foundation. In concealment they appear to
do so, and thus they SEEM to be self-sustained. This is the fundamental
illusion on which they rest. For BENEATH them, and concealed as long as THEY
are hidden, is the loving mind that THOUGHT it made them in anger. And the pain
in this mind is so apparent, when it is uncovered, that its need of healing
cannot BE denied. Not all the tricks and games you offer it can heal it, for
here is the REAL crucifixion of God's Son.
T 12 C 8. And yet he is NOT crucified. Here is both his pain AND his healing,
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for the Holy Spirit's vision is merciful and His remedy is quick. Do not HIDE
suffering from His sight, but bring it gladly to Him. Lay before His eternal
sanity ALL your hurt, and LET Him heal you. Do not leave any spot of pain
hidden from His light, and search your minds carefully for any thoughts which
you may fear to uncover. For He will heal every little thought which you have
kept to hurt you, and cleanse it of its littleness, restoring it to the
magnitude of God.
T 12 C 9. Beneath all your grandiosity, which you hold so dear, is your real
call for help. For you call for love to your Father as your Father calls you to
Himself. In that place which you have hidden you will only to unite with the
Father, in loving remembrance of Him. You will find this place of truth as you
see it in your brothers, for though they may deceive themselves, like you they
long for the grandeur that is in them. And perceiving it you will welcome it,
and it will be YOURS. For grandeur is the RIGHT of God's Son, and NO illusions
can satisfy him or save him from what he IS. Only his love is real, and he will
be content ONLY with his reality.
T 12 C 10. Save him from his illusions that you may accept the magnitude
of your Father in peace and joy. But exempt no one from your love, or you will
be hiding a dark place in your mind where the Holy Spirit is not welcome. And
you will exempt YOURSELF from His healing power, for by not offering total love
you will not be healed completely. Healing must be as complete as fear, for
love cannot enter where there is one spot of fear to mar its welcome.
T 12 C 11. You who prefer specialness to sanity could not obtain it in
your right minds. You were at peace until you asked for special favor. And God
did not give it, for the request was alien to Him, and you could not ask this of
a Father Who truly loved His Son. Therefore you made of Him an unloving father,
demanding of Him what only such a father could give. And the peace of God's Son
was shattered, for he no longer understood his Father. He feared what he had
made, but still more did he fear his REAL Father, having attacked his own
glorious equality with Him.
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T 12 C 12. In peace he needed nothing and asked for nothing. In war he
DEMANDED everything and FOUND nothing. For how could the gentleness of love
respond to his demands EXCEPT by departing in peace and returning to the Father?
If the Son did not wish to remain in peace, he could not remain at all. For a
darkened mind cannot live in the light, and it must seek a place of darkness
where it can believe it is where it is not. God did not allow this to happen.
Yet you DEMANDED that it happen, and therefore believed that it was so.
T 12 C 13. To "single out" is to "make alone," and thus MAKE LONELY. God
did not do this to you. Could He set you apart, KNOWING that your peace lies in
His Oneness? He denied you only your request for pain, for suffering is not of
His creation. Having GIVEN you creation, He could not take it FROM you. He
could but answer your insane request with a sane answer which would abide with
you in your insanity. AND THIS HE DID. No one who hears His answer but will
give up insanity. [T91] For His answer is the reference point BEYOND illusions,
from which you can look back on them and SEE them as insane. But seek THIS
place and you WILL find it, for Love is in you and will lead you there.
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T 12 D. Healing and Time
T 12 D 1. And now the reason why you are afraid of this course should be
apparent. For this is a course on love because it is about YOU. You have been
told that your function in this world is healing, and your function in Heaven is
creating. The ego teaches that your function on earth is destruction, and that
you have no function at all in Heaven. It would thus destroy you here and bury
you here, leaving you no inheritance except the dust out of which it thinks you
were made. As long as it is reasonably satisfied with you, as its reasoning
goes, it offers you oblivion. When it becomes overtly savage, it offers you
hell.
T 12 D 2. Yet neither oblivion nor hell is as unacceptable to you as Heaven.
For your definition of Heaven IS hell and oblivion, and the REAL Heaven is the
greatest threat you think you could experience. For hell and oblivion are ideas
which YOU made up, and you are bent on demonstrating their reality to establish
YOURS. If THEIR reality is questioned, you believe that YOURS is. For you
believe that ATTACK is your reality, and that your destruction is the final
proof that you were RIGHT.
T 12 D 3. Under the circumstances, would it not be more DESIRABLE to have been
wrong, even apart from the fact that you WERE wrong? While it could perhaps be
argued that death suggests there WAS life, no one would claim that it proves
there IS life. Even the past life which death might indicate could only have
been futile if it must come to this, and NEEDS this to prove that it was. You
question Heaven, but you do not question THIS. You could heal and be healed if
you DID question it. And even though you know not Heaven, might it not be more
desirable than death? You have been as selective in your questioning as in your
perception. An open mind is more honest than this.
T 12 D 4. The ego has a very strange notion of time, and it is with this notion
that your questioning might well begin. The ego invests heavily in the past,
and in the end believes that the past is the ONLY aspect of time that is
meaningful. You will remember that we said its emphasis on guilt
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enables it to ensure its continuity by making the future LIKE the past, and thus
avoiding the present. By the notion of PAYING for the past in the future the
past becomes the DETERMINER of the future, making them continuous WITHOUT an
intervening present. For the ego uses the present ONLY as a brief transition to
the future, in which it brings the past TO the future by interpreting the
present in PAST terms.
T 12 D 5. NOW has no meaning to the ego. The present merely reminds it of past
hurts, and it reacts to the present as if it WERE the past. The ego cannot
tolerate RELEASE from the past, and although the past is no more, the ego tries
to preserve its image by responding AS IF it were present. Thus it dictates
reactions to those you meet now from a PAST reference point, obscuring their
present reality. In effect, if you follow the ego's dictates, you will react to
your brothers as though they were someone ELSE, and this will surely prevent you
from perceiving them as they ARE. And you will receive messages from them out
of your OWN past because, by making it real in the present, you are forbidding
yourself to LET IT GO. You thus deny yourself the message of release that every
brother offers you NOW.
T 12 D 6. The shadowy figures from the past are precisely what you must ESCAPE.
For they are not real, and have no hold over you unless you bring them WITH
you. They carry the spots of pain in your minds, directing you to attack in the
present in retaliation for a past that is no more. And this decision is one of
FUTURE pain. Unless you learn that past pain is delusional, you are choosing a
future of illusions and losing the endless opportunities which you could find
for release in the present. The ego would PRESERVE your nightmares, and PREVENT
you from awakening and understanding that they ARE past.
T 12 D 7. Would you RECOGNIZE a holy encounter if you are merely perceiving it
as a meeting with your own past? For you are meeting no one, and the SHARING of
salvation, which MAKES the encounter holy, is excluded from your sight. The
Holy Spirit teaches that you always meet YOURSELF, and the
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encounter is holy because YOU are. The ego teaches that you always encounter
your past, and because your dreams WERE not holy the future CANNOT be, and the
present is without meaning. It is evident that the Holy Spirit's perception of
time is the exact opposite of the ego's. The reason is equally clear, for they
perceive the goal of time as diametrically opposed.
T 12 D 8. The Holy Spirit interprets time's purpose as rendering the need for
it unnecessary. Thus does He regard the function of time as temporary, serving
only His teaching function, which is temporary by definition. HIS emphasis is
therefore on the only aspect of time which CAN extend to the infinite, for NOW
is the closest approximation of eternity which this world offers. It is in the
REALITY of now, without past OR future, that the beginning of the appreciation
of eternity lies. For only now is HERE, and IT presents the opportunities for
the holy encounters in which salvation can be found.
T 12 D 9. The ego, on the other hand, regards the function of time as one of
extending itself IN PLACE of eternity, for, like the Holy Spirit, the ego
interprets the goal of time as its own. The continuity of past and future,
under ITS direction, is the only purpose the ego perceives in time, and it
closes over the present so that no gap in its OWN continuity can occur. ITS
continuity, then, would KEEP you in time, while the Holy Spirit would release
you FROM it. It is HIS interpretation of the means of salvation which you must
learn to accept, if you would share His goal of salvation for you.
T 12 D 10. You, too, will interpret the function of time as you interpret
yours. If you accept your function in the world of time as healing, you will
emphasize ONLY the aspect of time in which healing can occur. For healing
CANNOT be accomplished in the past, and MUST be accomplished in the present to
release the FUTURE. This interpretation ties the future to the PRESENT, and
extends the present rather than the past. But if you interpret your function as
destruction, you will lose sight of the present and hold on to the past to
ENSURE a destructive future. And time WILL be as you interpret it, for of
itself it is NOTHING.
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T 12 E. The Two Emotions
T 12 E 1. We have said that you have but two emotions, love and fear. One is
changeless but continually exchanged, being offered BY the eternal TO the
eternal. In this exchange it is extended, for it INCREASES as it is given. The
other has many forms, for the content of individual illusions differs greatly.
Yet they have one thing in common; they are all insane. They are made of sights
which are NOT seen and sounds which are NOT heard. They make up a private world
which CANNOT be shared. For they are meaningful ONLY to their maker, and so
they have no meaning at all. In this world their maker moves alone, for only he
perceives them.
T 12 E 2. Each one peoples his world with figures from his individual past, and
it is because of this that private worlds DO differ. Yet the figures that he
sees were NEVER real, for they are made up only of HIS reactions to his
brothers, and do not include their reactions to HIM. Therefore he does not SEE
that he made them, and that they are not whole. For these figures have no
witnesses, being perceived in one separate mind only.
T 12 E 3. It is THROUGH these strange and shadowy figures that the insane
relate to their insane world. For they see ONLY those who remind them of these
images, and it is to THEM that they relate. Thus do they communicate with those
who are not there, and it is THEY who answer them. And no one hears their
answer save him who called upon them, and he alone believes they answered him.
Projection makes perception, and you CANNOT see beyond it. Again and again have
men attacked each other because they saw in them a shadow figure in their OWN
private world. And thus it is that you MUST attack yourself first, for what you
attack is NOT in others. Its only reality is in your OWN mind, and by attacking
others you are literally attacking what is NOT THERE.
T 12 E 4. The delusional can be very destructive, for they do not recognize
that they have condemned THEMSELVES. They do not wish to die, yet they will not
let condemnation GO. And so they separate into their private worlds, where
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everything is disordered, and where what is within appears to be without. Yet
what IS within they do not see, for the REALITY of their brothers they CANNOT
see.
T 12 E 5. You have but two emotions, yet in your private world you react to
each of them as though it were the OTHER. For love cannot abide in a world
apart, where when it comes it is not recognized. If you see your own hatred AS
your brother, you are not seeing HIM. Everyone draws nigh unto what he loves,
and recoils from what he fears. And you react with fear to love, and draw away
from it. Yet fear ATTRACTS you, and believing it IS love, you call it to
yourself. Your private world is filled with the figures of fear you have
invited into it, and all the love your brothers offer you, YOU DO NOT SEE. As
you look with open eyes upon your world, it MUST occur to you that you have
withdrawn into insanity.
T 12 E 6. You see what is not there, and you hear what is soundless. Your
behavioral manifestations of emotions are the OPPOSITE of what the emotions are.
You communicate with no one, and you are as isolated from reality as if you
were alone in all the universe. In your madness you overlook reality
COMPLETELY, and you see only your OWN split mind everywhere you look. God calls
you and you do not hear, for you are preoccupied with your own voice. And the
vision of Christ is not in your sight, for you look upon yourself ALONE.
T 12 E 7. Little children, would you offer THIS to your Father? For if you
offer it to yourself you ARE offering it to Him. And He will NOT return it, for
it is unworthy of you because it is unworthy of Him. Yet He WOULD release you
from it and set you free. His sane answer tells you that what you have offered
yourself is not true, but HIS offering to you has never changed. You who know
not what you do CAN learn what insanity is, and look beyond it. It is given you
to learn how to DENY insanity, and come forth from your private world in peace.
T 12 E 8. You will see all that you denied in your brothers BECAUSE you
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denied it in yourself. For you will love them, and by drawing nigh unto them
you will draw them to yourself, perceiving them as witnesses to your reality
which you share with God. I am with THEM as I am with YOU, and we will draw
them from their private worlds, for as we are united so would we unite with
them. The Father welcomes all of us in gladness, and gladness is what WE should
offer HIM. For every Son of God is given you to whom God gave HIMSELF. And it
is God to [T92] Whom you must offer them, to recognize His gift to YOU.
T 12 E 9. Vision depends on light, and you cannot see in darkness. Yet in the
darkness, in the private world of sleep, you SEE in dreams although your eyes
are closed. And it is here that what you see you MADE. But let the darkness go
and all you made you will no longer see, for sight of it depends upon DENYING
vision. Yet from denying vision it does not follow that you CANNOT see. But
this is what denial DOES, for by it you ACCEPT insanity, believing you can make
a private world and rule your OWN perceptions. Yet for this, [T93] light MUST be
excluded. Dreams disappear when light has come and you can SEE.
T 12 E 10. Do not seek vision through YOUR eyes, for you MADE your way of
seeing that you might see in darkness, and in this you are deceived. BEYOND
this darkness, and yet still WITHIN you, is the vision of Christ, Who looks on
all in light. Your vision comes from fear, as His from love. And He sees FOR
you as your witness to the real world. He is the Holy Spirit's manifestation,
looking always on the real world, and calling forth its witnesses and drawing
them unto YOU. For He loves what He sees within you, and He would EXTEND it.
And He will not return unto the Father until He has extended your perception
even unto Him. And there perception is no more, for He has returned you to the
Father with Him.
T 12 E 11. You have but two emotions, and one you made and one was given
you. Each is a WAY OF SEEING, and different worlds arise from their different
visions. See through the vision that is given you, for through Christ's vision
He beholds Himself. And seeing what He is, He knows His Father.
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Beyond your darkest dreams He sees God's guiltless Son within you, shining in
perfect radiance which is undimmed by your dreams. And this YOU will see as you
look with Him, for His vision is His gift of love to you, given Him of the
Father FOR you.
T 12 E 12. The Holy Spirit is the light in which Christ stands revealed.
And all who would behold Him can see Him, for they have ASKED for light. Nor
will they see Him ALONE, for He is no more alone than they are. Because they
saw the Son they have risen in Him to the Father. And all this will they
understand because they looked within and saw beyond the darkness the Christ in
them, and RECOGNIZED Him. In the sanity of His vision they looked upon
themselves with love, seeing themselves as the Holy Spirit sees them. And WITH
this vision of the truth in them came all the beauty of the world to shine upon
them.
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T 12 F. Finding the Present
T 12 F 1. To perceive truly is to be aware of ALL reality through the awareness
of your own. But for this NO illusions can rise to meet your sight, for ALL
reality leaves no room for ANY error. This means that you perceive a brother
only as you see him NOW. His past has NO reality in the present, and you CANNOT
see it. YOUR past reactions to him are ALSO not there, and if it is to them
that you react NOW, you see but an image of him which you made and cherish
INSTEAD of him. In your questioning of illusions, ask yourself if it is REALLY
sane to perceive what WAS NOW. If you remember the past as you look upon your
brother, you will be unable to perceive the reality that is NOW.
T 12 F 2. You consider it "natural" to use your past experience as the
reference point from which to JUDGE the present. Yet this is UNNATURAL because
it is delusional. When you have learned to look upon everyone with NO REFERENCE
AT ALL to the past, either his or yours as you perceived it, you will be able to
learn from what you see NOW. For the past can cast no shadow to darken the
present UNLESS YOU ARE AFRAID OF LIGHT. And only if you are would you choose to
bring this darkness WITH you, and by holding it in your minds, see it as a dark
cloud that shrouds your brothers and conceals their reality from your sight.
T 12 F 3. THIS DARKNESS IS IN YOU. The Christ revealed to you NOW has no past
for He is changeless, and in HIS changelessness lies YOUR release. For if He is
as He was created, there is no guilt in Him. No cloud of guilt has risen to
obscure Him, and He stands revealed in everyone you meet because you see Him
through HIMSELF. To be born again is to LET THE PAST GO and look without
condemnation upon the present. For the cloud which obscures God's Son to you IS
the past, and if you would have it past AND GONE, you must not see it NOW. If
you see it now in your delusions it has NOT gone from you, although it is not
there.
T 12 F 4. Time can release as well as imprison, depending on whose
interpretation of it you use. Past, present and future are not continuous
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unless you FORCE continuity on them. You can PERCEIVE them as continuous, and
make them so for YOU. But do not be deceived and then believe that this is how
it IS, for to believe that reality is what you would HAVE it be according to
your use for it IS delusional. You would destroy time's continuity by breaking
it into past, present and future FOR YOUR OWN PURPOSES. You would anticipate
the future on the basis of your past experience and plan for it accordingly.
Yet by doing so you are ALIGNING past and future, and not allowing the miracle,
which could intervene BETWEEN them, to free you to be born again.
T 12 F 5. The miracle enables you to see your brother WITHOUT his past, and so
perceive HIM as born again. His errors ARE all past, and by perceiving him
without them you are RELEASING him. And since his past is YOURS, you SHARE in
this release. Let no dark cloud out of YOUR past obscure him from you, for
truth lies ONLY in the present, and you will find it if you seek it there. You
have looked for it where it is NOT, and therefore have not found it. Learn,
then, to seek it where it IS, and it will dawn on eyes that see. Your past was
made in anger, and if you use it to attack the present you will not SEE the
freedom that the present holds. Judgment and condemnation are BEHIND you, and
unless you bring them WITH you, you will see that you ARE free of them.
T 12 F 6. Look lovingly upon the present, for it holds the ONLY things that are
forever true. All healing lies within it because ITS continuity is real. It
extends to all aspects of consciousness AT THE SAME TIME, and thus enables them
to reach EACH OTHER. The present is before time was, and will be when time is
no more. In it is everything that is eternal, and they are one. Their
continuity is timeless and their communication is unbroken, for they are not
separated by the past. Only the past CAN separate, and IT is nowhere.
T 12 F 7. The present offers you your brothers in the light that would unite
you with them and free you FROM the past. Would you, then, hold the
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past AGAINST them? For if you do, you are choosing to remain in the darkness
that is not there, and refusing to accept the light that is offered you. For
the light of perfect vision is freely given as it is freely received, and can be
accepted only WITHOUT LIMIT. In this one, still dimension of time, which does
not change and where there is no sight of what you were, you look at Christ and
call His witnesses to shine on you BECAUSE YOU CALLED THEM FORTH. And THEY will
not deny the truth in you because you looked for it in them and FOUND it there.
T 12 F 8. Now is the time of salvation, for now is the RELEASE from time.
Reach out to all your brothers, and touch them with the touch of Christ. In
timeless union with them is YOUR continuity, unbroken because it is wholly
shared. God's guiltless Son is ONLY light. There is no darkness in him
anywhere, for he is whole. Call all your brothers to witness to his wholeness,
as I am calling you to join with me. Every voice has a part in the song of
redemption, the hymn of gladness and thanksgiving for the light to the Creator
of light. The holy light that shines forth from God's Son is the witness that
his light is of his Father.
T 12 F 9. Shine on your brothers in remembrance of your Creator, for you will
remember Him as you call forth the witnesses to His creation. Those whom you
heal bear witness to YOUR healing, for in their wholeness you will see your own.
And as your hymns of praise and gladness rise to your Creator, He will return
your thanks in His clear answer to your call. For it can never be that His Son
called upon Him and remained unanswered. His call to you is but your call to
Him. And IN Him you are answered by His peace.
T 12 F 10. Children of Light, you know not that the light is in you. Yet
you will find it through its witnesses, for having GIVEN light to them they will
RETURN it. Everyone you see in light brings YOUR light closer to your OWN
awareness. Love always leads to love. The sick, who ask for love, are grateful
for it, and in their joy they shine with holy thanks. And this they offer you
who GAVE them joy. They are your guides to joy, for having
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received it of you they would keep it. You have established them as guides to
peace, for you have made it manifest in them. And SEEING it, its beauty calls
YOU home.
T 12 F 11. There is a light which this world cannot give. Yet YOU can
give it, as it was given you. And as you give it, it shines forth to call you
from the world and follow it. For this light will attract you as nothing in
this world can do. And you will lay aside the world and find another. This
other world is bright with love which YOU have given it. And here will
everything remind you of your Father and His holy Son. Light is unlimited, and
spreads across this world in quiet joy. All those you brought with you will
shine on you, and you will shine on them in gratitude because they brought you
here. Your light will join with theirs in power so compelling that it will draw
the others out of darkness as you look on them.
T 12 F 12. Awakening unto Christ is following the laws of love of your
free will, and out of quiet recognition of the truth in them. The attraction of
light must draw you willingly, and willingness is signified by GIVING. Those
who accept love of you become your willing witnesses to the love you gave them,
and it is THEY who hold it out to YOU. In sleep you are alone, and your
awareness is narrowed to yourself. And that is why the nightmares come. You
dream of isolation BECAUSE your eyes are closed. You do not SEE your brothers,
and in the darkness you cannot look upon the light you gave to them.
T 12 F 13. And yet the laws of love are not suspended because you sleep.
And you have followed them through all your nightmares, and have been faithful
in your giving, for you were NOT alone. Even in sleep has Christ protected you,
ensuring the real world for you when you wake. In YOUR name He has given FOR
you, and given YOU the gifts He gave. God's Son is still as loving as his
Father. Continuous WITH his Father, he has no past apart from Him. So he has
never ceased to be his Father's witness AND HIS OWN. Although he slept,
Christ's vision did not leave him. And so it is that he can call unto himself
the witnesses that teach him that he never slept.
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T 12 G. Attainment of the Real World
T 12 G 1. Sit quietly and look upon the world you see, and tell yourself: [T94]
"The real world is not like this. It has no buildings, and there are no streets
where people walk alone and separate. There are no stores where people buy an
endless list of things they do not need. It is not lit with artificial light,
and night comes not upon it. There is no day that brightens and grows dim.
There is no loss. Nothing is there but shines, and shines forever."
T 12 G 2. The world YOU see must be DENIED, for sight of it is costing you a
different kind of vision. YOU CANNOT SEE BOTH WORLDS, for each of them involves
a different kind of seeing and depends on what you cherish. The sight of one is
possible BECAUSE you have denied the other. Both are not true, yet either one
will seem as real to you as the amount to which you hold it dear. And yet their
power is NOT the same because their real attraction to you is unequal.
T 12 G 3. You do not really want the world you see, for it has disappointed you
since time began. The homes you built have never sheltered you. The roads you
made have led you nowhere, and no city that you built has withstood the
crumbling assault of time. Nothing you made but has the mark of death upon it.
Hold it not dear, for it is old and tired, and ready to return to dust even as
you made it. This aching world has not the power to touch the living world at
all. You could not give it that, and so although you turn in sadness from it,
you cannot find in IT the road that leads away from it into another world.
T 12 G 4. Yet the real world has the power to touch you even here BECAUSE YOU
LOVE IT. And what you call with love WILL come to you. Love ALWAYS answers,
being unable to deny a call for help, or not to hear the cries of pain that rise
to it from every part of this strange world you made but do not want. The only
effort you need make to give this world away in glad exchange for what you did
not make is willingness to learn THE ONE YOU MADE IS FALSE.
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T 12 G 5. You HAVE been wrong about the world because you have misjudged
YOURSELF. From such a twisted reference point what COULD you see? All vision
starts WITH THE PERCEIVER, who judges what is true and what is false. And what
he judges false HE DOES NOT SEE. You who would judge reality CANNOT see it, for
whenever judgment enters reality has slipped away. The out of mind is out of
sight because what is denied is there, but is not RECOGNIZED. Christ is still
there, although you know Him not. His Being does not depend upon your
recognition. He lives within you in the quiet present, and waits for you to
leave the past behind and enter into the world He holds out to you in love.
T 12 G 6. No one in this distracted world but has seen some glimpses of the
other world about him. Yet while he still lays value on his own, he will DENY
the vision of the other world, maintaining that he loves what he loves not, and
following not the road that love points out. Love leads so gladly! And as you
follow Him, you will rejoice that you have found His company, and learned of Him
the joyful journey home. You wait but for YOURSELF. To give this sad world
over and exchange your errors for the peace of God is but YOUR will. And Christ
will ALWAYS offer you the Will of God, in recognition that you share it with
Him.
T 12 G 7. It is God's Will that nothing touch His Son except Himself, and
nothing else comes nigh unto him. He is as safe from pain as God Himself, Who
watches over him in everything. The world about him shines with love because
God placed him in Himself where pain is not, and love surrounds him without end
or flaw. Disturbance of his peace can never be. In perfect sanity he looks on
love, for it is all about him and within him. He MUST deny the world of pain
the instant he perceives the arms of love around him. And from this point of
safety he looks quietly about him, and recognizes that the world is one with
him.
T 12 G 8. The peace of God passeth your understanding ONLY in the past. Yet
here it IS, and you can understand it NOW. God loves His Son forever,
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and His Son RETURNS his Father's Love forever. The real world is the way that
leads you to remembrance of this one thing that is wholly true and wholly YOURS.
For all else you have lent yourself in time, and it will fade. But this one
thing is ALWAYS yours, being the gift of God unto His Son. Your ONE reality was
given you, and by it God created you as one with Him.
T 12 G 9. You will first dream of peace, and then awaken to it. Your first
exchange of what you made for what you want is the exchange of nightmares for
the happy dreams of love. In these lie your true perceptions, for the Holy
Spirit corrects the world of dreams where ALL perception is. Knowledge needs no
correction. Yet the dreams of love lead UNTO knowledge. In them you see
nothing fearful, and because of this they are the welcome that you OFFER
knowledge. Love waits on welcome, NOT on time, and the real world is but your
welcome of what always was. Therefore the call of joy is in it, and your glad
response is your awakening to what you have not lost. Praise, then, the Father
for the perfect sanity of His most holy Son.
T 12 G 10. Your Father knoweth that you have need of nothing. In Heaven
this is so, for what could you need in eternity? In YOUR world you DO need
things because it is a world of scarcity in which you find yourself BECAUSE you
are lacking. Yet CAN you find yourself in such a world? Without the Holy
Spirit the answer would be no. Yet because of Him the answer is a joyous YES!
As Mediator between the two worlds, He knows what you have need of and what will
not hurt you. Ownership is a dangerous concept if it is left to you. The ego
wants to HAVE things for salvation, for possession is its law. Possession for
its OWN sake is the ego's fundamental creed, a basic cornerstone in the churches
that it builds unto itself. And at ITS altar it demands you lay ALL of the
things it bids you get, leaving you no joy in them.
T 12 G 11. Everything that the ego tells you that you need will hurt you.
For although the ego urges you again and again to GET, it leaves you nothing,
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for what you get it will DEMAND of you. And even from the very hands that
grasped it, it will be wrenched and hurled into the dust. For where the ego
sees salvation it sees SEPARATION, and so you lose whatever you have gotten in
its name. Therefore ask not of yourselves what you need, for YOU DO NOT KNOW,
and your advice unto yourself WILL hurt you. For what you think you need will
merely serve to tighten up your world AGAINST the light, and render you
unwilling to question the value that this world can really hold for you.
T 12 G 12. Only the Holy Spirit KNOWS what you need. For He will give you
all things that do not block the way to light. And what else COULD you need?
In time, He gives you all the things that you need have, and will renew them as
long as you have need of them. He will take nothing from you as long as you
have ANY need of it. And yet He knows that everything you need is temporary,
and will but last until you step aside from ALL your needs, and learn that all
of them HAVE BEEN fulfilled. Therefore He has no investment in the things that
He supplies except to make certain that you will not use them on behalf of
lingering in time. He knows that you are not at home there, and He wills no
delay to wait upon your joyous home-coming.
T 12 G 13. Leave, then, your needs to Him. He will supply them with no
emphasis at all upon them. What comes to you of Him comes safely, for He will
ensure it never can become a dark spot, hidden in your mind, and kept to hurt
you. Under His guidance you will travel light and journey lightly, for His
sight is ever on the journey's end, which is His goal. God's Son is not a
traveler through OUTER worlds. However holy his perception may become, no world
outside himself holds his inheritance. Within himself he HAS no needs, for
light needs nothing but to shine in peace, and from itself to let the rays
extend in quiet to infinity.
T 12 G 14. Whenever you are tempted to undertake a foolish journey that
would lead AWAY from light, remember what you really want, and say,
"The Holy Spirit leads me unto Christ,
and where else would I go?
What need have I but to awake in Him?"
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Then follow Him in joy, with faith that He will lead you safely through all
dangers to your peace of mind that this world sets before you. Kneel not before
the altars to sacrifice, and seek not what you will surely lose. Content
yourselves with what you will as surely KEEP, and be not restless, for you
undertake a quiet journey to the peace of God, where He would have you be in
quietness.
T 12 G 15. In me you have already overcome EVERY temptation that would
hold you back. We walk together on the way to quietness that is the gift of
God. Hold me dear, for what except your brothers CAN you need? We will restore
to you the peace of mind that we must find TOGETHER. The Holy Spirit will teach
you to awaken unto us and to yourself. This is the only REAL need to be
fulfilled in time. Salvation FROM the world lies only here. My peace I GIVE
you. TAKE it of me in glad exchange for all the world has offered but to take
away. And we will spread it like a veil of light across the world's sad face,
in which we hide our brothers FROM the world, and it from them.
T 12 G 16. We cannot sing redemption's hymn alone. My task is not
completed until I have lifted every voice with mine. And yet it is NOT mine,
for as it is my gift to you, so was it the Father's gift to me, given me through
His Spirit. The sound of it will banish sorrow from the mind of God's most holy
Son, where it cannot abide. Healing in time IS needed, for joy cannot establish
its eternal reign where sorrow dwells. You dwell not here, but in eternity.
You travel but in dreams while safe at home. Give thanks to every part of you
that you have taught how to REMEMBER you. Thus does the Son of God give thanks
unto his Father for his purity.
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Chapter XIII 13 - FROM PERCEPTION TO KNOWLEDGE
T 13 A. Introduction [T95]
T 13 A 1. All therapy is release from the past. That is why the Holy Spirit is
the only therapist. He teaches that the past does not exist, a fact which
belongs to the sphere of knowledge, and which therefore no one in the world
knows. It would indeed be impossible to BE in the world with this knowledge.
For the mind that knows this unequivocally knows also that it dwells in
eternity, and utilizes no perception at all. It therefore does not consider
where it is, because the concept "where" does not mean anything to it. It knows
that it is EVERYWHERE, just as it HAS EVERYTHING, and FOREVER.
T 13 A 2. The very real difference between perception and knowledge becomes
quite apparent if you consider this: There is nothing partial about knowledge.
Every aspect is whole, and therefore no aspect is separate. YOU are an aspect
of knowledge, being in the Mind of God, Who KNOWS you. All knowledge must be
yours, for in you IS all knowledge. Perception, at its loftiest, is never
complete. Even the perception of the Holy Spirit, as perfect as perception can
be, is without meaning in Heaven. Perception can reach everywhere under His
guidance, for the vision of Christ beholds everything in light. Yet no
perception, however holy, will last forever.
T 13 B. The Role of Healing
T 13 B 1. Perfect perception, then, has many elements in common with knowledge,
making transfer to it possible. Yet the last step must be taken by God, because
the last step in your redemption, which seems to be in the future, was
accomplished by God in your creation. The separation has not interrupted it.
Creation cannot BE interrupted. The separation is merely a faulty formulation
of reality, with no effect at all. The miracle, without a function in Heaven,
IS needful here. Aspects of reality can still be seen, and they will replace
aspects of UNreality. Aspects of reality can be seen in everything and
everywhere. Yet only God can gather them together by crowning them as one with
the final gift of eternity.
T 13 B 2. Apart from the Father and the Son, the Holy Spirit has no function.
He is not separate from either, being in the mind of both and knowing that Mind
is one. He is a Thought of God, and God has given Him to you because
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He has no Thoughts He does not share. His message speaks of timelessness in
time, and that is why Christ's vision looks on everything with love. Yet even
Christ's vision is not His reality. The golden aspects of reality which spring
to light under His loving gaze are partial glimpses of the Heaven that lies
BEYOND them.
T 13 B 3. This is the miracle of creation; THAT IT IS ONE FOREVER. Every
miracle you offer to the Son of God is but the true perception of one aspect of
the whole. Though every aspect IS the whole, you cannot know this until you see
that every aspect is the SAME, perceived in the SAME light and THEREFORE one.
Everyone seen WITHOUT the past thus brings you nearer to the end of time by
bringing healed and healing sight into the darkness, and enabling the world to
see. For light must come into the darkened world to make Christ's vision
possible even here. Help Him to give His gift of light to all who think they
wander in the darkness, and let Him gather them into His quiet sight that makes
them one.
T 13 B 4. They are all the same; all beautiful and equal in their holiness.
And He will offer them unto His Father as they were offered unto Him. There is
ONE miracle, as there is ONE reality. And every miracle you do contains them
all, as every aspect of reality you see blends quietly into the One Reality of
God. The only miracle that ever was is God's most holy Son, created in the One
Reality that is his Father. Christ's vision is His gift to you. His Being is
His Father's gift to Him.
T 13 B 5. Be you content with healing, for Christ's gift you CAN bestow, and
your Father's gift you CANNOT lose. Offer Christ's gift to everyone and
everywhere, for miracles, offered the Son of God through the Holy Spirit, attune
you to reality. The Holy Spirit knows your part in the redemption, and who are
seeking you and where to find them. Knowledge is far beyond your individual
concern. You who are part of it and all of it need only realize that it is of
the Father, NOT of you. Your role in the redemption leads you to it by
re-establishing its oneness in your minds.
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T 13 B 6. When you have seen your brothers as yourself you will be RELEASED to
knowledge, having learned to free yourself of Him Who knows of freedom. Unite
with me under the holy banner of His teaching, and as we grow in strength the
power of God's Son will move in us, and we will leave no one untouched and no
one left alone. And suddenly time will be over, and we will all unite in the
eternity of God the Father. The holy light you saw outside yourself, in every
miracle you offered to your brothers, will be RETURNED to you. And KNOWING that
the light is IN you, your creations will be there with you, as you are in your
Father.
T 13 B 7. As miracles in this world join you to your brothers, so do your
creations establish your fatherhood in Heaven. YOU are the witnesses to the
Fatherhood of God, and He has given you the power to create the witnesses to
your fatherhood in Heaven. Deny a brother here, and you deny the witnesses to
your fatherhood in Heaven. [T96] The miracle which God created is perfect, as are
the miracles which YOU created in His Name. They need no healing, nor do you,
when you know THEM.
T 13 B 8. Yet in this world your perfection is unwitnessed. God knows it but
YOU do not, and so you do not share His witness to it. Nor do you witness unto
Him, for reality is witnessed to as one. God waits your witness to His Son and
to Himself. The miracles you do on earth are lifted up to Heaven and to Him.
They witness to what you do not know, and as they reach the gates of Heaven God
will open them. For never would He leave His own beloved Son outside them and
beyond Himself.
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T 13 C. The Shadow of Guilt
T 13 C 1. Guilt remains the only thing that hides the Father, for guilt is the
attack upon His Son. The guilty ALWAYS condemn, and having done so they WILL
condemn, linking the future to the past as is the ego's law. Fidelity unto this
law lets no light in, for it DEMANDS fidelity to darkness and FORBIDS awakening.
The ego's laws are strict, and breaches are severely punished. Therefore give
no obedience to its laws, for they are laws of punishment. And those who follow
them believe that they are guilty and so they MUST condemn. Between the future
and the past the laws of God must intervene, if you would free yourselves.
Atonement stands between them, like a lamp that shines so brightly that the
chain of darkness in which you bound yourselves will disappear.
T 13 C 2. Release from guilt is the ego's whole undoing. MAKE NO ONE FEARFUL,
for his guilt is yours, and by obeying the ego's harsh commandments you bring
its condemnation of yourself, and you will not escape the punishment it offers
those who obey it. The ego rewards fidelity to it with pain, for faith in it IS
pain. And faith can be rewarded only in terms of the belief in which the faith
was placed. Faith MAKES the power of belief, and where it is invested
determines its reward. For faith is ALWAYS given what is treasured, and what is
treasured IS returned to you.
T 13 C 3. The world can give you only what you gave it, for being nothing but
your own projection, it HAS no meaning apart from what you found in it and
placed your faith in. Be faithful unto darkness and you will NOT see, because
your faith will be rewarded as you GAVE it. You will accept your treasure, and
if you place your faith in the past the future WILL be like it. Whate'er you
hold as dear you think is YOURS. The power of your VALUING will make it so.
T 13 C 4. Atonement brings a re-evaluation of everything you cherish, for it is
the means by which the Holy Spirit can separate the false and the true, which
you have accepted into your minds WITHOUT DISTINCTION. Therefore, YOU cannot
value one without the other, and guilt has become as true FOR YOU as innocence.
You do not believe the Son of God is guiltless
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because you see the past and see HIM not. When you condemn a brother, you are
saying, "I who was guilty choose to REMAIN so." You have denied HIS freedom,
and by so doing you have denied the witness unto YOURS. You could as easily
have FREED him from the past, and lifted from his mind the cloud of guilt that
binds him to it. And in HIS freedom would have been your OWN.
T 13 C 5. Lay not his guilt upon him, for his guilt lies in his secret that he
thinks that he has done this unto YOU. Would you, then, teach him that he is
RIGHT in his delusion? The idea that the guiltless Son of God can attack
himself and MAKE himself guilty is insane. In ANY form, in ANYONE, BELIEVE THIS
NOT. For sin and condemnation are the same, and the belief in one is faith in
the other, calling for punishment INSTEAD of love. NOTHING can justify
insanity, and to call for punishment upon yourself MUST be insane.
T 13 C 6. See no one, then, as guilty, and you will affirm the truth of
guiltlessness unto YOURSELF. In every condemnation that you offer the Son of
God lies the conviction of your OWN guilt. If you would have the Holy Spirit
make you free of it, accept His offer of Atonement for all your brothers. For
so you learn that it is true for YOU. Remember always that it is impossible to
condemn the Son of God IN PART. Those whom you see as guilty become the
witnesses to guilt in YOU, and you will SEE it there, for it IS there until it
is undone. Guilt is ALWAYS in your own mind, which has condemned ITSELF.
Project it not, for while you do it cannot BE undone. With everyone whom you
release from guilt great is the joy in Heaven, where the witnesses to your
fatherhood rejoice.
T 13 C 7. Guilt makes you blind, for while you see one spot of guilt within
you, you will NOT see the light. And by projecting it the WORLD seems dark, and
shrouded in your guilt. You throw a dark veil over it, and cannot see it
BECAUSE YOU CANNOT LOOK WITHIN. You are afraid of what you would see there, but
it is NOT there. THE THING YOU FEAR IS GONE. If you would look within you
would see only the Atonement, shining in quiet and in peace upon
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the altar to your Father.
T 13 C 8. Do not be afraid to look within. The ego tells you all is black with
guilt within you, and bids you NOT to look. Instead, it bids you look upon your
brothers AND SEE THE GUILT IN THEM. Yet this you cannot do without remaining
blind. For those who see their brothers in the dark, and guilty in the dark in
which they shroud them, are too afraid to look upon the light within. Within
you is not what YOU believe is there, and what you put your faith in.
T 13 C 9. Within you is the holy sign of perfect faith your Father has in you.
He does not value you as you do. He knows Himself, and knows the truth in YOU.
He knows THERE IS NO DIFFERENCE, for He knows not of differences. Can YOU see
guilt where God KNOWS there is perfect innocence? You can DENY His knowledge,
but you cannot CHANGE it. Look, then, upon the light He placed within you, and
learn that what you feared was there HAS BEEN replaced with love.
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T 13 D. Release and Restoration
T 13 D 1. You are accustomed to the notion that the mind can see the source of
pain where it is not. The doubtful service of displacement is to hide the REAL
source of your guilt, and KEEP from your awareness the full perception THAT IT
IS INSANE. Displacement always is maintained by the illusion that the source,
from which attention is diverted, must be TRUE. AND MUST BE FEARFUL, or you
would not have displaced the guilt onto what you believed to be LESS fearful.
You are therefore willing, with little opposition, to look upon all sorts of
"sources" underneath awareness, provided that they are not the deeper source to
which they bear no real relationship at all.
T 13 D 2. Insane ideas HAVE no real relationships, for that is WHY they are
insane. No real relationship can rest on guilt, or even hold one spot of it to
mar its purity. For all relationships which guilt has touched are used but to
avoid the person AND the guilt. What strange relationships you have made for
this strange purpose! And you forgot that real relationships are holy, and
cannot be used by YOU at all. They are used only by the Holy Spirit, and it is
that which MAKES them pure. If you displace YOUR guilt upon them, the Holy
Spirit cannot use them. [T97] For by pre-empting for your OWN ends what you
should have given to Him, He cannot use them unto YOUR release. No one who
would unite in ANY way with ANYONE for his OWN salvation will find it in that
strange relationship. It is not shared, and so it is not real.
T 13 D 3. In any union with a brother in which you seek to lay your guilt upon
him, or share it with him, or perceive his own, you WILL feel guilty. Nor will
you find satisfaction and peace with him because your union with him is NOT
real. You will see guilt in that relationship because you PUT it there. It is
inevitable that those who suffer guilt WILL attempt to displace it because they
DO believe in it. Yet, though they suffer, they will not look within and let it
GO. They cannot know they love, and cannot understand what loving IS. Their
main concern is to perceive the source of guilt outside themselves, BEYOND their
own control.
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T 13 D 4. When you maintain that you are guilty but the source lies in the
PAST, you are NOT looking inward. The past is not IN you. Your weird
associations to it have no meaning in the present. Yet you let them stand
between you and your brothers, with whom you find no REAL relationships at all.
Can you expect to use your brothers as a means to "solve" the past, and still
to [T98] see them as they really are? Salvation is not found by those who use
their brothers to resolve problems which are not there. You wanted not
salvation in the past. Would you impose your idle wishes on the present, and
hope to find salvation NOW?
T 13 D 5. Determine, then, to be not as you were. Use no relationship to hold
you to the past, but with each one, [T99] each day, [T100] be born again. A minute,
even less, will be enough to free you from the past, and give your mind in peace
over to the Atonement. When everyone is welcome to you as you would have
yourself be welcome to your Father, you will see no guilt in you. For you will
have accepted the Atonement, which shone within you all the while you dreamed of
guilt, and would not look within and see it.
T 13 D 6. As long as you believe that guilt is justified in ANY way, in ANYONE,
WHATEVER he may do, you will not look within, where you would ALWAYS find
Atonement. The end of guilt will never come as long as you believe there is a
REASON for it. For you must learn that guilt is ALWAYS totally insane, and HAS
no reason. The Holy Spirit seeks not to dispel reality. If GUILT were
real, [T101] ATONEMENT would not be. The purpose of Atonement is to dispel
illusions, not to establish them as real and THEN forgive them.
T 13 D 7. The Holy Spirit does not keep illusions in your mind to frighten you,
and show them to you fearfully to demonstrate what He has saved you FROM. What
He has saved you from is GONE. Give no reality to guilt, and see NO reason for
it. The Holy Spirit does what God would have Him do, and has always done so.
He has seen separation, but knows of union. He teaches healing but He also
knows of creation. He would have you see and teach as
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He does, and through Him. Yet what He knows you do not know, though it is
yours.
T 13 D 8. NOW it is given you to heal and teach, to make what will be NOW. As
yet it is NOT now. The Son of God believes that he is lost in guilt, alone in a
dark world where pain is pressing everywhere upon him from WITHOUT. When he has
looked within and seen the radiance there, he will remember how much his Father
loves him. And it will seem incredible that he has ever thought his Father
loved him not, and looked upon him as condemned. The moment that you realize
guilt is INSANE, WHOLLY unjustified and WHOLLY without reason, you will not fear
to look upon the Atonement and accept it wholly.
T 13 D 9. You who have been unmerciful unto yourselves do not remember your
Father's Love. And looking without mercy upon your brothers, you do not
remember how much You love HIM. Yet it is forever true. In shining peace
within you is the perfect purity in which you were created. Fear not to look
upon the lovely truth in you. Look THROUGH the cloud of guilt that dims your
vision, and look PAST darkness to the holy place where you will see the light.
The altar to your Father is as pure as He Who raised it to Himself. Nothing can
keep from you what Christ would have you see. His will is like His Father's,
and He offers mercy to every Child of God, as He would have YOU do.
T 13 D 10. RELEASE from guilt as you would BE released. There is no other
way to look within, and see the light of love shining as steadily and as surely
as God Himself has always loved His Son. AND AS HIS SON LOVES HIM. There is no
fear in love, for love is guiltless. You who have always loved your Father can
have no fear, for ANY reason, to look within and see your holiness. You cannot
BE as you believed you were. Your guilt is without reason because it is not in
the Mind of God, where YOU are. And this IS reason, which the Holy Spirit would
RESTORE to you. He would remove only illusions. All else He would have you
see. And in Christ's vision He would
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show you the perfect purity that is forever within God's Son.
T 13 D 11. You cannot enter into REAL relationships with any of God's Sons
unless you love them all and EQUALLY. Love is not special. If you single out
PART of the Sonship for your love, you are imposing guilt on ALL your
relationships, and making them unreal. You can love ONLY as God loves. Seek
not to love unlike Him, for there IS no love apart from His. Until you
recognize that this is true you will have no idea what love is like. No one who
condemns a brother can see himself as guiltless in the peace of God. If he IS
guiltless and in peace and sees it not, he IS delusional, and has not looked
upon himself. To him I say: [T102]
"Behold the Son of God and look upon his purity and
be still. In quiet look upon his holiness, and offer
thanks unto his Father that no guilt has ever touched
him."
T 13 D 12. No illusion that you have ever held against him has touched his
innocence in any way. His shining purity, wholly untouched by guilt and wholly
loving, is bright within you. Let us look upon him together and love him. For
in our love of him is your guiltlessness. But look upon yourself, and gladness
and appreciation for what you see will banish guilt forever. I thank You,
Father, for the purity of Your most holy Son, whom You have created guiltless
forever.
T 13 D 13. Like you my faith and my belief are centered on what I
treasure. The difference is that I love ONLY what God loves with me, and
because of this, I treasure you beyond the value that you set on yourselves,
even unto the worth that God has placed upon you. I love all that He created,
and all my faith and my belief I offer unto it. My faith in you is strong as
all the love I give my Father. My trust in you is without limit, and without
the fear that you will hear me not. I thank the Father for your loveliness, and
for the many gifts that you will let me offer to the Kingdom in honor of its
wholeness which is of God.
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T 13 D 14. Praise be unto you who make the Father One with His Own Son.
Alone we are all lowly, but together we shine with brightness so intense that
none of us alone can even think on it. Before the glorious radiance of the
Kingdom guilt melts away, and transformed into kindness, will never more be what
it was. Every reaction that you experience will be so purified that it is
fitting as a hymn of praise unto your Father. See only praise of Him in what He
has created, for He will never cease His praise of YOU. United in this praise
we stand before the gates of Heaven, where we will surely enter in our
blamelessness. God loves you. Could I, then, lack faith in you and love Him
perfectly?
T 13 D 15. Forgetfulness and sleep and even death become the ego's best
advice for how to deal with the perceived and harsh intrusion of guilt on peace.
Yet no one sees himself in conflict, and ravaged by a cruel war, unless he
believes that BOTH opponents in the war are real. Believing this he must
escape, for such a war would surely end his peace of mind, and so destroy him.
Yet if he could but realize the war is between forces that are real and UNREAL
powers, he could look upon himself and SEE his freedom. No one finds himself
ravaged and torn in endless battles which he HIMSELF perceives as wholly without
meaning.
T 13 D 16. God would not have His Son embattled, and so His Son's imagined
"enemy," which he made, is TOTALLY unreal. You are but trying to escape a
bitter war from which you HAVE escaped. The war is gone. For you have heard
the hymn of freedom rising unto Heaven. Gladness and joy belong to God for your
release because you made it not. Yet as you made not freedom, so you made not a
war that could ENDANGER freedom. Nothing destructive ever was or will be. The
war, the guilt, the past are gone as one into the unreality from which they
came.
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T 13 E. The Guarantee of Heaven
T 13 E 1. When we are all united in Heaven, you will value NOTHING that you
value here. For nothing that you value here you value wholly, and so you do not
value it at all. Value is where God placed it, and the value of what God
esteems cannot BE judged, for it has been ESTABLISHED. It is WHOLLY of value.
It can merely be appreciated or not. To value it partially is not to KNOW its
value. In Heaven is everything God valued, and nothing else. Heaven is
perfectly unambiguous. Everything is clear and bright, and calls forth ONE
response. There is no darkness, and there is no contrast. There is no
variation. There is no interruption. There is a sense of peace so deep that no
dream in this world has ever brought even a dim imagining of what it is.
T 13 E 2. Nothing in this world can give this peace, for nothing in this world
is wholly shared. Perfect perception can merely show you what is CAPABLE of
being wholly shared. It can also show you the RESULTS of sharing, while you
still remember the results of NOT sharing. The Holy Spirit points quietly to
the contrast, knowing that you will finally let Him judge the difference for
you, allowing Him to demonstrate which MUST be true. He has perfect faith in
your final judgment because He knows that He will make it FOR you. To doubt
this would be to doubt that His mission will be fulfilled. How is this
possible, when His mission is of God?
T 13 E 3. You whose minds are darkened by doubt and guilt, remember this: God
gave the Holy Spirit to you, and gave Him the mission to remove all doubt and
every trace of guilt that His dear Son has laid upon himself. It is IMPOSSIBLE
that this mission fail. Nothing can prevent what God would have accomplished
from accomplishment. Whatever your reactions to the Holy Spirit's Voice may be,
whatever voice you choose to listen to, whatever strange thoughts may occur to
you, God's Will IS done. You WILL find the peace in which He has established
you because He does not change His Mind. He is invariable as the peace in which
you dwell, and of which the Holy Spirit reminds you.
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T 13 E 4. You will not remember change and shift in Heaven. You have need of
contrast only here. Contrast and differences are necessary teaching aids, for
by them you learn what to avoid and what to seek. When you have learned this
you will find the answer that makes the need for ANY differences disappear.
Truth comes of its own will unto its own. When you have learned that you BELONG
to truth, it will flow lightly over you without a difference of any kind. For
you will need no contrast to help you realize that this is what you want, and
ONLY this. Fear not the Holy Spirit will fail in what your Father has given Him
to do. The Will of God can fail in NOTHING.
T 13 E 5. Have faith in only this one thing, and it will be sufficient: God
wills you be in Heaven, and nothing can keep YOU from it or IT from you. Your
wildest misperceptions, your weird imaginings, your blackest nightmares all mean
nothing. They will not prevail against the peace God wills for you. The Holy
Spirit will restore your sanity because insanity is NOT the Will of God. If
that suffices Him, it is enough for you. You will not keep what God would have
removed because it breaks communication with you with whom He would communicate.
His Voice WILL be heard.
T 13 E 6. The communication link which God Himself placed within you, joining
your minds with His, CANNOT be broken. You may believe you WANT it broken, and
this belief DOES interfere with the deep peace in which the sweet and constant
communication which God would share with you is known. Yet His channels of
reaching out cannot be wholly closed and separated from Him. Peace will be
yours because His peace still flows to you from Him Whose Will IS peace. You
have it NOW. The Holy Spirit will teach you how to USE it, and by projecting it
to learn that it is in you.
T 13 E 7. God willed you Heaven, and will ALWAYS will you nothing else. The
Holy Spirit knows ONLY of His Will. There is no chance that Heaven will not be
yours, for God is sure, and what He wills is sure as He is. You will learn
salvation because you will learn HOW TO SAVE. It will not be possible to exempt
yourself from what the Holy Spirit wills to teach you.
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Salvation is as sure as God. His certainty suffices. Learn that even the
darkest nightmare that disturbed the mind of God's sleeping Son holds no power
over him. He WILL learn the lesson of awaking. God watches over him and light
surrounds him.
T 13 E 8. Can God's Son lose himself in dreams when God has placed WITHIN him
the glad call to waken and be glad? He cannot separate HIMSELF from what is IN
him. His sleep will not withstand the call to wake. The mission of redemption
will be fulfilled as surely as the creation will remain unchanged throughout
eternity. You do not have to know that Heaven is yours to make it so. It IS
so. Yet the Will of God must be accepted as YOUR will, to know it.
T 13 E 9. The Holy Spirit cannot fail to undo FOR you everything you have
learned that teaches you what is not true must be reconciled with truth. This
is the reconciliation which the ego would substitute for your reconciliation
unto sanity and unto peace. The Holy Spirit has a very different kind of
reconciliation in His Mind for you, and one which He WILL effect as surely as
the ego will NOT effect what it attempts.
T 13 E 10. Failure is of the ego, NOT of God. From Him you CANNOT wander,
and there is no possibility that the plan the Holy Spirit offers to everyone,
for the salvation OF everyone, will not be perfectly accomplished. You WILL be
released, and you will not remember anything you made that was not created FOR
you and BY you in return. For how can you remember what was NEVER true, or NOT
remember what has always been? It is this reconciliation with truth, and ONLY
truth, in which the peace of Heaven lies.
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T 13 F. The Testimony of Miracles
T 13 F 1. Yes, you are blessed indeed. Yet in this world you do not know it.
But you have the means for learning it and seeing it quite clearly. 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. We have followed
much of the ego's logic, and have seen its logical conclusions. And having seen
them, we have realized that they can not be seen but in illusions, for there
alone their seeming clearness SEEMS to be clearly seen. Let us now turn away
from them, and follow the simple logic by which the Holy Spirit teaches you the
simple conclusions that speak for truth, and ONLY truth.
T 13 F 2. If you are blessed and do not know it, you need to LEARN it must be
so. The knowledge is not taught, but its CONDITIONS must be acquired, for it is
they that have been thrown away. You CAN learn to bless, and CANNOT give what
you have not. If, then, you OFFER blessing, it MUST have come first to
yourself. And you must also have ACCEPTED it as yours, for how else could you
give it away?
T 13 F 3. That is why your miracles offer YOU the testimony that you are
blessed. If what you offer IS complete forgiveness, you MUST have let guilt go,
accepting the Atonement for yourself and learning you are guiltless. How could
you learn what has been done for you, but which you do not know, unless you do
what you would HAVE to do if it HAD been done unto you? INdirect proof of truth
is needed in a world made of denial and without direction. You will perceive
the need for this if you will realize that to deny is the decision NOT to know.
The logic of the world MUST therefore lead to nothing, for its GOAL is nothing.
T 13 F 4. If you decide to have and give and BE nothing except a dream, you
MUST direct your thoughts unto oblivion. And if you have and give and are
EVERYTHING, and all this has been DENIED, your thought system is closed off, and
wholly separated from the truth. This IS an insane world, and do
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not underestimate the actual extent of its insanity. There is no area of your
perception that it has not touched, and your dream IS sacred to you. That is
why God placed the Holy Spirit IN you, where you placed the dream.
T 13 F 5. Seeing is always OUTWARD. Were your thoughts wholly of YOU, the
thought system which you made would be forever dark. The thoughts which the
mind of God's Son projects have all the power that he gives to them. The
thoughts he shares with God are BEYOND his belief, but those he made ARE his
beliefs. And it is THESE, and NOT the truth, that he has chosen to defend and
love. They will not be taken from him. But they can be GIVEN UP by him, for
the Source of their undoing is IN him. There is nothing IN the world to teach
him that the logic of the world is totally insane, and leads to nothing. Yet in
him who made this insane logic there is One Who KNOWS it leads to nothing, for
He knows everything.
T 13 F 6. Any direction which will lead you where the Holy Spirit leads you not
goes nowhere. Anything you deny which He knows to be true you have denied
YOURSELF, and He must therefore teach you NOT to deny it. Undoing IS indirect,
as doing is. You were created only to CREATE, neither to see NOR do. These are
but indirect expressions of the will to live, which has been blocked by the
capricious and unholy whim of death and murder that your Father shared not with
you. You have set yourselves the task of sharing what can not BE shared. And
while you think it possible to LEARN to do this, you will not believe all that
IS possible to learn to do.
T 13 F 7. The Holy Spirit, therefore, must begin His teaching by showing you
what you can NEVER learn. His MESSAGE is not indirect, but He must introduce
the simple truth into a thought system which has become so twisted and so
complex that you cannot SEE that it means nothing. HE merely looks at its
foundation and dismisses it. But YOU who cannot undo what you have made, nor
escape the heavy burden of it’s dullness that lies upon your minds [T103], cannot
see THROUGH it. It deceives you because you chose to deceive yourselves. Those
who choose to BE deceived will merely attack direct approaches, which would seem
but to encroach upon deception and strike at it.
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T 13 G. The Happy Learner
T 13 G 1. The Holy Spirit needs a happy learner, in whom His mission can be
happily accomplished. You who are steadfastly devoted to misery must first
recognize that you ARE miserable and NOT happy. The Holy Spirit cannot teach
without this contrast, for you believe that misery IS happiness. This has so
confused you that you have undertaken to learn to do what you can NEVER do,
believing that UNLESS you learn it, you will not be happy. You do not realize
that the foundation on which this most peculiar learning goal depends means
ABSOLUTELY NOTHING. It DOES make sense to you.
T 13 G 2. Have faith in nothing, and you will FIND the "treasure" that you
sought. Yet you will add another burden to your mind, ALREADY burdened or you
would not have sought another. You will believe that nothing is OF VALUE, and
WILL value it. A little piece of glass, a speck of dust, a body or a war are
one to you. For if you value ONE thing made of nothing, you HAVE believed that
nothing can be precious, and that you can learn how to make the untrue TRUE.
T 13 G 3. The Holy Spirit, SEEING where you are but KNOWING you are elsewhere,
begins His lesson in simplicity with the fundamental teaching that TRUTH IS
TRUE. This is the hardest lesson you will ever learn, and in the end the ONLY
one. Simplicity is very difficult for twisted minds. Consider all the
distortions you have made of nothing; all the strange forms and feelings and
actions and reactions that you have woven out of it. Nothing is so alien to you
as the simple truth, and nothing are you less inclined to listen to. The
contrast between what is true and what is not is PERFECTLY apparent, yet you do
not see it.
T 13 G 4. The simple and the obvious are not apparent to those who would make
palaces and royal robes of nothing, believing they are kings with golden crowns
because of them. All this the Holy Spirit sees, and teaches, simply, that all
this is not true. To these unhappy learners who would teach themselves nothing
and delude themselves into believing that it is NOT nothing, the Holy Spirit
says, with steadfast quietness:
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"The truth is true. Nothing else matters, nothing else is real, and everything
beside it is not there. Let Me make the one distinction for you which you
cannot make but need to LEARN. Your faith in nothing IS deceiving you. Offer
your faith to Me, and I will place it gently in the holy place where it belongs.
You will find NO deception there, but only the simple truth. And you will love
it because you will UNDERSTAND it."
T 13 G 5. Like you, the Holy Spirit did not MAKE truth. Like God, He KNOWS it
to be true. He brings the light of truth into the darkness, and LETS it shine
on you. And as it shines, your brothers see it, and realizing that this light
is not what you have made, they see in you more than YOU see. They will be
happy learners of the lesson which this light brings to them because it teaches
them RELEASE from nothing and from all the works of nothing. The heavy chains
which seem to bind them unto despair they do not see as nothing until you bring
the light to them. And THEN they see the chains have disappeared, and so they
MUST have been nothing. And YOU will see it with them. BECAUSE you taught them
gladness and release, they will become YOUR teachers in release and gladness.
T 13 G 6. When you teach anyone that truth is true, you learn it WITH him. And
so you learn that what seemed hardest was the easiest. Learn to be happy
learners. You will NEVER learn how to make nothing everything. Yet see that
this HAS been your goal, and RECOGNIZE how foolish it has been. Be glad it is
undone, for when you look at it in simple honesty, it IS undone. We said
before, "Be not content with nothing," for you HAVE believed that nothing could
content you. IT IS NOT SO.
T 13 G 7. If you would be a happy learner, you must give EVERYTHING that you
have learned over to the Holy Spirit to be UNLEARNED for you. And then begin to
learn the joyous lessons that come quickly on the firm foundation that truth is
true. For what is builded there IS true, and BUILT on truth. The universe of
learning will open up before you in all its gracious simplicity.
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With truth before you, you will not look back.
T 13 G 8. The happy learner meets the conditions of learning here, as he also
meets the conditions of knowledge in the Kingdom. All this lies in the Holy
Spirit's plan to free you from the past, and open up the way to freedom for you.
For truth IS true. What else could ever be, or ever was? This simple lesson
holds the key to the dark door which you believe is locked forever. You MADE
this door of nothing, and behind it IS nothing. The key is only the light which
shines away the shapes and forms and fears of nothing. Accept this key to
freedom from the hands of Christ Who gives it to you, that you may join Him in
the holy task of bringing light to darkness. For, like your brothers, you do
not realize the light has come, and FREED you from the sleep of darkness.
T 13 G 9. Behold your brothers in their freedom, and learn of them how to be
FREE of darkness. The light in you will waken them, and they will not leave YOU
asleep. The vision of Christ is given the very instant that it is perceived.
Where everything is clear it is all holy. The quietness of its simplicity is so
compelling that you will realize it is IMPOSSIBLE to deny the simple truth. For
there IS nothing else. God is everywhere, and His Son is in Him with
everything. Can he sing the dirge of sorrow when THIS is true?
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T 13 H. The Decision for Guiltlessness
T 13 H 1. Learning will be commensurate with motivation, and the interference
in your motivation for learning is exactly the same as that which interferes
with ALL your thinking. The happy learner cannot FEEL GUILTY about learning.
This is so essential to learning that it should never be forgotten. The
guiltless learner learns so easily because his thoughts are free. Yet this
entails the recognition that guilt is INTERFERENCE, NOT salvation, and serves no
useful function at all.
T 13 H 2. You are accustomed to using guiltlessness merely to offset the pain
of guilt, and do not look upon it as having value IN ITSELF. You believe that
guilt and guiltlessness are BOTH of value, each representing an escape from what
the other does not offer you. You do not want either alone, for without both
you do not see yourselves as whole and therefore happy. Yet you are whole ONLY
in your guiltlessness, and only in your guiltlessness CAN you be happy. There
IS no conflict here. To wish for guilt in ANY way, in ANY form, will lose
appreciation of the value of your guiltlessness, and push it from your sight.
T 13 H 3. There is no compromise that you can make with guilt, and escape the
pain which ONLY guiltlessness allays. Learning is living here, as creating is
Being in Heaven. Whenever the pain of guilt SEEMS to attract you, remember
that, if you yield to it, you are deciding AGAINST your happiness, and will not
learn HOW to be happy. Say, therefore, to yourself, gently, but with the
conviction born of the love of God and of His Son: [T104]
"What I experience I will make manifest.
If I am guiltless I have nothing to fear.
I choose to testify to my ACCEPTANCE of the
Atonement, NOT for its rejection.
I would accept my guiltlessness by making it
manifest and SHARING it.
Let me bring peace to God's Son from his Father."
T 13 H 4. Each day, each hour and minute, even each [T105] second, you are
deciding between the crucifixion and the resurrection; between the ego and the
Holy Spirit. The ego is the choice for guilt; the Holy Spirit the decision for
guiltlessness. The power of decision is all that is yours. What
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you can decide BETWEEN is fixed, because there are no alternatives except truth
and illusion. And there is no overlap between them, because they are opposites
which CANNOT be reconciled and CANNOT both be true. You are guilty OR
guiltless, bound OR free, happy OR unhappy.
T 13 H 5. The miracle teaches you that you have chosen guiltlessness, freedom
and joy. It is not a cause, but an EFFECT. It is the natural result of
choosing right, attesting to your happiness that comes from choosing to be free
of guilt. Everyone you offer healing to returns it. Everyone you attack keeps
it and cherishes it by holding it against you. Whether he does this or does it
not will make no difference; you will THINK he does. It is impossible to offer
what you do not want without this penalty. The cost of giving IS receiving.
Either it is a penalty from which you suffer, or the happy purchase of a
treasure to hold dear.
T 13 H 6. No penalty is ever asked of God's Son except BY himself and OF
himself. Every chance given him to heal is another opportunity to replace
darkness with light and fear with love. If he refuses it, he binds himself to
darkness because he did not choose to free his brother, and enter light with
him. By GIVING power to nothing, he threw away the joyous opportunity to learn
that nothing HAS no power. And by NOT dispelling darkness he became afraid of
darkness AND of light. The joy of learning that darkness has no power over the
Son of God is the happy lesson the Holy Spirit teaches, and would have YOU teach
with Him. It is HIS joy to teach it, as it will be YOURS.
T 13 H 7. The way to teach this simple lesson is merely this: Guiltlessness IS
invulnerability. Therefore, make your invulnerability manifest to everyone, and
teach him that, WHATEVER he may try to do to you, your perfect freedom from the
belief that you can be harmed shows him HE is guiltless. He can do NOTHING that
can hurt you, and by refusing to allow him to THINK he can, you teach him that
the Atonement, which you have accepted for YOURSELF, is also HIS. There IS
nothing to forgive. No one can hurt the Son of God.
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His guilt is wholly without cause, and being without cause CANNOT exist.
T 13 H 8. God is the ONLY Cause, and guilt is not of Him. Teach no one he has
hurt you, for if you do, you teach yourself that what is not of God HAS power
over you. THE CAUSELESS CANNOT BE. Do not attest to it, and do not foster
belief in it in any mind. Remember always that MIND is one and CAUSE is one.
You will learn communication with this oneness ONLY when you learn to DENY the
causeless, and accept the Cause of God as YOURS. The power that God has given
to His Son IS his, and nothing else can His Son see or choose to look upon
without imposing on himself the penalty of guilt IN PLACE of all the happy
teaching the Holy Spirit would gladly offer him.
T 13 H 9. Whenever you decide to make decisions for yourself, you are thinking
destructively, and the decision WILL be wrong. It will hurt you because of the
concept of decision which led to it. It is not true that you can make decisions
BY yourself or FOR yourself alone. No thought of God's Son CAN be separate or
isolated in its effects. Every decision is made for the WHOLE Sonship, directed
in and out, and influencing a constellation larger than anything you ever
dreamed of. Those who accept the Atonement ARE invulnerable. But those who
believe they are guilty WILL respond to guilt, because they think it is
salvation, and will not refuse to see it and side with it. They BELIEVE that
INCREASING guilt is self-PROTECTION. [T106] And they will fail to understand the
simple fact that what they do not want MUST hurt them.
T 13 H 10. All this arises because they do not believe that what they want
is GOOD. Yet will was given them BECAUSE it is holy, and will bring to them ALL
that they need, coming as naturally as peace that knows no limits. There is
nothing their wills will not provide that offers them ANYTHING of value. Yet
because they do not understand their will, the Holy Spirit quietly understands
it FOR them, and GIVES them what they will without effort, strain, or the
impossible burden of deciding what they want and need alone.
T 13 H 11. It will never happen that you will have to make decisions for
yourself. You are not bereft of help, and Help that KNOWS the answer. Would
you be content with little, which is all that you alone can offer yourself,
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when He Who gives you everything will simply OFFER it to you? He will never ask
what you have done to make you worthy of the gift of God. Ask it not therefore
of yourselves. Instead, accept His answer, for He KNOWS that you are worthy of
everything God wills for you. Do not try to escape the gift of God which He so
freely and so gladly offers you. He offers you but what God gave Him FOR you.
You need not decide whether or not you are deserving of it. God knows you ARE.
T 13 H 12. Would you deny the truth of God's decision, and place your
pitiful appraisal of yourself in place of His calm and unswerving value of His
Son? NOTHING can shake God's conviction of the perfect purity of everything
that He created, for it IS wholly pure. Do not decide against it, for being of
Him it MUST be true. Peace abides in every mind that quietly accepts the plan
which God has set for his Atonement, relinquishing his OWN. You know not of
salvation, for you do not understand it. Make no decisions about what it is or
where it lies, but ask of the Holy Spirit everything, and leave ALL decisions to
His gentle counsel.
T 13 H 13. The One Who knows the plan of God which God would have you
follow can teach you what it IS. Only HIS wisdom is capable of guiding you to
follow it. Every decision you undertake alone but signifies that you would
define what salvation IS, and what you would be saved FROM. The Holy Spirit
knows that ALL salvation is escape from guilt. You have no other "enemy," and
against this strange distortion of the purity of the Son of God the Holy Spirit
is your ONLY friend. He is the strong protector of your innocence which sets
you free. And it is HIS decision to undo everything that would obscure your
innocence from your unclouded mind.
T 13 H 14. Let Him, therefore, be the ONLY Guide that you would follow to
salvation. He knows the way, and leads you gladly on it. WITH Him you will not
fail to learn what God wills for you IS your will. WITHOUT His guidance you
will think you know alone, and will decide AGAINST your peace as surely as you
made the wrong decision in ever thinking that salvation lay
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in you alone. Salvation is of Him to Whom God gave it for you. He has not
forgotten it. Forget Him not, and He will make every decision for you, for your
salvation and the peace of God in you.
T 13 H 15. Seek not to appraise the worth of God's Son whom He created
holy, for to do so is to evaluate his Father, and judge AGAINST Him. And you
WILL feel guilty for this imagined crime, which no one in this world or Heaven
could possibly commit. God's Spirit teaches only that the "sin" of
self-replacement on the throne of God is NOT a source of guilt. What cannot
happen can have NO effects to fear. Be quiet in your faith in Him Who loves you
and would lead you out of insanity. Madness may be your choice, but NOT your
reality. Never forget the Love of God, Who HAS remembered you. For it is quite
impossible that He could ever let His Son drop from His Loving Mind wherein he
was created, and where his abode was fixed in perfect peace forever.
T 13 H 16. Say to the Holy Spirit only, "Decide for me," and it is done.
For His decisions are reflections of what God KNOWS about you, and in this light
error of ANY kind becomes impossible. Why would you struggle so frantically to
anticipate all that you CANNOT know when all knowledge lies behind every
decision which the Holy Spirit makes FOR you? Learn of His wisdom and His love,
and teach His answer to everyone who struggles in the dark. For you decide for
them AND for yourself.
T 13 H 17. How gracious is it to decide all things through Him Whose equal
love is given equally to all alike! He leaves you no one OUTSIDE yourself,
alone WITHOUT you. And so He gives you what is yours because your Father would
have you share it with Him. In everything be led by Him, and do not reconsider.
Trust Him to answer quickly, surely, and with love for everyone who will be
touched in any way by the decision. And everyone WILL be. Would you take unto
yourself the sole responsibility for deciding what can bring ONLY good to
everyone? Would you KNOW this?
T 13 H 18. You taught yourselves the most unnatural habit of NOT
communicating
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with your Creator. Yet you remain in close communication with Him, and with
everything that is within Him, as it is within yourself. UNLEARN isolation
through His loving guidance, and learn of all the happy communication that you
have thrown away but could not lose.
T 13 H 19. Whenever you are in doubt what you should do, think of His
Presence in you, and tell yourself this, and ONLY this:
"He leadeth me, and knows the way, which I know not.
Yet He will never KEEP from me what He would have me LEARN.
And so I trust Him to communicate to me all that He knows FOR me."
Then let Him teach you quietly how to perceive your guiltlessness which is
ALREADY there.
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T 13 I. The Way of Salvation
T 13 I 1. When you accept a brother's guiltlessness, you will see the Atonement
in him. For by proclaiming it in him you make it YOURS, and you WILL see what
you sought. You will not see the symbol of your brother's guiltlessness shining
within him while you still believe it is not there. HIS guiltlessness is YOUR
Atonement. Grant it to him, and you will see the truth of what you have
acknowledged. Yet truth is offered FIRST to be received, even as God gave it
first to His Son. The first in time means nothing, but the First in eternity is
God the Father, Who is both First and One. Beyond the First there is no other,
for there is no order, no second or third, and nothing BUT the First.
T 13 I 2. You who belong to the First Cause, created by Him like unto Himself
and part of Him, are more than merely guiltless. The state of guiltlessness is
only the condition in which what is not there has been removed from the
disordered mind that thought it WAS. This state, and only this, must YOU attain
with God beside you. For until you do, you will still think that you are
separate from Him. You can feel His Presence next to you, but CANNOT know that
you are one with Him. This need not be taught. Learning applies only to the
condition in which it happens OF ITSELF.
T 13 I 3. When you have let all that obscured the truth in your most holy mind
be undone for you and stand in grace before your Father, He will give Himself to
you as He has always done. Giving Himself is all He knows, and so it is all
knowledge. For what He knows not cannot be, and therefore cannot be given. Ask
not to be forgiven, for this has already been accomplished. Ask, rather, to
learn how to FORGIVE, and restore what always was to your unforgiving mind.
Atonement becomes real and visible to them that USE it. On earth this is your
only function, and you must learn that it is all you WANT to learn.
T 13 I 4. You WILL feel guilty ‘til you learn this. For, in the end, whatever
form it takes, your guilt arises from your failure to fulfill your function in
God's Mind with all of YOURS. Can you escape this guilt by failing to
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fulfill your function here? You need not understand creation to do what must be
done before that knowledge would be meaningful to you. God breaks no barriers;
neither did He MAKE them. When YOU release them they are gone. God will not
fail, nor ever has in anything.
T 13 I 5. Decide that God is right and YOU are wrong about yourself. He
created you out of Himself, but still within Him. He KNOWS what you are.
Remember that there is no second to Him. There cannot, therefore, be anyone
without His Holiness, nor anyone unworthy of His perfect Love. Fail not in your
function of loving in a loveless place made out of darkness and deceit, for thus
are darkness and deceit undone. Fail not YOURSELF, but instead, offer to God
AND YOU His blameless Son. For this small gift of appreciation for His Love,
God will Himself exchange your gift for His.
T 13 I 6. Before you make ANY decisions for yourself, remember that you have
decided AGAINST your function in Heaven, and consider carefully whether you WANT
to make decisions here. Your function here is only to decide AGAINST deciding
what you want, in recognition that you do not KNOW. How, then, can you decide
what you should do? Leave all decisions to the One Who speaks for God, and for
your function as He KNOWS it. So will He teach you to remove the awful burden
you have laid upon yourself by loving not the Son of God, and trying to teach
him guilt instead of love. Give up this frantic and insane attempt, which
cheats you of the joy of living with your God and Father, and awaking gladly to
His Love and Holiness which join together as the truth in you, making you One
with Him.
T 13 I 7. When you have learned how to decide WITH God, all decisions become as
easy and as right as breathing. There is no effort, and you will be led as
gently as if you were being carried along a quiet path in summer. Only your own
volition seems to make deciding hard. The Holy Spirit will not delay at all in
answering your EVERY question what to do. He KNOWS. And He will TELL you and
then do it FOR you. You who are tired might consider whether this is not more
restful than sleep. For you can bring your guilt into sleeping, but not into
this.
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Chapter XIV 14 - BRINGING ILLUSIONS TO TRUTH
T 14 A. Introduction
T 14 A 1. Unless you are guiltless you cannot know God, Whose Will is that you
know Him. Therefore, you MUST be guiltless. Yet if you do not accept the
necessary conditions for knowing Him you have denied Him, and do not recognize
Him, though He is all around you. He cannot be known without His Son, whose
guiltlessness is the condition for knowing Him. Accepting His Son as guilty is
denial of the Father so complete that knowledge is swept away from recognition
in the very mind where God Himself has placed it. If you would but listen, and
learn how impossible this is! Do not endow Him with attributes You understand.
You made Him not and anything you understand is not of Him.
T 14 A 2. Your task is not to make reality. It is here without your making,
but not without YOU. You who have thrown your selves away and valued God so
little, hear me speak for Him and for yourselves. You cannot understand how
much your Father loves you, for there is no parallel in your experience of the
world to help you understand it. There is nothing on earth with which it can
compare, and nothing you have ever felt, apart from Him, that resembles it ever
so faintly. You cannot even give a blessing in perfect gentleness. Would you
know of One Who gives forever, and Who knows of nothing EXCEPT giving?
T 14 A 3. The Children of Heaven live in the light of the blessing of their
Father, because they KNOW that they are sinless. The Atonement was established
as the means of restoring guiltlessness to the mind which has denied it, and
thus denied Heaven to itself. [T107] Atonement teaches you the true condition of
the Son of God. It does not teach you what you are, or what your Father is.
The Holy Spirit, Who remembers this for you, merely teaches you how to remove
the blocks that stand between you and what you know. His memory is YOURS. If
you remember what YOU have made, you are remembering nothing. Remembrance of
reality is in Him, and THEREFORE in you.
T 14 B. Guilt and Guiltlessness
T 14 B 1. The guiltless and the guilty are totally incapable of understanding
one another. Each perceives the other as like himself, making them unable to
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communicate because each sees the other UNLIKE the way he sees HIMSELF. God can
communicate ONLY to the Holy Spirit in your mind because only He shares the
knowledge of what you are with God. And only the Holy Spirit can ANSWER God for
you, for only He knows what God IS. Everything else that you have placed within
your mind CANNOT exist, for what is not in communication with the Mind of God
has never been. Communication with God is life. Nothing without it IS at all.
T 14 B 2. The only part of your mind that has reality is the part which links
you still with God. Would you have ALL of it transformed into a radiant message
of God's Love, to share with all the lonely ones who have denied Him with you?
GOD MAKES THIS POSSIBLE. Would you deny His yearning to be known? You yearn
for Him as He for you. This is forever changeless. Accept, then, the
immutable. Leave the world of death behind, and return quietly to Heaven.
There is NOTHING of value here, and EVERYTHING of value there. Listen to the
Holy Spirit, and to God through Him. He speaks of you to YOU. There IS no
guilt in you, for God is blessed in His Son as the Son is blessed in Him.
T 14 B 3. Each one of you has a special part to play in the Atonement, but the
message given to each to share is always the same; GOD'S SON IS GUILTLESS. Each
one teaches the message differently, and learns it differently. Yet until he
teaches it and learns it, he will suffer the pain of dim awareness that his true
function remains unfulfilled in him. The burden of guilt is heavy, but God
would not have you bound by it. His plan for your awaking is as perfect as
yours is fallible. You know not what you do, but He Who knows is with you. His
gentleness is yours, and all the love you share with God He holds in trust for
you. He would teach you nothing except how to be happy.
T 14 B 4. Blessed Son of a wholly blessing Father, joy was created for YOU.
Who can condemn whom God has blessed? There is nothing in the Mind of God that
does not share His shining innocence. Creation is the natural
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extension of perfect purity. Your only calling here is to devote yourself, with
active willingness, to the denial of guilt in ALL its forms. To accuse is NOT
TO UNDERSTAND. The happy learners of the Atonement become the teachers of the
innocence that is the right of all that God created. Deny them not what is
their due, for you will not withhold it from them alone.
T 14 B 5. The inheritance of the Kingdom is the right of God's Son, given him
in his creation. Do not try to steal it from him, or you will ASK for guilt and
WILL experience it. Protect his purity from every thought that would steal it
away and keep it from his sight. Bring innocence to light, in answer to the
call of the Atonement. Never allow purity to remain hidden, but shine away the
heavy veils of guilt within which the Son of God has hidden himself from his own
sight. We are all joined in the Atonement here, and nothing else can unite us
in this world. So will the world of separation slip away, and full
communication be restored between the Father and the Son.
T 14 B 6. The miracle acknowledges the guiltlessness which MUST have been
denied to produce NEED of healing. Do not withhold this glad acknowledgment,
for hope of happiness and release from suffering of every kind lies [T108] in it.
Who is there but wishes to be free of pain? He may not yet have learned HOW to
exchange his guilt for innocence, nor realize that only in this exchange can
freedom from pain be his. Yet those who have failed to learn need TEACHING, NOT
attack. To attack those who have need of teaching is to fail to learn from
them.
T 14 B 7. Teachers of innocence, each in his own way, have joined together,
taking their part in the unified curriculum of the Atonement. There is no unity
of learning goals apart from this. There is no conflict in this curriculum,
which has ONE aim however it is taught. Each effort made on its behalf is
offered for the single purpose of RELEASE from guilt, to the eternal glory of
God and His creation. And every teaching that points to this points
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straight to Heaven, and to the peace of God. There is no pain, no trial, no
fear that teaching this can fail to overcome. The power of God Himself supports
this teaching, and GUARANTEES its limitless results.
T 14 B 8. Join your own efforts to the power that CANNOT fail and MUST result
in peace. No one can be untouched by teaching such as this. You will not see
yourself beyond the power of God if you teach only this. You will not be exempt
from the effects of this most holy lesson, which seeks but to restore what is
the right of God's creation. From everyone whom you accord release from guilt
you will inevitably learn YOUR innocence. The circle of Atonement HAS no end.
And you will find ever-increasing confidence in your safe inclusion in what is
for all in everyone you bring within its safety and its perfect peace.
T 14 B 9. Peace, then, be unto everyone who becomes a teacher of peace. For
peace is the acknowledgment of perfect purity from which no one is excluded.
Within its holy circle is everyone whom God created as His Son. Joy is its
unifying attribute, with no one left outside to suffer guilt alone. The power
of God draws everyone to its safe embrace of love and union. Stand quietly
within this circle, and attract all tortured minds to join with you in the
safety of its peace and holiness. Abide with me within it, as teachers of
Atonement, NOT of guilt.
T 14 B 10. Blessed are you who teach with me. Our power comes not of us,
but of our Father. In guiltlessness we know Him, as He knows us guiltless. I
stand within the circle, calling you to peace. Teach peace with me, and stand
with me on holy ground. Remember for everyone your Father's power that He has
given him. Believe not that you cannot teach His perfect peace. Stand not
outside, but join with me within. Fail not the only purpose to which my
teaching calls you. Restore to God His Son as He created him by teaching him
his innocence.
T 14 B 11. The crucifixion has no part in the Atonement. Only the
resurrection became my part in it. That is the symbol of the release from guilt
by
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guiltlessness. Whom you perceive as guilty you would crucify. Yet you RESTORE
guiltlessness to whomever you see as guiltless. Crucifixion is ALWAYS the ego's
aim. It sees AS GUILTY, and by its condemnation it would kill. The Holy Spirit
sees only guiltlessness, and in His gentleness He would release from fear, and
re-establish the reign of love. The power of love is in His gentleness, which
is of God and therefore cannot crucify nor suffer crucifixion. The temple you
restore becomes YOUR altar, for it was re-built through you. And everything you
give to God IS yours. Thus He creates, and thus must YOU restore.
T 14 B 12. Each one you see you place within the holy circle of Atonement
or leave outside, judging him fit for crucifixion or for redemption. If you
bring him INTO the circle of purity, you will rest there with him. If you leave
him WITHOUT, you join him there. Judge not except in quietness which is not of
you. Refuse to accept anyone as WITHOUT the blessing of Atonement, and bring
him INTO it by blessing him. Holiness must be shared, for therein lies
everything that makes it holy. Come gladly to the holy circle, and look out in
peace on all who think they are outside. Cast no one out, for this is what he
seeks along with you. Come, let us join him in the holy place of peace, which
is for all of us, united as one within the Cause of peace.
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T 14 C. Out of the Darkness
T 14 C 1. The journey that we undertake together is the exchange of dark for
light, of ignorance for understanding. Nothing you understand is fearful. It
is only in darkness and in ignorance that you perceive the frightening, and you
shrink away from it to further darkness. And yet it is only the hidden that can
terrify, not for what it IS, but for its hiddenness. The obscure is frightening
BECAUSE you do not understand its meaning. If you did, it would be clear and
you would be no longer in the dark. Nothing has HIDDEN value, for what is
hidden cannot be shared, and so its value is unknown. The hidden is KEPT APART,
but value always lies in joint appreciation. What is concealed cannot be loved,
and so it MUST be feared.
T 14 C 2. The quiet light in which the Holy Spirit dwells within you is merely
perfect openness, in which nothing is hidden, and therefore nothing is fearful.
Attack will ALWAYS yield to love if it is BROUGHT to love, not hidden FROM it.
There is no darkness that the light of love will not dispel, unless it is
concealed from love's beneficence. What is kept APART from love cannot share
its healing power because it has been separated off and kept in darkness. The
sentinels of darkness watch over it carefully, and you who made these guardians
of illusion out of nothing are now afraid of them.
T 14 C 3. Would you CONTINUE to give imagined power to these strange ideas of
safety? They are neither safe nor unsafe. They do not protect; neither do they
attack. They do nothing at all, BEING nothing at all. As guardians of darkness
and of ignorance, look to them only for fear, for what they keep obscure IS
fearful. But let them go, and what was fearful will be so no longer. Without
protection of obscurity ONLY the light of love remains, for only this HAS
meaning and CAN live in light. Everything else MUST disappear.
T 14 C 4. Death yields to life simply because destruction is not TRUE. The
light of guiltlessness shines guilt away because, when they are brought
TOGETHER, the truth of one MUST make the falsity of its opposite perfectly
clear. Keep not guilt and guiltlessness apart, for your belief that you can
have them BOTH is meaningless. All you have done by keeping them apart is
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lose their meaning by confusing them with each other. And so you do not realize
that only one means anything, and the other is wholly without sense of ANY kind.
T 14 C 5. You have interpreted the separation as a means which you have made
for breaking your communication with your Father. The Holy Spirit re-interprets
it as a means of re-establishing what has not been broken but HAS been made
obscure. All things you made have use to Him, for His most holy purpose. He
KNOWS you are not separate from God, but He perceives much in your mind that
lets you THINK you are. All this, and nothing else, would He separate from you.
The power of decision, which you made IN PLACE of the power of creation, He
would teach you how to use on your BEHALF. You who made it to crucify
yourselves must learn of Him how to apply it to the holy cause of restoration.
T 14 C 6. You who speak in dark and devious symbols do not understand the
language you have made. It HAS no meaning, for its purpose is not
communication, but rather, the DISRUPTION of communication. If the purpose of
language IS communication, how can this tongue mean anything? Yet even this
strange and twisted effort to communicate through NOT communicating holds enough
of love to MAKE it meaningful, if its interpreter is NOT its maker. You who
made it are but expressing conflict, from which the Holy Spirit would release
you. Leave what you would communicate to Him. He will interpret it to you with
perfect clarity, for He knows with Whom you ARE in perfect communication.
T 14 C 7. You know not what you say, and so you know not what is said to you.
Yet your Interpreter perceives the meaning in your alien language. He will not
attempt to communicate the meaningless. But He WILL separate out all that has
meaning, dropping off the rest and offering your true communication to those who
would communicate as truly with you. You speak two languages at once, and this
MUST lead to unintelligibility. Yet if one means nothing and the other
everything, only that one is possible for purposes of
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communication. The other but INTERFERES with it.
T 14 C 8. The Holy Spirit's function is ENTIRELY communication. He therefore
must remove whatever interferes with it in order to RESTORE it. Therefore, keep
no source of interference from His sight, for He will not attack your sentinels.
But bring them to Him, and let His gentleness teach you that, in the light,
they are not fearful, and CANNOT serve to guard the dark doors behind which
nothing at all is carefully concealed. We must open all doors and let the light
come streaming through. There are no hidden chambers in God's temple. Its
gates are open wide to greet His Son. No one can fail to come where God has
called him if he close not the door himself upon his Father's welcome.
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T 14 D. Perception without Deceit
T 14 D 1. What do you WANT? Light or darkness, knowledge or ignorance are
yours, but not both. Opposites must be brought together, and not kept apart.
For their separation is only in your mind, and they are reconciled by union as
YOU are. In union, everything that is not real MUST disappear, for truth IS
union. As darkness disappears in light, so ignorance fades away when knowledge
dawns. Perception is the medium by which ignorance is brought to knowledge.
Yet the perception must be without deceit, for otherwise it becomes the
messenger of ignorance rather than a helper in the search for truth.
T 14 D 2. The search for truth is but the honest searching out of everything
that interferes with truth. Truth IS. It can be neither lost nor sought nor
found. It is there, wherever YOU are, being WITHIN you. Yet it CAN be
recognized or unrecognized, real or false to YOU. If you hide it, it becomes
unreal to you BECAUSE you hid it and surrounded it with fear. Under each
cornerstone of fear on which you have erected your insane system of belief the
truth lies hidden. Yet you cannot know this, for by hiding truth in fear you
see no reason to believe the MORE you look at fear the LESS you see it, and the
clearer what it CONCEALS becomes.
T 14 D 3. It is not possible to convince the unknowing that they know. From
their point of view, it is not true. Yet it IS true because GOD knows it.
These are clearly opposite viewpoints of what the "unknowing" are. To God
unknowing is impossible. It is therefore not a point of view at all, but merely
a belief in something that does not exist. It is only this belief that the
unknowing have, and by it they are wrong about themselves. They have DEFINED
themselves as they were not created. Their creation was not a point of view,
but rather a certainty. Uncertainty brought to certainty does not retain ANY
conviction of reality.
T 14 D 4. You must have noticed that the emphasis has been on bringing what is
undesirable TO the desirable; what you do NOT want to what you DO. You will
realize that salvation must come to you this way if you consider what
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dissociation is. Dissociation is a distorted process of thinking whereby two
systems of belief which cannot coexist are both MAINTAINED. It has BEEN
recognized that, if they were brought TOGETHER, their joint acceptance would
become impossible. But if one is kept in darkness from the other, their
SEPARATION seems to keep them both alive, and equal in their reality. Their
joining thus becomes the source of fear, for if they meet, acceptance MUST be
withdrawn from one of them.
T 14 D 5. You CANNOT have them both, for each denies the other. Apart, this
fact is lost from sight, for each in a SEPARATE place can be endowed with firm
belief. Bring them TOGETHER, and the fact of their complete incompatibility is
instantly apparent. One will go BECAUSE the other is seen in the same place.
Light cannot enter darkness when a mind believes in darkness, and will not LET
it go. Truth does not struggle against ignorance, and love does not attack
fear. What needs no protection does not defend itself. Defense is of YOUR
making. God knows it not. The Holy Spirit uses defenses on BEHALF of truth
only because you made them AGAINST it. His perception of them, according to His
purpose, merely changes them into a call FOR what you have ATTACKED with them.
T 14 D 6. Defenses, like everything you made, must be gently turned to your own
good, translated by the Holy Spirit from means of self-destruction to means of
preservation and release. His task is mighty, but the power of God is with Him.
Therefore, to Him, it is so easy that it was accomplished the instant it was
given Him for you. Do not delay yourselves in your return to peace by wondering
how He can fulfill what God has given Him to do. Leave that to Him Who knows.
You are not asked to do mighty tasks yourself. You are merely asked to do the
little He suggests you do, trusting Him only to the small extent of believing
that, if He asks it, you CAN do it. You will SEE how easily all that He asks
can be accomplished.
T 14 D 7. The Holy Spirit asks of you but this; bring to Him every secret you
have locked away from Him. Open every door to Him, and bid Him enter
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the darkness and lighten it away. At your request He enters gladly. He brings
the light to darkness if you make the darkness OPEN to Him. But what you hide
He cannot look upon. For He sees for YOU, and unless you look WITH Him He
cannot see. The vision of Christ is not for Him alone, but for Him with YOU.
Bring, therefore, all your dark and secret thoughts to Him, and look upon them
WITH Him. He holds the light, and you the darkness. They CANNOT coexist when
both of you together look on them. His judgment MUST prevail, and He will GIVE
it to you as you join your perception to His. Joining with Him in seeing is the
way in which you learn to share with Him the interpretation of perception that
leads to knowledge.
T 14 D 8. You cannot see alone. Sharing perception with Him Whom God has given
you teaches you how to RECOGNIZE what you see. It is the recognition that
nothing you see means ANYTHING alone. Seeing with Him will show you that all
meaning, including YOURS, comes not from double vision, but from the gentle
fusing of everything into ONE meaning, ONE emotion and ONE purpose. God has One
Purpose which He shares with you. The single vision which the Holy Spirit
offers you will bring this Oneness to your mind with clarity and brightness so
intense you could not wish, for all the world, not to accept what God would have
you have. Behold your will, accepting it as His, with all His Love as yours.
All honor to you through Him, and through Him unto God.
T 14 D 9. In the darkness you have obscured the glory God gave you, and the
power He bestowed upon His guiltless Son. All this lies hidden in every
darkened place shrouded in guilt, and in the dark denial of innocence. Behind
the dark doors which you have closed lies nothing, because nothing CAN obscure
the gift of God. It is the closing of the doors that interferes with
recognition of the power of God that shines in you. Banish not power from your
mind, but let all that would hide your glory be brought to the judgment of the
Holy Spirit, and there undone. Whom He would save for glory IS saved for it.
He has promised the Father that through Him you
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would be released from littleness to glory. To what He promised God He is
wholly faithful, for He shared with God the promise that was given Him to share
with YOU.
T 14 D 10. He shares it still, for YOU. Everything that promises
otherwise, great or small, however much or little valued, He will replace with
the ONE promise given unto Him to lay upon the altar to your Father and His Son.
No altar stands to God WITHOUT His Son. And nothing brought there that is not
equally worthy of both but will be replaced by gifts wholly acceptable to Father
AND to Son. Can you offer guilt to God? You cannot, then, offer it to His Son.
For they are not apart, and gifts to one ARE offered to the other.
T 14 D 11. You know not God because you know not this. And yet you DO
know God and ALSO this. All this is safe within you, where the Holy Spirit
shines. He shines not in division, but in the meeting place where God, united
with His Son, speaks to His Son through Him. Communication between what cannot
be divided CANNOT cease. The holy meeting place of the unseparated Father and
His Son lies in the Holy Spirit and in YOU. All interference in the
communication that God Himself wills with His Son is quite impossible here.
Unbroken and uninterrupted love flows constantly between the Father and the Son,
as BOTH would have it be. And so it IS.
T 14 D 12. Let your minds wander not through darkened corridors, away from
light's center. You may choose to lead yourselves astray, but you can only be
brought TOGETHER by the Guide appointed for you. He will surely lead you to
where God and His Son await your recognition. They are joined in giving you the
gift of oneness, before which ALL separation vanishes. Unite with what you ARE.
You CANNOT join with anything except reality. God's glory and His Son's belong
to you in truth. They HAVE no opposite, and nothing else CAN you bestow upon
yourselves.
T 14 D 13. There is no substitute for truth. And truth will make this
plain
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to you as you are brought into the place where you must MEET with truth. And
there you must be led, through gentle understanding which can lead you nowhere
else. Where God is, there are YOU. Such IS the truth. Nothing can change the
knowledge given you by God into unknowingness. Everything God created knows its
Creator. For this is how creation is accomplished by the Creator and by His
creations. In the holy meeting place are joined the Father and His creations,
and the creations of His Son with Them together. There is one link which joins
them all together, holding them in the Oneness out of which creation happens.
T 14 D 14. The link with which the Father joins Himself to those He gives
the power to create like Him can NEVER be dissolved. Heaven itself is union
with all of creation, and with its One Creator. And Heaven remains the Will of
God for you. Lay no gifts other than this upon your altars, for nothing can
coexist beside it. Here your meager offerings are brought together with the
gift of God, and only what is worthy of the Father will be accepted by the Son,
for whom it was intended. To whom God gives Himself He IS given. Your little
gifts will vanish on the altar where He has placed His Own.
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T 14 E. The Recognition of Holiness
T 14 E 1. The Atonement does not MAKE holy. You were CREATED holy. It merely
brings unholiness TO holiness; or what you MADE to what you ARE. The bringing
together of truth and illusion, of the ego to God, is the Holy Spirit's only
function. Keep not your making from your Father, for hiding it has cost you
knowledge of Him and of yourselves. The knowledge is safe, but wherein is YOUR
safety apart from it? The making of time to TAKE THE PLACE of timelessness lay
in the decision to be not as you were. Thus, truth was made past, and the
present was dedicated to illusion. And the past, too, was changed and
interposed between what always was and NOW. The past which YOU remember NEVER
was, and represents only the denial of what ALWAYS was.
T 14 E 2. Bringing the ego to God is but to bring error to truth, where it
stands corrected because it is the OPPOSITE of what it meets, and is undone
because the contradiction can no longer stand. How long can contradiction stand
when its impossible nature is clearly revealed? What disappears in light is not
attacked. It merely vanishes because it is not true. Different realities are
meaningless, for reality must be one. It CANNOT change with time or mood or
chance. Its changelessness is what MAKES it real. This cannot BE undone.
Undoing is for unreality. And this reality WILL do for you.
T 14 E 3. Merely by being what it is does truth release you from everything
that it is NOT. The Atonement is so gentle you need but whisper to it, and all
its power will rush to your assistance and support. You are not frail with God
beside you. Yet without Him you are nothing. The Atonement offers you God.
The gift which you refused is held by Him in you. His Spirit holds it there for
you. God has not left His altar, though His worshippers placed other gods upon
it. The temple still is holy, for the Presence that dwells within it IS
holiness.
T 14 E 4. In the temple holiness waits quietly for the return of them that love
it. The Presence knows they will return to purity and to grace. The
graciousness of God will take them gently in, and cover all their sense of pain
and loss with the immortal assurance of their Father's Love. There,
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fear of death will be replaced with joy of living. For God is Life, and they
ABIDE in Life. Life is as holy as the Holiness by which it was created. [T109]
The Presence of holiness lives in everything that lives, for holiness CREATED
life, and leaves not what It created holy as Itself.
T 14 E 5. In this world you can become a spotless mirror, in which the holiness
of your Creator shines forth from you to all around you. You can reflect Heaven
HERE. Yet no reflections of the images of other gods must dim the mirror that
would hold God's reflection in it. Earth can reflect Heaven or hell; God or the
ego. You need but leave the mirror clean and clear of all the images of hidden
darkness you have drawn upon it. God will shine upon it of Himself. Only the
clear reflection of Himself can BE perceived upon it. Reflections are seen in
light. In darkness they are obscure, and their meaning seems to lie only in
shifting interpretations, rather than in themselves.
T 14 E 6. The reflection of God NEEDS no interpretation. It is CLEAR. Clean
but the mirror, and the message which shines forth from what the mirror holds
out for everyone to see no one can FAIL to understand. It is the message that
the Holy Spirit is holding to the mirror that is in him. He recognizes it
because he has been taught his NEED for it, but knows not where to look to find
it. Let him, then, see it in YOU and SHARE it with you.
T 14 E 7. Could you but realize, for a single instant, the power of healing
that the reflection of God, shining in you, can bring to all the world, you
could not wait to make the mirror of your mind clean to receive the image of the
holiness that heals the world. The image of holiness which shines in your mind
is not obscure, and will not change. Its meaning to those who look upon it is
not obscure, for everyone perceives it as the SAME. All bring their different
problems to its healing light, but all their problems are met ONLY with healing
there.
T 14 E 8. The response of holiness to ANY form of error is always the same.
There is no contradiction in what holiness calls forth. Its ONE response is
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healing, without regard for what is brought to it. Those who have learned to
offer only healing because of the reflection of holiness in them are ready at
last for Heaven. There, holiness is not a reflection, but rather the actual
condition of what was but reflected to them here. God is no image, and His
creations, as part of Him, hold Him in them in truth. They do not merely
REFLECT truth, for they ARE truth.
T 14 F. The Shift to Miracles
T 14 F 1. When no perception stands between God and His creations, or between
His Children and their own, the knowledge of creation must continue forever.
The reflections which you accept into the mirror of your minds in time but bring
eternity nearer or farther. But eternity itself is beyond ALL time. Reach out
of time and touch it, with the help of its reflection in you. And you will turn
from time to holiness as surely as the reflection of holiness calls everyone to
lay all guilt aside. Reflect the peace of Heaven HERE, and bring this world to
Heaven. For the reflection of truth draws everyone TO truth, and as they enter
into it they leave all reflections behind.
T 14 F 2. In Heaven reality is shared, and not reflected. By sharing its
reflection here, its truth becomes the only perception the Son of God accepts.
And thus, remembrance of his Father dawns on him, and he can no longer be
satisfied with anything but his own reality. You on earth have no conception of
limitlessness, for the world you seem to live in IS a world of limits. In this
world, it is not true that anything without order of difficulty can occur. The
miracle, therefore, has a unique function, and is motivated by a unique Teacher,
Who brings the laws of another world to this one. The miracle is the ONE thing
you can do that transcends order, being based not on differences, but on
equality.
T 14 F 3. Miracles are not in competition, and the number of them that you can
do is limitless. They can be simultaneous and legion. This is not difficult to
understand, once you conceive of them as possible at all. What IS more
difficult to grasp is the lack of order of difficulty which stamps
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the miracle as something that must come from elsewhere, not from here. From the
world's viewpoint, this is impossible. You have experienced lack of competition
among your thoughts, which, even though they may conflict, can occur to you
together and in great numbers. You are so used to this that it can cause you
little surprise.
T 14 F 4. Yet you are also used to classifying some of your thoughts as more
important, larger or better, wiser or more productive and valuable than others.
And this is true about the thoughts which cross the mind of those who think they
live apart. For some are reflections of Heaven, while others are motivated by
the ego, which but SEEMS to think. The result is a weaving, changing pattern
which never rests, and is never still. It shifts unceasingly across the mirror
of your mind, and the reflections of Heaven last but a moment, and grow dim as
darkness blots them out. Where there was light darkness removes it in an
instant, and alternating patterns of light and darkness sweep constantly across
your minds.
T 14 F 5. The little sanity which still remains is held together by a sense of
order which YOU establish. Yet the very fact that you can DO this and bring ANY
order into chaos shows you that you are not an ego, and that more than an ego
MUST be in you. For the ego IS chaos, and if it were all of you no order at all
would be possible. Yet though the order which you impose upon your minds limits
the ego, it ALSO limits YOU. To order is to judge, and to arrange BY judgment.
Therefore, it is not your function, but the Holy Spirit’s. [T110] It will seem
difficult for you to learn that you have no basis AT ALL for ordering your
thoughts. This lesson the Holy Spirit teaches by giving you shining examples to
show you that your way of ordering is wrong, but that a better way is offered
you.
T 14 F 6. The miracle offers exactly the same response to every call for help.
It does not judge the call. It merely recognizes what it IS, and answers
accordingly. It does not consider which call is louder or greater or more
important. You may wonder how you who are still bound to judgment can be asked
to do that which requires no judgment of your own. The answer
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is very simple. The power of God, and NOT of you, engenders miracles. The
miracle itself is but the witness that you have the power of God in you. That
is the reason why the miracle gives equal blessing to all who share in it, and
that is also why EVERYONE shares in it. The power of God is limitless. And
being always maximal, it offers EVERYTHING to EVERY call from ANYONE. There IS
no order of difficulty here. A call for help is given help.
T 14 F 7. The only judgment involved at all is the Holy Spirit's ONE division
into two categories; one of love, and the other the call for love. YOU cannot
safely make this division, for you are much too confused either to recognize
love, or to believe that everything else is nothing but a need for love. You
are too bound to form, and not to content. What you consider content is not
content at all. It is merely form, and nothing else. For you do not respond to
what a brother REALLY offers you, but only to the particular perception of his
offering by which the ego judges it.
T 14 F 8. The ego is incapable of understanding content, and is totally
unconcerned with it. To the ego, if the form is acceptable the content MUST be.
Otherwise, it will attack the form. You who believe you understand something
of the dynamics of the mind, let me assure you that you know nothing of it at
all. For of yourselves you COULD not know of it. The study of the ego is NOT
the study of the mind. In fact, the ego enjoys the study of itself, and
thoroughly approves the undertakings of students who would analyze it, approving
its importance. Yet they but study form with meaningless content. For their
teacher is senseless, though careful to conceal this fact behind a lot of words
which sound impressive, but which lack any consistent sense when they are put
TOGETHER.
T 14 F 9. This is characteristic of the ego's judgments. Separately, they seem
to hold, but put them together, and the system of thought which arises from
joining them is incoherent and utterly chaotic. For form is not enough for
meaning, and the underlying lack of content makes a cohesive system impossible.
Separation therefore remains the ego's chosen condition. For no one alone can
judge the ego truly. Yet when two or more JOIN TOGETHER
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in searching for truth, the ego can no longer defend its lack of content. The
fact of union TELLS them it is not true.
T 14 F 10. It is impossible to remember God in secret and alone. For
remembering Him means you are NOT alone, and willing to remember it. Take no
thought for yourself, for no thought you hold IS for yourself. If you would
remember your Father, let the Holy Spirit order your thoughts, and give only the
answer with which He answers you. Everyone seeks for love as you do, and knows
it not unless he joins with you in seeking it. If you undertake the search
together, you bring with you a light so powerful that what you see is GIVEN
meaning. The lonely journey fails because it has excluded what it would FIND.
T 14 F 11. As God communicates to the Holy Spirit in you, so does the Holy
Spirit translate His communications THROUGH you so YOU can understand them. God
has no secret communications, for everything of Him is perfectly open, and
freely accessible to all, being FOR all. Nothing lives in secret, and what you
would hide from the Holy Spirit is nothing. Every interpretation YOU would lay
upon a brother is senseless. Let the Holy Spirit SHOW him to you, and teach you
both his love and need for love. Neither his mind NOR YOURS holds more than
these two orders of thought.
T 14 F 12. The miracle is the recognition that this is true. Where there
is love, your brother must give it to you because of what it IS. But where
there is NEED for love, YOU must give it because of what YOU are. Long ago we
said this course will teach you what you are, restoring to you your identity.
We have already learned that this identity is shared. The miracle becomes the
MEANS of sharing it. By supplying your identity wherever it is NOT recognized,
YOU will recognize it. And God Himself, Who wills to be with His Son forever,
will bless each recognition of His Son with all the love He holds for him. Nor
will the power of ALL His Love be absent from any miracle you offer to His Son.
How, then, can there be any order of difficulty among them?
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T 14 G. The Test of Truth
T 14 G 1. Yet the essential thing is learning that YOU DO NOT KNOW. Knowledge
is power, and all power is of God. You who have tried to keep power for
yourselves have lost it. You still have the power, but you have interposed so
much between it and your AWARENESS of it that you cannot use it. Everything you
have taught yourselves has made your power more and more obscure to you. You
know not WHAT it is nor WHERE. You have made a semblance of power and a show of
strength so pitiful that it MUST fail you. For power is not a seeming strength,
and truth is beyond semblance of any kind. Yet all that stands between you and
the power of God in you is but your learning of the false, and your attempts to
undo the true.
T 14 G 2. Be willing, then, for all of it to be undone, and be glad that you
are not bound to it forever. For you have taught yourselves how to imprison the
Son of God, a lesson so unthinkable that only the insane, in deepest sleep,
could even dream of it. Can God learn how NOT to be God? And can His Son,
given all power by Him, learn to be powerless? What have you taught yourselves
that you can possibly prefer to keep, in place of what you HAVE and what you
ARE?
T 14 G 3. Atonement teaches you how to escape forever from everything that you
have taught yourselves in the past by showing you only what you are NOW.
Learning HAS BEEN accomplished before its effects are manifest. Learning is
therefore in the past, but its influence determines the present by giving it
whatever meaning it holds for you. YOUR learning gives the present no meaning
at all. Nothing you have ever learned can help you understand the present, or
teach you how to undo the past. Your past IS what you have taught yourselves.
LET IT ALL GO. Do not attempt to understand any event, or anything, or anyone
in its light, for the light of darkness by which you try to see can ONLY
obscure.
T 14 G 4. Put no confidence at all in darkness to illuminate your
understanding, for if you do you contradict the light, and thereby THINK you see
the darkness. Yet darkness cannot BE seen, for it is nothing more than a
condition in which seeing becomes impossible. You who have not yet brought
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all of the darkness you have taught yourselves unto the light in you can hardly
judge the truth and value of this course. Yet God did not abandon you. And so
you have another lesson sent from Him, ALREADY learned for every Child of light
by Him to Whom God gave it. This lesson shines with God's glory, for in it lies
His power, which He shares so gladly with His Son.
T 14 G 5. Learn of His happiness, which is YOURS. But to accomplish this, all
your dark lessons must be brought willingly to truth, and joyously laid down by
hands open to receive, not closed to take. Every dark lesson that you bring to
Him Who teaches light He will accept from you, because you do not want it. And
He will gladly EXCHANGE each one for the bright lesson He has learned for you.
Never believe that any lesson you have learned APART from Him means anything.
T 14 G 6. You have one test, as sure as God, by which to recognize if what you
learned is true. If you are wholly free of fear of any kind, and if all those
who meet, or even think of you, share in your perfect peace, then you can be
sure that you have learned God's lesson, and not yours. Unless all this is true
there ARE dark lessons in your minds which hurt and hinder you, and everyone
around you. The ABSENCE of perfect peace means but ONE thing: You THINK you do
not will for God's Son what His Father wills for him. Every dark lesson teaches
this, in one form or another. And each bright lesson, with which the Holy
Spirit will replace the dark ones you do not accept and hide, teaches you that
you will WITH the Father unto His Son.
T 14 G 7. Do not be concerned how you can learn a lesson so completely
different from everything you have taught yourselves. How would you know? Your
part is very simple. You need only recognize that everything you learned you do
not WANT. Ask to be TAUGHT, and do not use your experiences to confirm what YOU
have learned. When your peace is threatened, or disturbed in any way, say to
yourself: [T111]
"I do not know what anything, INCLUDING THIS, means.
And so I do not know how to respond to it.
And I will not use my own past learning as the light to
guide me now."
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By this refusal to attempt to teach yourself what you do not know, the Guide
Whom God has given you will speak to you. He will take His rightful place in
your awareness the instant YOU abandon it, and offer it to Him.
T 14 G 8. YOU cannot be your guide to miracles, for it is you who made them
necessary. And BECAUSE you did, the means on which you can depend for miracles
has been provided FOR you. God's Son can make no needs His Father will not
meet, if he but turn to Him ever so little. Yet He cannot compel His Son to
turn to Him, and remain Himself. It is impossible that God lose His Identity,
for if He did, you would lose YOURS. And being yours, He cannot change Himself,
for your Identity IS changeless. The miracle acknowledges His changelessness by
seeing His Son as he always was, and not as he would make himself. The miracle
brings the effects which ONLY guiltlessness can bring, and thus establishes the
fact that guiltlessness must BE.
T 14 G 9. How can you, so firmly bound to guilt and committed so to remain,
establish for yourself your guiltlessness? That is impossible. But be sure
that you are willing to acknowledge that it IS impossible. It is only because
you think that you can run some little part, or deal with certain aspects of
your lives alone, that the guidance of the Holy Spirit is limited. Thus would
you make HIM undependable, and use this fancied undependability as an excuse for
keeping certain dark lessons from Him. And by so limiting the guidance that you
would ACCEPT, you are unable to depend on miracles to answer all your problems
for you.
T 14 G 10. Do you think that what the Holy Spirit would have you GIVE He
would WITHHOLD from you? You have NO problems which He cannot solve by offering
you a miracle. Miracles are for YOU. And every fear or pain or trial you have
HAS BEEN undone. He has brought all of them to light, having accepted them
INSTEAD of you, and recognized they never were. There are no dark lessons He
has not ALREADY lightened for you. The lessons you would teach yourselves He
has corrected already. They do not exist in His Mind at
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all. For the past binds Him not, and therefore binds not you. He does not see
time as you do. And each miracle He offers you corrects your use of time, and
makes it His.
T 14 G 11. He Who has freed you from the past would teach you ARE free of
it. He would but have you accept His accomplishments as YOURS because He did
them FOR you. And because He did, they ARE yours. He has made you free of what
you made. You can deny Him, but you CANNOT call on Him in vain. He ALWAYS
gives what He has made IN PLACE of you. He would establish His bright teaching
so firmly in your mind that no dark lessons of guilt can abide in what He has
established as holy by His Presence. Thank God that He is there and works
through you. And all His works are yours. He offers you a miracle with every
one you let Him do through you.
T 14 G 12. God's Son will ALWAYS be indivisible. As we are held as one in
God, so do we learn as one in Him. God's Teacher is as like to His Creator as
is His Son, and through His Teacher does God proclaim His Oneness AND His Son's.
Listen in silence, and do not raise your voice against Him. For He teaches the
miracle of oneness, and before His lesson division disappears. Teach like Him
here, and you will remember that you have ALWAYS created like your Father. The
miracle of creation has never ceased, having the holy stamp of immortality upon
it. This is the Will of God for all creation, and all creation joins in willing
this.
T 14 G 13. Those who remember always that they know nothing, but who have
become willing to learn EVERYTHING, will learn it. But whenever they trust
themselves, they will NOT learn. They have destroyed their motivation for
learning by thinking they ALREADY know. Think not you understand anything until
you pass the test of perfect peace, for peace and understanding go together, and
never can be found alone. Each brings the other WITH it, for it is the law of
God they be not separate. They are cause and effect, each to the other, so
where one is absent the other CANNOT be.
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T 14 G 14. Only those who see they cannot know UNLESS the effects of
understanding are with them can really learn at all. And for this, it must be
peace they WANT, and nothing else. Whenever you think YOU know, peace will
depart from you because you have abandoned the Teacher of Peace. Whenever you
fully realize that you know NOT peace will return, for you will have invited Him
to do so by abandoning the ego on behalf of Him. Call not upon the ego for
anything. It is only THIS that you need do. The Holy Spirit will, of HIMSELF,
fill every mind that so makes room for Him.
T 14 G 15. If you want peace you must abandon the teacher of attack. The
Teacher of peace will NEVER abandon you. You can desert Him, but He will never
reciprocate, for His faith in you IS His understanding. It is as firm as is His
faith in His Creator, and He knows that faith in His Creator MUST encompass
faith in His creation. In this consistency lies His holiness, which He cannot
abandon, for it is not His Will to do so. With your perfection ever in His
sight, He gives the gift of peace to everyone who perceives the need for peace,
and who would have it. Make way for peace, and it will come. For understanding
is in you, and from it peace MUST come.
T 14 G 16. The power of God, from which they both arise, is yours as
surely as it is His. You think you know Him not only because, alone, it is
impossible to know Him. Yet see the mighty works that He will do through you,
and you must be convinced you did them through Him. It is impossible to deny
the Source of effects so powerful they COULD not be of you. Leave room for Him,
and you will find yourself so filled with power that NOTHING will prevail
against your peace. And this will be the test by which you recognize that you
have understood.
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Chapter XV 15 - THE PURPOSE OF TIME
T 15 A. Introduction
T 15 A 1. Can you imagine what it means to have no cares, no worries, no
anxieties, but merely to be perfectly calm and quiet all the time? Yet that is
what time is FOR; to learn just that and nothing more. God's Teacher cannot be
satisfied with His teaching until it constitutes ALL your learning. He has not
fulfilled His teaching function until you have become such a consistent learner
that you learn ONLY of Him. When this has happened, you will no longer need a
teacher or time in which to learn.
T 15 A 2. One source of perceived discouragement from which you suffer is your
belief that this takes time, and that the results of the Holy Spirit's teaching
are far in the future. This is not so. For the Holy Spirit USES time in His
Own way, and is not bound by it. Time is His friend in teaching. It does not
waste Him, as it does you. [T112] And all the waste that time seems to bring with
it is due but to your identification with the ego, which uses time to support
its belief in destruction. The ego, like the Holy Spirit, uses time to convince
you of the inevitability of the goal and end of teaching. To the ego the goal
is death, which IS its end. But to the Holy Spirit the goal is life, which HAS
no end.
T 15 B. The Uses of Time
T 15 B 1. The ego is an ally of time, but not a friend. For it is as
mistrustful of death as it is of life, and what it wants for you it cannot
tolerate. The ego wants YOU dead, but NOT itself. The outcome of its strange
religion must therefore be the conviction that it can pursue you beyond the
grave. And out of its unwillingness for you to find peace even in the death it
wants for you, it offers you immortality in hell. It speaks to you of Heaven,
but assures you that Heaven is not for you. How can the guilty hope for Heaven?
The belief in hell is inescapable to those who identify with the ego. Their
nightmares and their fears are all associated with it.
T 15 B 2. The ego teaches that hell is in the FUTURE, for this is what all its
teaching is directed to. Hell is its GOAL. For, although the ego aims at death
and dissolution as an end, it does not BELIEVE it. The goal of death, which it
craves for you, leaves it unsatisfied. No one who follows
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the ego's teaching is without the fear of death. Yet if death were thought of
merely as an end to pain, would it be FEARED? We have seen this strange paradox
in the ego's thought system before, but never so clearly as here. For the ego
must seem to KEEP fear from you to keep your allegiance. Yet it must ENGENDER
fear in order to maintain ITSELF.
T 15 B 3. Again the ego tries, and all too frequently succeeds, in doing both,
by using dissociation for holding its contradictory aims together so that they
SEEM to be reconciled. The ego teaches thus: Death is the end as far as hope of
Heaven goes. Yet because you and itself cannot be separated, and because it
cannot conceive of its OWN death, it will pursue you still, because guilt is
eternal. Such is the ego's version of immortality. And it is this the ego's
version of time supports.
T 15 B 4. The ego teaches that Heaven is here and now because the FUTURE is
hell. Even when it attacks so savagely that it tries to take the life of
someone who hears it temporarily as the ONLY voice, it speaks of hell even to
him. For it tells him hell is HERE, and bids him leap from hell into oblivion.
The only time the ego allows anyone to look upon with some amount of equanimity
is the past. And even there, its only value is that it is no more.
T 15 B 5. How bleak and despairing is the ego's use of time! And how
terrifying! For underneath its fanatical insistence that the past and future be
the same is hidden a far more insidious threat to peace. The ego does not
advertise its final threat, for it would have its worshippers still believe that
it can offer the ESCAPE from it. But the belief in guilt MUST lead to the
belief in hell, AND ALWAYS DOES. The only way in which the ego allows the fear
of hell to be experienced is to bring hell HERE, but always as a foretaste of
the future. For no one who considers himself as deserving hell can believe that
punishment will end in peace.
T 15 B 6. The Holy Spirit teaches thus: There IS no hell. Hell is only what
the ego has made of the PRESENT. The belief in hell is what prevents you from
UNDERSTANDING the present, because you are AFRAID of it. The Holy
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Spirit leads as steadily to Heaven as the ego drives to hell. For the Holy
Spirit, Who knows ONLY the present, uses it to undo the fear by which the ego
would make the present useless. There is NO escape from fear in the ego's use
of time. For time, according to its teaching, is nothing but a teaching device
for COMPOUNDING guilt until it becomes all-encompassing, and demands vengeance
forever.
T 15 B 7. The Holy Spirit would undo all of this NOW. Fear is NOT of the
present, but only of the past and future, which do not exist. There is no fear
in the present when each instant stands clear and separated from the past,
without its shadow reaching out into the future. Each instant is a clean,
untarnished birth, in which the Son of God emerges from the past into the
present. And the present extends forever. It is so beautiful and so clean and
free of guilt that nothing but happiness is there. No darkness is remembered,
and immortality and joy are NOW.
T 15 B 8. This lesson takes NO time. For what is time without a past and
future? It HAS taken time to misguide you so completely, but it takes no time
at all to be what you ARE. Begin to practice the Holy Spirit's use of time as a
teaching aid to happiness and peace. Take this very instant, NOW, and think of
it as ALL THERE IS of time. Nothing can reach you here out of the past, and it
is here that you are COMPLETELY absolved, COMPLETELY free, and WHOLLY without
condemnation. From this holy instant wherein holiness was born again you will
go forth in time without fear, and with no sense of change WITH time.
T 15 B 9. Time is inconceivable without change, yet holiness does not change.
Learn from this instant more than merely hell does not exist. In this redeeming
instant lies Heaven. And Heaven will not change, for the birth into the holy
present is SALVATION from change. Change is an illusion, taught by those who
could not see themselves as guiltless. There is no change in Heaven because
there is no change in God. In the holy instant in which you
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see yourself as bright with freedom, you WILL remember God. For remembering Him
IS to remember freedom.
T 15 B 10. Whenever you are tempted to be dispirited by the thought of how
long it would take to change your mind so completely, ask yourself, "How long is
an instant?" Could you not give so short a time to the Holy Spirit for your
salvation? He asks no more, for He has no need of more. It takes far longer to
teach you how to be willing to give Him this than for Him to use this tiny
instant to offer you the whole of Heaven. In exchange for this instant, He
stands ready to give you the remembrance of eternity.
T 15 B 11. You will never give this holy instant to the Holy Spirit on
behalf of your release while you are unwilling to give it to your brothers on
behalf of THEIRS. For the instant of holiness is shared, and cannot be yours
alone. Remember, then, when you are tempted to attack a brother, that HIS
instant of release is YOURS. Miracles are the instants of release you offer,
and will RECEIVE. They attest to your willingness to BE released, and to offer
time to the Holy Spirit for His use of it. How long is an instant? It is as
short for your brother as it is for you. Practice giving this blessed instant
of freedom to all who are enslaved by time, and thus make time their friend FOR
them. The Holy Spirit gives their blessed instant to YOU through your giving
it. As you give it, He offers it to YOU.
T 15 B 12. Be not unwilling to give what you would receive of Him, for you
join with Him in giving. In the crystal cleanness of the release you give is
your INSTANTANEOUS escape from guilt. You MUST be holy if you offer holiness.
How long is an instant? As long as it takes to re-establish perfect sanity,
perfect peace, and perfect love for everyone, for God, and for YOURSELF. As
long as it takes to remember immortality, and your immortal creations who share
it with you. As long as it takes to exchange hell for Heaven. Long enough to
transcend all of the ego's making, and ascend unto your Father.
T 15 B 13. Time is your friend, if you leave it to the Holy Spirit to use.
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He needs but very little to restore God's whole power to you. He Who transcends
time for you understands what time is FOR. Holiness lies not in time, but in
eternity. There never was an instant in which God's Son could lose his purity.
His changeless state is beyond time, for his purity remains forever beyond
attack and without variability. Time stands still in his holiness, and changes
not. And so it is no longer time at all. For, caught in the single instant of
the eternal sanctity of God's creation, it is transformed into forever. GIVE
the eternal instant, that eternity may be remembered FOR you, in that shining
instant of perfect release. Offer the miracle of the holy instant through the
Holy Spirit, and leave His giving it to you to Him.
T 15 C. Time and Eternity
T 15 C 1. The Atonement is IN time, but not FOR time. Being in you, it is
eternal. What holds remembrance of God cannot be bound by time. No more are
you. For unless God is bound, you CANNOT be. An instant offered to the Holy
Spirit is offered to God on your behalf, and in that instant you will awaken
gently in Him. In the blessed instant, you will let go all your past learning,
and the Holy Spirit will quickly offer you the whole lesson of peace. What can
take time, when all the obstacles to learning it have been removed? Truth is so
far beyond time that all of it happens at once. For as it was created one, so
its oneness depends not on time at all.
T 15 C 2. Do not be concerned with time, and fear not the instant of holiness
which will remove ALL fear. For the instant of peace is eternal BECAUSE it is
wholly without fear. It WILL come, being the lesson God gives you, through the
Teacher He has appointed to translate time into eternity. Blessed is God's
Teacher, Whose joy it is to teach God's holy Son his holiness. His joy is not
contained in time. His teaching is for you because His joy is YOURS. Through
Him you stand before God's altar, where He gently translates hell into Heaven.
For it is only in Heaven that God would have you be.
T 15 C 3. How long can it take to be where God would have you? For you ARE
where you have forever been and will forever be. All that you have, you have
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forever. The blessed instant reaches out to encompass time, as God extends
Himself to encompass you. You who have spent days, hours, and even years in
chaining your brothers to your egos in an attempt to support it, and uphold its
weakness, do not perceive the Source of STRENGTH. In the holy instant you will
unchain ALL your brothers, and refuse to support either THEIR weakness or your
OWN.
T 15 C 4. You do not realize how much you have misused your brothers by seeing
them as sources of ego support. As a result, they witness TO the ego in your
perception, and SEEM to provide reasons for not letting it go. Yet they are far
stronger and much more compelling witnesses for the Holy Spirit. And they
support His STRENGTH. It is, therefore, your choice whether they support the
ego or the Holy Spirit in YOU. And you will know which you have chosen by THEIR
reactions. A Son of God who has been released through the Holy Spirit in a
brother, if the release is COMPLETE, is ALWAYS recognized. He cannot BE denied.
As long as you remain uncertain, it can be only because you have not given
complete release. And because of this, you have not given one single instant
COMPLETELY to the Holy Spirit. For when you have, you will be SURE you have.
You will be sure because the witness to Him will speak so clearly of Him that
you will hear and UNDERSTAND.
T 15 C 5. You will doubt until you hear ONE witness whom you have wholly
released through the Holy Spirit. And then you will doubt no more. The holy
instant has not yet happened to you. Yet it will, and you will recognize it
with perfect certainty. No gift of God is recognized in any other way. You can
practice the mechanics of the holy instant, and will learn much from doing so.
Yet its shining and glittering brilliance, which will literally blind you to
this world by its own vision, you cannot supply. And here it is, ALL in this
instant, complete, accomplished, and given WHOLLY.
T 15 C 6. Start now to practice your little part in separating out the holy
instant. You will receive very specific instructions as you go along. To learn
to separate out this single second, and begin to experience it as timeless, is
to begin to experience yourself as NOT separate. Fear not that you
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will not be given help in this. God's Teacher and His lesson will support your
strength. It is only your weakness that will depart from you in this practice,
for it is the practice of the power of God in you. Use it but for one instant,
and you will never deny it again. Who can deny the Presence of what the
universe bows to, in appreciation and gladness? Before the recognition of the
universe which witnesses to It, your doubts MUST disappear.
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T 15 D. Littleness versus Magnitude
T 15 D 1. Be not content with littleness, but be sure you understand what
littleness is, and why you could never BE content with it. Littleness is the
offering you gave YOURSELF. You offered this in place of magnitude, and you
ACCEPTED it. Everything in this world is little because it is a world made out
of littleness, in the strange belief that littleness can content you. When you
strive for anything in this world with the belief that it will bring you peace,
you are belittling yourself, and blinding yourself to glory. Littleness and
glory are the choices open to your striving and your vigilance. You will always
choose one at the EXPENSE of the other.
T 15 D 2. Yet what you do not realize, each time you choose, is that your
choice is your evaluation of YOURSELF. Choose littleness and you will not have
peace, for you will have judged yourself unworthy of it. And whatever you offer
as a substitute is much too poor a gift to satisfy you. It is essential that
you accept the fact, and accept it gladly, that there is no form of littleness
that can EVER content you. You are free to try as many as you wish, but all you
will be doing is to delay your homecoming. For you will be content only in
magnitude, which is your home.
T 15 D 3. There is a deep responsibility you owe yourself, and one which you
must learn to remember all the time. The lesson will seem hard at first, but
you will learn to love it when you realize that it is true, and constitutes a
tribute to your power. You who have sought and found littleness, remember this:
Every decision which you make stems from what you think you ARE, and represents
the value that you PUT upon yourself. Believe the little can content you, and
by limiting yourself, you will not be satisfied. For your function is NOT
little, and it is only by finding your function and fulfilling it that you can
escape from littleness.
T 15 D 4. There is no doubt about what your function is, for the Holy Spirit
KNOWS what it is. There is no doubt about its magnitude, for it reaches you
through Him FROM Magnitude. You do not have to strive for it, because you HAVE
it. All your striving must be directed AGAINST littleness, for it
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DOES require vigilance to protect your magnitude in this world. To hold your
magnitude in perfect awareness in a world of littleness is a task the little
cannot undertake. Yet it is asked of you, in tribute to your magnitude and NOT
your littleness. Nor is it asked of you alone.
T 15 D 5. The power of God will support every effort you make on behalf of His
dear Son. Search for the little, and you deny yourself His power. God is not
willing that His Son be content with less than everything. For He is not
content without His Son, and His Son cannot be content with less than His Father
has given him. We asked you once before, "Would you be hostage to the ego or
host to God?" Let this question be asked you by the Holy Spirit in you every
time you make a decision. For every decision you make DOES answer this, and
invites sorrow or joy accordingly.
T 15 D 6. When God gave Himself to you in your creation, He established you as
host to Him forever. He has not left you, and you have not left Him. All your
attempts to deny His magnitude, and make His Son hostage to the ego, cannot make
little whom God has joined with Him. Every decision you make is for Heaven or
for hell, and will bring you awareness of what you decided FOR. The Holy Spirit
can hold your magnitude, clean of all littleness, clearly and in perfect safety
in your minds, untouched by every little gift the world of littleness would
offer you. But for this, you cannot side AGAINST Him in what He wills for you.
T 15 D 7. Decide for God through Him. For littleness, and the belief that you
can be content with littleness, are the decisions you have made about yourself.
The power and the glory that lie in you from God are for all who, like you,
perceive themselves as little, and have deceived themselves into believing that
littleness can be blown up by them into a sense of magnitude that can content
them. Neither give littleness, nor accept it. All honor is due the host of
God. Your littleness deceives you, but your magnitude is of Him Who dwells in
you, and in Whom you dwell. Touch no one, then, with littleness in the Name of
Christ, eternal Host unto His Father.
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T 15 D 8. In this season (Christmas), which celebrates the birth of
holiness into this world, join with me who decided for holiness for YOU. It is
our task TOGETHER to restore the awareness of magnitude to the host whom God
appointed for Himself. It is beyond all your littleness to give the gift of
God, but NOT beyond YOU. For God would give Himself through you. He reaches
from you to everyone, and beyond everyone to His Son's creations, but without
leaving you. Far beyond your little world, but still in you, He extends
forever. Yet He brings all His extensions to you, as host to Him.
T 15 D 9. Is it a sacrifice to leave littleness behind, and wander not in vain?
It is not sacrifice to wake to glory. But it IS a sacrifice to accept anything
LESS than glory. Learn that you MUST be worthy of the Prince of Peace, born in
you in honor of Him Whose host you are. You know not what love means because
you have sought to purchase it with little gifts, thus valuing it too little to
be able to understand its magnitude. Love is NOT little, and love dwells in
you, for you are host to Him. Before the greatness that lives in you, your poor
appreciation of yourself and all the little offerings you have given slip into
nothingness. Holy Child of God, when will you learn that ONLY holiness can
content you and give you peace?
T 15 D 10. Remember that you learn not for yourself alone, no more than I
did. It is BECAUSE I learned for you that you can learn of me. I would but
teach you what is yours, so that together we can replace the shabby littleness
that binds the host of God to guilt and weakness with the glad awareness of the
glory that is in him. My birth in you is your awakening to grandeur. Welcome
me not into a manger, but into the altar to holiness, where holiness abides in
perfect peace. My Kingdom is not of this world because it is in YOU. And you
are of your Father. Let us join in honoring you, who must remain forever beyond
littleness.
T 15 D 11. Decide with me, who have decided to abide with you. I will as
my Father wills, knowing His Will is constant, and at peace forever with Itself.
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You will be content with nothing BUT His Will. Accept no less, remembering that
everything I learned is yours. What my Father loves I love as He does, and I
can no more accept it as what it is not than He can. And no more can YOU. When
you have learned to accept what you are, you will make no more gifts to offer to
yourselves, for you will know you are complete, in need of nothing, and unable
to accept ANYTHING for yourself. But you will gladly give, HAVING received.
The host of God need [T113] not seek to find ANYTHING.
T 15 D 12. If you are wholly willing to leave salvation to the plan of
God, and unwilling to attempt to grasp for peace yourself, salvation will be
GIVEN you. Yet think not you can substitute your plan for His. Rather, join
with me in His, that we may release all those who would be bound, proclaiming
together that the Son of God is host to Him. Thus will we let no one forget
what YOU would remember. And thus will you remember it.
T 15 D 13. Call forth in everyone only the remembrance of God, and of the
Heaven that is in him. For where you would help your brother be, there will you
think YOU are. Hear not his call for hell and littleness, but only his call for
Heaven and greatness. Forget not that his call is yours, and answer him with
me. God's power is forever on the side of His host, for it protects only the
peace in which He dwells. Lay not littleness before His holy altar, which rises
above the stars and reaches even to Heaven because of what is given it.
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T 15 E. Practicing the Holy Instant
T 15 E 1. This course is not beyond IMMEDIATE learning, unless you prefer to
believe that what God wills takes time. And this means only that you would
RATHER delay the recognition that His Will is so. The holy instant is THIS one
and EVERY one. The one you WANT it to be it IS. The one you would not have it
be is lost to you. YOU must decide on when it is. Delay it not. For beyond
the past and future, in which you will not find it, it stands in shimmering
readiness for your acceptance. Yet you cannot bring it into glad awareness
while you do not want it, for it holds the whole release from littleness.
T 15 E 2. Your practice must therefore rest upon your willingness to let all
littleness go. The instant in which magnitude will dawn upon you is but as far
away as your DESIRE for it. As long as you desire it not, and cherish
littleness instead, by so much is it far from you. By so much as you want it
will you bring it nearer. Think not that you can find salvation in your own way
and HAVE it. Give over EVERY plan that you have made for your salvation in
exchange for God's. His will content you, and there is nothing else that can
bring you peace. For peace is of God, and of no one beside Him.
T 15 E 3. Be humble before Him, and yet great IN Him. And value no plan of the
ego before the plan of God. For you leave empty your place in His plan, which
you must fulfill if you would join with me, by your decision to join in any plan
BUT His. I call you to fulfill your holy part in the plan that He has given to
the world for its release from littleness. God would have His host abide in
perfect freedom. Every allegiance to a plan of salvation that is apart from Him
diminishes the value of His Will for you in your own minds. And yet it is your
mind that IS the host to Him.
T 15 E 4. Would you learn how perfect and immaculate is the holy altar on which
your Father has placed Himself? This you will recognize in the holy instant in
which you willingly and gladly give over every plan but His. For there lies
peace, perfectly clear because you have been willing to meet its conditions.
You can claim the holy instant any time and anywhere you want
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it. In your practice, try to give over every plan you have accepted for finding
magnitude in littleness. IT IS NOT THERE. Use the holy instant only to
recognize that you alone CANNOT know where it is, and can only deceive yourself.
T 15 E 5. I stand within the holy instant, as clear as you would have me. And
the extent to which you learn to be willing to accept me is the measure of the
time in which the holy instant will be yours. I call to you to make the holy
instant yours at once, for the release from littleness in the mind of the host
of God depends on willingness, and NOT on time. The reason why this course is
simple is that TRUTH is simple. Complexity is of the ego, and is nothing more
than the ego's attempt to obscure the obvious.
T 15 E 6. You could live forever in the holy instant, BEGINNING NOW and
reaching to eternity, but for a very simple reason. Do not obscure the
simplicity of this reason, for if you do, it will be only because you prefer not
to recognize it, and not to let it go. The simple reason, simply stated, is
this: The holy instant is a time in which you receive and GIVE perfect
communication. This means, however, that it is a time in which your mind is
OPEN, both to receive and give. It is the recognition that all minds ARE in
communication. It therefore seeks to CHANGE nothing, but merely to ACCEPT
everything.
T 15 E 7. How can you do this when you would prefer to have PRIVATE thoughts,
and KEEP them? The only way you could do THAT is to DENY the perfect
communication that makes the holy instant what it is. You believe that it is
possible to harbor thoughts you would not share, and that salvation lies in
keeping your thoughts to yourself ALONE. For in private thoughts, known only to
yourself, you think you find a way to keep what you would HAVE alone, and share
what YOU would share. And then you wonder why it is that you are not in full
communication with those around you, and with God Who surrounds ALL of you
together.
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T 15 E 8. Every thought you would keep hidden shuts communication off because
you would HAVE it so. It is impossible to recognize perfect communication while
BREAKING communication holds value to you. Ask yourselves honestly, "Would I
WANT to have perfect communication, and am I wholly willing to let everything
that interferes with it go forever?" If the answer is no, then the Holy
Spirit's readiness to give it to you is not enough to make it yours, for you are
not ready to SHARE it with Him. And it cannot come into a mind that has decided
to oppose it. For the holy instant is given and received with EQUAL
willingness, being the acceptance of the single Will that governs ALL thought.
T 15 E 9. The necessary condition for the holy instant does NOT require that
you have no thoughts which are not pure. But it DOES require that you have none
that you would KEEP. Innocence is not of your making. It is given you the
instant you would HAVE it. Yet it would not be Atonement if there were no NEED
for Atonement. You will not be able to accept perfect communication as long as
you would HIDE it from yourself. For what you would hide IS hidden from you.
T 15 E 10. In your practice, then, try only to be vigilant against
deception, and seek not to protect the thoughts you would keep unto yourself.
Let the Holy Spirit's purity shine them away, and bring all your awareness to
the readiness for purity He offers you. Thus will He make you ready to
acknowledge that you ARE host to God, and hostage to no one and nothing.
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T 15 F. The Holy Instant and Special Relationships
T 15 F 1. The holy instant is the Holy Spirit's most useful learning device for
teaching you love's meaning. For its purpose is to suspend judgment ENTIRELY.
Judgment always rests on the past, for past experience is the basis on which you
judge. Judgment becomes impossible without the past, for without it you do not
understand anything. You would make no attempt to judge, because it would be
quite apparent to you that you do not know what anything MEANS. You are afraid
of this because you believe that, WITHOUT the ego, all would be chaos. Yet I
assure you that, without the ego, all would be LOVE.
T 15 F 2. The past is the EGO'S chief learning device, for it is in the past
that you learned to define your own needs, and acquired methods for meeting them
on your own terms. We said before that to limit love to PART of the Sonship is
to bring guilt into your relationships, and thus make them unreal. If you seek
to separate out certain aspects of the totality, and look to them to meet your
imagined needs, you are attempting to use separation to SAVE you. How, then,
could guilt NOT enter? For separation IS the source of guilt, and to appeal to
it for salvation is to believe you are alone. To be alone IS to be guilty. For
to experience yourself as alone is to deny the Oneness of the Father and His
Son, and thus to attack reality.
T 15 F 3. You cannot love parts of reality and understand what love means. If
you would love unlike to God, Who KNOWS no special love, how CAN you understand
it? To believe that SPECIAL relationships, with SPECIAL love, can offer you
salvation is the belief that separation IS salvation. For it is the complete
EQUALITY of the Atonement in which salvation lies. How can you decide that
special aspects of the Sonship can give you more than others? The PAST has
taught you this. Yet the holy instant teaches you it is not so.
T 15 F 4. Because of guilt, ALL special relationships have some elements of
fear in them. And this is why they shift and change so frequently. They are
not based on changeless love alone. And love, where fear has entered, cannot be
depended on because it is not perfect. In His function as Interpreter of
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what you have made, the Holy Spirit USES special relationships, which YOU have
chosen to support the ego, as a learning experience which points to truth.
Under His teaching, EVERY relationship becomes a lesson in love.
T 15 F 5. The Holy Spirit knows no one is special. Yet He also perceives that
you have MADE special relationships, which He would purify, and not let you
destroy. However unholy the reason why you made them may be, He can translate
them into holiness by removing as much fear as you will let Him. You can place
any relationship under His care, and be sure that it will not result in pain, if
you offer Him your willingness to have it serve no need but His. All the guilt
in it arises from YOUR use of it. All the love from His. Do not, then, be
afraid to let go your imagined needs, which would destroy the relationship.
Your ONLY need is His.
T 15 F 6. Any relationship which you would substitute for another has not been
offered to the Holy Spirit for His use. There IS no substitute for love. If
you would attempt to substitute one aspect of love for another, you have placed
LESS value on one and MORE on the other. You have not only SEPARATED them, but
you have also judged against BOTH. Yet you had judged against yourself first,
or you would never have imagined that you needed them as they were not. Unless
you had seen yourself as WITHOUT love, you could not have judged them so like
you in lack.
T 15 F 7. The ego's use of relationships is so fragmented that it frequently
goes even farther; one part of one aspect suits its purposes, while it prefers
different parts of another aspect. Thus does it assemble reality to its own
capricious liking, offering for your seeking a picture whose likeness does not
exist. For there is nothing in Heaven or earth that it resembles, and so,
however much you seek for its reality, you cannot find it because it is not
real.
T 15 F 8. Everyone on earth has formed special relationships, and although this
is not so in Heaven, the Holy Spirit knows how to bring a touch of Heaven to
them here. In the holy instant no one is special, for your
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personal needs intrude on no one to make them different. Without the values
from the past you WOULD see them all the same, and like YOURSELF. Nor would you
see any separation between yourself and them. In the holy instant, you see in
each relationship what it WILL be when you perceive only the present.
T 15 F 9. God knows you NOW. He remembers nothing, having ALWAYS known you
exactly as He knows you now. The holy instant parallels His knowing by bringing
ALL perception out of the past, thus removing the frame of reference you have
built by which to judge your brothers. Once this is gone, the Holy Spirit
substitutes His frame of reference for it. His frame of reference is simply
God. The Holy Spirit's timelessness lies only here. For in the holy instant,
free of the past, you see that love is in you, and you have no need to look
WITHOUT and snatch it guiltily from where you thought it was.
T 15 F 10. ALL your relationships are blessed in the holy instant, because
the blessing is not limited. In the holy instant, the Sonship gains AS ONE.
And united in your blessing, it BECOMES one to you. The meaning of love is the
meaning God gave to it. Give to it any meaning APART from His, and it is
impossible to understand it. Every brother God loves as He loves you; neither
less nor more. He needs them all equally, and so do YOU. In time, you have
been told to offer miracles as Christ directs, and let the Holy Spirit bring to
you those who are seeking you. Yet in the holy instant, you unite directly with
God, and ALL your brothers join in Christ. Those who are joined in Christ are
in no way separate. For Christ is the Self the Sonship shares, as God shares
His Self with Christ.
T 15 F 11. Think you that you can judge the Self of God? God has created
It BEYOND judgment, out of His need to extend His Love. With Love in you, you
have no need EXCEPT to extend it. In the holy instant there is no conflict of
needs, for there is only ONE. For the holy instant reaches to eternity, and to
the Mind of God. And it is only there love HAS meaning, and only there CAN it
be understood.
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T 15 F 12. It is impossible to use one relationship at the expense of
another, and NOT suffer guilt. And it is equally impossible to condemn part of
a relationship and find peace WITHIN it. Under the Holy Spirit's teaching, ALL
relationships are seen as total commitments, yet they do not conflict with one
another in any way. Perfect faith in each one, for its ability to satisfy you
COMPLETELY, arises only from perfect faith in YOURSELF. And this you cannot
have, while guilt remains. And there WILL be guilt as long as you accept the
possibility, and CHERISH it, that you can make a brother what he is not because
YOU would have him so.
T 15 F 13. You have so little faith in yourself because you are unwilling
to accept the fact that perfect love is in YOU. And so you seek without for
what you cannot FIND without. I offer you my perfect faith in you, in place of
all your doubts. But forget not that my faith must be as perfect in all your
brothers as it is in you, or it would be a limited gift to YOU. In the holy
instant, we share our faith in God's Son because we recognize, together, that he
is wholly worthy of it, and in our appreciation of his worth, we CANNOT doubt
his holiness. And so we love him.
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T 15 G. The Holy Instant and the Laws of God
T 15 G 1. All separation vanishes as holiness is shared. For holiness is
power, and by sharing it, it GAINS in strength. If you seek for satisfaction in
gratifying your needs as YOU perceive them, you must believe that strength comes
from another, and what YOU gain HE LOSES. Someone must ALWAYS lose, if you
perceive yourself as weak. Yet there is another interpretation of relationships
which transcends the concept of loss of power completely.
T 15 G 2. You do not find it difficult to believe that, when another calls on
God for love, YOUR call remains as strong. Nor do you think that, by God’s
Answer to him, YOUR hope of answer is diminished. On the contrary, you are far
more inclined to regard his success as witness to the possibility of YOURS.
That is because you recognize, however dimly, that God is an IDEA, and so your
faith in Him is STRENGTHENED by sharing. What you find difficult to accept is
the fact that, like your Father, YOU are an idea. And like Him, you can give
yourself completely, WHOLLY without loss and ONLY with gain.
T 15 G 3. Herein lies peace, for here there IS no conflict. In the world of
scarcity love has no meaning, and peace is impossible. For gain and loss are
BOTH accepted, and so no one is aware that perfect love is in him. In the holy
instant, you recognize the IDEA of love in you, and unite this idea with the
Mind that thought It, and could not RELINQUISH it. By holding it within Itself,
there WAS no loss. The holy instant thus becomes a lesson in how to hold all of
your brothers in your mind, experiencing not loss, but COMPLETION. From this,
it follows you can ONLY give. And this IS love, for this alone is natural,
under the laws of God.
T 15 G 4. In the holy instant the laws of God prevail, and only they have
meaning. The laws of this world cease to hold any meaning at all. When the Son
of God accepts the laws of God as what he gladly wills, it is impossible that he
be bound, or limited in any way. In this instant, he is as free as God would
have him be. For the instant he REFUSES to be bound, he is NOT bound.
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T 15 G 5. In the holy instant, nothing happens that has not always been. Only
the veil that has been drawn ACROSS reality is lifted. Nothing has changed.
Yet the AWARENESS of changelessness comes swiftly as the veil of time is pushed
aside. No one who has not yet experienced the lifting of the veil, and felt
himself drawn irresistibly into the light behind it, can have faith in love
WITHOUT fear. Yet the Holy Spirit GIVES you this faith, because He offered it
to me and I ACCEPTED it. Fear not the holy instant will be denied you, for I
denied it not. And through me the Holy Spirit gave it unto you, as YOU will
give it. Let no need that you perceive obscure your need of this. For in the
holy instant, you will recognize the only need the aspects of the Son of God
share equally, and by this recognition you will join with me in OFFERING what is
needed.
T 15 G 6. It is through US that peace will come. Join me in the IDEA of peace,
for in ideas minds CAN communicate. If you would give YOURSELF as your Father
gives His Self, you will learn to understand Selfhood. And therein is love's
meaning understood. But remember that understanding is of the MIND, and ONLY of
the mind. Knowledge is therefore of the mind, and its conditions are in the
mind with it. If you were not only an idea, and NOTHING ELSE, you could not be
in full communication with all that ever was. Yet as long as you PREFER to be
something else, or would attempt to be nothing else and something else TOGETHER,
the language of communication, which you know perfectly, you will not remember.
T 15 G 7. In the holy instant God is remembered, and the language of
communication with all your brothers is remembered with Him. For communication
is remembered TOGETHER as is truth. There is no exclusion in the holy instant
because the past is gone, and with it goes the whole BASIS for exclusion.
Without its source exclusion vanishes. And this permits YOUR Source, and that
of all your brothers, to replace it in your awareness. God and the power of God
will take their rightful place in you, and you will experience
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the full communication of ideas with ideas. Through your ability to do this you
will learn what you MUST be, for you will begin to understand what your Creator
is, and what His creation is along with Him.
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T 15 H. The Holy Instant and Communication
T 15 H 1. Beyond the poor attraction of the special love relationship, and
ALWAYS obscured by it, is the powerful attraction of the Father for His Son.
There is no other love that can satisfy you, because there IS no other love.
This is the ONLY love that is fully given and fully returned. Being complete,
it asks nothing. Being wholly pure, everyone joined in it HAS everything. This
is not the basis for ANY relationship in which the ego enters. For every
relationship on which the ego embarks IS special. The ego establishes
relationships only to GET something. And it would keep the giver bound to
itself through guilt.
T 15 H 2. It is impossible for the ego to enter into any relationship without
anger, for the ego believes that anger makes FRIENDS. This is not its
statement, but it IS its purpose. For the ego really BELIEVES that it can get
and keep BY MAKING GUILTY. This is its ONE attraction; an attraction so weak
that it would have no hold at all, except that no one RECOGNIZES it. For the
ego always SEEMS to attract through love, and has no attraction at all to anyone
who perceives that it attracts through GUILT.
T 15 H 3. The sick attraction of guilt must be recognized for what it IS. For
having been made real to you, it is essential to look at it clearly, and by
withdrawing your INVESTMENT in it, to learn to let it go. No one would choose
to let go what he believes has value. Yet the attraction of guilt has value to
you only because you have NOT looked at what it is, and have judged it
completely in the dark. As we bring it to light, your only question will be why
it was you EVER wanted it. You have nothing to lose by looking open-eyed at
this, for ugliness such as this belongs not in your holy mind. The host of God
CAN have no real investment here.
T 15 H 4. We said before that the ego attempts [T114] to maintain and increase
guilt, but in such a way that you do not recognize what it would do to YOU. For
it is the ego's fundamental doctrine that what you do to others YOU HAVE
ESCAPED. The ego wishes NO ONE well. Yet its survival depends on your belief
that YOU are exempt from its evil intentions. It counsels, therefore, that if
you are
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host to IT, it will enable you to direct the anger that it holds outward, thus
PROTECTING you. And thus it embarks on an endless, unrewarding chain of special
relationships, forged out of anger, and dedicated to but one insane belief; that
the more anger you invest OUTSIDE yourself, the safer YOU become.
T 15 H 5. It is this chain that binds the Son of God to guilt, and it is this
chain the Holy Spirit would remove from his holy mind. For the chain of
savagery belongs not around the chosen host of God, who CANNOT make himself host
to the ego. In the name of his release, and in the Name of Him Who would
release him, let us look more closely at the relationships which the ego
contrives, and let the Holy Spirit judge them truly. For it is certain that, if
you will LOOK at them, you will offer them gladly to Him. What HE can make of
them you do not know, but you will become willing to find out, if you are
willing, first, to perceive what YOU have made of them.
T 15 H 6. In one way or another, every relationship which the ego makes is
based on the idea that by SACRIFICING itself, it becomes BIGGER. The
"sacrifice," which it regards as purification, is actually the root of its
bitter resentment. For it would much prefer to attack directly, and avoid
delaying what it REALLY wants. Yet the ego acknowledges "reality" as it sees
it, and recognizes that no one could interpret DIRECT attack as love. Yet to
make guilty IS direct attack, but does not SEEM to be. For the guilty EXPECT
attack, and having ASKED for it, they are ATTRACTED to it.
T 15 H 7. In these insane relationships, the attraction of what you do not want
seems to be much stronger than the attraction of what you DO. For each one
thinks that he has sacrificed something to the other, and HATES him for it. Yet
this is what he thinks he WANTS. He is not in love with the other at all. He
merely believes he is in love with SACRIFICE. And for this sacrifice, which he
demanded of HIMSELF, he demands the OTHER accept the guilt, and sacrifice
himself as well. Forgiveness becomes impossible, for
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the ego believes that to forgive another is to LOSE him. For it is only by
attack WITHOUT forgiveness that the ego can ensure the guilt which holds all its
relationships together.
T 15 H 8. Yet they only SEEM to be together. For relationships, to the ego,
mean only that BODIES are together. It is always physical closeness that the
ego demands, and it does not object where the MIND goes or what IT thinks, for
this seems unimportant. As long as the body is there to receive its sacrifice,
it is content. To the ego, the mind is private, and only the BODY can be
shared. Ideas are basically of no concern, except as they draw the body of
another closer or farther. And it is in these terms that it evaluates ideas as
good or bad. What makes another guilty and HOLDS him through guilt is "good."
What RELEASES him from guilt is "bad," because he would no longer believe that
bodies communicate, and so he would be "gone."
T 15 H 9. Suffering and sacrifice are the gifts with which the ego would
"bless" all unions. And those who are united at its altar ACCEPT suffering and
sacrifice as the price of union. In their angry alliances, born of the fear of
loneliness and yet dedicated to the CONTINUANCE of loneliness, they seek relief
from guilt by increasing it in the OTHER. For they believe that this decreases
it in THEM. The other seems always to be attacking and wounding them, perhaps
in little ways, perhaps "unconsciously," yet never without demand of sacrifice.
The fury of those joined at the ego's altar far exceeds your awareness of it.
For what the ego REALLY wants you do not realize.
T 15 H 10. Whenever you are angry, you can be sure that you have formed a
special relationship which the ego has "blessed," for anger IS its blessing.
Anger takes many forms, but it cannot long deceive those who will learn that
love brings no guilt at all, and what brings guilt cannot be love, and MUST be
anger. ALL anger is nothing more than an attempt to make someone feel guilty,
and this attempt is the ONLY basis which the ego accepts for special
relationships. Guilt is the only need the ego has, and as long as you
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identify with it, guilt will REMAIN attractive to you.
T 15 H 11. Yet remember this; to be with a body is NOT communication. And
if you think it is, you will feel guilty about communication, and will be AFRAID
to hear the Holy Spirit, recognizing in His Voice your OWN need to communicate.
The Holy Spirit CANNOT teach through fear. And how can He communicate with you,
while you believe that to communicate is to make yourself ALONE? It is clearly
insane to believe that by communicating you will be abandoned. And yet you DO
believe it. For you think that your minds must be kept private or you will LOSE
them, and if your BODIES are together your minds remain your own. The union of
bodies thus becomes the way in which you would keep MINDS apart. For bodies
cannot forgive. They can only do as the mind directs.
T 15 H 12. The illusion of the autonomy of the body and ITS ability to
overcome loneliness is but the working of the ego's plan to establish its OWN
autonomy. As long as you believe that to be with a body is companionship, you
will be compelled to attempt to keep your brother in his body, held there by
guilt. And you will see SAFETY in guilt and DANGER in communication. For the
ego will ALWAYS teach that loneliness is solved by guilt, and that communication
is the CAUSE of loneliness. And despite the evident insanity of this lesson,
you have LEARNED it.
T 15 H 13. Forgiveness lies in communication as surely as damnation lies
in guilt. It is the Holy Spirit's teaching function to instruct those who
believe that communication is damnation that communication is SALVATION. And He
will do so, for the power of God in Him AND you is joined in REAL relationship,
so holy and so strong that it can overcome even THIS without fear. It is
through the holy instant that what seems impossible is ACCOMPLISHED, making it
evident that it is NOT impossible. In the holy instant guilt holds NO
attraction, since communication has been restored. And guilt, whose ONLY
purpose is to disrupt communication, has no function here.
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T 15 H 14. Here there is no concealment, and no private thoughts. The
willingness to communicate attracts communication TO it, and overcomes
loneliness completely. There is complete forgiveness here, for there is no
desire to exclude anyone from your completion, in sudden recognition of the
value of his part in it. In the protection of YOUR wholeness, all are invited
and made welcome. And you understand that your completion is God's, Whose only
need is to have YOU be complete. For your completion makes you His in your
awareness. And here it is that you experience yourself as you were created, and
as you ARE.
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T 15 I. The Holy Instant and Real Relationships
T 15 I 1. The holy instant does not replace the need for learning, for the Holy
Spirit must not leave you as your Teacher until the holy instant has extended
far beyond time. For a teaching assignment such as His, He must use everything
in this world for your release. He must side with every sign or token of your
willingness to learn of Him what the truth must be. He is swift to utilize
whatever you offer Him on behalf of this. His concern and care for you are
limitless. In the face of your FEAR of forgiveness, which He perceives as
clearly as He knows forgiveness is RELEASE, He will teach you to remember that
forgiveness is not loss, but your SALVATION. And that in COMPLETE forgiveness,
in which you recognize that there is nothing to forgive, YOU are absolved
completely.
T 15 I 2. Hear Him [T115] gladly, and learn of Him that you have need of no
special relationships at all. You but seek in them what you have thrown away.
And through them you will never learn the value of what you have cast aside, but
what you still desire with all your hearts. Let us join together in making the
holy instant all that there is, by desiring that it BE all that there is. God's
Son has such great need of your willingness to strive for this that you cannot
conceive of need so great. Behold the only need that God and His Son share, and
will to meet together. You are not alone in this. The will of your creations
call to you, to share your will with them. Turn, then, in peace from guilt to
God and them.
T 15 I 3. Relate only with what will NEVER leave you, and what YOU can never
leave. The loneliness of God's Son is the loneliness of his Father. Refuse not
the awareness of your completion, and seek not to restore it to yourselves.
Fear not to give redemption over to your Redeemer's Love. He will not fail you,
for He comes from One Who CANNOT fail. Accept YOUR sense of failure as nothing
more than a mistake in who you are. For the holy host of God is beyond failure,
and nothing that he wills can BE denied. You are forever in a relationship so
holy that it calls to everyone to escape from loneliness, and join you in your
love. And where you are must everyone
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seek, and FIND you there.
T 15 I 4. Think but an instant on this: God gave the Sonship to you, to ensure
your perfect creation. This was His Gift, for as He withheld Himself not from
you, He withheld not His creation. Nothing that ever was created but is yours.
Your relationships are with the universe. And this universe, being of God, is
far beyond the petty sum of all the separate bodies YOU perceive. For all its
parts are joined in God through Christ, where they become like to their Father.
For Christ knows of no separation from His Father, Who is His One relationship,
in which He gives as His Father gives to Him.
T 15 I 5. The Holy Spirit is God's attempt to free you of what He does not
understand. And because of the Source of the attempt, it will SUCCEED. The
Holy Spirit asks you to respond as God does, for He would teach you what YOU do
not understand. God would respond to EVERY need, whatever form it takes. And
so He has kept this channel open to receive His communication to you, and yours
to Him. God does not understand your problem in communication, for He does not
share it with you. It is only you who believe that it IS understandable.
T 15 I 6. The Holy Spirit knows that it is not understandable, and yet He
understands it because you have MADE it. In Him alone lies the awareness of
what God cannot know, and what you do not understand. It is His holy function
to accept them both, and by removing every element of disagreement, to join them
into one. He will do this BECAUSE it is His function. Leave, then, what seems
to you to be impossible to Him Who knows it MUST be possible because it is the
Will of God. And let Him Whose teaching is ONLY of God teach you the ONLY
meaning of relationships. For God created the only relationship which has
meaning, and that is His relationship with YOU.
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T 15 I 7. As the ego would limit your perception of your brothers to the body,
so would the Holy Spirit release your vision and let you see the great rays
shining from them, so unlimited that they reach to God. It is this shift in
vision which is accomplished in the holy instant. Yet it is needful for you to
learn just what this shift entails, so you will become willing to make it
permanent. Given this willingness it will not leave you, for it IS permanent.
For once you have accepted it as the only perception you WANT, it is translated
into knowledge by the part which God Himself plays in the Atonement, for it is
the only step in it He understands. Therefore, in this there will be no delay
when you are ready for it. God is ready NOW, but YOU are not.
T 15 I 8. Our task is but to continue, as fast as possible, the necessary
process of looking straight at all the interference, and seeing it EXACTLY as it
is. For it is impossible to recognize as wholly WITHOUT gratification what you
think you WANT. The body is the symbol of the ego, as the ego is the symbol of
the separation. And both are nothing more than attempts to limit communication,
and thereby to make it impossible. For communication must be unlimited in order
to have meaning, and DEPRIVED of meaning it will not satisfy you completely.
Yet it remains the only means by which you can establish real relationships.
T 15 I 9. Real relationships HAVE no limits, having been established by God.
In the holy instant, where the great rays REPLACE the body in awareness, the
recognition of relationships without limits is given you. But to see this, it
is necessary to give up every use the ego has for the body, and to accept the
fact that the ego has NO purpose you would share with it. For the ego would
limit everyone to a body for ITS purposes, and while you think it HAS a purpose,
you will choose to utilize the means by which IT tries to turn its purpose into
accomplishment. This will never BE accomplished. Yet you have surely
recognized that the ego, whose goals are altogether unattainable,
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will strive for them with all its might, and will do so with the strength which
YOU have given it.
T 15 I 10. It is impossible to divide your strength between Heaven and
hell, God and the ego, and release your power unto creation, which is the only
purpose for which it was given you. Love would ALWAYS give increase. Limits
are demanded by the ego, representing its demands to make little and
ineffectual. Limit your vision of a brother to his body, which you WILL do as
long as you would not release him from it, and you have denied his gift to YOU.
His body CANNOT give it. And seek it not through YOURS. Yet your minds are
ALREADY continuous, and their union need only be accepted, and the loneliness in
Heaven is gone.
T 15 I 11. If you would but let the Holy Spirit tell you of the Love of
God for you, and the need your creations have to be with you forever, you would
experience the attraction of the eternal. No one can hear Him speak of this and
long remain willing to linger here. For it IS your will to be in Heaven, where
you are complete and quiet, in such sure and loving relationships that ANY limit
is impossible. Would you not exchange your little relationships for this? For
the body IS little and limited, and only those whom you would see WITHOUT the
limits the ego would impose on them can offer you the gift of freedom.
T 15 I 12. You have no conception of the limits you have placed on your
perception, and no idea of all the loveliness that you could see. But this you
must remember; the attraction of guilt OPPOSES the attraction of God. His
attraction for you remains unlimited, but because your power, being His, is as
great as His, you can turn away from love. What you invest in guilt you
withdraw from God. And your sight grows weak and dim and limited, for you have
attempted to separate the Father from the Son, and limit their communication.
Seek not Atonement in FURTHER separation. And limit not your vision of God's
Son to what INTERFERES with his release, and what the Holy Spirit must UNDO to
set him free. For his belief in limits HAS imprisoned him.
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T 15 I 13. When the body ceases to attract you, and when you place no
value on it as a means for getting ANYTHING, then there will be no interference
in communication, and your thoughts will be as free as God's. As you let the
Holy Spirit teach you how to use the body ONLY for purposes of communication,
and renounce its use for separation and attack which the ego sees in it, you
will learn you have no need of a body at all. In the holy instant there ARE no
bodies, and you experience only the attraction of God. Accepting it as
undivided you join Him wholly, in an instant. For you would place NO limits on
your union WITH Him. [T116] The reality of this relationship becomes the only
truth that you could ever WANT. All truth IS here.
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T 15 J. The Time of Christ
T 15 J 1. It IS in your power, in TIME, to delay the perfect union of the
Father and the Son. For in this world, the attraction of guilt DOES stand
between them. Neither time nor season means anything in eternity. But here, it
is the Holy Spirit's function to use them both, though not as the ego uses them.
This is the season when you would celebrate my birth into the world. Yet you
know not how to do it. Let the Holy Spirit teach you, and let me celebrate YOUR
birth through Him. The only gift I can accept of you is the gift I GAVE to you.
Release ME as I will YOUR release. The time of Christ we celebrate TOGETHER,
for it has no meaning if we are apart.
T 15 J 2. The holy instant is truly the time of Christ. For in this liberating
instant no guilt is laid upon the Son of God, and his unlimited power is thus
restored to him. What other gift can you offer me, when only this I will to
offer YOU? And to see me is to see me in everyone, and offer everyone the gift
you offer me. I am as incapable of receiving sacrifice as God is, and every
sacrifice you ask of yourself you ask of me. Learn NOW that sacrifice of any
kind is nothing but a limitation imposed on giving. And by this limitation you
have limited acceptance of the gift I offer YOU.
T 15 J 3. We who are one CANNOT give separately. When you are willing to
accept OUR relationship as real, guilt will hold NO attraction for you. For in
our union you will accept ALL of our brothers. The gift of union is the only
gift that I was born to give. Give it to me, that YOU may have it. The time of
Christ is the time appointed for the gift of freedom, offered to everyone. And
by YOUR acceptance of it, you have OFFERED it to everyone. It IS in your power
to make this season holy, for it is in your power to make the time of Christ be
NOW.
T 15 J 4. It is possible to do this all at once because there is but ONE shift
in perception that is necessary, for you made but ONE mistake. It seems like
many, but it is all the same. For though the ego takes many forms, it is ALWAYS
the same idea. What is not love is ALWAYS fear, and nothing else. It is not
necessary to follow fear through all the circuitous routes
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by which it burrows underground and hides in darkness, to emerge in forms quite
different from what it is. Yet it IS necessary to examine each one as long as
you would retain the PRINCIPLE which governs all of them. When you are willing
to regard them, not as separate, but as different manifestations of the SAME
idea, and one you do not WANT, they go together. The idea is simply this; you
believe that it is possible to be host to the ego or hostage to God. This is
the choice you think you have, and the decision which you believe that you must
make.
T 15 J 5. You see no other alternatives, for you cannot accept the fact that
sacrifice gets NOTHING. Sacrifice is so essential to your thought system that
salvation APART from sacrifice means nothing to you. Your confusion of
sacrifice and love is so profound that you cannot conceive of love WITHOUT
sacrifice. And it is this that you must look upon; sacrifice is ATTACK, not
love. If you would accept but this ONE idea, your fear of love would vanish.
Guilt CANNOT last when the idea of sacrifice has been removed. For if there is
sacrifice, as you are convinced, someone must pay and someone must get. And the
only question which remains to be decided is HOW MUCH is the price for getting
WHAT.
T 15 J 6. As host to the ego, you believe that you can give ALL your guilt away
WHATEVER you think, and purchase peace. And the payment does not seem to be
YOURS. While it is obvious that the ego DOES demand payment, it never seems to
be demanding it of YOU. For you are unwilling to recognize that the ego, which
you invited, is treacherous only to those who think they are its host. The ego
will never let you perceive this, since this recognition would make it homeless.
For when this recognition dawns clearly, you will not be deceived by ANY form
the ego takes to protect itself from your sight.
T 15 J 7. Each form will be recognized as but a cover for the one idea that
hides behind them all; that love demands sacrifice, and is therefore inseparable
from attack and fear. And that guilt is the PRICE of love, which must be paid
BY fear. How fearful, then, has God become to you, and how
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great a sacrifice do you believe His Love demands! For total love would demand
total sacrifice. And so the ego seems to demand less of you than God, and of
the two is judged as the lesser of two evils, one to be feared a little, but the
other to be destroyed. For you see love as DESTRUCTIVE, and your only question
is who is to be destroyed, you or another? You seek to answer this question in
your special relationships, in which you are both destroyer and destroyed in
part, but with the idea of being able to be neither completely. And this you
think saves you from God, Whose total Love would completely destroy you.
T 15 J 8. You think that everyone OUTSIDE yourself demands your sacrifice, but
you do not see that ONLY you demand sacrifice, and ONLY of yourself. Yet the
demand of sacrifice is so savage and so fearful that you CANNOT accept it where
it is. But the REAL price of not accepting this has been so great that you have
given God away rather than look at it. For if God would demand total sacrifice
of you, you thought it safer to project Him outward and AWAY from you, and not
be host to Him. To Him you ascribed the ego's treachery, inviting it to take
His place to PROTECT you from Him. And you do not recognize that it is what YOU
invited in that would destroy you, and DOES demand total sacrifice of you. No
partial sacrifice will appease this savage guest, for it is an invader who but
SEEMS to offer kindness, but always to make the sacrifice complete.
T 15 J 9. You will not succeed in being partial hostage to the ego, for it
keeps no bargains, and would leave you nothing. Nor can you be partial HOST to
it. [T117] You will have to choose between TOTAL freedom and TOTAL bondage, for
there are no alternatives but these. You have tried many compromises in the
attempt to avoid recognizing the one decision which must be made. And yet it is
the recognition of the decision, JUST AS IT IS, that makes the decision so easy!
Salvation is simple being of God, and therefore very easy to understand. Do
not try to project it from you and see it OUTSIDE yourself. In you are both the
question and the answer; the demand for sacrifice and the peace of God.
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T 15 K. The End of Sacrifice
T 15 K 1. Fear not to recognize the whole idea of sacrifice as SOLELY of your
making. And seek not safety by attempting to protect yourself from where it is
not. Your brothers and your Father have become very fearful to you. And you
would bargain with them for a few special relationships in which you think you
see some scraps of safety. Do not try longer to keep apart your thoughts and
the Thought that has been given you. When they are brought together and
perceived where they ARE, the choice between them is nothing more than a gentle
awakening, and as simple as opening your eyes to daylight when you have no more
need of sleep.
T 15 K 2. The sign of Christmas is a star, a light in darkness. See it not
outside yourself, but shining in the Heaven within, and accept it as the sign
the time of Christ has come. He comes demanding NOTHING. No sacrifice of any
kind, of anyone, is asked by Him. In His Presence, the whole idea of sacrifice
loses all meaning. For He is Host to God. And you need but invite Him in Who
is there ALREADY, by recognizing that His Host is One, and no thought alien to
His Oneness can abide with Him there. Love must be total to give Him welcome,
for the Presence of holiness CREATES the holiness which surrounds it. No fear
can touch the Host Who cradles God in the time of Christ, for the Host is as
holy as the Perfect Innocence which He protects, and Whose power protects Him.
T 15 K 3. This Christmas, give the Holy Spirit EVERYTHING that would hurt you.
LET yourself be healed completely that you may join with Him in healing, and let
us celebrate our release together by releasing everyone with us. Leave nothing
behind, for release is total, and when you have accepted it with me you will
GIVE it with me. All pain and sacrifice and littleness will disappear in our
relationship, which is as innocent as our relationship with our Father, and as
powerful. Pain will be brought to us and disappear in our presence, and without
pain there can BE no sacrifice. And without sacrifice there love MUST be.
T 15 K 4. You who believe that sacrifice IS love must learn that sacrifice
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is SEPARATION from love. For sacrifice brings guilt as surely as love brings
peace. Guilt is the CONDITION of sacrifice, as peace is the condition for the
awareness of your relationship with God. Through guilt you exclude your Father
and your brothers from yourself. Through peace you invite them back, and
realize that they are where your invitation bids them be. What you excluded
from yourself seems fearful, for you endowed it with fear and tried to cast it
out, though it was part of you. Who can perceive part of himself as loathsome,
and live within himself in peace? And who can try to resolve the perceived
conflict of Heaven and hell in him by casting Heaven out and giving it the
attributes of hell, without experiencing himself as incomplete and lonely?
T 15 K 5. As long as you perceive the body as your reality, so long will you
perceive yourself as lonely and deprived. And so long will you also perceive
yourself as a victim of sacrifice, justified in sacrificing others. For who
could thrust Heaven and its Creator aside WITHOUT a sense of sacrifice and loss?
And who can suffer sacrifice and loss without attempting to RESTORE himself?
Yet how could you accomplish this yourselves, when the basis of your attempts is
the belief in the REALITY of the deprivation? For deprivation breeds attack,
being the belief that attack IS justified. And as long as you would retain the
deprivation, attack becomes salvation and sacrifice becomes love.
T 15 K 6. So is it that, in all your seeking for love, you seek for sacrifice
and FIND it. Yet you find not love. It is impossible to deny what love is, and
still RECOGNIZE it. The meaning of love lies in what you have cast OUTSIDE
yourself, and it has no meaning at all apart from you. It is what you preferred
to KEEP that has no meaning. While all that you would keep AWAY holds all the
meaning of the universe, and holds the universe together in its meaning. For
unless the universe were joined in YOU it would be apart from God, and to be
without Him IS to be without meaning.
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T 15 K 7. In the holy instant the condition of love is met, for minds are
joined without the body's interference, and where there is communication, there
is peace. The Prince of Peace was born to re-establish the condition of love by
teaching that communication remains unbroken even if the body is destroyed,
provided that you see not the body as the NECESSARY means of communication. And
if you understand this lesson, you will realize that to sacrifice the body is to
sacrifice NOTHING, and communication, which MUST be of the mind, cannot BE
sacrificed. Where, then, IS sacrifice?
T 15 K 8. The lesson I was born to teach, and still would teach to all my
brothers, is that sacrifice is nowhere and love is everywhere. For
communication embraces EVERYTHING, and in the peace it re-establishes love comes
of itself. Let no despair darken the joy of Christmas, for the time of Christ
is meaningless apart from joy. Let us join in celebrating peace by demanding no
sacrifice of anyone, for so will you offer me the love I offer you. What can be
more joyous than to perceive we are deprived of NOTHING? Such is the message of
the time of Christ, which I give you that YOU may give it, and return it to the
Father, Who gave it to me. For in the time of Christ communication is restored,
and He joins us in the celebration of His Son's creation.
T 15 K 9. God offers thanks to the holy host who would receive Him, and let Him
enter and abide where He would be. And by your welcome does He welcome you into
Himself, for what is contained in you who welcome Him is RETURNED to Him. And
we but celebrate His Wholeness as we welcome Him into ourselves. Those who
receive the Father are One with Him, being host to Him Who created them. And by
allowing Him to enter, the remembrance of the Father enters with Him, and with
Him they remember the only relationship they ever had, and ever WANT to have.
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T 15 K 10. This is the weekend in which a new year will be born from the
time of Christ. I have perfect faith in you to do all that you would
accomplish. Nothing will be lacking, and you will make complete, and NOT
destroy. Say and understand this:
"I give you to the Holy Spirit as part of myself.
I know that you will be released, unless I want to
use you to imprison MYSELF.
In the name of MY freedom I will your release,
Because I recognize that we will be released TOGETHER."
T 15 K 11. So will the year begin in joy and freedom. There is much to
do, and we have been long delayed. Accept the holy instant as this year is
born, and take your place, so long left unfulfilled, in the Great Awakening.
Make this year different by making it all the SAME. And let ALL your
relationships be made holy FOR you. This is our will. Amen.
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Chapter XVI 16 - THE FORGIVENESS OF ILLUSIONS
T 16 A. Introduction
T 16 A 1. To empathize does not mean to join in suffering, for that is what you
must REFUSE to understand. That is the EGO’S interpretation of empathy, and is
always used to form a special relationship in which the suffering is shared.
The capacity to empathize is very useful to the Holy Spirit, provided you let
Him use it in His way. His way is very different. [T118] He does not understand
suffering, and would have you teach it is not UNDERSTANDABLE. When He relates
through you, He does not relate through the ego to another ego. He does not
join in pain, knowing that healing pain is not accomplished by delusional
attempts to enter into it, and lighten it by sharing the delusion.
T 16 A 2. The clearest proof that empathy as the ego uses it is destructive
lies in the fact that it is applied only to certain types of problems, and in
certain people. These it selects OUT, and joins WITH. And it never joins
except to strengthen ITSELF. Having identified with what it THINKS it
understands, it sees ITSELF, and would INCREASE itself by sharing what is LIKE
itself. [T119] Make no mistake about this maneuver; the ego always empathizes to
WEAKEN, and to weaken is ALWAYS to attack. You do not know what empathizing
means. Yet of this you may be sure; if you will merely sit quietly by and let
the Holy Spirit relate through you, you will empathize with STRENGTH, and BOTH
of you will gain in strength, and not in weakness.
T 16 A 3. Your part is only to remember this; you do not want anything YOU
value to come of the relationship. You will neither to hurt it nor to heal it
in your own way. You do not know what healing is. All you have learned of
empathy is from the PAST. And there is nothing from the past that you would
share, for there is nothing there that you would KEEP. Do not use empathy to
make the past real, and so perpetuate it. Step gently aside, and let the
healing be done FOR you. Keep but one thought in mind, and do not lose sight of
it, however tempted you may be to judge any situation, and to determine your
response BY judging it. Focus your mind only on this:
"I am not alone, and I would not intrude the past upon my Guest.
I have invited Him, and He is here.
I need do nothing except NOT TO INTERFERE."
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T 16 B. True Empathy
T 16 B 1. True empathy is of Him Who knows what it IS. You will learn His
interpretation of it if you let Him use your capacity for STRENGTH, and NOT for
weakness. He will not desert you, but be sure that YOU desert not HIM.
Humility is strength in this sense only; to recognize and accept the fact that
you do NOT know is to recognize and accept the fact that He DOES know. You are
not sure that He will do His part because you have never yet done YOURS
completely. You will not know how to respond to what you do not understand. Be
tempted not in this, and yield not to the ego's triumphant use of empathy for
ITS glory.
T 16 B 2. The triumph of weakness is not what you would offer to a brother.
And yet you know no triumph BUT this. This is not knowledge, and the form of
empathy that would bring this about is so distorted that it would imprison what
it would release. The unredeemed cannot redeem, yet they HAVE a Redeemer.
Attempt to teach Him not. YOU are the learner; He the Teacher. Do not confuse
your role with His, for this will never bring peace to anyone. Offer your
empathy to Him, for it is HIS perception and HIS strength that you would share.
And let Him offer you His strength and His perception, to be shared through you.
T 16 B 3. The meaning of love is lost in any relationship which looks to
weakness, and hopes to find love there. The power of love, which IS its
meaning, lies in the strength of God, which hovers over it and blesses it
silently by enveloping it in healing wings. LET this be, and do not try to
substitute YOUR "miracle" for this. We once said that if a brother asks a
foolish thing of you to do it. But be certain that this does not mean to do a
foolish thing that would hurt either him OR you, for what would hurt one WILL
hurt the other. Foolish requests are foolish for the simple reason that they
conflict, because they contain an element of specialness. Only the Holy Spirit
recognizes foolish needs as well as real ones. And He will teach you how to
meet both without losing either.
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T 16 B 4. YOU will attempt to do this only in secrecy. And you will think
that, by meeting the needs of one you do not jeopardize another because you keep
them separate, and secret from each other. That is not the way, for it leads
not to light and truth. No needs will long be left unmet if you leave them all
to Him Whose FUNCTION is to meet them. That is HIS function, and NOT yours. He
will not meet them secretly, for He would share everything you give through Him.
And that is WHY He gives it. What you give through Him is for the whole
Sonship, NOT for part of it. Leave Him His function, for He will fulfill it if
you but ask Him to enter your relationships, and bless them FOR you.
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T 16 C. The Magnitude of Holiness
T 16 C 1. You still think holiness is difficult because you cannot see how it
can be extended to include everyone. And you have learned that it MUST include
everyone to BE holy. Concern yourselves not with the extension of holiness, for
the nature of miracles you do not understand. Nor do YOU do them. It is their
extension, far beyond the limits you perceive, that demonstrates you did not do
them. Why should you worry how the miracle extends to all the Sonship when you
do not understand the miracle itself? One attribute is no more difficult to
understand than is the whole. If miracles ARE at all, their attributes would
HAVE to be miraculous, being part of them.
T 16 C 2. There is a tendency to fragment, and then to be concerned about the
truth of just a little part of the whole. And this is but a way of avoiding, or
LOOKING AWAY from the whole, to what you think you might be better able to
understand. For this is but another way in which you would still try to keep
understanding to YOURSELF. A better and FAR more helpful way to think of
miracles is this: You do not understand them, either in part OR whole. Yet you
have DONE them. Therefore, your understanding cannot be necessary. Yet it is
still impossible to accomplish what you do not understand. And so there must be
something in you that DOES understand.
T 16 C 3. To you the miracle CANNOT seem natural because what you have done to
hurt your minds has made them so UNNATURAL that they do not remember what is
natural to them. And when you are TOLD about it, you cannot understand it. The
recognition of the part as whole, and of the whole in every part, is PERFECTLY
natural. For it is the way God thinks, and what is natural to Him is natural to
you. Wholly natural perception would show you instantly that order of
difficulty in miracles is quite impossible, for it involves a contradiction of
what miracles mean. And if you could understand their meaning, their attributes
could hardly cause you perplexity.
T 16 C 4. You HAVE done miracles, but it is quite apparent that you have not
done them alone. You have succeeded whenever you have reached another mind and
JOINED with it. When two minds join as one and share one idea equally,
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the first link in the awareness of the Sonship as one has been made. When you
have made this joining, as the Holy Spirit bids you, and have offered it to Him
to use as He knows how, His natural perception of your gift enables HIM to
understand it, and YOU to use His understanding on your behalf. It is
impossible to convince you of the reality of what has clearly BEEN accomplished
through your willingness as long as you believe that YOU must understand it, or
else it is not real.
T 16 C 5. You think your lack of understanding is a LOSS to you, and so you are
unwilling to believe that what has happened is true. But can you REALLY believe
that all that has happened, even though you do NOT understand it, has not
happened? Yet this IS your position. You would have perfect faith in the Holy
Spirit, and in the effects of His teaching, if you were not afraid to
ACKNOWLEDGE what He taught you. For this acknowledgment means that what has
happened you do not understand, but that you are willing to accept it BECAUSE it
has happened.
T 16 C 6. How can faith in reality be yours while you are bent on making it
unreal? And are you REALLY safer in maintaining the unreality of what has
happened than you would be in joyously accepting it for what it is, and giving
thanks for it? Honor the truth that has been given you, and be glad you do not
understand it. Miracles are natural to God, and to the One Who speaks for Him.
For His task is to translate the miracle into the knowledge which it represents,
and which is lost to you. Let His understanding of the miracle be enough for
you, and do not turn away from all the witnesses that He has given you to His
reality.
T 16 C 7. No evidence will convince you of the truth of what you do not want.
Yet your relationship with Him IS real, and has been demonstrated. Regard this
not with fear, but with rejoicing. The One you called upon IS with you. Bid
Him welcome, and honor His witnesses, who bring you the glad tidings He has
come. It is true, just as you fear, that to acknowledge Him IS to deny
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all that you think you know. But it was NEVER true. What gain is there to you
in clinging to it, and denying the evidence for truth? For you have come too
near to truth to renounce it now, and you WILL yield to its compelling
attraction. You can delay this now but only a little while. The host of God
has called to you, and you HAVE heard. Never again will you be wholly willing
not to listen.
T 16 C 8. This is a year of joy, in which your listening will increase, and
peace will grow with its increase. The power of holiness and the WEAKNESS of
attack have BOTH been brought into awareness. And this has been accomplished in
minds firmly convinced that holiness is weakness, and attack is power. Should
not this be a sufficient miracle to teach you that your Teacher is NOT of you?
But remember also that, whenever you have listened to His interpretation, the
results have brought you joy. Would you prefer the results of YOUR
interpretation, considering honestly what they have been? God wills you better.
Could you not look with greater charity on whom God loves with perfect love?
T 16 C 9. Do not interpret AGAINST God's Love, for you have many witnesses
which speak of It so clearly that only the blind and deaf could fail to see and
hear them. This year, determine not to deny what has been given you by God.
Awake and SHARE it, [T120] for that is the only reason He has called to you. His
Voice has spoken clearly, and yet you have so little faith in what you heard
because you have preferred to place still greater faith in the disaster YOU have
made. Today, let us resolve TOGETHER to accept the joyful tidings that disaster
is not real, and that reality is not disaster.
T 16 C 10. Reality is safe and sure, and wholly kind to everyone and
everything. There is no greater love than to accept this, and be glad. For
love asks only that you be HAPPY, and will give you everything that makes for
happiness. You have never given any problem to the Holy Spirit He has not
solved for you, nor will you ever do so. You have never tried to solve anything
yourself and been successful. Is it not time you brought these facts
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TOGETHER, and made SENSE of them?
T 16 C 11. This is the year for the APPLICATION of the ideas which have
been given you. For the ideas are mighty forces, to be used and not held idly
by. They have already proved their power sufficiently for you to place your
faith in them, and not in their denial. This year invest in truth, and let it
work in peace. Have faith in what has faith in YOU. Think what you have REALLY
seen and heard, and RECOGNIZE it. Can you be alone with witnesses like these?
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T 16 D. The Reward of Teaching
T 16 D 1. You have taught well, and yet you have not learned how to ACCEPT the
comfort of your teaching. If you will consider what you have taught, and how
alien it is to what you thought you knew, you will be compelled to recognize
that your Teacher came from beyond your thought system, and so could look upon
it fairly, and perceive it was untrue. And He must have done so from the basis
of a very different thought system, and one with NOTHING in common with yours.
For certainly what He has taught, and what you have taught through Him, have
nothing in common with what you taught before He came. And the results have
been to bring peace where there was pain, and suffering has disappeared, to be
replaced by joy.
T 16 D 2. You have taught freedom, but you have not learned how to be free. We
once said, "By their fruits ye shall know them, and they shall know themselves."
For it is certain that you judge yourself according to your teaching. The
ego's teaching produces immediate results because its decisions are immediately
accepted as YOUR choice. And this acceptance means that you are willing to
judge yourself accordingly. Cause and effect are very clear in the ego's
thought system because all your learning has been directed toward ESTABLISHING
the relationship between them. And would you not have faith in what you have so
diligently taught yourself to believe? Yet remember how much care you have
exerted in choosing its witnesses, and in avoiding those which spoke for the
cause of truth and ITS effects.
T 16 D 3. Does not the fact that you have not learned what you have taught show
you that you do not perceive the Sonship as one? And does it not also show you
that you do not regard YOURSELF as one? For it is impossible to teach
successfully wholly WITHOUT conviction, and it is equally impossible that
conviction be OUTSIDE of you. You could never have taught freedom unless you
DID believe in it. And it must be that what you taught came from YOURSELF. And
yet, this Self you clearly do not KNOW, and do not recognize It even though It
functions. What functions must be THERE. And it is only if you deny what it
has DONE that you could possibly deny its presence.
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T 16 D 4. This is a course in how to know yourself. You HAVE taught what you
are, but have not let what you are teach YOU. You have been very careful to
avoid the obvious, and not to see the REAL Cause and Effect [T121] relationship
that is perfectly apparent. Yet within you is EVERYTHING you taught. What can
it be that has NOT learned it? It must be this that is REALLY outside yourself,
not by your own projection, but in TRUTH. And it is this that you have taken in
that is NOT you. What you accept into your minds does not REALLY change them.
Illusions are but beliefs in what is not there. And the seeming conflict
between truth and illusion can only be resolved by separating yourself from the
ILLUSION, and NOT from truth.
T 16 D 5. Your teaching has already done this, for the Holy Spirit is part of
YOU. Created by God, He left neither God nor His creation. He is both God AND
you, as you are God and Him together. For God’s Answer to the separation added
more to you than you tried to take away. He protected both your creations and
you together, keeping one with you what you would exclude. And they will take
the place of what you took in to replace them. They are quite real, as part of
the Self you do not know. And they communicate to you through the Holy Spirit,
and their power and gratitude to you for their creation they offer gladly to
your teaching of yourself, who is their home. You who are host to God are also
host to them. For nothing real has ever left the mind of its creator. And what
is not real was never THERE.
T 16 D 6. You are not two selves in conflict. What is beyond God? If you who
hold Him and whom He holds ARE the universe, all else must be OUTSIDE, where
NOTHING is. You have taught this, and from far off in the universe, yet not
beyond yourself, the witnesses to your teaching have gathered to help you learn.
Their gratitude has joined with yours and God's to strengthen your faith in
what you taught. For what you taught is true. Alone, you stand outside your
teaching and APART from it. But WITH them you must learn that you but taught
YOURSELF, and learned from the conviction you shared with them.
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T 16 D 7. This year you will begin to learn, and make learning commensurate
with teaching. You have chosen this by your own willingness to teach. Though
you seemed to suffer for it, the joy of teaching will yet be yours. For the joy
of teaching is in the LEARNER, who offers it to the teacher in gratitude, and
shares it with him. As you learn, your gratitude to your Self, Who teaches you
what He is, will grow and help you honor Him. And you will learn His power and
strength and purity, and love Him as His Father does. His Kingdom has no limits
and no end, and there is nothing in Him that is not perfect and eternal. All
this is YOU, and nothing outside of this IS you.
T 16 D 8. To your most holy Self all praise is due for what you are, and for
what He is Who created you as you are. Sooner or later must everyone bridge the
gap which he imagines exists between his selves. Each one builds this bridge,
which carries him ACROSS the gap as soon as he is willing to expend some little
effort on behalf of bridging it. His little efforts are powerfully supplemented
by the strength of Heaven, and by the united will of all who make Heaven what it
is, being joined within it. And so the one who would cross over is literally
transported there.
T 16 D 9. Your bridge is builded stronger than you think, and your foot is
planted firmly on it. Have no fear that the attraction of those who stand on
the other side and wait for you will not draw you safely across. For you WILL
come where you would be, and where your Self awaits you.
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T 16 E. Illusion and Reality of Love
T 16 E 1. Be not afraid to look upon the special hate relationship, for freedom
lies in looking at it. It would be impossible not to know the meaning of love,
except for this. For the special love relationship, in which the meaning of
love is LOST, is undertaken solely to offset the hate, but NOT to let it go.
Your salvation will rise clearly before your open eyes as you look on this. You
cannot LIMIT hate. The special love relationship will not offset it, but will
merely drive it underground and out of sight. It is essential to bring it INTO
sight, and to make no attempt to hide it. For it is the attempt to balance hate
with love that MAKES love meaningless to you. The extent of the split that lies
in this you do not realize. And UNTIL you do, the split will remain
unrecognized, and therefore unhealed.
T 16 E 2. The symbols of hate against the symbols of love play out a conflict
which does not exist. For symbols stand for something ELSE, and the symbol of
love is without meaning if love is everything. You will go through this last
undoing quite unharmed, and will at last emerge as yourself. This is the last
step in the readiness for God. Be not unwilling now; you are too near, and you
will cross the bridge in perfect safety, translated quietly from war to peace.
For the illusion of love will NEVER satisfy, but its reality, which awaits you
on the other side, will give you everything.
T 16 E 3. The special love relationship is an attempt to limit the destructive
effects of hate by finding a haven in the storm of guilt. It makes no attempt
to rise ABOVE the storm, into the sunlight. On the contrary, it emphasizes
guilt OUTSIDE the haven by attempting to build barricades against it, and keep
within them. The special love relationship is not perceived as a value in
itself, but as a place of safety from which hatred is split off, and kept apart.
The special love partner is acceptable only as long as he serves this purpose.
Hatred can enter, and indeed is welcome in SOME aspects of the relationship, but
it is still held together by the illusion of love. If the
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illusion goes, the relationship is broken or becomes unsatisfying on the grounds
of disillusionment.
T 16 E 4. Love is NOT an illusion. It is a fact. Where disillusionment is
possible, there was not love but hate. For hate IS an illusion, and what can
change was NEVER love. It is certain that those who select certain ones as
partners in any aspect of living, and use them for any purpose which they would
not share with others, are trying to LIVE with guilt rather than DIE of it.
This is the choice they see. And love, to them, is only an escape from death.
They seek it desperately, but not in the peace in which it would gladly come
quietly TO them. And when they find the fear of death is still upon them, the
love relationship LOSES the illusion that it is what it is not. For when the
barricades against it are broken, fear rushes in and hatred triumphs.
T 16 E 5. There are no triumphs of love. Only hate is concerned with the
"triumph of love" at all. The illusion of love CAN triumph over the illusion of
hate, but always at the price of making BOTH illusions. As long as the illusion
of hatred lasts, so long will love be an illusion to you. And then the only
choice which remains possible is which illusion you prefer. There IS no
conflict in the choice between truth and illusion. Seen in THESE terms, no one
would hesitate. But conflict enters the instant the choice seems to be one
between ILLUSIONS, for this choice does not matter. Where one choice is as
dangerous as the other, the decision MUST be one of despair.
T 16 E 6. Your task is not to seek for love, but merely to seek and find ALL of
the barriers within yourself which you have built AGAINST it. It is not
necessary to seek for what is true, but it IS necessary to seek for what is
false. Every illusion is one of fear, whatever form it takes. And the attempt
to escape from one illusion into another MUST fail. If you seek love outside
yourself, you can be certain that you perceive hatred within and are AFRAID of
it. Yet peace will never come from the illusion of love, but ONLY from its
reality.
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T 16 E 7. Recognize this, for it is true, and truth MUST be recognized if it is
to be distinguished from illusion: The special love relationship is an attempt
to bring LOVE INTO SEPARATION. And, as such, it is nothing more than an
attempt [T122] to bring love into fear, and make it REAL in fear. In fundamental
violation of love's one [T123] condition, the special love relationship would
accomplish the impossible. How but in illusion COULD this be done? It is
essential that we look very closely at exactly what it is you think you can do
to solve the dilemma which seems very real to you, but which does not exist.
You have come very close to truth, and only this stands between you and the
bridge that leads you into it.
T 16 E 8. Heaven waits silently, and your creations are holding out their hands
to help you cross, and welcome them. For it is THEY you SEEK. You seek but for
your own completion, and it is they who render you complete. The special love
relationship is but a shabby substitute for what makes you whole in truth, NOT
in illusion. Your relationship with them is without guilt, and this enables you
to look on all your brothers with gratitude, because your creations were created
in union WITH them. Acceptance of your creations is the acceptance of the
oneness of creation, without which you could never BE complete. No specialness
can offer you what God has given, and what you are joined with Him in giving.
T 16 E 9. Across the bridge is your completion, for you will be wholly in God,
willing for nothing special, but only to be wholly like unto Him, completing Him
by YOUR completion. Fear not to cross to the abode of peace and perfect
holiness. Only there is the completion of God and of His Son established
forever. Seek not for this in the bleak world of illusion, where nothing is
certain, and where everything fails to satisfy. In the Name of God, be wholly
willing to abandon ALL illusions. In any relationship in which you are wholly
willing to accept completion, and ONLY this, there is God completed, and His Son
with Him.
T 16 E 10. The bridge that leads to union in yourself MUST lead to
knowledge,
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for it was built with God beside you, and will lead you straight to Him, where
your completion rests, wholly compatible with His. Every illusion which you
accept into your mind by judging it to be attainable removes your own sense of
completion, and thus denies the Wholeness of your Father. Every fantasy, be it
of love or hate, deprives you of knowledge, for fantasies are the veil behind
which truth is hidden. To lift the veil which seems so dark and heavy, it is
only needful to value truth beyond ALL fantasy, and to be entirely unwilling to
settle for illusion IN PLACE of truth.
T 16 E 11. Would you not go THROUGH fear to love? For such the journey
seems to be. Love calls, but hate would have you stay. Hear not the call of
hate, and see no fantasies, for your completion lies in truth, and NOWHERE
ELSE. [T124] See in the call of hate, and in every fantasy that rises to delay
you, but the call for help which rises ceaselessly from you to your Creator.
Would He not answer you whose completion is His? He loves you, wholly without
illusion, as you must love. For love IS wholly without illusion, and therefore
wholly without fear. Whom God remembers MUST be whole. And God has never
forgotten what makes HIM whole. In your completion lies the memory of His
Wholeness, and His gratitude to you for His completion. In His link with you
lie both His inability to forget, and your ability to remember. In Him are
joined your willingness to love, and all the Love of God, Who forgot you not.
T 16 E 12. Your Father can no more forget the truth in you than you can
fail to remember it. The Holy Spirit is the bridge to Him, made from your
willingness to unite with Him, and created by His joy in union with you. The
journey that seemed to be endless is almost complete, for what IS endless is
very near. You have almost recognized it. Turn with me firmly away from all
illusions NOW, and let nothing stand in the way of truth. We will take the last
foolish journey AWAY from truth together, and then together we go straight to
God, in joyous answer to His call for His completion.
T 16 E 13. If special relationships of any kind would hinder God's
completion, CAN they have any value to you? What would interfere with God MUST
interfere
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with you. Only in time does interference in God's completion seem to be
possible. The bridge that He would carry you across lifts you from time into
eternity. Waken from time, and answer fearlessly the call of Him Who gave
eternity to you in your creation. On this side of the bridge to timelessness
you understand nothing. But as you step lightly across it, upheld BY
timelessness, you are directed straight to the Heart of God. At Its center, and
ONLY there, you are safe forever, because you are COMPLETE forever. There is no
veil the Love of God in us together cannot lift. The way to truth is open.
Follow it with me.
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T 16 F. Specialness and Guilt
T 16 F 1. In looking at the special relationship, it is necessary first to
realize that it involves a great amount of pain. Anxiety, despair, guilt and
attack all enter into it, broken into by periods in which they SEEM to be gone.
All these must be understood for what they are. Whatever form they take, they
are always an attack on the self to make the OTHER guilty. We have spoken of
this before, but there are some aspects of what is really being attempted that
we have not touched upon.
T 16 F 2. Very simply, the attempt to make guilty is ALWAYS directed against
God. For the ego would have you see Him, and Him ALONE, as guilty, leaving the
Sonship open to attack, and unprotected from it. The special love relationship
is the ego's chief weapon for keeping you from Heaven. It does not APPEAR to be
a weapon, but if you consider HOW you value it and WHY, you will realize what it
must be. The special love relationship is the ego's most boasted gift, and one
which has the most appeal to those unwilling to relinquish guilt. The
"dynamics" of the ego are clearest here, for counting on the attraction of this
offering, the fantasies which center around it are often quite open. Here they
are usually judged to be acceptable, and even natural. No one considers it
bizarre to love and hate together, and even those who believe that hate is sin
merely feel guilty, and do not correct it.
T 16 F 3. This IS the "natural" condition of the separation, and those who
learn that it is not natural at all seem to be the UNNATURAL ones. For this
world IS the opposite of Heaven, being MADE to be its opposite, and everything
here takes a direction exactly opposite of what is true. In Heaven, where the
meaning of love is known, love is the same as UNION. Here, where the illusion
of love is accepted in love's place, love is perceived as separation and
EXCLUSION.
T 16 F 4. It is in the special relationship, born of the hidden wish for
special love from God, that the ego's hatred triumphs. For the special
relationship is the RENUNCIATION of the love of God, and the attempt to secure
for the self the specialness which He denied. It is essential to the
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preservation of the ego that you believe this specialness is not hell, but
Heaven. For the ego would never have you see that separation can ONLY be loss,
being the one condition in which Heaven CANNOT be.
T 16 F 5. To everyone Heaven is completion. There can be no disagreement on
this, because both the ego and the Holy Spirit accept it. They are, however, in
COMPLETE disagreement on what completion IS, and HOW it is accomplished. The
Holy Spirit knows that completion lies first in union, and then in the extension
of union. To the ego, completion lies in triumph, and in the extension of the
"victory" even to the final triumph over God. In this it sees the ultimate
freedom of the self, for nothing would remain to interfere with IT. This IS its
idea of Heaven. From this it follows that union, which is a condition in which
the ego CANNOT interfere, MUST be hell.
T 16 F 6. The special relationship is a strange and unnatural ego device for
joining hell and Heaven, and making them indistinguishable. And the attempt to
find the imagined "best" of both worlds has merely led to fantasies of both, and
to the inability to perceive either one as it is. The special relationship is
the triumph of this confusion. It is a kind of union from which union is
EXCLUDED, and the basis for the ATTEMPT at union rests on exclusion. What
better example could there be of the ego's maxim, "Seek but do not find?"
T 16 F 7. Most curious of all is the concept of the self which the ego fosters
in the special relationship. This "self" seeks the relationship to make itself
complete. Yet when it FINDS the special relationship in which it thinks it can
accomplish this, it gives itself AWAY, and tries to "trade" itself for the self
of another. This is not union, for there is no increase and no extension. Each
partner tries to sacrifice the self he does not want for one he thinks he would
prefer. And he feels guilty for the "sin" of taking, and of giving nothing of
value in return. For how much value CAN
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he place upon a self that he would give away to get a better one?
T 16 F 8. The "better" self the ego seeks is always one that is MORE special.
And whoever seems to possess a special self is "loved" for what can be taken
FROM him. Where both partners see this special self in each other, the ego sees
"a union made in Heaven." For neither one will recognize that he has asked for
hell, and so he will not interfere with the ego's illusion of Heaven, which it
offered him to INTERFERE with Heaven. Yet if all illusions are of fear, and
they CAN be of nothing else, the illusion of Heaven is nothing more than an
"attractive" form of fear, in which the guilt is buried deep, and rises in the
form of "love."
T 16 F 9. The appeal of hell lies only in the terrible attraction of guilt,
which the ego holds out to those who place their faith in littleness. The
conviction of littleness lies in EVERY special relationship, for only the
deprived could VALUE specialness. The demand for specialness, and the
perception of the giving of specialness as an act of love, would make love
HATEFUL. And the real purpose of the special relationship, in strict accordance
with the ego's goals, is to destroy reality and substitute illusion. For the
ego is ITSELF an illusion, and only illusions CAN be the witnesses to its
"reality."
T 16 F 10. If you perceived the special relationship as a triumph over
God, would you WANT it? Let us not think of its fearful nature, nor of the
guilt it must entail, nor of the sadness and the loneliness. For these are only
attributes of the whole religion of the separation, and of the total context in
which it is thought to occur. The central theme in its litany to sacrifice is
that God must die so YOU can live. And it is this theme which is acted out in
the special relationship. Through the death of YOUR self, you think you can
attack another self, and snatch it from the other to replace the self which you
despise. And you despise it because you do not think it offers the specialness
which you demand. And HATING it, you have made it little and unworthy because
you are AFRAID of it.
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T 16 F 11. How can you grant unlimited power to what you think you have
attacked? So fearful has the truth become to you that UNLESS it is weak and
little, and unworthy of value, [T125] you would not dare to look upon it. You
think it safer to endow the little self which you have made with power you
WRESTED from truth, triumphing over it and leaving it helpless. See how EXACTLY
is this ritual enacted in the special relationship. An altar is erected in
between two separate people on which each seeks to kill his self, and on his
body raise another self which takes its power from his death. Over and over and
over this ritual is enacted. And it is NEVER completed, nor ever WILL be
completed. For the ritual of completion CANNOT complete, and life arises not
from death, nor Heaven from hell.
T 16 F 12. Whenever any form of special relationship tempts you to seek
for love in ritual, remember love is CONTENT, and not form of ANY kind. The
special relationship is a RITUAL of form, aimed at the raising of the form to
take the place of God at the EXPENSE of content. There IS no meaning in the
form, and there will never be. The special relationship must be recognized for
what it is; a senseless ritual, in which strength is extracted from the death of
God, and invested in His killer as the sign that form has triumphed over
content, and love has lost its meaning. Would you WANT this to be possible,
even apart from its evident impossibility? For if it WERE possible, you would
have made YOURSELF helpless. God is not angry. He merely could not let this
happen. You CANNOT change His Mind.
T 16 F 13. No rituals that you have set up, in which the dance of death
delights you, can bring death to the eternal. Nor can your chosen substitute
for the Wholeness of God have any influence at all upon It. See in the special
relationship nothing more than a meaningless attempt to raise other gods before
Him, and by worshipping them, to obscure THEIR tininess and His GREATNESS. In
the name of your completion, you do not WANT this. For every idol which you
raise to place before Him stands before YOU, in place of what you ARE.
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T 16 F 14. Salvation lies in the simple fact that illusions are not
fearful because they are not TRUE. They but seem to be fearful to the extent to
which you fail to recognize them for what they are, and you WILL fail to do this
to the extent to which you WANT them to be true. And to the same extent you are
DENYING truth, and so are making yourself unable to make the simple choice
between truth and illusion; God and fantasy. Remember this, and you will have
no difficulty in perceiving the decision as just what it IS, and nothing more.
T 16 F 15. The core of the separation delusion lies simply in the FANTASY
of destruction of love's meaning. And unless love's meaning is RESTORED to you,
you cannot know yourself who SHARE its meaning. Separation is only the decision
NOT to know yourself. Its whole thought system is a carefully contrived
learning experience, designed to lead AWAY from truth and into fantasy. Yet for
every learning that would hurt you, God offers you correction and complete
escape from ALL its consequences. The decision whether or not to listen to this
course and follow it is but the choice between truth and illusion. For here is
truth, SEPARATED from illusion, and not confused with it at all.
T 16 F 16. How simple does this choice become when it is perceived as only
what it is. For ONLY fantasies made confusion in choosing possible, and they
are totally unreal. This year is thus the time to make the easiest decision
that ever confronted you, and also the ONLY one. You will cross the bridge into
reality simply because you will recognize that God is on the other side and
nothing AT ALL is here. It is impossible NOT to make the natural decision as
this is realized.
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T 16 G. The Bridge to the Real World
T 16 G 1. The search for the special relationship is the sign that you equate
yourself with the ego, and not with God. For the special relationship has value
ONLY to the ego. To the ego UNLESS a relationship has special value it has NO
meaning, and it perceives ALL love as special. Yet this CANNOT be natural, for
it is unlike the relationship of God and His Son, and all relationships that are
unlike this One MUST be unnatural. For God created love as He would have it be,
and gave it as it IS. Love has no meaning except as its Creator defined it by
His Will. It is impossible to define it otherwise and UNDERSTAND it.
T 16 G 2. Love is FREEDOM. To look for it by placing yourself in bondage is to
SEPARATE yourself from it. For the love of God, no longer seek for union in
separation, nor for freedom in bondage! As you release, so will you be
released. Forget this not, or love will be unable to find you and comfort you.
There is a way in which the Holy Spirit asks your help, if you would have His.
The holy instant is His most helpful tool in protecting you from the attraction
of guilt, the real lure in the special relationship. You do not recognize that
this IS its real appeal, for the ego has taught you that FREEDOM lies in it.
Yet the closer you look at the special relationship, the more apparent it
becomes that it MUST foster guilt and therefore MUST imprison.
T 16 G 3. The special relationship is totally without meaning without a body.
And if you value it, you must ALSO value the body. And what you value you WILL
keep. The special relationship is a device for limiting YOUR self to a body,
and for limiting your perception of others to THEIRS. The great rays would
establish the total LACK of value of the special relationship, if they were
seen. For in seeing them, the body would disappear because its VALUE would be
lost. And so your whole investment in seeing it would be withdrawn from it.
You see the world you VALUE.
T 16 G 4. On this side of the bridge, you see the world of separate bodies,
seeking to join each other in separate unions, and to become one by losing.
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When TWO individuals seek to become one, they are trying to DECREASE their
magnitude. Each would deny his power, for the SEPARATE union excludes the
universe. Far more is left outside than would be taken in. For God is left
without, and NOTHING taken in. If ONE such union were made in perfect faith,
the universe WOULD enter into it. Yet the special relationship which the ego
seeks does not include even one whole individual. For the ego wants but PART of
him, and sees ONLY this part and nothing else.
T 16 G 5. Across the bridge, it is so different! For a time the body is still
seen, but not exclusively, as it is seen here. For the little spark which holds
the great rays within it is ALSO visible, and this spark cannot be limited long
to littleness. Once you have crossed the bridge, the value of the body is so
diminished in your sight, that you will see no need at all to magnify it. For
you will realize that the only value which the body has is to enable you to
bring your brothers to the bridge WITH you, and to be released TOGETHER there.
T 16 G 6. The bridge itself is nothing more than a transition in your
perspective of reality. On this side, everything you see is grossly distorted
and completely out of perspective. What is little and insignificant is
magnified, and what is strong and powerful cut down to littleness. In the
transition there is a period of confusion, in which a sense of actual
disorientation seems to occur. But fear it not, for it means nothing more than
that you have been willing to let go your hold on the distorted frame of
reference which seemed to hold your world together. This frame of reference is
built around the special relationship. WITHOUT this illusion, there can BE no
meaning you would still seek here.
T 16 G 7. Fear not that you will be abruptly lifted up and hurled into reality.
Time is kind, and if you use it FOR reality, it will keep gentle pace with you
in your transition. The urgency is only in dislodging your minds from their
fixed position here. This will not leave you homeless, and
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without a frame of reference. The period of disorientation, which precedes the
actual transition, is far shorter than the time it took to fix your minds so
firmly on illusions. Delay will hurt you now more than before, only because you
realize it IS delay, and that escape from pain is really possible. Find hope
and comfort, rather than despair, in this: You could no longer find even the
ILLUSION of love in any special relationship here. For you are no longer wholly
insane, and you would recognize the guilt of self-betrayal for what it IS.
T 16 G 8. Nothing you seek to strengthen in the special relationship is REALLY
part of you. And you cannot keep part of the thought system which taught you it
was real, and understand the Thought that REALLY knows what you are. You HAVE
allowed the Thought of your reality to enter your minds, and because you invited
it, it WILL abide with you. Your love for it will not allow you to betray
yourself, and you could not enter into a relationship where it could not go with
you, for you would not BE apart from it.
T 16 G 9. Be glad you have escaped the mockery of salvation which the ego
offered you, and look not back with longing on the travesty it made of your
relationships. Now no one need suffer, for you have come too far to yield to
the illusion of the beauty and holiness of guilt. Only the wholly insane could
look on death and suffering, sickness and despair, and see it thus. What guilt
has wrought is ugly, fearful and very dangerous. See no illusion of truth and
beauty there. And be you thankful that there IS a place where truth and beauty
wait for you. Go on to meet them gladly, and learn how much awaits you for the
simple willingness to give up nothing BECAUSE it is nothing.
T 16 G 10. The new perspective you will gain from crossing over will be
the understanding of where Heaven IS. From here, it seems to be outside and
across the bridge. Yet as you cross to join it, it will join with YOU and
become one with you. And you will think, in glad astonishment, that for all
this you gave up NOTHING! The joy of Heaven, which has no limit, is increased
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with each light that returns to take its rightful place within it. Wait no
longer, for the love of God and YOU. And may the holy instant speed you on the
way, as it will surely do if you but let it come to you.
T 16 G 11. The Holy Spirit asks only this little help of you. Whenever
your thoughts wander to a special relationship which still attracts you, enter
with Him into a holy instant, and there let Him release you. He needs only your
willingness to SHARE His perspective to give it to you completely. And your
willingness need not be complete because HIS is perfect. It is His task to
atone for your unwillingness by His perfect faith, and it is His faith you share
with Him there. Out of your recognition of your unwillingness for your release,
His PERFECT willingness is given you. Call upon Him, for Heaven is at His call.
And LET Him call on Heaven FOR you.
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T 16 H. The End of Illusions
T 16 H 1. It is impossible to let the past go without relinquishing the special
relationship. For the special relationship is an attempt to RE-ENACT the past
and CHANGE it. Imagined slights, remembered pain, past disappointments,
perceived injustices and deprivations all enter into the special relationship,
which becomes a way in which you seek to restore your wounded self-esteem. What
basis would you have for choosing a special partner WITHOUT the past? Every
such choice is made because of something "evil" in the past, to which you cling,
and for which must someone else atone.
T 16 H 2. The special relationship TAKES VENGEANCE on the past. By seeking to
remove suffering in the past, it OVERLOOKS the present in its preoccupation with
the past and its total commitment to it. NO special relationship is experienced
in the present. Shades of the past envelop it, and make it what it is. It HAS
no meaning in the present, and if it means nothing NOW, it cannot have any real
meaning at all. How can you change the past EXCEPT in fantasy? And who can
give you what you think the past deprived you of? The past is nothing. Do not
seek to lay the blame for deprivation on it, for the past is gone. You cannot
really NOT let go what has ALREADY gone. It must be, therefore, that you are
maintaining the illusion that it has NOT gone because you think it serves some
purpose that you want FULFILLED. And it must also be that this purpose could
NOT be fulfilled in the present, but ONLY in the past.
T 16 H 3. Do not underestimate the intensity of the ego's drive for vengeance
on the past. It is completely savage and completely insane. For the ego
remembers everything that you have done which offended it, and seeks retribution
of YOU. The fantasies it brings to the special relationships it chooses in
which to act out its hate are fantasies of YOUR destruction. For the ego holds
the past AGAINST you, and in your ESCAPE from the past, it sees itself deprived
of the vengeance it believes that you so justly merit. Yet without your
alliance in your own destruction, the ego could not hold you to the past.
T 16 H 4. In the special relationship, you are ALLOWING your destruction to
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be. That this is insane is obvious. But what is less obvious to you is that
the PRESENT is useless to you while you pursue the ego's goal as its ally. The
past is gone; seek not to preserve it in the special relationship which binds
you to it, and would teach you that salvation is past, and that you must return
TO the past to find salvation. There is no fantasy which does not contain the
dream of retribution for the past. Would you act out the dream, or let it go?
T 16 H 5. In the special relationship, it does not SEEM to be an acting out of
vengeance which you seek. And even when the hatred and the savagery break
briefly through into awareness, the illusion of love is not profoundly shaken.
Yet the one thing which the ego never allows to reach awareness is that the
special relationship is the acting out of vengeance on YOURSELF. But what else
COULD it be? In seeking the special relationship, you look not for glory in
YOURSELF. You have denied that it is THERE, and the relationship becomes your
SUBSTITUTE for it. And vengeance becomes your substitute for Atonement, and the
ESCAPE from vengeance becomes your LOSS.
T 16 H 6. Against the ego's insane notion of salvation the Holy Spirit gently
lays the holy instant. We said before that the Holy Spirit must teach through
comparisons, and uses opposites to point to truth. The holy instant is the
OPPOSITE of the ego's fixed belief in salvation through vengeance for the past.
In the holy instant, it is accepted that the past is gone, and with its passing
the drive for vengeance has been uprooted, and has disappeared. The stillness
and the peace of NOW enfolds you in perfect gentleness. Everything is gone
except the truth.
T 16 H 7. For a time, you may attempt to bring illusions into the holy instant
to hinder your full awareness of the COMPLETE difference, in all respects,
between your experience of truth and illusion. Yet you will not attempt this
long. In the holy instant, the power of the Holy Spirit will prevail because
you JOINED Him. The illusions you bring with you will weaken the experience of
Him for a while, and will prevent you from keeping
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the experience in your mind. Yet the holy instant IS eternal, and your
illusions of time will not prevent the timeless from being what it is, nor you
from experiencing it as it is.
T 16 H 8. What God has given you is truly given, and will be truly RECEIVED.
For God's gifts HAVE no reality apart from your receiving them. YOUR receiving
completes His GIVING. You will receive BECAUSE it is His Will to give. He gave
the holy instant to be given you, and it is impossible that you receive it not
BECAUSE He gave it. When He willed that His Son be free, His Son WAS free. In
the holy instant is His reminder that His Son will always be EXACTLY as he was
created. And everything the Holy Spirit teaches you is to remind you that you
HAVE received what God has given you.
9. There is nothing you can hold against reality. All that must be forgiven
are the illusions you have held against your brothers. Their reality HAS no
past, and only illusions can BE forgiven. God holds [T126] nothing against
anyone, for He is incapable of illusions of ANY kind. Release your brothers
from the slavery of their illusions by forgiving them for the illusions which
YOU perceive in them. Thus will you learn that YOU have been forgiven, for it
is YOU who offered them illusions. In the holy instant this is done for you IN
TIME, to bring to you the true condition of Heaven.
T 16 H 10. Remember that you always choose between truth and illusion;
between the REAL Atonement which would heal and the ego's "atonement" which
would destroy. The power of God and all His Love, without limit, will support
you as you seek only your place in the plan of Atonement arising from His Love.
Be an ally of God and not the ego in seeking how Atonement can come to you. His
help suffices, for His Messenger understands how to restore the Kingdom to you,
and to place ALL your investment in salvation in your relationship with Him.
T 16 H 11. Seek and FIND His message in the holy instant, where all
illusions are forgiven. From there the miracle extends to bless everyone and to
resolve all problems, be they perceived as great or small, possible or
impossible.
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There is nothing that will not give place to Him and to His majesty. To join in
close relationship with Him is to accept relationships as REAL, and through
their reality to give over all illusions for the reality of your relationship
with God. Praise be to your relationship with Him, and to no other. The truth
lies here, and nowhere else. You choose this or NOTHING.
T 16 H 12. "Forgive us our illusions, Father, and help us to accept our
true relationship with You, in which there are no illusions, and where none can
ever enter. Our holiness is Yours. What can there be in us that NEEDS
forgiveness when Yours is perfect? The sleep of forgetfulness is only the
unwillingness to remember Your forgiveness and Your Love. Let us not wander
into temptation, for the temptation of the Son of God is not Your Will. And let
us receive only what YOU have given, and accept but this into the minds which
You created, and which You love. Amen."
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Chapter XVII 17 - FORGIVENESS AND HEALING
T 17 A. Introduction
T 17 A 1. The betrayal of the Son of God lies only in illusions, and all his
"sins" are but his own imagining. His reality is forever sinless. He need not
be forgiven but AWAKENED. In his dreams he HAS betrayed himself, his brothers
and his God. Yet what is done in dreams has not been REALLY done. It is
impossible to convince the dreamer that this is so, for dreams are what they are
BECAUSE of their illusion of reality. Only in waking is the full release from
them, for only then does it become perfectly apparent that they had no effect on
reality at all, and did not change it. Fantasies CHANGE reality. That is their
PURPOSE. They cannot do so in reality, but they CAN do so in the mind that
would have reality different.
T 17 A 2. It is, then, only your wish to change reality that is fearful,
because by your wish you think you have ACCOMPLISHED what you wish. This
strange position, in a sense, acknowledges your power. Yet by distorting it,
and devoting it to "evil," it also makes it unreal. You cannot be faithful to
two masters who ask of you conflicting things. What you use in fantasy you DENY
to truth. Yet what you GIVE to truth to use for you is safe from fantasy.
T 17 B. Fantasy and Distorted Perception
T 17 B 1. When you maintain that there must be order of difficulty in miracles,
all you mean is that there are some things you would withhold from truth. You
believe that truth cannot deal with them only because you would KEEP them from
truth. Very simply, your lack of faith in the power that heals all pain arises
from your wish to retain some aspects of reality for fantasy. If you but
realized what this must do to your appreciation of the whole! What you reserve
unto yourself, you TAKE AWAY from Him Who would release you. Unless you give it
back, it is inevitable that your perspective on reality be warped and
uncorrected.
T 17 B 2. As long as you would have it so, so long will the illusion of order
of difficulty in miracles remain with you. For you have ESTABLISHED this order
in reality by giving some of it to one teacher, and some to
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another. And so you learn to deal with part of truth in one way, and in another
way the other part. To fragment truth is to destroy it by rendering it
meaningless. Orders of reality is a perspective without understanding, a frame
of reference for reality to which it cannot really BE compared at all.
T 17 B 3. Think you that you can bring truth to fantasy, and learn what truth
means from the perspective of illusions? Truth HAS no meaning in illusion. The
frame of reference for its meaning must be ITSELF. When you try to bring truth
to illusions, you are trying to make illusions REAL, and keep them by JUSTIFYING
your belief in them. But to give illusions to truth is to enable truth to teach
that the ILLUSIONS are unreal, and thus enable you to escape from them. Reserve
not one idea aside from truth, or you establish orders of reality which must
imprison you. There IS no order in reality because EVERYTHING there is true.
T 17 B 4. Be willing, then, to give all you have held outside the truth to Him
Who KNOWS the truth, and in Whom all is brought to truth. Salvation from
separation will be COMPLETE, or will not be at all. [T127] Be not concerned with
anything except your WILLINGNESS to have this be accomplished. HE will
accomplish it; NOT you. But forget not this: When you become disturbed and lose
your peace of mind because ANOTHER is attempting to solve his problems through
fantasy, you are refusing to forgive YOURSELF for just this same attempt. And
you are holding BOTH of you away from truth and from salvation. As you forgive
him, you restore to truth what was denied by BOTH of you. And you will see
forgiveness where you have GIVEN it.
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T 17 C. The Forgiven World
T 17 C 1. Can you imagine how beautiful those you forgive will look to you? In
no fantasy have you ever seen anything so lovely. Nothing you see here,
sleeping or waking, comes near to such loveliness. And nothing will you value
like unto this, nor hold so dear. Nothing that you remember that made your
heart seem to sing with joy has ever brought you even a little part of the
happiness this sight will bring you. For you will see the Son of God. You will
behold the beauty which the Holy Spirit loves to look upon, and which He thanks
the Father for. He was created to see this for YOU, until you learn to see it
for yourself. And all His teaching leads to seeing it and giving thanks with
Him.
T 17 C 2. This loveliness is NOT a fantasy. It is the real world, bright and
clean and new, with everything sparkling under the open sun. Nothing is hidden
here, for everything has been forgiven, and there are no fantasies to hide the
truth. The bridge between that world and this is so little and so easy to cross
that you could not believe it is the meeting place of worlds so different. Yet
this little bridge is the strongest thing that touches on this world at all.
This little step, so small it has escaped your notice, is a stride through time
into eternity, and beyond all ugliness into beauty that will enchant you, and
will never cease to cause you wonderment at its perfection.
T 17 C 3. This step, the smallest ever taken by anything, is still the greatest
accomplishment of all in God's plan of Atonement. All else is learned, but this
is GIVEN, complete and wholly perfect. No one but Him Who planned salvation
could complete it thus. The real world, in its loveliness, you LEARN to reach.
Fantasies are all undone, and no one and nothing remains still bound by them,
and by your OWN forgiveness you are free to see. Yet what you see is only what
you have made, with the blessing of your forgiveness on it. And with this final
blessing of God's Son upon HIMSELF, the real perception, born of the new
perspective he has learned,
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has served its purpose.
T 17 C 4. The stars will disappear in light, and the sun which opened up the
world to beauty will vanish. Perception will be meaningless when it has been
perfected, for everything that has been used for learning will have no function.
Nothing will ever change; no shifts nor shadings, no differences, no variations
which made perception possible will occur. The perception of the real world
will be so short that you will barely have time to thank God for it. For God
will take the last step swiftly when you have reached the real world, and have
been made ready for Him.
T 17 C 5. The real world is attained simply by the complete forgiveness of the
old, the world you see WITHOUT forgiveness. The Great Transformer of perception
will undertake with you the careful searching of the mind that made this world,
and uncover to you the seeming reasons for your making it. In the light of the
REAL reason which He brings, as you follow Him, He will show you that there is
no reason here at all. Each spot HIS reason touches grows alive with beauty,
and what seemed ugly in the darkness of your lack of reason is suddenly released
to loveliness. Not even what the Son of God made in insanity could be without a
hidden spark of beauty which gentleness could release.
T 17 C 6. All this beauty will rise to bless your sight as you look upon the
world with forgiving eyes. For forgiveness literally transforms vision, and
lets you see the real world reaching quietly and gently across chaos, and
removing all illusions which had twisted your perception, and fixed it on the
past. The smallest leaf becomes a thing of wonder, and a blade of grass a sign
of God's perfection. From the forgiven world, the Son of God is lifted easily
into his home. And there he knows that he has ALWAYS rested there in peace.
Even salvation will become a dream, and vanish from his mind. For salvation IS
the end of dreams, and with the closing of the dream will have no meaning. Who,
awake in Heaven, could dream that there could ever be NEED
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of salvation?
T 17 C 7. How much do you WANT salvation? It will give you the real world,
trembling with readiness to BE given you. The eagerness of the Holy Spirit to
give you this is so intense He would not wait, although He waits in patience.
Meet His patience with your impatience at delay in meeting Him. Go out in
gladness to meet with your Redeemer, and walk with him in trust out of this
world, and into the real world of beauty and forgiveness.
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T 17 D. Shadows of the Past
T 17 D 1. To forgive is merely to remember only the LOVING thoughts you gave in
the past, and those that were given you. All the rest must be forgotten.
Forgiveness is a selective remembering, based not on YOUR selection. For the
shadow figures you would make immortal are "enemies" of reality. Be willing to
forgive the Son of God for what he did NOT do. The shadow figures are the
witnesses you bring with you to demonstrate he did what he did NOT. Because you
brought them, you will hear them. And you who kept them by your OWN selection
do not understand how they came into your minds, and what their purpose is.
T 17 D 2. They represent the evil that you THINK was done to you. You bring
them with you only that you may return evil for evil, hoping that their witness
will enable you to think guiltily of another and NOT harm yourself. They speak
so clearly for the separation that no one not obsessed with KEEPING separation
could hear them. They offer you the "reasons" why you should enter into unholy
alliances which support the ego's goals, and make your relationships the witness
to its power. It is these shadow figures which would make the EGO holy in your
sight, and teach you what you do to keep IT safe is really love.
T 17 D 3. The shadow figures ALWAYS speak for vengeance, and all relationships
into which they enter are totally insane. Without exception, these
relationships have, as their PURPOSE, the exclusion of the truth about the
other, and of YOURSELF. This is why you see in BOTH what is not there, and make
of both the slaves of vengeance. And why whatever reminds you of your past
grievances, no matter how distorted the associations by which you arrive at the
remembrance may be, attracts you, and seems to you to go by the name of love.
And finally, why all such relationships become the attempt at union through the
BODY, for ONLY bodies can be seen as means for vengeance. That bodies are
central to all unholy relationships is evident. Your OWN experience has taught
you this. But what you do not realize are ALL the reasons
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which go to make the relationship unholy. For unholiness seeks to REINFORCE
itself, as holiness does, by gathering to itself what it perceives as like
itself.
T 17 D 4. In the unholy relationship, it is not the body of the OTHER with
which union is attempted, but the bodies of those who are not THERE. Even the
body of the other, already a severely limited perception of him, is not the
central focus as it is, or in entirety. What can be used for fantasies of
vengeance, and what can be most readily associated with those on whom vengeance
is REALLY sought, are centered on and separated OFF, as being the only parts of
value. Every step taken in the making, the maintaining and the breaking off of
the unholy relationship is a move toward further fragmentation and unreality.
The shadow figures enter more and more, and the one in whom they seem to be
DECREASES in importance.
T 17 D 5. Time is indeed unkind to the unholy relationship. For time IS cruel
in the ego's hands, as it is kind when used for gentleness. The attraction of
the unholy relationship begins to fade and to be questioned almost at once.
Once it is formed, doubt MUST enter in because its purpose IS impossible. The
only such relationships which retain the fantasies that center on them are those
which have been dreamed of, but have not been made at all. Where no reality has
entered, there is nothing to intrude upon the dream of happiness. Yet consider
what this means; the MORE reality that enters into the unholy relationship, the
LESS SATISFYING it becomes. And the more the FANTASIES can encompass, the
GREATER the satisfaction seems to be.
T 17 D 6. The "ideal" of the unholy relationship thus becomes one in which the
reality of the other does not enter AT ALL to "spoil" the dream. And the less
the other REALLY brings to it, the "better" it becomes. Thus, the attempt at
union becomes a way of excluding even the one with whom the union was sought.
For it was formed to get him OUT of it, and join with fantasies in uninterrupted
"bliss." How can the Holy Spirit bring His interpretation
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of the body as a means of communication into relationships whose only purpose is
SEPARATION from reality? What forgiveness IS enables Him to do so.
T 17 D 7. If ALL but loving thoughts have [T128] been forgotten, what remains IS
eternal. And the transformed past is made like the PRESENT. No longer does the
past conflict with NOW. THIS continuity EXTENDS the present by increasing its
reality and its VALUE in your perception of it. In these loving thoughts is the
spark of beauty hidden in the ugliness of the unholy relationship in which the
hatred is remembered, yet THERE to come alive as the relationship is given to
Him Who gives it life and beauty. That is why Atonement centers on the past,
which is the SOURCE of separation, and where it must be undone. For separation
must be corrected where it was MADE. The ego seeks to "resolve" its problems,
not at their source, but where they were NOT made. And thus it seeks to
guarantee there WILL be no solution.
T 17 D 8. The Holy Spirit wills only to make His resolutions complete and
perfect, and so He seeks and FINDS the source of problems where it IS, and there
undoes it. And with each step in His undoing is the SEPARATION more and more
undone, and union brought closer. He is not at all confused by any "reasons"
for separation. ALL He perceives in separation is that it must be UNDONE. Let
Him uncover the hidden spark of beauty in your relationships, and SHOW it to
you. Its loveliness will so attract you that you will be unwilling ever to lose
the sight of it again. And you will let it transform the relationship so you
can see it more and more. For you will WANT it more and more, and become
increasingly unwilling to let it be hidden from you. And you will learn to seek
for, and ESTABLISH, conditions in which this beauty can be seen.
T 17 D 9. All this you will do gladly, if you but let Him hold the spark before
you, to light your way and make it clear to you. God's Son is one. Whom God
has joined as one, the ego CANNOT break apart. The spark of holiness MUST be
safe, however hidden it may be, in every relationship. For the Creator of the
one relationship has left no part of it without Himself.
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This is the ONLY part of the relationship the Holy Spirit sees because He knows
that ONLY this is true. You have made the relationship unreal, and therefore
unholy, by seeing it WHERE it is not and AS it is not. Give the past to Him Who
can change your mind about it FOR you. But first, be sure you fully realize
what YOU have made the past to represent, and why.
T 17 D 10. In brief, the past is now your justification for entering into
a continuing, unholy alliance with the ego AGAINST the present. For the present
IS forgiveness. Therefore, the relationships which the unholy alliance dictates
are not perceived nor felt as NOW. Yet the frame of reference to which the
present is referred for meaning is an ILLUSION of the past, in which those
elements which fit the purpose of the unholy alliance are retained and all the
rest let go. And what is thus let go is all the truth the past could ever offer
to the present as witnesses for its reality, while what is kept but witnesses to
the reality of dreams.
T 17 D 11. It is still up to you to choose to be willing to join with
truth or illusion. But remember that to choose ONE is to let the other GO.
Which one you choose, you will endow with beauty and reality because the choice
DEPENDS on which you value more. The spark of beauty or the veil of ugliness,
the real world or the world of guilt and fear, truth or illusion, freedom or
slavery, - it is all the same. For you can never choose EXCEPT between God and
the ego. Thought systems are but true or false, and all their attributes come
simply from what they ARE. Only the Thoughts of God are true. And all that
follows from Them comes from what They are, and is as true as is the holy Source
from which They came.
T 17 D 12. My holy brothers, I would enter into all your relationships,
and step between you and your fantasies. Let MY relationship to you be real to
you, and let me bring reality to your perception of your brothers. They were
not created to enable you to hurt yourselves through them. They were created to
CREATE with you. This is the truth that I would interpose between
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you and your goal of madness. Be not separate from me, and let not the holy
purpose of Atonement be lost to you in dreams of vengeance. Relationships in
which such dreams are cherished have EXCLUDED me. Let me enter in the Name of
God, and bring you peace that you may offer peace to me.
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T 17 E. Perception and the Two Worlds
T 17 E 1. God established His relationship with you to make you happy, and
nothing you do which does not share His purpose can be real. The purpose God
ascribed to anything is its only function. Because of His reason for creating
His relationship with you, the function of relationships became forever "to make
happy." AND NOTHING ELSE. To fulfill this function, you relate to your
creations as God to His. For nothing God created is apart from happiness, and
nothing God created but would EXTEND happiness as its Creator did. Whatever
fulfills this function not CANNOT be real.
T 17 E 2. In this world, it is impossible to create. Yet it IS possible to
make happy. We have said, repeatedly, that the Holy Spirit would not DEPRIVE
you of your special relationships, but would TRANSFORM them. And by that all
that is meant is that He will restore to them the function given them by God.
The function you have given them is clearly NOT to make happy. But the holy
relationship shares God's purpose, rather than aiming to make a substitute for
it. Every special relationship which YOU have made is a substitute for God's
Will, and glorifies yours instead of His because of the delusion that they are
DIFFERENT.
T 17 E 3. You have made very real relationships even in this world which you do
not recognize, simply because you have raised their substitutes to such
predominance that, when truth calls to you, as it does constantly, you answer
with a substitute. Every special relationship which you have ever undertaken
has, as its fundamental purpose, the aim of occupying your minds so completely
that you will not HEAR the call of truth. In a sense, the special relationship
was the ego's answer to the creation of the Holy Spirit, Who was God’s Answer to
the separation. For although the ego did not understand what had been created,
it WAS aware of threat.
T 17 E 4. The whole defense system which the ego evolved to protect the
separation from the Holy Spirit was in response to the gift with which God
blessed it, and by His blessing enabled it to be healed. This blessing holds,
within ITSELF, the truth about everything. And the truth is that the
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Holy Spirit is in close relationship with you because, in Him, is your
relationship with God restored to you. The relationship with Him has NEVER been
broken, because the Holy Spirit has not been separate from anyone since the
separation. And through Him have all your holy relationships been carefully
preserved, to serve God's purpose for you.
T 17 E 5. The ego is hyper alert [T129] to threat, and the part of your mind into
which the ego was accepted is very anxious to preserve its reason, as it sees
it. It does not realize that it is totally insane. And you must realize just
what this means, if YOU would be restored to sanity. The insane protect their
thought systems, but they do so INSANELY. And ALL their defenses are as insane
as what they are supposed to protect. The separation has NOTHING in it, no
part, no "reason," and no attribute that is NOT insane. And its "protection" is
part of it, as insane as the whole. The special relationship, which is its
chief defense, MUST therefore be insane.
T 17 E 6. You have but little difficulty now in realizing that the thought
system which the special relationship protects is but a system of delusions.
You recognize, at least in general terms, that the ego is insane. Yet the
special relationship still seems to you somehow to be "different." Yet we have
looked at it far closer than at many other aspects of the ego's thought system
which you have been more willing to let go. While this one remains, you will
NOT let the others go. For this one is NOT different. Retain this one, and you
HAVE retained the whole.
T 17 E 7. It is essential to realize that all defenses DO what they would
DEFEND. The underlying basis for their effectiveness is that they OFFER what
they defend. What they defend is placed IN them for safe-keeping, and as they
operate, they BRING it to you. Every defense operates by giving gifts, and the
gift is ALWAYS a miniature of the thought system the defense protects, set in a
golden frame. The frame is very elaborate, all set with jewels, and deeply
carved and polished. Its purpose is to be of value IN ITSELF, and to divert
your attention from what it encloses. But the frame
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WITHOUT the picture, you cannot have. Defenses operate to make you think you
CAN.
T 17 E 8. The special relationship has the most imposing and deceptive frame of
all the defenses the ego uses. Its thought system is offered here, surrounded
by a frame so heavy and so elaborate that the picture is almost obliterated by
its imposing structure. Into the frame are woven all sorts of fanciful and
fragmented illusions of love, set with dreams of sacrifice and
self-aggrandizement, and interlaced with gilded threads of self-destruction.
The glitter of blood shines like rubies, and the tears are faceted like
diamonds, and gleam in the dim light in which the offering is made.
T 17 E 9. Look at the PICTURE. Do not let the frame distract you. This gift
is given you for your damnation, and if you take it you will believe that you
ARE damned. You CANNOT have the frame without the picture. What you value is
the FRAME, for there you see no conflict. Yet the frame is only the wrapping
for the gift of conflict. The frame is NOT the gift. Be not deceived by the
most superficial aspects of this thought system, for these aspects enclose the
whole, complete in EVERY aspect. Death lies in this glittering gift. Let not
your gaze dwell on the hypnotic gleaming of the frame. Look at the PICTURE, and
realize that DEATH is offered you.
T 17 E 10. That is why the holy instant is so important in the defense of
truth. The truth itself NEEDS no defense, but you DO need defense against your
own acceptance of the gift of death. When you who are truth accept an idea so
dangerous TO truth, you threaten truth with destruction. And your defense must
now be undertaken, to keep truth WHOLE. The power of Heaven, the Love of God,
the tears of Christ and the joy of His eternal Spirit are marshalled to defend
you from your own attack. For you attack Them, being PART of Them, and They
must save you, for They love Themselves.
T 17 E 11. The holy instant is a miniature of Heaven, sent you FROM
Heaven.
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It is a picture, too, set in a frame. Yet if you accept THIS gift, you will not
see the frame at all, because the gift can only be accepted through your
willingness to focus ALL your attention on the PICTURE. The holy instant is a
miniature of eternity. It is a picture of timelessness, set in a frame of time.
If you focus on the picture, you will realize that it was only the frame that
made you think it WAS a picture. Without the frame, the picture is seen as what
it REPRESENTS. For as the whole thought system of the ego lies in its gifts, so
the whole of Heaven lies in this instant, borrowed from eternity, and set in
time for you.
T 17 E 12. Two gifts are offered you. Each is complete, and cannot be
partially accepted. Each is a picture of all that you can have, seen VERY
differently. You cannot compare their value by comparing a picture to a frame.
It must be the pictures only that you compare, or the comparison is wholly
without meaning. Remember that it is the picture that is the gift. And only on
this basis are you REALLY free to choose. Look at the pictures. BOTH of them.
One is a tiny picture, hard to see at all beneath the heavy shadows of its
enormous and disproportionate enclosure. The other is lightly framed and hung
in light, lovely to look upon for what it IS.
T 17 E 13. You who have tried so hard, and are STILL trying, to fit the
better picture into the wrong frame and so combine what cannot BE combined,
accept this and be glad: These pictures are each framed perfectly for what they
represent. One is framed to be out of focus, and not seen. The other is framed
for perfect clarity. The picture of darkness and of death grows less convincing
as you search it out amid its wrappings. As each senseless stone which seems to
shine in darkness from the frame is exposed to light, it becomes dull and
lifeless, and ceases to distract you from the picture. And finally, you look
upon the picture itself, seeing at last that, unprotected by the frame, it HAS
no meaning.
T 17 E 14. The other picture is lightly framed, for time cannot contain
eternity. There IS no distraction here. The picture of Heaven and eternity
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grows MORE convincing as you look at it. And now, by REAL comparison, a
transformation of both pictures can at last occur. And each is given its
rightful place, when both are seen in relation to each other. The dark picture,
brought to light, is not perceived as fearful, but the fact that it is just a
PICTURE is brought home at last. And what you see there you will recognize as
what it is; a picture of what you THOUGHT was real, and nothing more. For
beyond this picture, you will see nothing.
T 17 E 15. The picture of light, in clear-cut and unmistakable contrast,
is transformed INTO what lies beyond the picture. As you look on this, you
realize that it is NOT a picture, but a REALITY. This is no figured
representation of a thought system, but the Thought Itself. What IT represents
is THERE. The frame fades gently, and God rises to your remembrance, offering
you the whole of creation in exchange for your little picture, wholly without
value and entirely deprived of meaning.
T 17 E 16. As God ascends into His rightful place and you to yours, you
will experience again the MEANING of relationship, and know it to be true. Let
us ascend in peace together to the Father, by giving HIM ascendance in our
minds. We will gain EVERYTHING by giving Him the power and the glory, and
keeping no illusions of where they are. They are in US, through HIS ascendance.
What He has given is HIS. It shines in every part of Him, as in the whole.
The whole reality of your relationship with Him lies in OUR relationship to one
another. The holy instant shines alike on all relationships, for in it they ARE
one. For here is only healing, ALREADY complete and perfect. For here is God,
and where He is only the perfect and complete CAN be.
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T 17 F. The Healed Relationship
T 17 F 1. The holy relationship is the expression of the holy instant in living
in this world. Like everything about salvation, the holy instant is a practical
device, witnessed to by its results. The holy instant NEVER fails. The
experience of it is ALWAYS felt. Yet without expression, it is not REMEMBERED.
The holy relationship is a constant reminder of the experience in which the
relationship became what it is. And as the unholy relationship is a continuing
hymn of hate in praise of ITS maker, so is the holy relationship a happy song of
praise to the Redeemer of relationships.
T 17 F 2. The holy relationship, a major step toward the perception of the real
world, is learned. It is the old, unholy relationship, transformed and seen
anew. The holy relationship is a phenomenal teaching accomplishment. In all
its aspects, as it begins, develops and becomes accomplished, it represents the
REVERSAL of the unholy relationship. Be comforted in this; the only difficult
phase is the beginning. For here, the goal of the relationship is abruptly
shifted to the exact opposite of what it was. This is the first result of
offering the relationship to the Holy Spirit, to use for HIS purposes.
T 17 F 3. This invitation is accepted immediately, and the Holy Spirit wastes
no time in introducing the practical results of asking Him to enter. AT ONCE
His goal replaces yours. This is accomplished very rapidly, but it makes the
relationship seem disturbed, disjunctive and even quite distressing. The reason
is quite clear. For the relationship as it IS, is out of line with its own
goal, and clearly unsuited to the purpose which has been accepted for it. In
its unholy condition, YOUR goal was all that seemed to give it meaning. Now it
seems to make no sense. Many relationships have been broken off at this point,
and the pursuit of the old goal re-established in another relationship. For
once the unholy relationship has ACCEPTED the goal of holiness, it can never
again be what it was.
T 17 F 4. The temptation of the ego becomes extremely intense with this shift
in goals. For the relationship has not, as yet, been changed sufficiently
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to make its former goal completely without attraction, and its structure is
"threatened" by the recognition of its inappropriateness for meeting its new
purpose. The conflict between the goal and the structure of the relationship is
so apparent that they CANNOT co-exist. Yet now, the goal will NOT be changed.
Set firmly in the unholy relationship, there IS no course except to CHANGE the
relationship to fit the goal. Until this happy solution is seen and accepted as
the ONLY way out of the conflict, the relationship seems to be severely
strained.
T 17 F 5. It would not be kinder to shift the goal more slowly, for the
contrast would be obscured, and the ego given time to re-interpret each slow
step according to its liking. Only a radical shift in purpose could induce a
complete change of mind about what the whole relationship is FOR. As this
change develops and is finally accomplished, it grows increasingly beneficent
and joyous. But at the beginning, the situation is experienced as very
precarious. A relationship, undertaken by two individuals for their unholy
purposes, suddenly has HOLINESS for its goal. As these two contemplate their
relationship from the point of view of this new purpose, they are inevitably
appalled. Their perception of the relationship may even become quite
disorganized. And yet, the former organization of their perception no longer
serves the purpose they have agreed to meet.
T 17 F 6. This is the time for FAITH. You LET this goal be set for you. That
was an act of faith. Do not abandon faith, now that the rewards of faith are
being introduced. If you believed the Holy Spirit was there to ACCEPT the
relationship, why would you now not still believe that He is there to purify
what He has taken under His guidance? Have faith in each other in what but
SEEMS to be a trying time. The goal IS set. And your relationship has sanity
as its purpose. For now you find yourselves in an insane relationship,
RECOGNIZED as such in the light of its goal.
T 17 F 7. Now the ego counsels thus; substitute for this ANOTHER relationship
to which your former goal was quite appropriate. You can escape from
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your distress only by getting rid of each other. You need not part entirely if
you choose not to do so. But you must exclude major areas of fantasy from each
other, to save your sanity. Hear not this now! Have faith in Him Who answered
you. He heard. Has He not been very explicit in His answer? You are not now
wholly insane. Can you DENY that He has given you a most explicit statement?
Now He asks for faith a little longer, even in bewilderment. For this will go,
and you will see the justification for your faith emerge, to bring you shining
conviction. Abandon Him not now, nor each other. This relationship HAS BEEN
reborn as holy.
T 17 F 8. Accept with gladness what you do not understand, and let it be
explained to you as you perceive its purpose work in it to MAKE it holy. You
will find many opportunities to blame each other for the "failure" of your
relationship, for it will seem, at times, to have NO purpose. A sense of
aimlessness will come to haunt you, and to remind you of all the ways you once
sought for satisfaction, and thought you found it. Forget not now the misery
you REALLY found, and do not now breathe life into your failing egos. For your
relationship has NOT been disrupted. It has been SAVED.
T 17 F 9. You are very new in the ways of salvation, and think you have lost
your way. YOUR way IS lost, but think not this is LOSS. In your newness,
remember that you have started again, TOGETHER. And take each other's hand, to
walk together along a road far more familiar than you now believe. Is it not
certain that you will remember a goal unchanged throughout eternity? For you
have chosen but the goal of God, from which your true intent was NEVER absent.
T 17 F 10. Throughout the Sonship is the song of freedom heard, in joyous
echo of your choice. You have joined with many in the holy instant, and they
have joined with you. Think not your choice will leave you comfortless, for God
Himself has blessed your holy relationship. Join in His blessing, and withhold
not yours upon it. For all it needs now IS your blessing, that you may see that
in it rests salvation. Condemn salvation not, for it HAS
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come to you. And welcome it together, for it has come to JOIN you together in a
relationship in which all the Sonship is together blessed.
T 17 F 11. You undertook, together, to invite the Holy Spirit into your
relationship. He could not have entered otherwise. Although you may have made
many mistakes since then, you have also made enormous efforts to help Him do His
work. And He has not been lacking in appreciation for all you have done for
Him. Nor does He see the mistakes at all. Have you been similarly grateful to
each other? Have you consistently appreciated the good efforts, and overlooked
mistakes? Or has your appreciation flickered and grown dim in what seemed to be
the light of the mistakes? You are now entering upon a campaign to blame each
other for the discomfort of the situation in which you find yourselves. And by
this lack of thanks and gratitude, you make yourselves unable to EXPRESS the
holy instant, and thus you lose sight of it.
T 17 F 12. The experience of an instant, however compelling it may be, is
easily forgotten if you allow time to close over it. It must be kept shining
and gracious in your awareness of time, but not concealed within it. The
instant remains. But where are YOU? To give thanks to each other is to
appreciate the holy instant, and thus enable its results to be accepted and
SHARED. To ATTACK each other is not to lose the instant, but to make it
powerless in its EFFECTS. You HAVE received the holy instant, but you have
established a condition in which you cannot USE it. As a result, you do not
realize that it is with you still. And by cutting yourself off from its
expression, you have denied yourself its benefit. You reinforce this every time
you attack each other, for the attack must blind you to YOURSELF. And it is
impossible to deny yourself, and recognize what has been given and received by
you.
T 17 F 13. You stand together in the holy presence of truth itself. Here
is the goal, together WITH you. Think you not the goal itself will gladly
arrange the means for its accomplishment? It is just this same discrepancy
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between the purpose that has been accepted and the means as they stand now which
seems to make you suffer, but which makes Heaven glad. If Heaven were OUTSIDE
you, you could not share in its gladness. Yet because it is within, the
gladness, too, is yours. You ARE joined in purpose, but remain still separate
and divided on the means.
T 17 F 14. Yet the goal is fixed, firm and unalterable, and the means will
surely fall in place BECAUSE the goal is sure. And you will share the gladness
of the Sonship that it is so. As you begin to recognize and accept the gifts
you have so freely given to each other, you will also accept the effects of the
holy instant, and use them to correct all your mistakes and free you from their
results. And learning this, you will have also learned how to release ALL the
Sonship, and offer it in gladness and thanksgiving to Him Who gave you YOUR
release, and Who would extend it THROUGH you.
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T 17 G. Practical Forgiveness
T 17 G 1. The practical application of the Holy Spirit's purpose is extremely
simple, but it IS unequivocal. In fact, in order to be simple it MUST be
unequivocal. The simple is merely what is easily understood, and for this it is
apparent that it must be clear. The setting of the Holy Spirit's goal is
general. Now He will work with you to make it specific, for application IS
specific. [T130] There are certain very specific guidelines He provides for any
situation, but remember that you do not yet realize their universal application.
Therefore, it is essential, at this point, to use them in each situation
separately, until you can more safely look BEYOND each situation, in an
understanding far broader than you now possess.
T 17 G 2. In any situation in which you are uncertain, the first thing to
consider, very simply, is, "What do I want to come of this? What is it FOR?"
The clarification of the goal belongs at the BEGINNING, for it is this which
will determine the outcome. In the ego's procedure, this is reversed. The
SITUATION becomes the determiner of the outcome, which can be anything. The
reason for this disorganized approach is evident. The ego does not know what it
WANTS to come of it. It is aware of what it does NOT want, but only that. It
has no positive goal at all.
T 17 G 3. Without a clear-cut, positive goal, set at the outset, the situation
just seems to happen, and makes no sense until it has ALREADY happened. THEN
you look back at it, and try to piece together what it must have meant. And you
will be WRONG. Not only is your judgment in the past, but you have no idea what
SHOULD happen. No goal was set with which to bring the means in line. And now
the only judgment left to make is whether or not the ego likes it; is it
acceptable, or does it call for vengeance? The absence of a criterion for
outcome, set IN ADVANCE, makes understanding doubtful and evaluation impossible.
T 17 G 4. The value of deciding in advance what you WANT to happen is simply
that you will perceive the situation as a means to MAKE it happen. You will
therefore make every effort to overlook what interferes with the
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accomplishment of your objective, and concentrate on everything which helps you
meet it. It is quite noticeable that this approach has brought you closer to
the Holy Spirit's sorting out of truth and falsity. The true becomes what can
be used to meet the goal. The false becomes the useless from this point of
view. The situation now has meaning, but only because the GOAL has made it
meaningful.
T 17 G 5. The goal of truth has further practical advantages. If the situation
is used for truth and sanity, its outcome MUST be peace. And this is quite
apart from what the outcome IS. If peace is the condition of truth and sanity,
and cannot be WITHOUT them, where peace is THEY must be. Truth comes of itself.
If you experience peace, it is because the truth has come to you, and you will
see the outcome truly, for deception cannot prevail against you. And you will
recognize the outcome BECAUSE you are at peace. Here again, you see the
opposite of the ego's way of looking, for the ego believes the SITUATION brings
the experience. The Holy Spirit knows that the situation is as the goal
determines it, and is experienced ACCORDING TO the goal.
T 17 G 6. The goal of truth requires faith. Faith is implicit in the
acceptance of the Holy Spirit's purpose, and this faith is all-inclusive. Where
the goal of truth is set, there faith MUST be. The Holy Spirit sees the
situation as a WHOLE. The goal establishes the fact that everyone involved in
it will play his part in its accomplishment. This is inevitable. No one will
fail in anything. This seems to ask for faith beyond you, and beyond what you
can give. Yet this is so only from the viewpoint of the ego, for the ego
believes in "solving" conflict through fragmentation, and does NOT perceive the
situation as a whole. Therefore, it seeks to split off segments of the
situation and deal with them SEPARATELY, for it has faith in separation, and not
in wholeness.
T 17 G 7. Confronted with any aspect of the situation which seems to be
difficult, the ego will attempt to take this aspect elsewhere, and resolve
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it there. And it will seem to be successful, except that this attempt conflicts
with unity, and MUST obscure the goal of truth. And peace will not be
experienced except in fantasy. Truth has not come, because faith has been
denied, being withheld from where it rightfully belonged. Thus do you lose the
understanding of the situation the goal of truth would bring. For fantasy
solutions bring but the illusion of experience, and the illusion of peace is not
the condition in which the truth can enter.
T 17 G 8. The substitutes for aspects of the situation are the witnesses to
your lack of faith. They demonstrate that you did not believe that the
situation and the PROBLEM were in the same place. The problem WAS the lack of
faith, and it is this you demonstrate when you remove it from its source and
place it elsewhere. As a result, you do not see the PROBLEM. Had you not
lacked the faith it could be solved, the problem would be gone. And the
situation would have been meaningful to you, because the interference in the way
of understanding would have been removed. To remove the problem elsewhere is to
KEEP it. For you remove yourself FROM it, and make it unsolvable.
T 17 H. The Need for Faith
T 17 H 1. There is no problem in any situation that faith will not solve.
There is no shift in any aspect of the problem but will make solution
impossible. For if you shift part of the problem elsewhere, the meaning of the
problem MUST be lost, and the solution to the problem is inherent in its
meaning. Is it not possible that all your problems HAVE been solved, but you
have removed yourself from the solution? Yet faith must be where something has
been done, and where you SEE it done. A situation is a relationship, being the
joining of thoughts. If problems are perceived, it is because the thoughts are
judged to be in conflict. But if the goal is truth, this is impossible. Some
idea of bodies must have entered, for minds cannot attack.
T 17 H 2. The thought of bodies is the sign of faithlessness, for bodies cannot
solve anything. And it is their intrusion on the relationship, an
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error in your thoughts ABOUT the situation, which then becomes the justification
for your lack of faith. You WILL make this error, but be not at all concerned
with that. The error does not matter. Faithlessness brought to faith will
never interfere with truth. But faithlessness used AGAINST truth will always
destroy faith. If you lack faith, ask that it be restored where it was LOST,
and seek not to have it made up to you elsewhere, as if you had been unjustly
deprived of it.
T 17 H 3. Only what YOU have not given can be lacking in ANY situation. But
remember this; the goal of holiness was set for your relationship, and NOT by
you. You did not set it because holiness cannot be seen EXCEPT through faith,
and your relationship was not holy BECAUSE your faith in one another was so
limited and little. Your faith must grow to meet the goal that has been set.
The goal's reality will call this forth, for you will see that peace and faith
will not come separately. What situation CAN you be in without faith, and
remain faithful to each other?
T 17 H 4. Every situation in which you find yourself is but a means to meet the
purpose set for your relationship. See it as something else, and you ARE
faithless. Use not your faithlessness. Let it enter and look upon it calmly,
but do not USE it. Faithlessness is the servant of illusion, and wholly
faithful to its master. Use it, and it will carry you straight to illusions.
Be tempted not by what it offers you. It interferes, not with the goal, but
with the value of the goal to YOU. Accept not the illusion of peace it offers,
but look upon its offering and recognize it IS illusion.
T 17 H 5. The goal of illusion is as closely tied to faithlessness as faith to
truth. If you lack faith in anyone to fulfill, and PERFECTLY, his part in any
situation dedicated in advance to truth, YOUR dedication is divided. And so you
have been faithless to each other, and used your faithlessness AGAINST each
other. No relationship is holy unless its holiness goes with it everywhere. As
holiness and faith go hand in hand, so must its faith go everywhere with it.
The goal's reality will call forth and ACCOMPLISH
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every miracle needed for its fulfillment. Nothing too small or too enormous,
too weak or too compelling, but will be gently turned to its use and purpose.
The universe will serve it gladly, as it serves the universe. But do not
INTERFERE.
T 17 H 6. The power set in you in whom the Holy Spirit's goal has been
established is so far beyond your little conception of the infinite that you
have no idea how great the strength that goes with you. And you can use THIS in
perfect safety. Yet for all its might, so great it reaches past the stars and
to the universe that lies beyond them, your little faithlessness can make it
useless, if you would use the faithlessness instead.
T 17 H 7. Yet think on this, and learn the CAUSE of faithlessness: You think
you hold against the other what he has done to you. But what you really blame
him for is what YOU did to HIM. It is not HIS past but YOURS you hold against
him. And you lack faith in him because of what YOU were. Yet you are as
innocent of what you were as he is. What never was is causeless, and is not
THERE to interfere with truth. There IS no cause for faithlessness, but there
IS a Cause for faith. That Cause has entered any situation which shares Its
purpose. The light of truth shines from the center of the situation, and
touches everyone to whom the situation's purpose calls. It calls to EVERYONE.
There is no situation which does not involve your WHOLE relationship, in every
aspect and complete in every part. You can leave nothing of yourself outside
it, and keep the situation holy. For it shares the purpose of your whole
relationship, and derives its meaning from it.
T 17 H 8. Enter each situation with the faith that you give to each other, or
you ARE faithless to your own relationship. Your faith will call the others to
share your purpose, as this same purpose called forth the faith in YOU. And you
will see the means you once employed to lead you to illusions transformed to
means for truth. Truth calls for faith, and faith makes room FOR TRUTH. [T131]
When the Holy Spirit changed the purpose of your relationship by exchanging
yours for His, the goal He placed
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there was extended to every situation in which you enter, or will EVER enter.
And every situation was thus made free of the past, which would have made it
purposeless.
T 17 H 9. You call for faith because of Him Who walks with you in EVERY
situation. You are no longer wholly insane, nor no longer alone. For
loneliness in God MUST be a dream. You whose relationship shares the Holy
Spirit's goal are set apart from loneliness because the truth has come. Its
call for faith is strong. Use not your faithlessness against it, for it calls
you to salvation and to peace.
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T 17 I. The Conditions of Forgiveness
T 17 I 1. The holy instant is nothing more than a special case, or an extreme
example, of what every situation is MEANT to be. The meaning which the Holy
Spirit's purpose has given it is also given to every situation. It calls forth
just the same suspension of faithlessness, withheld and left unused, that faith
might answer to the call of truth. The holy instant is the shining example, the
clear and unequivocal demonstration of the meaning of every relationship and
every situation, seen as a WHOLE. Faith has accepted every aspect of the
situation, and faithlessness has not forced any exclusion on it. It is a
situation of perfect peace simply because you have let it be what it IS.
T 17 I 2. This simple courtesy is all the Holy Spirit asks of you. Let truth
be what it is. Do not intrude upon it, do not attack it, do not interrupt its
coming. Let it encompass every situation, and bring you peace. Not even faith
is asked of you, for truth asks nothing. Let it enter, and it will call forth
and SECURE for you the faith you need for peace. But rise you not against it,
for against your opposition it CANNOT come.
T 17 I 3. Would you not WANT to make a holy instant of every situation? For
such is the gift of faith, freely given wherever faithlessness is laid aside,
unused. And then the power of the Holy Spirit's purpose is free to use instead.
This power INSTANTLY transforms all situations into one sure and continuous
means for establishing His purpose, and demonstrating its reality. What has
been demonstrated has called for faith, and has been GIVEN it. Now it becomes a
fact, from which faith can no longer BE withheld. The strain of refusing faith
to truth is enormous, and far greater than you realize. But to answer truth
with faith entails no strain at all.
T 17 I 4. To you who have acknowledged the call of your Redeemer, the strain of
not responding to His call seems to be greater than before. This is not so.
Before, the strain was there but you attributed it to something else, believing
that the "something else" produced it. This was NEVER true. For
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what the "something else" produced was sorrow and depression, sickness and pain,
darkness and dim imaginings of terror, cold fantasies of fear and fiery dreams
of hell. And it was nothing but the intolerable strain of refusing to give
faith to truth, and see its evident reality.
T 17 I 5. Such was the crucifixion of the Son of God. His faithlessness did
this to him. Think carefully before you let yourself use faithlessness against
him. For he is risen, and you have accepted the cause of his awakening as
yours. You have assumed your part in his redemption, and you are now fully
responsible to him. Fail him not now, for it has been given you to realize what
your lack of faith in him must mean to YOU. His salvation IS your only purpose.
See only this in every situation, and it will be a means for BRINGING only
this.
T 17 I 6. When you accepted truth as the goal for your relationship, you became
givers of peace as surely as your Father gave peace to you. For the goal of
peace cannot be accepted apart from its conditions, and you HAD faith in it, for
no one accepts what he does not believe is real. Your purpose has not changed,
and WILL not change, for you accepted what can NEVER change. And nothing that
it needs to be forever changeless can you now withhold from it. Your release is
certain. Give as you have received. And demonstrate that you have risen far
beyond ANY situation that could hold you back, and keep you separate from Him
Whose call you answered.
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Chapter XVIII 18 - THE DREAM AND THE REALITY
T 18A. Introduction
T 18 A 1. To substitute is to ACCEPT INSTEAD. If you would but consider
exactly what this entails, you would perceive at once how much at variance this
is with the goal the Holy Spirit has given you and would accomplish FOR you. To
substitute is to CHOOSE BETWEEN, renouncing one in favor of the other. For this
special purpose, one is judged more valuable and the other is replaced by him.
The relationship in which the substitution occurred is thus fragmented, and its
purpose split accordingly. To fragment is to exclude, and substitution is the
strongest defense the ego has for separation.
T 18 A 2. The Holy Spirit never uses substitutes. Where the ego perceives one
person as a replacement for another, the Holy Spirit sees them joined and
indivisible. He does not judge between them, knowing they are one. Being
united, they are one because they are the SAME. Substitution is clearly a
process in which they are perceived as different. One would unite; the other
separate. Nothing can come between what God has joined and what the Holy Spirit
sees as one. But everything SEEMS to come between the fragmented relationships
the ego sponsors to destroy.
T 18 A 3. The one emotion in which substitution is impossible is love. Fear
involves substitution by definition, for it is love's replacement. Fear is both
a fragmented and a fragmenting emotion. It seems to take many forms, and each
seems to require a different form of acting out for satisfaction. While this
appears to introduce quite variable behavior, a far more serious effect lies in
the fragmented perception from which the behavior stems. No one is SEEN
COMPLETE. The body is emphasized, with special emphasis on certain parts, and
used as the standard for comparison for either acceptance or rejection of
suitability for acting out a special form of fear.
T 18 B. Substitution as a Defense
T 18 B 1. You who believe that God is fear made but one substitution. It has
taken many forms, because it was the substitution of illusion for truth; of
fragmentation for wholeness. It has become so splintered and subdivided and
divided again, over and over, that it is now almost impossible to perceive
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it once was one, and still is what it was. That one error, which brought truth
to illusion, infinity to time, and life to death, was all you ever made. Your
whole world rests upon it. Everything you see reflects it, and every special
relationship which you have ever made is part of it.
T 18 B 2. You have expressed surprise at hearing how very different is reality
from what you see. You do not realize the magnitude of that one error. It was
so vast and so completely incredible that from it a world of total unreality HAD
to emerge. What else COULD come of it? Its fragmented aspects are fearful
enough, as you begin to look at them. But nothing you have seen begins to show
you the enormity of the original error, which seemed to cast you out of Heaven,
to shatter knowledge into meaningless bits of disunited perceptions, and to
force you to further substitutions.
T 18 B 3. That was the first projection of error outward. The world arose to
hide it, and became the screen on which it was projected and drawn between you
and the truth. For truth extends INWARD, where the idea of loss is meaningless,
and only increase is conceivable. Do you really think it strange that a world
in which everything is backwards and upside-down arose from this? IT WAS
INEVITABLE. [T132] For truth brought to THIS could only remain within in quiet,
and take no part in all the mad projection by which this world was made. Call
it not sin but madness, for such it was, and so it still remains. Invest it not
with guilt, for guilt implies it was accomplished in reality. And above all, be
not AFRAID of it. When you seem to see some twisted form of the original error
rise to frighten you, say only, "God is not fear, but love," and it will
disappear.
T 18 B 4. The truth will SAVE you. It has not left you, to go out into the mad
world and so depart from you. Inward is sanity; insanity is OUTSIDE you. You
but BELIEVE it is the other way; that truth is outside, and error and guilt
within. Your little, senseless substitutions, touched with insanity and
swirling lightly off on a mad course like feathers dancing insanely in the wind,
have NO substance. They fuse and merge and separate, in
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shifting and totally meaningless patterns which need not be judged at all. To
judge them individually is pointless. Their tiny differences in form are no
real differences at all. NONE of them matters. THAT they have in common, and
nothing else. Yet what else is NECESSARY to make them all the same?
T 18 B 5. Let them all go, dancing in the wind, dipping and turning ‘til they
disappear from sight, far, far outside you. And turn you to the stately calm
within, where in holy stillness dwells the living God you never left, and Who
never left you. The Holy Spirit takes you gently by the hand, and retraces with
you your mad journey outside yourself, leading you gently back to the truth and
safety within. He brings all your insane projections and your wild
substitutions which you have placed outside you to the truth. Thus He reverses
the course of insanity, and restores you to reason.
T 18 B 6. In your relationship, where He has taken charge of everything at your
request, He has set the course inward, to the truth you share. In the mad world
outside you, nothing can be shared but only substituted, and sharing and
substituting have nothing in common in reality. Within yourselves you love each
other with a perfect love. Here is holy ground, in which no substitution can
enter, and where only the truth about each other can abide. Here you are joined
in God, as much together as you are with Him. The original error has not
entered here, nor ever will. Here is the radiant truth, to which the Holy
Spirit has committed your relationship. Let Him bring it here, where YOU would
have it be. Give Him but a little faith in each other, to help Him [T133] show
you that no substitute you made for Heaven can keep you from it. In you there
IS no separation, and no substitute can keep you from each other. Your reality
was God's creation, and HAS no substitute.
T 18 B 7. You are so firmly joined in truth that only God is there. And He
would never accept something else instead of you. He loves you both, equally
and as one. And as He loves you, so you ARE. You are not joined
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together in illusions, but in the Thought so holy and so perfect that illusions
cannot remain to darken the holy place in which you stand together. God is with
you, my brothers. Let us join in Him in peace and gratitude, and accept His
gift as our most holy and perfect reality, which we share in Him.
T 18 B 8. Heaven is restored to all the Sonship through your relationship, for
in it lies the Sonship, whole and beautiful, safe in your love. Heaven has
entered quietly, for all illusions have been gently brought unto the truth in
you, and love has shined upon you, blessing your relationship with truth. God
and His whole creation have entered it together. How lovely and how holy is
your relationship, with the truth shining upon it! Heaven beholds it, and
rejoices that you have let it come to you. And God Himself is glad that your
relationship is as it was created. [T134] The universe within you stands with you,
together. And Heaven looks with love on what is joined in it, along with its
Creator.
T 18 B 9. Whom God has called should hear no substitutes. Their call is but an
echo of the original error which shattered Heaven. And what became of peace in
those who heard? Return with me to Heaven, walking together out of this world
and through another to the loveliness and joy the other holds within it . Would
you still further weaken and break apart what is already broken and hopeless?
Is it here that you would look for happiness? Or would you not prefer to heal
what has been broken, and join in making whole what has been ravaged by
separation and disease?
T 18 B 10. You have been called, together, to the most holy function that
this world contains. It is the only one which has no limits, and reaches out to
every broken fragment of the Sonship with healing and uniting comfort. This is
offered YOU, in your holy relationship. Accept it here, and you will give as
you have accepted. The peace of God is given you with the glowing purpose in
which you join. The holy light that brought you together must extend, as YOU
accept [T135] it.
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T 18 C. The Basis of the Dream
T 18 C 1. Does not a world that seems quite real arise in dreams? Yet think
what this world is. It is clearly NOT the world you saw before you slept.
Rather, it is a distortion of the world, planned solely around what you would
have preferred. Here, you are "free" to make over whatever seemed to attack
you, and change it into a tribute to your ego, which was outraged by the
"attack." This would not BE your wish unless you saw yourself as one with the
ego, which always looks upon itself, and therefore on you, as under attack and
highly vulnerable to it.
T 18 C 2. Dreams are chaotic BECAUSE they are governed by your conflicting
wishes, and therefore they have no CONCERN with what is true. They are the best
example you could have of how perception can be utilized to substitute illusions
for truth. You do not take them seriously on awaking because the fact that
reality is so outrageously violated in them becomes apparent. Yet they are a
way of looking at the world, and changing it to suit the ego better. They
provide striking examples, both of the ego's inability to tolerate reality, and
your willingness to CHANGE reality on its behalf.
T 18 C 3. You do not find the differences between what you see in sleep and on
awaking disturbing. You recognize that what you see on waking is blotted out in
dreams. Yet on awakening, you do not expect it to be gone. In dreams, YOU
arrange everything. People become what you would have them be, and what they do
YOU order. No limits on substitution are [T136] laid upon you. For a time, it
seems as if the world were given you, to make it what you will. You do not
realize that you are ATTACKING it, trying to triumph over it and make it serve
you.
T 18 C 4. Dreams are perceptual temper tantrums, in which you literally scream,
"I want it THUS!" And thus it seems to be. And yet, the dream cannot escape
its origin. Anger and fear pervade it, and in an instant, the illusion of
satisfaction is invaded by the illusion of terror. For the dream of your
ability to control reality by substituting a world which you
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prefer IS terrifying. Your attempts to blot out reality are very fearful, but
this you are not willing to accept. And so you substitute the fantasy that
REALITY is fearful, not what you would DO to it. And thus is guilt made real.
T 18 C 5. Dreams show you that you HAVE the power to make a world as you would
have it be, and that because you WANT it you SEE it. And while you see it, you
do not doubt that it is real. Yet here is a world, clearly within your mind,
that seems to be OUTSIDE. You do not respond to it as though you made it, nor
do you realize that the emotions which the dream produce MUST come from you. It
is the figures in the dream and what THEY do that seem to make the dream. You
do not realize that you are making them act out for YOU, for if you did, the
guilt would not be theirs, and the illusion of satisfaction would be gone. In
dreams these features are not obscure. You seem to waken, and the dream is
gone. Yet what you fail to recognize is that what caused the dream has not gone
with it.
T 18 C 6. Your wish to make another world that is not real REMAINS with you.
And what you seem to wake to is but another form of this same world you see in
dreams. All your time is spent in dreaming. Your sleeping and your waking
dreams have different forms, and that is all. Their CONTENT is the same. They
are your protest against reality, and your fixed and insane idea that you can
change it. In your waking dreams, the special relationship has a special place.
It is the means by which you try to make your SLEEPING dreams COME TRUE. From
this, you do not waken. The special relationship [T137] is your determination to
keep your hold on unreality, and to prevent yourself from waking. And while you
see more value in sleeping than in waking, you will not let go of it.
T 18 C 7. The Holy Spirit, ever practical in His wisdom, accepts your dreams,
and uses them as means for waking. YOU would have used them to remain asleep.
We once said that the first change, before dreams disappear, is that your dreams
of fear are changed to happy dreams. That is what the Holy Spirit does in your
special relationship. He does not destroy it, nor
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snatch it away from you. But He does use it differently, as a help to make HIS
purpose REAL to you. [T138] Your special relationship will remain, not as a
source of pain and guilt, but as a source of joy and freedom. It will not be
for you alone, for therein lay its misery. As its unholiness kept it a thing
apart, its holiness will become an offering to everyone.
T 18 C 8. Your special relationship will be a means for undoing guilt in
everyone blessed through your holy relationship. It will be a happy dream, and
one which you will share with all who come within your sight. Through it, the
blessing which the Holy Spirit has laid upon it will be extended. Think not
that He has forgotten anyone in the purpose He has given you. And think not
that He has forgotten you to whom He gave the gift. He uses everyone who calls
on Him as means for the salvation of everyone. And He will waken everyone
through you who offered your relationship to Him. If you but recognized His
gratitude! Or mine through His! For we are joined as in one purpose, being of
one mind with Him.
T 18 C 9. Let not the dream take hold to close your eyes. It is not strange
that dreams can make a world that is unreal. The WISH to make it is incredible.
Your relationship has become one in which the wish has been removed, because
its purpose has been changed from one of dreams to one of truth. You are not
sure of this because you think it may be THIS that is the dream. You are so
used to choosing between dreams you do not see that you have made, at last, the
choice between the truth and ALL illusions.
T 18 C 10. Yet Heaven is sure. This is no dream. Its coming means that
you have chosen truth, and it has come because you have been willing to let your
special relationship meet its conditions. In your relationship, the Holy Spirit
has gently laid the real world; the world of happy dreams, from which awaking is
so easy and so natural. For as your sleeping and your waking dreams represent
the same wishes in your mind, so do the real world and the truth of Heaven join
in the Will of God. The dream of waking is easily transferred to its reality.
For this dream comes from your will joined with the Will of God. And what this
Will would have accomplished has never NOT been done.
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T 18 D. Light in the Dream
T 18 D 1. You who have spent your lives in bringing truth to illusion, reality
to fantasy, have walked the way of dreams. For you have gone from waking to
sleeping, and on and on to a yet deeper sleep. Each dream has led to other
dreams, and every fantasy which seemed to bring a light into the darkness but
made the darkness deeper. Your GOAL was darkness, in which no ray of light
could enter. And you sought a blackness so complete that you could hide from
truth forever, in complete insanity. What you forgot was simply that God cannot
destroy Himself. The light is IN you. Darkness can cover it, but CANNOT put it
out.
T 18 D 2. As the light comes nearer you will rush to darkness, shrinking from
the truth, sometimes retreating to the lesser forms of fear, and sometimes to
stark terror. But you WILL advance because your goal IS the advance from fear
to truth. You KNOW this. The goal which you accepted IS the goal of knowledge,
for which you signified your willingness. Fear seems to live in darkness, and
when you are afraid you have stepped back. Let us then join quickly in an
instant of light, and it will be enough to remind you that your goal IS light.
Truth has rushed to meet you since you called upon it.
T 18 D 3. If you knew Who walks beside you on this way which you have chosen,
fear would be impossible. You do not know because the journey into darkness has
been long and cruel, and you have gone deep into it. A little flicker of your
eyelids, closed so long, has not yet been sufficient to give you confidence in
yourselves, so long despised. You go toward love still hating it, and terribly
afraid of its judgment upon you. And you do not realize that you are not afraid
of love, but only of what you have made of it. You are advancing to love's
meaning, and away from all illusions in which you have surrounded it. When you
retreat to the illusion your fear increases, for there is little doubt that what
you think it means IS fearful. Yet what is that to us who travel surely and
very swiftly AWAY from fear?
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T 18 D 4. You who hold each other's hand also hold mine, for when you joined
each other you were not alone. Do you believe that I would leave you in the
darkness you agreed to leave with ME? In your relationship is this world's
light. And fear MUST disappear before you now. Be tempted not to snatch away
the gift of faith you offered to each other. You will succeed only in
frightening yourselves. The gift is given forever, for God Himself received it.
You CANNOT take it back. You have accepted God. The holiness of your
relationship is established in Heaven. You do not understand what you accepted,
but remember that your understanding is not necessary. All that was necessary
was merely the WISH to understand. That wish was the desire to be holy. The
will of God is granted you. For you desire the only thing you ever had, or ever
were.
T 18 D 5. Each instant that we spend together will teach you that this goal is
possible, and will strengthen your desire to reach it. And in your desire lies
its accomplishment. Your desire is now in complete accord with all the power of
the Holy Spirit's Will. No little, faltering footsteps that you may take can
separate your desire from His Will and from His strength. I hold your hand as
surely as you agreed to take each other's. You will not separate, for I stand
with you, and walk with you in your advance to truth. And where we go we carry
God with us.
T 18 D 6. In your relationship, you have joined with me in bringing Heaven to
the Son of God, who hid in darkness. You have been willing to bring the
darkness to light, and this willingness has given strength to everyone who would
remain in darkness. Those who would see WILL see. And they will join with me
in carrying their light into the darkness, when the darkness in them is offered
to the light, and is removed forever. My need for you, joined with me in the
holy light of your relationship, is YOUR need for salvation. Would I not give
you what you gave to me? For when you joined each other, you answered me.
T 18 D 7. You who are now the bringers of salvation have the function of
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bringing light to darkness. The darkness in you HAS been brought to light.
Carry it back to darkness, from the holy instant to which you brought it. We
are made whole in our desire to make whole. Let not time worry you, for all the
fear that you experience is really past. Time has been re-adjusted to help us
do, together, what your separate pasts would hinder. You have gone past fear,
for no two minds can join in the desire for love without love's joining THEM.
T 18 D 8. Not one light in Heaven but goes with you. Not one ray that shines
forever in the Mind of God but shines on you. Heaven is joined with you in your
advance to Heaven. When such great light has joined with you to give the little
spark of your desire the power of God Himself, CAN you remain in darkness? You
are coming home together, after a long and meaningless journey which you
undertook apart, and which led nowhere. You have found each other, and will
light each other's way. And from this light will the great rays extend back
into darkness and forward unto God, to shine away the past and so make room for
His eternal Presence, in Which everything is radiant in the light.
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T 18 E. The Little Willingness
T 18 E 1. The holy instant is the result of your determination to be holy. It
is the ANSWER. The desire and the willingness to let it come precedes its
coming. You prepare your minds for it only to the extent of recognizing that
you want it above all else. It is not necessary that you do more; indeed, it is
necessary that you realize that you CANNOT do more. Do not attempt to give the
Holy Spirit what He does not ask, or you will add the ego unto Him, and confuse
the two. He asks but little. It is HE Who adds the greatness and the might.
He joins with you to make the holy instant far greater than you can understand.
It is your realization that you need do so little that enables Him to give so
much.
T 18 E 2. Trust not your good intentions. They are not enough. But trust
implicitly your willingness, whatever else may enter. Concentrate only on this,
and be not disturbed that shadows surround it. That is why you came. If you
could come without them, you would not NEED the holy instant. Come to it not in
arrogance, assuming that you must achieve the state its coming brings with it.
The miracle of the holy instant lies in your willingness to let it be what it
is. And in your willingness for this lies also your acceptance of yourself as
YOU were meant to be.
T 18 E 3. Humility will never ask that you remain content with littleness. But
it DOES require that you be NOT content with less than greatness which comes not
of you. Your difficulty with the holy instant arises from your fixed conviction
that you are not worthy of it. And what is this but the determination to be as
you would MAKE yourself? God did not create His dwelling place unworthy of Him.
And if you believe He cannot enter where He wills to be, you must be
INTERFERING with His Will. You do not need the strength of willingness to come
from YOU, but only from HIS Will.
T 18 E 4. The holy instant does not come from your little willingness alone.
It is always the result of your small willingness combined with the unlimited
power of God's Will. You have been wrong in thinking that it is
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needful to PREPARE yourself for Him. It is impossible to make arrogant
preparations for holiness, and NOT believe that it is up to you to establish the
conditions for peace. GOD has established them. They do not wait upon your
willingness for what they are. Your willingness is needed only to make it
possible to TEACH you what they are. If you maintain you are unworthy of
learning this, you are interfering with the lesson by believing that you must
make the LEARNER different. You did not make the learner, nor CAN you make him
different. Would you first make a miracle yourself, and then expect one to be
made FOR you?
T 18 E 5. YOU merely ask the question. The answer is GIVEN. Seek not to
answer it, but merely RECEIVE the answer as it is given. In preparing for the
holy instant, do not attempt to make yourself holy to be ready to receive it.
That is but to confuse your role with God's. Atonement cannot come to those who
think that THEY must first atone, but only to those who offer it nothing more
than simple willingness to make way for it. Purification is of God alone, and
therefore for you. Rather than seek to prepare yourself for Him, try to think
thus:
"I who am host to God AM worthy of Him.
He Who established His dwelling place in me created it as He would have it be.
It is not needful that I make it ready for Him,
But only that I do not interfere with His plan to restore to me my own awareness
of my readiness, which is eternal.
I need add nothing to His plan.
But to receive it, I must be willing not to substitute my own in place of it."
T 18 E 6. And that is all. Add more, and you will merely TAKE AWAY the little
that is asked. Remember you made guilt, and that your plan for the escape from
guilt has been to bring Atonement TO it, and make salvation fearful. And it is
only fear that you will add, if you prepare YOURSELF for love. The preparation
for the holy instant belongs to Him Who gives it. Release yourselves to Him
Whose function is release. Do not assume His function for Him. Give Him but
what He asks, that you may learn how little
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is your part, and how great is His.
T 18 E 7. It is this that makes the holy instant so easy and so natural.
You make it difficult, because you insist there must be more that you need do.
You find it difficult to ACCEPT the idea that you need give so LITTLE, to
receive so much. [T139] And it is very hard for you to realize that it is not
personally insulting that your contribution and the Holy Spirit's are so
extremely disproportionate. You are still convinced YOUR understanding is a
powerful contribution to the truth, and makes it what it is. Yet we have
emphasized that you need understand nothing. Salvation is easy just BECAUSE it
asks nothing that you cannot give RIGHT NOW.
T 18 E 8. Forget not that it has been your decision to make everything that IS
natural and easy for you impossible. What you believe to be impossible will BE,
if God so wills it, but you will remain quite unaware of it. If you believe the
holy instant is difficult for you, it is because you have become the arbiter of
what is possible, and remain unwilling to give place to One Who KNOWS. The
whole belief in orders of difficulty in miracles is centered on this.
Everything God wills is not only possible, but has already HAPPENED. And that
is why the past has gone. It NEVER happened in reality. Only in your minds,
which thought it did, is its undoing needful.
T 18 F. The Happy Dream
T 18 F 1. Prepare you NOW for the undoing of what never was. If you already
understood the difference between truth and illusion, the Atonement would have
no meaning. The holy instant, your holy relationship, the Holy Spirit's
teaching, and all the means by which salvation is accomplished, would have no
purpose. For they are all but aspects of the plan to change your dreams of fear
to happy dreams, from which you waken easily to knowledge. Put yourself not in
charge of this, for you cannot distinguish between advance and retreat. Some of
your greatest advances you have judged as failures, and some of your deepest
retreats you have evaluated as success.
T 18 F 2. Never approach the holy instant after YOU have tried to remove all
fear and hatred from your mind. That is ITS function. Never attempt to
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overlook your guilt BEFORE you ask the Holy Spirit's help. That is HIS
function. Your part is only to offer Him a little willingness to LET Him remove
all fear and hatred, and to BE forgiven. On your little faith, joined with His
understanding, HE will build your part in the Atonement, and make sure that you
fulfill it easily. And with Him, YOU will build a ladder planted in the solid
rock of faith, and rising even to Heaven. Nor will you use it to ascend to
Heaven alone.
T 18 F 3. Through your holy relationship, reborn and blessed in every holy
instant which you do not arrange, thousands will rise to Heaven with you. Can
YOU plan for this? Or could you prepare YOURSELVES for such a function? Yet it
is possible, because God wills it. Nor will He change His Mind about it. The
means and purpose BOTH belong to Him. You have accepted one; the other will be
provided. A purpose such as this, without the means, is inconceivable. He will
provide the means to ANYONE who shares His purpose.
T 18 F 4. Happy dreams come true, NOT because they are dreams, but only because
they are HAPPY. And so they must be loving. Their message is, "Thy Will be
done," and not, "I want it otherwise." The alignment of means and purpose is an
undertaking impossible for you to understand. You do not even realize you HAVE
accepted the Holy Spirit's purpose as your own, and you would merely bring
unholy means to its accomplishment. The little faith it needed to change the
purpose is all that is required to receive the means and USE them.
T 18 F 5. It is no dream to love your brother as yourself. Nor is your holy
relationship a dream. All that remains of dreams within it is that it is still
a SPECIAL relationship. Yet it is very useful to the Holy Spirit, Who HAS a
special function here. It will become the happy dream through which He can
spread joy to thousands on thousands who believe that love is fear, not
happiness. Let Him fulfill the function that He gave to your relationship by
accepting it FOR you, and nothing will be wanting that would make of it what He
would have it be.
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T 18 F 6. When you feel the holiness of your relationship is threatened by
anything, stop instantly and offer the Holy Spirit your willingness, IN SPITE of
fear, to let Him exchange this instant for the holy one which you would rather
have. He will never fail in this. But forget not that your relationship is
one, and so it must be that whatever threatens the peace of one is an equal
threat to the other. The power of joining and its blessing lies [T140] in the
fact that it is now impossible for either of you to experience fear alone, or to
attempt to deal with it alone. Never believe that this is necessary, or even
possible. Yet just as this is impossible, so is it equally impossible that the
holy instant come to either of you WITHOUT the other. And it will come to BOTH
at the request of either.
T 18 F 7. Whichever [T141] is saner at the time when the threat is perceived
should remember how deep is his indebtedness to the other, and how much
gratitude is due him, and be glad that he can pay his debt by bringing happiness
to both. Let him remember this, and say:
"I desire this holy instant for myself
That I may share it with my brother, whom I love.
It is not possible that I can have it without him, or he without me.
Yet it is wholly possible for us to share it NOW.
And so I choose this instant as the one to offer to the Holy Spirit,
That His blessing may descend on us, and keep us BOTH in peace."
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T 18 G. Dreams and the Body
T 18 G 1. There is NOTHING outside you. That is what you must ultimately
learn, for it is in [T142] that realization that the Kingdom of Heaven is restored
to you. For God created only this, and He did not depart from it, nor leave it
separate from Himself. The Kingdom of Heaven is the dwelling place of the Son
of God, who left not his Father, and dwells not apart from Him. Heaven is not a
place nor a condition. It is merely an awareness of perfect Oneness, and the
knowledge that there is nothing else; nothing outside this Oneness, and nothing
else within.
T 18 G 2. What could God give but knowledge of Himself? What else IS there to
give? The belief that you could give and GET something else, something OUTSIDE
yourself, has cost you the awareness of Heaven, and the loss of your identity.
And you have done a stranger thing than you yet realize. You have displaced
your guilt to your bodies from your minds. Yet a body CANNOT be guilty, for it
can do nothing of itself. You who think you hate your bodies deceive
yourselves. You hate your MINDS, for guilt has entered into them, and they
would remain separate, which they cannot do.
T 18 G 3. Minds ARE joined; bodies are not. Only by assigning to the mind the
properties of the body does separation seem to be possible. And it is MIND that
seems to be fragmented and private and alone. Its guilt, which KEEPS it
separate, is projected to the body, which suffers and dies because it is
attacked to hold the separation in the mind, and let it NOT KNOW its identity.
Mind cannot attack, but it CAN make fantasies and direct the body to act them
out. Yet it is never what the body does that seems to satisfy. Unless the mind
believes the body is actually acting out its fantasies, it will attack the body
by increasing the projection of its guilt upon it.
T 18 G 4. In this, the mind is clearly delusional. It cannot attack, but it
maintains it CAN, and uses what it does to hurt the body to PROVE it can. The
mind cannot attack, but it CAN deceive itself. And this is all it does when it
believes it has attacked the body. It can project its guilt, but
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it will not LOSE it through projection. And though it clearly can misperceive
the function of the body, it cannot change its function from what the Holy
Spirit establishes it to be. The body was not made by love. Yet love does not
condemn it, and can use it lovingly, respecting what the Son of God has made,
and using it to save him from illusions.
T 18 G 5. Would you not have the instruments of separation re-interpreted as
means for salvation, and used for purposes of love? Would you not welcome and
support the shift from fantasies of vengeance to release from them? Your
perception of the body can clearly be sick, but project not this upon the body.
For your wish to make destructive what cannot destroy can have no real effect at
all. And what God created is only what He would have it be, being His Will.
You CANNOT make His Will destructive. You can make fantasies in which your will
conflicts with His, but that is all.
T 18 G 6. It is insane to use the body as the scapegoat for guilt, directing
its attack and blaming it for what you wished it to do. It is IMPOSSIBLE to act
out fantasies. For it is still the FANTASIES you want, and they have nothing to
do with what the body does. IT does not dream of them, and they but make it a
liability where it could be an asset. For fantasies have made your body your
"enemy," weak, vulnerable and treacherous, worthy of the hate which you invest
in it. How has this served you? You have IDENTIFIED with this thing you hate,
the instrument of vengeance and the perceived source of your guilt. You have
done this to a thing that has no meaning, proclaiming it to be the
dwelling-place of the Son of God, and turning it against him.
T 18 G 7. This is the host of God that YOU have made. And neither God nor His
most holy Son can enter an abode which harbors hate, and where you have sown the
seeds of vengeance, violence and death. This thing you made to serve your guilt
stands between you and other minds. The minds ARE joined, but you do not
identify with them. You see yourself locked in a separate prison, removed and
unreachable, incapable of reaching out as being reached.
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You hate this prison you have made, and would destroy it. But you would not
escape from it, leaving it unharmed, without your guilt upon it.
T 18 G 8. Yet only thus CAN you escape. The home of vengeance is not yours;
the place you set aside to house your hate is not a prison, but an illusion of
YOURSELF. The body is a limit imposed on the universal communication which is
an eternal property of mind. But the communication is INTERNAL. It is NOT made
up of different PARTS, which reach each other [T143]. Mind reaches to ITSELF. It
does not go OUT. Within itself it has no limits, and there is nothing outside
it. It encompasses EVERYTHING. [T144] It encompasses you entirely; you within
it, and it within you. There is nothing else, anywhere or ever.
T 18 G 9. The body is outside you, and but SEEMS to surround you, shutting you
off from others, and keeping you apart from them, and them from you. [T145] It is
not there. There IS no barrier between God and His Son, nor can His Son be
separated from himself except in illusions. This is not his reality, though he
believes it is. Yet this could only be if God were wrong. God would have had
to create differently, and to have separated Himself from His Son to make this
possible. He would have had to create different things, and to establish
different ORDERS of reality, only SOME of which were love. Yet love must be
forever like itself, changeless forever, and forever without alternative. And
so it is. You cannot put a barrier around yourself because God placed none
between Himself and you.
T 18 G 10. You can stretch out your hand and reach to Heaven. You whose
hands are joined have begun to reach beyond the body, but NOT outside
yourselves, to reach your shared identity TOGETHER. Could this be OUTSIDE you?
Where God is NOT? Is HE a body, and did He create you as He is not, and where
He cannot be? You are surrounded only by HIM. What limits can there be on you
whom He encompasses? Everyone has experienced what he would call a sense of
being transported beyond himself. This feeling of liberation far exceeds the
dream of freedom sometimes experienced in special relationships. It is a sense
of actual ESCAPE from limitations.
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T 18 G 11. If you will consider what this "transportation" really entails,
you will realize that it is a sudden unawareness of the body, and a joining of
yourself and something else in which your mind enlarges to encompass it. It
becomes part of you, as you unite with it. And both become whole, as neither is
perceived as separate. What really happens is that you have given up the
illusion of a limited awareness, and lost your fear of union. The love that
instantly replaces it EXTENDS to what has freed you, and unites with it. And
while this lasts, you are not uncertain of your identity, and would not limit
it. You have escaped from fear to peace, asking no questions of reality, but
merely accepting it. You have accepted this INSTEAD of the body, and have let
yourself be one with something beyond it, simply by not letting your mind be
LIMITED by it.
T 18 G 12. This can occur regardless of the physical distance which seems
to be between you and what you join; of your respective positions in space; and
of your differences in size and seeming quality. Time is not relevant; it can
occur with something past, present or anticipated. The "something" can be
anything and anywhere; a sound, a sight, a thought, a memory, and even a general
idea without specific reference. Yet in every case, you joined it without
reservation because you love it, and would be with it. And so you rush to meet
it, letting your limits melt away, suspending all the "laws" your body obeys,
and gently setting them aside.
T 18 G 13. There is no violence at all in this escape. The body is not
attacked, but simply properly PERCEIVED. It does not limit you, merely because
you would not have it so. You are not really "lifted out" of it; it cannot
CONTAIN you. You go where you would be, gaining, not losing, a sense of self.
In these instants of release from physical restrictions, you experience much of
what happens in the holy instant; the lifting of the barriers of time and space,
the sudden experience of peace and joy, and, above all, the lack of awareness of
the body, and of the questioning whether
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or not all this is possible.
T 18 G 14. It is possible because you WANT it. The sudden expansion of
the self which takes place with your desire for it is the irresistible appeal
the holy instant holds. It calls to you to be yourself, within its safe
embrace. There are the laws of limit lifted FOR you, to welcome you to openness
of mind and freedom. Come to this place of refuge, where you can be yourself in
peace. Not through destruction, not through a "breaking out," but merely by a
quiet "melting in." For peace will join you there simply because you have been
willing to let go the limits you have placed upon love, and joined it where it
is and where it led you, in answer to its gentle call to BE at peace.
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T 18 H. "I Need Do Nothing"
T 18 H 1. You still have too much faith in the body as a source of strength.
What plans do you make that do not involve its comfort or protection or
enjoyment in some way? This makes it an end and not a means in your
interpretation, and this ALWAYS means you still find sin attractive. No one
accepts Atonement for himself who still accepts sin as his goal. You have thus
not met your ONE responsibility. Atonement is not welcomed by those who prefer
pain and destruction.
T 18 H 2. You have made much progress and are really trying to make still more,
but there is one thing you have never done; not for one instant have you utterly
forgotten the body. It has faded at times from your sight, but it has not yet
completely disappeared. You are not asked to let this happen for more than an
instant, yet it is in this instant that the miracle of Atonement happens.
Afterwards, you will see the body again, but never quite the same. And every
instant that you spend WITHOUT awareness of it gives you a different view of it
when you return.
T 18 H 3. At no single instant does the body exist at all. It is always
remembered or anticipated, but never experienced just NOW. Only its past and
future make it seem real. Time controls it entirely, for sin is never present.
In any single instant, the attraction of guilt would be experienced as pain and
nothing else, and would be avoided. It has no attraction NOW. Its whole
attraction is imaginary, and therefore MUST be thought of in the past or in the
future.
T 18 H 4. It is impossible to accept the holy instant without reservation
unless, just for an instant, you are willing to see NO past or future. You
cannot prepare for it WITHOUT placing it in the future. Release is given you
the instant you desire it. Many have spent a lifetime in preparation, and have
indeed achieved their instants of success. This course does not attempt to
teach more than they learned in time, but it does aim at SAVING time. You are
attempting to follow a very long road to the goal you have accepted. It is
extremely difficult to reach Atonement by fighting against sin. Enormous effort
is expended in the attempt to make holy what is hated and despised. [T146] Nor is
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a lifetime of contemplation and long periods of meditation aimed at detachment
from the body necessary. All such attempts will ultimately succeed because of
their purpose. Yet the means are tedious and very time consuming, for all of
them look to the FUTURE for release from a state of present unworthiness and
inadequacy.
T 18 H 5. Your way will be different, not in purpose, but in means. A holy
relationship is a means of SAVING TIME. One instant spent TOGETHER restores the
universe to BOTH of you. You ARE prepared. Now you need but to remember you
need do NOTHING. It would be far more profitable now merely to concentrate [T147]
on this than to consider what you SHOULD do. When peace comes at last to those
who wrestle with temptation and fight against the giving in to sin; when the
light comes at last into the mind given to contemplation, or when the goal is
finally achieved by anyone, it ALWAYS comes with just one happy realization; "I
need do nothing."
T 18 H 6. Here is the ultimate release which everyone will one day find in his
own way, at his own time. We do not need this time. Time has been saved for
you because you are together. This is the special means this course is using to
save you time. You are not making use of the course if you insist on using
means which have served others well, neglecting what was made for YOU. Save
time for me by only this ONE preparation, and practice doing nothing else. "I
need do nothing" is a statement of allegiance, a truly undivided loyalty.
Believe it for just one instant, and you will accomplish more than is given to a
century of contemplation, or of struggle against temptation.
T 18 H 7. To DO anything involves the body. And if you recognize you NEED do
nothing, you have withdrawn the body's value from your mind. Here is the quick
and open door through which you slip past centuries of effort, and escape from
time. This is the way in which sin loses all attraction RIGHT NOW. For here is
time denied, and past and future gone. Who need do nothing
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has no need for time. To do nothing is to rest, and make a place within you
where the activity of the body ceases to demand attention. Into this place the
Holy Spirit comes, and there abides. He will remain when you forget, and the
body's activities return to occupy your conscious mind.
T 18 H 8. Yet there will always be this place of rest to which you can return.
And you will be more aware of this quiet center of the storm than all its raging
activity. This quiet center, in which you do nothing, will remain with you,
giving you rest in the midst of every busy doing on which you are sent. For
from this center will you be directed how to use the body sinlessly. It is this
center, from which the body is absent, that will keep it so in your awareness of
it.
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T 18 I. The Purpose of the Body
T 18 I 1. It is only the awareness of the body that makes love seem limited.
For the body IS a limit on love. The belief in limited love was its origin, and
it was MADE to limit the unlimited. Think not that this is merely allegorical,
for it was made to limit YOU. Can you who see yourselves within a body know
yourself as an IDEA? Everything you recognize you identify with externals,
something outside itself. You cannot even think of God without a body, or some
form you think you recognize.
T 18 I 2. The body cannot KNOW. And while you limit your awareness to its tiny
senses, you will not see the grandeur which surrounds you. God cannot come into
a body, nor can you join Him there. Limits on love will always seem to shut Him
out, and to keep you apart from Him. The body is a tiny fence around a little
part of a glorious and complete idea. It draws a circle, infinitely small,
around a very little segment of Heaven splintered from the whole, proclaiming
that within it is your kingdom, where God can enter not.
T 18 I 3. Within this kingdom the ego rules, and cruelly. And to defend this
little speck of dust, it bids you fight against the universe. This fragment of
your mind is such a tiny part of it that, could you but appreciate the whole,
you would see instantly that it is like the smallest sunbeam to the sun, or like
the faintest ripple on the surface of the ocean. In its amazing arrogance, this
tiny sunbeam has decided it IS the sun; this almost imperceptible ripple hails
itself as the ocean. Think how alone and frightened is this little thought,
this infinitesimal illusion, holding itself apart against the universe. The sun
becomes the sunbeam's "enemy" which would devour it, and the ocean terrifies the
little ripple and wants to swallow it.
T 18 I 4. Yet neither sun nor ocean is even aware of all this strange and
meaningless activity. They merely continue, unaware that they are feared and
hated by a tiny segment of themselves. Even that segment is not lost to them,
for it could not survive APART from them. And what it thinks it is in no way
changes its total dependence on them for its being. Its whole
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existence still remains in them. Without the sun the sunbeam would be gone; the
ripple without the ocean is inconceivable.
T 18 I 5. Such is the strange position in which those in a world inhabited by
bodies seem to be. Each body seems to house a separate mind, a disconnected
thought, living alone and in no way joined to the Thought by which it was
created. Each tiny fragment seems to be self-contained, needing each other for
some things, but by no means totally dependent on their one Creator for
everything, and needing the whole to give them any meaning, for by themselves
they DO mean nothing. Nor HAVE they any life apart and by themselves.
T 18 I 6. Like to the sun and ocean your Self continues, unmindful that this
tiny part regards itself AS you. It is not missing; it could not exist if it
were separate, nor would the whole be whole without it. It is not a separate
kingdom, ruled by an idea of separation from the rest. Nor does a fence
surround it, preventing it from joining with the rest, and keeping it apart from
its Creator. This little aspect is no different from the whole, being
continuous with it and at one with it. It leads no separate life because its
life IS the oneness in which its being was created.
T 18 I 7. Do not accept this little, fenced-off aspect as yourself. The sun
and ocean are as nothing beside what you are. The sunbeam sparkles only in the
sunlight, and the ripple dances as it rests upon the ocean. Yet in neither sun
nor ocean is the power that rests in you. Would you remain within your tiny
kingdom, a sorry king, a bitter ruler of all he surveys, who looks on nothing,
yet who would still die to defend it? This little self is not your kingdom.
Arched high above it and surrounding it with love is the glorious whole, which
offers all its happiness and deep content to every part. The little aspect
which you think you set apart is no exception.
T 18 I 8. Love knows no bodies, and reaches to everything created like itself.
Its total lack of limit IS its meaning. It is completely impartial
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in its giving, encompassing only to preserve and keep complete what it would
give. In your tiny kingdom you have so little! Should it not, then, be there
that you would call on love to enter? Look at the desert, dry and unproductive,
scorched and joyless, which makes up your little kingdom. And realize the life
and joy which love would bring to it from where it comes, and where it would
return with you.
T 18 I 9. The Thought of God surrounds your little kingdom, waiting at the
barrier you built to come inside and shine upon the barren ground. See how life
springs up everywhere! The desert becomes a garden, green and deep and quiet,
offering rest to those who lost their way and wander in the dust. Give them a
place of refuge, prepared by love for them where once a desert was. And
everyone you welcome will bring love with him from Heaven for you. They enter
one by one into this holy place, but they will not depart as they had come,
alone. The love they brought with them will stay with them, as it will stay
with YOU. And under its beneficence, your little garden will expand, and reach
out to everyone who thirsts for living water, but has grown too weary to go on
alone.
T 18 I 10. Go out and find them, for they bring your Self with them. And
lead them gently to your quiet garden, and receive their blessing there. So
will it grow and stretch across the desert, leaving no lonely little kingdoms
locked away from love, and leaving YOU inside. And you will recognize yourself,
and see your little garden gently transformed into the Kingdom of Heaven, with
all the love of its Creator shining upon it. The holy instant is your
invitation to love, to enter into your bleak and joyless kingdom, and to
transform it into a garden of peace and welcome.
T 18 I 11. Love's answer is inevitable. It will come because you came
without the body, and interposed no barriers which would interfere with its glad
coming. In the holy instant, you ask of love only what it offers everyone,
neither less nor more. ASKING for everything, you will RECEIVE it. And
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your shining Self will lift the tiny aspect which you tried to hide from Heaven
straight INTO Heaven. No part of love calls on the whole in vain. No Son of
God remains outside His Fatherhood.
T 18 I 12. Be sure of this; love has entered your special relationship,
and entered fully at your weak request. You do not recognize that love has come
because you have not yet let go of all the barriers you hold against each other.
And you will not be able to give love welcome separately. You could no more
know God alone than He knows you without your brother. But, TOGETHER, you could
no more be unaware of love than love could know you not, or fail to recognize
itself in you.
T 18 I 13. You have reached the end of an ancient journey, not realizing
yet that it is over. You are still worn and tired, and the desert's dust still
seems to cloud your eyes and keep you sightless. Yet He Whom you welcomed has
come to you, and would welcome YOU. He has waited long to give you this.
Receive it now of Him, for He would have you know Him. Only a little wall of
dust still stands between you. Blow on it lightly and with happy laughter and
it will fall away, and walk into the garden love has prepared for BOTH of you.
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T 18 J. The Delusional Thought System
T 18 J 1. You have been told to bring the darkness to the light, and guilt to
holiness. And you have also been told that error must be corrected at its
source. Therefore, it is the tiny part of yourself, the little thought that
seems split off and separate, which the Holy Spirit needs. The rest is fully in
God's keeping, and NEEDS no guide. Yet this wild and delusional thought needs
help because, in its delusions, it thinks it is the Son of God, whole and
omnipotent, sole ruler of the kingdom it set apart to tyrannize by madness into
obedience and slavery.
T 18 J 2. This is the little part of you you think you stole from Heaven. Give
it back to Heaven. Heaven has not lost it, but YOU have lost sight of Heaven.
Let the Holy Spirit remove it from the withered kingdom in which you set it off,
surrounded by darkness, guarded by attack, and reinforced by hate. Within its
barricades is still a tiny segment of the Son of God, complete and holy, serene
and unaware of what you think surrounds it. Be you not separate, for the One
Who DOES surround it has brought union to you, returning your little offering of
darkness to the eternal Light.
T 18 J 3. How is this done? It is extremely simple, being based on what this
little kingdom really is. The barren sands, the darkness and the lifelessness
are seen only through the body's eyes. Its vision IS distorted, and the
messages it transmits to you who made it to LIMIT your awareness ARE little and
limited, and so fragmented they are meaningless. From the world of bodies, made
by insanity, insane messages seem to be returned to the mind which made it. And
these messages bear witness to this world, pronouncing it as true. For YOU sent
forth these messengers to bring this back to you.
T 18 J 4. Everything these messages relay to you is quite external. There are
no messages which speak of what lies underneath, for it is not the body that
COULD speak of this. Its eyes perceive it not; its senses remain quite unaware
of it; its tongue cannot relay its messages. Yet God can bring you there, if
you are willing to follow the Holy Spirit through seeming terror, trusting Him
not to abandon you and leave you there. For it is not His
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purpose to frighten you, but only YOURS. You are severely tempted to abandon
Him at the outside ring of fear, but He would lead you safely through and far
beyond.
T 18 J 5. The circle of fear lies just below the level the body sees, and seems
to be the whole foundation on which the world is based. Here are all the
illusions, all the twisted thoughts, all the insane attacks, the fury, vengeance
and betrayal that were made to keep the guilt in place, so that the world could
rise from it and keep it hidden. Its shadow rises to the surface, enough to
hold its most external manifestations in darkness, and to bring despair and
loneliness to it and keep it joyless. Yet its intensity is veiled by its heavy
coverings, and kept apart from what was made to keep it hidden. The body cannot
see this, for the body arose from this for its protection, which must always
depend on keeping it NOT seen. The body's eyes will never look on it. Yet they
will see what it dictates.
T 18 J 6. The body will remain guilt's messenger, and will act as it directs as
long as you believe that guilt is real. For the reality of guilt is the
illusion which seems to make it heavy and opaque, impenetrable, and a real
foundation for the ego's thought system. Its thinness and transparency are not
apparent until you see the light BEHIND it. And then you see it as a fragile
veil before the light.
T 18 J 7. This heavy-seeming barrier, this artificial floor which looks like
rock, is like a bank of low dark clouds that seems to be a solid wall before the
sun. Its impenetrable appearance is wholly an illusion. It gives way softly to
the mountain tops which rise above it, and has no power at all to hold back
anyone willing to climb above it and see the sun. It is not strong enough to
stop a button's fall, nor hold a feather. Nothing can rest upon it, for it is
but an ILLUSION of a foundation. [T148] Try but to touch it and it disappears;
attempt to grasp it and your hands hold nothing.
T 18 J 8. Yet in this cloud bank it is easy to see a whole world rising. A
solid mountain range, a lake, a city, all rise in your imagination, and from
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the clouds the messengers of your perception return to you, assuring you that it
is all there. Figures stand out and move about, actions seem real, and forms
appear and shift from loveliness to the grotesque. And back and forth they go,
as long as you would play the game of children's make-believe [T149]. Yet however
long you play it, and regardless of how much imagination you bring to it, you do
not confuse it with the world below, nor seek to make it real.
T 18 J 9. So should it be with the dark clouds of guilt, no more impenetrable
and no more substantial. You will not bruise yourself against them in traveling
through. Let your Guide TEACH you their insubstantial nature as He leads you
past them, for beneath them is a world of light whereon they cast no shadows.
Their shadows lie upon the world beyond them, still further from the light. Yet
from them TO the light their shadows cannot fall.
T 18 J 10. This world of light, this circle of brightness, is the real
world where guilt meets with forgiveness. Here, the world outside is seen anew,
without the shadow of guilt upon it. Here are you forgiven, for here you have
forgiven everyone. Here is the new perception, where everything is bright and
shining with innocence, washed in the waters of forgiveness, and cleansed of
every evil thought you had laid upon it. Here there is no attack upon the Son
of God, and you are welcome. Here is your innocence, waiting to clothe you and
protect you, and make you ready for the final step in the journey inward. Here
are the dark and heavy garments of guilt laid by, and gently replaced by purity
and love.
T 18 J 11. Yet even forgiveness is not the end. Forgiveness DOES make
lovely, but it does not create. It is the source of healing, but it is the
messenger of love, and not its Source. Here you are led that God Himself can
take the final step unhindered, for here does nothing interfere with love,
letting it be itself. A step beyond this holy place of forgiveness [T150], a step
still further inward but the one YOU cannot take, transports you to something
completely different. Here is the Source of light; nothing perceived, forgiven
nor transformed. But merely KNOWN.
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T 18 K. The Passing of the Dream
T 18 K 1. This course will LEAD to knowledge, but knowledge itself is still
beyond the scope of our curriculum. Nor is there any need for us to try to
speak of what must forever lie beyond words. We need remember only that whoever
attains the real world, beyond which learning cannot go, WILL go beyond it, but
in a different way. Where learning ends there God begins, for learning ends
before Him Who is complete where He begins, and where there IS no end. It is
not for us to dwell on what CANNOT be attained. There is too much to learn.
The readiness for knowledge still must be attained.
T 18 K 2. Love is not learned. Its meaning lies in itself [T151]. And learning
ends when you have recognized all it is NOT. That is the interference; that is
what needs to be undone. Love is not learned because there never was a time in
which you knew it not. Learning is useless in the Presence of your Creator,
Whose acknowledgment of you and yours of Him so far transcend all learning that
everything you learned is meaningless, replaced forever by the knowledge of love
and its one meaning.
T 18 K 3. Your relationship has been uprooted from the world of shadows, and
its unholy purpose has been safely brought through the barriers of guilt, washed
with forgiveness, and set shining and firmly rooted in the world of light. From
there, it calls to you to follow the course it took, lifted high above the
darkness, and gently placed before the gates of Heaven. The holy instant in
which you were united is but the messenger of love, sent from beyond forgiveness
to remind you of all that lies beyond it. Yet it is through forgiveness that it
will BE remembered.
T 18 K 4. And when the memory of God has come to you in the holy place of
forgiveness, you will remember nothing else, and memory will be as useless as
learning, for your only purpose will be creating. Yet this you cannot know
until every perception has been cleansed and purified, and finally removed
forever. Forgiveness removes only the UNTRUE, lifting the shadows
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from the world, and carrying it, safe and sure within its gentleness, to the
bright world of new and clean perception. There is your purpose NOW. And it is
there that peace awaits you.
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Chapter XIX 19 - BEYOND THE BODY
T 19 A. Introduction
T 19 A 1. We said before that, when a situation has been dedicated wholly to
truth, peace is inevitable. Its attainment is the criterion by which the
wholeness of the dedication can be safely assumed. Yet we also said that peace
without faith will NEVER be attained, for what is wholly dedicated to truth as
its only goal is brought to truth BY faith. This faith encompasses everyone
involved, for only thus the situation is perceived as meaningful and as a whole.
And everyone must be involved in it, or else your faith is limited, and your
dedication incomplete.
T 19 A 2. Every situation, properly perceived, becomes an opportunity to heal
the Son of God. And he is healed BECAUSE you offered faith to him, giving him
to the Holy Spirit and releasing him from every demand your ego would make of
him. Thus do you see him free, and in this vision does the Holy Spirit share.
And since He shares it He has given it, and so He heals through YOU. It is this
joining Him in a united purpose which makes this purpose real because you make
it WHOLE. And this IS healing. The body is healed, because you came without it
and joined the Mind in which all healing rests.
T 19 B. Healing and the Mind
T 19 B 1. The body cannot heal, because it cannot make itself sick. It NEEDS
no healing. Its health or sickness depends entirely on how the mind perceives
it, and the purpose which the mind would use it FOR. And it is obvious that a
segment of the mind CAN see itself as separated from the Universal Purpose.
When this occurs, the body becomes its weapon, used AGAINST this Purpose to
demonstrate the "fact" that separation has occurred. The body thus becomes the
instrument of illusion, acting accordingly; seeing what is not there, hearing
what truth has never said, and behaving insanely, being imprisoned BY insanity.
T 19 B 2. Do not overlook our earlier statement that faithlessness leads
straight to illusions. For faithlessness is the perception of a brother as a
body, and the body cannot be used for purposes of union. If, then, you see your
brother AS a body, you have established a condition in which uniting
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with him becomes impossible. Your faithlessness to him has separated you from
him, and kept you BOTH apart from being healed. Your faithlessness has thus
opposed the Holy Spirit's purpose, and brought illusions, centered on the BODY,
to stand between you. And the body WILL seem to be sick, for you have made of
it an "enemy" of healing, and the opposite of truth.
T 19 B 3. It cannot be difficult to realize that faith must be the opposite of
faithlessness. Yet the difference in how they operate is less apparent, though
it follows directly from the fundamental difference in what they are.
Faithlessness would always limit and attack; faith would remove all limitations
and make whole. Faithlessness would destroy and SEPARATE; faith would unite and
HEAL. [T152] Faithlessness would interpose illusions between the Son of God and
his Creator; faith would remove all obstacles that seem to rise between them.
Faithlessness is wholly dedicated to illusions; faith wholly to truth. Partial
dedication is impossible. Truth is the ABSENCE of illusion; illusion the
ABSENCE of truth.
T 19 B 4. Both cannot BE together, nor perceived in the same place. To
dedicate yourself to both is to set up a goal forever impossible to attain, for
part of it is sought through the body, thought of as a means for seeking out
reality through attack, while the other part would heal, and therefore calls
upon the mind and NOT the body. The inevitable compromise is the belief that
the BODY must be healed, and NOT the mind. For this divided goal has given both
an equal reality, which could be possible only if the mind is limited to the
body, and divided into little parts of seeming wholeness, but without
connection. This will not harm the body, but it WILL keep the delusional
thought system in the MIND.
T 19 B 5. Here, then, is healing needed. And it is here that healing IS. For
God gave healing not APART from sickness, nor established remedy where sickness
cannot be. They are TOGETHER, and when they are SEEN together, all attempts to
keep both truth and illusion in the mind, where both MUST be, are recognized as
dedication to ILLUSION; and given up when brought to
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truth, and seen as totally irreconcilable [T153] with truth, in any respect or in
any way.
T 19 B 6. Truth and illusion have NO connection. This will remain forever
true, however much you seek to connect them. But illusions are ALWAYS
connected, as is truth. Each is united, a complete thought system, but totally
DISconnected [T154] to each other. Where there is no overlap, there separation
must be complete. And to perceive this is to recognize where separation IS, and
where it must be healed. The result of an idea is never separate from its
source. The IDEA of separation produced the body, and remains connected to it,
making it sick because of its identification with it. You think you are
protecting the body by hiding this connection, for this concealment seems to
keep your identification safe from the "attack" of truth.
T 19 B 7. If you but understood how much this strange concealment has hurt your
mind, and how confused your own identification has become because of it! You do
not see how great the devastation wrought by your faithlessness. For
faithlessness is an attack which seems to be justified by its RESULTS. For by
withholding faith, you see what IS unworthy of it, and cannot look beyond the
barrier to what is joined with you.
T 19 B 8. To have faith is to heal. It is the sign that you have accepted the
Atonement for yourself, and would therefore share it. By faith, you offer the
gift of freedom from the past, which YOU received. You do not use anything your
brother has done before to condemn him NOW. You freely choose to overlook his
errors, looking past all barriers between your self and his, and seeing them as
one. And in that one you see your faith is fully justified. There IS no
justification for faithlessness, but faith is ALWAYS justified.
T 19 B 9. Faith is the opposite of fear, as much a part of love as fear is of
attack. Faith is the acknowledgment of union. It is the gracious
acknowledgment of everyone as a Son of your most loving Father, loved by Him
like
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you, and therefore loved by you as yourself. It is His Love that joins you, and
for His Love you would keep no one separate from YOURS. Each one appears just
as he is perceived in the holy instant, united in your purpose to be released
from guilt. You saw the Christ in him, and he was healed because you looked on
what makes faith forever justified in everyone.
T 19 B 10. Faith is the gift of God, through Him Whom God has given you.
Faithlessness looks upon the Son of God, and judges him unworthy of forgiveness.
But through the eyes of faith, the Son of God is seen ALREADY forgiven, free of
all the guilt he laid upon himself. Faith sees him only NOW because it looks
not to the past to judge him, but would see in him only what it would see in
YOU. It sees not through the body's eyes, nor looks to bodies for its
justification. It is the messenger of the new perception, sent forth to gather
witnesses unto its coming, and to return their messages to you. Faith is as
easily exchanged for knowledge as is the real world. For faith arises from the
Holy Spirit's perception, and is the sign you share it with Him. Faith is a
gift you offer to the Son of God through Him, and wholly acceptable to his
Father as to him. And therefore offered YOU.
T 19 B 11. Your holy relationship, with its new purpose, offers you faith
to give unto each other. Your faithlessness had [T155] driven you apart, and so
you did not recognize salvation in each other. Yet faith UNITES you in the
holiness you see, not through the body's eyes, but in the sight of Him Who
joined you, and in Whom YOU are united. Grace is not given to a body, but to a
MIND. And the mind that receives it looks instantly beyond the body, and sees
the holy place where it was healed. THERE is the altar where the grace was
given, in which it stands. Do you, then, offer grace and blessing to each
other, for you stand at the same altar, where grace was laid for BOTH of you.
And be you healed by grace together, that YOU may heal through faith.
T 19 B 12. In the holy instant, you stand before the altar God has raised
unto Himself and BOTH of you. Lay faithlessness aside, and come to it
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together. There will you see the miracle of your relationship as it was made
again through faith. And there it is that you will realize that there is
nothing faith cannot forgive. No error interferes with its calm sight, which
brings the miracle of healing with equal ease to ALL of them. For what the
messengers of love are sent to do THEY DO, returning the glad tidings that it
was done to you who stand together before the altar from which they were sent
forth.
T 19 B 13. As faithlessness will keep your little kingdoms barren and
separate, so will faith help the Holy Spirit prepare the ground for the most
holy garden which He would make of it. For faith brings peace, and so it calls
on truth to enter and make lovely what has already been prepared for loveliness.
Truth follows faith and peace, completing the process of making lovely which
they begin. For faith is still a learning goal, no longer needed when the
lesson has been learned. Yet truth will stay forever.
T 19 B 14. Let, then, your dedication be to the eternal, and learn how NOT
to interfere with it and make it slave to time. For what you think you do to
the eternal you do to YOU. Whom God created as His Son is slave to nothing,
being lord of all along with his Creator. You can enslave a body, but an IDEA
is free, incapable of being kept in prison, or limited in any way except by the
mind that thought it. For it remains joined to its source, which is its jailer
or its liberator, according to which it chooses as its purpose for itself.
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T 19 C. Sin versus Error
T 19 C 1. It is essential that error be not confused with "sin," and it is this
distinction which makes salvation possible. For error can be corrected, and the
wrong made right. But sin, were it possible, would be irreversible. The belief
in sin is necessarily based on the firm conviction that MINDS, not bodies, can
attack. And thus the mind IS guilty, and will forever so remain unless a mind
not part of it can give it absolution. Sin calls for punishment as error for
correction, and the belief that punishment IS correction is clearly insane.
T 19 C 2. Sin is not an error, for sin entails an arrogance which the idea of
error lacks. To sin would be to violate reality, and to SUCCEED. Sin is the
proclamation that attack is real and guilt is justified. It assumes the Son of
God is guilty, and has thus succeeded in losing his innocence, and making
himself what God created not. Thus is creation seen as not eternal, and the
Will of God open to opposition and defeat. Sin is the "grand illusion"
underlying all the ego's grandiosity. For by it, God Himself is changed and
rendered incomplete.
T 19 C 3. The Son of God can be mistaken; he can deceive himself; he can even
turn the power of his mind against himself. But he CANNOT sin. There is
nothing he can do that would REALLY change his reality in any way, nor make him
really guilty. That is what sin would do, for such is its purpose. Yet for all
the wild insanity inherent in the whole idea of sin, it is IMPOSSIBLE. For the
wages of sin IS death, and how can the immortal die?
T 19 C 4. A major tenet in the ego's insane religion is that sin is not error
but TRUTH, and it is INNOCENCE that would deceive. Purity is seen as arrogance,
and the acceptance of the self as sinful is perceived as holiness. And it is
this doctrine which replaces the reality of the Son of God as his Father created
him, and willed that he be forever. Is this humility? Or is it, rather, an
attempt to wrest creation AWAY from truth, and keep it separate?
T 19 C 5. Any attempt to re-interpret sin as error is always indefensible to
the ego. The idea of sin is wholly sacrosanct to its thought system, and
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quite unapproachable except through reverence and awe. It is the most "holy"
concept in the ego's system; lovely and powerful, wholly true, and necessarily
protected with every defense at its disposal. For here lies its "best" defense,
which all the others serve. Here is its armor, its protection, and the
fundamental purpose of the special relationship in its interpretation.
T 19 C 6. It can indeed be said the ego made its world on sin. Only in such a
world could everything be upside-down. This is the strange illusion which makes
the clouds of guilt seem heavy and impenetrable. The solidness this world's
foundation seems to have is found in this. For sin has changed creation from an
Idea of God to an ideal the ego wants; a world IT rules, made up of bodies,
mindless and capable of complete corruption and decay. If this is a mistake, it
can be undone easily by truth. Any mistake can be corrected, if truth be left
to judge it. But if the mistake is given the STATUS of truth, to what can it be
brought? The "holiness" of sin is kept in place by just this strange device.
As truth it is inviolate, and everything is brought to IT for judgment. As a
mistake, IT must be brought to truth. It is impossible to have faith in sin,
for sin IS faithlessness. Yet it IS possible to have faith that a mistake can
be corrected.
T 19 C 7. There is no stone in all the ego's embattled citadel more heavily
defended than the idea that sin is real; the natural expression of what the Son
of God has made himself to be, and what he IS. To the ego, this is NO MISTAKE.
For this IS its reality; this is the "truth" from which escape will always be
impossible. This is his past, his present and his future. For he has somehow
managed to corrupt his Father, and change [T156] His Mind completely. Mourn,
then, the death of God, Whom sin has killed! And this would be the ego's wish,
which in its madness it thinks it has ACCOMPLISHED.
T 19 C 8. Would you not RATHER that all this be nothing more than a mistake,
entirely correctable, and so easily escaped from that its whole correction is
like walking through a mist into the sun? For that is all it is. Perhaps
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you would be tempted to agree with the ego that it is far better to be sinful
than mistaken. Yet think you carefully before you allow yourself to make this
choice. Approach it not lightly, for it IS the choice of hell or Heaven.
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T 19 D. The Unreality of Sin
T 19 D 1. The attraction of guilt is found in sin, not error. Sin will be
repeated BECAUSE of this attraction. Fear can become so acute that the sin is
denied the acting out, but while the guilt remains attractive the mind will
suffer, and not let go of the idea of sin. For guilt still calls to it, and the
mind hears it and yearns for it, making itself a willing captive to its sick
appeal. Sin is an idea of evil that CANNOT be corrected, and will be forever
desirable. As an essential part of what the ego thinks you are, you will ALWAYS
want it. And only an avenger, with a mind unlike your own, could stamp it out
through fear.
T 19 D 2. The ego does not think it possible that love, not fear, is really
called upon by sin, and always ANSWERS. For the ego brings sin to FEAR,
demanding punishment. Yet punishment is but another form of guilt's protection,
for what is deserving punishment must have been really DONE. Punishment is
always the great preserver of sin; treating it with respect, and honoring its
enormity. What must be punished, MUST BE TRUE. And what is true MUST be
eternal, and WILL be repeated endlessly. [T157] For what you think is real you
WANT, and will not let it go. An error, on the other hand, is not attractive.
What you see clearly as a mistake you WANT corrected.
T 19 D 3. Sometimes a sin can be repeated over and over, with obviously
distressing results, but without the loss of its appeal. And suddenly, you
change its status from a sin to a mistake. Now you will not repeat it; you will
merely stop and let it go, unless the guilt REMAINS. For then you will but
change the FORM of sin, granting that it was an error, but keeping it
uncorrectable. This is not really a change in your perception, for it is SIN
that calls for punishment, not error. The Holy Spirit CANNOT punish sin.
Mistakes He recognizes, and would correct them all as God entrusted Him to do.
But sin He knows not, nor can He recognize mistakes which cannot be corrected.
For a mistake which cannot be corrected is meaningless to Him.
T 19 D 4. Mistakes are FOR correction, and they call for nothing else. What
calls for punishment must call for nothing. Every mistake MUST be a call for
love. What, then, is sin? What could it be but a mistake you would
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keep hidden; a call for help that you would keep unheard and thus unanswered?
In time, the Holy Spirit clearly sees the Son of God can make mistakes. On this
you share His vision. Yet you do not share His recognition of the difference
between time and eternity. And when correction is completed, time IS eternity.
T 19 D 5. Time is like a downward spiral which seems to travel down from a
long, unbroken line along another plane, but which in no way breaks the line, or
interferes with its smooth continuousness. Along the spiral, it seems as if the
line must have been broken. Yet at the line, its wholeness is apparent.
Everything seen from the spiral is misperceived, but as you approach the line,
you realize that it was not affected by the drop into another plane at all. Yet
from the plane, the line seems discontinuous. And this is but an error in
perception, which can be easily corrected in the MIND, although the body's eyes
will see no change. The eyes see many things the mind corrects, and you
respond, not to the eyes' illusions, but to the mind's CORRECTIONS.
T 19 D 6. You see the line as broken, and as you shift to different aspects of
the spiral, the line looks different. Yet in your mind is One Who knows it is
unbroken, and forever changeless. This One can teach you how to look on time
differently and see BEYOND it, but not while you believe in sin. In error, yes,
for this can be corrected by the mind. But sin is the belief that your
perception is unchangeable, and that the mind must accept as true what it is
told through it. If it does not obey, the mind is judged insane. The only
power which could change perception is thus kept impotent, held to the body by
the FEAR of changed perception which its Teacher, Who is one with it, would
bring.
T 19 D 7. When you are tempted to believe that sin is real, remember this: If
sin is real, both God and you are not. If creation is extension, the Creator
must have extended Himself, and it is impossible that what is part of Him is
totally unlike the rest. If sin is real, God must be at war with
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Himself. He must be split, and torn between good and evil; partly sane and
partially insane. For He must have created what wills to destroy Him, and has
the POWER to do so. Is it not easier to believe that YOU have been mistaken
than to believe in this?
T 19 D 8. While you believe that your reality or your brother's is bounded by a
body, you will believe in sin. While you believe that bodies can unite, you
will find guilt attractive, and believe that sin is precious. For the belief
that bodies limit mind leads to a perception of the world in which the proof of
separation seems to be everywhere. And God and His creation seem to be split
apart and overthrown. For sin would PROVE what God created holy could not
prevail against it, nor remain itself before the power of sin. Sin is perceived
as MIGHTIER than God, before which God Himself must bow, and offer His creation
to its conqueror. Is this humility or madness?
T 19 D 9. If sin were real, it would forever be beyond the hope of healing.
For there would be a power beyond God's, capable of making another will which
could attack His Will and OVERCOME It; and give His Son a will apart from His,
and STRONGER. And each part of God's fragmented creation would have a different
will, opposed to His, and in eternal opposition to Him and to each other. Your
holy relationship has, as its purpose now, the goal of proving this is
impossible. Heaven has smiled upon it, and the belief in sin has been uprooted
in its smile of love. You see it still because you do not realize that its
FOUNDATION has gone. Its source has been removed, and so it can be cherished
but a little while before it vanishes. Only the habit of LOOKING for it still
remains.
T 19 D 10. And yet you look with Heaven's smile upon your lips, and
Heaven's blessing on your sight. You will not see it long. For in the new
perception, the mind corrects it when it seems to be seen, and it becomes
invisible. And errors are quickly recognized and quickly given to correction,
to be healed, not hidden. You will be healed of sin and all its ravages the
instant that you give it no power over each other. And you will help
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each other overcome mistakes by joyously releasing one another from the belief
in sin.
T 19 D 11. In the holy instant, you will see the smile of Heaven shining
on BOTH of you. And you will shine upon each other, in glad acknowledgment of
the grace that has been given you. For sin will not prevail against a union
Heaven has smiled upon. Your perception was healed in the holy instant Heaven
gave you. Forget what you have seen, and raise your eyes in faith to what you
NOW can see. The barriers to Heaven will disappear before your holy sight, for
you who were sightless have been given vision, and you can see. Look not for
what has been removed, but for the glory that has been restored for you to see.
T 19 D 12. Look upon your Redeemer, and behold what He would show you in
each other, and let not sin arise again to blind your eyes. For sin would keep
you separate, but your Redeemer would have you look upon each other as yourself.
Your relationship is now a temple of healing; a place where all the weary ones
can come and find rest. Here is the rest that waits for all, after the journey.
And it is brought nearer to all by your relationship.
T 19 D 13. As this peace extends from deep inside yourselves to embrace
all the Sonship and give it rest, it will encounter many obstacles. Some of
them you will try to impose. Others will seem to arise from elsewhere; from
your brothers, and from various aspects of the world outside. Yet peace will
gently cover them, extending past completely unhindered. The extension of the
Holy Spirit's purpose from your relationship to others, to bring them gently in,
has already begun. This is the way in which He will bring means and goal in
line. The peace He laid, deep within BOTH of you, [T158] will quietly extend to
every aspect of your lives, surrounding both of you with glowing happiness and
the calm awareness of complete protection. And you will carry its message of
love and safety and freedom to everyone who draws nigh unto your temple, where
healing waits for him.
T 19 D 14. You will not wait to give him this, for you will call to him
and he will answer you, recognizing in your call the Call of God. And you will
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draw him in and give him rest, as it was given you. All this will you do. Yet
the peace which already lies deeply within must first expand, and flow across
the obstacles you placed before it. This will you do, for nothing undertaken
with the Holy Spirit remains unfinished. You can indeed be sure of nothing you
see outside you, but of this you CAN be sure: The Holy Spirit asks that you
offer Him a resting place where you will rest in Him. He answered you, and
entered your relationship. Would you not now return His graciousness, and enter
into a relationship with Him? For it is He Who offered your relationship the
gift of holiness, without which it would have been forever impossible to
appreciate each other.
T 19 D 15. The gratitude you owe to Him He asks but that YOU receive for
Him. And when you look with gentle graciousness upon each other, you ARE
beholding Him. For you are looking where He IS, and not apart from Him. You
cannot see the Holy Spirit, but you CAN see your brothers truly. And the light
in them will show you all that you need to see. When the peace in you has been
extended to encompass everyone, the Holy Spirit's function here will be
accomplished. What need is there for seeing, then? When God has taken the last
step Himself, the Holy Spirit will gather all your thanks and gratitude which
you have offered Him, and lay them gently before His Creator in the name of His
most holy Son. And the Father will accept them in His Name. What need is there
of seeing, in the presence of His gratitude?
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T 19 E. Obstacles to Peace I: The Desire to Get Rid of It
T 19 E 1. The first obstacle that peace must flow across is your desire to get
RID of it. For it cannot extend unless you KEEP it. You are the center from
which it radiates outward, to call the others in. You are its home; its
tranquil dwelling place, from which it gently reaches out, but never leaving
YOU. If you would make it homeless, how can it abide within the Son of God? If
it would spread across the whole creation, it must begin with you, and FROM you
reach to everyone who calls, and bring him rest by joining you.
T 19 E 2. Why would you want peace homeless? What do you think that it must
dispossess, to dwell with you? What seems to be the cost you are so unwilling
to pay? The little barrier of sand still stands between you. Would you
reinforce it NOW? You are not asked to let it go for yourselves alone. Christ
asks it of you for Himself. He would bring peace to everyone, and how can He do
this EXCEPT through you? Would you let a little bank of sand, a wall of dust, a
tiny seeming barrier, stand between your brothers and salvation? And yet, it IS
this little remnant of attack you cherish still against each other that is the
first obstacle the peace in you encounters in its going forth. This little wall
of hatred would still oppose the Will of God, and keep It limited.
T 19 E 3. The Holy Spirit's purpose rests in peace within you. Yet you are
still unwilling to let it join you wholly. You still oppose the Will of God,
just by a little. And that little is a limit you would place upon the whole.
God's Will is One, not many. It has no opposition, for there is none beside It.
What you would still contain behind your little barrier and keep separate from
each other seems mightier than the universe, for it would hold back the universe
and its Creator. This little wall would hide the purpose of Heaven, and keep it
FROM Heaven.
T 19 E 4. Would you thrust salvation away from the GIVER of salvation? For
such have you become. Peace could no more depart from you than from God.
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Fear not this little obstacle. It cannot contain the Will of God. Peace WILL
flow across it, and join you without hindrance. Salvation cannot BE withheld
from you. It is your PURPOSE. You CANNOT will apart from this. You have no
purpose apart from each other, nor apart from the one you asked the Holy Spirit
to share with you. The little wall will fall away so quietly beneath the wings
of peace! For peace will send its messengers from you to all the world. And
barriers will fall away before their coming as easily as those which you would
interpose will be surmounted.
T 19 E 5. To overcome the world is no more difficult than to surmount your
little wall. For in the miracle of your relationship, without this barrier, is
EVERY miracle contained. There is no order of difficulty in miracles, for they
are all the SAME. Each is a gentle winning over from the appeal of guilt to the
appeal of love. How can this FAIL to be accomplished, wherever it is
undertaken? Guilt can raise no real barriers against it. And all that seems to
stand between you must fall away because of the appeal you answered. For from
you who answered, He Who answered you would call. His home is in your holy
relationship. Do not attempt to stand between Him and His holy purpose, for it
is yours. But let Him quietly extend the miracle of your relationship to
everyone contained in it as it was given.
T 19 E 6. There is a hush in Heaven, a happy expectancy, a little pause of
gladness in acknowledgment of the journey's end. For Heaven knows you well, as
you know Heaven. No illusions stand between you now. Look not upon the little
wall of shadows. The sun has risen OVER it. How can a shadow keep you from the
sun? No more can you be kept by shadows from the light in which illusions end.
Every miracle is but the end of an illusion. Such was the journey; such its
ending. And in the goal of truth which you accepted must ALL illusions end.
T 19 E 7. The little, insane wish to get rid of Him Whom you invited in and
push Him out MUST produce conflict. As you look upon the world, this little
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wish, uprooted and floating aimlessly, can land and settle briefly upon
anything, for it HAS no purpose now. Before the Holy Spirit entered to abide
with you, it seemed to have a MIGHTY purpose; the fixed and unchangeable
dedication to sin and its results. Now it is aimless, wandering pointlessly,
causing no more than tiny interruptions in love's appeal.
T 19 E 8. This feather of a wish, this tiny illusion, this microscopic remnant
of the belief in sin, is all that remains of what once seemed to be the world.
It is no longer an unrelenting barrier to peace. Its pointless wandering makes
its results appear to be more erratic and unpredictable than before. Yet what
COULD be more unstable than a tightly-organized delusional system? Its seeming
stability is its pervasive WEAKNESS, which extends to everything. The
variability which the little remnant induces merely indicates its limited
results.
T 19 E 9. How mighty can a little feather be before the great wings of truth?
Can it oppose an eagle's flight, or hinder the advance of summer? Can it
interfere with the effects of summer's sun upon a garden covered by the snow?
See but how easily this little wisp [T159] is lifted up and carried away, never to
return, and part with it in gladness, not regret. For it is nothing in itself,
and stood for nothing when you had greater faith in its protection. Would you
not rather greet the summer sun than fix your gaze upon a disappearing
snowflake, and shiver in remembrance of the winter's cold?
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T 19 F. The Attraction of Guilt
T 19 F 1. The attraction of guilt produces fear of love, for love would never
look on guilt at all. It is the nature of love to look upon only the truth, for
there it sees itself, with which it would unite in holy union and completion.
As love must look past fear, so must fear see love not. For love contains the
end of guilt, as surely as fear depends on it. Love is attracted ONLY to
love. [T160] Overlooking guilt completely, it sees no fear. Being wholly without
attack, it COULD not be afraid. Fear is attracted to what love sees not, and
each believes that what the other looks upon does not exist. Fear looks on
guilt with just the same devotion that love looks on itself. And both have [T161]
messengers which they send forth, and which return to them with messages written
in the language in which their going forth was asked.
T 19 F 2. Love's messengers are gently sent, and return with messages of love
and gentleness. The messengers of fear are harshly ordered to seek out guilt,
and cherish every scrap of evil and of sin which they can find, losing none of
them on pain of death, and laying them respectfully before their lord and
master. Perception cannot obey two masters, each asking for messages of
different things in different languages. What fear would feed upon, love
overlooks. What fear demands, love cannot even see.
T 19 F 3. The fierce attraction which guilt holds for fear is wholly absent
from love's gentle perception. What love would look upon is meaningless to
fear, and quite invisible. Relationships in this world are the result of how
the world is seen. And this depends on which emotion was called on to send its
messengers to look upon it, and return with word of what they saw. Fear's
messengers are trained through terror, and they tremble when their master calls
upon them to serve him. For fear is merciless even to its friends. Its
messengers steal guiltily away in hungry search of guilt, for they are kept cold
and starving, and made very vicious by their master, who allows them to feast
only upon what they return to him. No little shred of guilt escapes their
hungry eyes. And in their savage search for sin, they
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pounce on any living thing they see, and carry it screaming to their master, to
be devoured.
T 19 F 4. Send not these savage messengers into the world, to feast upon it,
and to prey upon reality. For they will bring you word of bones and skin and
flesh. They have been taught to seek for the corruptible, and to return with
gorges filled with things decayed and rotted. To them such things are beautiful
because they seem to allay their savage pangs of hunger. For they are frantic
with the pain of fear, and would avert the punishment of him who sends them
forth by offering him what they hold dear.
T 19 F 5. The Holy Spirit has given you love's messengers to send instead of
those you trained through fear. They are as eager to return to you what they
hold dear as are the others. If you send them forth, they will see only the
blameless and the beautiful, the gentle and the kind. They will be as careful
to let no little act of charity, no tiny expression of forgiveness, no little
breath [T162] of love escape their notice. And they will return with all the
happy things they found, to share them lovingly with you. Be not afraid of
THEM. They offer you salvation. Theirs are the messages of safety, for they
see the world as kind.
T 19 F 6. If you send forth only the messengers the Holy Spirit gives you,
WANTING no messages but theirs, you will see fear no more. The world will be
transformed before your sight, cleansed of all guilt and softly brushed with
beauty. The world contains no fear which you laid not upon it. And none you
cannot ask love's messengers to remove from it, and see it still. The Holy
Spirit has given you His messengers to send to each other, and return to each
with what love sees. They have been given to replace the hungry dogs of fear
you sent instead. And they go forth to signify the END of fear.
T 19 F 7. Love, too, would set a feast before you, on a table covered with a
spotless cloth, set in a quiet garden where no sound but singing and a softly
joyous whispering is ever heard. This is a feast which honors your
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holy relationship, and at which everyone is welcomed as an honored guest. And
in a holy instant grace is said by everyone together, as they join in gentleness
before the table of communion. And I will join you there, as long ago I
promised and promise still. For in your new relationship am I made welcome.
And where I am made welcome, there I AM.
T 19 F 8. I am made welcome in the state of grace, which means you have at last
forgiven me. For I became the symbol of your sin, and so I had to die instead
of you. To the ego sin MEANS death, and so Atonement is achieved through
murder. Salvation is looked upon as a way by which the Son of God was killed
instead of YOU.
T 19 F 9. Yet would I offer you my body, you whom I love, KNOWING its
littleness? Or would I teach that bodies cannot keep us apart? Mine was of no
greater value than yours; no better means for communication of salvation, but
NOT its Source. No one can die for anyone, and death does not atone for sin.
Yet you can LIVE to show it is not real. The body DOES appear to be the symbol
of sin, while you believe that it can get you what you want. While you believe
that it can give you pleasure, you will also believe that it can bring you pain.
T 19 F 10. To think you could be satisfied and happy with so little, IS to
hurt yourself. And to LIMIT the happiness that you would have, CALLS upon pain
to fill your meager store, and make your lives complete. [T163] This IS
completion, as the ego sees it. For guilt creeps in where happiness has been
removed, and substitutes for it. Communion is another kind of completion, which
goes beyond guilt, because it goes beyond the body.
T 19 G. Obstacles to Peace II: The Belief the Body is Valuable for
What it Offers
T 19 G 1. We said that peace must first surmount the obstacle of your desire to
get rid of it. Where the attraction of guilt holds sway, peace is not WANTED.
The second obstacle that peace must flow across, and closely related to the
first, is the belief that the body is valuable for what it offers. For here is
the attraction of guilt made manifest in the body, and SEEN in it.
T 19 G 2. This is [T164] the value that you think
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peace would rob you of. This is what you believe that it would dispossess, and
leave you homeless. And it is this for which you would deny a home to peace.
This "sacrifice" you feel to be too great to make, too much to ask of you.
T 19 G 3. Is it a sacrifice, or a release? What has the body really given you
that justifies your strange belief that in it lies salvation? Do you not see
that this is the belief in death? Here is the focus of the perception of
Atonement as murder. Here is the source of the idea that love is fear. The
Holy Spirit's messengers are sent far beyond the body, calling the mind to join
in holy communion and be at peace. Such is the message that I gave them for
you.
T 19 G 4. It is only the messengers of fear that see the body, for they look
for what can suffer. Is it a sacrifice to be REMOVED from what can suffer? The
Holy Spirit does not demand you sacrifice the hope of the body's pleasure; it
HAS no hope of pleasure. But neither can it bring you fear of pain. Pain is
the only "sacrifice" the Holy Spirit asks, and this He WOULD remove.
T 19 G 5. Peace is extended from you only to the eternal, and it reaches out
from the eternal in YOU. It flows across all else. The second obstacle is no
more solid than the first. For you will neither to get rid of peace NOR limit
it. What are these obstacles which you would interpose between peace and its
going forth but barriers you place between your will and its accomplishment?
You WANT communion, not the feast of fear. You WANT salvation, not the pain of
guilt. And you want your Father, NOT a little mound of clay, to be your home.
In your holy relationship is your Father's Son. He has not lost communion with
Him, nor with himself. When you agreed to join each other, you acknowledged
this is so. This has no cost, but it has RELEASE from cost.
T 19 G 6. You have paid very dearly for your illusions, and nothing you have
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paid for brought you peace. Are you not GLAD that Heaven cannot be sacrificed,
and sacrifice cannot be asked of you? There IS no obstacle which you can place
before our union, for in your holy relationship I am there already. We will
surmount all obstacles together, for we stand within the gates, and not outside.
How easily the gates are opened from within, to let peace through to bless the
tired world! Can it be difficult for us to walk past barriers together, when
you have joined the limitless? The end of guilt is in your hands to give.
Would you stop now to look for guilt in each other?
T 19 G 7. Let me be to you the symbol of the END of guilt, and look upon each
other as you would look on me. Forgive me all the sins you think the Son of God
committed. And in the light of your forgiveness, he will remember who he is,
and forget what never was. I ask for your forgiveness, for if you are guilty,
so must I be. But if I surmounted guilt and overcame the world, YOU were with
me. Would you see in me the symbol of guilt, or of the END of guilt,
remembering that what I signify to you, you see within YOURSELF?
T 19 G 8. From your holy relationship truth proclaims the truth, and love looks
on itself. Salvation flows from deep within the home you offered to my Father
and to me. And we are there together, in the quiet communion in which the
Father and the Son are joined. Oh come ye faithful to the holy union of the
Father and Son in you! And keep you not apart from what is offered you, in
gratitude for giving peace its home in Heaven. Send forth to all the world the
joyous message of the end of guilt, and all the world will answer. Think of
your happiness as everyone offers you witness of the end of sin, and shows you
that its power is gone forever. Where can guilt be, when the belief in sin is
gone? And where is death, when its great advocate is heard no more?
T 19 G 9. Forgive me your illusions, and release me from punishment for what I
have not done. So will you learn the freedom that I taught by teaching
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freedom to each other, and so releasing me. I am within your holy relationship,
yet you would imprison me behind the obstacles you raise to freedom, and bar my
way to you. Yet it is not possible to keep away One Who is there already. And
in Him it IS possible that our communion, where we are joined already, will be
the focus of the new perception that will bring light to all the world,
contained in YOU.
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T 19 H. Pleasure and Pain
T 19 H 1. Your little part is but to give the Holy Spirit the whole IDEA of
sacrifice. And to accept the peace He gave instead, without the limits which
would hold its extension back, and so would limit YOUR awareness of it. For
what He gives must be extended, if you would have its limitless power, and use
it for the Son of God's release. It is not this you would be rid of, and having
it you CANNOT limit it. If peace is homeless, so are you and so am I. And He
Who is our home is homeless WITH us. Is this your will? Would you forever be a
wanderer in search of peace? Would you invest your hope of peace and happiness
in what MUST fail?
T 19 H 2. Faith in the eternal is always justified, for the eternal is forever
kind, infinite in its patience, and wholly loving. It will accept you wholly,
and give you peace. Yet it can unite only with what ALREADY is at peace in you,
immortal as itself. The body can bring you neither peace nor turmoil; neither
pain nor joy. It is a means, and not an end. It has NO purpose of itself, but
only what is given to it. The body will seem to be whatever is the means for
reaching the goal that you assign to it. Only the mind can set a purpose, and
only mind can see the means for its accomplishment, and justify its use. [T165]
Peace and guilt are both conditions of the mind, to be attained. And these
conditions are the home of the emotion which called them forth, and therefore is
compatible with them. But think you which it is that is compatible with YOU.
T 19 H 3. Here is your choice, and it IS free. But all that lies in it WILL
come with it, and what you think you are can never be apart from it. The body
is the great seeming betrayer of faith. In it lies disillusionment and the
seeds of faithlessness, but only if you ask of it what it cannot give. Can your
mistake be reasonable grounds for depression and disillusionment, and for
retaliative attack on what you think has failed you? Use not your error as the
justification for your faithlessness. You have not sinned, but you have been
mistaken in what is faithful. And the correction of your mistake will GIVE you
grounds for faith.
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T 19 H 4. It is impossible to seek for pleasure through the body and NOT find
pain. It is essential that this relationship be understood, for it is one the
ego sees as PROOF of sin. It is not really punitive at all. It is but the
inevitable result of equating yourself with the body, which is the INVITATION to
pain. For it invites fear to enter, and become your purpose. The attraction of
guilt MUST enter with it, and whatever fear directs the body to do is therefore
painful. It will share the pain of ALL illusions, and the illusion of pleasure
will be the SAME as pain.
T 19 H 5. Is not this inevitable? Under fear's orders, the body will pursue
guilt, serving its master whose attraction to guilt maintains the whole illusion
of its existence. This, then, IS the attraction of pain. Ruled by this
perception, the body becomes the servant of pain, seeking it dutifully, and
obeying the idea that pain is pleasure. It is this idea that underlies all of
the ego's heavy investment in the body. And it is this insane relationship
which it keeps hidden, and yet feeds upon. To YOU it teaches that the body's
pleasure is happiness. Yet to ITSELF it whispers, "It is death."
T 19 H 6. Why should the body be anything to you? Certainly what it is made of
is not precious. And just as certainly, it has no feeling. It transmits to you
the feelings that you WANT. Like any communication medium, the body receives
and sends the messages that it is given. It has no feeling for them. All of
the feeling with which they are invested is given by the sender and the
receiver. The ego and the Holy Spirit both recognize this, and both also
recognize that here the sender and receiver are the SAME. The Holy Spirit tells
you this with joy. The ego hides it, for it would keep you unaware of it. Who
would send messages of hatred and attack if he but understood he sends them to
HIMSELF? Who would accuse, make guilty and condemn HIMSELF?
T 19 H 7. The ego's messages are always sent AWAY from you, in the belief that
for your message of attack and guilt will someone other than yourself
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suffer. And even if you suffer, yet someone else will suffer more. The great
deceiver recognizes that this is not so, but as the "enemy" of peace, it urges
you to send out all your messages of hate and free YOURSELF. And to convince
you this is possible, it bids the body search for pain in attack upon another,
calling it pleasure and offering it to you as freedom FROM attack.
T 19 H 8. Hear not its madness, and believe not the impossible is true. Forget
not that the ego has dedicated the body to the goal of sin, and places in it all
its faith that this can be accomplished. Its sad disciples chant the body's
praise continually, in solemn celebration of the ego's rule. Not one but must
believe that yielding to the attraction of guilt is the ESCAPE from pain. Not
one but must regard the body as himself, without which he would die, and yet
within which is his death equally inevitable.
T 19 H 9. It is not given to the ego's disciples to realize that they have
dedicated THEMSELVES to death. Freedom is offered them, but they have not
accepted it, and what is offered must also be received, to be truly given. For
the Holy Spirit, too, is a communication medium, receiving from the Father and
offering His messages unto the Son. Like the ego, the Holy Spirit is both the
sender and the receiver. For what is sent through Him RETURNS to Him, seeking
itself along the way, and finding what it seeks. So does the ego find the death
IT seeks, returning it to YOU.
T 19 I. Obstacles to Peace III: The Attraction of Death
T 19 I 1. To you, in whose special relationship the Holy Spirit entered, it is
given to release and be released from the dedication to death. For it was
offered you, and you ACCEPTED. Yet you must learn still more about this strange
devotion, for it contains the third of the obstacles which peace must flow
across. No one can die unless he chooses death. What SEEMS to be the fear of
death is really its ATTRACTION. Guilt, too, is feared and fearful. Yet it
could have no hold at all except on those who are attracted to it and seek it
out. And so it is with death. Made by the ego, its dark shadow falls across
all living things, because the ego is the "enemy" of life.
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T 19 I 2. And yet a shadow cannot kill. What is a shadow to the living? They
but walk past and it is gone. But what of those whose dedication it is NOT to
live; the black-draped "sinners," the ego's mournful chorus, plodding so heavily
away from life, dragging their chains and marching in the slow procession which
honors their grim master, lord of death? Touch any one of them with the gentle
hands of forgiveness, and watch the chains fall away, along with yours. See him
throw aside the black robe he was wearing to his funeral, and hear him laugh at
death. The sentence sin would lay upon him he can escape through your
forgiveness.
T 19 I 3. This is not [T166] arrogance. It is the Will of God. What is
impossible to you who chose His Will as yours? What is death to you? YOUR
dedication is not to death, nor to its master. When you accepted the Holy
Spirit's purpose in place of the ego's, you renounced death, exchanging it for
life. We know that an idea leaves not its source. And death is the result of
the thought we call the ego, as surely as life is the result of the Thought of
God.
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T 19 J. The Incorruptible Body
T 19 J 1. From the ego came sin and guilt and death, in opposition to life and
innocence, and to the Will of God Himself. Where can such opposition lie but in
the sick minds of the insane, dedicated to madness and set against the peace of
Heaven. One thing is sure; God, Who created neither sin nor death, wills not
that you be bound by them. He knows of neither sin nor its results. The
shrouded figures in the funeral procession march not in honor of their Creator,
Whose Will it is they live. They are not following It; they are OPPOSING It.
T 19 J 2. And what is the black-draped body they would bury? A body which THEY
dedicated to death, a symbol of corruption, a sacrifice to sin, offered to sin
to feed upon and keep itself alive; a thing condemned, damned by its maker, and
lamented by every mourner who looks upon it as himself. You who believe you
have condemned the Son of God to this ARE arrogant. But you who would release
him are but honoring the Will of his Creator. The arrogance of sin, the pride
of guilt, the sepulcher of separation, all are part of your unrecognized
dedication to death. The glitter of guilt you laid upon the body would kill it.
For what the ego loves it kills for its obedience. But what obeys it not it
CANNOT kill.
T 19 J 3. You have another dedication which would keep the body incorruptible
and perfect as long as it is useful for your holy purpose. The body no more
dies than it can feel. It does NOTHING. Of itself, it is neither corruptible
nor incorruptible. It IS nothing. It is the result of a tiny, mad idea of
corruption which can be CORRECTED. For God has answered this insane idea with
His Own, an answer which left Him not, and therefore brings the Creator to the
awareness of every mind which heard His answer and ACCEPTED it.
T 19 J 4. You who are dedicated to the incorruptible have been given, through
your acceptance, the power to RELEASE from corruption. What better way to teach
the first and fundamental principle in a course on miracles than by showing you
the one which seems to be the hardest can be accomplished first? The body can
but serve your purpose. As you look upon it, so will it
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seem to be. Death, were it true, would be the final and complete disruption of
communication which is the ego's goal.
T 19 J 5. Those who fear death see not how often and how loudly they call to
it, and bid it come to save them from communication. For death is seen as
safety, the great dark savior from the light of truth, the answer to the Answer,
the silencer of the Voice that speaks for God. Yet the retreat to death is not
the end of conflict. Only GOD’S Answer is its end. The obstacle of your
seeming love for death that peace must flow across seems to be very great. For
in it lies hidden all the ego's secrets, all its strange devices for deception,
all its sick ideas and weird imaginings. Here is the final end of union, the
triumph of the ego's making over creation, the victory of lifelessness on Life
Itself.
T 19 J 6. Under the dusty edge of its distorted world the ego would lay the Son
of God, slain by its orders, proof in his decay that God Himself is powerless
before the ego's might, unable to protect the life that He created against the
ego's savage wish to kill. My brothers, Children of our Father, this is a DREAM
of death. There is no funeral, no dark altars, no grim commandments nor twisted
rituals of condemnation to which the body leads you. Ask not release of IT.
But free it from the merciless and unrelenting orders YOU laid upon it, and
forgive it what YOU ordered it to do. In its exaltation you commanded it to
die, for only death COULD conquer life. And what but insanity could look upon
the defeat of God, and think it real?
T 19 J 7. The fear of death will go as its appeal is yielded to love's REAL
attraction. The end of sin, which nestles quietly in the safety of your
relationship, protected by your union, ready to grow into a mighty force for
God, is very near. The infancy of salvation is carefully guarded by love,
preserved from every thought that would attack it, and quietly made ready to
fulfill the mighty task for which it was given you. Your newborn purpose is
nursed by angels, cherished by the Holy Spirit, and protected by
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God Himself. It needs not your protection; IT is YOURS. For it is deathless,
and within it lies the end of death.
T 19 J 8. What danger can assail the wholly innocent? What can attack the
guiltless? What fear can enter and disturb the peace of sinlessness? What has
been given you, even in its infancy, is in full communication with God and you.
In its tiny hands it holds, in perfect safety, every miracle you will perform,
held out to you. The miracle of life is ageless, born in time but nourished in
eternity. Behold this infant, to whom you gave a resting-place by your
forgiveness of each other, and see in it the Will of God. Here is the babe of
Bethlehem reborn. And everyone who gives him shelter will follow him, not to
the cross, but to the Resurrection and the Life.
T 19 J 9. When anything seems to you to be a source of fear, when any situation
strikes you with terror and makes your body tremble and the cold sweat of fear
comes over it, remember it is always for ONE reason; the ego has perceived it as
a symbol of fear, a sign of sin and death. Remember, then, that neither sign
nor symbol should be confused with source, for they must stand for something
OTHER than themselves. Their meaning cannot lie in them, but must be sought in
what they REPRESENT. And they may thus mean everything or nothing, according to
the truth or falsity of the idea which they reflect. Confronted with such
seeming uncertainty of meaning, judge it not. Remember the holy presence of the
One given to you to be the Source of judgment. Give it to Him to judge for you,
and say: "Take this from me and look upon it, judging it for me.
Let me not see it as a sign of sin and death, nor use it for
destruction.
Teach me how NOT to make of it an obstacle to peace,
But let You use it FOR me, to facilitate its coming."
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T 19 K. Obstacles to Peace – IV: The Fear of God
T 19 K 1. What would you see without the fear of death? What would you feel
and think if death held no attraction for you? Very simply, you would remember
your Father. The Creator of life, the Source of everything that lives, the
Father of the universe and of the universe of universes, and of everything that
lies even beyond them would you remember. And as this memory rises in your
mind, peace must still surmount a final obstacle, after which is salvation
completed, and the Son of God entirely restored to sanity. For here your world
DOES end.
T 19 K 2. The fourth obstacle to be surmounted hangs like a heavy veil before
the face of Christ. Yet as His face rises beyond it, shining with joy because
He is in His Father's Love, peace will lightly brush the veil aside and run to
meet Him, and to join with Him at last. For this dark veil, which seems to make
the face of Christ Himself like to a leper's, and the bright rays of His
Father's Love which light His face with glory appear as streams of blood, fades
in the blazing light beyond it when the fear of death is gone.
T 19 K 3. This is the darkest veil, upheld by the belief in death, and
protected by its attraction. The dedication to death and to its sovereignty is
but the solemn vow, the promise made in secret to the ego never to lift this
veil, not to approach it, nor even to suspect that it is there. This is the
secret bargain made with the ego to keep what lies beyond the veil forever
blotted out and unremembered. Here is your promise never to allow union to call
you out of separation; the great amnesia in which the memory of God seems quite
forgotten; the cleavage of your Self from you;- THE FEAR OF GOD, the final step
in your dissociation.
T 19 K 4. See how the belief in death would seem to "save" you. For if this is
gone, what can you fear but LIFE? It is the attraction of death that makes life
seem to be ugly, cruel and tyrannical. You are no more afraid of death than of
the ego. These are your chosen FRIENDS. For in your secret alliance with them,
you have agreed never to let the fear of God be lifted, so you
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could look upon the face of Christ, and join Him in His Father.
T 19 K 5. Every obstacle that peace must flow across is surmounted in just the
same way; the fear that raised it yields to the love beneath, and so the fear is
gone. And so it is with this. The desire to get rid of peace and drive the
Holy Spirit from you fades in the presence of the quiet recognition that you
love Him. The exaltation of the body is given up in favor of the Spirit, which
you love as you could NEVER love the body. And the appeal of death is lost
forever as love's attraction stirs and calls to you. From beyond each of the
obstacles to love, Love Itself has called, and each has been surmounted by the
power of the attraction of what lies beyond. Your WANTING fear seemed to be
holding them in place. Yet when you heard the voice of love beyond them, you
answered and they disappeared.
T 19 K 6. And now you stand in terror before what you swore never to look upon.
Your eyes look down, remembering your promise to your "friends." The
"loveliness" of sin, the delicate appeal of guilt, the "holy" waxen image of
death, and the fear of vengeance of the ego you swore in blood not to desert,
all rise and bid you not to raise your eyes. For you realize that if you look
on this and LET the veil be lifted, THEY will be gone forever. All of your
"friends," your "protectors" and your "home" will vanish. Nothing that you
remember now will you remember.
T 19 K 7. It seems to you the world will utterly abandon you if you but raise
your eyes. Yet all that will occur is you will leave the world forever. This
is the re-establishment of YOUR will. Look upon it, open-eyed, and you will
nevermore believe that you are at the mercy of things beyond you, forces you
cannot control, and thoughts that come to you against your will. It IS your
will to look on this. No mad desire, no trivial impulse to forget again, no
stab of fear nor the cold sweat of seeming death can stand against your will.
For what attracts you from beyond the veil is also deep WITHIN you, unseparated
from it and completely One.
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T 19 L. The Lifting of the Veil
T 19 L 1. Forget not that you came this far TOGETHER. And it was surely not
the ego that led you here. No obstacle to peace can be surmounted through ITS
help. IT does not open up its secrets, and bid you look on them and go beyond
them. IT would not have you see its weakness, and learn it has no power to keep
you from the truth. The Guide Who brought you here REMAINS with you, and when
you raise your eyes, you will be READY to look on terror with no fear at all.
But first, lift up your eyes and look upon each other in innocence born of
complete forgiveness of each other's illusions, and through the eyes of faith,
which sees them not.
T 19 L 2. No one can look upon the fear of God unterrified unless he has
accepted the Atonement, and learned illusions are not real. No one can stand
before this obstacle alone, for he could not have reached thus far [T167] UNLESS
his brother walked beside him. And no one would dare to look on it without
complete forgiveness of his brother in his heart. Stand you here a while, and
tremble not. You will be ready. Let us join together in a holy instant, here
in this place where the purpose GIVEN in a holy instant has led you. And let us
join in faith that He Who brought us here together will offer you the innocence
you need, and that you will accept it for my love and His.
T 19 L 3. Nor is it possible to look on this too soon. This is the place to
which everyone must come when he is ready. Once he has found his brother he IS
ready. Yet merely to reach the place is not enough. A journey without a
purpose is still meaningless, and even when it is over it seems to make no
sense. How can you KNOW that it is over unless you realize its purpose IS
accomplished? Here, with the journey's end before you, you SEE its purpose.
And it is here you choose whether to look upon it or wander on, only to return
and make the choice again.
T 19 L 4. To look upon the fear of God DOES need some preparation. Only the
sane can look on stark insanity and raving madness with pity and compassion, but
not with fear. For only if they share in it does it seem fearful, and you DO
share in it until you look upon each other with perfect faith and love
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and tenderness. Before complete forgiveness you still stand unforgiving. You
are afraid of God BECAUSE you fear each other. Those you do not forgive YOU
FEAR. And no one reaches love with fear beside him.
T 19 L 5. This brother who stands beside you still seems to be a stranger. You
do not know him, and your interpretation of him is very fearful. And you attack
him still, to keep what seems to be YOURSELF unharmed. Yet in his hands is your
salvation. You see his madness, which you hate because you SHARE it. And all
the pity and forgiveness that would heal it gives way to fear. Brothers, you
NEED forgiveness of each other, for you will share in madness or in Heaven
together. And you will raise your eyes in faith together, or not at all.
T 19 L 6. Beside each of you is one who offers you the chalice of Atonement,
for the Holy Spirit is in him. Would you hold his sins
against him, or accept his gift to you? Is this giver of salvation your friend
or enemy? Choose which he is, remembering that you will receive of him
according to your choice. He has in him the power to forgive your sins, as you
for him. Neither can give it to himself alone. And yet your Savior stands
beside each one. Let him be what he is, and seek not to make of love an enemy.
T 19 L 7. Behold your Friend, the Christ Who stands beside you. How holy and
how beautiful He is! You thought He sinned because you cast the veil of sin
upon Him to hide His loveliness. Yet still He holds forgiveness out to you, to
share His holiness. This "enemy," this "stranger" still offers you salvation as
His Friend. The "enemies" of Christ, the worshippers of sin, know not Whom they
attack. This is your brother, crucified by sin, and waiting for release from
pain. Would you not offer him forgiveness, when only he can offer it to YOU?
For his redemption he will give you yours as surely as God created every living
thing and loves it. And he will give it truly, for it will be both offered and
received.
T 19 L 8. There is no grace of Heaven that you cannot offer to each other, and
receive from your most holy Friend. Let him withhold it not, for by
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receiving it you offer it to him. For he WILL receive of you what YOU received
of him. [T168] Redemption has been given you to give each other, and thus receive
it. Whom you forgive is free, and what you give you share. Forgive the sins
your brother thinks he has committed, and all the guilt you think you see in
him.
T 19 L 9. Here is the holy place of resurrection, to which we come again; to
which we will return until redemption is accomplished and RECEIVED. Think who
your brother is, before you would condemn him. And offer thanks to God that he
is holy, and has been given the gift of holiness for YOU. Join him in gladness,
and remove all trace of guilt from his disturbed and tortured mind. Help him to
lift the heavy burden of sin you laid upon him and he accepted as his own, and
toss it lightly and with happy laughter away from him. Press it not like thorns
against his brow, nor nail him to it unredeemed and hopeless.
T 19 L 10. Give each other faith, for faith and hope and mercy are yours
to give. Into the hands that give the gift is given. Look on your brother, and
see in him the gift of God you would receive. It is almost Easter, the time of
resurrection. Let us give redemption to each other and SHARE in it, that we may
rise as one in resurrection, and not separate in death. Behold the gift of
freedom that I gave the Holy Spirit for BOTH of you. And be you free together,
as you offer to the Holy Spirit this same gift. And giving it, receive it of
Him in return for what you gave. He leadeth you and me together, that we might
meet here in this holy place, and make the same decision.
T 19 L 11. Free your brother here, as I freed you. Give him the selfsame
gift, nor look upon him with condemnation of any kind. See him as guiltless as
I look on you, and overlook the sins he thinks he sees within himself. Offer
each other freedom and complete release from sin, here in the garden of seeming
agony and death. So will we prepare together the way unto the resurrection of
God's Son, and let him rise again to glad remembrance of his Father, Who knows
no sin, no death, but only life eternal.
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T 19 L 12. Together we will disappear into the Presence beyond the veil,
not to be lost but FOUND; not to be seen but KNOWN. And knowing, nothing in the
plan God has established for salvation will be left undone. This is the
journey's purpose, without which IS the journey meaningless. Here is the peace
of God, given to you eternally by Him. Here is the rest and quiet that you
seek, the reason for the journey from its beginning. Heaven is the gift you owe
each other, the debt of gratitude you offer to the Son of God in thanks for what
he is, and what his Father created him to be.
T 19 L 13. Think carefully how you would look upon the giver of this gift,
for as you look on him, so will the gift itself appear to be. As he is seen as
either the giver of guilt or of salvation, so will his offering be seen, and so
received. The crucified give pain because they are in pain. But the redeemed
give joy because they have been HEALED of pain. Everyone gives as he receives,
but he must choose what it will BE that he receives. And he will recognize his
choice by what he gives, and what is given him. Nor is it given anything in
hell or Heaven to interfere with his decision.
T 19 L 14. You came this far because the journey WAS your choice. And no
one undertakes to do what he believes is meaningless. What you had faith in
still is faithful, and watches over you in faith so gentle yet so strong that it
would lift you far BEYOND the veil, and place the Son of God safely within the
sure protection of his Father. Here is the only purpose that gives this world
and the long journey through this world whatever meaning lies in them. Beyond
this, they ARE meaningless. You stand together, still without conviction they
HAVE a purpose. Yet it is given you to see this purpose in your holy Friend,
and recognize it is your own.
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Chapter XX 20 - THE PROMISE OF THE RESURRECTION
T 20 A. Introduction
T 20 A 1. This is Palm Sunday, the celebration of victory and the acceptance of
the truth. Let us not spend this holy week brooding on the crucifixion of God's
Son, but happily in the celebration of his release. For Easter is the sign of
peace, not pain. A slain Christ has no meaning. But a RISEN Christ becomes the
symbol of the Son of God's forgiveness upon [T169] himself; the sign he looks upon
himself as healed and whole.
T 20 B. Holy Week
T 20 B 1. This week begins with palms and ends with lilies, the white and holy
sign the Son of God is innocent. Let no dark sign of crucifixion intervene
between the journey and its purpose; between the acceptance of the truth and its
expression. This week we celebrate life, not death. And we honor the perfect
purity of the Son of God, and not his sins. Offer each other the gift of
lilies, not the crown of thorns; the gift of love and not the "gift" of fear.
You stand beside each other, thorns in one hand and lilies in the other,
uncertain which to give. Join now with me and throw away the thorns, offering
the lilies to replace them. This Easter, I would have the gift of your
forgiveness offered by you to me, and returned by me to you.
T 20 B 2. We CANNOT be united in crucifixion and in death. Nor can the
resurrection be complete ’til your forgiveness rests on Christ along with mine.
A week is short, and yet this holy week is the symbol of the whole journey the
Son of God has undertaken. He started with the sign of victory, the promise of
the resurrection, already given him. Let him not wander into the temptation of
crucifixion, and delay him there. Help him to go in peace beyond it, with the
light of his own innocence lighting his way to his redemption and release. Hold
him not back with thorns and nails, when his redemption is so near. But let the
whiteness of your shining gift of lilies speed him on his way to resurrection.
T 20 B 3. Easter is not the celebration of the COST of sin, but of it’s
END. [T170] If you see glimpses of the face of Christ behind the veil, looking
between the snow white petals of the lilies you have received and given as your
gift, you will behold each other's face and RECOGNIZE it. I was a
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stranger and you took me in, not knowing who I was. Yet for your gift of lilies
you WILL know. In your forgiveness of this stranger, alien to you and yet your
ancient Friend, lie [T171] his release and your redemption with him. The time of
Easter is a time of joy, and not of mourning. Look on your risen Friend, and
celebrate his holiness along with me. For Easter is the time of YOUR salvation,
along with mine.
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T 20 C. Thorns and Lilies
T 20 C 1. Look upon all the trinkets made to hang upon the body, or to cover
it, or for its use. See all the useless things made for its eyes to see. Think
on the many offerings made for its pleasure, and remember all these were made to
make seem lovely what you hate. Would you employ this hated thing to draw your
brother to you, and to attract his body's eyes? Learn you but offer him a crown
of thorns, not recognizing it for what it is, and trying to justify your own
interpretation of its value by his acceptance. Yet still the gift proclaims his
worthlessness to you, as his acceptance and delight acknowledges the lack of
value he places on himself.
T 20 C 2. Gifts are not made through bodies, if they be truly given and
received. For bodies can neither offer nor accept; hold out nor take. Only the
mind can value, and only the mind decides on what it would receive and give.
And every gift it offers depends on what it WANTS. It will adorn its chosen
home most carefully, making it ready to receive the gifts it wants by offering
them to those who come unto its chosen home, or those it would attract to it.
And there they will exchange their gifts, offering and receiving what their
minds judge to be worthy of them.
T 20 C 3. Each gift is an evaluation of the receiver and the GIVER. No one but
sees [T172] his chosen home an altar to himself. No one but seeks to draw to it
the worshippers of what he placed upon it, making it worthy of their devotion.
And each has set a light upon his altar, that they may see what he has placed
upon it, and take it for their own. Here is the value that you lay upon your
brother and on yourself. Here is your gift to BOTH; your judgment on the Son of
God for what he is. Forget not that it is your Savior to whom the gift is
offered. Offer him thorns and YOU are crucified. Offer him lilies and it is
YOURSELF you free.
T 20 C 4. I have great need for lilies, for the Son of God has not forgiven me.
And can I offer him forgiveness, when he offers thorns to me? For he who
offers thorns to anyone is against me still, and who is whole without him? Be
you his friend for me, that I may be forgiven, and you may look
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upon the Son of God as whole. But look you first upon the altar in your chosen
home, and see what you have laid upon it to offer me. If it be thorns whose
points gleam sharply in a blood-red light, the body is your chosen home, and it
is separation that you offer me. And yet the thorns are gone. Look you still
closer at them now, and you will see your altar is no longer what it was.
T 20 C 5. You look still with the body's eyes, and they CAN see but thorns.
Yet you have asked for and received ANOTHER sight. Those who accept the Holy
Spirit's purpose as their own share also His vision. And what enables Him to
see His purpose shine forth from every altar now is yours as well as His. He
sees no strangers, only dearly loved and loving friends. He sees no thorns but
only lilies, gleaming in the gentle glow of peace that shines on everything He
looks upon and loves.
T 20 C 6. This Easter, look with different eyes upon each other. You HAVE
forgiven me. And yet I cannot use your gift of lilies while YOU see them not.
Nor can you use what I have given unless you share it. The Holy Spirit's vision
is no idle gift, no plaything to be tossed about a while, and laid aside.
Listen 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. For
if you do, so will it be to you. [T173]
T 20 C 7. You have the vision now to look past ALL illusions. It has been
given you to see no thorns, no strangers, and no obstacles to peace. The fear
of God is nothing to you now. Who is afraid to look upon illusions, knowing his
Savior stands beside him? With him, your vision has become the greatest power
for the undoing of illusion that God Himself could give. For what God gave the
Holy Spirit, you have received. The Son of God looks unto you for his release.
For you have asked for, and been given, the strength to look upon this final
obstacle, and see no thorns nor nails to crucify the Son of God, and crown him
king of death. Your chosen home is on the other side, beyond the veil. It has
been carefully prepared for you,
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and it is ready to receive you now. You will not see it with the body's eyes.
Yet all you need you have.
T 20 C 8. Your home has called to you since time began, nor have you ever
failed entirely to hear. You heard, but knew not HOW to look, nor WHERE. And
now you know. In you the knowledge lies, ready to be unveiled and freed from
all the terror that kept it hidden. There IS no fear in love. The song of
Easter is the glad refrain the Son of God was NEVER crucified. Let us lift up
our eyes together, not in fear, but faith. And there WILL be no fear in us, for
in our vision will be no illusions; only a pathway to the open door of Heaven,
the home we share in quietness, and where we live in gentleness and peace, as
one together.
T 20 C 9. Would you not have your holy brother lead you there? His innocence
will light your way, offering you its guiding light and sure protection, and
shining from the holy altar within him where you laid the lilies of forgiveness.
Let him be to you the Savior from illusions, and look on him with the new
vision that looks upon the lilies and brings YOU joy. We go beyond the veil of
fear, lighting each other's way. The holiness that leads us is WITHIN us, as is
our home. So will we find what we were meant to find by Him Who leads us.
T 20 C 10. This is the way to Heaven and to the peace of Easter, in which
we join in glad awareness that the Son of God is risen from the past, and has
awakened to the present. Now is he free, unlimited in his communion with all
that is within him. Now are the lilies of his innocence untouched by guilt, and
perfectly protected from the cold chill of fear and withering blight of sin
alike. Your gift has saved him from the thorns and nails, and his strong arm is
free to guide you safely through them, and beyond. Walk with him now rejoicing,
for the Savior from illusions has come to greet you, and lead you home with him.
T 20 C 11. Here is your Savior and your Friend, released from crucifixion
through your vision, and free to lead you now where HE would be. He will
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not leave you, nor forsake the Savior from his pain. And gladly will you walk
the way of innocence together, singing as you behold the open door of Heaven,
and recognize the home that called to you. Give joyously to one another the
freedom and the strength to lead you there. And come before each other's holy
altar where the strength and freedom wait, to offer and receive the bright
awareness that leads you home. The lamp is lit in both of you for one another.
And by the hands that gave it to each other shall both of you be led past fear
to love.
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T 20 D. Sin as an Adjustment
T 20 D 1. The belief in sin is an ADJUSTMENT. And an adjustment is a CHANGE; a
shift in perception, or a belief that what was so before has been made
different. Every adjustment is therefore a distortion, and calls upon defenses
to uphold it against reality. Knowledge requires NO adjustment, and, in fact,
is lost if any shift or change is undertaken. For this reduces it at once to
mere perception; a way of LOOKING in which certainty is lost, and doubt has
entered. To this impaired condition ARE adjustments necessary, because it
is [T174] not true. Who need adjust to truth, which calls on only what he is, to
understand?
T 20 D 2. Adjustments of any kind are of the ego. For it is the ego's fixed
belief that all relationships DEPEND upon adjustments to make of them what it
would have them be. Direct relationships, in which there are no interferences,
are ALWAYS seen as dangerous. The ego is the self-appointed mediator of all
relationships, making whatever adjustments it deems necessary, and interposing
them between those who would meet, to keep them separate and prevent their
union. It is this studied interference which makes it difficult for you to
recognize your holy relationship for what it is.
T 20 D 3. The holy do not interfere with truth. They are not afraid of it, for
it is within the truth they recognized their holiness, and rejoiced at what they
saw. They looked on it directly, without attempting to adjust themselves to it,
or it to them. And so they saw that it was IN them, not deciding first where
they would HAVE it be. Their looking merely asked a question, and it was what
they SAW that answered them. YOU make the world and THEN adjust to it, and it
to you. Nor is there any difference between yourself and it in your perception,
which made them BOTH.
T 20 D 4. A simple question yet remains, and needs an answer. Do you LIKE what
you have made? — a world of murder and attack, through which you thread your
timid way through constant dangers, alone and frightened, hoping at most that
death will wait a little longer before it overtakes you and you disappear? YOU
MADE THIS UP. It is a picture of what you think YOU
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are; of how you see YOURSELF. A murderer IS frightened, and those who kill FEAR
death. All these are but the fearful thoughts of those who would adjust
themselves to a world made fearful by their adjustments. And they look out in
sorrow from what is sad within, and see the sadness THERE.
T 20 D 5. Have you not wondered what the world is REALLY like; how it would
look through HAPPY eyes? The world you see is but a judgment on yourself. It
is not there at all. Yet judgment lays a sentence on it, justifies it, and
makes it REAL. Such is the world you see; a judgment on yourself, and made by
YOU. This sickly picture of yourself is carefully preserved by the ego, whose
image it is and which it loves, and placed outside you in the world. And to
this world must you adjust, as long as you believe this picture is outside, and
has you at its mercy. This world IS merciless, and were it outside you, you
should indeed be fearful. Yet it was you who MADE it merciless, and now if
mercilessness seems to look back at you, it can be CORRECTED.
T 20 D 6. Who in a holy relationship can long remain unholy? The world the
holy see is one with them, just as the world the ego looks upon is like itself.
The world the holy see is beautiful because they see their innocence in it.
They did not tell it what it was; they did not make adjustments to fit their
orders. They gently questioned it and whispered, "What are you?" And He Who
watches over all perception answered. Take not the judgment of the world as
answer to the question, "What am I?"
T 20 D 7. The world BELIEVES in sin, but the belief that made it as you see it
is not outside you. Seek not to make the Son of God ADJUST to his insanity.
There IS a stranger in him, who wandered carelessly into the home of truth, and
who will wander off. He came without a purpose, but he will not remain before
the shining light the Holy Spirit offered, and you accepted. For there the
stranger is made homeless and YOU are welcome.
T 20 D 8. Ask not this transient stranger, "What am I?" He is the only thing
in all the universe that does not know. Yet it is he you asked, and
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it is to his answer that you would adjust. This one wild thought, fierce in its
arrogance, and yet so tiny and so meaningless it slips unnoticed through the
universe of truth, becomes your guide. To it you turn to ask the meaning of the
universe. And of the one blind thing in all the seeing universe of truth you
ask, "How shall I look upon the Son of God?"
T 20 D 9. Does one ask judgment of what is totally BEREFT of judgment? And if
you have, would you BELIEVE the answer, and adjust to it as if it were the
truth? The world you look on is the answer that it gave you, and YOU have given
it power to adjust the world to MAKE its answer true. You asked this puff of
madness for the meaning of your unholy relationship, and adjusted it according
to its insane answer. How happy did it make you? Did you meet with joy, to
bless the Son of God, and give him thanks for all the happiness which he held
out to you? Did you recognize each other as the eternal gift of God to you?
Did you see the holiness that shone in both of you, to bless the other? That is
the purpose of your HOLY relationship. Ask not the means of its attainment of
the one thing that still would have it be unholy. Give it NO power to adjust
the means and end.
T 20 D 10. Prisoners bound with heavy chains for years, starved and
emaciated, weak and exhausted, and with eyes so long cast down in darkness they
remember not the light, do not leap up in joy the instant they are made free.
It takes a while for them to understand what freedom IS. You groped but feebly
in the dust and found each other's hand, uncertain whether to let it go, or to
take hold on life so long forgotten. Strengthen your hold, and raise your eyes
unto your strong companion, in whom the meaning of your freedom lies. He seemed
to be crucified beside you. And yet his holiness remained untouched and
perfect, and with him beside you, you shall this day enter with him to Paradise,
and know the peace of God.
T 20 D 11. Such is my will for both of you, and for each of you for one
another, and for himself. Here there is only holiness and joining without
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limit. For what is Heaven but union, direct and perfect, and without the veil
of fear upon it? Here are we one, looking with perfect gentleness upon each
other, and on ourselves. Here all thought of any separation between us
becomes [T175] impossible. You who were prisoners in separation are now made free
in Paradise. And here would I unite with you, my friends, my brothers and my
Self. Your gift unto each other has given me the certainty our union will be
soon.
T 20 D 12. Share, then, this faith with me, and know that it is justified.
There is no fear in perfect love BECAUSE it knows no sin, and it must look on
others as on itself. Looking with charity within, what can it fear WITHOUT?
The innocent see safety, and the pure in heart see God within His Son, and look
unto the Son to lead them to the Father. And where else would they go but where
they will to be? Each of you now will lead the other to the Father as surely as
God created His Son holy, and kept him so. In your brother is the light of
God's eternal promise of your immortality. See HIM as sinless, and there can BE
no fear in you.
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T 20 E. Entering the Ark
T 20 E 1. Nothing can hurt you unless you give it the power to do so. For you
give power as the laws of this world interpret giving; as you give you LOSE. It
is not up to you to give power at all. Power is of God, given by Him, and
re-awakened by the Holy Spirit, Who knows that as you give you GAIN. He gives
no power to sin, and therefore it HAS none; nor to its results as this world
sees them, – sickness and death and misery and pain. These things have not
occurred because the Holy Spirit sees them not, and gives no power to their
seeming source. Thus would He keep you free of them. Being without illusion of
what you are, the Holy Spirit merely gives everything to God, Who has already
given and received all that is true. The untrue He has neither received NOR
given.
T 20 E 2. Sin has no place in Heaven, where its results are alien, and can no
more enter than can their source. And therein lies your need to see your
brother sinless. In him is Heaven. See sin in him instead, and Heaven is lost
to you. But see him as he is, and what is yours shines from him to you. Your
Savior gives you only love, but what you would RECEIVE of him is up to you. It
lies in him to overlook all your mistakes, and therein lies his OWN salvation.
And so it is with yours. Salvation is a lesson in giving, as the Holy Spirit
interprets it. [T176] It is the re-awakening of the laws of God in minds that have
established other laws, and given them power to enforce what God created not.
T 20 E 3. YOUR insane laws were made to guarantee that you would make mistakes,
and give them power over you by accepting their results as your just due. What
could this be but madness? And is it this that you would see within your Savior
from insanity? He is as free from this as you are, and in the freedom that you
see in him, you see your own. For this you SHARE. What God has given follows
His laws, and His alone. Nor is it possible for those who follow them to suffer
the results of any other source.
T 20 E 4. Those who choose freedom will experience only its results. Their
power is of God, and they will give it only to what God has given, to share
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with them. Nothing but this can touch them, for they see only this, sharing
their power according to the Will of God. And thus their freedom is established
and maintained. It is upheld through all temptation to imprison and to be
imprisoned. It is of them who learned of freedom that you should ask what
freedom is. Ask not the sparrow how the eagle soars, for those with little
wings have not accepted for themselves the power to share with you.
T 20 E 5. The sinless give as they received. See, then, the power of
sinlessness within your brother, and share with him the power of the release
from sin you offered him. To each who walks this earth in seeming solitude is a
Savior given, whose special function here is to release him, and so to free
himself. In the world of separation each is appointed separately, though they
are all the same. Yet those who KNOW that they are all the same need not
salvation. And each one finds his Savior when he is ready to look upon the face
of Christ, and see Him sinless.
T 20 E 6. The plan is not of you, nor need you be concerned with anything
except the part that has been given you to learn. For He Who knows the rest
will see to it without your help. But think not that He does not need your part
to help Him with the rest. For in your part lies ALL of it, without which is no
part complete, nor is the whole completed without your part. The ark of peace
is entered two by two, yet the beginning of another world goes with them. Each
holy relationship must enter here, to learn its special function in the Holy
Spirit's plan, now that it shares His purpose. And as this purpose is
fulfilled, a new world rises in which sin can enter not, and where the Son of
God can enter without fear, and where he rests a while, to forget imprisonment
and to remember freedom. How can he enter, to rest and to remember, without
YOU? Except you be there, he is not complete. And it is his completion that he
remembers there.
T 20 E 7. This is the purpose given you. Think not that your forgiveness
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of each other serves but you two alone. For the whole new world rests in the
hands of every two who enter here to rest. And as they rest, the face of Christ
shines on them, and they remember the laws of God, forgetting all the rest, and
yearning only to have His laws perfectly fulfilled in them and all their
brothers. Think you when this has been achieved that you will rest WITHOUT
them? You could no more leave one of them outside than I could leave you and
forget part of myself.
T 20 E 8. You may wonder how you can be at peace when, while you are in time,
there is so much that must be done before the way to peace is open. Perhaps
this seems impossible to you. But ask yourself if it is possible that God would
have a plan for your salvation that does NOT work. Once you accept His plan as
the one function that you would fulfill, there will be nothing else the Holy
Spirit will not arrange for you WITHOUT your effort.
T 20 E 9. He will go before you making straight your path, and leaving in your
way no stones to trip on, and no obstacles to bar your way. Nothing you need
will be denied you. Not one seeming difficulty but will melt away before you
reach it. You need take thought for nothing, careless of everything except the
only purpose that you would fulfill. As that was given you, so will its
fulfillment be. God's guarantee will hold against all obstacles, for it rests
on certainty and not contingency. It rests on YOU. And what can be more
certain than a Son of God?
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T 20 F. Heralds of Eternity
T 20 F 1. In this world, God's Son comes closest to himself in a holy
relationship. There he begins to find the certainty his Father has in him. And
there he finds his function of restoring his Father's laws to what was held
outside them, and finding what was lost. Only in time can ANYTHING be lost, and
NEVER lost forever. So do the parts of God's Son gradually join in time, and
with each joining is the end of time brought nearer. Each miracle of joining is
a mighty herald of eternity. No one who has a single purpose, unified and sure,
can be afraid. No one who shares his purpose with him can NOT be one with him.
T 20 F 2. Each herald of eternity sings of the end of sin and fear. Each
speaks in time of what is far beyond it. Two voices raised together call to the
hearts of everyone, and let them beat as one. And in that single heartbeat [T177]
is the unity of love proclaimed and given welcome. Peace to your holy
relationship, which has the power to hold the unity of the Son of God together.
You give to one another for everyone, and in your gift is everyone made glad.
Forget not Who has given you the gifts you give, and through your not forgetting
this will you remember Who gave the gifts to Him to give to you.
T 20 F 3. It is impossible to overestimate your brother's value. Only the ego
does this, but all IT means is that it wants the other for itself, and therefore
values him too LITTLE. What is inestimable clearly cannot BE evaluated. Do you
recognize the fear that rises from the meaningless attempt to judge what lies so
far beyond your judgment you cannot even see it? Judge not what is invisible to
you or you will NEVER see it, but wait in patience for its coming. It will be
given you to see your brother's worth when all you want for him is peace. And
what you want for him you will receive.
T 20 F 4. How can you estimate the worth of him who offers peace to you? What
would you WANT except his offering? His worth has been established by his
Father, and you will recognize it as you receive his Father's gift through him.
What is in him will shine so brightly in your grateful vision
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that you will merely love him, and be glad. You will not think to judge him,
for who would see the face of Christ and yet insist that judgment still has
meaning? For this insistence is of those who do NOT see. Vision or judgment is
your choice, but never both of these.
T 20 F 5. Your brother's body is [T178] as little use to you as it is to him.
When it is used only as the Holy Spirit teaches it HAS no function, for minds
need not the body to communicate. The sight that sees the body has no use which
serves the purpose of a holy relationship. And while you look upon each other
thus, the means and end have not been brought in line. Why should it take so
many holy instants to let this be accomplished, when one would do? There IS but
one. The little breath of eternity that runs through time like golden light is
all the same; nothing before it, nothing afterwards.
T 20 F 6. YOU look upon each holy instant as a different point in time. IT
never changes. All that it ever held, or will ever hold, is here right NOW.
The past takes nothing from it, and the future will add no more. Here, then, is
everything. Here is the loveliness of your relationship, with means and end in
perfect harmony ALREADY. Here is the perfect faith that you will one day offer
to each other ALREADY offered you. And here the limitless forgiveness you will
give each other ALREADY given; the face of Christ you yet will look upon ALREADY
seen.
T 20 F 7. Can you evaluate the giver of a gift like this? Would you exchange
this gift for any other? This gift returns the laws of God to your remembrance.
And merely by remembering them, the laws that held you prisoner to pain and
death MUST be forgotten. This is no gift your brother's body offers you. The
veil that hides the gift hides him as well. He IS the gift, and yet he knows it
not. No more do you. And yet, have faith that He Who sees the gift in both of
you will offer and receive it for you both. And through His vision will you see
it, and through His understanding recognize it and love it as your own.
T 20 F 8. Be comforted, and feel the Holy Spirit watching over you in love
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and perfect confidence in what He sees. He KNOWS the Son of God, and shares his
Father's certainty the universe rests in his gentle hands in safety and in
peace. Let us consider now what he must learn, to share his Father's confidence
in him. What is he, that the Creator of the universe should offer it to him,
and know it rests in safety? He looks upon himself not as his Father knows him.
And yet it is impossible the confidence of God should be misplaced.
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T 20 G. The Temple of the Holy Spirit
T 20 G 1. The meaning of the Son of God lies solely in his relationship with
his Creator. If it were elsewhere it would rest upon contingency, but there IS
nothing else. And this is wholly loving and forever. Yet has the Son of God
invented an unholy relationship between him and his Father. His real
relationship is one of perfect union and unbroken continuity. The one he made
is partial, self-centered, broken into fragments and full of fear. The one
created by his Father is wholly self-encompassing and self-extending. The one
he made is wholly self-destructive and self-limiting.
T 20 G 2. Nothing can show the contrast better than the experience of both a
holy and an unholy relationship. The first is based on love, and rests on it
serene and undisturbed. The body does not intrude upon it. Any relationship in
which the body enters is based not on love, but on idolatry. Love wishes to be
known, completely understood and shared. It has no secrets; nothing that it
would keep apart and hide. It walks in sunlight, open-eyed and calm, in smiling
welcome and in sincerity so simple and so obvious it cannot BE misunderstood.
But idols do not share.
T 20 G 3. Idols accept, but never make return. They can be loved, but cannot
love. They do not understand what they are offered, and any relationship in
which they enter has lost its meaning. The love of THEM has MADE love
meaningless. They live in secrecy, hating the sunlight and happy in the body's
darkness, where they can hide and keep their secrets hidden along with them.
And they have NO relationships, for no one else is welcome there. They smile on
no one, and those who smile on them they do not see.
T 20 G 4. Love has no darkened temples where mysteries are kept obscure and
hidden from the sun. It does not seek for power, but for relationships. The
body is the ego's chosen weapon for seeking power THROUGH relationships. And
its relationships MUST be unholy, for what they are it does not even see. It
wants them solely for the offerings on which its idols thrive. The rest it
merely throws away, for all that it could offer is seen as
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valueless. Homeless, the ego seeks as many bodies as it can collect to place
its idols in, and so establish them as temples to itself.
T 20 G 5. The Holy Spirit's temple is not a body, but a relationship. The body
is an isolated speck of darkness; a hidden secret room, a tiny spot of senseless
mystery, a meaningless enclosure carefully protected, yet hiding nothing. Here
the unholy relationship escapes reality, and seeks for crumbs to keep itself
alive. Here it would drag its brothers, holding them here in its idolatry.
Here it is "safe," for here love cannot enter. The Holy Spirit does not build
His temples where love can never be. Would He Who sees the face of Christ
choose as His home the only place in all the universe where it can NOT be seen?
T 20 G 6. You CANNOT make the body the Holy Spirit's temple, and it will NEVER
be the seat of love. It is the home of the idolater, and of love's
condemnation. For here is love made fearful and hope abandoned. Even the idols
that are worshipped here are shrouded in mystery, and kept apart from those who
worship them. This is the temple dedicated to no relationships and no return.
Here is the "mystery" of separation perceived in awe and held in reverence.
What God would have NOT be is here kept "safe" from Him. But what you do not
realize is what you fear within your brother, and would not see in him, is what
makes God seem fearful to you, and kept unknown.
T 20 G 7. Idolaters will always be afraid of love, for nothing so severely
threatens them as love's approach. Let love draw near them and overlook the
body, as it will surely do, and they retreat in fear, feeling the seeming firm
foundation of their temple begin to shake and loosen. Brothers, you tremble
with them. Yet what you fear is but the herald of escape. This place of
darkness is not your home. Your temple is not threatened. You are idolaters no
longer. The Holy Spirit's purpose lies safe in your relationship, and not your
bodies. You have ESCAPED the body. Where you are
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the body cannot enter, for the Holy Spirit has set HIS temple there.
T 20 G 8. There is no order in relationships. They either ARE or not. An
unholy relationship is NO relationship. It is a state of isolation, which seems
to be what it is not. No more than that. The instant that the mad idea of
making your relationship with God unholy seemed to be possible, all your
relationships were made meaningless. In that unholy instant time was born, and
bodies made to house the mad idea, and give it the illusion of reality. And so
it seemed to have a home that held together for a little while in time, and
vanished. For what could house this mad idea against reality BUT for an
instant?
T 20 G 9. Idols MUST disappear, and leave no trace behind their going. The
unholy instant of their seeming power is frail as is a snowflake, but without
its loveliness. Is this the substitute you WANT for the eternal blessing of the
holy instant and its unlimited beneficence? Is the malevolence of the unholy
relationship, so seeming [T179] powerful and so bitterly misunderstood, and so
invested in a false attraction, your preference to the holy instant, which
offers you peace and understanding? Then lay aside the body and quietly
transcend it, rising to welcome what you REALLY want. And from His holy temple,
look you not back on what you have awakened from. For no illusions CAN attract
the minds that have transcended them, and left them far behind.
T 20 G 10. The holy relationship reflects the true relationship the Son of
God has with his Father in reality. The Holy Spirit rests within it in the
certainty it will endure forever. Its firm foundation is eternally upheld by
truth, and love shines on it with the gentle smile and tender blessing it offers
to its own. Here the unholy instant is exchanged in gladness for the holy one
of safe return. Here is the way to true relationships held gently open, through
which you walk together, leaving the body thankfully behind, and resting in the
Everlasting Arms. Love's arms are open to receive you, and give you peace
forever.
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T 20 G 11. The body is the ego's idol; the belief in sin made flesh and
then projected outward. This produces what seems to be a wall of flesh around
the mind, keeping it prisoner in a tiny spot of space and time, beholden unto
death, and given but an instant in which to sigh and grieve and die in honor of
its master. And this unholy instant seems to be life; an instant of despair, a
tiny island of dry sand, bereft of water and set uncertainly upon oblivion.
Here does the Son of God stop briefly by, to offer his devotion to death's
idols, and then pass on. And here he is more dead than living. Yet it is also
here he makes his choice again between idolatry and love.
T 20 G 12. Here it is given him to choose to spend this instant paying
tribute to the body, or let himself be given freedom from it. Here he can
accept the holy instant, offered him to replace the unholy one he chose before.
And here can he learn relationships are his SALVATION, and not his doom. You
who are learning this may still be fearful, but you are not immobilized. The
holy instant is of greater value now to you than its unholy seeming counterpart,
and you have learned you really WANT but one. This is no time for sadness.
Perhaps confusion, but hardly discouragement.
T 20 G 13. You have a REAL relationship, and it HAS meaning. It is as
like your real relationship with God as equal things are like unto each other.
Idolatry is past and meaningless. Perhaps you fear each other a little yet;
perhaps a shadow of the fear of God remains with you. Yet what is that to those
who have been given one true relationship BEYOND the body? Can they be long
held back from looking on the face of Christ? And can they long withhold the
memory of their relationship with their Father from themselves, and keep
remembrance of His Love apart from their awareness?
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T 20 H. The Consistency of Means and End
T 20 H 1. We have said much about discrepancies of means and end, and how these
must be brought in line before your holy relationship can bring you only joy.
But we have also said the means to meet the Holy Spirit's goal will come from
the same Source as does His purpose. Being so simple and direct, this course
has nothing in it that is not consistent. The seeming inconsistencies, or parts
you find more difficult than others, are merely indications of areas where means
and end are still discrepant. And this produces great discomfort. This need
not be. This course requires almost nothing of you. It is impossible to
imagine one that asks so little, or could offer more.
T 20 H 2. The period of discomfort that follows the sudden change in a
relationship from sin to holiness should now be almost over. To the extent you
still experience it, you are refusing to leave the means to Him Who changed the
purpose. You recognize you want the goal. Are you not also willing to accept
the means? If you are not, let us admit that YOU are inconsistent. A purpose
is ATTAINED by means, and if you want a purpose, you MUST be willing to want the
means as well. How can one be sincere and say, "I want this above all else, and
yet I do not want to learn the means to get it?"
T 20 H 3. To obtain the goal, the Holy Spirit indeed asked little. He asks no
more to give the means as well. The means are second to the goal. And when you
hesitate, it is because the PURPOSE frightens you, and NOT the means. Remember
this, for otherwise you will make the error of believing the means are
difficult. Yet how can they be difficult if they are merely GIVEN you? They
guarantee the goal, and they are perfectly in line with it. Before we look at
them a little closer, remember that if you think they are impossible, your
wanting of the PURPOSE has been shaken. For if a goal is possible to reach, the
means to do so must be possible as well.
T 20 H 4. It IS impossible to see your brother as sinless, and yet to look upon
him as a body. Is this not perfectly consistent with the goal of
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holiness? For holiness is merely the result of letting the effects of sin be
lifted, so what was always true is recognized. To see a sinless BODY is
impossible, for holiness is positive, and the body is merely neutral. It is not
sinful, but neither is it sinless. As nothing, which it is, the body cannot
meaningfully be invested with attributes of Christ OR of the ego. Either must
be an error, for both would place the attributes where they cannot be. And both
must be undone for purposes of truth.
T 20 H 5. The body IS the means by which the ego tries to make the unholy
relationship seem real. The unholy instant IS the time of bodies. But the
PURPOSE here is sin. It cannot be attained BUT in illusion, and so the illusion
of a brother as a body is quite in keeping with the purpose of unholiness.
Because of this consistency, the means remain unquestioned while the end is
cherished. Vision adapts to wish, for sight is always secondary to desire. And
if you see the body, you have chosen judgment and not vision. For vision, like
relationships, has no order. You either SEE or not.
T 20 H 6. Who sees a brother's body has laid a judgment on him, and sees him
not. He does not really see him as sinful; he does not see him at all. In the
darkness of sin, he is invisible. He can but be imagined in the darkness, and
it is here that the illusions you hold about him are not held up to his reality.
Here are illusions and reality kept separated. Here are illusions never
brought to truth, and always hidden from it. And here, in darkness, is your
brother's reality imagined as a body, in unholy relationships with other bodies,
serving the cause of sin an instant before he dies.
T 20 H 7. There is indeed a difference between this vain imagining and vision.
The difference lies not in them, but in their purpose. Both are but means, each
one appropriate to the end for which it is employed. Neither can serve the
purpose of the other, for each one is a choice of purpose, employed on its
behalf. Either is meaningless without the end for which it was intended, nor is
it valued as a separate thing apart from the intention.
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The means seem real because the GOAL is valued. And judgment has no value
UNLESS the goal is sin.
T 20 H 8. The body cannot be looked upon except through judgment. To see the
body is the sign that you lack vision, and have denied the means the Holy Spirit
offers you to serve HIS purpose. How can a holy relationship achieve its
purpose through the means of sin? Judgment you taught yourself; vision is
learned from Him Who would UNDO your teaching. His vision cannot see the body
because it cannot look on sin. And thus it leads you to reality. Your holy
brother, sight of whom is your release, is no illusion. Attempt to see him not
in darkness, for your imaginings about him WILL seem real there. You closed
your eyes to shut him out. Such was your purpose, and while this purpose seems
to have any meaning, the means for its attainment will be evaluated as worth the
seeing, and so you will not see.
T 20 H 9. Your question should not be, "How can I see my brother without the
body?" Ask only, "Do I REALLY wish to see him sinless?" And as you ask, forget
not that his sinlessness is YOUR escape from fear. Salvation is the Holy
Spirit's goal. The means is vision. For what the seeing look upon IS sinless.
No one who loves can judge, and what he sees is free of condemnation. And what
he sees he did not make, for it was given him to see, as was the vision which
made his seeing possible.
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T 20 I. The Vision of Sinlessness
T 20 I 1. Vision will come to you at first in glimpses, but they will be enough
to show you what is given you who see your brother sinless. Truth is restored
to you through your desire, as it was lost to you through your desire for
something else. Open the holy place which you closed off by valuing the
"something else," and what was never lost will quietly return. It has been
saved for you. Vision would not be necessary had judgment not been made.
Desire now its whole undoing, and it is done for you.
T 20 I 2. Do you not WANT to know your own identity? Would you not happily
exchange your doubts for certainty? Would you not willingly be free of misery,
and learn again of joy? Your holy relationship offers all this to you. As it
was given you, so will be its effects. And as its holy purpose was not made by
you, the means by which its happy end is yours is also not of you. Rejoice in
what is yours but for the asking, and think not that you need make either means
or end. All this is given you who would but see your brother sinless. All this
is given, waiting on your desire but to receive it. Vision is freely given to
those who ask to see.
T 20 I 3. Your brother's sinlessness is given you in shining light, to look on
with the Holy Spirit's vision, and to rejoice in along with Him. For peace will
come to all who ask for it with real desire and sincerity of purpose, shared
with the Holy Spirit and at one with Him on what salvation IS. Be willing,
then, to see your brother sinless, that Christ may rise before your vision and
give you joy. And place no value on your brother's body, which holds him to
illusions of what he is. It is HIS desire to see his sinlessness, as it is
YOURS. And bless the Son of God in your relationship, nor see in him what you
have made of him.
T 20 I 4. The Holy Spirit guarantees that what God willed and gave you shall be
yours. This is your purpose now, and the vision that makes it yours is ready to
be given. You have the vision which enables each one to see the body not. And
as you look upon each other, you will see an altar to your
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Father, holy as Heaven, glowing with radiant purity and sparkling with the
shining lilies you laid upon it. What can you value more than this? Why do you
think the body is a better home, a safer shelter for God's Son? Why would you
rather look on it than on the truth? How can the engine of destruction be
PREFERRED, and chosen to replace the holy home the Holy Spirit offers, where He
will dwell with you?
T 20 I 5. The body is the sign of weakness, vulnerability and loss of power.
Can such a savior HELP you? Would you turn in your distress and need for help
unto the helpless? Is the pitifully little the perfect choice to call upon for
strength? Judgment WILL seem to make your Savior weak. Yet it is YOU who need
his strength. There is no problem, no event or situation, no perplexity that
vision will not solve. All is redeemed when looked upon with vision. For this
is not YOUR sight, and brings with it the laws beloved of Him Whose sight it IS.
T 20 I 6. Everything looked upon with vision falls gently into place, according
to the laws brought to it by His calm and certain sight. The end for everything
He looks upon is always sure. For it will meet His purpose, seen in unadjusted
form, and suited perfectly to meet it. Destructiveness becomes benign, and sin
is turned to blessing under His gentle gaze. What can the body's eyes perceive,
with power to CORRECT? Its eyes ADJUST to sin, unable to overlook it in any
form, and seeing it everywhere, in everything. Look through its eyes, and
everything will stand condemned before you. All that could save you, you will
never see. Your holy relationship, the source of your salvation, will be
deprived of meaning, and its most holy purpose bereft of means for its
accomplishment.
T 20 I 7. Judgment is but a toy, a whim, the senseless means to play the idle
game of death in your imagination. But vision sets all things right, bringing
them gently within the kindly sway of Heaven's laws. What if you recognized
this world is an [T180] hallucination? What if you really understood you made it
up? What if you realized that those who seem to walk about in
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it, to sin and die, attack and murder and destroy themselves, are wholly unreal?
Could you have faith in what you see, if you ACCEPTED this? And would you SEE
it?
T 20 I 8. Hallucinations disappear when they are recognized for what they ARE.
This is the healing and the remedy. Believe them not and they are gone. And
all you need to do is recognize YOU did this. Once you accept this simple fact,
and take unto yourself the power you gave them, YOU are released from them. One
thing is sure; hallucinations serve a purpose, and when that purpose is no
longer held, they disappear. Therefore, the question never is whether you want
THEM, but always, do you want the purpose which they serve? This world seems to
hold out many purposes, each different and with different values. Yet they are
all the same. Again there is no order, but a seeming hierarchy of values.
T 20 I 9. Only two purposes are possible. And one is sin, the other holiness.
Nothing is in between, and which you choose determines what you see. For what
you see is merely how you elect to meet your goal. Hallucinations serve to meet
the goal of madness. They are the means by which the outside world, projected
from within, adjusts to sin and seems to witness to its reality. It still is
true that nothing is without. Yet upon nothing are ALL projections made. For
it is the projection which gives the "nothing" all the meaning that it holds.
T 20 I 10. What has no meaning cannot BE perceived. And meaning always
looks within to find itself, and THEN looks out. All meaning that you give the
world outside must thus reflect the sight you saw within; or better, if you saw
at all or merely judged against. Vision is the means by which the Holy Spirit
translates your nightmares into happy dreams; your wild hallucinations that show
you all the fearful outcomes of imagined sin, into the calm and reassuring
sights with which He would replace them. These gentle sights and sounds are
looked on happily, and heard with joy. They are His substitutes for all the
terrifying sights and screaming sounds the ego's purpose brought
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to your horrified awareness. They step away from sin, reminding you that it is
not reality which frightens you, and that the errors which you made can be
corrected.
T 20 I 11. When you have looked on what seemed terrifying, and seen it
change to sights of loveliness and peace; when you have looked on scenes of
violence and death, and watched them change to quiet views of gardens under open
skies, with clear, life-giving water running happily beside them in dancing
brooks that never waste away; who need persuade you to accept the gift of
vision? And after vision, who is there who could refuse what MUST come after?
Think but an instant just on this; you can behold the holiness God gave His Son.
And never need you think that there is something else for you to see.
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Chapter XXI 21 - THE INNER PICTURE
T 21 A. Introduction
T 21 A 1. Projection makes perception. The world you see is what you gave it,
nothing more than that. But though it is no more than that, it is not less.
Therefore, to you it is important. It is the witness to your state of mind, the
outside picture of an inward condition. As a man thinketh, so does he perceive.
Therefore, seek not to change the world, but will to change your mind ABOUT the
world. Perception is a RESULT, not a cause. And that is why order of
difficulty in miracles is meaningless. Everything looked upon with vision is
healed and holy. Nothing perceived without it means anything. And where there
is no meaning, there is chaos.
T 21 A 2. Damnation is your judgment on yourself, and this you WILL project
upon the world. See it as damned, and all you see is what you did to hurt the
Son of God. If you behold disaster and catastrophe, you tried to crucify him.
If you see holiness and hope, you joined the Will of God to set him free. There
is no choice that lies between these two decisions. And you WILL see the
witness to the choice you made, and learn from this to RECOGNIZE which one you
chose. The world you see but shows you how much joy YOU have allowed yourself
to see in you, and to accept as YOURS. And, if this IS its meaning, then the
power to GIVE it joy MUST lie WITHIN you. [T181]
T 21 B. The Imagined World
T 21 B 1. Never forget the world the sightless "see" must be imagined, for what
it really looks like is unknown to them. They must infer what could be seen
from evidence forever indirect; and reconstruct their inferences as they stumble
and fall because of what they did not recognize, or walk unharmed through open
doorways which they thought were closed. And so it is with you. You do not
see. Your cues for inference are wrong, and so you stumble and fall down upon
the stones you did not recognize, but fail to be aware you CAN go through the
doors you thought were closed, but which stand open before unseeing eyes,
waiting to welcome you.
T 21 B 2. How foolish it is to attempt to judge what could be seen instead. It
is not necessary to imagine what the world must look like. It must be seen,
before you recognize it for what it is. You can be shown
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which doors are open, and you can see where safety lies; and which way leads to
darkness, which to light. Judgment will ALWAYS give you false directions, but
vision SHOWS you where to go. Why should you guess?
T 21 B 3. There is no need to learn through pain. And gentle lessons are
acquired joyously, and are remembered gladly. What gives you happiness you WANT
to learn and not forget. It is not this you would deny. YOUR question is
whether the means by which this course is learned will BRING to you the joy it
promises. If you believed it would, the learning of it would be no problem.
You are not happy learners yet because you still remain uncertain that vision
gives you MORE than judgment does, and you have learned that BOTH you cannot
have.
T 21 B 4. The blind become accustomed to their world by their adjustments to
it. They think they know their way about in it. They learned it, not through
joyous lessons, but through the stern necessity of limits they believed they
could not overcome. And still believing this, they hold those lessons dear, and
cling to them BECAUSE they cannot see. They do not understand the lessons KEEP
them blind. This they do not believe. And so they keep the world they learned
to "see" in their imagination, believing that their choice is that or nothing.
They hate the world they learned through pain. And everything they think is in
it serves to remind them that they are incomplete and bitterly deprived.
T 21 B 5. Thus they DEFINE their life and where they live, adjusting to it as
they think they must, afraid to lose the little that they have. And so it is
with all who see the body as all they have and all their brothers have. They
try to reach each other, and they fail, and fail again. And they adjust to
loneliness, believing that to keep the body is to save the little that they
have. Listen, and try to think if you remember what we will speak of now.
T 21 B 6. Listen, -- perhaps you catch a hint of an ancient state not quite
forgotten; dim, perhaps, and yet not altogether unfamiliar, like a song whose
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name is long forgotten, and the circumstances in which you heard [T182] completely
unremembered. Not the whole song has stayed with you, but just a little
wisp [T183] of melody, attached not to a person or a place or anything particular.
But you remember, from just this little part, how lovely was the song, how
wonderful the setting where you heard it, and how you loved those who were there
and listened with you.
T 21 B 7. The notes are nothing. Yet you have kept them with you, not for
themselves, but as a soft reminder of what would make you weep if you remembered
how dear it was to you. You could remember, yet you are afraid, believing you
would lose the world you learned since then. And yet you know that nothing in
the world you learned is half so dear as this. Listen, and see if you remember
an ancient song you knew so long ago, and held more dear than any melody you
taught yourself to cherish since.
T 21 B 8. Beyond the body, beyond the sun and stars, past everything you see
and yet somehow familiar, is an arc of golden light that stretches as you look
into a great and shining circle. And all the circle fills with light before
your eyes. The edges of the circle disappear, and what is in it is no longer
contained at all. The light expands and covers everything, extending to
infinity forever shining, and with no break or limit anywhere. Within it
everything is joined in perfect continuity. Nor is it possible to imagine that
anything could be outside, for there is nowhere that this light is not.
T 21 B 9. This is the vision of the Son of God, whom you know well. Here is
the sight of him who knows his Father. Here is the memory of what you are; a
part of this, with all of it within, and joined to all as surely as all is
joined in you. Accept the vision which can show you THIS, and not the body.
You know the ancient song, and know it well. Nothing will ever be as dear to
you as is this ancient hymn of love [T184] the Son of God sings to his Father
still.
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T 21 B 10. And now the blind can see, for that same song they sing in
honor of their Creator gives praise to them as well. The blindness which they
made will not withstand the memory of this song. And they will look upon the
vision of the Son of God, remembering who he is they sing of. What is a miracle
but this remembering? And who is there in whom this memory lies not? The light
in one awakens it in all. And when you see it in each other, you ARE
remembering for everyone.
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T 21 C. The Responsibility for Sight
T 21 C 1. We have repeated how little is asked of you to learn this course. It
is the same small willingness you need to have your whole relationship
transformed to joy; the little gift you offer to the Holy Spirit for which He
gives you everything; the very little on which salvation rests; the tiny change
of mind by which the crucifixion is changed to resurrection. And being true, it
is so simple that it cannot fail to be completely understood. Rejected yes, but
NOT ambiguous. And if you choose against it now, it will not be because it is
obscure, but rather that this little cost seemed, in your judgment, to be too
much to pay for peace.
T 21 C 2. This is the only thing that you need do for vision, happiness,
release from pain and the complete escape from sin, all to be given you. Say
only this, but mean it with no reservations, for here the power of salvation
lies:
"I AM responsible for what I see.
I chose the feelings I experience, and I decided on the
goal I would achieve.
And everything that seems to happen to me
I asked for, and received as I had asked."
Deceive yourself no longer that you are helpless in the face of what is done to
you. Acknowledge but that you have been MISTAKEN, and all effects of your
mistakes will disappear.
T 21 C 3. It is impossible the Son of God be merely driven by events outside of
him. It is impossible that the happenings that come to him were not his choice.
His power of decision is the determiner of every situation in which he seems to
find himself by chance or accident. No accident nor chance is possible within
the universe as God created it, outside of which is nothing. Suffer, and you
decided sin was your goal. Be happy, and you gave the power of decision to Him
Who must decide for God for you. This is the little gift you offer to the Holy
Spirit, and even this He gave to you to give yourself. For by this gift is
given you the power to release your Savior, that he may give salvation unto you.
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T 21 C 4. Begrudge not then this little offering. Withhold it, and you keep
the world as now you see it. Give it away, and everything you see goes with it.
Never was so much given for so little. In the holy instant is this exchange
effected and maintained. Here is the world you do not want brought to the one
you do. And here the one you do is given you BECAUSE you want it. Yet for
this, the power of your wanting must first be recognized. You must accept its
STRENGTH, and not its weakness. You must perceive that what is strong enough to
make a world can let it go, and can accept correction if it is willing to see
that it was wrong.
T 21 C 5. The world you see is but the idle witness that you were right. This
witness is insane. You trained it in its testimony, and as it gave it back to
you, you listened and convinced yourself that what it saw was true. You did
this to YOURSELF. See only this, and you will also see how circular the
reasoning on which your "seeing" rests. This was not given you. This was your
gift to you and to your brother. Be willing, then, to have it taken from him
and be replaced with truth. And as you look upon the change in him, it will be
given you to see it in yourself.
T 21 C 6. Perhaps you do not see the need for you to give this little offering.
Look closer, then, at what it IS. And, very simply, see in it the whole
exchange of separation for salvation. All that the ego is, is an idea that it
is possible that things should [T185] happen to the Son of God WITHOUT his will;
and thus without the Will of his Creator, Whose Will cannot BE separate from his
own.
T 21 C 7. This is the Son of God's REPLACEMENT for his will, a mad revolt
against what must forever be. This is the statement that he has the power to
make God powerless, and so to take it for himself, and leave himself without
what God has willed for him. This is the mad idea you have enshrined upon your
altars, and which you worship. And anything which threatens this seems to
attack your faith, for here is it invested. Think not that you are faithless,
for your belief and trust in this is strong
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indeed.
T 21 C 8. The Holy Spirit can give you faith in holiness and vision to see it
easily enough. But you have not left open and unoccupied the altar where the
gifts belong. Where THEY should be, you have set up your idols to something
else. This other will, which seems to tell you what must happen, you gave
reality. And what would show you otherwise must therefore seem unreal. All
that is asked of you is to make room for truth. You are not asked to make or do
what lies beyond your understanding. All you are asked to do is LET IT IN; only
to stop your interference with what will happen of itself; simply to recognize
again the presence of what you thought you gave away.
T 21 C 9. Be willing, for an instant, to leave your altars free of what you
placed upon them, and what is really there you CANNOT fail to see. The holy
instant is not an instant of creation, but of recognition. For recognition
comes of vision and suspended judgment. Then only is it [T186] possible to look
within and see what MUST be there, plainly in sight, and wholly independent of
inference and judgment. Undoing is not your task, but it IS up to you to
welcome it or not. Faith and desire go hand in hand, for everyone believes in
what he wants.
T 21 C 10. We have already said that wishful thinking is how the ego deals
with what it wants, to make it so. There is no better demonstration of the
power of wanting, and therefore of faith, to make its goals seem real and
possible. Faith in the unreal leads to adjustments of reality to make it fit
the goal of madness. The goal of sin induces the perception of a fearful world
to justify its purpose. What you desire you WILL see. And if its reality is
false, you will uphold it by not realizing all the adjustments you have
introduced, to make it so.
T 21 C 11. When vision is denied, confusion of cause and effect becomes
inevitable. The purpose now becomes to keep obscure the cause of the effect,
and make effect appear to be a CAUSE. This seeming independence
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of effect enables it to be regarded as standing by itself, and capable of
serving as a cause of the events and feelings its maker thinks it causes. Long
ago, we spoke of your desire to create your own Creator, and be father and not
son to Him. This is the same desire. The Son is the effect, whose Cause he
would deny. And so he seems to BE the cause, producing real effects. Nothing
can have effects without a cause, and to confuse the two is merely to fail to
understand them both.
T 21 C 12. It is as needful that you recognize you made the world you see
as that you recognize that you did not create yourself. THEY ARE THE SAME
MISTAKE. Nothing created not by your Creator has any influence over you. And
if you think what you have made can tell you what you see and feel, and place
your faith in its ability to do so, you are denying your Creator, and believing
that you made yourself. For if you think the world you made has power to make
you what it wills, you ARE confusing Son and Father; effect and Source.
T 21 C 13. The Son's creations are like his Father's. Yet in creating
them, the Son does not delude himself that he is independent of his Source. His
union with It is the Source of his creating. APART from this he has no power to
create, and what he makes is meaningless. It changes nothing in creation,
depends entirely upon the madness of its maker, and cannot serve to justify the
madness. Your brother thinks he made the world with you. Thus he denies
creation. With you, he thinks the world he made made him. Thus he DENIES he
made it.
T 21 C 14. Yet the truth is you were both created by a loving Father, Who
created you together and as one. See what "proves" otherwise, and you deny your
whole reality. But grant that everything which seems to stand between you,
keeping you from each other and separate from your Father, you made in secret,
and the instant of release has come to you. All its effects are gone because
its source has been uncovered. It is its seeming
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independence of its source that kept you prisoner. This is the same delusion
that you are independent of the Source by which you were created, and have never
left.
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T 21 D. Faith, Belief and Vision
T 21 D 1. All special relationships have sin as their goal. For they are
bargains with reality, toward which the seeming union is adjusted. Forget not
this; to bargain is to set a limit, and any brother with whom you have a limited
relationship YOU HATE. You may attempt to keep the bargain in the name of
"fairness," sometimes demanding payment of yourself, perhaps more often of the
other. Thus in the "fairness" you attempt to ease the guilt that comes from the
accepted purpose of the relationship. And that is why the Holy Spirit must
change its purpose to make it useful to HIM and harmless unto YOU.
T 21 D 2. If you accept this change, you have accepted the idea of making room
for truth. The SOURCE of sin is gone. You may imagine that you still
experience its effects, but it is not your purpose, and you no longer WANT it.
No one allows a purpose to be replaced while he desires it, for nothing is so
cherished and protected as is a goal the mind accepts. This it will follow,
grimly or happily, but always with faith and with the persistence that faith
inevitably brings. The power of faith is NEVER recognized if it is placed in
sin. But it is ALWAYS recognized if it is placed in love.
T 21 D 3. Why is it strange to you that faith can move mountains? This is
indeed a little feat for such a power. For faith can keep the Son of God in
chains as long as he believes he IS in chains. And when he is released from
them, it will be simply because he no longer believes in them, withdrawing faith
that they can hold him, and placing it in his freedom instead. It is impossible
to place equal faith in opposite directions. What faith you give to sin you
TAKE AWAY from holiness. And what you offer holiness has been REMOVED from sin.
T 21 D 4. Faith and belief and vision are the means by which the goal of
holiness is reached. Through them the Holy Spirit leads you to the real world,
and away from all illusions where your faith was laid. This is His direction,
the only one He ever sees. And when you wander, He reminds
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you there IS but one. His faith and His belief and vision are all for you. And
when you have accepted them completely instead of yours, you will have need of
them no longer. For faith and vision and belief are meaningful only BEFORE the
state of certainty is reached. In Heaven they are unknown. Yet Heaven is
reached through them.
T 21 D 5. It is impossible that the Son of God lack faith, but he can choose
where he would have it BE. Faithlessness is not a LACK of faith, but faith in
NOTHING. Faith given to illusions does not lack power, for by it does the Son
of God believe that he is powerless. Thus is he faithless to himself, but
strong in faith in his illusions ABOUT himself. For faith, perception and
belief YOU made as means for losing certainty and finding sin. This mad
direction was your choice, and by your faith in what you chose, you made what
you desired.
T 21 D 6. The Holy Spirit has a use for all the means for sin by which you
sought to find it. But as He uses them, they lead AWAY from sin, because His
purpose lies in the opposite direction. He sees the MEANS you use, but not the
PURPOSE for which you made them. He would not take them from you, for He sees
their value as a means for what HE wills for you. You made perception that you
might choose among your brothers, and seek for sin with them. The Holy Spirit
sees perception as a means to teach you that the vision of a holy relationship
is all you WANT to see. Then will you give your faith to holiness, desiring and
believing in it BECAUSE of your desire.
T 21 D 7. Faith and belief become attached to vision, as all the means that
once served sin are redirected now toward holiness. For what you think is sin
is LIMITATION, and whom you try to limit to the body you hate because you fear.
In your refusal to forgive him, you would condemn him to the body because the
means for sin are dear to you. And so the body has your faith and your belief.
But holiness would set your brother free, removing hatred by removing fear, not
as a symptom, but at its source.
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T 21 D 8. Those who would free their brothers from the body can HAVE no fear.
They have renounced the means for sin by choosing to let all limitations be
removed, desiring to look upon their brothers in holiness. [T187] The power of
belief and faith goes far beyond the body, SUPPORTING vision, not obstructing
it. [T188] But first they chose to recognize how much their faith had limited
their understanding of the world, desiring to place its power elsewhere should
another point of view be given them. The miracles which follow this decision
are also born of faith. For all who choose to look away from sin are given
vision, and are led to holiness.
T 21 D 9. Those who believe in sin MUST think the Holy Spirit asks for
sacrifice, for this is how they think THEIR purpose is accomplished. Brothers,
the Holy Spirit knows that sacrifice brings NOTHING. He makes no bargains. And
if you seek to limit Him, you will hate Him because you are afraid. The gift
that He has given you is more than anything that stands this side of Heaven.
The instant for its recognition is at hand. Join your awareness to what has
been ALREADY joined. The faith you give each other can accomplish this. For He
Who loves the world is seeing it for you, without one spot of sin upon it, and
in the innocence which makes the sight of it as beautiful as Heaven.
T 21 D 10. Your faith in sacrifice has given it great power in your sight;
except you do not realize you cannot see BECAUSE of it. For sacrifice must be
exacted of a body, and by another body. The mind could neither ask it nor
receive it of itself. And no more could the body. The intention is in the
mind, which tries to use the body to carry out the means for sin in which the
MIND believes. Thus is the joining of mind and body an inescapable belief of
those who value sin. And so is sacrifice invariably a means for limitation, and
thus for hate.
T 21 D 11. Think you the Holy Spirit is concerned with THIS? He gives not
what it is His purpose to lead you FROM. You think He would deprive you for
your good. But "good" and "deprivation" are opposites, and cannot
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meaningfully join in any way. It is like saying that the moon and sun are one
because they come with night and day, and so they MUST be joined. Yet sight of
one is but the sign the other has disappeared from sight. Nor is it possible
that what gives light be one with what depends on darkness to be seen. Neither
demands the sacrifice of the other. Yet on the ABSENCE of the other does each
depend.
T 21 D 12. The body was made to be a sacrifice to sin, and in the darkness
so it still is seen. Yet in the light of vision it is looked upon quite
differently. You CAN have faith in it to serve the Holy Spirit's goal, and give
it power to serve as means to help the blind to see. But in their seeing they
look PAST it, as do you. The faith and the belief you gave it BELONGS beyond.
You gave perception and belief and faith from mind to body. Let them now be
given back to what produced them, and can use them still to save itself from
what it made.
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T 21 E. The Fear to Look Within
T 21 E 1. The Holy Spirit will NEVER teach you that you are sinful. Errors He
will correct, but this makes no one fearful. You are indeed afraid to look
within, and see the sin you think is there. This you would not be fearful to
admit. Fear in association with sin the ego deems quite appropriate, and smiles
approvingly. It has no fear to let you feel ashamed. It doubts not your belief
and faith in sin. Its temples do not shake because of this. Your faith that
sin is there but witnesses to your desire that it BE there to see. This merely
seems to be the source of fear.
T 21 E 2. Remember that the ego is not alone. Its rule IS tempered, and its
unknown "enemy," Whom it cannot even see, it fears. Loudly the ego tells you
not to look inward, for if you do your eyes will ’light [T189] on sin, and God
will strike you blind. This you believe, and so you do not look. Yet this is
not the ego's hidden fear, nor yours who serve it. Loudly indeed the ego claims
it is; TOO loudly and TOO often. For underneath this constant shout and frantic
proclamation, the ego is not certain it is so. Beneath your fear to look within
because of sin is yet another fear, and one which makes the ego tremble.
T 21 E 3. What if you looked within and saw NO sin? This "fearful" question is
one the ego NEVER asks. And you who ask it now are threatening the ego's whole
defensive system too seriously for it to bother to pretend it is your friend.
Those who have joined their brothers HAVE detached themselves from their belief
that their identity lies in the ego. A holy relationship is one in which you
join with what is part of you in TRUTH. And your belief in sin has been ALREADY
shaken, nor are you now entirely unwilling to look within and see it not.
T 21 E 4. Your liberation still is only partial; still limited and incomplete,
yet born within you. Not wholly mad, you have been willing to look on much of
your insanity, and recognize its madness. Your faith is moving inward, past
insanity and on to reason. And what your reason tells
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you now, the ego would not hear. The Holy Spirit's purpose was accepted by the
part of your mind the ego knows not of. No more did YOU. And yet this part,
with which you now identify, is not afraid to look upon itself. It KNOWS no
sin. How, otherwise, could it have been willing to see the Holy Spirit's
purpose as its own?
T 21 E 5. This part has seen your brother, and recognized him perfectly since
time began. And it desired nothing but to join with him and to be free again,
as once it was. It has been waiting for the birth of freedom; the acceptance of
release to come to you. And now you recognize that it was not the ego that
joined the Holy Spirit's purpose, and so there MUST be something else. Think
not that THIS is madness. For this your REASON tells you, and it follows
perfectly from what you have already learned.
T 21 E 6. There is no inconsistency in what the Holy Spirit teaches. This is
the reasoning of the SANE. You have perceived the ego's madness, and not been
made afraid because you did not choose to share in it. At times it still
deceives you. Yet in your saner moments, its ranting strikes no terror in your
hearts. For you have realized that all the gifts it would withdraw from you, in
rage at your "presumptuous" wish to look within, you do not WANT. A few
remaining trinkets still seem to shine and catch your eye. Yet you would not
"sell" Heaven to have them.
T 21 E 7. And now the ego IS afraid. Yet what it hears in terror, the other
part hears as the sweetest music; the song it longed to hear since first the ego
came into your minds. The ego's weakness is its strength. The song of freedom,
which sings the praises of another world, brings to it hope of peace. For it
REMEMBERS Heaven, and now it sees that Heaven has come to earth at last, from
which the ego's rule has kept it out so long. Heaven has come because it found
a home in your relationship on earth. And earth can hold no longer what has
been given Heaven as its own.
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T 21 E 8. Look gently on each other, and remember the ego's weakness is
revealed in both your sight. What it would keep apart has met and joined, and
looks upon the ego unafraid. Little children, innocent of sin, follow in
gladness the way to certainty. Be not held back by fear's insane insistence
that sureness lies in doubt. This has no meaning. What matters it to you how
loudly it is proclaimed? The senseless is not made meaningful by repetition and
by clamor. The quiet way is open. Follow it happily, and question not what
must be so.
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T 21 F. Reason and Perception
T 21 F 1. Perception selects, and makes the world you see. It literally picks
it out as the mind directs. The laws of size and shape and brightness would
hold, perhaps, if other things were equal. They are NOT equal. For what you
look for you are far more likely to discover than what you would prefer to
overlook. The still small Voice for God is not drowned out by all the ego's
raucous screams and senseless ravings to those who WANT to hear it. Perception
is a CHOICE, and not a fact. But on this choice depends far more than you may
realize as yet. For on the voice you choose to hear, and on the sights you
choose to see, depends entirely your whole belief in what you ARE. Perception
is a witness but to this, and NEVER to reality. Yet it can show you the
conditions in which awareness of reality is possible, or those where it could
never be.
T 21 F 2. Reality needs no cooperation from you to be itself. But your
awareness of it needs your help because it is your choice. Listen to what the
ego says and see what it directs you see, and it is sure that you will see
yourself as tiny, vulnerable and afraid. You will experience depression, a
sense of worthlessness, and feelings of impermanence and unreality. You will
believe that you are helpless prey to forces far beyond your own control, and
far more powerful than you. And you will think the world you made directs your
destiny. For this will be your FAITH. But never believe because it is your
faith it makes reality.
T 21 F 3. There is another vision and another Voice in which your freedom lies,
awaiting but your choice. And if you place your faith in them, you will
perceive another Self in you. This other Self sees miracles as natural. They
are as simple and natural to It as breathing to the body. They are the obvious
response to calls for help, the only one It makes. Miracles seem unnatural to
the ego because it does not understand how separate minds can influence each
other. Nor COULD they do so. But minds cannot BE separate. This other Self is
perfectly aware of this. And thus It recognizes that miracles do not affect
another's mind, only Its Own. They always change YOUR mind. [T190] There IS no
other.
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T 21 F 4. You do not realize the whole extent to which the idea of separation
has interfered with reason. Reason lies in the other Self you have cut off from
your awareness. And nothing you have allowed to stay in it is capable of
reason. How can the segment of the mind devoid of reason understand what reason
is, or grasp the information it would give? All sorts of questions may arise in
it, but if the basic question stems from reason, it will not ask it. Like all
that stems from reason, the basic question is obvious, simple, and remains
unasked. But think not reason could not answer it.
T 21 F 5. God's plan for your salvation could not have been established without
your will and your consent. It must have been accepted by the Son of God, for
what God wills for him he MUST receive. For God wills not apart from him, nor
does the Will of God wait upon time to be accomplished. Therefore, what joined
the Will of God must be in you NOW, being eternal. You must have set aside a
place in which the Holy Spirit can abide, and where He IS. He must have been
there since the need for Him arose, and was fulfilled in the same instant. Such
would your reason tell you, if you listened. Yet such is clearly not the ego's
"reasoning." Its alien nature to the ego is proof you will not find the answer
there. Yet if it must be so, it must exist. And if it exists for you, and has
your freedom as the purpose given it, you must be free to FIND it.
T 21 F 6. God's plan is simple; never circular and never self-defeating. He
has no Thoughts except the Self-EXTENDING [T191], and in this your will must be
included. Thus, there must be a part of you that knows His Will and shares It.
It is not meaningful to ask if what must be is so. But it IS meaningful to ask
why you are UNAWARE of what is so, for this must have an answer if the plan of
God for your salvation is complete. And it must BE complete because its Source
knows not of incompletion. Where would the answer be but in the Source? And
where are YOU but there, where this same answer is? Your identity, as much a
true effect of this same Source as is
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the answer, must therefore be together and the same.
T 21 F 7. Oh yes, you know this, and more than this alone. Yet any part of
knowledge threatens dissociation as much as all of it. And all of it WILL come
with any part. Here is the part you can accept. What reason points to you can
see because the witnesses on its behalf are clear. Only the totally insane can
disregard them, and you have gone past this. Reason is a means which serves the
Holy Spirit's purpose in its own right. It is not re-interpreted and
re-directed from the goal of sin, as are the others. For reason is beyond the
ego's range of means.
T 21 F 8. Faith and perception and belief can be misplaced, and serve the great
deceiver's needs as well as truth. But reason has no place at all in madness,
nor can it be adjusted to fit its end. Faith and belief are strong in madness,
guiding perception toward what the mind has valued. But reason enters not at
all in this. For the perception would fall away at once, if reason were
applied. There IS no reason in insanity, for it depends entirely on reason's
absence. The ego never uses it because it does not realize that it exists. The
partially insane have access to it, and only they have need of it. Knowledge
does not depend on it, and madness keeps it out.
T 21 F 9. The part of mind where reason lies was dedicated, by your will in
union with your Father's, to the undoing of insanity. Here was the Holy
Spirit's purpose accepted and accomplished, both at once. Reason is alien to
insanity, and those who use it have gained a means which CANNOT be applied to
sin. Knowledge is far beyond attainment of any kind. But reason can serve to
open doors you closed against it.
T 21 F 10. You have come very close to this. Faith and belief have
shifted, and you have asked the question which the ego will NEVER ask. Does not
your reason tell you now the question must have come from something that
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you do not know, but must belong to you? Faith and belief, upheld by reason,
cannot fail to lead to changed perception. And in this change is room made way
for vision. Vision extends beyond itself, as does the purpose which it serves
and all the means for its accomplishment.
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T 21 G. Reason and Correction
T 21 G 1. Reason cannot see sin but CAN see errors, and leads to their
correction. It does not value THEM [T192], but their CORRECTION. Reason will
also tell you when you think you sin, you call for help. Yet if you will not
accept the help you call for, you will not believe that it is yours to give.
And so you will not give it, thus MAINTAINING the belief. For uncorrected error
of any kind deceives you about the power that is in you to MAKE correction. If
it can correct, and you allow it not to do so, you deny it to yourself and to
your brother. And if he shares this same belief, you both will think that you
are damned. This you could spare him and YOURSELF. For reason would not make
way for correction in you alone.
T 21 G 2. Correction cannot be accepted or refused by you WITHOUT your brother.
Sin would maintain it can. Yet reason tells you that you cannot see your
brother or yourself as sinful, and still perceive the other innocent. Who looks
upon himself as guilty and sees a sinless world? And who can see a sinful world
and look upon himself apart from it? Sin would maintain you must be separate.
But reason tells you that this must be wrong. If you are joined, how could it
be that you have private thoughts? And how could thoughts that enter into what
but SEEMS [T193] like yours alone have no effect at all on what IS yours? If
minds are joined, this is impossible.
T 21 G 3. No one can think but for himself, as God thinks not without His Son.
Only were both in bodies could this be. Nor could one mind think only for
itself unless the body WERE the mind. For only bodies can be separate, and
therefore unreal. The home of madness cannot be the home of reason. Yet it is
easy to leave the home of madness if you see reason. You do not leave insanity
by going somewhere else. You leave it simply by accepting reason where madness
was. Madness and reason see the same things, but it is certain that they look
upon them differently.
T 21 G 4. Madness is an attack on reason that drives it out of mind, and takes
its place. Reason does not attack, but takes the place of madness
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quietly, replacing madness if it be the will of the insane to listen to it. But
the insane know not their will. For they believe they see the body, and let
their madness tell them it is real. Reason would be incapable of this. And if
you would defend the body against your reason, you will not understand the body
or yourself.
T 21 G 5. The body does not separate you from your brother, and if you think it
does, you are insane. But madness has a purpose, and believes it also has the
means to make its purpose real. To see the body as a barrier between what
reason tells you MUST be joined must be insane. Nor could you see it, if you
heard the voice of reason. What can there be that stands between what is
continuous? And if there is nothing in between, how can what enters part be
kept away from other parts? Reason would tell you this. But think what you
must recognize, if it be so.
T 21 G 6. If you choose sin instead of healing, you would condemn the Son of
God to what can never be corrected. You tell him, by your choice, that he is
damned; separate from you and from his Father forever, and without a hope of
safe return. You teach him this, and you will learn of him EXACTLY what you
taught. For you can teach him only that he is as you would have him, and what
you choose he be is but your choice for YOU. Yet think not this is fearful.
That you are joined to him is but a fact, not an interpretation. How can a fact
be fearful unless it disagrees with what you hold more dear than truth? Reason
will tell you that this fact is your RELEASE. Neither your brother nor yourself
can be attacked alone. But neither can accept a miracle instead WITHOUT the
other being blessed by it, and healed of pain.
T 21 G 7. Reason, like love, would reassure you, and seeks not to frighten you.
The power to heal the Son of God is given you because he MUST be one with you.
You ARE responsible for how he sees himself. And reason tells you it is given
you to change his whole mind, which is one with you, in just an instant. And
any instant serves to bring complete correction of his
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errors, and make him whole. The instant that you choose to let YOURSELF be
healed, in that same instant is his whole salvation seen as complete with yours.
Reason is given you to understand that this is so. For reason, kind as is the
purpose for which it is the means, leads steadily away from madness toward the
goal of truth. And here you will lay down the burden of denying truth. THIS is
the burden that is terrible, and not the truth.
T 21 G 8. That you are joined is your salvation; the gift of Heaven, not the
gift of fear. Does Heaven seem to be a burden to you? In madness, yes. And
yet what madness sees must be dispelled by reason. Reason assures you Heaven is
what you WANT, and ALL you want. Listen to Him Who speaks with reason, and
brings your reason into line with His. Be willing to let reason be the means by
which He would direct you how to leave insanity behind. Hide not behind
insanity, in order to escape from reason. What madness would conceal, the Holy
Spirit still holds out for everyone to look upon with gladness.
T 21 G 9. You ARE your brother's Savior. He is YOURS. Reason speaks happily
indeed of this. This gracious plan was given love by Love. And what Love plans
is like Itself in this: Being united, It would have you learn what YOU must be.
And being one with It, it must be given you to give what It has given, and gives
still. Spend but an instant in the glad acceptance of what is given you to give
your brother, and learn with him what has been given BOTH of you. To give is no
more blessed than to receive. But neither is it less.
T 21 G 10. The Son of God is ALWAYS blessed as one. And as his gratitude
goes out to you who blessed him, reason will tell you that it cannot be you
stand apart from blessing. The gratitude he offers you reminds you of the
thanks your Father gives you for completing Him. And here alone does reason
tell you that you can understand what you must be. Your Father is as close to
you as is your brother. Yet what is there that could be nearer you than is your
Self?
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T 21 G 11. The power that you have over the Son of God is not a threat to
his reality. It but ATTESTS to it. Where could his freedom lie but in himself,
if he be free already? And who could bind him but himself, if he deny his
freedom? God is not mocked; no more His Son can be imprisoned save by his own
desire. And it is by his own desire that he is freed. Such is his strength,
and not his weakness. He IS at his own mercy. And where he chooses to be
merciful, there is he free. But where he chooses to condemn instead, there is
he held a prisoner, waiting in chains his pardon on himself to set him free.
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T 21 H. Perception and Wishes
T 21 H 1. Do you not see that all your misery comes from the strange belief
that you are powerless? Being helpless is the COST of sin. Helplessness is
sin's condition; the one requirement that it demands to be believed. Only the
helpless COULD believe in it. Enormity has no appeal save to the little. And
only those who first believe that they ARE little could see attraction there.
Treachery to the Son of God is the defense of those who do not identify with
him. And you are for him or against him; either you love him or attack him,
protect his unity or see him shattered and slain by your attack.
T 21 H 2. No one believes the Son of God is powerless. And those who see
themselves as helpless MUST believe that they are not the Son of God. What can
they be EXCEPT his enemy? And what can they do but envy him his power, and by
their envy make themselves afraid of it? These are the dark ones, silent and
afraid, alone and not communicating, fearful the power of the Son of God will
strike them dead, and raising up their helplessness against him. They join the
army of the powerless, to wage their war of vengeance, bitterness and spite on
him, to make him one with them. Because they do not know that they ARE one with
him, they know not whom they hate. They are indeed a sorry army, each one as
likely to attack his brother or turn upon himself as to remember they thought
they had a common cause.
T 21 H 3. Frantic and loud and strong the dark ones seem to be. Yet they know
not their enemy, except they HATE him. In hatred they have come together, but
have not joined each other. For had they done so, hatred would be impossible.
The army of the powerless must be disbanded in the presence of strength. Those
who are strong are NEVER treacherous, because they have no need to dream of
power and to act out their dream. How would an army act in dreams? Any way at
all. It could be seen attacking anyone with anything. Dreams have no reason in
them. A flower turns into a poisoned spear, a child becomes a giant and a mouse
roars like a lion. And love is turned to hate as easily. This is no army, but
a madhouse.
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What seems to be a planned attack is bedlam.
T 21 H 4. The army of the powerless is weak indeed. It has no weapons and it
has no enemy. Yes, it can overrun the world and SEEK an enemy. But it can
never find what is not there. Yes, it can DREAM it found an enemy, but this
will shift even as it attacks, so that it runs at once to find another, and
never comes to rest in victory. And as it runs, it turns against itself,
thinking it caught a glimpse of the great enemy which always eludes its
murderous attack by turning into something else. How treacherous does this
enemy appear, who changes so it is impossible even to recognize him!
T 21 H 5. Yet hate must have a target. There can be no faith in sin without an
enemy. Who that believes in sin would DARE believe he has no enemy? Could he
admit that no one made him powerless? Reason would surely bid him seek no
longer what is not there to find. Yet first he must be willing to perceive a
world where it is not. It is not necessary that he understand HOW he can see
it. Nor should he try. For if he focuses on what he cannot understand, he will
but emphasize his helplessness, and let sin tell him that his enemy must be
HIMSELF. But let him only ask himself these questions, which he must decide to
have it done for him:
"Do I DESIRE a world I rule instead of one which rules me?"
"Do I DESIRE a world where I am powerful instead of helpless?"
"Do I DESIRE a world in which I have no enemies and cannot sin?" "And do I want
to see what I denied BECAUSE it is the truth?"
T 21 H 6. You have already answered the first three questions, but not yet the
last. For this one still seems fearful, and unlike the others. Yet reason
would assure you they are all the same. We said this year would emphasize the
sameness of things that ARE the same. This final question, which is indeed the
last you need decide, still seems to hold a threat the rest have lost for you.
And this imagined difference attests to your belief that truth may be the enemy
you yet may find. Here, then, would seem to be the last remaining hope of
finding sin, and not accepting power.
T 21 H 7. Forget not that the choice of truth or sin, power or helplessness,
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is the choice of whether to attack or heal. For healing comes of power, and
attack of helplessness. Whom you attack you CANNOT want to heal. And whom you
would have healed must be the one you chose to be PROTECTED from attack. And
what is this decision but the choice whether to see him through the body's eyes,
or let him be revealed to you through vision? HOW this decision leads to its
effects is not your problem. But what you WANT to see MUST be your choice.
This is a course in CAUSE, and not effect.
T 21 H 8. Consider carefully your answer to the last question you have left
unanswered still. And let your reason tell you that it must BE answered, and IS
answered in the other three. And then it will be clear to you that, as you look
on the effects of sin in any form, all you need do is simply ask yourself: [T194]
"Is this what I would see? Do I WANT this?"
T 21 H 9. This is your ONE decision; this the condition for what occurs. It is
irrelevant to HOW it happens, but not to WHY. You HAVE control of this. And if
you choose to see a world without an enemy, in which you are not helpless, the
means to see it WILL be given you.
T 21 H 10. Why is the final question so important? Reason will tell you
why. It is the same as are the other three except in TIME. The others are
decisions which can be made and then unmade and made again. But truth is
constant, and implies a state where vacillations are impossible. You can desire
a world you rule which rules you not, and change your mind. You can desire to
exchange your helplessness for power, and lose this same desire as a little
glint of sin attracts you. And you can want to see a sinless world, and let an
"enemy" tempt you to use the body's eyes and change what you desire.
T 21 H 11. In content all the questions ARE the same. For each one asks
if you are willing to exchange the world of sin for what the Holy Spirit sees,
since it is this the world of sin denies. And therefore those who look on sin
are seeing the denial of the real world. Yet the last question
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adds the wish for CONSTANCY in your desire to see the real world, so the desire
becomes the ONLY one you have. By answering the final question "yes," you add
sincerity to the decisions you have already made to all the rest. For only then
have you renounced the option to change your mind again. When it is this you do
NOT want, the rest ARE wholly answered.
T 21 H 12. Why do you think you are unsure the others HAVE been answered?
Could it be necessary they be asked so often, if they had? Until the last
decision has been made, the answer is both "yes" and "no." For you have
answered "yes" without perceiving that "yes" MUST mean "not no." No one decides
against his happiness, but he may do so if he does not see he does it. And if
he sees his happiness as ever changing, now this, now that, and now an elusive
shadow attached to nothing, he DOES decide against it.
T 21 H 13. Elusive happiness, or happiness in changing form that shifts
with time and place, is an illusion which has no meaning. Happiness MUST be
constant, because it is attained by giving up the wish for the INconstant. Joy
cannot be perceived EXCEPT through constant vision. And constant vision can be
given only those who WISH for constancy. The power of the Son of God's desire
remains the proof that he is wrong who sees himself as helpless. Desire what
you will, and you WILL look on it and think it real. No thought but has the
power to release or kill. And none can leave the thinker's mind, or leave him
unaffected.
T 21 I. The Inner Shift
T 21 I 1. Are thoughts, then, dangerous? To bodies, YES! The thoughts that
seem to kill are those which teach the thinker that he CAN be killed. And so he
dies BECAUSE of what he learned. He goes from life to death, the final proof he
valued the inconstant more than constancy. Surely he THOUGHT he wanted
happiness. Yet he did not desire it BECAUSE it was the truth, and therefore
MUST be constant.
T 21 I 2. The constancy of joy is a condition quite alien to your
understanding. Yet if you could even imagine what it must be, you would desire
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it, although you understand it not.
T 21 I 3. The constancy of happiness has no exceptions; no change of any kind.
It is unshakable as is the Love of God for His creation. Sure in its vision as
its Creator is in what He knows, it looks on everything and sees it is the same.
It sees not the ephemeral, for it desires that everything be like itself, and
sees it so. Nothing has power to confound its constancy because its own desire
cannot be shaken. It comes as surely unto those who see the final question is
necessary to the rest, as peace must come to those who choose to heal and not to
judge.
T 21 I 4. Reason will tell you that you CANNOT ask for happiness inconstantly.
For if what you desire you receive, and happiness is constant, then you need ask
for it but ONCE to have it ALWAYS. And if you do not have it always, being what
it is, you did not ask for it. For no one fails to ask for his desire of
something he believes holds out some promise of the power of giving it. He may
be wrong in what he asks, where, and of what. Yet he WILL ask because desire is
a request, an asking for, and made by one whom God Himself will never fail to
answer. God has already given him all that he REALLY wants. Yet what he is
uncertain of, God CANNOT give. For he does not desire it while he remains
uncertain, and God's giving must be incomplete unless it is received.
T 21 I 5. You who complete God's Will and are His happiness, whose will is
powerful as His, a power that is not lost in your illusions, think carefully why
it should be you have not yet decided how you would answer the final question.
Your answer to the others has made it possible to help you be but partially
insane. And yet it is the final one that really asks if you are willing to be
WHOLLY sane.
T 21 I 6. What is the holy instant but God's appeal to you to recognize what He
has given you? Here is the great appeal to reason; the awareness of what is
always there to see, the happiness that could be always yours. Here is the
constant peace you could experience forever. Here is what
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denial has denied REVEALED to you. For here the final question is ALREADY
answered, and what you ask for given. Here is the future NOW, for time is
powerless because of your desire for what will never change. For you have asked
that nothing stand between the holiness of your relationship and your AWARENESS
of its holiness.
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Chapter XXII 22 - SALVATION AND THE HOLY RELATIONSHIP
T 22 A. Introduction
T 22 A 1. Take pity on yourselves, so long enslaved. Rejoice whom God hath
joined have come together, and need no longer look on sin apart. No two can
look on sin together, for they could never see it in the same place and time.
Sin is a strictly individual perception, seen in the other, yet believed by each
to be within himself. And each one seems to make a different error, and one the
other cannot understand. Brothers, it IS the same, made by the same, and
forgiven for its maker in the same way.
T 22 A 2. The holiness of your relationship forgives you both, undoing the
effects of what you both believed and saw. And with their going is the NEED for
sin gone with them. Who has need for sin? Only the lonely and alone, who see
their brothers different from themselves. It is this difference, seen but not
real, that makes the need for sin, not real but seen, seem justified. And all
this would be real, if sin were so. For an unholy relationship is based on
differences, where each one thinks the other has what he has not. They come
together, each to complete himself and rob the other. They stay until they
think there's nothing left to steal, and then move on. And so they wander
through a world of strangers, unlike themselves, living with their bodies
perhaps under a common roof that shelters neither; in the same room and yet a
world apart.
T 22 A 3. A holy relationship starts from a different premise. Each one has
looked within and seen no lack. Accepting his completion, he would extend it by
joining with another, whole as himself. He sees no difference between these
selves, for differences are only of the body. Therefore, he looks on nothing he
would take. He denies not his own reality BECAUSE it is the truth. Just under
Heaven does he stand, but close enough not to return to earth. For this
relationship has Heaven's holiness. How far from home can a relationship so
like to Heaven be?
T 22 A 4. Think what a holy relationship can teach! Here is belief in
differences undone. Here is the faith in differences shifted to sameness. And
here is sight of differences transformed to VISION. [T195] And reason now can
lead you to the logical conclusion of your union. It
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must extend, as you extended when you joined. It must reach out beyond itself,
as you reached out beyond the body to LET yourselves be joined. And now the
sameness which you saw extends, and finally removes all sense of differences, so
that the sameness that lies beneath them all becomes apparent. Here is the
golden circle where you recognize the Son of God. For what is born into a holy
relationship can NEVER end.
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T 22 B. The Message of the Holy Relationship
T 22 B 1. Let reason take another step. If you attack whom God would heal and
hate the one He loves, then you and your Creator HAVE a different will. Yet if
you ARE His Will, what you must then believe is that you are not YOURSELF. You
can indeed believe this, and you DO. And you HAVE faith in this, and see much
evidence on its behalf. And where, you wonder, does your strange uneasiness,
your sense of being disconnected, and your haunting fear of lack of meaning in
yourself arise? It is as though you wandered in without a plan of any kind
except to wander off, for only that seems certain.
T 22 B 2. Yet we have heard a very similar description earlier, but it was not
of YOU. And yet this strange idea which it DOES accurately describe, you THINK
is you. Reason would tell you that the world you see through eyes which are not
yours MUST make no sense to you. To whom would vision such as this send back
its messages? Surely not you, whose sight is wholly independent of the eyes
which look upon the world. If this is not your vision, what can it show to you?
The brain cannot interpret what YOUR vision sees. This you would understand.
The brain interprets to the body, of which it is a part. But what it says YOU
cannot understand. Yet you have listened to it. And long and hard you tried to
understand its messages. You did not realize it is impossible to understand
what fails entirely to reach you.
T 22 B 3. You have received no messages at all you understand. For you have
listened to what can never communicate at all. Think, then, what happened.
Denying what you are, and firm in faith that you are something else, this
"something else" which you have made to be yourself BECAME your sight. Yet it
must be the "something else" which sees, and as NOT you, EXPLAINS its sight to
you. YOUR vision would, of course, render this quite unnecessary. Yet if your
eyes are closed, and you have called upon this thing to lead you, asking it to
explain to you the world it sees, you have no reason not to listen, nor to
suspect that what it tells you is not true.
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Reason would tell you it cannot be true BECAUSE you do not understand it. God
has no secrets. He does not lead you through a world of misery, waiting to tell
you, at the journey's end, why He did this to you.
T 22 B 4. What could be secret from God's Will? Yet you believe that YOU have
secrets. What could your secrets be except ANOTHER will that is your own, apart
from His? Reason would tell you that this is no secret that need be hidden as a
sin. But a mistake indeed! Let not your fear of sin protect it from
correction, for the attraction of guilt is only fear. Here is the one emotion
that you made, whatever it may seem to be. This is the emotion of secrecy, of
private thoughts, and of the body. This is the one emotion that opposes love,
and always leads to sight of differences and loss of sameness. Here is the one
emotion that keeps you blind, dependent on the self you think you made to lead
you through the world it made for you.
T 22 B 5. Your sight was given you, along with everything that you can
understand. You will perceive no difficulty in understanding what this vision
tells you, for everyone sees only what he thinks he IS. And what your sight
would show you, you will understand BECAUSE it is the truth. Only your vision
can convey to you what YOU can see. It reaches you directly, without a need to
be interpreted to you. What needs interpretation MUST be alien. Nor will it
ever be made understandable by an interpreter you cannot understand.
T 22 B 6. Of all the messages you have received and failed to understand, this
course alone is OPEN to your understanding and CAN be understood. This is YOUR
language. You do not understand it yet only because your whole communication is
like a baby's. The sounds a baby makes and what he hears are highly unreliable,
meaning different things to him at different times. Neither the sounds he hears
nor sights he sees are stable yet. But what he hears and does not understand
will be his native tongue, through which he will communicate with those around
him, and they with him. And the
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strange, shifting ones he sees about him will become to him his comforters, and
he will recognize his home, and see them there with him.
T 22 B 7. So in each holy relationship is the ability to communicate instead of
separate reborn. Yet a holy relationship, so recently reborn itself from an
unholy relationship and yet more ancient than the old illusion that it has
replaced, IS like a baby now in its rebirth. Yet in this infant is your vision
returned to you, and he will speak the language both of you can understand. He
is not nurtured by the "something else" you thought was you. He was not given
there, nor was received by anything except yourself. For no two people can
unite except through Christ, Whose vision sees them one.
T 22 B 8. Think what is given you, my holy brothers. This child will teach you
what you do not understand, and make it plain. For his will be no alien tongue.
He will need no interpreter to you, for it was you who taught him what he knows
BECAUSE you knew it. He could not come to anyone but you, never to "something
else." Where Christ has entered no one is alone, for never could He find a home
in separate ones. Yet must He be reborn into His ancient home, so seeming new
and yet as old as He, a tiny newcomer, dependent on the holiness of your
relationship to let Him live.
T 22 B 9. Be certain God did not entrust His Son to the unworthy. Nothing but
what is part of Him is worthy of being joined. Nor is it possible that anything
not part of Him CAN join. Communication must have been restored to those that
join, for this they could not do through bodies. What, then, has joined them?
Reason will tell you that they must have seen each other through a vision not of
the body, and communicated in a language the body does not speak. Nor could it
be a fearful sight or sound that drew them gently into one. Rather, in each the
other saw a perfect shelter where his Self could be reborn in safety and in
peace. Such did his reason tell him; such he believed BECAUSE it was the truth.
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T 22 B 10. Here is the first direct perception that you have made. You
made it through awareness older than perception, and yet reborn in just an
instant. For what is time to what was always so? Think what that instant
brought; the recognition that the "something else" you thought was you is an
illusion. And truth came instantly to show you where your Self must be. It is
DENIAL of illusions that calls on truth, for to deny illusions is to recognize
that fear is meaningless. Into the holy home where fear is powerless love
enters thankfully, grateful that it is one with you who joined to let it enter.
T 22 B 11. Christ comes to what is like Himself; the same, not different.
For He is always drawn unto Himself. What is as like Him as a holy
relationship? And what draws you together draws Him to you. Here are His
sweetness and His gentle innocence protected from attack. And here can He
return in confidence, for faith in one another is always faith in Him. You are
indeed correct in looking on each other as His chosen home, for here you will
with Him and with His Father. This is your Father's Will for you, and yours
with His. And who is drawn to Christ is drawn to God as surely as both are
drawn to every holy relationship, the home prepared for them as earth is turned
to Heaven.
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T 22 C. Your Brother's Sinlessness
T 22 C 1. The opposite of illusions is not disillusionment, but truth. Only to
the ego, to which truth is meaningless, do they appear to be the only
alternatives, and different from each other. In truth they are the same. Both
bring the same amount of misery, though each one seems to be the way to lose the
misery the other brings. Every illusion carries pain and suffering in the dark
folds of the heavy garments with which it hides its nothingness. Yet in these
dark and heavy garments are those who seek illusions covered, and hidden from
the joy of truth.
T 22 C 2. Truth is the opposite of illusions because it offers joy. What else
but joy could be the opposite of misery? To leave one kind of misery and seek
another is hardly an escape. To change illusions is to make no change. The
search for joy in misery is senseless, for how could joy be found in misery?
All that is possible in the dark world of misery is to select some aspects out
of it, see them as different, and define the difference as joy. Yet to perceive
a difference where none exists will surely fail to MAKE a difference.
T 22 C 3. Illusions carry only guilt and suffering, sickness and death, to
their believers. The form in which they are accepted is irrelevant. No form of
misery, in reason's eyes, can be confused with joy. Joy is eternal. You can be
sure indeed that any seeming happiness that does not last is really fear. Joy
does not turn to sorrow, for the eternal cannot change. But sorrow CAN be
turned to joy, for time gives way to the eternal. Only the timeless must remain
unchanged, but everything in time can change with time. Yet if the change be
real and not imagined, illusions must give way to truth, and not to other dreams
that are but equally unreal. This is no difference.
T 22 C 4. Reason will tell you that the only way to escape from misery is to
recognize it, AND GO THE OTHER WAY. Truth is the same and misery the same, but
they ARE different from each other in every way, in every
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instance, and without exception. To believe that one exception can exist is to
confuse what is the same with what is different. ONE illusion cherished and
defended against the truth makes ALL truth meaningless, and ALL illusions real.
Such is the power of belief. It cannot compromise. And faith in innocence is
faith in sin if the belief excludes one living thing, and holds it out, apart
from its forgiveness.
T 22 C 5. Both reason and the ego will tell you this, but what they MAKE of it
is not the same. The ego will assure you now that it is impossible for you to
see no guilt in anyone. And if this vision is the ONLY means by which escape
from guilt can be attained, then the belief in sin must be eternal. Yet reason
looks on this another way, for reason sees the SOURCE of an idea as what will
make it true or false. This must be so, if the idea is LIKE its source.
Therefore, says reason, if escape from guilt was given to the Holy Spirit as His
purpose, and by One to Whom nothing He wills CAN be impossible, the means for
its attainment are MORE than possible. They MUST be there, and you must HAVE
them.
T 22 C 6. This is a crucial period in this course, for here the separation of
you and the ego must be made complete. For if you HAVE the means to let the
Holy Spirit's purpose be accomplished, they can be USED. And THROUGH their use
will you gain faith in them. Yet to the ego this must be impossible, and no one
undertakes to do what holds no hope of ever being done. YOU know what your
Creator wills is possible, but what you made believes it is not so. Now must
you choose between yourself and an ILLUSION of yourself. NOT both, but ONE.
There is no point in trying to avoid this one decision. It MUST be made. Faith
and belief can fall to either side, but reason tells you that misery lies only
on one side, and joy upon the other.
T 22 C 7. Forsake not now each other. For you who are the same will not decide
alone nor differently. Either you give each other life or death; either you are
each other's Savior or his judge, offering him sanctuary
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or condemnation. This course will be believed entirely or not at all. For it
is wholly true or wholly false, and cannot be but partially believed. And you
will either escape from misery entirely or not at all. Reason will tell you
that there is no middle ground where you can pause uncertainly, waiting to
choose between the joy of Heaven and the misery of hell. Until you choose
Heaven, you ARE in hell and misery.
T 22 C 8. There is no part of Heaven you can take and weave into illusions.
Nor is there one illusion you can enter Heaven with. A Savior cannot be a
judge, nor mercy condemnation. And vision cannot damn, but only bless. Whose
function is to save, will save. HOW He will do it is beyond your understanding,
but WHEN must be your choice. For time you made, and time you CAN command. You
are no more a slave to time than to the world you made.
T 22 C 9. Let us look closer at the whole illusion that what you made has power
to enslave its maker. This is the same belief that caused the separation. It
is the meaningless idea that thoughts can leave the thinker's mind, be different
from it, and IN OPPOSITION to it. If this were true, thoughts would not be the
mind's extensions, but its enemies. And here we see again another form of the
same fundamental illusion we have seen many times before. Only if it were
possible the Son of God could leave his Father's Mind, make himself different,
and oppose His Will, would it be possible that the self he made, and all it
made, should be his master.
T 22 C 10. Behold the great projection, but look on it with the decision
that it must be healed, and not with fear. Nothing you made has any power over
you unless you still would be apart from your Creator, and with a will opposed
to His. For only if you would believe His Son could be His enemy does it seem
possible that what YOU made is yours. You would condemn His joy to misery, and
make Him different. And all the misery you made has been your own. Are you not
GLAD to learn it is not true? Is it not
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welcome news to hear not one of the illusions that you made replaced the truth?
T 22 C 11. Only YOUR thoughts have been impossible. Salvation CANNOT be.
It IS impossible to look upon your Savior as your enemy, and recognize him. Yet
it IS possible to recognize him for what he is, if God would have it so. What
God has given to your holy relationship is THERE. For what He gave the Holy
Spirit to give to you HE GAVE. Would you not look upon the Savior that has been
given you? And would you not exchange, in gratitude, the function of an
executioner you gave him for the one he has in truth? Receive of him what God
has given him for you, not what you tried to give yourself.
T 22 C 12. Beyond the bodies that you interposed between you, and shining
in the golden light which reaches it from the bright, endless circle that
extends forever, is your holy relationship, beloved of God Himself. How still
it rests, in time and yet beyond, immortal yet on earth. How great the power
that lies in it. Time waits upon its will, and earth will be as it would have
it be. Here is no separate will, nor the desire that ANYTHING be separate. Its
will has no exceptions, and what it wills is true. Every illusion brought to
its forgiveness is gently overlooked and disappears. For at its center Christ
has been reborn, to light His home with vision that overlooks the world. Would
you not have this holy home be yours as well? No misery is here, but only joy.
T 22 C 13. All you need do to dwell in quiet here with Christ is share His
vision. Quickly and gladly is His vision given to anyone who is but willing to
see his brother sinless. And no one can remain beyond this willingness, if you
would be released entirely from all effects of sin. Would you have partial
forgiveness for yourself? Can you reach Heaven while a single sin still tempts
you to remain in misery? Heaven is the home of perfect purity, and God created
it for YOU. Look on your holy brother, sinless as yourself, and let him lead
you there.
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T 22 D. Reason and the Holy Relationship
T 22 D 1. The introduction of reason into the ego's thought system is the
beginning of its undoing. For reason and the ego are contradictory. Nor is it
possible for them to co-exist in your awareness. And reason's goal is to make
plain, and therefore obvious. You can SEE reason. This is not a play on words,
for here is the beginning of a vision that has meaning. Vision is sense, quite
literally. If it is not the body's sight, it MUST be understood. For it is
PLAIN, and what is obvious is not ambiguous. It CAN be understood. And here do
reason and the ego separate, to go their different ways.
T 22 D 2. The ego's whole continuance depends on its belief you cannot learn
this course. Share this belief, and reason will be unable to see your errors
and make way for their correction. For reason sees THROUGH errors, telling you
what you thought was real is not. Reason can see the difference between sin and
mistakes because it WANTS correction. Therefore, it tells you what you thought
was uncorrectable CAN be corrected, and thus it must have been an error. The
ego's opposition to correction leads to its fixed belief in sin, and disregard
of errors. It looks on NOTHING that can be corrected. Thus does the ego damn,
and reason save.
T 22 D 3. Reason is not salvation in itself, but it makes way for peace, and
brings you to a state of mind in which salvation can be given you. Sin is a
block, set like a heavy gate, locked and without a key, across the road to
peace. No one who looks on it without the help of reason would try to pass it.
The body's eyes behold it as solid granite, so thick it would be madness to
attempt to pass it. Yet reason sees through it easily BECAUSE it is an error.
The form it takes cannot conceal its emptiness from reason's eyes.
T 22 D 4. ONLY the form of error attracts the ego. Meaning it does not
recognize, and does not know if it is there or not. Everything which the body's
eyes can see is a mistake, an error in perception, a distorted
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fragment of the whole, without the meaning that the whole would give. And yet
mistakes, regardless of their form, can be corrected. Sin is but error in a
special form the ego venerates. It would preserve all errors, and make them
sins. For here is its own stability, its heavy anchor in the shifting world it
made; the rock on which its church is built, and where its worshippers are bound
to bodies, and believe the body's freedom is their own.
T 22 D 5. Reason will tell you that the form of error is not what makes it a
mistake. If what the form CONCEALS is a mistake, the form cannot prevent
correction. The body's eyes see ONLY form. They cannot see beyond what they
were MADE to see. And they were made to look on error, and not see past it.
Theirs is indeed a strange perception, for they can see only illusions, unable
to look beyond the granite block of sin, and stopping at the outside form of
nothing. To this distorted form of vision, the outside of everything, the wall
that stands between you and the truth, is wholly true. Yet how can sight which
stops at nothingness, as if it were a solid wall, see truly? It is held back by
form, having been made to guarantee that nothing else but form will be
perceived.
T 22 D 6. These eyes, made NOT to see, will NEVER see. For the idea they
represent left not its maker, and it is their maker that sees through them.
What was its maker's GOAL but not to see? For this the body's eyes are perfect
means, but not for SEEING. See how the body's eyes rest on externals, and
cannot go beyond. Watch how they stop at nothingness, unable to go beyond the
form to meaning. Nothing so blinding as perception of form. [T196] For sight of
form means understanding has been obscured.
T 22 D 7. Only MISTAKES have different forms, and so they can deceive. You can
change form BECAUSE it is not true. It could not be reality BECAUSE it can be
changed. Reason will tell you that if form is not reality, it must be an
illusion, and is not THERE to see. And if you see it you
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must be mistaken, for you are seeing what can NOT be real as if it WERE. What
cannot see beyond what is not there MUST be distorted perception, and must
perceive illusions as the truth. Could it, then, RECOGNIZE the truth?
T 22 D 8. Let not the FORM of his mistakes keep you from him whose holiness is
yours. Let not the vision of his holiness, the sight of which would show you
your forgiveness, be kept from you by what the body's eyes can see. Let your
awareness of your brother not be blocked by your perception of his sins, and of
his body. What is there in him that you would attack except what you associate
with his body, which YOU believe can sin? Beyond his errors is HIS holiness and
YOUR salvation. You gave him not his holiness, but tried to see your sins in
him to save yourself. And yet, his holiness IS your forgiveness. Can YOU be
saved by making sinful the one whose holiness is your salvation?
T 22 D 9. A holy relationship, however newly born, must value holiness above
all else. Unholy values will produce confusion, and UNAWARENESS [T197]. In an
unholy relationship, each one is valued because he seems to justify the other's
sin. He sees within the other what impels him to sin against his will. And
thus he lays his sins upon the other, and is attracted to him to PERPETUATE his
sins. And so it must become impossible for each to see himself as CAUSING sin
by his desire to have sin real. Yet reason sees a holy relationship as what it
is; a common state of mind, where both give errors gladly to correction that
both may happily be healed as one.
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T 22 E. The Branching of the Road
T 22 E 1. When you come to the place where the branch in the road is quite
apparent, you cannot go ahead. You MUST go either one way or the other. For
now if you go straight ahead, the way you went before you reached the branch,
you will go NOWHERE. The whole purpose of coming this far was to decide which
branch you will take NOW. The way you came no longer matters. It can no longer
serve. No one who reaches this far CAN make the wrong decision, but he CAN
delay. And there is no part of the journey that seems more hopeless and futile
than standing where the road branches, and not deciding on which way to go.
T 22 E 2. It is but the first few steps along the right way that seem hard, for
you HAVE chosen, although you still may think you can go back and make the other
choice. This is not so. A choice made with the power of Heaven to uphold it
cannot BE undone. Your way IS decided. There will be nothing you will not be
told, if you acknowledge this.
T 22 E 3. And so you stand, here in this holy place, before the veil of sin
that hangs between you and the face of Christ. LET it be lifted! Raise it
together, for it is but a veil that stands between you. Either alone will see
it as a solid block, nor realize how thin the drapery that separates you now.
Yet it is almost over in your awareness, and peace has reached you even here,
before the veil. Think what will happen after! The love of Christ will light
your faces, and shine from them into a darkened world that NEEDS the light. And
from this holy place He will return with you, not leaving it nor you. You will
become His messengers, returning Him unto Himself.
T 22 E 4. Think of the loveliness that you will see, who walk with Him! And
think how beautiful will each of you look to the other! How happy you will be
to be together, after such a long and lonely journey where you walked alone.
The gates of Heaven, open now for you, will you now open to the sorrowful. And
none who looks upon the Christ in you but will rejoice.
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How beautiful the sight you saw beyond the veil, which you will bring to light
the tired eyes of those as weary now as once you were. How thankful will they
be to see you come among them, offering Christ's forgiveness to dispel their
faith in sin.
T 22 E 5. Every mistake you make the other will gently have corrected for you,
for in his sight your loveliness is his salvation, which he would protect from
harm. And each will be the other's strong protector from everything that seems
to rise between you. So shall you walk the world with me, whose message has not
yet been given to everyone. For you are here to let it be RECEIVED. God's
offer still is open, yet it waits acceptance. From you who have accepted it is
it received. Into your joined hands is it safely given, for you who share it
have become its willing guardians and protectors.
T 22 E 6. To all who share the Love of God the grace is given to be the givers
of what they have received. And so they learn that it is theirs forever. All
barriers disappear before their coming, as every obstacle was finally surmounted
which seemed to rise and block their way before. This veil you lift together
opens the way to truth to more than you. Those who would let illusions be
lifted from their minds are this world's Saviors, walking the world with their
Redeemer, and carrying His message of hope and freedom and release from
suffering to everyone who needs a miracle to save him.
T 22 E 7. How easy is it to offer this miracle to everyone! No one who has
received it for himself could find it difficult. For by receiving it, he
learned it was not given him alone. Such is the function of a holy
relationship; to receive together, and give as you received. Standing before
the veil, it still seems difficult. But hold out your joined hands and touch
this heavy-seeming block, and you will learn how easily your fingers slip
through its nothingness. It is no solid wall. And only an illusion stands
between you and the holy Self you share.
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T 22 F. Weakness and Defensiveness
T 22 F 1. How does one overcome illusions? Surely not by force or anger, nor
by opposing them in any way. Merely by letting reason tell you that they
CONTRADICT reality. They go against what must be true. The opposition comes
from them, and not reality. Reality opposes nothing. What merely IS needs no
defense, and offers none. Only illusions need defense because of weakness. And
how can it be difficult to walk the way of truth, when only weakness interferes?
YOU are the strong ones in this seeming conflict. And you need no defense.
Everything that needs defense you do not want, for anything that needs defense
will WEAKEN you.
T 22 F 2. Consider what the ego wants defenses FOR. Always to justify what
goes against the truth, flies in the face of reason, and makes no sense. Can
this BE justified? What can this be except an invitation to insanity, to save
you from the truth? And what would you be saved from but what you fear? Belief
in sin needs great defense, and at enormous cost. All that the Holy Spirit
offers must be defended against, and sacrificed. For sin is carved into a block
out of your peace, and laid between you and its return. Yet how can peace be so
fragmented? It is still whole, and nothing has been taken from it.
T 22 F 3. See how the means and the material of evil dreams are nothing. In
truth you stand together, with nothing in between. God holds your hands, and
what can separate whom He has joined as one with Him? It is your Father Whom
you would defend against. Yet it remains impossible to keep love out. God
rests with you in quiet, undefended and wholly undefending, for in this quiet
state alone is strength and power. Here can no weakness enter, for here is no
attack, and therefore no illusions. Love rests in certainty. Only uncertainty
can be defensive. And all uncertainty is doubt about YOURSELF.
T 22 F 4. How weak is fear; how little and how meaningless! How insignificant
before the quiet strength of those whom love has joined! This is your "enemy,"
- a frightened mouse that would attack the universe. How
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likely is it that it will succeed? Can it be difficult to disregard its feeble
squeaks that tell of its omnipotence, and would drown out the hymn of praise to
its Creator which every heart throughout the universe forever sings as one?
Which is the stronger? Is it this tiny mouse or everything that God created?
You are not joined together by this mouse, but by the Will of God. And can a
mouse betray whom God has joined?
T 22 F 5. If you but recognized how little stands between you and your
awareness of your union! Be not deceived by the illusions it presents of size
and thickness, weight, solidity and firmness of foundation. Yes, to the body's
eyes it looks like an enormous solid body, immovable as is a mountain. Yet
within you there is a Force which no illusions can resist. This body only seems
to be immovable; this Force is irresistible in truth. What, then, must happen
when they come together? Can the illusion of immovability be long defended from
what is quietly passed [T198] through and gone beyond?
T 22 F 6. Forget not, when you feel the need arise to be defensive about
anything, you have identified yourself with an illusion. And therefore feel
that you are weak because you are alone. This is the cost of ALL illusions.
Not one but rests on the belief that you are separate. Not one that does not
seem to stand, heavy and solid and immovable, between you and your brother. And
not one that truth cannot pass over lightly, and so easily that you must be
convinced, in spite of what you thought it was, that it is nothing. If you
forgive each other, this MUST happen. For it is your unwillingness to overlook
what seems to stand between you that makes it look impenetrable, and defends the
illusion of its immovability.
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T 22 G. Freedom and the Holy Spirit
T 22 G 1. Do you want freedom of the body or of the mind? For both you cannot
have. Which do you value? Which is your goal? For one you see as means; the
other, end. And one must serve the other and lead to its predominance,
increasing its importance by diminishing its own. Means serve the end, and as
the end is reached the value of the means decreases, eclipsed entirely when they
are recognized as functionless. No one but yearns for freedom, and tries to
find it. Yet he will seek for it where he believes it is, and can be found. He
will believe it possible of mind or body, and he will make the other serve his
choice as means to find it.
T 22 G 2. Where freedom of the body has been chosen, the mind is used as means
whose value lies in its ability to contrive ways to achieve the body's freedom.
Yet freedom of the body has no meaning, and so the mind is dedicated to serve
illusions. This is a situation so contradictory and so impossible that anyone
who chooses this has no idea of what IS valuable. Yet even in this confusion,
so profound it cannot be described, the Holy Spirit waits in gentle patience, as
certain of the outcome as He is sure of His Creator's Love. He knows this mad
decision was made by one as dear to His Creator as love is to itself.
T 22 G 3. Be not disturbed at all to think how He can change the role of means
and end so easily in what God loves, and would have free forever. But be you
rather grateful that YOU can be the means to serve His end. This is the only
service which leads to freedom. To serve this end, the body must be perceived
as sinless, because the GOAL is sinlessness. The lack of contradiction makes
the soft transition from means to end as easy as is the shift from hate to
gratitude before forgiving eyes. You WILL be sanctified by one another, using
your bodies only to serve the sinless. And it WILL be impossible for you to
hate what serves what you would heal.
T 22 G 4. This holy relationship, lovely in its innocence, mighty in strength,
and blazing with a light far brighter than the sun which lights
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the sky you see, is chosen of your Father as a means for His Own plan. Be
thankful that it serves yours not at all. Nothing entrusted to it can be
misused, and nothing given it but will be used. This holy relationship has the
power to heal all pain, regardless of its form. Neither of you alone can serve
at all. Only in your joint will does healing lie. For here YOUR healing is,
and here will you accept Atonement. And in your healing is the Sonship healed
BECAUSE your wills are joined.
T 22 G 5. Before a holy relationship there is no sin. The form of error is no
longer seen, and reason, joined with love, looks quietly on all confusion,
observing merely, "This was a mistake." And then the same Atonement you
accepted in your relationship corrects the error, and lays a part of Heaven in
its place. How blessed are you who let this gift be given! Each part of Heaven
that you bring is given YOU. And every empty place in Heaven that you fill
again with the Eternal Light you bring shines now on YOU. The means of
sinlessness can know no fear because they carry only love with them.
T 22 G 6. Children of peace, the light HAS come to you. The light you bring
you do not recognize, and yet you will remember. Who can deny himself the
vision that he brings to others? And who would fail to recognize a gift he let
be laid in Heaven through himself? The gentle service that you give the Holy
Spirit is service to yourself. You who are now His means must love all that He
loves. And what you bring is your remembrance of everything that is eternal.
No trace of anything in time can long remain in minds that serve the timeless.
And no illusion can disturb the peace of a relationship which has become the
means of peace.
T 22 G 7. When you have looked upon each other with complete forgiveness, from
which no error is excluded and nothing kept hidden, what mistake can there be
anywhere you cannot overlook? What form of suffering could block your sight,
preventing you from seeing past it? And what illusion could
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there be you will not recognize as a mistake; a shadow through which you walk
completely undismayed? God would let nothing interfere with those whose wills
are His. And they will recognize their wills are His, BECAUSE they serve His
Will [T199] AND SERVE IT WILLINGLY [T200]. And COULD remembrance of what they are
be long delayed?
T 22 G 8. You will see your value through each other's eyes, and each one is
released as he beholds his Savior in place of the attacker who he thought was
there. Through this releasing is the world released. This is your part in
bringing peace. For you have asked what is your function here, and have been
answered. Seek not to change it, nor to substitute another goal. This one was
GIVEN you, and ONLY this. [T201] Accept this one and serve it willingly, for what
the Holy Spirit does with the gifts you give each other, to whom He offers them,
and where and when, is up to Him. He will bestow them where they are received
and welcomed. He will use every one of them for peace. Nor will one little
smile or willingness to overlook the tiniest mistake be lost to anyone.
T 22 G 9. What can it be but universal blessing to look on what your Father
loves with charity? Extension of forgiveness is the Holy Spirit's function.
Leave this to Him. Let your concern be only that you give to Him that which can
BE extended. Save no dark secrets that He cannot use, but offer Him the tiny
gifts He can extend forever. He will take each one and make of it a potent
force for peace. He will withhold no blessing from it, or [T202] limit it in any
way. He will join to it all the power that God has given Him, to make each
little gift of love a source of healing for everyone. Each little gift you
offer to the other lights up the world. Be not concerned with darkness; look
away from it, and toward each other. And let the darkness be dispelled by Him
Who knows the light, and lays it gently in each quiet smile of faith and
confidence with which you bless each other.
T 22 G 10. On your learning depends the welfare of the world. And it is
only arrogance that would deny the power of your will. Think you the Will of
God is powerless? Is this humility? You do not see what this belief
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has done. You see yourself as vulnerable, frail and easily destroyed, and at
the mercy of countless attackers more powerful than you. Let us look straight
at how this error came about, for here lies buried the heavy anchor that seems
to keep the fear of God in place, unmovable and solid as a rock. While this
remains, so will it seem to be.
T 22 G 11. Who can attack the Son of God and NOT attack his Father? How
can God's Son be weak and frail and easily destroyed UNLESS his Father is? You
do not see that every sin and every condemnation which you perceive and justify
IS an attack upon your Father. And that is why it has not happened, nor COULD
be real. You do not see that this is your attempt because you think the Father
and the Son are separate. And you MUST think that They are separate, because of
fear. For it seems safer to attack another or yourself than to attack the great
Creator of the universe, Whose power you KNOW.
T 22 G 12. If you were one with God and RECOGNIZED this oneness, you would
know His power is YOURS. But you will not remember this while you believe
attack of any kind means anything. It is unjustified in any form BECAUSE it has
no meaning. The only way it could be justified is if each one of you were
separate from the other, and all were separate from your Creator. For only then
would it be possible to attack a part of the creation without the whole, the Son
without the Father; and to attack another without yourself, or hurt yourself
without the other feeling pain. And this belief you WANT. Yet wherein lies its
value except in the desire to attack in safety? Attack is neither safe nor
dangerous. It is IMPOSSIBLE. And this is so BECAUSE the universe is one. You
would not choose attack on its reality if it were not essential to attack to see
it separated from its maker. And thus it seems as if love could attack, and
become fearful.
T 22 G 13. Only the DIFFERENT can attack. So you conclude BECAUSE you can
attack you MUST be different. Yet does the Holy Spirit explain this
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differently. BECAUSE you are not different, you CANNOT attack. Either position
is a logical conclusion, if only the different can attack. Either could be
maintained, but never both. The only question to be answered to decide which
must be true is whether you ARE different. From the position of what you
understand, you seem to be, and therefore can attack. Of the alternatives, this
seems more natural and more in line with your experience. And therefore it is
necessary that you have other experiences, more in line with truth, to teach you
what IS natural and true.
T 22 G 14. This is the function of your holy relationship. For what one
thinks the other will experience with him. What can this mean EXCEPT your minds
are one? Look not with fear upon this happy fact, and think not that it lays a
heavy burden on you. For when you have accepted it with gladness, you will
realize that your relationship is a reflection of the union of the Creator and
His Son. From loving minds there IS no separation. And every thought in one
brings gladness to the other BECAUSE they are the same. Joy is unlimited
because each shining thought of love extends its being, and creates more of
itself. There is no difference anywhere in it, for every thought is like
itself.
T 22 G 15. The light that joins you shines throughout the universe, and
because it joins you, so it makes you one with your Creator. And in Him is all
creation joined. Would you regret you cannot fear alone, when your relationship
can also teach the power of love is there, which makes all fear impossible? Do
not attempt to keep a little of the ego with this gift. For it was given you to
be USED, and not obscured. What teaches you you cannot separate DENIES the ego.
Let truth decide if you be different or the same, and teach you which IS true.
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Chapter XXIII 23 - THE WAR AGAINST YOURSELF
T 23A. Introduction
T 23 A 1. Do you not see the opposite of frailty and weakness is sinlessness?
Innocence is strength, and nothing else is strong. The sinless cannot fear, for
sin of any kind is weakness. The show of strength attack would use to cover
frailty conceals it not, for how can the unreal be hidden? No one is strong who
has an enemy, and no one can attack unless he thinks he has. Belief in enemies
is therefore the belief in weakness, and what is weak is NOT the Will of God.
Being opposed to It, it is Its "enemy." And God is feared as an OPPOSING will.
T 23 A 2. How strange indeed becomes this war against yourself! You will
believe that everything you use for sin can hurt you, and become your enemy.
And you will fight against it, and try to weaken it because of this; and you
will think that you succeeded, and attack again. It is as certain you will fear
what you attack as it is sure that you will love what you perceive as sinless.
He walks in peace who travels sinlessly along the way love shows him. For love
walks with him there, protecting him from fear. And he will see only the
sinless, who can not attack.
T 23 A 3. Walk you in glory, with your head held high, and fear no evil. The
innocent are safe because they share their innocence. Nothing they see is
harmful, for their awareness of the truth releases everything from the illusion
of harmfulness. And what seemed harmful now stands shining in their innocence,
released from sin and fear, and happily returned to love. They share the
strength of love BECAUSE they looked on innocence. And every error disappeared
because they saw it not. Who looks for glory finds it where it IS. Where could
it be but in the innocent?
T 23 A 4. Let not the little interferers pull you to littleness. There CAN be
no attraction of guilt in innocence. Think what a happy world you walk, with
truth beside you! Do not give up this world of freedom for a little sigh of
seeming sin, nor for a tiny stirring of guilt's attraction. Would you, for all
these meaningless distractions, lay Heaven aside? Your
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destiny and purpose are far beyond them, in the clean place where littleness
does not exist. Your purpose is at variance with littleness of any kind. And
so it is at variance with sin.
T 23 A 5. Let us not let littleness lead God's Son into temptation. His glory
is BEYOND it, measureless and timeless as eternity. Do not let time intrude
upon your sight of him. Leave him not frightened and alone in his temptation,
but help him rise above it and perceive the light of which he is a part. Your
innocence will light the way to his, and so is yours protected, and KEPT in your
awareness. For who can know his glory, and perceive the little and the weak
about him? Who can walk trembling in a fearful world, and realize that Heaven's
glory shines on him?
T 23 A 6. Nothing around you but is part of you. Look on it lovingly, and see
the light of Heaven in it. So will you come to understand all that is given
you. In kind forgiveness will the world sparkle and shine, and everything you
once thought sinful now will be re-interpreted as part of Heaven. How beautiful
it is to walk, clean and redeemed and happy, through a world in bitter need of
the redemption that your innocence bestows upon it! What can you value more
than this? For here is your salvation and your freedom. And it must be
complete if YOU would recognize it.
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T 23 B. The Irreconcilable Beliefs
T 23 B 1. The memory of God comes to the quiet mind. It cannot come where
there is conflict, for a mind at war against itself remembers not eternal
gentleness. The means of war are not the means of peace, and what the warlike
would remember is not love. War is impossible unless belief in victory is
cherished. Conflict within you must imply that you believe the ego has the
power to BE victorious. Why else would you identify with it? Surely you
realize the ego is at war with God. Certain it is it has no enemy. Yet just as
certain is its fixed belief it HAS an enemy that it must overcome and WILL
succeed.
T 23 B 2. Do you not realize a war against yourself would BE a war on God? Is
victory conceivable? And if it were, is this a victory that you would WANT?
The death of God, if it were possible, would be YOUR death. Is this a VICTORY?
The ego ALWAYS marches to defeat, because it thinks that triumph over you is
possible. And God thinks otherwise. This is no war; only the mad belief the
Will of God can be attacked and overthrown. You may IDENTIFY with this belief,
but never will it be more than madness. And fear will reign in madness, and
will seem to have replaced love there. This is the conflict's PURPOSE. And to
those who think that it is possible, the means seem real.
T 23 B 3. Be certain that it is impossible God and the ego, or yourself and it,
will EVER meet. You SEEM to meet, and make your strange alliances on grounds
that have no meaning. For your beliefs converge upon the body, the ego's chosen
home, which you believe is YOURS. You meet at a mistake; an error in your
self-appraisal. The ego joins with an illusion of yourself you SHARE with it.
And yet illusions cannot join. They are the same, and they are nothing. Their
joining lies in nothingness; two are as meaningless as one, or as a thousand.
The ego joins with nothing, BEING nothing. The victory it seeks is meaningless
as is itself.
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T 23 B 4. Brothers, the war against yourself is almost over. The journey's end
is at the place of peace. Would you not now accept the peace offered you here?
This "enemy" you fought as an intruder on your peace is here transformed, before
your sight, into the giver of your peace. Your "enemy" was God Himself, to Whom
all conflict, triumph and attack of any kind are all unknown. He loves you
perfectly, completely and eternally. The Son of God at war with his Creator is
a condition as ridiculous as nature roaring at the wind in anger, and
proclaiming that it is part of itself no more.
T 23 B 5. Could nature possibly establish this, and make it true? Nor IS it up
to you to say what shall be part of you, and what is kept apart. The war
against yourself was undertaken to teach the Son of God that he is not himself,
and not his Father's Son. For this, the memory of his Father MUST be forgotten.
It IS forgotten in the body's life, and if you think you are a body, you will
believe you HAVE forgotten it. Yet truth can never be forgotten by ITSELF, and
you have NOT forgotten what you are. Only a strange illusion of yourself, a
wish to triumph over what you are, remembers not.
T 23 B 6. The war against yourself is but the battle of two illusions,
struggling to make them different from each other, in the belief the one which
conquers will be true. There IS no conflict between them and the TRUTH. Nor
ARE they different from each other. Both are not true. And so it matters not
what form they take. What made them is insane, and they remain part of what
made them. Madness holds out no menace to reality, and has no influence upon
it. Illusions CANNOT triumph over truth, nor can they threaten it in any way.
And the reality which they deny is not a part of them.
T 23 B 7. What YOU remember IS a part of you. For you MUST be as God created
you. Truth does not fight against illusions, nor do illusions fight against the
truth. Illusions battle only with themselves. Being fragmented, they fragment.
But truth is indivisible, and far beyond their
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little reach. You will remember what you know when you have learned you cannot
BE in conflict. One illusion about yourself can battle with another, yet the
war of two illusions is a state where NOTHING happens. There is no victor and
there is no victory. And truth stands radiant, apart from conflict, untouched
and quiet in the peace of God.
T 23 B 8. Conflict must be between TWO forces. It cannot exist between one
power and nothingness. There is nothing you could attack that is not part of
you. And BY attacking it, you make two illusions of yourself, in conflict with
each other. And this occurs whenever you look on anything that God created with
anything but love. Conflict is fearful, for it is the BIRTH of fear. Yet what
is born of nothing cannot win reality through battle. Why would you fill your
world with conflicts with yourself? Let all this madness be undone for you, and
turn in peace to the remembrance of God, still shining in your quiet mind.
T 23 B 9. See how the conflict of illusions disappears when it is brought to
truth! For it seems real only as long as it is seen as war between conflicting
TRUTHS, the conqueror to be the truer, the more real, and vanquisher of the
illusion that was less real, made an illusion by defeat. Thus, conflict is the
choice BETWEEN illusions, one to be crowned as real, the other vanquished and
despised. Here will the Father NEVER be remembered. Yet no illusion can invade
His home, and drive Him out of what He loves forever. And what He loves must be
forever quiet and at peace BECAUSE it is His home. And you who are beloved of
Him are no illusions, being as true and holy as Himself.
T 23 B 10. The stillness of your certainty of Him and of yourself is home
to both of you, who dwell as one and not apart. Open the door of His most holy
home, and let forgiveness sweep away all trace of the belief in sin that keeps
God homeless and His Son with Him. You are not strangers in the house of God.
Welcome your brother to the home where God has set him in serenity and peace,
and dwells with him. Illusions have no place where
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love abides, protecting you from everything that is not true. You dwell in
peace as limitless as its Creator, and everything is given those who would
remember Him. Over His home the Holy Spirit watches, sure that its peace can
never be disturbed.
T 23 B 11. How can the resting place of God turn on itself, and seek to
overcome the One Who dwells there? And think what happens when the house of God
perceives itself divided. The altar disappears, the light grows dim, the temple
of the Holy One becomes a house of sin. And nothing is remembered except
illusions. Illusions can conflict because their forms are different. And they
do battle only to establish which form is true.
T 23 B 12. Illusion meets illusion; truth, itself. The meeting of
illusions leads to war. Peace, looking on itself, extends itself. War is the
condition in which fear is born, and grows, and seeks to dominate. Peace is the
state where love abides, and seeks to share itself. Conflict and peace are
opposites. Where one abides the other cannot be; where either goes the other
disappears. So is the memory of God obscured in minds that have become
illusion’s [T203] battleground. Yet far beyond this senseless war it shines,
ready to be remembered when you side with peace.
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T 23 C. The Laws of Chaos
T 23 C 1. The "laws" of chaos can be brought to light, though never understood.
Chaotic laws are hardly meaningful, and therefore out of reason's sphere. Yet
they appear to constitute an obstacle to reason and to truth. Let us, then,
look upon them calmly, that we may look beyond them, understanding what they
are, not what they would maintain. It is essential it be understood what they
are for, because it is their purpose to make meaningless, and to attack the
truth. Here are the laws that rule the world you made. And yet they govern
nothing, and need not be broken; merely looked upon and gone beyond.
T 23 C 2. The first chaotic law is that the truth is different for everyone.
Like all these principles, this one maintains that each is separate, and has a
different set of thoughts which set him off from others. This principle evolves
from the belief there is a hierarchy of illusions; some are more valuable, and
therefore true. Each one establishes this for himself, and MAKES it true by his
attack on what another values. And this is justified because the values differ,
and those who hold them seem to be unlike, and therefore enemies.
T 23 C 3. Think how this seems to interfere with the first principle of
miracles. For this establishes degrees of truth among illusions, making it
appear that some of them are harder to overcome than others. If it were
realized that they are all the same and equally untrue, it would be easy, then,
to understand that miracles apply to ALL of them. Errors of any kind can be
corrected BECAUSE they are untrue. When brought to truth instead of to EACH
OTHER, they merely disappear. No part of nothing can be more resistant to the
truth than can another.
T 23 C 4. The second law of chaos, dear indeed to every worshipper of sin, is
that each one must sin, and therefore deserves attack and death. This
principle, closely related to the first, is the demand that errors call for
punishment, and not correction. For the destruction of the one who makes the
error places him beyond correction, and beyond forgiveness. What
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he has done is thus interpreted as an irrevocable sentence upon himself, which
God Himself is powerless to overcome. Sin cannot be remitted, being the belief
the Son of God can make mistakes for which his own destruction becomes
inevitable.
T 23 C 5. Think what this seems to do to the relationship between the Father
and the Son. Now it appears that they can never be one again. For ONE must
always be condemned, and by the OTHER. Now are they different, and ENEMIES.
And their relationship is one of opposition, just as the separate aspects of the
Son meet only to conflict, but not to join. One becomes weak, the other strong
by his defeat. And fear of God and of each other now appears as sensible, made
real by what the Son of God has done both to himself and his Creator. The
arrogance on which the laws of chaos stand could not be more apparent than
emerges here.
T 23 C 6. Here is a principle which would define what the Creator of reality
must be; what He must think and what He must believe; and how He must respond,
believing it. It is not seen as even necessary that He be asked about the truth
of what has been established for His belief. His Son can tell Him this, and He
has but the choice whether to take his word for it or be mistaken. This leads
directly to the third preposterous belief that seems to make chaos eternal. For
if God cannot BE mistaken, then He MUST accept His Son's belief in what he is,
and hate him for it.
T 23 C 7. See how the fear of God is reinforced by this third principle. Now
it becomes impossible to turn to Him for help in misery. For now He has become
the "enemy" Who CAUSED it, and to Whom appeal is useless. Nor can salvation lie
within the Son, whose every aspect seems to be at war with Him, and justified in
its attack. And now is conflict made inevitable, and beyond the help of God.
And now salvation must remain impossible, because the Savior has become the
enemy.
T 23 C 8. There can be no release and no escape. Atonement thus becomes a
myth, and vengeance, not forgiveness, is the Will of God. From where
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all this begins, there is no sight of help that can succeed. Only destruction
can BE the outcome. And God Himself seems to be siding with it, to overcome His
Son. Think not the ego will enable you to find escape from what it WANTS. That
is the function of this course, which does not value what the ego cherishes.
T 23 C 9. The ego values only what it TAKES. This leads to the fourth law of
chaos, which, if the others are accepted, must be true. This seeming law is the
belief you HAVE what you have taken. By this, another's loss becomes your gain,
and thus it fails to recognize that you can never take away save from YOURSELF.
Yet all the other laws must lead to this. For enemies do not give willingly to
one another, nor would they seek to share the things they value. And what your
enemies would keep from you must be worth having, just because they keep it
hidden from your sight.
T 23 C 10. All of the mechanisms of madness are seen emerging here: The
"enemy," made strong by keeping hidden the valuable inheritance which should be
yours; your justified position, and attack for what has been withheld; and the
inevitable loss the enemy must suffer, to save yourself. Thus do the guilty
ones protest their "innocence." Were they not forced into this foul attack by
the unscrupulous behavior of the enemy, they would respond with only kindness.
But in a savage world the kind cannot survive, so they must take or else be
taken from.
T 23 C 11. And now there is a vague unanswered question, not yet
"explained." What is this precious thing, this priceless pearl, this hidden
secret treasure, to be wrested in righteous wrath from this most treacherous and
cunning enemy? It must be what you want but never found. And now you
"understand" the reason why you found it not. For it was taken from you by this
enemy, and hidden where you would not think to look. He hid it in his body,
making it the cover for his guilt, the hiding place for what belongs to you.
Now must his body be destroyed and sacrificed, that you may HAVE that which
belongs to you. His treachery demands his death, that YOU may
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live. And you attack only in self defense.
T 23 C 12. But what is it you want that NEEDS his death? Can you be sure
your murderous attack is justified unless you know what it is FOR? And here a
final principle of chaos comes to the rescue. It holds there is a SUBSTITUTE
for love. This is the "magic" that will cure all of your pain; the missing
factor in your madness that makes it "sane." This is the reason why you must
attack. Here is what makes your vengeance justified. Behold, unveiled, the
ego's secret gift, torn from your brother's body, hidden there in malice and in
hatred for the one to whom the gift belongs. He would deprive you of the secret
ingredient which would give meaning to your life. The substitute for love, born
of your enmity to one another, must be salvation. It has no substitute, and
there is only one. And all your relationships have but the purpose of seizing
it, and making it your own.
T 23 C 13. Never is your possession made complete. And never will your
brother cease his attack on you for what you stole. Nor will God end His
vengeance upon both, for in His madness He must have this substitute for love,
and kill you both. You who believe you walk in sanity, with feet on solid
ground, and through a world where meaning can be found, consider this: These ARE
the laws on which your "sanity" appears to rest. [T204] These ARE the principles
which make the ground beneath your feet seem solid. And it IS here you look for
meaning. These are the laws you made for your salvation. They hold in place
the substitute for Heaven which you prefer. This is their purpose; they were
made for this. There is no point in asking what they mean. That is apparent.
The means of madness must be insane. Are you as certain that you realize the
GOAL is madness?
T 23 C 14. No one WANTS madness, nor does anyone cling to his madness if
he sees that this is what it IS. What protects madness is the belief that it is
TRUE. It is the function of insanity to take the PLACE of truth. It must be
seen as truth to be believed. And if it is the truth, then must its opposite,
which was the truth before, be madness now. Such a reversal, completely turned
around, with madness sanity, illusions true, attack a
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kindness, hatred love and murder benediction, is the goal the laws of chaos
serve. These are the means by which the laws of God appear to be reversed.
Here do the laws of sin appear to hold love captive, and let sin go free.
T 23 C 15. These do not SEEM to be the goals of chaos, for by the great
reversal, they appear to be the laws of ORDER. How could it not be so? Chaos
is lawlessness, and HAS no laws. To be believed, its seeming laws must be
perceived as real. Their goal of madness must be seen as sanity. And fear,
with ashen lips and sightless eyes, blinded and terrible to look upon, is lifted
to the throne of love, its dying conqueror, its substitute, the savior from
salvation. How lovely do the laws of fear make death appear! Give thanks unto
the hero on love's throne, who saved the Son of God for fear and death!
T 23 C 16. And yet, how can it be that laws like these can be believed?
There is a strange device that makes it possible. Nor is it unfamiliar; we have
seen how it appears to function many times before. In truth it does NOT
function, yet in dreams, where only shadows play the major roles, it seems most
powerful. No law of chaos could compel belief but for the emphasis on FORM and
disregard of CONTENT. No one who thinks that one of them is true SEES what it
says. Some forms it takes seem to have meaning, and that is all.
T 23 C 17. How can some forms of murder NOT mean death? Can an attack in
ANY form be love? What FORM of condemnation is a blessing? Who makes his
Savior powerless and FINDS salvation? Let not the form of the attack on him
deceive you. You CANNOT seek to harm him and be saved. Who can find safety
from attack by turning on himself? How can it matter WHAT the form this madness
takes? It is a judgment that defeats itself, condemning what it says it wants
to save. Be not deceived when madness takes a form you think is lovely. What
is intent on your destruction is NOT your friend.
T 23 C 18. You would maintain, and think it true, that you do not believe
these senseless laws, nor act upon them. And when you look at what they SAY,
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they cannot BE believed. Brothers, you DO believe them. For how else could you
perceive the form they take, with content such as this? Can ANY form of this be
tenable? Yet you believe them FOR the form they take, and do not RECOGNIZE the
content. It never changes. Can you paint rosy lips upon a skeleton, dress it
in loveliness, pet it and pamper it, and make it LIVE? And can you be content
with an ILLUSION that you are living?
T 23 C 19. There IS no life outside of Heaven. Where God created life,
there life must be. In any state apart from Heaven, life is illusion. At best,
it seems like life; at worst, like death. Yet both are judgments on what is not
life, equal in their inaccuracy and lack of meaning. Life not in Heaven is
impossible, and what is not in Heaven is not anywhere. Outside of Heaven, only
the conflict of illusions stands; senseless, impossible and beyond all reason,
and yet perceived as an eternal barrier to Heaven. Illusions ARE but forms.
Their content is NEVER true.
T 23 C 20. The laws of chaos govern all illusions. Their forms conflict,
making it seem quite possible to value some above the others. Yet each one
rests as surely on the belief the laws of chaos are the laws of order as do the
others. Each one upholds these laws completely, offering a certain witness that
these laws are true. The seeming gentler forms of the attack are no less
certain in their witnessing, or their results. Certain it is illusions will
bring fear because of the beliefs that they imply, not for their form. And lack
of faith in love, in ANY form, attests to chaos as reality.
T 23 C 21. From the belief in sin, the faith in chaos MUST follow. It is
because it follows that it seems to be a logical conclusion; a valid step in
ordered thought. The steps to chaos DO follow neatly from their starting point.
Each is a different form in the progression of truth's reversal, leading still
deeper into terror, and away from truth. Think not one step is smaller than
another, nor that return from one is easier. The whole
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descent from Heaven lies in each one. And where your thinking starts, there
must it end.
T 23 C 22. Brothers, take not one step in the descent to hell. For having
taken one, you will not recognize the rest for what they are. And they WILL
follow. Attack in any form has placed your foot upon the twisted stairway that
leads from Heaven. Yet any instant it is possible to have all this undone. How
can you know whether you chose the stairs to Heaven or the way to hell? Quite
easily. How do you feel? Is peace in your awareness? Are you certain which
way you go? And are you sure the goal of Heaven CAN be reached? If not, you
walk alone. Ask, then, your Friend to join with you, and GIVE you certainty of
where you go.
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T 23 D. Salvation Without Compromise
T 23 D 1. Is it not true you do not recognize some of the forms attack can
take? If it is true attack in any form will hurt you, and will do so just as
much as in another form which you DO recognize, then it must follow that you do
not always recognize the source of pain. Attack in ANY form is equally
destructive. Its purpose does not change. Its sole intent is murder, and what
form of murder serves to cover the massive guilt and frantic fear of punishment
the murderer must feel? He may deny he is a murderer, and justify his savagery
with smiles as he attacks. Yet he will suffer, and will look on his intent in
nightmares where the smiles are gone, and where the purpose rises to meet his
horrified awareness and pursue him still. For no one thinks of murder and
escapes the guilt the THOUGHT entails. If the intent is death, what matter the
form it takes?
T 23 D 2. Is death in any form, however lovely and charitable it may seem to
be, a blessing and a sign the Voice for God speaks through you to your brother?
The wrapping does not make the gift you give. An empty box, however beautiful
and gently given, still contains nothing. And neither the receiver nor the
giver is long deceived. Withhold forgiveness from your brother, and you attack
him. You give him nothing, and receive of him but what you gave.
T 23 D 3. Salvation is no compromise of any kind. To compromise is to accept
but part of what you want; to take a little, and give up the rest. Salvation
gives up nothing. It is complete for everyone. Let the idea of compromise but
enter, and the awareness of salvation's purpose is lost, because it is not
recognized. It is denied where compromise has been accepted for compromise is
the belief salvation is impossible. It would maintain you can attack a little,
love a little, and know the DIFFERENCE. Thus it would teach a little of the
same can still be different, and yet the same remain intact, as one. Does this
make sense? Can it BE understood?
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T 23 D 4. This course is easy just because it makes no compromise. Yet it
seems difficult to those who still believe that compromise is possible. They do
not see that, if it is, salvation is ATTACK. Yet it is certain the belief that
salvation is impossible cannot uphold a quiet, calm assurance it has come.
Forgiveness cannot be withheld a little. Nor is it possible to attack for this
and love for that, and understand forgiveness. Would you not WANT to recognize
assault upon your peace in any form, if only thus does it become impossible that
YOU lose sight of it? It can be kept shining before your vision, forever clear
and never out of sight, if you defend it not.
T 23 D 5. Those who believe that peace can BE defended, and that attack is
justified on its behalf, cannot perceive it lies within them. How could they
know? Could they accept forgiveness side by side with the belief that murder
takes some forms by which their peace is saved? Would they be willing to accept
the fact their savage purpose is directed against themselves? No one unites
with enemies, nor is at one with them in purpose. And no one compromises with
an enemy but hates him still, for what he kept from him.
T 23 D 6. Mistake not truce for peace, nor compromise for the escape from
conflict. To be released from conflict means that it is OVER. The door is
open; you have LEFT the battleground. You have not lingered there in cowering
hope, because the guns are stilled an instant, and the fear that haunts the
place of death is not apparent, that it will not return. There IS no safety in
a battleground. You can look down on it in safety from above, and not be
touched. But from within it, you can find NO safety. Not one tree left
standing still will shelter you. Not one illusion of protection stands against
the faith in murder. Here stands the body, torn between the natural desire to
communicate and the unnatural intent to murder and to die. Think you the FORM
that murder takes can offer safety? Can guilt be ABSENT from a battlefield? Do
not remain in conflict, for there IS no war without attack. [T205]
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T 23 E. The Fear of Life
T 23 E 1. The fear of God is fear of LIFE, and not of death. Yet He remains
the only place of safety. In Him is no attack, and no illusion in any form
stalks Heaven. Heaven is wholly true. No difference enters, and what is all
the same cannot conflict. You are not asked to fight against your wish to
murder. But you ARE asked to realize the form it takes conceals the same
intent. And it is THIS you fear, and not the form. What is not love is murder.
What is not loving MUST be an attack. Every illusion is an assault on truth,
and every one does violence to the idea of love because it seems to be of EQUAL
truth.
T 23 E 2. What can be equal to the truth, yet different? Murder and love are
incompatible. Yet if they both are true, then must they be the same, and
indistinguishable from one another. So will they be to those who see God's Son
a body. For it is not the body that is like the Son's Creator. And what is
lifeless cannot BE the Son of Life. How can a body be extended to hold the
universe? Can it create, and BE what it creates? And can it offer its
creations all that it is, and never suffer loss?
T 23 E 3. God does not share His function with a body. He gave the function to
create unto His Son because it is His Own. It is not sinful to believe the
function of the Son is murder, but it IS insanity. What is the same can HAVE no
different function. Creation is the means for God's extension, and what is His
must be His Son's as well. Either the Father AND the Son are murderers, or
neither is. Life makes not death, creating like itself.
T 23 E 4. The lovely light of your relationship is like the Love of God. It
cannot yet assume the holy function God gave His Son, for your forgiveness of
one another is not complete as yet, and so it cannot be extended to all
creation. Each form of murder and attack that still attracts you, and that you
do not recognize for what it is, limits the healing and the miracles you have
the power to extend to all. Yet does the Holy Spirit understand how to increase
your little gifts, and make them mighty. Also He understands how your
relationship is raised above the battleground, in
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it no more. This is your part; to realize that murder in ANY form is not your
will. The OVERLOOKING of the battleground is now your purpose.
T 23 E 5. Be lifted up, and from a higher place look down upon it. From there
will your perspective be quite different. Here in the midst of it, it DOES seem
real. Here you have CHOSEN to be part of it. Here murder IS your choice. Yet
from above, the choice is miracles instead of murder. And the perspective
coming from this choice shows you the battle is not real, and easily escaped.
Bodies may battle, but the clash of forms is meaningless. And it is over when
you realize it never was begun. How can a battle be perceived as nothingness
when you engage in it? How can the truth of miracles be recognized if murder is
your choice?
T 23 E 6. When the temptation to attack rises to make your mind darkened and
murderous, remember you CAN see the battle from above. Even in forms you do not
recognize, the signs you know. There is a stab of pain, a twinge of guilt, and
above all, a loss of peace. This you know well. When it occurs, leave not your
place on high, but quickly choose a miracle INSTEAD of murder. And God Himself
and all the lights of Heaven will gently lean to you, and hold you up. For you
have chosen to remain where He would have you, and NO illusion can attack the
peace of God together with His Son.
T 23 E 7. See no one from the battleground, for there you look on him from
nowhere. You have no reference-point from where to look, where meaning can be
given what you see. For only bodies could attack and murder, and if this is
your purpose, then you must be one with them. Only a purpose unifies, and those
who share a purpose have a mind as one. The body HAS no purpose, and must be
solitary. From below, it cannot be surmounted. From above, the limits it
exerts on those in battle still are gone, and not perceived. The body stands
between the Father and the Heaven He created for His Son BECAUSE it has no
purpose.
T 23 E 8. Think what is given those who share their Father's purpose, and
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who know that it is theirs! They want for nothing. Sorrow of any kind is
inconceivable. Only the light they love is in awareness, and only love shines
upon them forever. It is their past, their present and their future; always the
same, eternally complete and wholly shared. They know it is impossible their
happiness could ever suffer change of any kind. Perhaps you think the
battleground can offer something that you can win. Can it be anything that
offers you a perfect calmness, and a sense of love so deep and quiet that no
touch of doubt can ever mar your certainty? And that will last forever?
T 23 E 9. Those with the strength of God in their awareness could never think
of battle. What could they gain but LOSS of their perfection? For everything
fought for on the battleground is of the body; something it seems to offer or to
own. No one who knows that he has everything could seek for limitation, nor
could he value the body's offerings. The senselessness of conquest is quite
apparent from the quiet sphere above the battleground. What can conflict with
everything? And what is there that offers less yet could be wanted more? Who
with the Love of God upholding him could find the choice of miracles or murder
hard to make?
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Chapter XXIV 24 - SPECIALNESS AND SEPARATION
T 24 A. Introduction
T 24 A 1. Forget not that the motivation for this course is the attainment and
the keeping of the state of peace. Given this state the mind is quiet, and the
condition in which God is remembered is attained. It is not necessary to tell
Him what to do. He will not fail. Where He can enter, there He is already.
And can it be He cannot enter where He wills to be? Peace will be yours BECAUSE
it is His Will. Can you believe a shadow can hold back the Will that holds the
universe secure? God does not wait upon illusions to let Him be Himself. No
more His Son. They ARE. And what illusion that idly seems to drift between
Them has the power to defeat what is Their Will?
T 24 A 2. To learn this course requires willingness to question every value
that you hold. Not one can be kept hidden and obscure but it will jeopardize
your learning. No belief is neutral. Every one [T206] has the power to dictate
each decision you make. For a decision is a conclusion based on everything that
you believe. It is the OUTCOME of belief, and follows it as surely as does
suffering follow guilt and freedom sinlessness. There IS no substitute for
peace. What God creates HAS no alternative. The truth arises from what He
KNOWS. And your decisions come from your beliefs as certainly as all creation
rose in His Mind BECAUSE of what He knows.
T 24 B. Specialness as a Substitute for Love
T 24 B 1. Love is extension. To withhold the smallest gift is not to know
love's purpose. Love offers everything forever. Hold back but one belief, one
offering, and love is gone, because you asked a substitute to take its place.
And now must war, the substitute for peace, come with the one alternative that
you can choose for love. Your choosing it has given it all the reality it seems
to have.
T 24 B 2. Beliefs will never openly attack each other, because conflicting
outcomes are impossible. But an unrecognized belief is a decision to war in
secret, where the results of conflict are kept unknown and never brought to
reason, to be considered sensible or not. And many senseless outcomes have been
reached, and meaningless decisions have been made and kept hidden,
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to become beliefs now given power to direct all subsequent decisions. Mistake
you not the power of these hidden warriors to disrupt your peace. For it IS at
their mercy while you decide to leave it there. The secret enemies of peace,
your least decision to choose attack instead of love, unrecognized and swift to
challenge you to combat and to violence far more inclusive than you think, are
there by your election. Do not deny their presence nor their terrible results.
All that can be denied is their REALITY, but not their outcome.
T 24 B 3. All that is ever cherished as a hidden belief, to be defended though
unrecognized, is faith in specialness. This takes many forms, but always
clashes with the reality of God's creation, and with the grandeur which He gave
His Son. What else could justify attack? For who could hate someone whose Self
is his, and whom He knows? Only the special could have enemies, for they are
different and not the same. And difference of any kind imposes orders of
reality, and a need to judge that cannot be escaped.
T 24 B 4. What God created cannot be attacked, for there is nothing in the
universe unlike itself. But what is different CALLS for judgment, and this must
come from someone "better," someone incapable of being like what he condemns,
"above" it, sinless by comparison with it. And thus does specialness become a
means and end at once. For specialness not only sets apart, but serves as
grounds from which attack on those who seem "beneath" the special one is
"natural" and "just." The special ones feel weak and frail BECAUSE of
differences, for what would make them special IS their enemy. Yet they protect
its enmity, and call it "friend." On its behalf they fight against the
universe, for nothing in the world they value more.
T 24 B 5. Specialness is the great dictator of the wrong decisions. Here is
the grand illusion of what you are, and what your brother is. And here is what
must make the body dear, and worth preserving. Specialness must be DEFENDED.
Illusions CAN attack it, and they DO. For what your brother
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must become to KEEP your specialness IS an illusion. He who is "worse" than you
must be attacked, so that your specialness can live on his defeat. For
specialness is triumph, and its victory is his defeat and shame. How can he
live, with all your sins upon him? And who must be his conqueror but you?
T 24 B 6. Would it be possible for you to hate your brother if you were like
him? Could you attack him if you realized you journey with him, to a goal that
is the same? Would you not help him reach it, in every way you could, if his
attainment of it were perceived as yours? You ARE his enemy in specialness; his
friend in a shared purpose. Specialness can never share, for it depends on
goals that you alone can reach. And he must never reach them, or your goal is
jeopardized. Can love have meaning where the goal is triumph? And what
decision can be made for this that will not hurt you? Your brother is your
friend BECAUSE his Father created him like you. There IS no difference. You
have been given to each other that love might be extended, not cut off from one
another. What you KEEP is lost to you. God gave you both Himself, and to
remember this is now the only purpose that you share. And so it is the only one
you HAVE.
T 24 B 7. Could you attack each other if you chose to see no specialness of any
kind between you? Look fairly at whatever makes you give each other only
partial welcome, or would let you think that you are better off apart. Is it
not always your belief your specialness is LIMITED by your relationship? And is
not this the "enemy" that makes you both illusions to each other?
T 24 B 8. The fear of God, and of each other, comes from each unrecognized
belief in specialness. For each demands the other bow to it AGAINST his will.
And God Himself must honor it, or suffer vengeance. Every twinge of malice, or
stab of hate, or wish to separate arises here. For here the purpose which you
share becomes obscured from both of you. You would oppose this course because
it teaches you you are ALIKE. You have no
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purpose that is not the same, and none your Father does not share with you. For
your relationship has been made clean of special goals. And would you now
DEFEAT the goal of holiness that Heaven gave it? What perspective can the
special have that does not change with every seeming blow, each slight, or
fancied judgment on itself?
T 24 B 9. Those who are special MUST defend illusions against the truth. For
what is specialness but an attack upon the Will of God? You love your brother
not while it is this you would defend against him. This is what HE attacks, and
YOU protect. Here is the ground of battle which you wage against him. Here
must he be your enemy, and not your friend. Never can there be peace among the
different. He is your friend BECAUSE you are the same.
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T 24 C. The Treachery of Specialness
T 24 C 1. Comparison must be an ego device, for love makes none. Specialness
ALWAYS makes comparisons. It is established by a lack seen in another, and
maintained by searching for, and keeping clear in sight, all lacks it can
perceive. This does it seek, and this it looks upon. And always whom it thus
diminishes would be your Savior, had you not chosen to make of him a tiny
measure of your specialness instead. Against the littleness you see in him you
stand as tall and stately, clean and honest, pure and unsullied, by comparison
with what you see. Nor do you understand it is YOURSELF that you diminish thus.
T 24 C 2. Pursuit of specialness is always at the cost of peace. Who can
attack his Savior and cut him down, yet RECOGNIZE his strong support? Who can
detract from his omnipotence, yet SHARE his power? And who can use him as the
gauge of littleness, and be RELEASED from limits? You have a function in
salvation. Its pursuit will bring you joy. But the pursuit of specialness MUST
bring you pain. Here is a goal that would defeat salvation, and thus run
counter to the Will of God. To value specialness is to esteem an alien will to
which illusions of yourself are dearer than the truth.
T 24 C 3. Specialness is the idea of sin made real. Sin is impossible even to
imagine without this base. For sin arose from it, out of nothingness; an evil
flower with no roots at all. Here is the self-made "savior," the "creator" who
creates unlike the Father, and which made His Son like to itself, and not like
unto Him. His "special" sons are many, NEVER one, each one in exile from
himself, and Him of Whom they are a part. Nor do they love the Oneness Which
created them as one with Him. They chose their specialness instead of Heaven
and instead of peace, and wrapped it carefully in sin, to keep it "safe" from
truth.
T 24 C 4. You are NOT special. If you think you are, and would defend your
specialness against the truth of what you REALLY are, how can you know the
truth? What answer that the Holy Spirit gives can reach you, when it is your
specialness to which you listen, and which asks and answers? Its tiny
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answer, soundless in the melody which pours from God to you eternally in loving
praise of what you are, is all you listen to. And that vast song of honor and
of love for what you are seems silent and unheard before its "mightiness." You
strain your ears to hear its soundless voice, and yet the Call of God Himself is
soundless to you.
T 24 C 5. You can defend your specialness, but never will you hear the Voice
for God beside it. They speak a different language and they fall on different
ears. To every special one a different message, and one with different meaning,
is the truth. Yet how can truth be different to each one? The special messages
the special hear convince them they are different and apart; each in his special
sins and "safe" from love, which does not see his specialness at all. Christ's
vision is their "enemy," for it sees not what they would look upon, and it would
show them that the specialness they think they see IS an illusion.
T 24 C 6. What would they see instead? (They would see) [T207] The shining
radiance of the Son of God, so like his Father that the memory of Him springs
instantly to mind. And with this memory, the Son remembers his own creations,
as like to him as he is to his Father. And all the world he made, and all his
specialness, and all the sins he held in its defense against himself, will
vanish as his mind accepts the truth about himself, as it returns to take their
place. This is the only "cost" of truth: You will no longer see what never was,
nor hear what makes no sound. Is it a sacrifice to give up nothing, and to
receive the Love of God forever?
T 24 C 7. You who have chained your Savior to your specialness, and given it
his place, remember this: He has not lost the power to forgive you all the sins
you think you placed between him and the function of salvation given him for
you. Nor will you change his function, any more than you can change the truth
in him and in yourself. But be you certain that the truth is just the same in
both. It gives no different messages, and has ONE meaning. And it is one you
BOTH can understand, and one which brings
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release to BOTH of you. Here stands your brother, with the key to Heaven in his
hand, held out to you. Let not the dream of specialness remain between you.
What is one is joined in truth.
T 24 C 8. Think of the loveliness that you will see within yourself, when you
have looked on him as on a friend. He IS the enemy of specialness, but only
friend to what is real in you. Not one attack you thought you made on him has
taken from him the gift that God would have him give to you. His need to give
it is a great as yours to have it. Let him forgive you all your specialness,
and make you whole in mind and one with him. He waits for your forgiveness only
that he may return it unto you. It is not God Who has condemned His Son. But
only you, to save his specialness and kill his Self.
T 24 C 9. You have come far along the way of truth; too far to falter now.
Just one step more, and every vestige of the fear of God will melt away in love.
Your brother's specialness and yours ARE enemies, and bound in hate to kill
each other and deny they are the same. Yet it is not illusions which have
reached this final obstacle that seems to make God and His Heaven so remote that
They cannot be reached. Here in this holy place does truth stand waiting to
receive you both in silent blessing, and in peace so real and so encompassing
that nothing stands outside. Leave all illusions of yourself outside this
place, to which you come in hope and honesty.
T 24 C 10. Here is your Savior FROM your specialness. He is in need of
your acceptance of himself as part of you, as you for his. You are alike to God
as God is to Himself. He is not special, for He would not keep one part of what
He is unto Himself, not given to His Son but kept for Him alone. And it is this
you fear, for if He is not special, then He willed His Son be like Him, and your
brother IS like you. Not special, but possessed of everything INCLUDING you.
T 24 C 11. Give him but what he has, remembering God gave Himself to both
of you in equal love, that both might share the universe with Him Who chose
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that love could never be divided, and kept separate from what it is and must
forever be. You ARE your brother's; part of love was not denied to him. But
can it be that YOU have lost because HE is complete? What has been given him
makes YOU complete, as it does him. God's Love gave you to him and him to you
because He gave Himself. What is the same as God is one with Him. And only
specialness could make the truth of God and you AS one seem anything but Heaven,
and the hope of peace at last in sight.
T 24 C 12. Specialness is the seal of treachery upon the gift of love.
Whatever serves its purpose must be given to kill. No gift that bears its seal
but offers treachery to giver AND receiver. Not one glance from eyes it veils
but looks on sight of death. Not one believer in its potency but seeks for
bargains and for compromise that would establish sin love's substitute, and
serve it faithfully. And no relationship that holds its purpose dear but clings
to murder as safety's weapon, and the great defender of all illusions from the
"threat" of love.
T 24 C 13. The hope of specialness makes it seem possible God made the
body as the prison-house which keeps His Son from Him. For it demands a special
place God cannot enter, and a hiding place where none is welcome but your tiny
self. Nothing is sacred here but unto you, and you alone, apart and separate
from all your brothers; safe from all intrusions of sanity upon illusions; safe
from God, and safe for conflict everlasting. Here are the gates of hell you
closed upon yourself, to rule in madness and in loneliness your special kingdom,
apart from God, away from truth and from salvation.
T 24 C 14. The key you threw away God gave your brother, whose holy hands
would offer it to you when you were ready to accept His plan for your salvation
in place of yours. How could this readiness be reached save through the sight
of all your misery, and the awareness that your plan has failed, and will
forever fail to bring you peace and joy of any kind? Through this
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despair you travel now, yet it is but ILLUSION of despair. The death of
specialness is not YOUR death, but your awaking into life eternal. You but
emerge from an illusion of what you are to the acceptance of yourself as God
created you.
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T 24 D. The Forgiveness of Specialness
T 24 D 1. Forgiveness is the end of specialness. Only illusions can be
forgiven, and then they disappear. Forgiveness is release from ALL illusions,
and that is why it is impossible but partly to forgive. No one who clings to
one illusion can see himself as sinless, for he holds one error to himself as
lovely still. And so he calls it "unforgivable," and makes it sin. How can he
then GIVE his forgiveness wholly, when he would not receive it for himself? For
it is sure he would receive it wholly the instant that he gave it so. And thus
his secret guilt would disappear, forgiven by himself.
T 24 D 2. Whatever form of specialness you cherish, you have made sin.
Inviolate it stands, strongly defended with all your puny might against the Will
of God. And thus it stands against yourself; YOUR enemy, not God's. So does it
seem to split you off from God, and make you separate from Him as its defender.
You would protect what God created not. And yet, this idol that seems to GIVE
you power has taken it away. For you have given your brother's birthright to
it, leaving him alone and unforgiven, and yourself in sin beside him, both in
misery, before the idol that can save you not.
T 24 D 3. It is not YOU that is so vulnerable and open to attack that just a
word, a little whisper that you do not like, a circumstance that suits you not,
or an event that you did not anticipate upsets your world, and hurls it into
chaos. Truth is not frail. Illusions leave it perfectly unmoved and
undisturbed. [T208] But specialness is NOT the truth in you. IT can be thrown
off balance by anything. What rests on nothing NEVER can be stable. However
large and overblown it seems to be, it still must rock and turn and whirl about
with every breeze.
T 24 D 4. Without foundation nothing is secure. Would God have left His Son in
such a state, where safety has no meaning? No, His Son is safe, resting on Him.
It is your specialness that is attacked by everything that walks and breathes,
or creeps or crawls, or even lives at all. Nothing is
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safe from its attack, and it is safe from nothing. It will forever more be
unforgiving, for that is what it IS; a secret vow that what God wants for you
will never be, and that you will oppose His Will forever. Nor is it possible
the two can ever be the same while specialness stands like a flaming sword of
death between them, and makes them "enemies."
T 24 D 5. God asks for your forgiveness. He would have no separation, like an
alien will, rise between what He wills for you and what you will. They ARE the
same, for neither one wills specialness. How could they will the death of love
itself? Yet they are powerless to make attack upon illusions. They are not
bodies; as one Mind they wait for all illusions to be brought to them, and left
behind. Salvation challenges not even death. And God Himself, Who knows that
death is not your will, must say, "Thy will be done" because YOU think it IS.
T 24 D 6. Forgive the great Creator of the universe, the Source of life, of
love and holiness, the perfect Father of a perfect Son, for your illusions of
your specialness. Here is the hell you chose to be your home. He chose not
this for you. Ask not He enter this. The way is barred to love and to
salvation. Yet if you would release your brother from the depths of hell, you
have forgiven Him Whose Will it is you rest forever in the arms of peace, in
perfect safety, and without the heat and malice of one thought of specialness to
mar your rest. Forgive the Holy One the specialness He could not give, and
which you made instead.
T 24 D 7. The special ones are all asleep, surrounded by a world of loveliness
they do not see. Freedom and peace and joy stand there, beside the bier on
which they sleep, and call them to come forth and waken from their dream of
death. Yet they hear nothing. They are lost in dreams of specialness. They
hate the call that would awaken them, and they curse God because He did not make
their dream reality. Curse God and die, but not by Him Who made not death; but
only in the dream. Open your eyes a little;
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see the Savior God gave to you that you might look on him, and give him back his
birthright. It is YOURS.
T 24 D 8. The slaves of specialness will yet be free. Such is the Will of God,
and of His Son. Would God condemn HIMSELF to hell and to damnation? And do YOU
will that this be done unto your Savior? God calls to you from him to join His
Will to save you BOTH from hell. Look on the print of nails upon his hands that
he holds out for your forgiveness. God asks your mercy on His Son and on
Himself. Deny them not. They ask of you but that your will be done. They seek
your love that you may love yourself. Love not your specialness instead of
them. The prints [T209] of nails are on your hands as well. Forgive your Father
it was not His Will that you be crucified.
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T 24 E. Specialness and Salvation
T 24 E 1. Specialness is a lack of trust in anyone except yourself. Faith is
invested in yourself alone. Everything else becomes your enemy; feared and
attacked, deadly and dangerous, hated and worthy only of destruction. Whatever
gentleness it offers is but deception, but its hate is real. In danger of
destruction it must kill, and you are drawn to it to kill it first. And such is
guilt's attraction. Here is death enthroned as savior; crucifixion is now
redemption, and salvation can only mean destruction of the world, except
yourself.
T 24 E 2. What could the purpose of the body BE but specialness? And it is
this that makes it frail and helpless in its own defense. It was conceived to
make YOU frail and helpless. The goal of separation is its curse. Yet bodies
HAVE no goal. Purpose is of the MIND. And minds can change as they desire.
What they are, and all their attributes, they CANNOT change. But what they hold
as purpose CAN be changed, and body states must shift accordingly. Of itself
the body can do nothing. See it as means to hurt, and it is hurt. See it as
means to heal, and it is healed.
T 24 E 3. You can but hurt YOURSELF. This has been oft repeated, but is
difficult to grasp as yet. To minds intent on specialness it is impossible.
Yet to those who wish to heal and not attack it is quite obvious. The purpose
of attack is in the MIND, and its effects are felt but where it IS. Nor is mind
limited; so must it be that harmful purpose hurts the mind as one. Nothing
could make LESS sense to specialness. Nothing could make MORE sense to
miracles. For miracles are merely change of purpose from hurt to healing.
T 24 E 4. This shift in purpose DOES "endanger" specialness, but only in the
sense that all illusions are "threatened" by the truth. They will NOT stand
before it. Yet what comfort has ever been in them, that you would keep the gift
your Father asks from Him, and give it there instead? Given to HIM, the
universe is yours. Offered to THEM, no gifts can be returned.
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What you have given specialness has left you bankrupt, and your treasure house
barren and empty, with an open door inviting everything that would disturb your
peace to enter and destroy.
T 24 E 5. Long ago we said consider not the means by which salvation is
attained, nor how to reach it. But DO consider, and consider well, whether it
is your wish that you might see your brother sinless. To specialness the answer
must be "no." A sinless brother IS its enemy, while sin, if it were possible,
would be its friend. Your brother's sins would justify itself, and give it
meaning that the truth denies. All that is real proclaims his sinlessness. All
that is false proclaims his sins as real. If HE is sinful, then is YOUR reality
not real, but just a dream of specialness which lasts an instant, crumbling into
dust.
T 24 E 6. Do not defend this senseless dream, in which God is bereft of what He
loves, and you remain beyond salvation. Only this is certain in this shifting
world which has no meaning in reality: When peace is not with you entirely, and
when you suffer pain of any kind, you have beheld some sin within your brother,
and have REJOICED at what you thought was there. Your specialness seemed safe
because of it. And thus you saved what YOU appointed to be your savior, and
crucified the one whom God has given you instead. So are you bound with him,
for you ARE one. And so is specialness his "enemy," and YOURS as well.
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T 24 F. The Resolution of the Dream
T 24 F 1. The Christ in you is very still. He looks on what He loves, and
knows it as Himself. And thus does He rejoice at what He sees, because He knows
that it is one with Him and with His Father. Specialness, too, takes joy in
what it sees, although it is not true. Yet what you seek for IS a source of joy
as you conceive it. What you wish is true for you. Nor is it possible that you
can wish for something and lack faith that it is so. Wishing MAKES real, as
surely as does will create. The power of a wish upholds illusions as strongly
as does love extend itself. Except that one deludes; the other heals.
T 24 F 2. There is no dream of specialness, however hidden or disguised the
form, however lovely it may seem to be, however much it delicately offers the
hope of peace and the escape from pain, in which you suffer not your
condemnation. In dreams, effect and cause are interchanged, for here the maker
of the dream believes that what he made is happening to him. He does not
realize he picked a thread from here, a scrap from there, and wove a picture out
of nothing. For the parts do not belong together, and the whole contributes
nothing to the parts to give them meaning.
T 24 F 3. Where could your peace arise BUT from forgiveness? The Christ in you
looks only on the truth, and sees no condemnation that could NEED forgiveness.
He is at peace BECAUSE He sees no sin. Identify with Him, and what has He that
you have not? He is your eyes, your ears, your hands, your feet. How gentle
are the sights He sees, the sounds He hears. How beautiful His hand that holds
His brother's, and how lovingly He walks beside him, showing him what can be
seen and heard, and where he will see nothing, and there is no sound to hear.
T 24 F 4. Yet let your specialness direct his way, and YOU will follow. And
BOTH will walk in danger, each intent, in the dark forest of the sightless,
unlit but by the shifting tiny gleams that spark an instant from the fireflies
of sin and then go out, to lead the other to a nameless precipice, and hurl him
over it. For what can specialness delight in but to kill?
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What does it seek for but the sight of death? Where does it lead but to
destruction? Yet think not that it looked upon your brother first, nor hated
him before it hated you. The sin its eyes behold in him and love to look upon
it saw in YOU, and looks on still with joy. Yet IS it joy to look upon decay
and madness, and believe this crumbling thing, with flesh already loosened from
the bone and sightless holes for eyes, is like yourself?
T 24 F 5. Rejoice you HAVE no eyes with which to see; no ears to listen, and no
hands to hold nor feet to guide. Be glad that only Christ can lend you His,
while you have need of them. They are illusions, too, as much as yours. And
yet because they serve a different purpose, the strength their purpose holds is
given them. And what they see and hear and hold and lead is given light, that
you may lead as you were led.
T 24 F 6. The Christ in you is very still. He knows where you are going, and
He leads you there in gentleness and blessing all the way. His love for God
replaces all the fear you thought you saw within yourself. His holiness shows
you Himself in him whose hand you hold, and whom you lead to Him. And what you
see is like yourself. For what but Christ is there to see and hear and love and
follow home? He looked upon you first, but recognized that you were not
complete. And so He sought for your completion in each living thing that He
beholds and loves. And seeks it still, that each might offer you the Love of
God.
T 24 F 7. Yet is He quiet, for He knows that love is in you now, and safely
held in you by that same hand that holds your brother's in your own. Christ's
hand holds all His brothers in Himself. He gives them vision for their
sightless eyes, and sings to them of Heaven, that their ears may hear no more
the sound of battle and of death. He reaches through them, holding out His
hand, that everyone may bless all living things, and see their holiness. And He
rejoices that these sights are yours, to look upon with Him and share His joy.
His perfect lack of specialness He offers you, that you may save
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all living things from death, receiving from each one the gift of life that your
forgiveness offers to your Self. The sight of Christ is all there is to see.
The song of Christ is all there is to hear. The hand of Christ is all there is
to hold. There IS no journey but to walk with Him.
T 24 F 8. You who would be content with specialness, and seek salvation in a
war with love, consider this: The holy Lord of Heaven has Himself come down to
you, to offer you your own completion. What is His is yours because in your
completion is His Own. He Who willed not to be without His Son could never will
that you be brotherless. And would He give a brother unto you except he be as
perfect as yourself, and just as like to Him in holiness as YOU must be?
T 24 F 9. There must be doubt before there can be conflict. And every doubt
must be about yourself. Christ has no doubt, and from His certainty His quiet
comes. He will exchange His certainty for all your doubts, if you agree that He
is one with you, and that this Oneness is endless, timeless, and within your
grasp BECAUSE your hands are His. He is within you, yet He walks beside you and
before, leading the way that He must go to find Himself complete. His quietness
becomes your certainty. And where is doubt when certainty has come?
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T 24 G. Salvation from Fear
T 24 G 1. Before your brother's holiness the world is still, and peace descends
on it in gentleness and blessing so complete that not one trace of conflict
still remains to haunt you in the darkness of the night. He is your Savior from
the dreams of fear. He is the healing of your sense of sacrifice, and fear that
what you have will scatter with the wind, and turn to dust. In him is your
assurance God is here, and with you NOW. While he is what he is, you can be
sure that God is knowable, and WILL be known to you. For He could never leave
His own creation. And the sign that this is so lies in your brother, offered
you that all your doubts about yourself may disappear before his holiness. See
in him God's creation. For in him, his Father waits for your acknowledgment
that He created you as part of Him.
T 24 G 2. Without you there would be a lack in God, a Heaven incomplete, a Son
without a Father. There could be no universe and no reality. For what God
wills is whole, and part of Him because His Will is One. Nothing alive that is
not part of Him, and nothing IS but is alive in Him. Your brother's holiness
shows you that God is One with him and you; that what he has is yours BECAUSE
you are not separate from him nor from his Father.
T 24 G 3. Nothing is lost to you in all the universe. Nothing that God created
has He failed to lay before you lovingly, as yours forever. And no thought
within His Mind is absent from your own. It is His Will you share His Love for
you, and look upon yourself as lovingly as He conceived of you before the world
began, and as He knows you still. God changes not His Mind about His Son with
passing circumstance which has no meaning in eternity where He abides, and you
with Him. Your brother IS as He created him. And it is this that saves you
from a world that He created not.
T 24 G 4. Forget not that the healing of God's Son is all the world is FOR.
That is the only purpose the Holy Spirit sees in it, and thus the only one it
has. Until you see the healing of the Son as all you wish
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to be accomplished by the world, by time and all appearances, you will not know
the Father nor yourself. For you will use the world for what is not its
purpose, and will not escape its laws of violence and death. Yet it is given
you to be beyond its laws in ALL respects, in EVERY way and EVERY circumstance;
in ALL temptation to perceive what is not there, and ALL belief God's Son can
suffer pain because he sees himself as he is not.
T 24 G 5. Look on your brother, and behold in him the whole reversal of the
laws that seem to rule this world. See in his freedom YOURS, for such it is.
Let not his specialness obscure the truth in him, for not one law of death you
bind him to will YOU escape. And not one sin you see in him but keeps you BOTH
in hell. Yet will his perfect sinlessness RELEASE you both, for holiness is
quite impartial, with one judgment made for all it looks upon. And that is
made, not of itself, but through the Voice that speaks for God in everything
that lives and shares His Being.
T 24 G 6. It is HIS sinlessness that eyes which see can look upon. It is HIS
loveliness they see in everything. And it is HE they look for everywhere, and
find no sight nor place nor time where He is not. Within your brother's
holiness, the perfect frame for your salvation and the world's, is set the
shining memory of Him in Whom your brother lives, and you along with him. Let
not your eyes be blinded by the veil of specialness that hides the face of
Christ from him, and you as well. And let the fear of God no longer hold the
vision you were meant to see from you. Your brother's body shows not Christ to
you. He IS set forth within his holiness.
T 24 G 7. Choose, then, his body or his holiness as what you WANT to see, and
which you choose is yours to look upon. Yet will you choose in countless
situations, and through time which seems to have no end, until the truth be your
decision. For eternity is not regained by still one more denial of Christ in
him. And where is your salvation, if he is but a body?
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Where is your peace but in his holiness? And where is God Himself but in that
part of Him He set forever in your brother's holiness, that you might see the
truth about yourself, set forth at last in terms you recognized and understood?
T 24 G 8. Your brother's holiness is sacrament and benediction unto you. His
errors cannot withhold God's blessing from himself, nor you who see him truly.
His mistakes can cause delay, which it is given you to take from him, that both
may end a journey that has never been begun, and needs no end. What never was
is not a part of you. Yet you will THINK it is until you realize that it is not
a part of him who stands beside you. He is the mirror of yourself, wherein you
see the judgment you have laid on both of you. The Christ in you beholds his
holiness. Your specialness looks on his body, and beholds him not.
T 24 G 9. See him as what he IS, that your deliverance may not be long. A
senseless wandering, without a purpose and without accomplishment of any kind,
is all the other choice can offer you. Futility of function not fulfilled will
haunt you while your brother lies asleep, ‘til what has been assigned to you is
done, and he is risen from the past. He who condemned himself, and you as well,
is given you to save from condemnation, along with you. And BOTH shall see
God's glory in His Son, whom you mistook as flesh, and bound to laws that have
no power over him at all.
T 24 G 10. Would you not gladly realize these laws are not for you? Then
see him not as prisoner to them. It cannot be what governs part of God holds
not for all the rest. You place yourself under the laws you see as ruling him.
Think, then, how great the Love of God for you must be, that He has given you a
part of Him to save from pain and give you happiness. And never doubt but that
your specialness will disappear before the Will of God, Who loves each part of
Him with equal love and care [T210]. The Christ in you CAN see your brother
truly. Would YOU decide against the holiness He sees?
T 24 G 11. Specialness is the function which you gave yourself. It stands
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for you alone, as self-created, self-maintained, in need of nothing, and
unjoined with anything beyond the body. In its eyes, you are a separate
universe, with all the power to hold itself complete within itself, with every
entry shut against intrusion, and every window barred against the light. Always
attacked and always furious, with anger always fully justified, you have pursued
this goal with vigilance you never thought to yield, and effort that you never
thought to cease. And all this grim determination was for this; you wanted
specialness to be the TRUTH.
T 24 G 12. Now you are merely asked that you pursue another goal with far
less vigilance; with little effort and with little time, and with the power of
God maintaining it, and promising success. Yet of the two, it is THIS one you
find more difficult. The "sacrifice" of self you understand, nor do you deem
this cost too heavy. But a tiny willingness, a nod to God, a greeting to the
Christ in you, you find a burden wearisome and tedious, too heavy to be borne.
Yet to the dedication to the truth as God established it no sacrifice is asked,
no strain called forth, and all the power of Heaven and the might of truth
itself is given to provide the means, and GUARANTEE the goal's accomplishment.
T 24 G 13. You who believe it easier to see your brother's body than his
holiness, be sure you understand what made this judgment. Here is the voice of
specialness heard clearly, judging against the Christ, and setting forth for you
the purpose that you can attain, and what you cannot do. Forget not that this
judgment must apply to what you do with IT as your ally. For what you do
through Christ it does not know. To Him this judgment makes no sense at all,
for only what His Father wills is possible, and there is no alternative for Him
to see. Out of His lack of conflict comes your peace. And from His purpose
comes the means for effortless accomplishment and rest.
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T 24 H. The Meeting Place
T 24 H 1. How bitterly does everyone tied to this world defend the specialness
he wants to be the truth! His wish is law unto him, and he obeys. Nothing his
specialness demands does he withhold. Nothing it needs does he deny to what he
loves. And while it calls to him he hears no other Voice. No effort is too
great, no cost too much, no price too dear to save his specialness from the
least slight, the tiniest attack, the whispered doubt, the hint of threat, or
anything but deepest reverence. This is your son, beloved of you as you are to
your Father. Yet it stands in place of your creations, who ARE son to you, that
you might SHARE the Fatherhood of God, not snatch it from Him. What is this son
that you have made to be your strength? What is this child of earth on whom
such love is lavished? What is this parody of God's creation that takes the
place of yours? And where are THEY, now that the host of God has found another
son which he prefers to them?
T 24 H 2. The memory of God shines not alone. What is within your brother
still contains all of creation, everything created and creating, born and unborn
as yet, still in the future or apparently gone by. What is in him is
changeless, and your changelessness is recognized in its acknowledgment. The
holiness in you belongs to him. And by your seeing it in him, returns to you.
All of the tribute you have given specialness belongs to him, and thus returns
to you. All of the love and care, the strong protection, the thought by day and
night, the deep concern, the powerful conviction this is you, belong to him.
Nothing you gave to specialness but is his due. And nothing due him is not due
to you.
T 24 H 3. How can you know your worth while specialness claims you instead?
How can you fail to know it in his holiness? Seek not to make your specialness
the truth, for if it were you would be lost indeed. Be thankful, rather, it is
given you to see his holiness BECAUSE it is the truth. And what is true in him
must be as true in you.
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T 24 H 4. Ask yourself this: Can YOU protect the mind? The body, yes, a
little; not from time, but temporarily. And much you think you save, you hurt.
What would you save it FOR? For in that choice lie both its health and harm.
Save it for show, as bait to catch another fish, to house your specialness in
better style, or weave a frame of loveliness around your hate, and you condemn
it to decay and death. And if you see this purpose in your brother's [T211], such
is your condemnation of your own. Weave, rather, then, a frame of holiness
around him, that the truth may shine on him, and give you safety from decay.
T 24 H 5. The Father keeps what He created safe. You cannot touch it with the
false ideas you made, because it was created not by you. Let not your foolish
fancies frighten you. What is immortal cannot BE attacked; what is but temporal
HAS no effect. Only the purpose that you see in it has meaning, and if that is
true, its safety rests secure. If not, it has no purpose, and is means for
nothing. Whatever is perceived as means for truth shares in its holiness, and
rests in light as safely as itself. Nor will that light go out when it is gone.
Its holy purpose gave it immortality, setting another light in Heaven, where
your creations recognize a gift from you, a sign that you have not forgotten
them.
T 24 H 6. The test of everything on earth is simply this; "What is it FOR?"
The answer makes it what it is for you. It has no meaning of itself, yet you
can give reality to it, according to the purpose which you serve. Here you are
but means, along with it. God is a Means as well as End. In Heaven, means and
end are one, and one with Him. This is the state of true creation, found not
within time, but in eternity. To no one here is this describable. Nor is there
any way to learn what this condition means. Not ‘til you go past learning to
the Given; not ‘til you make again a holy home for your creations is it
understood.
T 24 H 7. A co-creator with the Father must have a Son. Yet must this Son have
been created like Himself. A perfect being, all-encompassing and
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all-encompassed, nothing to add and nothing taken from; not born of size nor
weight nor time, nor held to limits or uncertainties of any kind. Here do the
means and end unite as one, nor does this one have any end at all. All this is
true, and yet it has no meaning to anyone who still retains one unlearned lesson
in his memory, one thought with purpose still uncertain, or one wish with a
divided aim.
T 24 H 8. This course makes no attempt to teach what cannot easily be learned.
Its scope does not exceed your own, except to say that what is yours will come
to you when you are ready. Here are the means and purpose separate because they
were so made and so perceived. And therefore do we deal with them as if they
were. It is essential it be kept in mind that all perception still is upside
down until its purpose has been understood. Perception does not SEEM to be a
means. And it is this that makes it hard to grasp the whole extent to which it
must depend on what you see it FOR. Perception seems to TEACH you what you see.
Yet it but witnesses to what YOU taught. It is the outward picture of a wish;
an image that you WANTED to be true.
T 24 H 9. Look at yourself, and you will see a body. Look at this body in a
different light and it looks different. And without a light it seems that it is
gone. Yet you are reassured that it is there because you still can feel it with
your hands, and hear it move. Here is an image that you want to be yourself.
It is the means to make your wish come true. It gives the eyes with which you
look on it, the hands that feel it, and the ears with which you listened to the
sounds it makes. It PROVES its own reality to you.
T 24 H 10. Thus is the body made a theory of yourself, with no provisions
made for evidence beyond itself, and no escape within its sight. Its course is
sure, when seen through its own eyes. It grows and withers, flourishes and
dies. And you cannot conceive of you apart from it. You brand it sinful, and
you hate its acts, judging it evil. Yet your specialness whispers, "Here is my
own beloved son, in whom I am well pleased." Thus does the
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"son" become the means to serve his "father's" purpose. Not identical, not even
like, but still a means to offer to the "father" what he WANTS. Such is the
travesty on God's creation. For as His Son's creation gave Him joy and witness
to His Love and shared His purpose, so does the body testify to the idea that
made it, and speak for its reality and truth.
T 24 H 11. And thus are two sons made, and both appear to walk this earth
without a meeting place and no encounter. One do you see outside yourself, your
own beloved son. The other rests within, His Father's Son, within your brother
as he is in you. Their difference does not lie in how they look, nor where they
go, nor even what they do. They have a different PURPOSE. It is this that
joins them to their like, and separates each from all aspects with a different
purpose. The Son of God retains His Father's Will. The son of man perceives an
alien will, and wishes it were so. And thus does his perception serve his wish
by giving it appearances of truth. Yet can perception serve another goal. It
is not bound to specialness but by your choice. And it IS given you to make a
different choice, and use perception for a different purpose. And what you see
will serve that purpose well, and PROVE its own reality to you.
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Chapter XXV 25 - THE REMEDY
T 25 A. Introduction
T 25 A 1. The Christ in you inhabits not a body. Yet He is in you. And thus
it must be that YOU are not within a body. What is within you cannot be
outside. And it is certain that you cannot be apart from what is at the very
center of your life. What gives you life cannot be housed in death. No more
can you. Christ is within a frame of holiness whose only purpose is that He may
be made manifest to those who know Him not, that He may call to them to come to
Him, and see Him where they thought their bodies were. Then will their bodies
melt away, that they may frame His holiness in them.
T 25 A 2. No one who carries Christ in him can fail to recognize Him
everywhere, [T212] EXCEPT in bodies. And as long as they believe they are in
bodies, where they think they are He cannot be. And so they carry Him
unknowingly, and do not make Him manifest. And thus they do not recognize Him
where He is. The son of man is not the risen Christ. Yet does the Son of God
abide exactly where he is, and walks with him within his holiness, as plain to
see as is his specialness set forth within his body.
T 25 A 3. The body NEEDS no healing. But the mind that thinks it IS a body is
sick indeed! And it is here that Christ sets forth the remedy. His purpose
folds the body in His light, and fills it with the holiness that shines from
Him. And nothing that the body says or does but makes Him manifest. To those
who know Him not it carries Him in gentleness and love, to heal their minds.
Such is the mission that your brother has for you. And such it must be that
your mission is for him.
T 25 B. The Appointed Task
T 25 B 1. It cannot be that it is hard to do the task that Christ appointed you
to do, since it is He Who does it. And in the doing of it will you learn the
body merely seems to be the means to do it. For the Mind is His. And so it
must be yours. His holiness directs the body through the mind at one with Him.
And you are manifest unto your holy brother, as he to you. Here is the meeting
of the holy Christ unto Himself; nor are [T213] any differences perceived to stand
between the aspects of His holiness, which meet and join and raise Him to His
Father, whole and pure and worthy of His everlasting
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Love.
T 25 B 2. How can you manifest the Christ in you except you look on holiness,
and see Him there? Perception tells you YOU are manifest in what you see.
Behold the body, and you will believe that you are there. And every body that
you look upon reminds you of yourself; your sinfulness, your evil, and, above
all, your death. And would you not despise the one who tells you this, and seek
his death instead? The message and the messenger are one. And you MUST see
your brother as yourself. Framed in his body you will see your sinfulness,
wherein you stand condemned. Set in his holiness, the Christ in him proclaims
HIMSELF as you.
T 25 B 3. Perception is a choice of what you want yourself to be; the world you
want to live in, and the state in which you think your mind will be content and
satisfied. It chooses where you think your safety lies, at your decision. It
reveals yourself to you as you would have you be. And always is it faithful to
your purpose, from which it never separates, nor gives the slightest witness
unto anything the purpose in your mind upholdeth not. Perception is a part of
what it is your purpose to behold, for means and end are never separate. And
thus you learn what seems to have a life apart has none.
T 25 B 4. YOU are the means for God; not separate, nor with a life apart from
His. His Life is manifest in you who are His Son. Each aspect of Himself is
framed in holiness and perfect purity, in love celestial and so complete it
wishes only that it may release all that it looks upon unto itself. Its
radiance shines through each body that it looks upon, and brushes all its
darkness into light merely by looking past it TO the light. The veil is lifted
through its gentleness, and nothing hides the face of Christ from its beholders.
And both of you stand there, before Him now, to let Him draw aside the veil
that seems to keep you separate and apart.
T 25 B 5. Since you BELIEVE that you are separate, Heaven presents itself to
you as separate, too. Not that it is in truth, but that the link that
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has been given you to join the truth may reach to you through what you
understand. Father and Son and Holy Spirit are as One, as all your brothers
join as one in truth. Christ and His Father never have been separate, and
Christ abides within your understanding, in the part of you that shares His
Father's Will. The Holy Spirit links the other part, the tiny mad desire to be
separate, different and special, to the Christ, to make the oneness clear to
what is REALLY one. In this world, this is not understood, but CAN be taught.
T 25 B 6. The Holy Spirit serves Christ's purpose in your mind, so that the aim
of specialness can be corrected where the error lies. Because His purpose still
is one with both the Father and the Son, He knows the Will of God and what YOU
really will. But this is understood by mind perceived as one, aware that it is
one, and so EXPERIENCED. It is the Holy Spirit's function to teach you HOW this
oneness is experienced, WHAT you must do that it can be experienced, and WHERE
you should go to do it.
T 25 B 7. All this takes note of time and place as if they were discrete, for
while you think that part of you is separate, the concept of a oneness joined as
one is meaningless. It is apparent that a mind so split could never be the
teacher of a Oneness Which unites all things within Itself. And so What [T214] IS
within this mind, and DOES unite all things together, must be its Teacher. Yet
must It use the language which this mind can understand in the condition in
which it thinks it is. And It must use all learning to transfer illusions to
the truth, taking all false ideas of what you are, and leading you beyond them
to the truth that IS beyond them. All this can very simply be reduced to this:
What is the same can NOT be different,
And what is one can NOT have separate parts.
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T 25 C. The Savior from the Dark
T 25 C 1. Is it not evident that what the body's eyes perceive fills you with
fear? Perhaps you think you find a hope of satisfaction there. Perhaps you
fancy to attain some peace and satisfaction in the world as you perceive it.
Yet it must be evident the outcome does not change. Despite your hopes and
fancies, ALWAYS does despair result. And there is no exception, nor will there
ever be. The only value that the past can hold is that you learn it gave you no
rewards that you would want to keep. For only thus will you be willing to
relinquish it, and have it gone forever.
T 25 C 2. Is it not strange that you should cherish still some hope of
satisfaction from the world you see? In no respect, at any time or place, has
anything but fear and guilt been your reward. How long is needed for you to
realize the chance of change in THIS respect is hardly worth delaying change
that might result in better outcomes? [T215] For one thing is sure; the way you
see, and long have seen, gives no support to base your future hopes, and no
suggestions of success at all. To place your hopes where no hope lies MUST make
you hopeless. Yet is this hopelessness your choice, while you would seek for
hope where none is ever found.
T 25 C 3. Is it not also true that you have found some hope APART from this;
some glimmering, inconstant, wavering, yet dimly seen, that hopefulness is
warranted on grounds that are not in this world? And yet your hope that they
may still be here prevents you still from giving up the hopeless and unrewarding
task you set yourself. Can it make sense to hold the fixed belief that there is
reason to uphold pursuit of what has always failed on grounds that it will
suddenly succeed, and bring what it has never brought before?
T 25 C 4. Its past HAS failed. Be glad that it is gone within your mind, to
darken what is there. Take not the form for content, for the form is but a
MEANS for content. And the frame is but a means to hold the picture up, so that
it can be seen. A frame that hides the picture has no purpose. It cannot BE a
frame if it is what you see. Without the picture is the frame
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without its meaning. Its PURPOSE is to set the picture off, and not itself.
T 25 C 5. Who hangs an empty frame upon a wall, and stands before it, deep in
reverence, as if a masterpiece were there to see? Yet if you see your brother
as a body, it IS but this you do. The masterpiece that God has set within this
frame is all there is to see. The body holds it for a while, without obscuring
it in any way. Yet what God has created needs no frame, for what He has created
He supports, and frames within Himself. His masterpiece He offers you to see.
And would you rather see the frame INSTEAD of this? And see the picture not at
all?
T 25 C 6. The Holy Spirit is the frame God set around the part of Him that you
would see as separate. Yet its frame is joined to its Creator, one with Him and
with His masterpiece. This is its purpose, and you do not make the frame into
the picture when you choose to see it in its place. The frame that God has
given it but serves His purpose, not yours apart from His. It is your SEPARATE
purpose that obscures the picture, and cherishes the frame instead of it. Yet
God has set His masterpiece within a frame that will endure forever, when yours
has crumbled into dust. But think you not the picture is destroyed in any way.
What God creates is safe from all corruption, unchanged and perfect in eternity.
T 25 C 7. Accept God's frame instead of yours, and you will see the
masterpiece. Look at its loveliness, and understand the Mind that thought it,
not in flesh and bones, but in a frame as lovely as Itself. Its holiness lights
up the sinlessness the frame of darkness hides, and casts a veil of light across
the picture's face, which but reflects the light that shines from it to its
Creator. Think not this face was ever darkened because you saw it in a frame of
death. God kept it safe that you might look on it, and see the holiness that He
has given it.
T 25 C 8. Within the darkness see the Savior FROM the dark, and understand your
brother as his Father's Mind shows him to you. He will step
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forth from darkness as you look on him, and you will see the dark no more. The
darkness touched him not, nor you who brought him forth for you to look upon.
His sinlessness but pictures yours. His gentleness becomes your strength, and
both will gladly look within, and see the holiness that must be there BECAUSE of
what you looked upon in him. He is the frame in which your holiness is set, and
what God gave him must be given you. However much he overlooks the masterpiece
in him, and sees only a frame of darkness, it is still your only function to
behold in him what he sees not. And in this seeing is the vision shared that
looks on Christ INSTEAD of seeing death.
T 25 C 9. How could the Lord of Heaven not be glad if you appreciate His
masterpiece? What could He do but offer thanks to you who love His Son as He
does? Would He not make known to you His Love, if you but share His praise of
what He loves? God cherishes creation as the perfect Father that He is. And so
His joy is made complete when any part of Him joins in His praise, to share His
joy. This brother is His perfect gift to you. And He is glad and thankful when
you thank His perfect Son for being what he is. And all His thanks and gladness
shine on you who would complete His joy, along with Him. And thus is YOURS
completed. Not one ray of darkness can be seen by those who will to make their
Father's happiness complete, and theirs along with His. The gratitude of God
Himself is freely offered to everyone who shares His purpose. It is not His
Will to be alone. And neither is it yours.
T 25 C 10. Forgive your brother, and you cannot separate yourself from
him, nor from his Father. You NEED no forgiveness, for the wholly pure have
never sinned. Give, then, what He has given you, that you may see His Son as
one, and thank his Father as He thanks you. Nor believe that all His praise is
given not to you. For what you give is His, and giving it, you learn to
understand His gift to you. And give the Holy Spirit what He offers unto the
Father and the Son alike. Nothing has power over you except His Will
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and yours, who but extend His Will. It was for this you were created, and your
brother with you, and at one with you.
T 25 C 11. You are the same, [T216] as God Himself is One, and not divided
in His Will. And you must have one purpose, since He gave the same to both of
you. His Will is brought together as you join in will, that you be made
complete by offering completion to your brother. See not in him the sinfulness
he sees, but give him honor that you may esteem yourself and him. To each of
you is given the power of salvation, that escape from darkness into light be
yours to share; that you may see as one what never has been separate, nor apart
from all God's Love as given equally.
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T 25 D. The Fundamental Law of Perception
T 25 D 1. To the extent to which you value guilt, to that extent will you
perceive a world in which attack is justified. To the extent to which you
recognize that guilt is meaningless, to that extent will you perceive attack
cannot BE justified. This is in strict accord with vision's fundamental law:
You see what you believe is there, and you believe it there because you WANT it
there. Perception has no other law than this. The rest but stems from this, to
hold it up and offer it support. This is perception's form, adapted to this
world, of God's more basic law; that love creates itself, and nothing BUT
itself.
T 25 D 2. God's laws do not obtain directly to a world perception rules, for
such a world could not have been created by the Mind to which perception has no
meaning. Yet are His laws reflected everywhere. Not that the world where this
reflection is, is real at all. Only because His Son believes it is, and from
His Son's belief He could not let Himself be separate entirely. He could not
enter His Son's insanity with him, but He could be sure His sanity went there
with him, so he could not be lost forever in the madness of his wish.
T 25 D 3. Perception rests on choosing; knowledge does not. Knowledge has but
one law because it has but One Creator. But this world has two who made it, and
they do not see it as the same. To each it has a different purpose, and to each
it is a perfect means to serve the goal for which it is perceived. For
specialness, it is the perfect frame to set it off; the perfect battleground to
wage its wars, the perfect shelter for the illusions which it would make real.
Not one but it upholds in its perception; not one but can be fully justified.
T 25 D 4. There is another Maker of the world, the simultaneous Corrector of
the mad belief that anything could be established and maintained without some
link that kept it still within the laws of God; not as the law itself upholds
the universe as God created it, but in some form adapted to the need the Son of
God believes he has. Corrected error is the error's end. And
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thus has God protected still His Son, even in error. There is another purpose
in the world that error made, because it has another Maker Who can reconcile its
goal with His Creator's purpose. In His perception of the world, nothing is
seen but justifies forgiveness and the sight of perfect sinlessness. Nothing
arises but is met with instant and complete forgiveness.
T 25 D 5. Nothing remains an instant, to obscure the sinlessness that shines
unchanged, beyond the pitiful attempts of specialness to put it out of mind,
where it must be, and light the body up INSTEAD of it. The lamps of Heaven are
not for it to choose to see them where it will. If it elects to see them
elsewhere from their home, as if they lit a place where they could never be, and
YOU agree, then must the Maker of the world correct your error, lest you remain
in darkness, where the lamps are not. Everyone here has entered darkness, yet
no one has entered it alone. Nor need he stay more than an instant. For he has
come with Heaven's Help within him, ready to lead him OUT of darkness into light
at any time.
T 25 D 6. The time he chooses CAN be any time, for help is there, awaiting but
his choice. And when he chooses to avail himself of what is given him, then
will he see each situation that he thought before was means to justify his anger
turned to an event which justifies his love. He will hear plainly that the
calls to war he heard before are really calls to peace. He will perceive that
where he gave attack is but another altar where he can, with equal ease and far
more happiness, bestow forgiveness. And he will reinterpret all temptation as
just another chance to bring him joy. How can a misperception be a sin? Let
all your brother's errors be to you nothing except a chance for you to see the
workings of the Helper given you to see the world He made, instead of yours.
T 25 D 7. What, then, IS justified? What do you WANT? For these two questions
are the same. And when you see them AS the same, your choice is
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made. For it is seeing them as one that brings release from the belief there
ARE two ways to see. This world has much to offer to your peace, and many
chances to extend your own forgiveness. Such its purpose is, to those who WANT
to see peace and forgiveness descend on them, and offer them the light.
T 25 D 8. The Maker of the world of gentleness has perfect power to offset the
world of violence and hate that seems to stand between you and His gentleness.
It is not there in His forgiving eyes. And therefore it need not be there in
yours. Sin is the fixed belief perception CANNOT change. What has been damned
is damned and damned forever, being forever unforgivable. If, then, it IS
forgiven, sin's perception must have been wrong. And thus is change made
possible. The Holy Spirit, too, sees what He sees as far beyond the chance of
change. But on His vision sin cannot encroach, for sin has been CORRECTED by
His sight. And thus it must have been an error, not a sin. For what it claimed
could never be, has been. Sin is attacked by punishment, and so preserved. But
to forgive it is to change its state from error into truth.
T 25 D 9. The Son of God could never sin, but he CAN wish for what would hurt
him. And he HAS the power to think he can be hurt. What could this be except a
misperception of himself? Is this a sin or a mistake, forgivable or not? Does
he need help or condemnation? Is it your purpose that he be saved or damned?
Forgetting not that what he is to you will make this choice YOUR future? For
you make it NOW, the instant when all time becomes a means to reach a goal.
Make, then, your choice. But recognize that IN this choice the purpose of the
world you see is chosen, and WILL be justified.
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T 25 E. The Joining of Minds
T 25 E 1. Minds that are joined, and RECOGNIZE they are, can feel no guilt.
For they cannot attack, and they rejoice that this is so, seeing their safety in
this happy fact. Their joy is in the innocence they see. And thus they seek
for it, because it is their purpose to behold it and rejoice. Everyone seeks
for what will bring him joy, as he defines it. It is not the aim, as such, that
varies. Yet it is the way in which the aim is SEEN that makes the choice of
means inevitable, and beyond the hope of change unless the aim is changed. And
then the means are chosen once again, as what will bring rejoicing is defined
another way, and sought for differently.
T 25 E 2. Perception's basic law could thus be said, "You will rejoice at what
you see because you SEE it to rejoice." And while you think that suffering and
sin will bring you joy, so long will they be there for you to see. Nothing is
harmful or beneficent apart from what you wish. It is your wish that makes it
what it is in its effects on you. Because you CHOSE it as a means to gain these
same effects, believing them to be the bringers of rejoicing and of joy. Even
in Heaven does this law obtain. The Son of God creates to bring him joy,
sharing his Father's purpose in his own creation, that his joy might be
increased, and God's along with his.
T 25 E 3. You makers of a world that is not so, take rest and comfort in
another world where peace abides. This world you bring with you to all the
weary eyes and tired hearts that look on sin and beat its sad refrain. From you
can come their rest. From you can rise a world they will rejoice to look upon,
and where their hearts are glad. In you there is a vision which extends to all
of them, and covers them in gentleness and light. And in this widening world of
light the darkness they thought was there is pushed away, until it is but
distant shadows, far away, not long to be remembered as the sun shines them to
nothingness. And all their "evil" thoughts and "sinful" hopes, their dreams of
guilt and merciless revenge,
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and every wish to hurt and kill and die, will disappear before the sun you
bring.
T 25 E 4. Would you not do this for the love of God? And for YOURSELF? For
think what it would do for you. Your "evil" thoughts that haunt you now will
seem increasingly remote and far away from you. And they go farther and farther
off, because the sun in you has risen that they may be pushed away before the
light. They linger for a while, a LITTLE while, in twisted forms too far away
for recognition, and are gone forever. And in the sunlight you will stand in
quiet, in innocence, and wholly unafraid. And from you will the rest you found
extend, so that your peace can never fall away and leave you homeless. Those
who offer peace to everyone have found a home in Heaven the world cannot
destroy. For it is large enough to hold the world within its peace.
T 25 E 5. In you is all of Heaven. Every leaf that falls is given life in you.
Each bird that ever sang will sing again in you. And every flower that ever
bloomed has saved its perfume and its loveliness for you. What aim can
supersede the Will of God and of His Son, that Heaven be restored to him for
whom it was created as his only home? Nothing before and nothing after it. No
other place, no other state nor time. Nothing beyond nor nearer. Nothing else.
In any form. This can you bring to all the world, and all the thoughts that
entered it and were mistaken for a little while. How better could your own
mistakes be brought to truth than by your willingness to bring the light of
Heaven with you, as you walk beyond the world of darkness into light?
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T 25 F. The State of Sinlessness
T 25 F 1. The state of sinlessness is merely this: The whole desire to attack
is gone, and so there is no reason to perceive the Son of God as other than he
is. The need for guilt is gone because it has no purpose, and is meaningless
without the goal of sin. Attack and sin are bound as one illusion, each the
cause and aim and justifier of the other. Each is meaningless alone, but seems
to draw a meaning from the other. Each depends upon the other for whatever
sense it seems to have. And no one could believe in one unless the other were
the truth, for each attests the other MUST be true.
T 25 F 2. Attack makes Christ your enemy, and God along with Him. Must you not
be afraid, with "enemies" like these? And must you not be fearful of YOURSELF?
For you have hurt yourself, and made your Self your "enemy." And now you must
believe you are not you, but something alien to yourself and "something else," a
"something" to be feared instead of loved. Who would attack whatever he
perceives as wholly innocent? And who, BECAUSE he wishes to attack, can fail to
think it must be guilty to deserve the wish and leave him innocent? And who
would see the Son of God as innocent, and wish him dead? Christ stands before
you both, each time you look on one another. He has not gone because your eyes
are closed. But what is there to see by searching for your Savior, seeing Him
through sightless eyes?
T 25 F 3. It is not Christ you see by looking thus. It is the "enemy,"
confused with Christ, you look upon. And hate because there is no sin in him
for you to see. Nor do you hear his plaintive call, unchanged in content in
whatever form the call is made, that you unite with him, and join with him in
innocence and peace. And yet, beneath the ego's senseless shrieks, such IS the
call that God has given him, that you might hear in him His Call to you, and
answer by returning unto God what is His Own.
T 25 F 4. The Son of God asks only this of you; that you return to him what is
his due, that you may SHARE in it with him. Alone does neither
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have it. So must it remain useless to both. Together, it will give to each an
equal strength to save the other, and save himself along with him. Forgiven by
you, your Savior offers you salvation. Condemned by you, he offers death to
you. In everyone you see but the reflection of what you chose to have him be to
you. If you decide against his proper function, the only one he has in truth,
you are depriving him of all the joy he would have found, if he fulfilled the
role God gave to him. But think not Heaven is lost to him alone. Nor can it be
regained unless the way is shown to him through you, that you may find it,
walking by his side.
T 25 F 5. It is no sacrifice that he be saved, for by his freedom will you gain
your own. To let his function be fulfilled is but the means to let yours be.
And so you walk toward Heaven or toward hell, but not alone. How beautiful his
sinlessness will be when you perceive it! And how great will be your joy, when
he is free to offer you the gift of sight God gave to him for you! He has no
need but this; that you allow him freedom to complete the task God gave to him.
Remembering but this; that what he does you do, along with him. And as you see
him, so do you define the function he will have for you, until you see him
differently and LET him be what God appointed that he be to you.
T 25 F 6. Against the hatred that the Son of God may cherish toward himself is
God believed to be without the power to save what He created from the pain of
hell. But in the love he shows himself is God made free to LET His Will be
done. In each of you, you see the picture of your own belief in what the Will
of God must be for you. In your forgiveness will you understand His Love for
you; through your attack believe He hates you, thinking Heaven must be hell.
Look once again upon your brother, not without the understanding that he is the
way to Heaven or to hell, as you perceive him. But forget not this; the role
you give to him is given YOU, and you WILL walk the way you pointed out to him
because it is your judgment on yourself.
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T 25 G. The Special Function
T 25 G 1. The grace of God rests gently on forgiving eyes, and everything they
look on speaks of Him to the beholder. He can see no evil; nothing in the world
to fear, and no one who is different from himself. And as he loves them, so he
looks upon himself with love and gentleness. He would no more condemn himself
for his mistakes than damn another. He is not an arbiter of vengeance, nor a
punisher of sin. The kindness of his sight rests on himself with all the
tenderness it offers others. For he would only heal and only bless. And being
in accord with what God wills, he has the power to heal and bless all those he
looks on with the grace of God upon his sight.
T 25 G 2. Eyes become used to darkness, and the light of brilliant day seems
painful to the eyes grown long accustomed to the dim effects perceived at
twilight. And they turn away from sunlight, and the clarity it brings to what
they look upon. Dimness seems better; easier to see, and better recognized.
Somehow, the vague and more obscure seems easier to look upon; less painful to
the eyes than what is wholly clear and unambiguous. Yet this is not what eyes
are FOR. And who can say that he prefers the darkness, and maintain he WANTS to
see? The WISH to see calls down the grace of God upon your eyes, and brings the
gift of light that makes sight possible.
T 25 G 3. Will you behold your brother? God is glad to have you look on him.
He does not will your Savior be unrecognized by you. Nor does He will that he
remain without the function that He gave to him. Let him no more be lonely, for
the lonely ones are those who see no function in the world for them to fill; no
place where they are needed, and no aim which only they can perfectly fulfill.
T 25 G 4. Such is the Holy Spirit's kind perception of specialness; His use of
what you made, to heal instead of harm. To each He gives a special function in
salvation he alone can fill; a part for only him. Nor is the plan complete
until he finds his special function, and fulfills the part
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assigned to him, to make himself complete within a world where incompletion
rules.
T 25 G 5. Here, where the laws of God do not prevail in perfect form, can he
yet do ONE perfect thing, and make ONE perfect choice. And by this act of
special faithfulness to one perceived as other than himself, he learns the gift
was given to himself, and so they MUST be one. Forgiveness is the only function
meaningful in time. It is the means the Holy Spirit uses to translate
specialness from sin into salvation. Forgiveness is for all. But when it rests
on all it is complete, and every function of this world completed with it. Then
is time no more.
T 25 G 6. Yet while in time, there is still much to do. And each must do what
is allotted him, for on his part does ALL the plan depend. He HAS a special
part in time, for so he chose, and choosing it, he made it for himself. His
wish was not denied, but changed in form, to let it serve his brother AND
himself, and thus become a means to save instead of lose. Salvation is no more
than a reminder this world is not your home; its laws are not imposed on you,
its values are not yours. And nothing that you THINK you see in it is REALLY
there at all. [T217] And this is seen and understood as each one takes his part
in its undoing, as he did in making it. He has the means for either, as he
always did. The specialness he chose to hurt himself did God appoint to be the
means for his salvation, from the very instant that the choice was made. His
special sin was made his special grace. His special hate became his special
love.
T 25 G 7. The Holy Spirit NEEDS your special function, that His may be
fulfilled. Think not you lack a special value here. You wanted it, and it IS
given you. All that you made can serve salvation easily and well. The Son of
God can make no choice the Holy Spirit cannot employ on his behalf, and NOT
against himself. Only in darkness does your specialness appear to be attack.
In light, you see it as your SPECIAL FUNCTION in the plan to save the Son of God
from ALL attack, and let him understand that he is safe,
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as he has always been, and will remain in time and in eternity alike. This is
the function given each of you for one another. Take it gently, then, from one
another's hand, and let salvation be perfectly fulfilled in both of you. Do
this ONE thing, that everything be given you.
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T 25 H. Commuting the Sentence
T 25 H 1. And if the Holy Spirit can commute each sentence that you laid upon
yourself into a blessing, then it cannot be a sin. Sin is the one thing in all
the world that CANNOT change. It is immutable. And on its changelessness the
world depends. The magic of the world can seem to hide the pain of sin from
sinners, and deceive with glitter and with guile. Yet each one knows the cost
of sin is death. And so it IS. For sin is a REQUEST for death, a wish to make
this world's foundation sure as love, dependable as Heaven, and as strong as God
Himself. The world IS safe from love to everyone who thinks sin possible. Nor
WILL it change. Yet IS it possible what God created not should share the
attributes of His creation, when it opposes it in every way?
T 25 H 2. It CANNOT be the "sinner's" wish for death is just as strong as is
God's Will for life. Nor can the basis of a world He did not make be firm and
sure as Heaven. How could it be that hell and Heaven are the same? And is it
possible that what He did not will cannot be changed? What is immutable besides
His Will? And what can share Its attributes except Itself? What wish can rise
against His Will, and be immutable? If you could realize NOTHING is changeless
but the Will of God, this course would not be difficult for you. For it is this
that you do not believe. Yet there is nothing else you COULD believe, if you
but looked at what it really is.
T 25 H 3. Let us go back to what we said before, and think of it more
carefully. It must be so that either God is mad, or is this world a place of
madness. Not one Thought of His makes any sense at all within this world. And
nothing that the world believes as true has any meaning in His Mind at all.
What makes no sense and has no meaning IS insanity. And what is madness CANNOT
be the truth. If one belief so deeply valued here were true, then every Thought
God ever had is an illusion. And if but one Thought of His is true, then all
beliefs the world gives any meaning to are false, and make no sense at all.
This IS the choice you make. Do not attempt to see
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it differently, nor twist it into something it is not. For only this decision
CAN you make. The rest is up to God, and not to you.
T 25 H 4. To justify one value that the world upholds is to deny your Father's
sanity and YOURS. For God and His beloved Son do not think differently. And it
is the agreement of their thought that makes the Son a co-creator with the Mind
Whose Thought created him. And if he chooses to believe one thought opposed to
truth, he has decided he is not his Father's Son because the Son is mad, and
sanity must lie apart from both the Father AND the Son. This you BELIEVE.
Think not that this belief depends upon the form it takes. Who thinks the world
is sane in ANY way, is justified in ANYTHING it thinks, or is maintained by ANY
form of reason, believes this to be true. Sin is not real BECAUSE the Father
and the Son are not insane. This world is meaningless BECAUSE it rests on sin.
Who could create the changeless, if it does not rest on truth?
T 25 H 5. The Holy Spirit has the power to change the whole foundation of the
world you see to something else; a basis not insane, on which a sane perception
can be based, another world perceived. And one in which nothing is contradicted
that would lead the Son of God to sanity and joy. Nothing attests to death and
cruelty, to separation and to differences. For here is everything perceived as
one, and no one loses that each one may gain.
T 25 H 6. Test everything that you believe against this ONE requirement. And
understand that everything that meets this one demand is worthy of your faith.
But nothing else. What is not love is sin, and either one perceives the other
as insane and meaningless. Love is the basis for a world perceived as wholly
mad to sinners, who believe theirs is the way to sanity. But sin is equally
insane within the sight of love, whose gentle eyes would look beyond the
madness, and rest peacefully on truth. Each sees a world immutable, as each
defines the changeless and eternal truth of what you are. And each reflects a
view of what the Father and the Son must be, to make
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that viewpoint meaningful and sane.
T 25 H 7. Your special function is the special form in which the fact that God
is not insane appears most sensible and meaningful to you. The content is the
same. The form is suited to your special needs, and to the special time and
place in which you think you find yourself, and where you can be free of place
and time, and all that you believe must limit you. The Son of God cannot be
bound by time nor place, nor anything God did not will. Yet if His Will is seen
as madness, then the form of sanity which makes it most acceptable to those who
are insane requires special choice. Nor can this choice be made BY the insane,
whose problem is their choices are not free, and made with reason in the light
of sense.
T 25 H 8. It WOULD be madness to entrust salvation to the insane. Because He
is NOT mad has God appointed One as sane as He to raise a saner world to meet
the sight of everyone who chose insanity as his salvation. To this One is given
the choice of form most suitable to him; one which will not attack the world he
sees, but enter into it in quietness, and SHOW him it [T218] is mad. This One but
points to an alternative, ANOTHER way of looking at what he has seen before, and
recognizes as the world in which he lives, and thought he understood before.
T 25 H 9. Now MUST he question this, because the form of the alternative is one
which he cannot deny, nor overlook, nor fail completely to perceive at all. To
each his special function is designed to be perceived as possible, and more and
more desired, as it PROVES to him that it is an alternative he really WANTS.
From this position does his sinfulness, and all the sin he sees within the
world, offer him less and less [T219] until he comes to understand it COST him his
sanity, and stands between him and whatever hope he has of BEING sane. Nor is
he left without escape from madness, for he has a special part in everyone's
escape. He can no more be left outside, without a special function in the hope
of peace, than could
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the Father overlook His Son, and pass him by in careless thoughtlessness.
T 25 H 10. What is dependable EXCEPT God's Love? And where does sanity
abide EXCEPT in Him? The One Who speaks for Him can show you this, in the
alternative He chose especially for you. It is God's Will that you remember
this, and so emerge from deepest mourning into perfect joy. Accept the function
that has been assigned to you in God's Own plan to show His Sons that hell and
Heaven are different, NOT the same. And that in Heaven THEY are all the same,
without the differences which would have made a hell of Heaven and a heaven of
hell, had such insanity been possible.
T 25 H 11. The whole belief that someone loses but reflects the underlying
tenet God must be insane. For in this world it seems that one must gain BECAUSE
another lost. If THIS were true, then God is mad indeed! But what is this
belief except a form of the more basic tenet, "Sin is real, and rules the
world?" For every little gain must someone lose, and pay exact amount in blood
and suffering. For otherwise would evil triumph, and destruction be the total
cost of any gain at all. You who believe that God is mad, look carefully at
this, and understand that it must be that either God or THIS must be insane, but
hardly both.
T 25 H 12. Salvation is rebirth of the idea no one CAN lose for anyone to
gain. And everyone MUST gain, if anyone would be a gainer. Here is sanity
restored. And on this single rock of truth can faith in God's eternal saneness
rest in perfect confidence and perfect peace. Reason is satisfied, for all
insane beliefs can be corrected here. And sin MUST be impossible, if THIS is
true. This is the rock on which salvation rests, the vantage point from which
the Holy Spirit gives meaning and direction to the plan in which your special
function has a part. For here your special function is made whole because it
shares the FUNCTION of the whole.
T 25 H 13. Remember all temptation is but this; a mad belief that God's
insanity would make you sane, and give you what you want. That either God or
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you must lose to madness because your aims can NOT be reconciled. Death demands
life, but life is not maintained at any cost. No one can suffer for the Will of
God to be fulfilled. Salvation is His Will BECAUSE you share it. Not for you
alone, but for the Self which is the Son of God. He CANNOT lose, for if he
could, the loss would be his Father's, and in Him no loss is possible. And this
is sane BECAUSE it is the truth.
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T 25 I. The Principle of Salvation
T 25 I 1. The Holy Spirit can use all that you give to Him for your salvation.
But He cannot use what you withhold, for He cannot take it from you without your
willingness. For if He did, you would believe He wrested it from you against
your will. And so you would not learn it IS your will to be without it. You
need not give it to Him wholly willingly, for if you could, you had [T220] no need
of Him. But this He needs; that you prefer He take it than that you keep it for
yourself alone, and recognize that what brings loss to no one you would not
know. This much is necessary to add to the idea no one can lose for you to
gain. And nothing more.
T 25 I 2. Here is the only principle salvation needs. Nor is it necessary that
your faith in it be strong, unswerving, and without attack from all beliefs
opposed to it. You HAVE no fixed allegiance. But remember salvation is not
needed by the saved. You are not called upon to do what one divided still
against himself would find impossible. Have little faith that wisdom could be
found in such a state of mind. But be you thankful that only little faith is
ASKED of you. What BUT a little faith remains to those who still believe in
sin? What could they know of Heaven and the justice of the saved?
T 25 I 3. There is a kind of justice in salvation of which the world knows
nothing. To the world, justice and VENGEANCE are the same, for sinners see
justice only as their punishment, perhaps sustained by someone else, but not
escaped. The laws of sin DEMAND a victim. Who it may be makes little
difference. But death must be the cost and must be paid. This is not justice,
but insanity. Yet how could justice be defined without insanity where love
means hate, and death is seen as victory and triumph over eternity and
timelessness and life?
T 25 I 4. You who know not of justice still can ask, and learn the answer.
Justice looks on all in the same way. It is not just that one should lack for
what another has. For that is vengeance in whatever form it takes. Justice
demands NO sacrifice, for any sacrifice is made that sin may be
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preserved and kept. It is a payment offered for the cost of sin, but not the
total cost. The rest is taken from another, to be laid beside your little
payment, to "atone" for all that you would keep, and not give up. So is the
victim seen as partly you, with someone else by far the greater part. And in
the total cost, the greater his the less is yours. And justice, being blind, is
satisfied by being paid, it matters not by whom. Can this BE justice? God
knows not of this. But justice DOES He know, and knows it well. For He is
wholly fair to everyone.
T 25 I 5. Vengeance is alien to God's Mind BECAUSE He knows of justice. To be
just is to be fair, and NOT be vengeful. Fairness and [T221] vengeance are
impossible, for each one contradicts the other and denies that it is real. It
is impossible for you to share the Holy Spirit's justice with a mind that can
conceive of specialness at all. Yet how could He be just if He condemns a
sinner for the crimes he did not do, but THINKS he did? And where would justice
be if He demanded of the ones obsessed with the idea of punishment that they lay
it aside, unaided, and perceive it is not true? It is extremely hard for those
who still believe sin meaningful to understand the Holy Spirit's justice.
T 25 I 6. They MUST believe He shares their own confusion, and cannot avoid the
vengeance that their own belief in justice must entail. And so they fear the
Holy Spirit, and perceive the "wrath" of God in Him. Nor can they trust Him not
to strike them dead with lightening bolts torn from the "fires" of Heaven by
God's Own angry hand. They DO believe that Heaven is hell and ARE afraid of
love. And deep suspicion and the chill of fear comes over them when they are
told that they have never sinned. Their world depends on sin's stability. And
they perceive the "threat" of what God knows as justice to be more destructive
to themselves and to their world than vengeance, which they understand and love.
T 25 I 7. So do they think the loss of sin a curse. And flee the Holy
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Spirit as if He were a messenger from hell, sent from above, in treachery and
guile, to work God's vengeance on them in the guise of a deliverer and friend.
What could He be to them except a devil dressed to deceive, within an angel's
cloak. And what escape has He for them except a door to hell that seems to look
like Heaven's gate?
T 25 I 8. Yet justice cannot punish those who ask for punishment, but have a
Judge Who knows that they are wholly innocent in truth. In justice, He is bound
to set them free, and give them all the honor they deserve, and have denied
themselves because they are not fair, and cannot understand that they are
innocent. Love is not understandable to sinners because they think that justice
is split off from love, and stands for something else.
T 25 I 9. And thus is love perceived as weak, and vengeance strong. For love
has LOST when judgment left its side, and is too weak to save from punishment.
But vengeance without love has GAINED in strength by being separate and apart
from love. And what but vengeance now can help and save, while love stands
feebly by, with helpless hands, bereft of justice and vitality, and powerless to
save? What can Love ask of you who think that all of this is true? Could He,
in justice and in love believe, in your confusion, you have much to give? You
are not asked to trust Him far. No further than what you see He offers you, and
what you recognize you could not give yourself.
T 25 I 10. In God's Own justice does He recognize all you deserve, but
understands as well that you cannot accept it for yourself. It is His special
function to hold out to you the gifts the innocent DESERVE. And every one that
you accept brings joy to Him as well as you. He knows that Heaven is richer
made by each one you accept. And God rejoices as His Son receives what loving
justice knows to be his due. For love and justice are NOT different. BECAUSE
they are the same does mercy stand at God's right hand, and gives the Son of God
the power to forgive HIMSELF of sin.
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11. To him who merits everything, how can it be that anything be kept from him?
For that would be injustice, and unfair indeed to all the holiness that is in
him, however much he recognize it not. God knows of no injustice. He would not
allow His Son be judged by those who seek his death, and could not see his worth
at all. What honest witnesses could they call forth, to speak on his behalf?
And who would come to plead for him, and not against his life? No justice would
be given him by you. Yet God ensured that justice WOULD be done unto the Son He
loves, and would protect from all unfairness you might seek to offer, believing
vengeance IS his proper due.
T 25 I 12. As specialness cares not who pays the cost of sin, so it be
paid, the Holy Spirit heeds not who looks on innocence at last, provided it is
seen and recognized. For just ONE witness is enough, if he sees truly. Simple
justice asks no more. Of each one does the Holy Spirit ask if he will be that
one, so justice may return to love, and there be satisfied. Each special
function He allots is but for this; that each one learn that love and justice
are not separate. And both are strengthened by their union with each other.
Without love is justice prejudiced and weak. And love without justice is
impossible. For love is fair, and cannot chasten without cause. What cause can
BE to warrant an attack upon the innocent? In justice, then, does love correct
mistakes, but not in vengeance. For that would be unjust to innocence.
T 25 I 13. You can be perfect witness to the power of love AND justice, if
you understand it is impossible the Son of God could merit vengeance. You need
not perceive, in every circumstance, that this is true. Nor need you look to
your experience within the world, which is but shadows of all that is REALLY
happening within yourself. The understanding which you need comes not of you,
but from a larger Self, so great and holy that He could not doubt His innocence.
Your special function is a call to Him, that He may smile on you whose
sinlessness He shares. HIS understanding will be
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YOURS. And so the Holy Spirit's special function has been fulfilled. God's Son
has found a witness unto his sinlessness, and not his sin. How little need you
give the Holy Spirit, that simple justice may be given you!
T 25 I 14. Without impartiality there is no justice. How can specialness
be just? Judge not because you cannot, not because you are a miserable sinner,
too. How can the special REALLY understand that justice is the same for
everyone? To take from one to give another must be an injustice to them both,
since they are equal in the Holy Spirit's sight. Their Father gave the same
inheritance to both. Who would have more or less is not aware that he has
everything. He is no judge of what must be another's due, because he thinks HE
is deprived. And so must he [T222] be envious, and try to take away from whom he
judges. He is not impartial, and cannot fairly see another's rights because his
own have been obscured to him.
T 25 I 15. You have the RIGHT to all the universe; to perfect peace,
complete deliverance from all effects of sin, and to the life eternal, joyous
and complete in every way, as God appointed for His holy Son. This is the only
justice Heaven knows, and all the Holy Spirit brings to earth. Your special
function shows you nothing else but perfect justice CAN prevail for you. And
you are safe from vengeance in all forms. The world deceives, but it cannot
replace God's justice with a version of its own. For only love IS just, and CAN
perceive what justice must accord the Son of God. Let love decide, and never
fear that you, in your unfairness, will deprive yourself of what God's justice
has allotted you.
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T 25 J. The Justice of Heaven
T 25 J 1. What can it be but arrogance to think your little errors cannot be
undone by Heaven's justice? And what could this mean except that they are sins
and not mistakes, forever uncorrectable, and to be met with vengeance, not with
justice? Are you willing to be released from all effects of sin? You cannot
answer this until you see all that the answer must entail. For if you answer
"yes," it means you will forego all values of this world, in favor of the peace
of Heaven. Not ONE sin would you retain. And not ONE doubt that this is
possible will you hold dear, that sin be kept in place. You mean that truth has
greater value now than ALL illusions. And you recognize that truth must be
revealed to you, because you know not what it is.
T 25 J 2. To give reluctantly is not to gain the gift, because you are
reluctant to ACCEPT it. It is saved for you until reluctance to receive it
disappears, and you are willing it be given you. God's justice warrants
gratitude, not fear. Nothing you give is lost to you or anyone, but cherished
and preserved in Heaven, where all of the treasures given to God's Son are kept
for him, and offered anyone who but holds out his hand in willingness they be
received. Nor is the treasure less as it is given out. Each gift but ADDS to
the supply. For God is fair. He does not fight against His Son's reluctance to
perceive salvation as a gift from Him. Yet would His justice not be satisfied
until it is received by everyone.
T 25 J 3. Be certain any answer to a problem the Holy Spirit solves will always
be one in which no one loses. And this must be true, because He asks no
sacrifice of anyone. An answer which demands the slightest loss to anyone has
not resolved the problem, but has added to it, and made it greater, harder to
resolve, and MORE unfair. It is impossible the Holy Spirit could see unfairness
as a resolution. To Him, what is unfair must be corrected BECAUSE it is unfair.
And every error is a perception in which one, at least, is seen unfairly. Thus
is justice not accorded to the
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Son of God. When anyone is seen as losing, he has been condemned. And
punishment becomes his due, instead of justice.
T 25 J 4. The sight of innocence makes punishment impossible, and justice sure.
The Holy Spirit's perception leaves no grounds for an attack. Only a LOSS
could justify attack, and loss of any kind He cannot see. The world solves
problems in another way. It sees a resolution as a state in which it is decided
who shall win and who shall lose; how much the one shall take, and how much can
the loser still defend.
T 25 J 5. Yet does the problem still remain unsolved, for ONLY justice can set
up a state in which there is no loser; no one left unfairly treated and
deprived, and thus with grounds for vengeance. Problem solving cannot be
vengeance, which, at best, can bring another problem added to the first, in
which the murder is not obvious. The Holy Spirit's problem solving is the way
in which the problem ENDS. It has been solved BECAUSE it has been met with
justice. Until it has it will recur, because it has not yet been solved. The
principle that justice means no one can lose is crucial to this course. For
miracles DEPEND on justice. Not as it is seen through this world's eyes, but as
God knows it, and as knowledge is reflected in the sight the Holy Spirit gives.
T 25 J 6. NO ONE deserves to lose. And what would be unjust to him cannot
occur. Healing must be for everyone BECAUSE he does not merit an attack of any
kind. What order can there be in miracles, unless someone deserves to suffer
more, and others less? And IS this justice to the wholly innocent? A miracle
IS justice. It is not a special gift to some, to be withheld from others as
less worthy, more condemned, and thus apart from healing. Who is there who can
be separate from salvation, if its PURPOSE is the end of specialness? Where is
salvation's justice if some errors are unforgivable, and warrant vengeance in
place of healing and return of peace?
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T 25 J 7. Salvation cannot seek to help God's Son be more unfair than HE has
sought to be. If miracles, the Holy Spirit's gift, were given specially to an
elect and special group, and kept apart from others as less deserving, then is
He ALLY to specialness. What He cannot perceive He bears no witness to. And
everyone is equally entitled to His gift of healing and deliverance and peace.
To give a problem to the Holy Spirit to solve for you means that you WANT it
solved. To keep it for yourself to solve without His help is to decide it
should remain unsettled, unresolved, and lasting in its power of injustice and
attack. No one CAN be unjust to you, unless you have decided first to BE
unjust. And then must problems rise to block your way, and peace be scattered
by the winds of hate.
T 25 J 8. Unless you think that all your brothers have an equal right to
miracles with you, you will not claim your right to them because you were unjust
to one with equal rights. Seek to deny, and you WILL feel denied. Seek to
deprive, and you HAVE been deprived. A miracle can NEVER be received because
another could receive it NOT. Only forgiveness offers miracles. And pardon
must be just to everyone.
T 25 J 9. The little problems that you keep and hide become your secret sins,
because you did not choose to let them be removed for you. And so they gather
dust and grow, until they cover everything that you perceive, and leave you fair
to no one. Not one right do you believe you have. And bitterness, with
vengeance justified and mercy lost, condemns you as unworthy of forgiveness.
The unforgiven HAVE no mercy to bestow upon another. That is why your sole
responsibility must be to take forgiveness for yourself. The miracle that you
receive, you GIVE. Each one becomes an illustration of the law on which
salvation rests; that justice must be done to all, if anyone is to be healed.
No one can lose, and everyone MUST benefit.
T 25 J 10. Each miracle is an example of what justice can accomplish when
it is offered to everyone alike. It is received and given equally. It is
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awareness that giving and receiving are the same. Because it does not make the
same unlike, it sees no differences where none exist. And thus it is the same
for everyone, because it sees no differences in THEM. Its offering is
universal, and it teaches but one message: What is God's BELONGS to everyone,
and IS his due.
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Chapter XXVI 26 - THE TRANSITION
T 26 A. Introduction
T 26 A 1. In the "dynamics" of attack is sacrifice a key idea. It is the pivot
upon which ALL compromise, ALL desperate attempts to strike a bargain, and ALL
conflicts achieve a seeming balance. It is the symbol of the central theme that
SOMEBODY MUST LOSE. Its focus on the body is apparent, for it is always an
attempt to LIMIT LOSS. The body is itself a sacrifice; a giving up of power in
the name of saving just a little for yourself. To see a brother in another
body, separate from yours, is the expression of a wish to see a little part of
him and sacrifice the rest. Look at the world, and you will see nothing
attached to anything beyond itself. All seeming entities can come a little
nearer, or go a little farther off, but CANNOT join.
T 26 B. The "Sacrifice" of Oneness
T 26 B 1. The world you see is based on "sacrifice" of oneness. It is a
picture of complete disunity and total lack of joining. Around each entity is
built a wall so seeming solid that it looks as if what is inside can never reach
without, and what is out can never reach and join with what is locked away,
within the wall. Each part must sacrifice the other part, to keep itself
complete. For if they joined, each one would lose its own identity, and by
their separation are their selves maintained.
T 26 B 2. The little that the body fences off BECOMES the self, preserved
through sacrifice of all the rest. And all the rest must LOSE this little part,
remaining incomplete to keep its own identity intact. In this perception of
yourself, the body's loss would be a sacrifice indeed. For sight of bodies
becomes the sign that sacrifice is limited, and something still remains for you
alone. And for this little to belong to you, are limits placed on everything
outside, just as they are on everything you think is yours. For giving and
receiving ARE the same. And to accept the limits of a body is to impose these
limits on each brother whom you see. For you must see him as you see yourself.
T 26 B 3. The body IS a loss, and CAN be made to sacrifice. And while
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you see your brother as a body, apart from you and separate in his cell, you are
demanding sacrifice of him AND you. What greater sacrifice could be demanded
than that God's Son perceive himself without his Father? And his Father be
without His Son? Yet every sacrifice demands that they be separate and without
the other. The memory of God MUST be denied if any sacrifice is asked of
anyone. What witness to the wholeness of God's Son is seen within a world of
separate bodies, however much he witnesses to truth? He is INVISIBLE in such a
world. Nor can his song of union and of love be heard at all. Yet is it given
him to make the world recede before his song, and sight of him replace the
body's eyes.
T 26 B 4. Those who would see the witnesses to truth instead of to illusion
merely ask that they might see a purpose in the world that gives it sense, and
makes it meaningful. Without your special function HAS this world no meaning
for you. Yet it can become a treasure house as rich and limitless as Heaven
itself. No instant passes here in which your brother's holiness cannot be seen,
to add a limitless supply to every meager scrap and tiny crumb of happiness that
you allot yourself.
T 26 B 5. You CAN lose sight of oneness, but can NOT make sacrifice of its
reality. Nor can you LOSE what you would sacrifice, nor keep the Holy Spirit
from His task of showing you that it has not been lost. Hear, then, the song
your brother sings to you. And let the world recede, and take the rest his
witness offers on behalf of peace. But judge him not, for you will hear no song
of liberation for yourself, nor see what it [T223] is given him to witness to,
that you may see it and rejoice with him. Make not his holiness a sacrifice to
your belief in sin. You sacrifice YOUR innocence with his, and die each time
you see in him a sin deserving death.
T 26 B 6. Yet every instant can you be reborn, and given life again. His
holiness gives life to you, who cannot die because his sinlessness is known to
God, and can no more be sacrificed by you than can the light in you
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be blotted out because he sees it not. You who would make a sacrifice of life,
and make your eyes and ears bear witness to the death of God and of His holy
Son, think not that you have power to make of Them what God willed not They be.
In Heaven, God's Son is not imprisoned in a body, nor is sacrificed in solitude
to sin.
T 26 B 7. And as he is in Heaven, so must he be eternally and everywhere. He
is the same forever. Born again each instant, untouched by time, and far beyond
the reach of any sacrifice of life or death. For neither did he make, and only
one was given him, by One Who knows His gifts can never suffer sacrifice and
loss. God's justice rests in gentleness upon His Son, and keeps him safe from
all injustice the world would lay upon him. Could it be that YOU could make his
sins reality, and sacrifice his Father's Will for him?
T 26 B 8. Condemn him not by seeing him within the rotting prison where he sees
himself. It is your special function to ensure the door be opened, that he may
come forth to shine on you, and give you back the gift of freedom [T224] by
receiving it of you. What is the Holy Spirit's special function but to release
the holy Son of God from the imprisonment he made to KEEP himself from justice?
Could your function be a task apart and separate from His Own?
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T 26 C. The Forms of Error
T 26 C 1. It is not difficult to understand the reasons why you do not ask the
Holy Spirit to solve ALL problems for you. He has no [T225] greater difficulty in
resolving some than others. Every problem is the same to Him, because each one
is solved in just the SAME respect, and through the SAME approach. The aspects
which need solving do not change, whatever form the problem seems to take. A
problem can appear in many forms, and it will do so while the problem lasts. It
serves no purpose to attempt to solve it in a special form. It will recur and
then recur again and yet again, until it has been answered for all time, and
will not rise again in any form. And only then are you released from it.
T 26 C 2. The Holy Spirit offers you release from EVERY problem that you think
you have. They are the same to Him because each one, regardless of the form it
seems to take, is a demand that someone suffer loss, and make a sacrifice that
you might gain. And when the situation is worked out so no one loses, is the
problem gone, because it was an error in perception which now has been
corrected. One mistake is not more difficult for Him to bring to truth than is
another. For there IS but one mistake; the whole idea that loss is possible,
and could result in gain for anyone. If this were true, then God would be
unfair; sin would be possible, attack be justified, and vengeance fair.
T 26 C 3. This one mistake, in any form, has ONE correction. There IS no loss;
to think there is, is a mistake. You HAVE no problems, though you think you
have. And yet you could not think so, if you saw them vanish one by one,
without regard to size, complexity, or place and time, or any attribute which
you perceive that makes each one seem different from the rest. Think not the
limits you impose on what you see can limit God in any way.
T 26 C 4. The miracle of justice can correct ALL errors. Every problem IS an
error. It does injustice to the Son of God, and therefore is not
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true. The Holy Spirit does not evaluate injustices as great or small, or more
or less. They have no properties to Him. They are mistakes from which the Son
of God is suffering, but needlessly. And so He takes the thorns and nails away.
He does not pause to judge whether the hurt be large or little. He makes but
one judgment; that to hurt God's Son MUST be unfair, and therefore is not so.
T 26 C 5. You who believe it safe to give but some mistakes to be corrected
while you keep the others to yourself, remember this: Justice is total. There
is no such thing as partial justice. If the Son of God is guilty then is he
condemned, and he deserves no mercy from the God of justice. But ask not God to
punish him because YOU find him guilty, and would have him die. God offers you
the means to see his innocence. Would it be fair to punish him because you will
not look at what is there to see? Each time you keep a problem for yourself to
solve, or judge that it is one which has no resolution, you have made it great,
and past the hope of healing. You deny the miracle of justice CAN be fair.
T 26 C 6. If God is just, then can there be no problems that justice cannot
solve. But you believe that some injustices are fair and good, and necessary to
preserve yourself. It is these problems that you think are great, and cannot be
resolved. For there are those you WANT to suffer loss, and no one whom you wish
to be preserved from sacrifice entirely. Consider once again your special
function. ONE is given you to see in him his perfect sinlessness. And you will
ask no sacrifice of him, because you could not will he suffer loss. The miracle
of justice you call forth will rest on you as surely as on him. Nor will the
Holy Spirit be content until it is received by everyone. For what you give to
Him IS everyone's, and by your giving it can He ensure that everyone receives it
equally.
T 26 C 7. Think, then, how great your own release will be, when you are willing
to receive correction for all your problems. You will not keep one, for pain in
any form you will not want. And you will see each little hurt
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resolved before the Holy Spirit's gentle sight. For all of them ARE little in
His sight, and worth no more than just a tiny sigh before they disappear, to be
forever undone and unremembered. What seemed once to be a special problem, a
mistake without a remedy, or an affliction without a cure, has been transformed
into a universal blessing. Sacrifice is gone. And in its place the Love of God
can be remembered, and will shine away all memory of sacrifice and loss.
T 26 C 8. God cannot be remembered until justice is loved instead of feared.
He cannot be unjust to anyone or anything, because He knows that everything that
is belongs to Him, and will forever be as He created it. Nothing He loves but
must be sinless and beyond attack. Your special function opens wide the door
beyond which is the memory of His Love kept perfectly intact and undefiled. And
all you need to do is but to wish that Heaven be given you instead of hell, and
every bolt and barrier that seems to hold the door securely barred and locked
will merely fall away, and disappear. For it is not your Father's Will that you
should offer or receive less than He gave, when He created you in perfect love.
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T 26 D. The Borderland
T 26 D 1. Complexity is not of God. How could it be, when all He knows is one?
He knows of ONE creation, ONE reality, ONE truth, and but ONE Son. Nothing
conflicts with oneness. How, then, could there be complexity in Him? What is
there to decide? For it is conflict that makes choice possible. The truth is
simple; it is one, without an opposite. And how could strife enter in its
simple presence, and bring complexity where oneness is? The truth makes no
decisions, for there is nothing to decide BETWEEN. And only if there were could
choosing be a necessary step in the advance toward oneness. What is everything
leaves room for nothing else.
T 26 D 2. Yet is this magnitude beyond the scope of this curriculum. Nor is it
necessary we dwell on anything that cannot be immediately grasped. There is a
borderland of thought which stands between this world and Heaven. It is not a
place, and WHEN [T226] you reach it is apart from time. Here is the meeting place
where thoughts are brought together; where conflicting values meet, and all
illusions are laid down beside the truth, where they are judged to be untrue.
This borderland is just beyond the gate of Heaven. Here is every thought made
pure and wholly simple. Here is sin denied, and everything that IS received
instead.
T 26 D 3. This is the journey's end. We have referred to it as the real world.
And yet there is a contradiction here, in that the words imply a limited
reality, a partial truth, a segment of the universe made true. This is because
knowledge makes no attack upon perception. They are brought together, and only
one continues past the gate where Oneness is. Salvation is a borderland where
place and time and choice have meaning still, and yet it can be seen that they
are temporary, out of place, and every choice has been already made.
T 26 D 4. Nothing the Son of God believes can be destroyed. But what is truth
to him must be brought to the last comparison that he will ever make, the last
evaluation that will be possible, the final judgment upon this world. It is the
judgment of the truth upon illusion, of knowledge on
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perception;- it has no meaning, and does not exist. This is not your decision.
It is but a simple statement of a simple fact. But in this world there ARE no
simple facts, because what is the same and what is different remain unclear.
The one essential thing to make a choice at all is this distinction. And herein
lies the difference between the worlds. In this one, choice is made impossible.
In the real world is choosing simplified.
T 26 D 5. Salvation stops just short of Heaven, for only perception needs
salvation. Heaven was never lost, and so cannot be saved. Yet who can make a
choice between the wish for Heaven and the wish for hell unless he recognizes
they are NOT the same? This difference is the learning goal this course has
set. It will not go beyond this aim. Its only purpose is to teach what is the
same and what is different, leaving room to make the only choice which CAN be
made.
T 26 D 6. There is no basis for choice in this complex and over complicated
world. For no one understands what is the same, and seems to choose where no
choice really is. The real world is the area of choice made real, not in the
outcome, but in the perception of ALTERNATIVES for choice. That there IS choice
is an illusion. Yet within this one lies the undoing of EVERY illusion, not
excepting this.
T 26 D 7. Is not this like your special function, where the separation is
undone by change of purpose in what once was specialness, and now is union? ALL
illusions are but one. And in the recognition this is so, lies the ability to
give up all attempts to choose between them, and to MAKE them different. How
simple is the choice between two things so clearly UNalike. [T227] There IS no
conflict here. No sacrifice is possible in the relinquishment of an illusion
RECOGNIZED as such. Where all reality has been withdrawn from what was never
true, can it be hard to give it up, and choose what MUST be true?
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T 26 E. Where Sin Has Left
T 26 E 1. Forgiveness is this world's equivalent of Heaven's justice. It
translates the world of sin into a simple world, where justice can be reflected
from beyond the gate behind which total lack of limits lies. Nothing in
boundless love could need forgiveness. And what is charity within the world
gives way to simple justice past the gate that opens into Heaven. No one
forgives unless he has believed in sin, and still believes that he has much to
be forgiven. Forgiveness thus becomes the means by which he learns he has done
nothing to forgive. Forgiveness always rests upon the one who offers it, until
he sees himself as needing it no more. And thus is he returned to his real
function of creating, which his forgiveness offers him again.
T 26 E 2. Forgiveness turns the world of sin into a world of glory, wonderful
to see. Each flower shines in light, and every bird sings of the joy of Heaven.
There is no sadness and there is no parting here, for everything is totally
forgiven. And what has been forgiven must join, for nothing stands between, to
keep them separate and apart. The sinless must perceive that they are one, for
nothing stands between to push the other off. And in the space which sin left
vacant do they join as one, in gladness recognizing what is part of them has not
been kept apart and separate.
T 26 E 3. The holy place on which you stand is but the space that sin has left.
And here you see the face of Christ, arising in its place. Who could behold
the face of Christ, and not recall His Father as He really is? Who could fear
love, and stand upon the ground where sin has left a place for Heaven's altar to
rise and tower far above the world, and reach beyond the universe to touch the
heart of all creation? What is Heaven but a song of gratitude and love and
praise, by everything created to the Source of its creation? The holiest of
altars is set where once sin was believed to be. And here does every light of
heaven come, to be rekindled and increased in joy. For here is what was lost
restored to them, and all their radiance made whole again.
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T 26 E 4. Forgiveness brings no little miracles to lay before the gate of
Heaven. Here the Son of God Himself comes to receive each gift that brings him
nearer to his home. Not one is lost, and none is cherished more than any other.
Each reminds him of His Father's Love as surely as the rest. And each one
teaches him that what he feared he loves the most. What BUT a miracle could
change his mind, so that he understands that love cannot BE feared? What other
miracle is there but this? And what else NEED there be to make the space
between you disappear?
T 26 E 5. Where sin once was perceived will rise a world which will become an
altar to the truth, and YOU will join the lights of Heaven there, and sing their
song of gratitude and praise. And as they come to you to be complete, so will
you go with them. For no one hears the song of Heaven and remains without a
voice that adds its power to the song, and makes it sweeter still. And each one
joins the singing at the altar which was raised within the tiny spot that sin
proclaimed to be its own. And what was tiny then has soared into a magnitude of
song in which the universe has joined with but a single voice. This tiny spot
of sin that stands between you still is holding back the happy opening of
Heaven's gate. How little is the hindrance which withholds the wealth of Heaven
from you! And how great will be the joy in Heaven when you join the mighty
chorus to the Love of God!
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T 26 F. The Little Hindrance
T 26 F 1. A little hindrance can seem large indeed to those who do not
understand that miracles are all the same. Yet teaching that is what this
course is FOR. This is its only purpose, for only that is all there is to
learn. And you can learn it many different ways. All learning is a help or
hindrance to the gate of Heaven. Nothing in between is possible. There are two
teachers only, who point in different ways. And you will go along the way your
chosen teacher leads. There are but two directions you can take, while time
remains and choice is meaningful. For never will another road be made except
the way to Heaven. You but choose whether to go TOWARD Heaven, or away to
nowhere. There IS nothing else to choose.
T 26 F 2. Nothing is ever lost but time, which in the end is meaningless. For
it is but a little hindrance to eternity, quite meaningless to the real Teacher
of the world. Yet since you DO believe in it, why should you waste it going
nowhere, when it CAN be used to reach a goal as high as learning can achieve?
Think not the way to Heaven's gate is difficult at all. Nothing you undertake
with certain purpose and high resolve and happy confidence, holding each other's
hand and keeping step to Heaven's song, is difficult to do. But it is hard
indeed to wander off, alone and miserable, down a road which leads to nothing,
and which has no purpose.
T 26 F 3. God gave His Teacher to replace the one you made, not to conflict
with it. And what He would replace has been replaced. Time lasted but an
instant in your mind, with no effect upon eternity. And so is all time
past, [T228] and everything exactly as it was before the way to nothingness was
made. The tiny tick of time in which the first mistake was made, and all of
them within that one mistake, held also the CORRECTION for that one, and all of
them that came within the first. And in that tiny instant time was gone, for
that was all it ever was. What God gave answer to IS answered and is gone.
T 26 F 4. To you who still believe you live in time and know not it is gone,
the Holy Spirit still guides you through the infinitely small and
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senseless maze you still perceive in time, though it has long since gone. You
think you live in what is past. Each thing you look upon you saw but for an
instant, long ago, before its unreality gave way to truth. Not one illusion
still remains unanswered in your mind. Uncertainty was brought to certainty so
long ago that it is hard indeed to hold it to your heart, as if it were before
you still.
T 26 F 5. The tiny instant you would keep and make eternal, passed away in
Heaven too soon for anything to notice it had come. What disappeared too
quickly to affect the simple knowledge of the Son of God can hardly still be
there, for you to choose to be your teacher. Only in the past, - an ancient
past, too short to make a world in answer to creation, - did this world appear
to rise. So very long ago, for such a tiny interval of time, that not one note
in Heaven's song was missed.
T 26 F 6. Yet in each unforgiving act or thought, in every judgment, and in all
belief in sin, is that one instant still called back, as if it could be made
again in time. You keep an ancient memory before your eyes. And he who lives
in memories alone is unaware of where he is.
T 26 F 7. Forgiveness is the great release from time. It is the key to learning
that the past is over. Madness speaks no more. There IS no OTHER teacher and no
OTHER way. For what has been undone no longer is. And who can stand upon a
distant shore, and dream himself across an ocean, to a place and time that have
long since gone by? How REAL a hindrance can this dream be to where he really
IS? For this is fact, and does NOT change whatever dreams he has. Yet can he
still IMAGINE he is elsewhere, and in another time. In the extreme he can delude
himself that this is true, and pass from mere imagining into belief and into
madness, quite convinced that where he would prefer to be, he IS. [T229]
T 26 F 8. Is this a HINDRANCE to the place whereon he stands? Is any echo from
the past that he may hear a fact in what is there to hear where he is now? And
how much can his own delusions about time and place effect [T230] a change in
where he really is? The unforgiven is a voice that calls from out [T231] a past
forever more gone by. And everything which points to it as real is but a wish
that what is gone could be made real again, and seen as here and now, in place
of what is REALLY now and here. Is this a hindrance to the truth the past is
gone, and cannot be returned to you? And do you WANT that fearful instant kept,
when Heaven seemed to disappear, and God was feared and made a symbol of your
hate?
T 26 F 9. Forget the time of terror that has been so long ago corrected
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and undone. Can sin withstand the Will of God? Can it be up to you to see the
past, and put it in the present? You can NOT go back. And everything that
points the way in the direction of the past but sets you on a mission whose
accomplishment can only be unreal. Such is the justice your Ever-Loving Father
has ensured must come to you. And from your own unfairness to yourself has He
protected you. You CANNOT lose your way because there is no way but His, and
nowhere can you go except to Him.
T 26 F 10. Would God allow His Son to lose his way along a road long since
a memory of time gone by? This course will teach you ONLY what is now. A
dreadful instant in a distant past, now perfectly corrected, is of no concern
nor value. Let the dead and gone be peacefully forgotten. Resurrection has
come to take its place. And now you are a part of resurrection, NOT of death.
No past illusions have the power to keep you in a place of death, a vault God's
Son entered an instant, to be instantly restored unto His Father's perfect Love.
And how can he be kept in chains long since removed, and gone forever from his
mind?
T 26 F 11. The Son that God created is as free as God created him. He was
reborn the instant that he chose to die instead of live. And will you not
forgive him now, because he made an error in the past that God remembers not,
and is not there? Now you are shifting back and forth between the past and
present. Sometimes the past seems real, as if it were the present. Voices from
the past are heard, and then are doubted. You are like to one who still
hallucinates, but lacks conviction in what he perceives. This is the borderland
between the worlds, the bridge between the past and present. Here the shadow of
the past remains, but still a present light is dimly recognized. Once it is
seen, this light can never be forgotten. It must draw you from the past into
the present, where you really ARE.
T 26 F 12. The shadow voices do not change the laws of time or of
eternity. They come from what is past and gone, and hinder not the true
existence of the here and now. The real world is the second part of the
hallucination
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time and death are real, and have existence which can BE perceived. This
terrible illusion was denied in but the time it took for God to give His answer
to illusion for all time and every circumstance. And then it was no more, to be
experienced as there.
T 26 F 13. Each day, and every minute in each day, and every instant that
each minute holds, you but relive the single instant when the time of terror was
replaced by love. And so you die each day to live again, until you cross the
gap between the past and present, which is not a gap at all. Such is each life;
a seeming interval from birth to death, and on to life again, a repetition of an
instant gone by long ago, which cannot BE relived. And all of time is but the
mad belief that what is over is still here and now.
T 26 F 14. Forgive the past and let it go, for it IS gone. You stand no
longer on the ground that lies between the worlds. You have gone on, and
reached the world that lies at Heaven's gate. There is no hindrance to the Will
of God, nor any need that you repeat again a journey that was over long ago.
Look gently on each other, and behold the world in which perception of your hate
has been transformed into a world of love.
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T 26 G. The Appointed Friend
T 26 G 1. Anything in this world that you believe is good and valuable and
worth striving for can hurt you, and will do so. Not because it has the power
to hurt, but just because you have denied it is but an illusion, and made it
real. And it IS real to you. It is NOT nothing. And through its perceived
reality has entered all the world of sick illusions. All belief in sin, in
power of attack, in hurt and harm, in sacrifice and death, has come to you. For
no one can make ONE illusion real, and still escape the rest. For who can
choose to keep the ones which he prefers, and find the safety that the truth
alone can give? Who can believe illusions are the same, and still maintain that
even one is best?
T 26 G 2. Lead not your little lives in solitude, with one illusion as your
only friend. This is no friendship worthy of God's Son, nor one with which he
could remain content. Yet God has given him a better Friend, in whom all power
in earth and Heaven rests. The one illusion that YOU think is friend obscures
HIS grace and majesty from you, and keeps his friendship and forgiveness from
your welcoming embrace. Without him you ARE friendless. Seek not another
friend to take his place. There IS no other friend. What God appointed has no
substitute, for what illusion can replace the truth?
T 26 G 3. Who dwells with shadows is alone indeed, and loneliness is not the
Will of God. Would you allow one shadow to usurp the throne that God appointed
for your Friend, if you but realized its emptiness has left YOURS empty and
unoccupied? Make no illusion friend, for if you do, it can but take the place
of him whom God has called your Friend. And it is he who is your ONLY Friend in
truth. He brings you gifts that are not of this world, and only he to whom they
have been given can make sure that you receive them. He will place them on your
throne, when you make room for him on his.
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T 26 H. Review of Principles
T 26 H 1. This is a course in miracles. And as such, the laws of healing must
be understood before the purpose of the course can be accomplished. Let us
review the principles that we have covered, and arrange them in a way that
summarizes all that must occur for healing to be possible. For when it once is
possible it MUST occur. All sickness comes from separation. When the
separation is denied, it goes. For it IS gone as soon as the idea which brought
it has been healed, and been replaced by sanity. Sickness and sin are seen as
consequence and cause, in a relationship kept hidden from awareness that it may
be carefully preserved from reason's light.
T 26 H 2. Guilt ASKS for punishment, and its request is granted. Not in truth,
but in the world of shadows and illusions built on sin. The Son of God
perceives what he would see because perception IS a wish fulfilled. Perception
changes, made to take the place of changeless knowledge. Yet is truth
unchanged. It cannot be perceived, but only known. What is perceived takes
many forms, but none has meaning. Brought to truth, its senselessness is quite
apparent. Kept apart from truth, it seems to have a meaning and be real.
T 26 H 3. Perception's laws are opposite to truth, and what is true of
knowledge is not true of anything that is apart from it. Yet has God given
answer to the world of sickness, which applies to ALL its forms. God’s Answer
is eternal, though it operates in time, where it is needed. Yet because it IS
of God, the laws of time do not affect its workings. It is in this world, but
not a part of it. For it is real, and dwells where all reality must be. Ideas
leave not their source, and their effects but seem to be apart from them. Ideas
are of the mind. What is projected out, and seems to be external to the mind,
is not outside at all, but an effect of what is in, and has not left its source.
T 26 H 4. God’s Answer lies where the belief in sin must be, for only there can
its effects be utterly undone, and without cause. Perception's laws must be
reversed because they ARE reversals of the laws of truth.
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The laws of truth forever will be true, and cannot BE reversed; yet can be SEEN
as upside-down. And this must be corrected where the illusion of reversal lies.
T 26 H 5. It is impossible that one illusion be less amenable to truth than are
the rest. But it IS possible that some are given greater value, and less
willingly offered to truth for healing and for help. No illusion has any truth
in it. Yet it appears some are more true than others, although this clearly
makes no sense at all. All that a hierarchy of illusions can show is
preference, not reality. What relevance has preference to the truth? Illusions
are illusions, and are false. Your preference gives them no reality. Not one
is true in any way, and all must yield with equal ease to what God gave as
answer to them all. God's Will is One. And any wish that seems to go against
His Will has NO foundation in the truth.
T 26 H 6. Sin is not error, for it goes beyond correction to impossibility.
Yet the belief that it is real has made some errors seem forever past the hope
of healing, and the lasting grounds for hell. If this were so, would Heaven be
opposed by its own opposite, as real as it. Then would God's Will be split in
two, and all creation be subjected to the laws of two opposing powers, until God
becomes impatient, splits the world apart, and relegates attack unto Himself.
Thus has He lost His Mind, proclaiming sin has taken His reality from Him, and
brought His Love at last to vengeance's [T232] heels. For such an insane picture,
an insane defense can be expected, but can NOT establish that the picture must
be true.
T 26 H 7. Nothing gives meaning where no meaning is. And truth NEEDS no
defense to make it true. Illusions have no witnesses, and no effects. Who
looks on them is but deceived. Forgiveness is the only function here, and
serves to bring the joy this world denies to every aspect of God's Son where sin
was thought to rule. Perhaps you do not see the role forgiveness plays in
ending death, and all beliefs that rise from mists of guilt.
T 26 H 8. Sins are beliefs which you impose between your brother and your
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self. They limit you to time and place, and give a little space to you, another
little space to him. This separating off is symbolized, in your perception, by
a body which is clearly separate and a thing apart. Yet what this symbol
represents is but your wish to BE apart and separate. Forgiveness takes AWAY
what stands between your brother and yourself. It is the wish that you be
joined with him, and NOT apart. We call it "wish" because it still conceives of
other choices, and has not yet reached beyond the world of choice entirely.
T 26 H 9. Yet is this wish in line with Heaven's state, and not in opposition
to God's Will. Although it falls far short of giving you your full inheritance,
it DOES remove the obstacles which you have placed between the [T233] Heaven where
you are, and recognition of where and what you are. Facts are unchanged. Yet
facts can be denied and thus unknown, though they were known BEFORE they were
denied.
T 26 H 10. Salvation, perfect and complete, asks but a little wish that
what is true be true; a little willingness to overlook what is not there; a
little sigh that speaks for Heaven as a preference to this world which death and
desolation seem to rule. In joyous answer will creation rise within you, to
replace the world you see with Heaven, wholly perfect and complete. What is
forgiveness but a willingness that truth be true? What can remain unhealed and
broken from a Unity Which holds all things within Itself? There IS no sin. And
every miracle is possible the instant that the Son of God perceives his wishes
and the Will of God are One.
T 26 H 11. What is the Will of God? He wills His Son have everything.
And this He guaranteed when He created him AS everything. It is impossible that
anything be lost, if what you HAVE is what you ARE. This is the miracle by
which creation became your function, sharing it with God. It is not understood
apart from Him, and therefore has no meaning in this world.
T 26 H 12. Here does the Son of God ask not too much, but far too little.
He would sacrifice his own identity with everything, to find a little
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treasure of his own. And this he cannot do without a sense of isolation, loss
and loneliness. This is the treasure he has sought to find. And he could only
be afraid of it. Is fear a treasure? Can uncertainty be what you WANT? Or is
it a mistake about your will, and what you REALLY are? Let us consider what the
error is, so it can be corrected, not protected.
T 26 H 13. Sin is belief attack can be projected outside the mind where
the belief arose. Here is the firm conviction that ideas CAN leave their source
made real and meaningful. And from this error does the world of sin and
sacrifice arise. This world is an attempt to prove your innocence, while
cherishing attack. Its failure lies in that you STILL feel guilty, though
without understanding WHY. Effects are seen as separate from their source, and
seem to be beyond you to control or to prevent. What is thus KEPT apart can
never join.
T 26 H 14. Cause and Effect are one, not separate. God wills you learn
what always has been true; that He created you as part of Him, and this must
still be true BECAUSE ideas leave not their source. Such is creation's law;
that each idea the mind conceives but ADDS to its abundance, NEVER takes away.
This is as true of what is idly wished as what is truly willed, because the mind
can wish to be deceived, but cannot make it be what it is not. And to believe
ideas can leave their source is to invite illusions to be true, WITHOUT SUCCESS.
For never will success be possible in trying to deceive the Son of God.
T 26 H 15. The miracle is possible when cause and consequence are brought
together, not kept separate. The healing of effect without the cause can merely
shift effects to other forms. And this is NOT release. God's Son could never
be content with less than full salvation, and escape from guilt. For otherwise
he still demands that he must make some sacrifice, and thus denies that
everything is his, unlimited by loss of any kind. A tiny sacrifice is just the
same in its effects as is the whole idea of sacrifice. If loss in any form is
possible, then is God's Son made incomplete and not
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himself. Nor will he know himself, nor recognize his will. [T234] He has
forsworn his Father AND himself, and made them both his enemies in hate.
T 26 H 16. Illusions serve the purpose they were made to serve. And from
their purpose, they derive whatever meaning that they seem to have. God gave to
all illusions that were made ANOTHER purpose that would justify a miracle
whatever form they took. In every miracle all healing lies, for God gave answer
to them all as one. And what is one to Him must be the same. If you believe
what is the same is different you but deceive yourself. What God calls one will
be forever one, not separate. His Kingdom IS united; thus it was created, and
thus will it ever be.
T 26 H 17. The miracle but calls your ancient name, which you will
recognize because the truth is in your memory. And to this name your brother
calls for his release and yours. Heaven is shining on the Son of God. Deny him
not, that you may be released. Each instant is the Son of God reborn, until he
chooses not to die again. In every wish to hurt he chooses death, instead of
what his Father wills for him. Yet every instant offers life to him, because
his Father wills that he should live.
T 26 H 18. In crucifixion is redemption laid, for healing is not needed
where there is no pain or suffering. Forgiveness is the answer to attack of any
kind. So is attack deprived of its effects, and hate is answered in the name of
love. To you to whom it has been given to save the Son of God from crucifixion
and from hell and death, all glory be forever. For you have power to save the
Son of God because his Father willed that it be so. And in your hands does all
salvation lie, to be both offered and received as one.
T 26 H 19. To use the power God has given you as He would have it used is
natural. It is not arrogant to be as He created you, or to make use of what He
gave to answer all His Son's mistakes, and set him free. But it IS arrogant to
lay aside the power that He gave, and choose a little, senseless wish instead of
what He wills. The gift of God to you IS limitless. There
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is no circumstance it cannot answer, and no problem which is not resolved within
its gracious light.
T 26 H 20. Abide in peace, where God would have you be. And be the means
whereby your brother finds the peace in which your wishes are fulfilled. Let us
unite in bringing blessing to the world of sin and death. For what can save
each one of us can save us all. There is no difference among the Sons of God.
The Unity that specialness denies will save them all, for what is one can have
no specialness. And everything belongs to each of them. No wishes lie between
a brother and his own. To get from one is to deprive them all. And yet to
bless but one gives blessing to them all as one.
T 26 H 21. Your ancient name belongs to everyone, as theirs to you. Call
on your brother's name and God will answer, for on Him you call. Could He
refuse to answer when He has ALREADY answered all who call on Him? A miracle
can make no change at all. But it Can make what always has been true be
recognized by those who know it not. And by this little gift of truth but let
to be itself; the Son of God allowed to be himself, and all creation freed to
call upon the Name of God as one.
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T 26 I. The Immediacy of Salvation
T 26 I 1. The one remaining problem that you have is that you see an interval
between the time when you forgive, and will receive the benefits of trust. This
but reflects the little you would keep between yourselves, that you might be a
little separate. For time and space are one illusion, which takes different
forms. If it has been projected beyond your minds, you think of it as time.
The nearer it is brought to where it is, the more you think of it in terms of
space.
T 26 I 2. There is a distance you would keep apart from one another, and this
space you see as time because you still believe you are external to each other.
This makes trust impossible. And you cannot believe that trust would settle
every problem NOW. Thus do you think it safer to remain a little careful and a
little watchful of interests perceived as separate. From this perception you
cannot conceive of gaining what forgiveness offers NOW. The interval you think
lies in between the giving and receiving of the gift seems to be one in which
you sacrifice and suffer loss. You see eventual salvation, not immediate
results.
T 26 I 3. Salvation IS immediate. Unless you so perceive it, you will be
afraid of it, believing that the risk of loss is great between the time its
purpose is made yours and its effects will come to you. In this form is the
error still obscured that is the source of fear. Salvation WOULD wipe out the
space you see between you still, and let you instantly become as one. And it is
HERE you fear the loss would lie. Do not project this fear to time, for time is
not the enemy that you perceive. Time is as neutral as the body is, except in
terms of what you see it FOR. If you would keep a little space between you
still, you want a little time in which forgiveness is withheld a little while.
This makes the interval between the time in which forgiveness is withheld and
given seem dangerous, with terror justified.
T 26 I 4. Yet space between you is apparent NOW, and cannot be perceived in
future time. No more can it be overlooked except within the present.
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Future loss is not your fear. But present JOINING is your dread. Who can feel
desolation except NOW? A future cause as yet has no effects. And therefore
must it be that if you fear, there is a PRESENT cause. And it is THIS that
needs correction, not a future state.
T 26 I 5. The plans you make for safety all are laid within the future, where
you CANNOT plan. No purpose has been given it as yet, and what will happen has
as yet no cause. Who can predict effects without a cause? And who could fear
effects unless he thought they HAD been caused, and judged disastrous NOW?
Belief in sin arouses fear, and like its cause, is looking forward; looking
back, but OVERLOOKING what is here and now. Yet only here and now its cause
must be, if its effects already have been judged as fearful. And in overlooking
this, is it protected and kept separate from healing. For a miracle is NOW. It
stands already here, in present grace, within the only interval of time which
sin and fear have overlooked, but which is all there IS to time. The working
out of all correction takes no time at all.
T 26 I 6. Yet the ACCEPTANCE of the working out can seem to take forever. The
change of purpose the Holy Spirit brought to your relationship has in it all
effects that you will see. They can be looked at NOW. Why wait ‘til they
unfold in time, and fear they may not come, although already there? You have
been told that everything brings good that comes from God. And yet it seems as
if this is not so. Good in disaster's form is difficult to credit in advance.
Nor is there really sense in this idea.
T 26 I 7. Why should the good appear in evil's form? And is it not deception
if it does? Its cause is here, if it appears at all. Why are not its effects
apparent, then? Why in the future? And you seek to be content with sighing,
and with "reasoning" you do not understand it now, but will some day. And then
its meaning will be clear. This is not reason, for it is unjust, and clearly
hints at punishment until the time of liberation is
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at hand. Given a change of purpose for the good, there is no reason for an
interval in which disaster strikes, to be perceived as "good" some day, but now
in form of pain. This is a sacrifice of NOW, which could not be the cost the
Holy Spirit asks for what He gave without a cost at all.
T 26 I 8. Yet this illusion has a cause which, though untrue, must be already
in your mind. And this illusion is but one effect which it engenders, and one
form in which its outcome is perceived. This interval in time, when retribution
is perceived to be the form in which the "good" appears is but one aspect of the
little space that lies between you, unforgiven still.
T 26 I 9. Be not content with future happiness. It has no meaning, and is NOT
your just reward. For you have cause for freedom NOW. What profits freedom in
a prisoner's form? Why should deliverance be disguised as death? Delay is
senseless, and the "reasoning" which would maintain effects of present cause
must be delayed until a future time is merely a denial of the fact that
consequence and cause must come as one. Look not to time, but to the little
space between you still, to be delivered from. And do not let it be disguised
as time, and so preserved because its form is changed, and what it IS cannot be
recognized. The Holy Spirit's purpose NOW is yours. Should not His happiness
be yours as well?
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T 26 J. For They Have Come
T 26 J 1. Think but how holy you must be from whom the Voice for God calls
lovingly unto your brother, that you may awake in him the Voice that answers to
your call! And think how holy he must be when in him sleeps your own salvation,
with his freedom joined! However much you wish he be condemned, God is in him.
And never will you know He is in you as well while you attack His chosen home,
and battle with His host. Regard him gently. Look with loving eyes on him who
carries Christ within him, that you may behold His glory, and rejoice that
Heaven is not separate from you.
T 26 J 2. Is it too much to ask a little trust for him who carries Christ to
you, that you may be forgiven all your sins, and left without a single one you
cherish still? Forget not that a shadow held between your brother and yourself
obscures the face of Christ and memory of God. And would you trade Them for an
ancient hate? The ground whereon you stand is holy ground because of Them Who,
standing there with you, have blessed it with Their innocence and peace.
T 26 J 3. The blood of hatred fades to let the grass grow green again, and let
the flowers be all white and sparkling in the summer sun. What was a place of
death has now become a living temple in a world of light. Because of Them. It
is Their Presence which has lifted holiness again to take its ancient place upon
an ancient throne. Because of Them have miracles sprung up as grass and flowers
on the barren ground which hate had scorched and rendered desolate. What hate
has wrought have They undone. And now you stand on ground so holy Heaven leans
to join with it, and make it like itself. The shadow of an ancient hate has
gone, and all the blight and withering have passed forever from the land where
They have come.
T 26 J 4. What is a hundred or a thousand years to Them, or tens of thousands?
When They come, time's purpose is fulfilled. What never was passes to
nothingness when They have come. What hatred claimed is given up
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to love, and freedom lights up every living thing and lifts it into Heaven,
where the lights grow ever brighter as each one comes home. The incomplete is
made complete again, and Heaven's joy has been increased because what is its own
has been restored to it. The bloodied earth is cleansed, and the insane have
shed their garments of insanity, to join Them on the ground whereon you stand.
T 26 J 5. Heaven is grateful for this gift of what has been withheld so long.
For They have come to gather in Their Own. What has been locked is opened; what
was held apart from light is given up, that light may shine on it, and leave no
space nor distance lingering between the light of Heaven and the world.
T 26 J 6. The holiest of all the spots on earth is where an ancient hatred has
become a present love. And They come quickly to the living temple, where a home
for Them has been set up. There is no place in Heaven holier. And They have
come to dwell within the temple offered them, to be Their resting place as well
as yours. What hatred has released to love becomes the brightest light in
Heaven's radiance. And all the lights in Heaven brighter grow, in gratitude for
what has been restored.
T 26 J 7. Around you angels hover lovingly, to keep away all darkened thoughts
of sin, and keep the light where it has entered in. Your footprints lighten up
the world, for where you walk forgiveness gladly goes with you. No one on earth
but offers thanks to one who has restored his home, and sheltered him from
bitter winter and the freezing cold. And shall the Lord of Heaven and His Son
give less in gratitude for so much more?
T 26 J 8. Now is the temple of the Living God rebuilt as host again to Him by
Whom it was created. Where He dwells, His Son dwells with Him, never separate.
And They give thanks that They are welcome made at last. Where stood a cross
stands now the risen Christ, and ancient scars are healed within His sight. An
ancient miracle has come to bless and to
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replace an ancient enmity that came to kill. In gentle gratitude do God the
Father and the Son return to what is Theirs, and will forever be. Now is the
Holy Spirit's purpose done. For They have come! For They have come at last!
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T 26 K. The Remaining Task
T 26 K 1. What, then, remains to be undone, for you to realize Their Presence?
Only this; you have a differential view of when attack is justified, and when
you think it is unfair, and not to be allowed. When you perceive it as unfair,
you think that a response of anger now is just. And thus you see what is the
same as different. Confusion is not limited. If it occurs at all, it will be
total. And its presence, in whatever form, will hide Their Presence. They are
known with clarity, or not at all. Confused perception will block knowledge.
It is not a question of the size of the confusion, or how much it interferes.
Its
simple presence shuts the door to Theirs, and keeps Them there unknown.
T 26 K 2. What does it mean if you perceive attack in certain forms to be
unfair to you? It means that there must be some forms in which you think it
FAIR. For otherwise, how could some be evaluated as unfair? Some, then, are
given meaning, and perceived as sensible. And only some are seen as
meaningless. And this denies the fact that ALL are senseless; equally without a
cause or consequence, and cannot have effects of ANY kind. Their Presence is
obscured by any veil which stands between Their shining innocence, and your
awareness it is your own, and EQUALLY belongs to every living thing along with
you. God limits not. And what is limited can NOT be Heaven. So it MUST be
hell.
T 26 K 3. Unfairness and attack are ONE mistake, so firmly joined that where
one is perceived, the other must be seen. You cannot BE unfairly treated. The
belief you are is but another form of the idea you are deprived by someone not
yourself. Projection of the cause of sacrifice is at the root of everything
perceived to be unfair, and not your just deserts. Yet it is YOU who ask this
of yourself, in deep injustice to the Son of God. You have no enemy except
yourself, and you are enemy indeed to him because you do not know him AS
yourself. What could be more unjust than that he be deprived of what he IS,
denied the right to be himself, and asked to
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sacrifice his Father's Love and yours, as not his due?
T 26 K 4. Beware of the temptation to perceive yourself unfairly treated. In
this view, you seek to find an innocence which is not Theirs but yours alone,
and at the cost of someone else's guilt. Can innocence be purchased by the
giving of your guilt to someone else? And IS this innocence, which your attack
on him attempts to get? Is it not retribution for your own attack upon the Son
of God you seek? Is it not safer to believe that you are innocent of this, and
victimized despite your innocence? Whatever way the game of guilt is played,
there MUST be loss. Someone must lose his innocence that someone else can take
it from him, making it his own.
T 26 K 5. You think your brother is unfair to you because you think that one
must be unfair to make the other innocent. And in this game do you perceive one
purpose for your whole relationship. And this you seek to add unto the purpose
given it. The Holy Spirit's purpose is to let the Presence of your holy Guests
be known to you. And to this purpose nothing CAN be added, for the world is
purposeless except for this. To add or take away from this ONE goal is but to
take away all purpose from the world and from yourself. And each unfairness
that the world appears to lay upon you, YOU have laid on IT by rendering it
purposeless, without the function that the Holy Spirit sees. And simple justice
has been thus denied to every living thing upon the earth.
T 26 K 6. What this injustice does to you who judge unfairly, and who see as
you have judged, you cannot calculate. The world grows dim and threatening, and
not a trace of all the happy sparkle that salvation brought can you perceive, to
lighten up your way. And so you see yourself deprived of light, abandoned to
the dark, unfairly left without a purpose in a futile world. The world is fair
because the Holy Spirit has brought injustice to the light within, and there has
all unfairness been resolved, and been replaced with justice and with love. If
you perceive injustice anywhere, you need but say:
"By this do I deny the Presence of the Father and the Son.
And I would rather know of Them than see injustice,
which Their Presence shines away."
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Chapter XXVII 27 - THE BODY AND THE DREAM
T 27 A. Introduction
T 27 A 1. The wish to be unfairly treated is a compromise attempt that would
COMBINE attack and innocence. Who can combine the wholly incompatible, and make
a unity of what can never join? Walk you the gentle way, and you will fear no
evil and no shadows in the night. But place no terror symbols on your path, or
you will weave a crown of thorns from which your brother and yourself will not
escape. You cannot crucify yourself alone. And if you are unfairly treated, he
must suffer the unfairness that you see. You cannot sacrifice yourself alone.
For sacrifice is total. If it could occur at all, it would entail the whole of
God's creation, and the Father with the sacrifice of his beloved Son.
T 27 A 2. In your RELEASE from sacrifice is his made manifest, and shown to be
his own. But every pain you suffer do you see as proof that he is guilty of
attack. Thus would you make yourself to be the sign that he has lost his
innocence, and need but look on you to realize that he has been condemned. And
what to you has been unfair will come to him in righteousness. The unjust
vengeance that you suffer now belongs to him, and when it rests on him are YOU
set free. Wish not to make yourself a living symbol of his guilt, for you will
not escape the death you made for him. But in his INNOCENCE you find your own.
T 27 B. The Picture of the Crucifixion
T 27 B 1. Whenever you consent to suffer pain, to be deprived, unfairly treated
or in need of anything, you but accuse your brother of attack upon God's Son.
You hold a picture of your crucifixion before his eyes, that he may see his sins
are writ in Heaven in your blood and death, and go before him, closing off the
gate, and damning him to hell. Yet this is writ in hell and not in Heaven,
where you are beyond attack, and prove his INNOCENCE. The picture of yourself
you offer him you show YOURSELF, and give it all your faith. The Holy Spirit
offers you, to give to him, a picture of yourself in which there is no pain, and
no reproach at all. And what was martyred to his guilt becomes the perfect
witness to his innocence.
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T 27 B 2. The power of witness is beyond belief because it brings conviction in
its wake. The witness is believed because he points beyond himself to what he
represents. A sick and suffering you but represents your brother's guilt; the
witness which you send lest he forget the injuries he gave, from which you swear
he never will escape. This sick and sorry picture YOU accept, if only it can
serve to punish him. The sick are merciless to everyone, and in contagion do
they seek to kill. Death seems an easy price, if they can say, "Behold me,
brother, at your hand I die." For sickness is the witness to his guilt, and
death would prove his errors must be sins.
T 27 B 3. Sickness is but a "little" death; a form of vengeance not yet total.
Yet it speaks with certainty for what it represents. The bleak and bitter
picture you have sent your brother YOU have looked upon in grief. And
everything that it has shown to him have you believed, because it witnessed to
the guilt in him, which you perceived and loved. Now in the hands made
gentle [T235] by His touch, the Holy Spirit lays a picture of a different you. It
is a picture of a body still, for what you REALLY are cannot be seen nor
pictured. Yet this one has not been used for purpose of attack, and therefore
never suffered pain at all. It witnesses to the eternal truth that you cannot
BE hurt, and points beyond itself to both your innocence and his.
T 27 B 4. Show THIS unto your brother, who will see that every scar is healed,
and every tear is wiped away in laughter and in love. And he will look on his
forgiveness there, and with healed eyes will look beyond it to the innocence
that he beholds in you. Here is the proof that he has never sinned; that
nothing which his madness bid him do was ever done, or ever had effects of any
kind. That no reproach he laid upon his heart was ever justified, and no attack
can ever touch him with the poisoned and relentless sting of fear. Attest his
innocence and NOT his guilt. YOUR healing is his comfort and his health because
it PROVES illusions are not true.
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T 27 B 5. It is not will for life, but wish for death, that is the motivation
for this world. Its only purpose is to prove guilt real. No worldly thought or
act or feeling has a motivation other than this one. These are the witnesses
that are called forth to be believed, and lend conviction to the system they
speak for and represent. And each has many voices, speaking to your brother and
yourself in different tongues. And yet to both the message is the same.
Adornment of the body seeks to show how lovely are the witnesses for guilt.
Concerns about the body demonstrate how frail and vulnerable is your life; how
easily destroyed is what you love. Depression speaks of death and vanity of
real concern with anything at all. The strongest witness to futility, which
bolsters all the rest and helps them paint the picture in which sin is
justified, is sickness in whatever form it takes.
T 27 B 6. The sick have reason for each one of their unnatural desires and
strange needs. For who could live a life so soon cut short, and not esteem the
worth of passing joys? What pleasures could there be that will endure? Are not
the frail entitled to believe that every stolen scrap of pleasure is their
righteous payment for their little lives? Their death will pay the price for
all of them, if they enjoy their benefits or not. The end of life must come,
whatever way that life be spent. And so take pleasure in the quickly passing
and ephemeral.
T 27 B 7. These are not sins, but witnesses unto the strange belief that sin
and death are real, and innocence and sin will end alike within the termination
of the grave. If this were true, there WOULD be reason to remain content to
seek for passing joys, and cherish little pleasures where you can. Yet in this
picture is the body not perceived as neutral and without a goal inherent in
itself. For it becomes the symbol of reproach, the sign of guilt whose
consequences still are there to see, so that the cause can never be denied.
T 27 B 8. Your function is to show your brother sin can HAVE no cause. How
futile must it be to see yourself a picture of the proof that what your
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function is can never be! The Holy Spirit's picture changes not the body into
something it is not. It only takes away from it all signs of accusation and of
blamefulness. Pictured without a purpose, it is seen as neither sick nor well,
nor bad nor good. No grounds are offered that it may be judged in any way at
all. It has no life, but neither is it dead. It stands apart from all
experience of fear or love. For now it witnesses to nothing yet, its purpose
being open, and the mind made free again to choose what it is FOR. Now is it
not condemned, but waiting for a purpose to be given, that it may fulfill the
function that it will receive.
T 27 B 9. Into this empty space, from which the goal of sin has been removed,
is Heaven free to be remembered. Here its peace can come, and perfect healing
take the place of death. The body can become a sign of life, a promise of
redemption, and a breath of immortality to those grown sick of breathing in the
fetid scent of death. Let it have healing as its purpose. Then will it send
forth the message it received, and by its health and loveliness proclaim the
truth and value that it represents. Let it receive the power to represent an
endless life, forever unattacked. And to your brother let its message be,
"Behold me, brother, at your hand I live."
T 27 B 10. The simple way to let this be achieved is merely this; to let
the body have no purpose from the past, when you were sure you knew its purpose
was to foster guilt. For this insists your crippled picture is a lasting sign
of what it represents. This leaves no space in which a different view, another
purpose, can be given it. You do NOT know its purpose. You but gave ILLUSIONS
of a purpose to a thing you made to hide your function from yourself. This
thing without a purpose cannot hide the function that the Holy Spirit gave.
Let, then, its purpose and your function both be reconciled at last, and seen as
one.
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T 27 C. The Fear of Healing
T 27 C 1. Is healing frightening? To many, yes. For accusation is a bar to
love, and damaged bodies are accusers. They stand firmly in the way of trust
and peace, proclaiming that the frail can have no trust, and that the damaged
have no grounds for peace. Who has been injured by his brother, and could love
and trust him still? He has attacked, and will attack again. Protect him not,
because your damaged body shows that you must be protected from him. To forgive
may be an act of charity, but not his due. He may be pitied for his guilt, but
not exonerated. And if you forgive him his transgressions, you but add to all
the guilt that he has really earned.
T 27 C 2. The unhealed CANNOT pardon. For they are the witnesses that pardon
is unfair. They would retain the consequences of the guilt they overlook. Yet
no one can forgive a sin which he believes is real. And what has consequences
MUST be real because what it has done is there to see. Forgiveness is not pity,
which but seeks to pardon what it knows to be the truth. Good cannot BE
returned for evil, for forgiveness does not first establish sin and THEN forgive
it. Who can say and mean, "My brother, you have injured me, and yet, because I
am the better of the two, I pardon you my hurt." His pardon and your hurt
cannot exist together. One denies the other, and MUST make it false.
T 27 C 3. To witness sin and yet forgive it is a paradox which reason cannot
see. For it maintains what has been done to you deserves no pardon. And by
giving it, you grant your brother mercy, but retain the proof he is not really
innocent. The sick remain accusers. They cannot forgive their brothers and
themselves as well. For no one in whom true forgiveness reigns can suffer. He
holds not the proof of sin before his brother's eyes. And thus he must have
overlooked it, and removed it from his own. Forgiveness cannot be for one and
not the other. Who forgives IS healed. And in his healing lies the proof that
he has truly pardoned, and retains no trace of condemnation that he still would
hold against himself or any living thing.
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T 27 C 4. Forgiveness is not real UNLESS it brings a healing to your brother
AND yourself. You must attest his sins had no effect on you, to demonstrate
they were not real. How else could he be guiltless? And how could his
innocence be justified unless his sins have no effect to warrant guilt? Sins
are beyond forgiveness just because they would entail effects which cannot be
undone and overlooked entirely. In their undoing lies the proof that they were
merely errors. LET yourself be healed, that you may be forgiving, offering
salvation to your brother and yourself. A broken body shows the mind has not
been healed. A miracle of healing proves that separation is without effect.
What you would prove to him you will believe. The power of witness COMES from
your belief. And everything you say or do or think but testifies to what you
teach to him.
T 27 C 5. Your body can be means to teach that it has never suffered pain
because of him. And in its healing can it offer him mute testimony of his
innocence. It is this testimony which can speak with power greater than a
thousand tongues. For here is his forgiveness PROVED to him. A miracle can
offer nothing less to him than it has given unto you. So does your healing show
your mind is healed, and has forgiven what he did not do. And so is he
convinced his innocence was never lost, and healed along with you.
T 27 C 6. Thus does the miracle undo all things the world attests can never BE
undone. And hopelessness and death must disappear before the ancient clarion
call of life. This call has power far beyond the weak and miserable cry of
death and guilt. The ancient calling of the Father to His Son, and of the Son
unto his own, will yet be the last trumpet that the world will ever hear.
Brother, there IS no death. And this you learn when you but wish to show your
brother that you had no hurt of him. He thinks your blood is on his hands, and
so he stands condemned. Yet it is given you to show him, by your healing, that
his guilt is but the fabric of a senseless dream.
T 27 C 7. How just are miracles! For they bestow an equal gift of full
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deliverance from guilt upon your brother and yourself. Your healing saves him
pain as well as you, and you are healed because you wished him well. This is
the law the miracle obeys; that healing sees no specialness at all. It does not
come from pity, but from love. And love would prove all suffering is but a vain
imagining, a foolish wish, with no effects. Your health is a result of your
desire to see your brother with no blood upon his hands, nor guilt upon his
heart made heavy with the proof of sin. And what you wish IS given you to see.
T 27 C 8. The "cost" of your serenity is his. This is the "price" the Holy
Spirit and the world interpret differently. The world perceives it as a
statement of the "fact" that your salvation SACRIFICES his. The Holy Spirit
KNOWS your healing is the witness unto his, and cannot be apart from his at all.
As long as he consents to suffer, you will be unhealed. Yet you can show him
that his suffering is purposeless and wholly without cause. Show him your
healing, and he will consent no more to suffer. For his innocence has been
established in your sight and his. And laughter will replace your sighs,
because God's Son remembered that he IS God's Son.
T 27 C 9. Who, then, fears healing? Only those to whom their brother's
sacrifice and pain are seen to represent their own serenity. Their helplessness
and weakness represents the grounds on which they JUSTIFY his pain. The
constant sting of guilt he suffers serves to prove that he is slave, but they
are free. The constant pain they suffer demonstrates that they are free BECAUSE
they hold him bound. And sickness is desired to prevent a shift of balance in
the sacrifice. How could the Holy Spirit be deterred an instant, even less, to
reason with an argument for sickness such as this? And need your healing be
delayed because you pause to listen to insanity?
T 27 C 10. Correction is NOT your function. It belongs to One Who knows of
fairness, NOT of guilt. If you assume correction’s role, you LOSE the function
of forgiveness. No one can forgive until he learns correction is BUT to forgive,
and NEVER to accuse. Alone, you CANNOT see they are the same, and therefore is
correction NOT of you. Identity and function are the same, and BY your function
do you know yourself. And thus, if you confuse your function with the function
of Another, you MUST be confused about yourself and who you are. What is the
separation but a wish to take God’s Function from Him and DENY that it is His?
Yet if it is NOT His it is not YOURS, for YOU must lose what you would take
away.
T 27 C 11. In a split mind, identity MUST seem to be divided. Nor can anyone
perceive a function unified which has conflicting purposes and different ends.
Correction, to a mind so split, MUST be a way to punish sins you think are YOURS
in someone else. And thus does he become your victim, NOT your brother,
DIFFERENT from you in that he is MORE GUILTY, thus in need of your correction,
as the one MORE INNOCENT than he. This splits HIS function off from yours, and
gives you both a DIFFERENT role. And so you CANNOT be perceived as one, and with
a single function that would MEAN a shared identity with but ONE end.
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T 27 C 12. Correction YOU would do MUST separate, because that is the function
given it BY you. When you perceive correction is the SAME as pardon, then you
also know the Holy Spirit’s Mind and yours are One. And so your OWN identity is
found. Yet must He work with what is GIVEN Him, and you allow Him only HALF your
mind. And thus He represents the OTHER half, and seems to have a DIFFERENT
purpose from the one you cherish, and you THINK is yours. Thus does your
function seem DIVIDED, with a half IN OPPOSITION to a half. And these two halves
appear to represent a split within a self perceived as two. [T236]
T 27 C 13. Consider how this self-perception must extend, and do not overlook
the fact that every thought extends because that is its purpose, being
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what it really IS. From an idea of self as two, there comes a necessary view of
function split between the two. And what you would correct is only half the
error, which you think is all of it. Your brother's sins become the central
target for correction, lest your errors and his own be seen as one. Yours are
mistakes, but his are sins, and not the same as yours. His merit punishment,
while yours, in fairness, should be overlooked.
T 27 C 14. In this interpretation of correction, your own mistakes you
will not even see. The focus of correction has been placed outside yourself, on
one who cannot be a part of you while this perception lasts. What is condemned
can never be returned to its accuser, who hated it, and hates it still. This is
your brother, focus of your hate, unworthy to be part of you, and thus outside
yourself; the other half, which is denied. And only what is left without his
presence is perceived as all of you. To this remaining half the Holy Spirit
must represent the other half until you recognize it IS the other half. And
this He does by giving both of you a function that is one, not different.
T 27 C 15. Correction is the function given BOTH, but neither one alone.
And when it is fulfilled as SHARED, it MUST correct mistakes in both of you. It
cannot leave mistakes in one unhealed, and set the other free. That is divided
purpose, which cannot be shared, and so it cannot be the function which the Holy
Spirit sees as His. And you can rest assured that He will not fulfill a
function He cannot understand and recognize as His. For only thus can He keep
yours preserved intact, despite your separate views of what your function is.
If He upheld divided function, you were [T237] lost indeed. His inability to see
His goal divided and distinct for each of you preserves your Self from being
made aware of any function other than Its Own. And thus is healing given both
of you.
T 27 C 16. Correction must be left to One Who knows correction and
forgiveness are the same. With half a mind, this is not understood. Leave,
then,
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correction to the Mind That IS united, functioning as one because It is not
split in purpose, and conceives a single function as Its ONLY one. Here is the
function given It conceived to be Its Own, and not apart from that Its Giver
keeps BECAUSE it has been shared. In His acceptance of this function lies the
means whereby your mind is unified. His single purpose unifies the halves of
you which you perceive as separate. And each forgives the other, that he may
accept his other half as part of him.
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T 27 D. The Symbol of the Impossible
T 27 D 1. Power cannot oppose. For opposition would weaken it, and weakened
power is a contradiction in ideas. Weak strength is meaningless, and power used
to weaken is employed to limit. And therefore it must be limited and weak,
because that is its purpose. Power is unopposed, to be itself. No weakness can
intrude on it without changing it into something it is not. To weaken is to
limit, and impose an opposite that contradicts the concept which it attacks.
And by this does it join to the idea a something it is not, and make it
unintelligible. Who can understand a double concept, such as "weakened-power"
or as "hateful-love?"
T 27 D 2. You have decided that your brother is a symbol for a "hateful-love,"
a "weakened-power," and above all, a "living-death." And so he has no meaning
to you, for he stands for what is meaningless. He represents a double thought,
where half is canceled out by the remaining half. Yet even this is quickly
contradicted by the half it canceled out, and so they both are gone. And now he
stands for nothing. Symbols which but represent ideas that cannot be must stand
for empty space and nothingness. Yet nothingness and empty space can NOT be
interference. What CAN interfere with the awareness of reality is the belief
that there is something THERE.
T 27 D 3. The picture of your brother that you see means nothing. There is
nothing to attack or to deny; to love or hate, or to endow with power or to see
as weak. The picture has been wholly canceled out, because it symbolized a
contradiction which canceled out the THOUGHT it represents. And thus the
picture has no cause at all. Who can perceive effect without a cause? What can
the causeless be but nothingness? The picture of your brother that you see is
wholly absent, and has never been. Let, then, the empty space it occupies be
RECOGNIZED as vacant, and the time devoted to its seeing be perceived as idly
spent, a time unoccupied.
T 27 D 4. An empty space which is not seen as filled, an unused interval of
time not seen as spent and fully occupied, become a silent invitation to
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the truth to enter, and to make itself at home. No preparation can be made that
would enhance the invitation's real appeal. For what you leave as vacant God
will fill, and where He is, there MUST the truth abide. Unweakened power, with
no opposite, is what creation IS. For this there ARE no symbols. Nothing
points beyond the truth, for what can stand for more than everything? Yet true
undoing must be kind. And so the first replacement for your picture is another
picture, of another kind.
T 27 D 5. As nothingness cannot be pictured, so there is no symbol for
totality. Reality is ultimately known without a form, unpictured and unseen.
Forgiveness is not yet a power known as wholly free of limits. Yet it sets no
limits you have chosen to impose. Forgiveness is the means by which the truth
is represented temporarily. It lets the Holy Spirit make exchange of pictures
possible until the time when aids are meaningless, and learning done. No
learning aid has use which can extend beyond the goal of learning. When its aim
has been accomplished, it is functionless. Yet in the learning interval it has
a use which now you fear, but yet will love.
T 27 D 6. The picture of your brother given you to occupy the space so lately
left unoccupied and vacant will not need defense of any kind. For you will give
it overwhelming preference. Nor delay an instant in deciding that it is the
only one you want. It does not stand for double concepts. Though it is but
half the picture, and is incomplete, within itself it is the same. The other
half of what it represents remains unknown, but is not canceled out. And thus
is God left free to take the final step Himself. For this you need NO pictures
and NO learning aids. [T238] And what will ultimately take the place of every
learning aid will merely BE. Forgiveness vanishes and symbols fade, and nothing
which the eyes have ever seen, or ears have heard, remains to be perceived.
T 27 D 7. A Power wholly limitless has come, not to destroy, but to receive Its
Own. There is no choice of function anywhere. The choice you fear to lose you
never had. Yet only this appears to interfere with power
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unlimited and single thoughts, complete and happy, without opposite. You do not
know the peace of power which opposes nothing. Yet no other kind can be at all.
Give welcome to the Power beyond forgiveness, and beyond the world of symbols
and of limitations. He would merely BE, and so He merely IS.
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T 27 E. The Quiet Answer
T 27 E 1. In quietness are all things answered, and is every problem quietly
resolved. In conflict there can BE no answer and no resolution, for its purpose
is to make no resolution possible, and to ensure no answer will be plain. A
problem set in conflict HAS no answer, for it is seen in different ways. And
what would be an answer from one point of view is not an answer in another
light. You ARE in conflict. Thus it must be clear you cannot answer anything
at all, for conflict has no limited effects. Yet if God gave an answer, there
must be a way in which your problems are resolved, for what He wills already has
been done.
T 27 E 2. Thus it must be that time is not involved, and every problem can be
answered NOW. Yet it must also be that, in your state of mind, solution is
impossible. Therefore, God must have given you a way of reaching to another
state of mind, in which the answer is already there. Such is the holy instant.
It is here that all your problems should be brought and LEFT. Here they belong,
for here their answer is. And where its answer is, a problem MUST be simple and
be easily resolved. [T239] It must be pointless to attempt to solve a problem
where the answer cannot be. Yet just as surely it must be resolved, if it is
brought to where the answer IS.
T 27 E 3. Attempt to solve no problems but within the holy instant's surety.
For there the problem WILL be answered and resolved. Outside, there will be no
solution, for there is no answer there that could be found. Nowhere outside a
single, simple question is ever asked. The world can only ask a double
question, with many answers, none of which will do. It does not ask a question
to be answered, but only to restate its point of view. All questions asked
within this world are but a way of LOOKING, not a question asked. A question
asked in hate cannot be answered, because it is an answer in itself. A double
question asks and answers, both attesting the same thing in different form.
T 27 E 4. The world asks but ONE question. It is this: "Of these illusions,
which of them are true? Which ones establish peace and offer joy? And which
can bring escape from all the pain of which this world is
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made?" Whatever form the question takes, its purpose is the same. It asks but
to establish sin is real, and answers in the form of preference. "Which sin do
you prefer? That is the one which you should choose. The others are not true.
What can the body get that you would want the most of all? It is your servant
and your friend. But tell it what you want, and it will serve you lovingly and
well." And this is not a question, for it tells you what you want, and where to
go for it. It leaves no room to question its beliefs, except that what it
states takes question's FORM.
T 27 E 5. A pseudo-question has no answer. It DICTATES the answer even as it
asks. Thus is all questioning within the world a form of propaganda for itself.
Just as the body's witnesses are but the senses from within itself, so are the
answers to the questions of the world contained within the questions. Where
answers represent the questions they add nothing new, and nothing has been
learned.
T 27 E 6. An honest question is a learning tool which asks for something that
you do NOT know. It does not set conditions for response, but merely asks what
the response should be. But no one in a conflict state is free to ask this
question, for he does not want an honest answer, where the conflict ends. Only
within the holy instant can an honest question honestly be asked. And from the
meaning of the question does the meaningfulness of the answer come. Here is it
possible to separate your wishes from the answer, so it can be given you, and
also be RECEIVED. The answer is provided everywhere. Yet it is only here it
can be HEARD.
T 27 E 7. An honest answer asks no sacrifice because it answers questions truly
asked. The questions of the world but ask of whom is sacrifice demanded, asking
not if sacrifice is meaningful at all. And so UNLESS the answer tells "of whom"
it will remain unrecognized, unheard, and thus the question is preserved intact
because it gave the answer to itself. The holy instant is the interval in which
the mind is still enough to hear an answer which is not entailed within the
question asked. It offers something new and
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different from the question. How could it be answered if it but repeats itself?
T 27 E 8. Therefore, attempt to solve no problems in a world from which the
answer has been barred. But bring the problem to the only place which holds the
answer lovingly for you. Here are the answers which will solve your problems
because they stand apart from them, and see what CAN be answered; what the
question IS. Within the world the answers merely raise another question, though
they leave the first unanswered. In the holy instant, you can bring the
question to the answer, and receive the answer that was made FOR you.
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T 27 F. The Healing Example
T 27 F 1. The only way to heal is to be healed. The miracle extends without
your help, but you ARE needed that it can begin. Accept the miracle of healing,
and it will go forth because of what it IS. It is its nature to extend itself
the instant it is born. And it is born the instant it is offered and RECEIVED.
No one can ask another to be healed. But he can let HIMSELF be healed, and thus
offer the other what he has received. Who can bestow upon another what he does
not have? And who can share what he denies himself? The Holy Spirit speaks to
YOU. He does not speak to someone else. Yet by your listening, His Voice
extends because you have ACCEPTED what He says.
T 27 F 2. Health is the witness unto health. As long as it is unattested, it
remains without conviction. Only when demonstrated has it been proved, and MUST
compel belief. No one is healed through double messages. If you wish only to
be healed, you heal. Your SINGLE purpose makes this possible. But if you are
afraid of healing, then it cannot come through you. The only thing that is
required for a healing is a lack of fear. The fearful are not healed, and
cannot heal. This does not mean the conflict must be gone forever from your
mind. For if it were, there were [T240] no need for healing then. [T241] But it
DOES mean, if only for an instant, you love without attack. An instant is
sufficient. Miracles wait not on time.
T 27 F 3. The holy instant is the miracle's abiding-place. [T242] From there,
each one is born into this world as witness to a state of mind which has
transcended conflict, and has reached to peace. It carries comfort from the
place of peace into the battle-ground, and demonstrates that war has no effects.
For all the hurt that war has sought to bring, the broken bodies and the
shattered limbs, the screaming dying and the silent dead, are gently lifted up
and comforted. There IS no sadness where a miracle has come to heal. And
nothing more than just ONE instant of your love without attack is necessary,
that all this occur. In that one instant are you healed, and in that single
instant is all healing done.
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T 27 F 4. What stands apart from you, when you accept the blessing that the
holy instant brings? Be not afraid of blessing, for the One Who blesses you
loves all the world, and leaves nothing within the world that could be feared.
But if you shrink from blessing, will the world indeed seem fearful, for you
have withheld its peace and comfort, leaving it to die. Would not a world so
bitterly bereft be looked on as a condemnation by the one who could have saved
it, but stepped back because he was afraid of being healed? The eyes of all the
dying bring reproach, and suffering whispers, "What is there to fear?" Consider
well its question. It is asked of you on your behalf. A dying world asks only
that you rest an instant from attack upon yourself, that it be healed.
T 27 F 5. Come to the holy instant and be healed, for nothing that is there
received is left behind, on your returning to the world. And being blessed, you
will bring blessing. Life is given you to give the dying world. And suffering
eyes no longer will accuse, but shine in thanks to you who blessing gave. The
holy instant's radiance will light your eyes, and give them sight to see beyond
all suffering, and see Christ's face instead. Healing REPLACES suffering. Who
looks on one cannot perceive the other, for they cannot both be there. And what
YOU see, [T243] the world will witness, and will witness TO.
T 27 F 6. Thus is your healing everything the world requires, that it may be
healed. It needs ONE lesson which has perfectly been learned. And then, when
you forget it, will the world remind you gently of what you have taught. No
reinforcement will its thanks withhold from you who let yourself be healed that
it might live. It will call forth its witnesses to show the face of Christ to
you who brought the sight to them, by which they witnessed it. The world of
accusation is replaced by one in which all eyes look lovingly upon the Friend
who brought them their release. And happily your brother will perceive the many
friends he thought were enemies.
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T 27 F 7. Problems are not specific, but they take specific forms, and these
specific shapes make up the world. And no one understands the nature of his
problem. If he did, it would be there no more for him to see. Its very nature
is that it is NOT. And thus, while he perceives it, he can NOT perceive it as
it is. But healing is apparent in specific instances, and generalizes to
include them all. This is because they really are the same, despite their
different forms. All learning aims at transfer, which becomes complete within
two situations which are seen as one, for ONLY common elements are there. Yet
this can only be attained by One Who does not see the differences you see. The
total transfer of your learning is not made by you. But that it has been made
in spite of all the differences you see, convinces you that they could not be
real.
T 27 F 8. Your healing will extend, and will be brought to problems that you
thought were not your own. And it will also be apparent that your many
different problems will be solved, as any one of them has been escaped. It
cannot be their differences which made this possible, for learning does not jump
from situations to their opposites, and bring the same results. All healing
must proceed in lawful manner, in accord with laws which have been properly
perceived, but never violated. Fear you not the way that you perceive them.
You are wrong, but there is One within you Who is RIGHT.
T 27 F 9. Leave, then, the transfer of your learning to the One Who really
understands its laws, and Who will guarantee that they remain unviolated and
unlimited. Your part is merely to apply what He has taught you to YOURSELF, and
He will do the rest. And thus the power of your learning will be proved to you
by all the many different witnesses it finds. Your brother first among them
will be seen, but thousands stand behind him, and beyond each one there are a
thousand more. Each one may seem to have a problem which is different from the
rest. Yet they are solved together. And their common answer shows the
questions could not have been separate.
T 27 F 10. Peace be to you to whom is healing offered. And you will learn
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that peace is given you when you accept the healing for yourself. Its total
value need not be appraised by you to let you understand that you have benefited
from it. What occurred within the instant which love entered in without attack
will stay with you forever. Your healing will be one of its effects, as will
your brother's. Everywhere you go will you behold its multiplied effects. Yet
all the witnesses that you behold will be far less than [T244] all there really
are. Infinity cannot be understood by merely counting up its separate parts.
God thanks you for your healing, for He knows it is a gift of love unto His Son,
and therefore is it given unto Him.
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T 27 G. The Purpose of Pain
T 27 G 1. Pain demonstrates the body must be real. It is a loud, obscuring
voice whose shrieks would silence what the Holy Spirit says, and keep His words
from your awareness. Pain compels attention, drawing it away from Him, and
focusing upon itself. Its purpose is the same as pleasure, for they both are
means to make the body real. What shares a common purpose is the same. This is
the law of purpose, which unites all those who share in it within itself.
Pleasure and pain are equally unreal, because their purpose cannot BE achieved.
Thus are they means for nothing, for they have a goal without a meaning. And
they share the lack of meaning which their purpose has.
T 27 G 2. Sin shifts from pain to pleasure, and again to pain. For either
witness is the same, and carries but one message: "You are here, within this
body, and you can be hurt. You can have pleasure, too, but only at the cost of
pain." These witnesses are joined by many more. Each one seems different
because it has a different name, and so it seems to answer to a different sound.
Except for this, the witnesses of sin are all alike. Call pleasure pain, and
it will hurt. Call pain a pleasure, and the pain behind the pleasure will be
felt no more. Sin's witnesses but shift from name to name, as one steps forward
and another back. Yet which is foremost makes no difference. Sin's witnesses
hear but the call of death.
T 27 G 3. This body, purposeless within itself, holds all your memories and all
your hopes. You use its eyes to see, its ears to hear, and let it tell you what
it is it feels. IT DOES NOT KNOW. It tells you but the names you gave it to
use, when YOU call forth the witnesses to its reality. You cannot choose among
them which are real, for any one you choose is like the rest. This name or
that, but nothing more, you choose. You do not make a witness true because you
called him by truth's name. The truth is found in him if it is truth he
REPRESENTS. And otherwise he lies, if you should call him by the holy Name of
God Himself.
T 27 G 4. God's Witness sees no witnesses AGAINST the body. Neither does
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He harken to the witnesses by other names which speak in other ways for its
reality. He KNOWS it is not real. For nothing could contain what you believe
it holds within. Nor could it tell a part of God Himself what it should feel,
and what its function is. Yet must He love whatever you hold dear. And for
each witness to the body's death He sends a witness to your life in Him Who
knows no death. Each miracle He brings is witness that the body is not real.
Its pains and pleasures does He heal alike, for ALL sin's witnesses do His
replace.
T 27 G 5. The miracle makes no distinctions in the names by which sin's
witnesses are called. It merely proves that what they represent has no effects.
And this it proves because its own effects have come to take their place. It
matters not the name by which you called your suffering. It is no longer there.
The One Who brings the miracle perceived them all as one, and called by name of
"fear." [T245] As fear is witness unto death, so is the miracle the witness unto
life. It is a witness no one can deny, for it is the EFFECTS of life it brings.
The dying live, the dead arise, and pain has vanished. Yet a miracle speaks
not but for itself, but what it represents.
T 27 G 6. Love, too, has symbols in a world of sin. The miracle forgives
because it stands for what is past forgiveness, and is true. How foolish and
insane it is to think a miracle is bound by laws which it came solely to undo!
The laws of sin have different witnesses, with different strengths. And they
attest to different sufferings. Yet to the One Who sends forth miracles to
bless the world, a tiny stab of pain, a little worldly pleasure, and the throes
of death itself, are but a single sound; a call for healing, and a plaintive cry
for help within a world of misery. It is their SAMENESS that the miracle
attests. It is their sameness that it PROVES.
T 27 G 7. The laws which call them different are dissolved, and SHOWN as
powerless. The purpose of a miracle is to accomplish this. And God Himself has
guaranteed the strength of miracles for what they witness to. Be
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witnesses unto the miracle, and not the laws of sin. There is no need to suffer
any more. But there IS need that you be healed, because the suffering of the
world has made it deaf to its salvation and deliverance.
T 27 G 8. The resurrection of the world awaits your healing and your happiness,
that you may demonstrate the healing of the world. The holy instant will
replace all sin, if you but carry its effects with you. And no one will elect
to suffer more. What better function could you serve than this? Be healed that
you may heal, and suffer not the laws of sin to be applied to you. And truth
will be revealed to you who chose to let love's symbols take the place of sin.
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T 27 H. The Illusion of Suffering
T 27 H 1. Suffering is an emphasis upon all that the world has done to injure
you. Here is the world's demented version of salvation clearly shown. Like to
a dream of punishment, in which the dreamer is unconscious of what brought on
the attack against himself, he sees himself attacked unjustly, and by something
not himself. He is the victim of this "something else," a thing outside
himself, for which he has no reason to be held responsible. He must be innocent
because he knows not what he does, but what is done to him. Yet is his own
attack upon himself apparent still, for it is he who bears the suffering. And
he cannot escape because its source is seen outside himself.
T 27 H 2. Now you are being shown you CAN escape. All that is needed is you
look upon the problem as it IS, and not the way that you have set it up. How
could there be another way to solve a problem which is very simple, but has been
obscured by heavy clouds of complication, which were made to KEEP the problem
unresolved? Without the clouds, the problem will emerge in all its primitive
simplicity. The choice will not be difficult, because the problem is absurd
when clearly seen. No one has difficulty making up his mind to let a simple
problem be resolved if it is SEEN as hurting him, and also very easily removed.
T 27 H 3. The "reasoning" by which the world is made, on which it rests, by
which it is maintained, is simply this: "YOU are the cause of what I do. Your
presence JUSTIFIES my wrath, and you exist and think APART from me. While you
attack, I must be innocent. And what I suffer from IS your attack." No one who
looks upon this "reasoning" exactly as it is could fail to see it does not
follow, and it makes no sense. Yet it seems sensible because it LOOKS as if the
world were hurting you. And so it seems as if there is no need to go beyond the
obvious in terms of cause.
T 27 H 4. There is INDEED a need. The world's escape from condemnation is a
need which those within the world are joined in sharing. Yet they do not
recognize their common need. For each one thinks that if he does his
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part, the condemnation of the world will rest on him. And it is this that he
perceives to BE his part in its deliverance. Vengeance must have a focus.
Otherwise is the avenger's knife in his own hand, and pointed to himself. And
he must see it in another's hand, if he would be a victim of attack he did not
choose. And thus he suffers from the wounds a knife he does not hold has made
upon himself. This is the PURPOSE of the world he sees. And looked at thus,
the world provides the means by which this purpose seems to be fulfilled.
T 27 H 5. The means ATTEST the purpose, but are not themselves a cause. Nor
will the cause be changed by seeing it apart from its effects. The cause
PRODUCES the effects, which then bear witness to the cause, and not themselves.
Look, then, beyond effects. It is not here the cause of suffering and sin must
lie. And dwell not on the suffering and sin, for they are but reflections of
their cause.
T 27 H 6. The part you play in salvaging the world from condemnation is your
OWN escape. Forget not that the witness to the world of evil cannot speak
except for what has seen a need for evil in the world. And this is where your
guilt was first beheld. In separation from your brother was the first attack
upon yourself begun. And it is this the world bears witness to. Seek not
another cause, nor look among the mighty legions of its witnesses for its
undoing. They SUPPORT its claim on your allegiance. What conceals the truth is
not where you should look to FIND the truth. The witnesses to sin all stand
within one little space. And it is HERE you find the cause of your perspective
on the world.
T 27 H 7. Once you were unaware of what the cause of everything the world
appeared to thrust upon you, uninvited and unasked, must really be. Of one
thing you were sure; of all the many causes you perceived as bringing pain and
suffering to you, your guilt was not among them. Nor did you, in any way,
request them for yourself. This is how ALL illusions come about. The one who
makes them does not see himself as making them, and their
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reality does not depend on him. Whatever cause they have is something quite
apart from him, and what he sees is SEPARATE from his mind. He cannot doubt his
dreams' reality because he does not see the part he plays in making them, and
making them seem real.
T 27 H 8. No one can waken from a dream the world is dreaming FOR him. He
becomes a part of someone else's dream. He cannot choose to waken from a dream
he did not make. Helpless he stands, a victim to a dream conceived and
cherished by a separate mind. Careless indeed of him this mind must be, as
thoughtless of his peace and happiness as is the weather, or the time of day.
It loves him not, but casts him as it will, in any role that satisfies its
dream. So little is his worth that he is but a dancing shadow, leaping up and
down according to a senseless plot conceived within the idle dreaming of the
world.
T 27 H 9. This is the only picture you can see, the one alternative that you
can choose, the other possibility of cause, if you be NOT the dreamer of your
dreams. And this is what you choose, if you deny the cause of suffering is in
YOUR mind. Be glad indeed it is, for thus are you the ONE decider of your
destiny in time. The choice is yours to make between a sleeping death and
dreams of evil or a happy wakening and joy of life. What could you choose
between BUT life or death, waking or sleeping, peace or war, your dreams or your
reality? Yet if the choice is really given you, then you must see the causes of
the things you choose between exactly AS they are and WHERE they are. What
choices can be made between two states, but one of which is clearly recognized?
Who could be free to choose between effects, when only one is seen as up to him?
T 27 H 10. An honest choice could never be perceived as one in which the
choice is split between a tiny you and an enormous world, with different dreams
about the truth in you. The gap between reality and dreams lies not between the
dreaming of the world and what you dream in secret. THEY are
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one. The dreaming of the world is but a part of your own dream you gave away,
and saw as if it were its start and ending, both. Yet was it started by YOUR
secret dream, which you do not perceive, although it caused the part you see and
do not doubt is real. How could you doubt it while you lie asleep, and dream in
secret that its cause is real?
T 27 H 11. A brother separated from yourself, an ancient enemy, a murderer
who stalks you in the night and plots your death, yet plans that it be lingering
and slow; of this you dream. Yet underneath this dream is yet another, in which
you become the murderer, the secret enemy, the scavenger and the destroyer of
your brother and the world alike. Here is the [T246] CAUSE of suffering, the
space between your dreams and your reality. The little gap you do not even see,
the birthplace of illusions and of fear, the time of terror and of ancient hate,
the instant of disaster, all are here. Here is the CAUSE of unreality. And it
is here that it will be undone.
T 27 H 12. YOU are the dreamer of the world of dreams. No other cause it
has, nor ever will. Nothing more fearful than an idle dream has terrified God's
Son, and made him think that he has lost his innocence, denied his Father, and
made war upon himself. So fearful is the dream, so seeming real, he could not
waken to reality without the sweat of terror and a scream of mortal fear, unless
a gentler dream preceded his awaking, and allowed his calmer mind to welcome,
not to fear, the Voice that calls with love to waken him. A gentler dream, in
which his suffering was healed, and where his brother was his friend. [T247] God
willed he waken gently, and with joy. And gave him means to waken without fear.
Accept the dream He gave instead of yours. It is not difficult to change a
dream when once the dreamer has been recognized.
T 27 H 13. Rest in the Holy Spirit, and allow His gentle dreams to take
the place of those you dreamed in terror, and in fear of death. He brings
forgiving dreams, in which the choice is not who is the murderer and who shall
be the victim. In the dreams He brings, there IS no murder and there IS no
death. The dream of guilt is fading from your sight, although your
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eyes are closed. A smile has come to lighten up your sleeping face. The sleep
is peaceful now, for these are happy dreams.
T 27 H 14. Dream softly of your sinless brother, who unites with you in
holy innocence. And from this dream, the Lord of Heaven will Himself awaken His
beloved Son. Dream of your brother's kindnesses instead of dwelling in your
dreams on his mistakes. Select his thoughtfulness to dream about instead of
counting up the hurts he gave. Forgive him his illusions, and give thanks to
him for all the helpfulness he gave. And do not brush aside his many gifts
because he is not perfect in your dreams.
T 27 H 15. He represents his Father, Whom you see as offering both life
and death to you. Brother, He gives but life. Yet what you see as gifts your
brother offers represent the gifts you dream your Father gives to you. Let all
your brother's gifts be seen in light of charity and kindness offered you. And
let no pain disturb your dream of deep appreciation for his gifts to you.
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T 27 I. The "Hero" of the Dream
T 27 I 1. The body is the central figure in the dreaming of the world. There
is no dream without it, nor does it exist without the dream in which it acts as
if it were a person, to be seen and be believed. It takes the central place in
every dream, which tells the story of how it was made by other bodies, born into
the world outside the body, lives a little while, and dies, to be united in the
dust with other bodies dying like itself. In the brief time allotted it to
live, it seeks for other bodies as its friends and enemies. Its safety is its
main concern. Its comfort is its guiding rule. It tries to look for pleasure,
and avoid the things that would be hurtful. Above all, it tries to teach itself
its pains and joys are different, and can be told apart.
T 27 I 2. The dreaming of the world takes many forms, because the body seeks in
many ways to prove it is autonomous and real. It puts things on itself which it
has bought with little metal discs or paper strips the world proclaims as
valuable and good. It works to get them, doing senseless things, and tosses
them away for senseless things it does not need, and does not even want. It
hires other bodies, that they may protect it, and collect more senseless things
that it can call its own. It looks about for special bodies which can share its
dream. Sometimes it dreams it is a conqueror of bodies weaker than itself. But
in some phases of the dream, it is the slave of bodies that would hurt and
torture it.
T 27 I 3. The body's serial adventures, from the time of birth to dying is the
theme of every dream the world has ever had. The "hero" of this dream will
never change, nor will its purpose. Though the dream itself takes many forms,
and seems to show a great variety of places and events wherein its "hero" finds
itself, the dream has but one purpose, taught in many ways. This single lesson
does it try to teach again, and still again, and yet once more; that it is CAUSE
and NOT effect. And YOU are its effect, and CANNOT be its cause.
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T 27 I 4. Thus are you not the dreamer, but the DREAM. And so you wander idly
in and out of places and events which IT contrives. That this is all the body
does is true, for it IS but a figure in a dream. But who reacts to figures in a
dream unless he sees them as if they were real? The instant that he sees them
as they ARE, they have no more effects on him because he understands he GAVE
them their effects by causing them, and making them seem real.
T 27 I 5. How willing are you to escape effects of all the dreams the world has
ever had? Is it your wish to let no dream appear to be the cause of what it is
you do? Then let us merely look upon the dream's beginning, for the part you
see is but the second part, whose cause lies in the first. No one asleep and
dreaming in the world remembers his attack upon himself. No one believes there
really was a time when he knew nothing of a body, and could never have conceived
this world as real. He would have seen at once that these ideas are one
illusion, too ridiculous for anything but to be laughed away. How serious they
now appear to be! And no one can remember when they would have met with
laughter and with disbelief.
T 27 I 6. We CAN remember this, if we but look directly at their cause. And we
will see the grounds for laughter, not a cause for fear. Let us return the
dream he gave away unto the dreamer, who perceives the dream as separate from
himself, and done to him. 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. Together, we can laugh them both away, and understand that time
cannot intrude upon eternity. It IS a joke to think that time can come to
circumvent eternity, which MEANS there is no time.
T 27 I 7. A timelessness in which is time made real; a part of God which can
attack itself; a separate brother as an enemy; a mind within a body, all are
forms of circularity, whose ending starts at its beginning, ending
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at its cause. The world you see depicts exactly what you thought you did.
Except that now you think that what you did is being done to you. The guilt for
what you thought is being placed outside yourself, and on a guilty world which
dreams your dreams and thinks your thoughts instead of you. It brings its
vengeance, not your own. It keeps you narrowly confined within a body, which it
punishes because of all the sinful things the body does within its dream. You
have no power to make the body stop its evil deeds, because you did not make it,
and cannot control its actions or its purpose or its fate.
T 27 I 8. The world but demonstrates an ancient truth; you will believe that
others do to you EXACTLY what you think you did to them. But once deluded into
blaming them, you will not see the cause of what they do because you WANT the
guilt to rest on them. How childish is this petulant device to keep your
innocence by pushing guilt outside yourself, but never letting go! It is not
easy to perceive the jest when all around you do your eyes behold its heavy
consequences, but without their trifling cause. Without the cause do its
effects seem serious and sad indeed. Yet they but follow. And it is their
CAUSE which follows nothing, and is but a jest.
T 27 I 9. In gentle laughter does the Holy Spirit perceive the cause, and looks
not to effects. How else could He correct your error, who have overlooked the
cause entirely? He bids you bring each terrible effect to Him, that you may
look together on its foolish cause, and laugh with Him a while. YOU judge
effects, but HE has judged their cause. And by His judgment are effects
removed. Perhaps you come in tears, but hear Him say, "My brother, Holy Son of
God, behold your idle dream, in which this could occur," and you will leave the
holy instant with your laughter and your brother's joined with His.
T 27 I 10. The secret of salvation is but this: That YOU are doing this
unto yourself. No matter what the form of the attack, this still is true.
Whoever takes the role of enemy and of attacker, still is this the truth.
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Whatever seems to be the cause of any pain and suffering you feel, this is still
true. For you would not react at all to figures in a dream you knew that YOU
were dreaming. Let them be as hateful and as vicious as they may, they could
have no effect on you unless you failed to recognize it is YOUR dream. This
single lesson learned will set you free from suffering, whatever form it takes.
T 27 I 11. The Holy Spirit will repeat this one inclusive lesson of
deliverance until it has been learned, regardless of the form of suffering that
brings you pain. Whatever hurt you bring to Him He will make answer with this
very simple truth. For this one answer takes away the CAUSE of every form of
sorrow and of pain. The form affects His answer not at all, for He would teach
you but the single cause of all of them, no matter what their form. And you
will understand that miracles reflect the simple statement:
"I have done this thing, and it is this I would undo."
T 27 I 12. Bring, then, all forms of suffering to Him Who knows that every
one is like the rest. He sees no differences where none exist, and He will
teach you how each one is caused. None has a different cause from all the rest,
and all of them are easily undone by but a single lesson truly learned.
Salvation is a secret you have kept but from yourself. The universe proclaims
it so. Yet to its witnesses you pay no heed at all. For they attest the thing
you do not WANT to know. They seem to keep it secret from you. Yet you need
but learn you choose but NOT to listen, NOT to see. How differently will you
perceive the world when this is recognized! When you forgive the world your
guilt, YOU will be free of it. Its innocence does NOT demand your guilt, nor
does YOUR guiltlessness rest on its sins.
T 27 I 13. This is the obvious; a secret kept from no one but yourself.
And it is this that has maintained you separate from the world, and kept your
brother separate from you. Now need you but to learn that BOTH of
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you are innocent or guilty. The one thing that is impossible is that you be
unlike each other; that they BOTH be true. This is the only secret yet to
learn. And it will be no secret you are healed.
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Chapter XXVIII 28 - THE UNDOING OF FEAR
T 28 A. Introduction
T 28 A 1. The miracle does nothing. All it does is to UNDO. And thus it
cancels out the interference to what has been done. It does not add, but merely
takes away. And what it takes away is long since gone, but being kept in
memory, appears to have immediate effects. This world was over long ago. The
thoughts that made it are no longer in the mind that thought of them and loved
them for a little while. The miracle but shows the past is gone, and what has
truly gone has no effects. Remembering a cause can but produce illusions of its
presence, not effects.
T 28 A 2. All the effects of guilt are here no more. For guilt is over. In
its passing went its consequences, left without a cause. Why would you cling to
it in memory if you did not DESIRE its effects? Remembering is as selective as
perception, being its past tense. It is perception of the past as if it were
occurring now and still were there to see. Memory, like perception, is a skill
made up by you, to take the place of what God gave in your creation. And like
all the things you made, it can be used to serve another purpose, and to be the
means for something else. It can be used to heal and not to hurt, if you so
wish it be.
T 28 A 3. Nothing employed for healing represents an effort to do anything at
all. It is a recognition that you have no needs which mean that something must
be done. It is an unselective memory, which is not used to interfere with
truth. All things the Holy Spirit can employ for healing have been given Him,
without the content and the purposes for which they have been made. They are
but skills without an application. They AWAIT their use. They have no
dedication and no aim.
T 28 B. The Present Memory
T 28 B 1. The Holy Spirit can indeed make use of memory, for God Himself is
there. Yet this is not a memory of past events, but only of a present state.
You are so long accustomed to believe that memory holds only what is past, that
it is hard for you to realize it is a skill that can remember NOW. The
limitations on remembering the world imposes on it are as vast as those you let
the world impose on you. There IS no link of memory to the past. If you would
have it there, then there it is. But only your
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T 28 B DESIRE made the link, and only you have held it to a part of time where
guilt appears to linger still.
T 28 B 2. The Holy Spirit's use of memory is quite apart from time. He does
not seek to use it as a means to keep the past, but rather as a way to let it
GO. Memory holds the message it receives, and does what it [T248] is given it to
do. It does not write the message, nor appoint what it is for. Like to the
body, it is purposeless within itself. And if it seems to serve to cherish
ancient hate, and offers you the pictures of injustices and hurts which you were
saving, this is what you asked its message be, and this is what it is.
Committed to its vaults, the history of all the body's past is hidden there.
All of the strange associations made to keep the past alive, the present dead,
are stored within it, waiting your command that they be brought to you, and
lived again. And thus do their effects appear to be increased by time, which
took away their cause.
T 28 B 3. Yet time is but another phase of what does nothing. It works hand in
hand with all the other attributes with which you seek to keep concealed the
truth about yourself. Time neither takes away nor can restore. And yet you
make strange use of it, as if the past had caused the present, which is but a
consequence in which no change can be made possible, because its cause has gone.
Yet change must have a cause that will endure, or else it will not last. No
change can be made in the present, if its cause is past. Only the past is held
in memory as you make use of it, and so it is a way to hold the past AGAINST the
now.
T 28 B 4. Remember NOTHING that you taught yourself, for you were badly taught.
And who would keep a senseless lesson in his mind, when he can learn and can
preserve a better one? When ancient memories of hate appear, remember that
their cause is gone. And so you cannot understand what they are for. Let not
the cause that you would give them now be what it was which made them what they
were, or seemed to be. Be glad that it is gone,
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for this is what you would be pardoned from. And see, instead, the new Effects
of Cause accepted NOW, with consequences HERE. They will surprise you with
their loveliness. The ancient new ideas they bring will be the happy
consequences of a Cause so ancient that it far exceeds the span of memory which
your perception sees.
T 28 B 5. This is the Cause the Holy Spirit has remembered for you, when you
would forget. It is not past because He let It not be unremembered. It has
never changed because there never was a time in which He did not keep It safely
in your mind. Its consequences will indeed seem new, because you thought that
you remembered not their Cause. Yet was It never absent from your mind, for it
was not your Father's Will that He be unremembered by His Son.
T 28 B 6. What YOU remember never was. It came from causelessness which you
confused with cause. It can deserve but laughter, when you learn you have
remembered consequences which were causeless, and could NEVER be effects. The
miracle reminds you of a Cause forever present, perfectly untouched by time and
interference. Never changed from what It IS. And YOU are its effects, as
changeless and as perfect as Itself. Its memory does not lie in the past, nor
’wait [T249] the future. It is not revealed in miracles. They but remind you
that It has not gone. When you forgive It for your sins, It will no longer be
denied.
T 28 B 7. You who have sought to lay a judgment on your own Creator cannot
understand it is not He Who laid a judgment on His Son. You would deny Him His
effects, yet have they never been denied. There was no time in which His Son
could be condemned for what was causeless, and against His Will. What your
remembering would witness to is but the fear of God. He has not done the thing
you fear. No more have you. And so your innocence has not been lost. You need
no healing to be healed. In quietness, see in the miracle a lesson in allowing
Cause to have Its OWN effects, and doing nothing that would interfere.
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T 28 B 8. The miracle comes quietly into the mind that stops an instant, and is
still. It reaches gently from that quiet time, and from the mind it healed in
quiet then, to other minds to share its quietness. And they will join in doing
nothing to prevent its radiant extension back into the Mind Which caused all
minds to be. Born out of sharing, there can be no pause in time to cause the
miracle delay in hastening to all unquiet minds, and bringing them an instant's
stillness, when the memory of God returns to them. Their own remembering is
quiet now, and what has come to take its place will not be wholly unremembered
afterwards.
T 28 B 9. He to Whom time is given offers thanks for every quiet instant given
Him. For in that instant is His memory allowed to offer all its treasures to
the Son of God, for whom they have been kept. How gladly does He offer them
unto the one for whom He has been given them! And His Creator shares His
thanks, because He would not be deprived of His effects. The instant's silence
that His Son accepts gives welcome to eternity and Him, and lets Them enter
where They would abide. For in that instant does the Son of God do nothing that
would make himself afraid.
T 28 B 10. How instantly the memory of God arises in the mind that has no
fear to keep the memory away. Its own remembering has gone. There is no past
to keep its fearful image in the way of glad awakening to present peace. The
trumpets of eternity resound throughout the stillness, yet disturb it not. And
what is now remembered is not fear, but, rather, is the cause that fear was made
to render unremembered and undone. The stillness speaks in gentle sounds of
love the Son of God remembers from before his own remembering came in between
the present and the past, to shut them out.
T 28 B 11. Now is the Son of God at last aware of present Cause and Its
benign effects. Now does he understand what he has made is causeless, making no
effects at all. He has done nothing. And in seeing this, he understands he
never had a need for doing anything, and never did. His
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Cause IS Its effects. There never was a cause beside It that could generate a
different past or future. Its effects are changelessly eternal, beyond fear,
and past the world of sin entirely.
T 28 B 12. What has been lost, to see the causeless not? And where is
sacrifice, when memory of God has come to take the place of loss? What better
way to close the little gap between illusions and reality than to allow the
memory of God to flow across it, making it a bridge an instant will suffice to
reach beyond? For God has closed it with Himself. His memory has not gone by,
and left a stranded Son forever on a shore where he can glimpse another shore
which he can never reach. His Father wills that he be lifted up, and gently
carried over. HE has built the bridge, and it is He Who will transport His Son
across it. Have no fear that He will fail in what He wills nor that you be [T250]
excluded from the Will that is for you.
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T 28 C. Reversing Effect and Cause
T 28 C 1. Without a cause there can be no effects, and yet without effects
there is no cause. The cause a cause is MADE by its effects; the Father is a
father by His Son. Effects do not create their cause, but they establish its
causation. Thus, the Son gives fatherhood to his Creator, and receives the gift
that he has given Him. It is BECAUSE he is God's Son that he must also be a
father, who creates as God created him. The circle of creation has no end. Its
starting and its ending are the same. But in itself it holds the universe of
all creation, without beginning and without an end.
T 28 C 2. Fatherhood IS creation. Love must be extended. Purity is not
confined. It is the nature of the innocent to be forever uncontained, without a
barrier or limitation. Thus is purity not of the body. Nor can it be found
where limitation is. The body can be healed by its effects, which are as
limitless as is itself. Yet must all healing come about because the mind is
recognized as not within the body, and its innocence is quite apart from it, and
where ALL healing is. Where, then, is healing? Only where its cause is given
its effects. For sickness is a meaningless attempt to give effects to
causelessness, and MAKE it be a cause.
T 28 C 3. Always in sickness does the Son of God attempt to make himself his
cause, and not allow himself to be his Father's Son. For this impossible
desire, he does not believe that he is Love's effect, and must be cause because
of what he is. The cause of healing is the only Cause of everything. It has
but ONE effect. And in that recognition, causelessness is given no effects, and
none are seen. A mind within a body, and a world of other bodies, each with
separate minds, are your "creations," you the "other" mind, creating with
effects unlike yourself. And as their "father," you must be like them. Nothing
at all has happened but that you have put yourself to sleep, and dreamed a dream
in which you were an alien to yourself, and but a part of someone else's dream.
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T 28 C 4. The miracle does not awaken you, but merely shows you who the dreamer
IS. It teaches you there is a choice of dreams while you are still asleep,
depending on the purpose of your dreaming. Do you wish for dreams of healing,
or for dreams of death? A dream is like a memory in that it pictures what you
WANTED shown to you. An empty storehouse, with an open door, holds all your
shreds of memories and dreams. Yet if you are the dreamer, you perceive this
much at least; that YOU have caused the dream, and can accept another dream as
well. But for this change in content of the dream, it must be realized that it
is you who dreamed the dreaming that you do not like. It is but an effect which
YOU have caused, and you would not BE cause of this effect.
T 28 C 5. In dreams of murder and attack are you the victim in a dying body
slain. But in forgiving dreams is no one asked to be the victim and the
sufferer. These are the happy dreams the miracle exchanges for your own. It
does not ask you make another; only that you see you made the one you would
exchange for this. This world is causeless, as is every dream that anyone has
dreamed within the world. No plans are possible, and no design exists that
could be found and understood.
T 28 C 6. What else could be expected from a thing that has no cause? Yet if
it has no cause, it has no purpose. You may cause a dream, but never will you
give it real effects. For that would change its cause, and it is this you
cannot do. The dreamer of a dream is not awake, but does not know he sleeps.
He sees illusions of himself as sick or well, depressed or happy, but without a
stable cause with guaranteed effects.
T 28 C 7. The miracle establishes you dream a dream, and that its content is
not true. This is a crucial step in dealing with illusions. No one is afraid
of them when he perceives he made them up. The fear was held in place BECAUSE
he did not see that he was author of the dream, and not a figure in the dream.
He gives HIMSELF the consequences which he dreams he
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gave his brother. And it is but this the dream has put together and has offered
him, to show him that his wishes have been done. Thus does he fear his OWN
attack, but sees it at another's hands. As victim, he is suffering from its
effects, but not their cause. He authored not his own attack, and he is
innocent of what he caused. The miracle does nothing but to show him that he
has done nothing. What he fears is cause without the consequences which would
MAKE it cause. And so it never was.
T 28 C 8. The separation started with the dream the Father was deprived of His
effects, and powerless to keep them, since He was no longer their Creator. In
the dream, the dreamer made himself, but what he made has turned against him,
taking on the role of its creator, as the dreamer had. And as he hated his
Creator, so the figures in the dream have hated him. His body is their slave,
which they abuse because the motives he has given it have they adopted as their
own. And hate it for the vengeance it would offer them. It is their vengeance
on the body which appears to prove the dreamer could not be the maker of the
dream. Effect and cause are first split off, and then reversed, so that effect
becomes a cause; the cause, effect.
T 28 C 9. This is the separation's final step, with which salvation, which
proceeds to go the OTHER way, begins. This final step is an effect of what has
gone before, appearing as a cause. The miracle is the first step in giving back
to cause the function of causation, not effect. For this confusion has produced
the dream, and while it lasts, will wakening be feared. Nor will the call to
wakening be heard, because it seems to be the call to fear.
T 28 C 10. Like every lesson which the Holy Spirit requests you learn, the
miracle is clear. It demonstrates what He would have you learn, and shows you
its effects are what you WANT. In His forgiving dreams are the effects of yours
undone, and hated enemies perceived as friends, with merciful intent. Their
enmity is seen as causeless now, because they did not make it. And you can
accept the role of maker of their hate because you SEE that it
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has no effects. Now are you freed from this much of the dream; the world is
neutral, and the bodies which still seem to move about as separate things need
not be feared. And so they are not sick.
T 28 C 11. The miracle returns the cause of fear to you who made it. But
it also shows that, having no effects it is not cause, because the function of
causation is to have effects. And where effects are gone, there IS no cause.
Thus is the body healed by miracles because they show the mind MADE sickness,
and employed the body to be victim, or effect, of what it made. Yet half the
lesson will not teach the whole. The miracle is useless if you learn but that
the body can be healed, for this is not the lesson it was sent to teach. The
lesson is the MIND was sick that thought the body could be sick; projecting out
its guilt caused nothing, and had no effects.
T 28 C 12. This world is full of miracles. They stand in shining silence
next to every dream of pain and suffering, of sin and guilt. They are the
dream's alternative, the choice to be the dreamer, rather than deny the active
role in making up the dream. They are the glad effects of taking back the
consequence of sickness to its cause. The body is released because the mind
acknowledges "this is not done to me, but I am doing this." And thus the mind
is free to make another choice instead. Beginning here, salvation will proceed
to change the course of every step in the descent to separation, until all the
steps have been retraced, the ladder gone, and all the dreaming of the world
undone.
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T 28 D. The Agreement to Join
T 28 D 1. What waits in perfect certainty beyond salvation is not our concern.
For you have barely started to allow your first, uncertain steps to be directed
up the ladder separation led you down. The miracle alone is your concern at
present. Here is where we must begin. And having started, will the way be made
serene and simple in the rising up to waking and the ending of the dream. When
you accept a miracle, you do not add your dream of fear to one that is already
being dreamed. Without support, the dream will fade away without effects. For
it is YOUR support that strengthens it.
T 28 D 2. No mind is sick until another mind agrees that they are separate.
And thus it is their JOINT decision to be sick. If you withhold agreement, and
accept the part YOU play in making sickness real, the other mind cannot project
its guilt without your aid in letting it perceive itself as separate and apart
from you. Thus is the body not perceived as sick by both your minds, from
separate points of view. Uniting with a brother's mind prevents the CAUSE of
sickness and perceived effects. Healing is the effect of minds which join, as
sickness comes from minds which separate.
T 28 D 3. The miracle does nothing just BECAUSE the minds are joined, and
cannot separate. Yet in the dreaming has this been reversed, and separate minds
are seen as bodies, which are separated and which cannot join. Do not allow
your brother to be sick, for if he is, have you abandoned him to his own dream
by sharing it with him. He has not seen the cause of sickness where it is, and
you have overlooked the gap between you, where the sickness has been bred. Thus
are you JOINED in sickness, to preserve the little gap unhealed, where sickness
is kept carefully protected, cherished, and upheld by firm belief, lest God
should come to bridge the little gap that leads to Him. Fight not His coming
with illusions, for it is His coming that you want above all things that seem to
glisten in the dream.
T 28 D 4. The end of dreaming is the end of fear, and love was never in the
world of dreams. The gap IS little. Yet it holds the seeds of pestilence
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and every form of ill, because it is a wish to keep apart, and not to join. And
thus it seems to give a cause to sickness which is NOT its cause. The PURPOSE
of the gap is all the cause that sickness has. For it was made to keep you
separated, in a body which you see as if IT were the cause of pain.
T 28 D 5. The cause of pain is separation, not the body, which is only its
effect. Yet separation is but empty space, enclosing nothing, doing nothing,
and as insubstantial as the empty place between the ripples that a ship has made
in passing by. And covered just as fast, as water rushes in to close the gap,
and as the waves, in joining, cover it. Where is the gap between the waves when
they have joined, and covered up the space which seemed to keep them separate
for a little while? Where are the grounds for sickness when the minds have
joined to close the little gap between them, where the seeds of sickness seemed
to grow?
T 28 D 6. God builds the bridge, but only in the space left clean and vacant by
the miracle. The seeds of sickness and the shame of guilt He cannot bridge, for
He cannot destroy the alien will that He created not. Let its effects be gone,
and clutch them not with eager hands, to keep them for yourself. The miracle
will brush them all aside, and thus make room for Him Who wills to come, and
bridge His Son's returning to Himself.
T 28 D 7. Count, then, the silver miracles and golden dreams of happiness as
all the treasures you would keep within the storehouse of the world. The door
is open, not to thieves, but to your starving brothers, who mistook for gold the
shining of a pebble, and who stored a heap of snow that shone like silver. They
have nothing left behind the open door. What is the world except a little gap
perceived to tear eternity apart, and break it into days and months and years?
And what are you who live within the world except a picture of the Son of God in
broken pieces, each concealed within a separate and uncertain bit of clay?
T 28 D 8. Be not afraid, but let your world be lit by miracles. And where the
gap was seen to stand between you, join your brother there. And sickness
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will be seen WITHOUT a cause. The dream of healing in forgiveness lies, and
gently shows you that you never sinned. The miracle would leave no proof of
guilt to bring you witness to what never was. And in your storehouse it will
make a place of welcome for your Father and your Self. The door is open, that
all those may come who would no longer starve, and would enjoy the feast of
plenty set before them there. And they will meet with your invited Guests the
miracle has asked to come to you.
T 28 D 9. This is a feast unlike indeed to those the dreaming of the world has
shown. For here, the more that anyone receives, the more is left for all the
rest to share. The Guests have brought unlimited supply with Them. And no one
is deprived or can deprive. Here is a feast the Father lays before His Son, and
shares it equally with him. And in Their sharing there can BE no gap in which
abundance falters and grows thin. Here can the lean years enter not, for time
waits not upon this feast, which has no end. For Love has set Its table in the
space that seemed to keep your Guests apart from you.
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T 28 E. The Greater Joining
T 28 E 1. Accepting the Atonement for yourself means not to give support to
someone's dream of sickness and of death. It means that you share not his wish
to separate, and let him turn illusions on himself. Nor do you wish that they
be turned, instead, on you. Thus have they NO effects. And you are free of
dreams of pain because you let him be. Unless you help him, you will suffer
pain with him because that is your wish. And you become a figure in his dream
of pain, as he in yours. So do you both become illusions and without identity.
You could be anyone or anything, depending on whose evil dream you share. You
can be sure of just one thing; that you are evil, for you share in dreams of
fear.
T 28 E 2. There is a way of finding certainty right HERE and NOW. Refuse to be
a part of fearful dreams whatever form they take, for you WILL lose identity in
them. You FIND yourself by not accepting them as causing you, and giving you
effects. You stand apart from them, but not apart from him who dreams them.
Thus you separate the dreamer from the dream, and join in one, but let the other
GO. The dream is but illusion in the mind. And with the mind you WOULD unite,
but NEVER with the dream. It is the dream you fear, and NOT the mind. You see
them as the same, because you think that YOU are but a dream. And what is real
and what is but illusion in yourself you do not know, and cannot tell apart.
T 28 E 3. Like you, your brother thinks he is a dream. Share not in his
illusion of himself, for your identity depends on his reality. Think, rather,
of him as a mind in which illusions still persist, but as a mind which brother
is to you. He is not brother made by what he dreams, nor is his body, "hero" of
the dream, your brother. It is his REALITY that is your brother, as is yours to
him. Your mind and his are joined in brotherhood. His body and his dreams but
seem to make a little gap, where yours have joined with his.
T 28 E 4. And yet, between your minds there IS no gap. To join his dreams
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is thus to meet him not, because his dreams would separate from you. Therefore,
release him, merely by your claim on brotherhood, and not on dreams of fear.
Let him acknowledge who he is, by not supporting his illusions by your faith,
for if you do, you will have faith in YOURS. With faith in yours, HE will not
be released, and YOU are kept in bondage to his dream. And dreams of fear will
haunt the little gap, inhabited but by illusions which you have supported in
each other's minds.
T 28 E 5. Be certain, if you do your part, he will do his, for he will join you
where you stand. Call not to him to meet you in the gap between you, or you
must believe that it is your reality, as well as his. You CANNOT do his part,
but this you DO when you become a passive figure in his dream, instead of
dreamer of your own. Identity in dreams is meaningless because the dreamer and
the dream are one. Who SHARES a dream must BE the dream he shares, because by
sharing is a cause produced.
T 28 E 6. You share confusion, and you ARE confused, for in the gap no stable
self exists. What is the same seems different, because what is the same appears
to be unlike. His dreams are yours because you LET them be. But if you took
your own away would he be free of them, and of his own as well. Your dreams are
witnesses to his, and his attest the truth of yours. Yet if you see there IS no
truth in yours, his dreams will go, and he will understand what MADE the dream.
T 28 E 7. The Holy Spirit is in BOTH your minds, and He is One because there is
no gap that separates His Oneness from Itself. The gap between your bodies
matters not, for what is joined in Him is ALWAYS one. No one is sick if someone
else accepts his union with him. His desire to be a sick and separated mind can
not remain without a witness or a cause. And BOTH are gone if someone wills to
be united with him. He has dreams that he was separated from his brother who,
by sharing not his dream, has left the space between them vacant. And the
Father comes to join His Son the Holy Spirit joined.
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T 28 E 8. The Holy Spirit's function is to take the broken picture of the Son
of God, and put the pieces into place again. This holy picture, healed
entirely, does He hold out to every separate piece that thinks it is a picture
in itself. To each he offers his identity, which the whole picture represents,
instead of just a little, broken bit which he insisted was himself. And when he
sees THIS picture, he will recognize himself. If you share not your brother's
evil dream, this IS the picture that the miracle will place within the little
gap, left clean of all the seeds of sickness and of sin. And here the Father
will receive His Son, because His Son was gracious to himself.
T 28 E 9. I thank you, Father, knowing you will come to close each little gap
that lies between the broken pieces of Your holy Son. Your holiness, complete
and perfect, lies in every one of them. And they ARE joined, because what is in
one is in them all. How holy is the smallest grain of sand, when it is
recognized as being part of the completed picture of God's Son! The forms the
broken pieces seem to take mean nothing. For the whole is in each one. And
every aspect of the Son of God is just the same as every other part.
T 28 E 10. Join not your brother's dreams, but join with HIM, and where
you join His Son, the Father is. Who seeks for substitutes when he perceives he
has lost nothing? Who would WANT to have the "benefits" of sickness when he has
received the simple happiness of health? What God has given cannot BE a loss,
and what is not of Him has no effects. What, then, would you perceive within
the gap? The seeds of sickness come from the belief that there is JOY in
separation, and its giving up would be a SACRIFICE. But miracles are the
result, when you do not insist on seeing in the gap what is not there. Your
willingness to LET illusions go is all the Healer of God's Son requires. He
will place the miracle of healing where the seeds of sickness were. And there
will be NO loss, but ONLY gain.
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T 28 F. The Alternate to Dreams of Fear
T 28 F 1. What is a sense of sickness but a sense of limitation? Of a
splitting OFF and separating FROM? A gap perceived between yourselves and what
is seen as health? The good is seen outside; the evil, in. And thus is
sickness separating off the self from good, and keeping evil in. God is the
ALTERNATE to dreams of fear. Who shares in them can NEVER share in Him. But
who withdraws his mind from sharing them IS sharing Him. There is no other
choice. Except you share it, nothing can exist. And YOU exist because God
shared His Will with you, that His creation might create.
T 28 F 2. It is the SHARING of the evil dreams of hate and malice, bitterness
and death, of sin and suffering and pain and loss, that makes them real.
Unshared, they are perceived as meaningless. The fear is gone from them because
you did not give them your support. Where fear has gone there love MUST come,
because there ARE but these alternatives. Where one appears, the other
disappears. And which you share becomes the only one you have. You have the
one which you accept, because it is the only one you WISH to have. You share no
evil dreams if you forgive the dreamer, and perceive that he is not the dream he
made. And so he cannot be a part of yours, from which you BOTH are free.
Forgiveness separates the dreamer from the evil dream, and thus releases him.
T 28 F 3. Remember if you share an evil dream, you will believe you ARE the
dream you share. And fearing it, you will not WANT to know your own identity,
because you think that IT is fearful. And you WILL deny your Self, and walk
upon an alien ground which your Creator did not make, and where you seem to be a
"something" [T251] you are not. You WILL make war upon your Self, which seems to
be your enemy; and WILL attack your brother, as a part of what you hate. There
IS no compromise. You are your Self or an illusion. What can be between
illusion and the truth? A middle ground, where you can be a thing that is not
you, must be a dream and cannot be the truth.
T 28 F 4. You have conceived a little gap between illusions and the truth to be
the place where all your safety lies, and where your Self is safely
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hidden by what you have made. Here is a world established that is sick, and
this the world the body's eyes perceive. Here are the sounds it hears; the
voices which its ears were made to hear. Yet sights and sounds the body can
perceive are meaningless. It cannot see nor hear. It does not know what seeing
IS; what listening is FOR. It is as little able to perceive as it can judge or
understand or know. Its eyes are blind; its ears are deaf. It cannot think,
and so it cannot have effects.
T 28 F 5. What is there God created to be sick? And what that He created not
can be? Let not your eyes behold a dream; your ears bear witness to illusion.
They were made to look upon a world that is not there; to hear the voices that
can make no sound. Yet are there other sounds and other sights which CAN be
seen and heard and understood. For eyes and ears are senses without sense, and
what they see and hear they but report. It is not they that hear and see, but
YOU, who put together every jagged piece, each senseless scrap and shred of
evidence, and make a witness to the world you want. Let not the body's ears and
eyes perceive these countless fragments seen within the gap which you imagined,
and let them persuade their maker his imaginings are real.
T 28 F 6. Creation proves reality because it shares the function all creation
shares. It is not made of little bits of glass, a piece of wood, a thread or
two perhaps, all put together to attest its truth. Reality does not depend on
this. There IS no gap which separates the truth from dreams and from illusions.
Truth has left no room for them in any place or time. For it fills every place
and every time, and makes them wholly indivisible.
T 28 F 7. You who believe there IS a little gap between you, do not understand
that it is here that you are kept as prisoners in a world perceived to be
existing here. The world you see does not exist, because the place where you
perceive it is not real. The gap is carefully concealed
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in fog, and misty pictures rise to cover it with vague, uncertain forms and
changing shapes, forever unsubstantial and unsure. Yet in the gap is NOTHING.
And there ARE no awesome secrets and no darkened tombs where terror rises from
the bones of death. Look at the little gap, and you behold the innocence and
emptiness of sin that you will see within yourself, when you have lost the fear
of RECOGNIZING love.
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T 28 G. The Secret Vows
T 28 G 1. Who punishes the body is insane. For here the little gap is seen,
and yet it is not here. It has not judged itself, nor made itself to be what it
is not. It does not seek to make of pain a joy, and look for lasting pleasure
in the dust. It does not tell you what its purpose is, and cannot understand
what it is for. It does not victimize, because it has no will, no preferences,
and no doubts. It does not wonder what it is. And so it has no need to be
competitive. It CAN be victimized, but CANNOT feel itself as victim. It
accepts no role, but does what it is told, without attack.
T 28 G 2. It is indeed a senseless point of view to hold responsible for sight
a thing that cannot see, and blame it for the sounds you do not like, although
it cannot hear. It suffers not the punishment you give, because it has no
feeling. It behaves in ways you want, but never makes the choice. It is not
born and does not die. It can but follow aimlessly the path on which it has
been set. And if that path is changed, it walks as easily another way. It
takes no sides, and judges not the road it travels. It perceives no gap,
because it does not hate. It can be USED for hate, but it cannot be hateful
made thereby.
T 28 G 3. The thing you hate and fear and loathe and WANT, the body does not
know. You send it forth to seek for separation and to be a separate thing. And
THEN you hate it, not for what it is, but for the uses you have made of it. You
shrink from what it sees and what it hears, and hate its frailty and littleness.
And you despise its acts, but not your own. It sees and acts for YOU. It
hears YOUR voice. And it is frail and little by YOUR wish. It seems to punish
you, and thus deserve your hatred for the limitations which it brings to you.
Yet you have made of it a symbol for the limitations which you want your MIND to
have and see and KEEP.
T 28 G 4. The body REPRESENTS the gap between the little bit of mind you call
your own, and all the rest of what is REALLY yours. You hate it, yet
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you think it IS your self, [T252] and that, without it, would your self be lost.
This is the secret vow which you have made with every brother who would walk
apart. This is the secret oath you take again, whenever you perceive yourself
attacked. No one can suffer if he does not see himself attacked, and LOSING by
attack. Unstated and unheard in consciousness is every pledge to sickness. Yet
it is a promise to another to be hurt by him, and to attack him in return.
T 28 G 5. Sickness is anger taken out upon the body, so that IT will suffer
pain. It is the obvious effect of what was made in secret, in agreement with
another's secret wish to be apart from you, as you would be apart from him.
Unless you BOTH agree that is your wish, it can have no effects. Whoever says,
"There IS no gap between my mind and yours" has kept God's promise, not his tiny
oath to be forever faithful unto death. And by his healing is his brother
healed.
T 28 G 6. Let this be your agreement with each one; that you be one with him,
and not apart. And he will keep the promise that you make with him, because it
is the one which he has made to God, as God has made to him. God keeps His
promises; His Son keeps his. In his creation did his Father say, "You are
beloved of Me and I of you forever. Be you perfect as Myself, for you can never
be apart from Me." His Son remembers not that he replied "I will," though in
that promise he was born. Yet God reminds him of it every time he does not
share a promise to be sick, but lets his mind be healed and unified. His secret
vows are powerless before the Will of God, Whose promises he shares. And what
he substitutes is not his will, who has made promise of himself to God.
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T 28 H. The Beautiful Relationship
T 28 H 1. God asks for nothing, and His Son, like Him, need ask for nothing.
For there is no lack in him. An empty space, a little gap, would be a lack.
And it is only there that he could want for something he has not. A space where
God is not, a gap between the Father and the Son is not the Will of either, who
have promised to be One. God's promise is a promise to HIMSELF, and there is no
one who could be untrue to what He wills as part of what He IS. The promise
that there is no gap between Himself and what He is cannot be false. What will
can come between what MUST be One, and in Whose wholeness there can BE no gap?
T 28 H 2. The beautiful relationship you have with all your brothers is a part
of you because it is a part of God Himself. Are you not sick, if you deny
yourself your wholeness and your health, the Source of help, the Call to healing
and the Call to heal? Your Savior waits for healing, and the world waits with
him. Nor are you apart from it. For healing will be one or not at all, its
oneness being where the healing lies. What could correct for separation but its
opposite? There is no middle ground in any aspect of salvation. You accept it
wholly or accept it not. What is unseparated must be joined. And what is
joined cannot be separate.
T 28 H 3. Either there is a gap between you and your brother, or you ARE as
one. There is no in between, no other choice, and no allegiance to be split
between the two. A split allegiance is but faithlessness to both, and merely
sets you spinning ’round, to grasp uncertainly at any straw that seems to hold
some promise of relief. Yet who can build his home upon a straw, and count on
it as shelter from the wind? The body can be made a home like this, because it
lacks foundation in the truth. And yet, BECAUSE it does, it can be seen as NOT
your home, but merely as an aid to help you reach the home where God abides.
T 28 H 4. With THIS as purpose IS the body healed. It is not used to witness
to the dream of separation and disease. Nor is it idly blamed for
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what it did not do. It serves to help the healing of God's Son, and for THIS
purpose it cannot BE sick. It will not join a purpose not your own, and you
have CHOSEN that it not be sick. All miracles are based upon this choice, and
given you the instant it is made. No forms of sickness are immune, because the
choice cannot be made in terms of form. The choice of sickness SEEMS to be a
form, yet it is one, as is its opposite. And YOU are sick or well, accordingly.
T 28 H 5. But never you alone. This world is but the dream that you can BE
alone, and think without affecting those apart from you. To be alone must mean
you are apart, and if you are, you cannot BUT be sick. This seems to prove that
you must be apart. Yet all it means is that you tried to keep a promise to be
true to faithlessness. Yet faithlessness IS sickness. It is like the house set
upon straw. It seems to be quite solid and substantial in itself. Yet its
stability cannot be judged apart from its foundation. If it rests on straw,
there is no need to bar the door and lock the windows, and make fast the bolts.
The wind WILL topple it, and rain WILL come and carry it into oblivion.
T 28 H 6. What is the sense in seeking to be safe in what was MADE for danger
and for fear? Why burden it with further locks and chains and heavy anchors,
when its weakness lies, not in itself, but in the frailty of the little gap of
nothingness whereon it stands? What CAN be safe which rests upon a shadow?
Would you build your home upon what will collapse beneath a feather's weight?
T 28 H 7. Your home is built upon your brother's health, upon his happiness,
his sinlessness, and everything his Father promised him. No secret promise you
have made instead has shaken the Foundation of his home. The winds will blow
upon it, and the rain will beat against it, but with no effect. The world will
wash away, and yet this house will stand forever, for its strength lies not
within itself alone. It is an ark of safety,
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resting on God's promise that His Son is safe forever in Himself. What gap can
interpose itself between the safety of this shelter and its Source? From here
the body can be seen as what it is, and neither less nor more in worth than the
extent to which it can be used to liberate God's Son unto his home. And with
this holy purpose, is it made a home of holiness a little while, because it
shares your Father's Will with You.
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Chapter XXIX 29 - THE AWAKENING
T 29 A. Introduction
T 29 A 1. There is no time, no place, no state where God is absent. There is
nothing to be feared. There is no way in which a gap could be conceived of in
the wholeness that is His. The compromise the least and littlest gap would
represent in His eternal Love is quite impossible. For it would mean His Love
could harbor just a hint of hate; His gentleness turn sometimes to attack; and
His eternal patience sometimes fail. All this do you believe, when you perceive
a gap between your brother and yourself. How could you trust Him, then? For He
must be deceptive in His Love. Be wary, then; let Him not come too close, and
leave a gap between you and His Love, through which you can escape if there be
need for you to flee.
T 29 A 2. Here is the fear of God most plainly seen. For love IS treacherous
to those who fear, since fear and hate can never be apart. No one who hates but
is afraid of love, and therefore MUST he be afraid of God. Certain it is he
knows not what love means. He fears to love and loves to hate, and so he thinks
that love is fearful; hate is love. This is the consequence the little gap must
bring to those who cherish it, and think that it is their salvation and their
hope.
T 29 A 3. The fear of God! The greatest obstacle that peace must flow across
has not yet gone. The rest are past, but this one still remains to block your
path, and make the way to light seem dark and fearful, perilous and bleak. You
had decided that your brother is your enemy. Sometimes a friend, perhaps,
provided that your separate interests made your friendship possible a little
while. But not without a gap between you, lest he turn again into an enemy.
Let him come close to you, and you jumped back; as you approached, he instantly
withdrew. [T253] A cautious friendship, limited in scope and carefully restricted
in amount, became the treaty you had made with him. You shared a qualified
entente, in which a clause of separation was a point on which you both agreed to
keep intact. And violating this was thought to be a breach of treaty not to be
allowed.
T 29 B. The Closing of the Gap
T 29 B 1. The gap between you is not one of space between two separate
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T 29 B bodies. This but seems to be dividing off your separate minds. It is
the symbol of a promise made to meet when you prefer, and separate until you
both elect to meet again. And then your bodies seem to get in touch, and
signify a meeting place to join. But always is it possible to go your separate
ways. Conditional upon the "right" to separate will you agree to meet from time
to time, and keep apart in intervals of separation, which protect you from the
"sacrifice" of love. The body SAVES you, for it gets away from total sacrifice,
and gives you time in which to build again your separate selves, which you
believe diminish as you meet.
T 29 B 2. The body COULD not separate your minds unless you wanted it to be a
cause of separation and of distance seen between you. Thus do you endow it with
a power that lies not within itself. And herein lies its power over YOU. For
now you think that it determines when you meet, and limits your ability to make
communion with each other's mind. And now it tells you where to go and how to
go there, what is feasible for you to undertake, and what you cannot do. It
dictates what its health can tolerate, and what will tire it and make it sick.
And its "inherent" weaknesses set up the limitations on what you would do, and
keep your purpose limited and weak.
3. The body WILL accommodate to this, if you would have it so. It will allow
but limited indulgences in "love," with intervals of hatred in between. And it
will take command of when to "love" and when to shrink more safely into fear.
It will be sick because you do not know what loving means. And so you MUST
misuse each circumstance and everyone you meet, and see in them a purpose not
your own.
T 29 B 4. It is not love that asks a sacrifice. But fear DEMANDS the sacrifice
of love, for in love's presence fear cannot abide. For hate to be maintained
love MUST be feared, and only sometimes present; sometimes gone. Thus is love
seen as treacherous, because it seems to come and go uncertainly, and offer no
stability to you. You do not see how limited and
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weak is your allegiance, and how frequently you have demanded that love go away,
and leave you quietly alone, in "peace."
T 29 B 5. The body, innocent of any goal, is your excuse for variable goals YOU
hold, and force the body to maintain. You do not fear its weakness, but its
lack of strength OR weakness. Would you recognize that nothing stands between
you? Would you know there IS no gap behind which you can hide? There is a
shock that comes to those who learn their Savior is their enemy no more. There
is a wariness that is aroused by learning that the body is not real. And there
are overtones of seeming fear around the happy message "God is love."
T 29 B 6. Yet all that happens when the gap is gone is peace eternal. Nothing
more than that, and nothing less. Without the fear of God, what could induce
you to abandon Him? What toys or trinkets in the gap could serve to hold you
back an instant from His love? Would you allow the body to say "no" to Heaven's
calling, were you not afraid to find a loss of self in finding God? Yet CAN
your Self be lost by being found?
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T 29 C. The Coming of the Guest
T 29 C 1. Why would you not perceive it as release from suffering to learn that
you are free? Why would you not acclaim the truth, instead of looking on it as
an enemy? Why does an easy path, so clearly marked it is impossible to lose the
way, seem thorny, rough, and far too difficult for you to follow? Is it not
because you see it as the road to hell, instead of looking on it as a simple
way, without a sacrifice or any loss, to find yourself in Heaven and in God?
Until you realize you give up nothing, until you understand there IS no loss,
you will have some regrets about the way that you have chosen. And you will not
see the many gains your choice has offered you. Yet though you do not see them,
they are there. Their CAUSE has been effected, and they must be present where
their cause has entered in.
T 29 C 2. You have accepted healing's cause, and so it must be you are healed.
And being healed, the power to heal must also now be yours. The miracle is not
a separate thing which happens suddenly, as an effect without a cause. Nor is
it, in itself, a cause. But where its cause is must it be. Now is it caused,
though not as yet perceived. And its effects are there, though not yet seen.
Look inward now, and you will not behold a reason for regret, but cause indeed
for glad rejoicing and for hope of peace.
T 29 C 3. It HAS been hopeless to attempt to find the hope of peace upon a
battleground. It HAS been futile to demand escape from sin and pain of what was
made to serve the function of RETAINING sin and pain. For pain and sin are one
illusion, as are hate and fear, attack and guilt but one. Where they are
causeless their effects are gone, and love must come wherever they are not. Why
are you not rejoicing? You are free of pain and sickness, misery and loss, and
all effects of hatred and attack. No more is pain your friend and guilt your
god, and you should welcome the effects of love.
T 29 C 4. Your Guest HAS come. You asked Him, and He came. You did not hear
Him enter, for you did not wholly welcome Him. And yet His gifts came with Him.
He has laid them at your feet, and asks you now that you will look on them, and
take them for your own. He NEEDS your help in giving them
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to all who walk apart, believing they are separate and alone. They will be
healed when you accept your gifts, because your Guest will welcome everyone
whose feet have touched the holy ground whereon you stand, and where His gifts
for them are laid.
T 29 C 5. You do not see how much you now can give, because of everything you
have received. Yet He Who entered in but waits for YOU to come where you
invited Him to be. There is no other place where He can find His host, nor
where His host can meet with Him. And nowhere else His gifts of peace and joy,
and all the happiness His Presence brings, can be obtained. For they are where
He is Who brought them with Him, that they might be yours. You cannot see your
Guest, but you CAN see the gifts He brought. And when you look on them, you
will believe His Presence must be there. For what you now can do could not be
done without the love and grace His Presence holds.
T 29 C 6. Such is the promise of the living [T254] God; His Son have life and
every living thing be part of him, and nothing else have life. What YOU have
given "life" is not alive, and symbolizes but your wish to be alive apart from
life, alive in death, with death perceived as life, and living, death.
Confusion follows on confusion here, for on confusion has this world been based,
and there is nothing else it rests upon. Its basis does not change, although it
seems to be in constant change. Yet what is that except the state confusion
really means? Stability to those who are confused is meaningless, and shift and
change become the law on which they predicate their lives.
T 29 C 7. The body does not change. It represents the larger dream that change
is possible. To change is to attain a state unlike the one in which you found
yourself before. There IS no change in immortality, and Heaven knows it not.
Yet here on earth it has a double purpose, for it can be made to teach opposing
things. And they reflect the teacher who is teaching them. The body can APPEAR
to change with time, with sickness or with health, and with events that seem to
alter it. Yet this but means the mind remains unchanged in its belief of what
the purpose of the body is.
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T 29 C 8. Sickness is a demand the body be a thing that it is not. Its
nothingness is guarantee that it can NOT be sick. In your demand that it be
more than this lies the idea of sickness. For it asks that God be less than all
He really is. What, then, becomes of you, for it IS you of whom the sacrifice
is asked? For He is told that part of Him belongs to Him no longer. He must
sacrifice your self, and in His sacrifice are you made more, and He is lessened
by the loss of you. And what is gone from Him becomes your god, protecting you
from being part of Him.
T 29 C 9. The body that is asked to be a god will be attacked, because its
nothingness has not been recognized. And so it seems to be a thing with power
in itself. As "something," [T255] it can be perceived and thought to feel and
act, and hold you in its grasp as prisoner to itself. And it can fail to be
what you demanded that it be. And you will hate it for its littleness,
unmindful that the failure does not lie in that it is not more than it should
be, but only in your failure to perceive that it is nothing. Yet its
nothingness is your salvation, from which you would flee.
T 29 C 10. As "something" is the body asked to be God's enemy, replacing
what He is with littleness and limit and despair. It is His loss you celebrate
when you behold the body as a thing you love, or look upon it as a thing you
hate. For if He be the sum of everything, then what is not in Him does not
exist, and His completion IS its nothingness. Your Savior is not dead, nor does
he dwell in what was built as temple unto death. He lives in God, and it is
this that makes him Savior unto you, and ONLY this. His body's nothingness
releases yours from sickness and from death. For what is yours cannot be more
nor less than what is his.
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T 29 D. God's Witnesses
T 29 D 1. Condemn your Savior not because he thinks he is a body. For beyond
his dreams is his reality. But he must learn he is a Savior first, before he
can remember what he is. And he must save who would be saved. On saving you
depends his happiness. For who is Savior but the one who GIVES salvation? Thus
he learns it must be his to give. Unless he gives, he will not know he has, for
giving is the PROOF of having. Only those who think that God is lessened by
their strength could fail to understand this must be so. For who COULD give
unless he has, and who could lose by giving what must be INCREASED thereby?
T 29 D 2. Think you the Father lost Himself when He created you? Was He made
weak because He shared His love? Was He made incomplete by your perfection? Or
are you the PROOF that He is perfect and complete? Deny Him not His witness in
the dream His Son prefers to his reality. He must be Savior FROM the dream he
made, that he be free of it. He must see someone else as NOT a body, one with
him, without the wall the world has built to keep apart all living things who
know not that they live. Within the dream of bodies and of death is yet one
theme of truth; no more, perhaps, than just a tiny spark, a space of light
created in the dark, where God still shines.
T 29 D 3. You cannot wake yourself. Yet you can LET yourself be wakened. You
can overlook your brother's dreams. So perfectly can you forgive him his
illusions, he becomes your Savior from your dreams. And as you see him shining
in the space of light where God abides within the darkness, you will see that
God Himself is where his body is. Before this light the body disappears, as
heavy shadows must give way to light. The darkness cannot choose that it
remain. The coming of the light MEANS it is gone. In glory will you see your
brother then, and understand what REALLY fills the gap so long perceived as
keeping you apart.
T 29 D 4. There, in its place, God's Witness has set forth the gentle way of
kindness to God's Son. Whom you forgive is given power to forgive you your
illusions. By your gift of freedom is it given unto you. Make way for
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love, which you did not create, but which you CAN extend. On earth this means
forgive your brother, that the darkness may be lifted from your mind. When
light has come to him through your forgiveness, he will not forget his Savior,
leaving him unsaved. For it was in YOUR face he saw the light that he would
keep beside him, as he walks through darkness to the everlasting light.
T 29 D 5. How holy are you, that the Son of God can be your Savior in the midst
of dreams of desolation and disaster. See how eagerly he comes, and steps aside
from heavy shadows that have hidden him, and shines on you in gratitude and
love. He is himself, but not himself alone. And as his Father lost not part of
Him in your creation, so the light in him is brighter still because you gave
your light to him, to save him from the dark. And now the light in you must be
as bright as shines in him. This is the spark that shines within the dream;
that you can help him waken, and be sure his waking eyes will rest on you. And
in his glad salvation YOU are saved.
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T 29 E. Dream Roles
T 29 E 1. Do you believe that truth can be but SOME illusions? They are dreams
BECAUSE they are not true. Their equal lack of truth becomes the basis for the
miracle, which means that you have understood that dreams are dreams; and that
escape depends, not on the dream, but only on awaking. Could it be some dreams
are kept, and others wakened from? The choice is not between which dreams to
keep, but only if you want to live in dreams or to awaken from them. Thus it is
the miracle does not select some dreams to leave untouched by its beneficence.
You cannot dream some dreams and wake from some, for you are either sleeping or
awake. And dreaming goes with only one of these.
T 29 E 2. The dreams you think you like would hold you back as much as those in
which the fear is seen. For EVERY dream is but a dream of fear, no matter what
the form it seems to take. The fear is seen within, without, or both. Or it
can be disguised in pleasant form. But never is it absent from the dream, for
fear is the material of dreams from which they all are made. Their form can
change, but they cannot be made of something else. The miracle were [T256]
treacherous indeed if it allowed you still to be afraid because you did not
RECOGNIZE the fear. You would not then be willing to awake, for which the
miracle prepares the way.
T 29 E 3. In simplest form, it can be said attack is a response to function
unfulfilled as YOU perceive the function. It can be in you or someone else, but
where it is perceived, [T257] it will be there it is attacked. Depression or
assault must be the theme of every dream, for they are made of fear. The thin
disguise of pleasure and of joy in which they may be wrapped but slightly veils
the heavy lump of fear which is their core. And it is THIS the miracle
perceives, and not the wrappings in which it is bound.
T 29 E 4. When you are angry, is it not because someone has failed to fill the
function YOU allotted him? And does not this become the "reason" your attack is
justified? The dreams you think you like are those in which the functions you
have given have been filled; the needs which you ascribe to you are
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met. It does not matter if they be fulfilled, or merely wanted. It is the idea
that they EXIST from which the fears arise. Dreams are not wanted more or less.
They are desired or not. And each one represents some function which you have
assigned; some goal which an event, or body, or a thing SHOULD represent, and
SHOULD achieve for you. If it succeeds, you think you like the dream. If it
should fail, you think the dream is sad. But whether it succeeds or fails is
not its core, but just the flimsy covering.
T 29 E 5. How happy would your dreams become if you were NOT the one who gave
the "proper" role to every figure which the dream contains. No one can fail but
your IDEA of him, and there is no betrayal BUT of this. The core of dreams the
Holy Spirit gives is NEVER one of fear. The coverings may not appear to change,
but what they mean HAS changed, because they cover something else. Perceptions
are determined by their purpose, in that they seem to BE what they are FOR. A
shadow figure who attacks becomes a brother giving you a chance to help, if this
becomes the function of the dream. And dreams of sadness thus are turned to
joy.
T 29 E 6. What IS your brother for? You do not know, because YOUR function is
obscure to you. Do not ascribe a role to him which you imagine would bring
happiness to you. And do not try to hurt him when he fails to take the part
which you assigned to him, in what you dream your life was meant to be. He asks
for help in every dream he has, and you have help to give him if you see the
function of the dream as He perceives its function, Who can utilize all dreams
as means to serve the function given Him. Because He loves the dreamer, not the
dream, each dream becomes an offering of love. For at its center is His love
for you, which lights whatever form it takes with love.
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T 29 F. The Changeless Dwelling Place
T 29 F 1. There is a place in you where this whole world has been forgotten;
where no memory of sin and of illusion lingers [T258] still. There is a place in
you which time has left, and echoes of eternity are heard. There is a resting
place so still no sound except a hymn to Heaven rises up to gladden God the
Father and the Son. Where both abide are They remembered, both. And where They
are is Heaven and is peace. Think not that you can change Their dwelling place.
For your identity abides in Them, and where They are, forever must YOU be.
T 29 F 2. The changelessness of Heaven is in you, so deep within that nothing
in this world but passes by, unnoticed and unseen. The still infinity of
endless peace surrounds you gently in its soft embrace, so strong and quiet,
tranquil in the might of its Creator, nothing can intrude upon the sacred Son of
God within. Here is the role the Holy Spirit gives to you who wait upon the Son
of God, and would behold him waken and be glad. He is a part of you, and you of
him, because he is his Father's Son, and not for any purpose you may see in him.
Nothing is asked of you but to accept the changeless and eternal that abide in
him, for your identity is there. The peace in you can but be found in him. And
every thought of love you offer him but brings you nearer to your wakening to
peace eternal and to endless joy.
T 29 F 3. This sacred Son of God is like yourself; the mirror of his Father's
love for you, the soft reminder of his Father's love by which he was created,
and which still abides in him, as it abides in you. Be very still, and hear
God's Voice in him, and let It tell you what his function is. He was created
that you might be whole, for only the complete can be a part of God's
completion, Which created you.
T 29 F 4. There is no gift the Father asks of you but that you see in all
creation but the shining glory of His gift to you. Behold His Son, His perfect
gift, in whom his Father shines forever, and to whom is all creation given as
his own. Because he has it is it given you, and where it lies in him behold
your peace. The quiet that surrounds you dwells in him, and from this
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quiet come the happy dreams in which your hands are joined in innocence. These
are not hands that grasp in dreams of pain. They hold no sword, for they have
left their hold on every vain illusion of the world. And being empty, they
received, instead, a brother's hand in which completion lay.
T 29 F 5. If you but knew the glorious goal that lies beyond forgiveness, you
would not keep hold on any thought, however light the touch of evil on it may
appear to be. For you would understand how great the cost of holding anything
God did not give in minds that can direct the hand to bless, and lead God's Son
unto his Father's house. Would you not WANT to be a friend to him, created by
his Father as His home? If God esteems him worthy of Himself, would YOU attack
him with the hands of hate? Who would lay bloody hands on Heaven itself, and
hope to find its peace? Your brother thinks he holds the hand of death.
Believe him not. But learn, instead, how blessed are you who can release him,
just by offering him yours.
T 29 F 6. A dream is given you in which he is your Savior, not your enemy in
hate. A dream is given you in which you have forgiven him for all his dreams of
death; a dream of hope you share with him, instead of dreaming evil separate
dreams of hate. Why does it seem so hard to share this dream? Because unless
the Holy Spirit gives the dream its function, it was made for hate, and will
continue in death's services. Each form it takes in some way calls for death.
And those who serve the lord of death have come to worship in a separated world,
each with his tiny spear and rusted sword, to keep his ancient promises to die.
T 29 F 7. Such is the core of fear in every dream that has been kept apart from
use by Him Who sees a different function for a dream. When dreams are shared,
they lose the function of attack and separation, even though it was for this
that every dream was made. Yet nothing in the world of dreams remains without
the hope of change and betterment, for here is not where changelessness is
found. Let us be glad indeed that this is so, and
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seek not the eternal in this world. Forgiving dreams are means to step aside
from dreaming of a world outside yourself. And leading finally beyond all
dreams, unto the peace of everlasting life.
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T 29 G. Forgiveness and Peace
T 29 G 1. How willing are you to forgive your brother? How much do you desire
peace instead of endless strife and misery and pain? These questions are the
same, in different form. Forgiveness IS your peace, for herein lies the end of
separation, and the dream of danger and destruction, sin and death; of madness
and of murder, grief and loss. This is the "sacrifice" salvation asks, and
gladly offers peace instead of this.
T 29 G 2. Swear not to die, you holy Son of God! You make a bargain that you
cannot keep. The Son of Life cannot be killed. He is immortal as his Father.
What he is cannot be changed. He is the only thing in all the universe that
MUST be one. What seems eternal all will have an end. The stars will
disappear, and night and day will be no more. All things that come and go, the
tides, the seasons, and the lives of men; all things that change with time, and
bloom and fade, will not return. Where time has set an end is not where the
eternal is. God's Son can never change by what men made of him. He will be as
he was and as he is, for time appointed not his destiny, nor set the hour of his
birth and death. Forgiveness will not change him. Yet time waits upon
forgiveness that the things of time may disappear because they have no use.
T 29 G 3. Nothing survives its purpose. If it be conceived to die, then die it
must unless it does not take this purpose as its own. Change is the only thing
that can be made a blessing here, where purpose is not fixed, however changeless
it appears to be. Think not that you can set a goal unlike God's purpose for
you, and establish it as changeless and eternal. You can give yourself a
purpose that you do not have. But you can NOT remove the power to change your
mind, and see another purpose there. Change is the greatest gift God gave to
all that you would make eternal, to ensure that only Heaven would not pass away.
T 29 G 4. You were not born to die. You cannot change, because your function
has been fixed by God. All other goals are set in time and change that time
might be preserved, excepting ONE. Forgiveness does not aim at
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keeping time, but at its ending, when it has no use. Its purpose ended, it is
gone. And where it once held seeming sway is now restored the function God
established for His Son in full awareness. Time can set no end to its
fulfillment, nor its changelessness. There is no death because the living share
the function their Creator gave to them. Life's function cannot be to die. It
must be life's extension, that it be as one forever and forever, without end.
T 29 G 5. This world will bind your feet and tie your hands and kill your body
only if you think that it was made to crucify God's Son. For even though it was
a dream of death, you need not let it stand for this to you. Let THIS be
changed, and nothing in the world but must be changed as well. For nothing here
but is defined as what you see it for. How lovely is the world whose purpose is
forgiveness of God's Son! How free from fear, how filled with blessing and with
happiness! And what a joyous thing it is to dwell a little while in such a
happy place! Nor can it be forgot, in such a world, it IS a little while ‘til
timelessness comes quietly to take the place of time.
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T 29 H. The Lingering Illusion
T 29 H 1. Seek not outside yourself. For it will fail, and you will weep each
time an idol falls. Heaven cannot be found where it is not, and there can be no
peace excepting there. Each idol that you worship when God calls will never
answer in His place. There IS no other answer you can substitute, and find the
happiness His answer brings. Seek not outside yourself. For all your pain
comes simply from a futile search for what you want, insisting where it must be
found. What if it is not there? Do you prefer that you be right or happy? Be
you glad that you are told where happiness abides, and seek no longer elsewhere.
You WILL fail. But it is given you to know the truth, and not to seek for it
outside yourself.
T 29 H 2. No one who comes here but must still have hope, some lingering
illusion, or some dream that there is something outside of himself that will
bring happiness and peace to him. If everything is in him, this cannot be so.
And therefore, by his coming, he denies the truth about himself, and seeks for
something MORE than everything, as if a part of it were separated off, and found
where all the rest of it is not. This is the purpose he bestows upon the body;
that it seek for what he lacks, and give him what would make himself complete.
And thus he wanders aimlessly about, in search of something that he cannot find,
believing that he is what he is not.
T 29 H 3. The lingering illusion will impel him to seek out a thousand idols,
and to seek beyond them for a thousand more. And each will fail him, all
excepting one; for he will die, and does not understand the idol that he seeks
IS but his death. Its form appears to be outside himself. Yet does he seek to
kill God's Son within, and prove that he is victor over him. This is the
purpose every idol has, for this the role that is assigned to it, and this the
role that cannot BE fulfilled.
T 29 H 4. Whenever you attempt to reach a goal in which the body's betterment
is cast as major beneficiary, you try to bring about your death. For you
believe that you can suffer lack, and lack IS death. To sacrifice is
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to give up, and thus to be without, and to have suffered loss. And by this
giving up is life renounced. Seek not outside yourself. The search implies you
are not whole within, and fear to look upon your devastation, and prefer to seek
outside yourself for what you are.
T 29 H 5. Idols must fall BECAUSE they have no life, and what is lifeless IS a
sign of death. You came to die, and what would you expect but to PERCEIVE the
signs of death you seek? No sadness and no suffering proclaims a message other
than an idol found that represents a parody of life which, in its lifelessness,
is really death, conceived as real and given living form. Yet each must fail
and crumble and decay, because a form of death cannot be life, and what is
sacrificed cannot be whole.
T 29 H 6. All idols of this world were made to keep the truth within from being
known to you; and to maintain allegiance to the dream that you must find what is
outside yourself to be complete and happy. It is vain to worship idols in the
hope of peace. God dwells within, and your completion lies in Him. No idol
takes His place. Look not to idols. Do not seek outside yourself. Let us
forget the purpose of the world the past has given it. For otherwise, the
future WILL be like the past, and but a series of depressing dreams, in which
all idols fail you, one by one, and you see death and disappointment everywhere.
T 29 H 7. To change all this, and open up a road of hope and of release in what
appeared to be an endless circle of despair, you need but to decide you do not
KNOW the purpose of the world. You give it goals it does not have, and thus do
you decide what it is for. You try to see in it a place of idols found outside
yourself, with power to make complete what is within by splitting what you are
between the two. You CHOOSE your dreams, for they are what you wish, perceived
as if it had been given you. Your idols do what you would have them do, and
have the power you ascribe to them. And you pursue them vainly in the dream,
because you want their power as your own.
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T 29 H 8. Yet where are dreams, but in a mind asleep? And can a dream succeed
in making real the pictures it projects outside itself? Save time, my brothers;
learn what time is FOR. And speed the end of idols in a world made sad and sick
by seeing idols there. Your holy minds are altars unto God, and where He is no
idols can abide. The fear of God is but the fear of loss of idols. It is not
the fear of loss of your reality. But you have made of your reality an idol,
which you must protect against the light of truth. And all the world becomes
the means by which this idol can be saved. Salvation thus appears to threaten
life, and offer death.
T 29 H 9. It is not so. Salvation seeks to prove there IS no death, and ONLY
life exists. The sacrifice of death is NOTHING lost. An idol CANNOT take the
place of God. Let Him remind you of His love for you, and do not seek to drown
His Voice in chants of deep despair to idols of yourself. Seek not outside your
Father for your hope. For hope of happiness is NOT despair.
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T 29 I. Christ and Anti-Christ
T 29 I 1. What is an idol? Do you think you know? For idols are unrecognized
as such, and never seen for what they really are. That is the only power which
they have. Their PURPOSE is obscure, and they are feared and worshipped, both,
BECAUSE you do not know what they are for, and why they have been made. An idol
is an image of your brother which you would value more than what he IS. Idols
are made that he may be replaced, no matter what their form. And it is this
which never is perceived and recognized. Be it a body or a thing, a place, a
situation or a circumstance, an object owned or wanted, or a right demanded or
achieved, it is the same.
T 29 I 2. Let not their form deceive you. Idols are but substitutes for your
reality. In some way, you believe they will complete your little self, for
safety in a world perceived as dangerous, with forces massed against your
confidence and peace of mind. They have the power to supply your lacks, and add
the value which you do not have. No one believes in idols who has not enslaved
himself to littleness and loss. And thus must seek beyond his little self for
strength to raise his head, and stand apart from all the misery the world
reflects. This is the penalty for looking not within for certainty and quiet
calm which liberates you from the world, and lets you stand apart, in quiet and
in peace.
T 29 I 3. An idol is a false impression, or a false belief; some form of
anti-Christ, which constitutes a gap between the Christ and what you see. An
idol is a wish, made tangible and given form, and thus perceived as real, and
seen outside the mind. Yet it is still a thought, and cannot leave the mind
that is its source. Nor is its form apart from the idea it represents. All
forms of anti-Christ oppose the Christ. And fall before His face like a dark
veil which seems to shut you off from Him, alone in darkness. Yet the light is
there. A cloud does not put out the sun. No more a veil can banish what it
seems to separate, nor darken by one whit the light itself.
T 29 I 4. This world of idols IS a veil across the face of Christ, because its
PURPOSE is to separate your brother from yourself. A dark and fearful
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purpose, yet a thought without the power to change one blade of grass from
something living to a sign of death. Its form is nowhere, for its source abides
within your mind, where God abideth not. Where is this place where what is
everywhere has been excluded, and been kept apart? What hand could be held up
to block God's way? Whose voice could make demand He enter not? The
"more-than-everything" is not a thing to make you tremble, and to quail in fear.
Christ's enemy is nowhere. He can take no form in which he EVER will be real.
T 29 I 5. What is an idol? Nothing! It must be believed before it seems to
come to life, and GIVEN power that it may be feared. Its life and power are its
believer's gift, and this is what the miracle restores to what HAS life and
power worthy of the gift of Heaven and eternal peace. The miracle does not
restore the truth, the light the veil between has not put out. It merely lifts
the veil, and LETS the truth shine unencumbered, being what it is. It does not
need belief to be itself, for it HAS BEEN created, so it IS. An idol is
ESTABLISHED by belief, and when it is withdrawn, the idol "dies."
T 29 I 6. This is the anti-Christ; the strange idea there is a power past
omnipotence, a place beyond the infinite, a time transcending the eternal. Here
the world of idols has been set by the idea this power and place and time are
given form, and shape the world where the impossible has happened. Here the
deathless come to die, the all-encompassing to suffer loss, the timeless to be
made the slaves of time. Here does the changeless change; the peace of God,
forever given to all living things, give way to chaos. And the Son of God, as
perfect, sinless and as loving as his Father, come to hate a little while; to
suffer pain, and finally to die.
T 29 I 7. Where is an idol? Nowhere! Can there be a gap in what is infinite,
a place where time can interrupt eternity? A place of darkness set where all is
light, a dismal alcove separated off from what is endless, HAS no place to be.
An idol is beyond where God has set all things forever, and has left no room for
anything to be EXCEPT His Will. Nothing and nowhere must an idol be, while God
is everything and everywhere.
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T 29 I 8. What purpose has an idol, then? What is it FOR? This is the only
question which has many answers, each depending on the one of whom the question
has been asked. The world BELIEVES in idols. No one comes unless he worshipped
them, and still attempts to seek for one that yet might offer him a gift reality
does not contain. Each worshipper of idols harbors hope his special deities
will give him more than other men possess. It MUST be more. It does not really
matter more of what; more beauty, more intelligence, more wealth, or even more
affliction and more pain. But MORE of something is an idol FOR. And when one
fails another takes its place, with hope of finding more of something else. Be
not deceived by forms the "something" takes. An idol is a means for getting
MORE. And it is THIS that is against God's Will.
T 29 I 9. God has not many sons, but only One. Who can have more, and who be
given less? In Heaven would the Son of God but laugh, if idols could intrude
upon his peace. It is for him the Holy Spirit speaks, and tells you idols HAVE
no purpose here. For more than Heaven can you never have. If Heaven is within,
why would you seek for idols which would make of Heaven less, to give you more
than God bestowed upon your brother and on you, as one with Him? God GAVE you
all there is. And to be sure you could not lose it, did He also give the same
to every living thing as well. And thus IS every living thing a part of you, as
of Himself. No idol can establish you as MORE than God. But you will never be
content with being LESS.
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T 29 J. The Forgiving Dream
T 29 J 1. The slave of idols is a WILLING slave. For willing he must be to let
himself bow down in worship to what has no life, and seek for power in the
powerless. What happened to the holy Son of God that this could be his wish; to
let himself fall lower than the stones upon the ground, and look to idols that
they raise him up? Hear, then, your story in the dream you made, and ask
yourself if it be not the truth that you believe that it is NOT a dream. [T259] A
dream of judgment came into the mind that God created perfect as Himself. And
in that dream was Heaven changed to hell, and God made enemy unto His Son.
T 29 J 2. How can God's Son awaken from the dream? It is a dream of judgment.
So must he judge not, and he WILL waken. For the dream will seem to last while
he is part of it. Judge not, for he who judges WILL have need of idols, which
will hold the judgment off from resting on himself. Nor can he know the Self he
has condemned. Judge not, because you make yourself a part of evil dreams,
where idols are your "true" identity, and your salvation from the judgment laid
in terror and in guilt upon yourself.
T 29 J 3. All figures in the dream are idols, made to save you from the dream.
Yet they are PART of what they have been made to save you FROM. Thus does an
idol KEEP the dream alive and terrible, for who could wish for one unless he
were in terror and despair? And this the idol represents, and so its worship IS
the worship of despair and terror, and the dream from which they come. Judgment
is an injustice to God's Son, and it IS justice that who judges him will not
escape the penalty he laid upon himself within the dream he made. God knows of
justice, not of penalty. But in the dream of judgment, you attack and are
condemned; and wish to be the slave of idols, which are interposed between your
judgment and the penalty it brings.
T 29 J 4. There CAN be no salvation in the dream as you are dreaming it. For
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. Little children, It is there. You do but dream, and idols are the toys
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you dream you play with. Who has need of toys but children? They pretend they
rule the world, and give their toys the power to move about, and talk and think
and feel, and speak for THEM. Yet everything their toys appear to do is in the
minds of those who play with them. But they are eager to forget that they made
up the dream in which their toys are real, nor recognize their wishes are their
own.
T 29 J 5. Nightmares are childish dreams. The toys have turned against the
child who thought he made them real. Yet CAN a dream attack? Or CAN a toy grow
large and dangerous and fierce and wild? This does the child believe, because
he fears his thoughts, and gives them to the toys instead. And their reality
becomes his own, because they seem to SAVE him from his thoughts. Yet do they
keep his thoughts alive and real, but seen outside himself, where they can turn
against him for his treachery to them. He thinks he NEEDS them that he may
escape his thoughts, because he thinks the thoughts are real. And so he makes
of anything a toy, to make his world remain outside himself, and play that HE is
but a part of IT.
T 29 J 6. There is a time when childhood should be passed and gone forever.
Seek not to retain the toys of children. Put them all away, for you have need
of them no more. The dream of judgment is a children's game, in which the child
becomes the father, powerful, but with the little wisdom of a child. What hurts
him is destroyed; what helps him, blessed. Except he judges this as does a
child, who does not know what hurts and what will heal. And bad things seem to
happen, and he is afraid of all the chaos in a world he thinks is governed by
the laws he made. Yet is the real world unaffected by the world he thinks is
real. Nor have its laws been changed because he did not understand.
T 29 J 7. The real world still is but a dream. Except the figures have been
changed. They are not seen as idols which betray. It is a dream in which no
one is used to substitute for something else, nor interposed between the
thoughts the mind conceives and what it sees. No one is used
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for something he is not, for childish things have all been put away. And what
was once a dream of judgment now has changed into a dream where all is joy,
because that is the PURPOSE which it has. Only forgiving dreams can enter here,
for time is almost over. And the forms which enter in the dream are now
perceived as brothers, not in judgment, but in love.
T 29 J 8. Forgiving dreams have little need to last. They are not made to
separate the mind from what it thinks. They do not seek to prove the dream is
being dreamed by someone else. And in these dreams a melody is heard which
everyone remembers, though he has not heard it since before all time began.
Forgiveness, once complete, brings timelessness so close the song of Heaven can
be heard, not with the ears, but with the holiness which never left the altar
which abides forever deep within the Son of God. And when he hears this song
again, he knows he never heard it not. And where is time, when dreams of
judgment have been put away?
T 29 J 9. Whenever you feel fear in any form, - and you ARE fearful if you do
not feel a deep content, a certainty of help, a calm assurance Heaven goes with
you, - be sure you made an idol, and believe it will betray you. For beneath
your hope that it will save you, lie the guilt and pain of self-betrayal and
uncertainty, so deep and bitter that the dream cannot conceal completely all
your sense of doom. Your self-betrayal MUST result in fear, for fear IS
judgment, leading surely to the frantic search for idols and for death.
T 29 J 10. Forgiving dreams remind you that you live in safety, and have
not attacked yourself. So do your childish terrors melt away, and dreams become
a sign that you have made a new beginning, not another try to worship idols, and
to KEEP attack. Forgiving dreams are kind to everyone who figures in the dream.
And so they bring the dreamer full release from dreams of fear. He does not
fear his judgment, for he has judged no one, nor has sought to be released
through judgment from what judgment must impose.
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And all the while he is remembering what he forgot when judgment seemed to be
the way to SAVE him from its penalty.
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Chapter XXX 30 - THE NEW BEGINNING
T 30 A. Introduction
T 30 A 1. The new beginning now becomes the focus of the curriculum. The goal
is clear, but now you need specific methods for attaining it. The speed by
which it can be reached depends on this one thing alone; your willingness to
practice every step. Each one will help a little every time it is attempted.
And together will these steps lead you from dreams of judgment to forgiving
dreams and out of pain and fear. They are not new to you, but they are more
ideas than rules of thought to you as yet. So now we need to practice them
awhile, until they are the rules by which you live. We seek to make them habits
now, so you will have them ready for whatever need.
T 30 B. Seven [T260] Rules for Decision
T 30 B 1. Decisions are continuous. You do not always know when you are making
them. But with a little practice with the ones you recognize, a set begins to
form which sees you through the rest. It is not wise to let yourself become
preoccupied with every step you take. The proper set, adopted consciously each
time you wake, will put you well ahead. And if you find resistance strong and
dedication weak, you are not ready. DO NOT FIGHT YOURSELF. But think about the
kind of day you want, and tell yourself there IS a way in which this very day
can happen just like that. Then try again to have the day you want.
T 30 B 2. First: [T261] (1) The outlook starts with this:
"Today I will make no decisions by myself."
T 30 B 3. This means that you are choosing not to be the judge of what to do.
But it must also mean you will not judge the situations where you will be called
upon to make response. For if you judge them, you have set the rules for how
you should react to them. And then another answer cannot but produce confusion
and uncertainty and fear.
T 30 B 4. This is your major problem now. You still make up your mind, and
THEN decide to ask what you should do. And what you hear may not resolve the
problem as YOU saw it first. This leads to fear because it contradicts
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what you perceive, and so you feel attacked [T262], and therefore angry. There
are rules by which this will not happen. But it does occur at first, while you
are learning how to hear.
T 30 B 5. Second: (2) Throughout the day, at any time you think of it, and have
a quiet moment for reflection, tell yourself again the kind of day you want; the
feelings you would have, the things you want to happen to you, and the things
you would experience, and say,
"If I make no decisions by myself,
This is the day that will be GIVEN me."
These two procedures, practiced well, will serve to let you be directed without
fear, for opposition will not first arise and then become a problem in itself.
T 30 B 6. But there will still be times when you have judged already. Now the
answer will provoke attack, unless you quickly straighten out your mind to want
an answer that will work. Be certain this has happened if you feel yourself
unwilling to sit by, and ask to have the answer given you. This means you HAVE
decided by yourself, and cannot see the QUESTION. Now you need a quick
restorative before you ask.
T 30 B 7. Third: (3) Remember once again the day you want, and recognize that
something has occurred which is not part of it. Then realize that you have
asked a question by yourself, and must have set an answer in your terms. Then
say,
"I have no question. I forgot what to decide."
This cancels out the terms which you have set, and lets the ANSWER show you what
the question must have really been.
T 30 B 8. Try to observe this rule without delay, despite your opposition. For
you have ALREADY gotten angry, and your fear of being answered in a different
way from what your version of the question [T263] asks will gain momentum, until
you believe the day you want is one in which you get YOUR answer to YOUR
question. And you will not get it, for it would destroy the day by
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robbing you of what you REALLY want. This can be very hard to realize, when
once you have decided by yourself the rules which promise you a happy day. Yet
this decision still can be undone, by simple methods which you can accept.
T 30 B 9. Fourth: (4) If you are so unwilling to receive you cannot even let
your question go, you can begin to change your mind with this:
"At least I can decide I do not LIKE what I feel now."
This much is obvious, and paves the way for the next easy step.
T 30 B 10. Fifth: (5) Having decided that you do not like the way you feel,
what could be easier than to continue with,
"And so I HOPE I have been wrong."
This works against the sense of opposition, and reminds you that help is not
being thrust upon you, but is something that you want and that you need, because
you do not like the way you feel. This tiny opening will be enough to let you
go ahead with just a few more steps you need to let yourself be helped.
T 30 B 11. Now you have reached the turning-point, because it has occurred to
you that YOU will gain if what you have decided is not so. Until this point is
reached, you will believe your happiness depends on being RIGHT. But this much
reason have you now attained; you would be better off if you were WRONG.
T 30 B 12. Sixth: (6) This tiny grain of wisdom will suffice to take you
further. You are not coerced, but merely hope to get a thing you want. And you
can say in perfect honesty,
"I WANT another way to look at this."
Now you have changed your mind about the day, and have remembered what you
REALLY want. Its purpose has no longer been obscured by the insane belief you
want it for the goal of being right when you are wrong. Thus is the readiness
for asking brought to your awareness, for you cannot be in conflict
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when you ask for what you want, and see that it IS this for which you ask.
T 30 B 13. Seventh: (7) This final step is but acknowledgment of lack of
opposition to be helped. It is a statement of an open mind, not certain yet,
but willing to be shown:
"Perhaps there IS another way to look at this.
What can I LOSE by asking?"
Thus you now can ask a question that makes sense, and so the answer will make
sense as well. Nor will you fight against it, for you see that it is YOU who
will be helped by it.
T 30 B 14. It must be clear that it is easier to have a happy day if you
prevent unhappiness from entering at all. But this takes practice in the rules
which will protect you from the ravages of fear. When this has been achieved,
the sorry dream of judgment has forever been undone. But meanwhile, you have
need for practicing the rules for its undoing. Let us, then, consider once
again the very first of the decisions which are offered here.
T 30 B 15. We said you can begin a happy day with the determination not to
make decisions by yourself. This seems to be a real decision in itself. And
yet, you CANNOT make decisions by yourself. The only question really is with
WHAT you choose to make them. That is really all. The first rule, then, is not
coercion, but a simple statement of a simple fact. You will not make decisions
by yourself WHATEVER you decide. For they are made with idols or with God. And
you ask help of Christ or anti-Christ, and which you choose will join with you,
and tell you what to do.
T 30 B 16. Your day is not at random. It is set by what you choose to
live it with, and how the friend whose counsel you have sought perceives your
happiness. You always ask advice before you can decide on anything. Let THIS
be understood, and you can see there cannot be coercion here, nor grounds for
opposition that you may be free. There IS no freedom from what must occur. And
if you think there is, you must be wrong.
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T 30 B 17. The second rule as well is but a fact. For you and your
adviser must agree on what you want before it can occur. It is but this
AGREEMENT which permits all things to happen. Nothing can be caused without
some form of union, be it with a dream of judgment or the Voice for God.
Decisions cause results BECAUSE they are not made in isolation. They are made
by you and your adviser, for yourself, and for the world as well. The day you
want you offer to the world, for it will be what you have asked for, and will
reinforce the rule of your adviser in the world. Whose kingdom is the world for
you today? What kind of day will you decide to have?
T 30 B 18. It needs but two who would have happiness this day to promise
it to all the world. It needs but two to understand that they cannot decide
alone, to guarantee the joy they asked for will be wholly shared. For they have
understood the basic law that makes decision powerful, and gives it all effects
that it will ever have. It needs but two. These two are joined before there
CAN be a decision. Let this be the one reminder that you keep in mind, and you
will have the day you want, and give it to the world by having it yourself.
Your judgment has been lifted from the world by your decision for a happy day.
And as you have received, so must you give.
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T 30 C. Freedom of Will
T 30 C 1. Do you not understand that to oppose the Holy Spirit is to fight
YOURSELF? He tells you but YOUR will; He speaks for YOU. In His Divinity is
but your own. And all He knows is but your knowledge, saved for you that you
may do your will through Him. God ASKS you do your will. He joins with YOU.
He did not set His kingdom up alone. And Heaven itself but represents your
will, where everything created is for you. No spark of life but was created
with your glad consent, as you would have it be. And not one Thought that God
has ever had but waited for your blessing to be born. God is no enemy to you.
He asks no more than that He hear you call Him "Friend."
T 30 C 2. How wonderful it is to do your will! For that is freedom. There is
nothing else that ever should be called by freedom's name. Unless you do your
will you are not free. And would God leave His Son without what he has chosen
for himself? God but ensured that you would never lose your will when He gave
you His perfect answer. Hear it now, that you may be reminded of His love, and
learn your will. God would not have His Son made prisoner to what he does not
want. He JOINS with you in willing you be free. And to oppose Him is to make a
choice against YOURSELF, and choose that YOU be bound.
T 30 C 3. Look once again upon your enemy, the one you chose to hate instead of
love. For thus was hatred born into the world, and thus the rule of fear
established there. Now hear God speak to you through Him Who is His Voice and
yours as well, reminding you that it is not your will to hate, and be a prisoner
to fear, a slave to death, a little creature with a little life. Your will is
boundless; it is not your will that it be bound. What lies in you has joined
with God Himself in all creation's birth. Remember Him Who has created you, and
through your will created everything. Not one created thing but gives you
thanks, for it is by your will that it was born. No light of Heaven shines
except for you, for it was set in Heaven by your will.
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T 30 C 4. What cause have you for anger in a world which merely waits your
blessing to be free? If you be prisoner, then God Himself could not be free.
For what is done to him whom God so loves is done to God Himself. Think not He
wills to bind you, Who has made you co-creator of the universe along with Him.
He would but keep your will forever and forever limitless.
T 30 C 5. This world awaits the freedom you will give when you have recognized
that YOU are free. But you will not forgive the world until you have forgiven
Him Who gave your will to you. For it is BY your will the world is given
freedom. Nor can you be free apart from Him Whose holy Will you share. God
turns to you to ask the world be saved, for by your own salvation it is healed.
And no one walks upon the earth but must depend on your decision, that he learn
death has no power over him because he shares your freedom, as he shares your
will. It IS your will to heal him, and because you have decided WITH him, he is
healed. And now is God forgiven, for you chose to look upon your brother as a
friend.
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T 30 D. Beyond All Idols
T 30 D 1. Idols are quite specific. But your will is universal, being
limitless. And so it has no form, nor is content for its expression in the
terms of form. Idols are limits. They are the belief that there are forms
which will bring happiness, and that, BY limiting, is all attained. It is as if
you said, "I have no need of everything. This little thing I want, and it will
be as everything to me." And this must fail to satisfy, because it IS your will
that everything be yours. Decide for idols, and you ASK for loss. Decide for
truth, and everything IS yours.
T 30 D 2. It is not form you seek. What form can be a substitute for God the
Father's love? What form can take the place of all the love in the Divinity of
God the Son? What idol can make two of what is one? And CAN the limitless be
limited? You do not WANT an idol. It is not your will to have one. It will
not bestow on you the gift you seek. When you decide upon the form of what you
want, you lose the understanding of its purpose. So you see your will within
the idol, thus reducing it to a specific form. Yet this could never BE your
will, because what shares in all creation cannot be content with small ideas and
little things.
T 30 D 3. Behind the search for every idol lies the yearning for completion.
Wholeness has no form because it is unlimited. To seek a special person or a
thing to add to you to make yourself complete can only mean that you believe
some form is missing. And by finding this, you will achieve completion in a
form you like. This is the PURPOSE of an idol; that you will not look beyond
it, to the source of the belief that you ARE incomplete. ONLY if you had sinned
could this be so. For sin is the idea you are alone, and separated off from
what is whole. And thus it would be necessary for the search for wholeness to
be made BEYOND the boundaries of limits on yourself.
T 30 D 4. It never is the IDOL that you want. But what you think it offers
you, you want indeed, and have the RIGHT to ask for. Nor could it be possible
it be denied. Your will to be complete is but God's will, and this is GIVEN you
by being His. God knows not form. He cannot answer you in terms which
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have no meaning. And your will could not be satisfied with empty forms, made
but to fill a gap which is not there. It is not this you WANT. Creation gives
no separate person and no separate thing the power to complete the Son of God.
What idol can be called upon to give the Son of God what he already has?
T 30 D 5. Completion is the FUNCTION of God's Son. He has no need to seek for
it at all. Beyond all idols stands his holy will to be but what he is. For
more than whole is meaningless. If there were change in him, if he could be
reduced to any form and limited to what is not in him, he would not be as God
created him. What idol can he need to be himself? For can he give a part of
him away? What is not whole cannot make whole. But what is really asked for
cannot BE denied. Your will IS granted. Not in any form that would content you
not, but in the whole completely lovely Thought God holds of you.
T 30 D 6. Nothing that God knows not exists. And what He knows exists forever,
changelessly. For thoughts endure as long as does the mind that thought of
them. And in the Mind of God there is no ending, nor a time in which His
Thoughts were absent, or could suffer change. Thoughts are not born and cannot
die. They share the attributes of their creator, nor have they a separate life
apart from his. The thoughts you think are in your mind, as you are in the Mind
Which thought of you. And so there are no separate parts in what exists within
God's Mind. It is forever one, eternally united and at peace.
T 30 D 7. Thoughts seem to come and go. Yet all this means is that you are
sometimes aware of them, and sometimes not. An unremembered thought is born
again to you when it returns to your awareness. Yet it did not die when you
forgot it. It was always there, but you were unaware of it. The Thought God
holds of you is perfectly unchanged by your forgetting. It will always be
exactly as it was before the time when you forgot, and will be just the same
when you remember. And it is the same within the interval when you forgot.
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T 30 D 8. The Thoughts of God are far beyond all change, and shine forever.
They await not birth. They wait for welcome and remembering. The Thought God
holds of you is like a star, unchangeable in an eternal sky. So high in Heaven
is it set that those outside of Heaven know not it is there. Yet still and
white and lovely will it shine through all eternity. There was no time it was
not there; no instant when its light grew dimmer or less perfect ever was.
T 30 D 9. Who knows the Father knows this light, for He is the eternal sky
which holds it safe, forever lifted up and anchored sure. Its perfect purity
does not depend on whether it is seen on earth or not. The sky embraces it, and
softly holds it in its perfect place, which is as far from earth as earth from
Heaven. It is not the distance nor the time which keeps this star invisible to
earth. But those who seek for idols cannot know this star is there.
T 30 D 10. Beyond all idols is the Thought God holds of you. Completely
unaffected by the turmoil and the terror of the world; the dreams of birth and
death that here are dreamed; the myriad of forms that fear can take; quite
undisturbed, the Thought God holds of you remains exactly as it always was.
Surrounded by a stillness so complete no sound of battle comes remotely near, it
rests in certainty and perfect peace. Here is your one reality kept safe,
completely unaware of all the world that worships idols, and that knows not God.
In perfect sureness of its changelessness, and of its rest in its eternal home,
the Thought God holds of you has never left the Mind of its Creator, Whom it
knows as its Creator knows that it is there.
T 30 D 11. Where could the Thought God holds of you exist but where YOU
are? Is your reality a thing apart from you, and in a world which your reality
knows nothing of? Outside you, there is no eternal sky, no changeless star, and
no reality. The Mind of Heaven's Son in Heaven is, for there the Mind of Father
and of Son joined in creation which can have no end. You
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have not two realities, but one. Nor can you be AWARE of more than one. An
idol OR the Thought God holds of you is your reality. Forget not, then, that
idols must keep hidden what you are, not from the Mind of God, but from your
own. The star shines still; the sky has never changed. But you, the holy Son
of God Himself, are unaware of your reality.
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T 30 E. The Truth Behind Illusions
T 30 E 1. You WILL attack what does not satisfy, and thus you will not see you
made it up. You ALWAYS fight illusions. For the truth behind them is so lovely
and so still in loving gentleness, were you aware of it you would forget
defensiveness entirely, and rush to its embrace. The truth could never be
attacked. And this you knew when you made idols. They were made that this
might be forgotten. You attack but false ideas, and never truthful ones. All
idols are the false ideas you made to fill the gap you think arose between
yourself and what is true. And you attack them for the things you think they
represent. What lies beyond them cannot BE attacked.
T 30 E 2. The wearying, dissatisfying gods you made are blown-up children's
toys. A child is frightened when a wooden head springs up as a closed box is
opened suddenly, or when a soft and silent woolly bear begins to squeak as he
takes hold of it. The rules he made for boxes and for bears have failed him,
and have broken his "control" of what surrounds him. And he is afraid because
he thought the rules protected him. Now must he learn the boxes and the bears
did not deceive him, broke no rules, nor mean his world is made chaotic and
unsafe. HE was mistaken. He misunderstood what made him safe, and thought that
it had left.
T 30 E 3. The gap that is not there is filled with toys in countless forms.
And each one seems to break the rules you set for it. It never WAS the thing
you thought. It must appear to break your rules for safety, since the rules
were wrong. But YOU are not endangered. You can laugh at popping heads and
squeaking toys, as does the child who learns they are no threat to him. Yet
while he likes to play with them, he still perceives them as obeying rules he
made for his enjoyment. So there still are rules which they can seem to break,
and frighten him. Yet IS he at the mercy of his toys? And CAN they represent a
threat to him?
T 30 E 4. Reality observes the laws of God, and not the rules you set. It is
His laws which guarantee your safety. All illusions that you believe about
yourself obey NO laws. They seem to dance a little while, according
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to the rules you set for them. But then they fall, and cannot rise again. They
are but toys, my children. Do not grieve for them. Their dancing never brought
you joy. But neither were they things to frighten you, nor make you safe if
they obeyed your rules. They must be neither cherished nor attacked, but merely
looked upon as children's toys, without a single meaning of their own. See one
in them, and you will see them all. See none in them, and they will touch you
not.
T 30 E 5. Appearances deceive BECAUSE they are appearances, and not reality.
Dwell not on them in any form. They but obscure reality, and they bring fear
BECAUSE they hide the truth. Do not attack what you have made to LET you be
deceived, for thus you prove that you HAVE been deceived. Attack HAS power to
make illusions real. Yet what it makes is nothing. Who could be made fearful
by a power that can have no real effects at all? What could it be but an
illusion, making things appear like to itself? Look calmly at its toys, and
understand that they are idols which but dance to vain desires. Give them not
your worship, for they are not there. Yet this is equally forgotten in attack.
God's Son needs no defense against his dreams. His idols do not threaten him at
all. His one mistake is that he thinks them real. What can the power of
illusions DO?
T 30 E 6. Appearances can but deceive the mind that WANTS to be deceived. And
you can make a simple choice that will forever place you far beyond deception.
You need not concern yourself with how this will be done, for this you cannot
understand. But you WILL understand that mighty changes have been quickly
brought about, when you decide one very simple thing; you do not WANT whatever
you believe an idol gives. For thus the Son of God declares that he is free of
idols. And thus IS he free.
T 30 E 7. Salvation is a paradox indeed! What could it be except a happy
dream? It asks you but that you forgive all things that no one ever did; to
overlook what is not there; and not to look upon the unreal as reality. You are
but asked to let your will be done, and seek no longer for the things
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you do not want. And you are asked to let yourself be free of all the dreams of
what you never were, and seek no more to substitute the strength of idle wishes
for the Will of God.
T 30 E 8. Here does the dream of separation start to fade and disappear. For
here the gap that is not there begins to be perceived without the toys of terror
that you made. No more than this is asked. Be glad indeed salvation asks so
little, not so much. It asks for NOTHING in reality. And even in illusions it
but asks forgiveness be the substitute for fear. Such is the only rule for
happy dreams. The gap is emptied of the toys of fear, and then its unreality is
plain. Dreams are for NOTHING. And the Son of God can have no need of them.
They offer him no single thing that he could ever want. He is delivered from
illusions by his will, and but restored to what he is. What could God's plan
for his salvation be, except a means to give him to Himself?
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T 30 F. The Only Purpose
T 30 F 1. The real world is the state of mind in which the only purpose of the
world is seen to be forgiveness. Fear is not its goal, and the ESCAPE from
guilt becomes its aim. The value of forgiveness is perceived, and takes the
place of idols, which are sought no longer, for their "gifts" are not held dear.
No rules are idly set, and no demands are made of anyone or anything to twist
and fit into the dream of fear. Instead, there is a wish to understand all
things created as they really are. And it is recognized that all things must be
first forgiven, and THEN understood.
T 30 F 2. Here, it is thought that understanding is ACQUIRED by attack. There,
it is clear that by attack is understanding LOST. The folly of pursuing guilt
as goal is fully recognized. And idols are not wanted there, for guilt is
understood as the sole cause of pain in any form. No one is tempted by its vain
appeal, for suffering and death have been perceived as things not wanted, and
not striven for. The possibility of freedom has been grasped and welcomed, and
the means by which it can be gained can now be understood. The world becomes a
place of hope, because its only purpose is to be a place where hope of happiness
can be fulfilled. And no one stands outside this hope, because the world has
been united in belief the purpose of the world is one which all must share, if
hope be more than just a dream.
T 30 F 3. Not yet is Heaven quite remembered, for the purpose of forgiveness
still remains. Yet everyone is certain he will go beyond forgiveness, and he
but remains until it is made perfect in himself. He has no wish for anything
but this. And fear has dropped away, because he is united in his purpose with
himself. There is a hope of happiness in him so sure and constant he can barely
stay, and wait a little longer with his feet still touching earth. Yet is he
glad to wait ‘til every hand is joined, and every heart made ready to arise and
go with him. For thus is HE made ready for the step in which is all forgiveness
left behind.
T 30 F 4. The final step is God's, because it is but God Who could create
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a perfect Son, and share His Fatherhood with him. No one outside of Heaven
knows how this can be, for understanding this is Heaven itself. Even the real
world has a purpose still beneath creation and eternity. But fear is gone,
because its purpose is forgiveness, not idolatry. And so is Heaven's Son
prepared to be Himself, and to remember that the Son of God knows everything his
Father understands, and understands it perfectly with Him.
T 30 F 5. The real world still falls short of this, for this is God's Own
purpose; only His, and yet completely shared and perfectly fulfilled. The real
world is a state in which the mind has learned how easily do idols go when they
are still perceived, but wanted not. How willingly the mind can let them go
when it has understood that idols are nothing and nowhere, and are purposeless.
For only then can guilt and sin be seen without a purpose, and as meaningless.
T 30 F 6. Thus is the real world's purpose gently brought into awareness, to
replace the goal of sin and guilt. And all that stood between your image of
yourself and what you are, forgiveness washes joyfully away. Yet God need not
create His Son again, that what is his be given back to him. The gap between
your brother and yourself was never THERE. And what the Son of God knew in
creation he must know again.
T 30 F 7. When brothers join in purpose in the world of fear, they stand
already at the edge of the real world. Perhaps they still look back, and think
they see an idol that they want. Yet has their path been surely set away from
idols toward reality. For when they joined their hands, it was Christ's hand
they took, and they will look on Him Whose hand they hold. The face of Christ
is looked upon before the Father is remembered. For He must be unremembered
‘til His Son has reached beyond forgiveness, to the love of God. Yet is the
love of Christ accepted first. And then will come the knowledge They are One.
T 30 F 8. How light and easy is the step across the narrow boundaries of
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the world of fear, when you have recognized Whose hand you hold! Within your
hand is everything you need to walk with perfect confidence away from fear
forever, and to go straight on, and quickly reach the gate of Heaven itself.
For He Whose hand you hold was waiting but for you to join Him. Now that you
have come, would HE delay in showing you the way that He must walk with you?
His blessing lies on you as surely as His Father's love rests upon Him. His
gratitude to you is past your understanding, for you have enabled Him to rise
from chains, and go with you, together, to His Father's house.
T 30 F 9. An ancient hate is passing from the world. And with it goes all
hatred and all fear. Look back no longer, for what lies ahead is all you ever
wanted in your hearts. Give up the world! But not to sacrifice. You never
WANTED it. What happiness have you sought here that did not bring you pain?
What moment of content has not been bought at fearful price in coins of
suffering? Joy HAS no cost. It is your sacred right, and what you pay for is
not happiness. Be speeded on your way by honesty, and let not your experiences
here deceive in retrospect. They were not free from bitter cost and joyless
consequence.
T 30 F 10. Do not look back except in honesty. And when an idol tempts
you, think of this:
There never was a time an idol brought
You anything except the "gift" of guilt.
Not one was bought except at cost of pain,
Nor was it ever paid by you alone.
Be merciful unto your brother, then. And do not choose an idol thoughtlessly,
remembering that he will pay the cost as well as you. For he will be delayed
when you look back, and you will not perceive Whose loving hand you hold. Look
forward, then, and walk in confidence, with happy hearts that beat in hope and
do not pound in fear.
T 30 F 11. The Will of God forever lies in those whose hands are joined.
Until they joined, they thought He was their enemy. But when they joined and
shared a purpose, they were free to learn their will is one. And thus the
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Will of God must reach to their awareness. Nor can they forget for long that It
is but their own.
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T 30 G. The Justification for Forgiveness
T 30 G 1. Anger is NEVER justified. Attack has NO foundation. It is here
escape from fear begins, and will be made complete. Here is the real world
given in exchange for dreams of terror. For it is on this forgiveness rests,
and is but natural. You are not asked to offer pardon where attack is due, and
would be justified. For this would mean that you forgive a sin by overlooking
what is really there. This is not pardon. For it would assume that, by
responding in a way which is not justified, your pardon will become the answer
to attack that has been made. And thus is pardon inappropriate, by being
granted where it is not due.
T 30 G 2. Pardon is ALWAYS justified. It has a SURE foundation. You do not
forgive the unforgivable, nor overlook a real attack that calls for punishment.
Salvation does not lie in being asked to make unnatural responses which are
inappropriate to what is real. Instead, it merely asks that you respond
appropriately to what is not real by not perceiving what has not occurred. If
pardon were unjustified, you would be asked to sacrifice your rights when you
return forgiveness for attack. But you are merely asked to see forgiveness as
the natural reaction to distress which rests on error, and thus calls for help.
Forgiveness is the ONLY sane response. It KEEPS your rights from being
sacrificed.
T 30 G 3. This understanding is the only change that lets the real world rise
to take the place of dreams of terror. Fear cannot arise unless attack is
justified, and if it had a real foundation, pardon would have none. The real
world is achieved when you perceive the basis of forgiveness is quite real and
fully justified. While you regard it as a gift unwarranted, it must UPHOLD the
guilt you would "forgive." Unjustified forgiveness IS attack. And this is all
the world can ever give. It pardons "sinners" sometimes, but remains aware that
they have sinned. And so they do not merit the forgiveness that it gives.
T 30 G 4. This is the false forgiveness which the world employs to KEEP
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the sense of sin alive. And recognizing God is just, it seems impossible His
pardon could be real. Thus is the fear of God the sure result of seeing pardon
as unmerited. No one who sees himself as guilty can avoid the fear of God. But
he is saved from this dilemma if he can forgive. The mind must think of its
Creator as it looks upon itself. If you can see your brother merits pardon, you
have learned forgiveness is your right as much as his. Nor will you think that
God intends for you a fearful judgment which your brother does not merit. For
it is the truth that you can merit neither more nor less than he.
T 30 G 5. Forgiveness recognized as merited will heal. It gives the miracle
its strength to overlook illusions. This is how you learn that you must be
forgiven, too. There can be no appearance that can NOT be overlooked. For if
there were, it would be necessary first there be some sin which stands beyond
forgiveness. There would be an error that is more than a mistake; a special
form of error which remains unchangeable, eternal, and beyond correction or
escape. There would be one mistake which had the power to undo creation, and to
make a world which could replace it, and destroy the Will of God. Only if this
were possible could there be some appearances which could withstand the miracle,
and not be healed by it.
T 30 G 6. There is no surer proof idolatry is what you wish than a belief there
are some forms of sickness and of joylessness forgiveness cannot heal. This
means that you prefer to keep some idols, and are not prepared, as yet, to let
all idols go. And thus you think that some appearances are real, and not
appearances at all. Be not deceived about the meaning of a fixed belief that
some appearances are harder to look past than others are. It ALWAYS means you
think forgiveness must be limited. And you have set a goal of partial pardon
and a limited escape from guilt for YOU. What can this be except a false
forgiveness of yourself, and everyone who seems apart from you?
T 30 G 7. It must be true the miracle can heal ALL forms of sickness, or
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it cannot heal. Its purpose cannot be to judge which forms are real, and which
appearances are true. If one appearance must remain apart from healing, one
illusion must be part of truth. And you could not escape all guilt, but only
some of it. You must forgive God's Son ENTIRELY. Or you will keep an image of
yourself that is not whole, and will remain afraid to look within, and find
escape from every idol there. Salvation rests on faith there CANNOT be some
forms of guilt which you cannot forgive. And so there cannot be appearances
which have replaced the truth about God's Son.
T 30 G 8. Look on your brother with the willingness to see him as he is. And
do not keep a part of him outside your willingness that he be healed. To heal
is to make whole. And what is whole can have no missing parts that have been
kept outside. Forgiveness rests on recognizing this, and being glad there
cannot be some forms of sickness which the miracle must lack the power to heal.
T 30 G 9. God's Son is perfect, or he cannot BE God's Son. Nor will you know
him, if you think he does not merit the escape from guilt in ALL its forms and
ALL its consequence. There is no way to think of him but this, if you would
know the truth about yourself:
"I thank You, Father, for Your perfect Son,
And in his glory will I see my own."
Here is the joyful statement that there are no forms of evil which can overcome
the Will of God; the glad acknowledgment that guilt has not succeeded by your
wish to make illusions real. And what is this except a simple statement of the
truth?
T 30 G 10. Look on your brother with this hope in you, and you will
understand he could not make an error that could change the truth in him. It is
not difficult to overlook mistakes that have been given no effects. But what
you see as having power to make an idol of the Son of God you will NOT pardon.
For he has become to you a graven image, and a sign of death. Is
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THIS your Savior? Is his Father wrong about His Son? Or have YOU been deceived
in him who has been given you to heal, for YOUR salvation and deliverance?
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T 30 H. The New Interpretation
T 30 H 1. Would God have left the meaning of the world to your interpretation?
If He had, it HAS no meaning. For it cannot be that meaning changes constantly,
and yet is true. The Holy Spirit looks upon the world as with one purpose,
changelessly established. And no situation can affect its aim, but must be in
accord with it. For only if its aim could change with every situation could
each one be open to interpretation which is different every time you think of
it. You add an element into the script you write for every minute in the day,
and all that happens now means something else. You take away another element,
and every meaning shifts accordingly.
T 30 H 2. What do your scripts reflect except your plans for what the day
SHOULD be? And thus you judge disaster and success, advance, retreat, and gain
and loss. These judgments all are made according to the roles the script
assigns. The fact they have no meaning in themselves is demonstrated by the
ease with which these labels change with other judgments, made on different
aspects of experience. And then, in looking back, you think you see another
meaning in what went before. What have you really done, except to show there
WAS no meaning there? But you assigned a meaning in the light of goals that
change, with every meaning shifting as they change.
T 30 H 3. Only a constant purpose can endow events with stable meaning. But it
must accord ONE meaning to them all. If they are given different meanings, it
must be that they reflect but different purposes. And this is all the meaning
that they have. Can this BE meaning? Can confusion be what meaning means?
Perception cannot be in constant flux, and make allowance for stability of
meaning anywhere. Fear is a judgment never justified. Its presence has no
meaning but to show you wrote a fearful script, and are afraid accordingly. But
not because the thing you fear has fearful meaning in itself.
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T 30 H 4. A common PURPOSE is the only means whereby perception can be
stabilized, and one interpretation given to the world and all experiences here.
In this shared purpose is one judgment shared by everyone and everything you
see. You do not have to judge, for you have learned one meaning has been given
everything, and you are glad to see it everywhere. It cannot change BECAUSE you
would perceive it everywhere, unchanged by circumstance. And so you OFFER it to
all events, and let them offer you stability.
T 30 H 5. Escape from judgment simply lies in this; all things have but one
purpose, which you share with all the world. And nothing in the world can be
opposed to it, for it belongs to everything as it belongs to you. In single
purpose is the end of all ideas of sacrifice, which must assume a different
purpose for the one who gains and him who loses. There could be no thought of
sacrifice apart from this idea. And it is this idea of different goals which
makes perception shift and meaning change. In one, united goal does this become
impossible, for your agreement makes interpretation stabilize and last.
T 30 H 6. How can communication really be established while the symbols which
are used mean different things? The Holy Spirit's goal gives one
interpretation, meaningful to you and to your brother. Thus can you communicate
with him, and he with you. In symbols which you both can understand, the
sacrifice of meaning is undone. All sacrifice entails the loss of your ability
to see relationships among events. And looked at separately, they HAVE no
meaning. For there is no light by which they can be seen and understood. They
have no purpose. And what they are for cannot be seen. In any thought of loss,
there IS no meaning. No one has agreed with you on what it means. It is a part
of a distorted script, which cannot be interpreted with meaning. It must be
forever unintelligible. This is not communication. Your dark dreams are but
the senseless, isolated scripts you write in sleep. Look not to separate dreams
for meaning. Only dreams of pardon can be shared. They mean the same to both
of you.
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T 30 H 7. Do not interpret out of solitude, for what you see means nothing. It
will shift in what it stands for, and you will believe the world is an uncertain
place, in which you walk in danger and uncertainty. It is but your
INTERPRETATIONS which are lacking in stability, for they are not in line with
what you really are. This is a state so seemingly unsafe that fear MUST rise.
Do not continue thus, my brothers. We have ONE Interpreter. And through His
use of symbols are we joined, so that they mean the same to all of us. Our
common language lets us speak to all our brothers, and to understand with them
forgiveness has been given to us all, and thus we can communicate again.
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T 30 I. Changeless Reality
T 30 I 1. Appearances deceive, but can be changed. Reality is changeless. It
does not deceive at all, and if you fail to see beyond appearances you ARE
deceived. For everything you see will change, and yet you thought it real
before, and now you think it real again. Reality is thus reduced to form, and
capable of change. Reality is changeless. It is this that makes it real, and
keeps it separate from ALL appearances. It must transcend all form to be
itself. It CANNOT change.
T 30 I 2. The miracle is means to demonstrate that all appearances can change
because they ARE appearances, and cannot have the changelessness reality
entails. The miracle attests salvation from appearances by SHOWING they can
change. Your brother has a changelessness in him beyond appearance and
deception, both. It is obscured by changing views of him which you PERCEIVE as
his reality. The happy dream about him takes the form of the appearance of his
perfect health, his perfect freedom from all forms of lack, and safety from
disaster of all kinds. The miracle is proof he is not bound by loss or
suffering in any form, because it can so easily be CHANGED. This demonstrates
that it was NEVER real, and could not stem from his reality. For that is
changeless, and has no effects which anything in Heaven or on earth could ever
alter. But appearances are shown to be unreal BECAUSE they change.
T 30 I 3. What is temptation but a wish to make illusions real? It does not
seem to be the wish that no reality be so. Yet it is an assertion that some
forms of idols have a powerful appeal which makes them harder to resist than
those you would not WANT to have reality. Temptation, then, is nothing more
than this; a prayer the miracle touch not some dreams, but keep their unreality
obscure, and give to them reality instead. And Heaven gives no answer to the
prayer, nor can a miracle be given you to heal appearances you do not like. You
have established LIMITS. What you ask IS given you, but not of God Who knows no
limits. You have limited YOURSELF.
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T 30 I 4. Reality is changeless. Miracles but show what you have interposed
between reality and your awareness is unreal, and does not interfere at all.
The cost of the belief there must be some appearances beyond the hope of change
is that the miracle cannot come forth from you consistently. For you have ASKED
it be withheld from power to heal all dreams. There is no miracle you cannot
have when you DESIRE healing. But there is no miracle that can be given you
UNLESS you want it. Choose what you would heal, and He Who gives all miracles
has not been given freedom to bestow His gifts upon God's Son. When he is
tempted, he denies reality. And he becomes the willing slave of what he chose
instead.
T 30 I 5. BECAUSE reality is changeless is a miracle already there to heal all
things that change, and offer them to you to see in happy form, devoid of fear.
It will be given you to look upon your brother thus. But not while you would
have it otherwise in some respects. For this but means you would not have him
healed and whole. The Christ in him is perfect. Is it this that you would look
upon? Then let there be no dreams about him which you would prefer to seeing
this. And you will see the Christ in him because you LET Him come to you. And
when He has appeared to you, you will be certain you are like Him, for He is the
changeless in your brother AND in you.
T 30 I 6. This will you look upon when you decide there is not one appearance
you would hold in place of what your brother really is. Let no temptation to
prefer a dream allow uncertainty to enter here. Be not made guilty and afraid
when you are tempted by a dream of what he is. But do not give it power to
replace the changeless in him in your sight of him. There is no false
appearance but will fade, if you request a miracle instead. There is no pain
from which he is not free, if you would have him be but what he is. Why should
you fear to see the Christ in him? You but behold YOURSELF in what you see. As
he is healed are you made free of guilt, for his appearance IS your own to you.
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Chapter XXXI 31 - THE SIMPLICITY OF SALVATION
T 31 A. Introduction
T 31 A 1. How simple is salvation! All it says is what was never true is not
true now, and never will be. The impossible has not occurred, and can have no
effects. And that is all. Can this be hard to learn by anyone who WANTS it to
be true? Only unwillingness to learn it could make such an easy lesson
difficult. How hard is it to see that what is false can not be true, and what
is true can not be false? You can no longer say that you perceive no
differences in false and true. You have been told exactly how to tell one from
the other, and just what to do if you become confused. Why, then, do you
persist in learning not such simple things?
T 31 A 2. There IS a reason. But confuse it not with difficulty in the simple
things salvation asks you learn. It teaches but the very obvious. It merely
goes from one apparent lesson to the next, in easy steps which lead you gently
from one to another, with no strain at all. This cannot be confusing, yet you
ARE confused. For somehow you believe that what is totally confused is easier
to learn and understand. What you have taught yourselves is such a giant
learning feat it is indeed incredible. But you accomplished it because you
wanted to, and did not pause in diligence to judge it hard to learn, or too
complex to grasp.
T 31 A 3. No one who understands what you have learned, how carefully you
learned it, and the pains to which you went to practice and repeat the lessons
endlessly, in every form you could conceive of them, could ever doubt the power
of your learning skill. There is no greater power in the world. The world was
made by it, and even now depends on nothing else. The lessons you have taught
yourselves have been so overlearned and fixed they rise like heavy curtains to
obscure the simple and the obvious. Say not you cannot learn THEM. For your
power to learn is strong enough to teach you that your will is not your own,
your thoughts do not belong to you, and even you [T264] are someone else.
T 31 A 4. Who could maintain that lessons such as these are easy? Yet you have
learned more than this. You have continued, taking every step,
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however difficult, without complaint, until a world was built that suited you.
And every lesson that makes up the world arises from the first accomplishment of
learning; an enormity so great the Holy Spirit's Voice seems small and still
before its magnitude. The world began with one strange lesson, powerful enough
to render God forgotten and His Son an alien to himself, in exile from the home
where God Himself established him. You who have taught yourselves the Son of
God is guilty, say not that you cannot learn the simple things salvation teaches
you!
T 31 A 5. Learning is an ability you made, and gave yourselves. It was not
made to do the Will of God, but to uphold a wish that It could be opposed, and
that a will apart from It was yet more real than It. And this has learning
sought to demonstrate, and you have learned what it was made to teach. Now does
your ancient overlearning stand implacable before the Voice of truth, and teach
you that Its lessons are not true; too hard to learn, too difficult to see, and
too opposed to what is really true. Yet you WILL learn them, for their learning
is the only purpose for your learning skill the Holy Spirit sees in all the
world. His simple lessons in forgiveness have a power mightier than yours,
because they call from God and from your Self to you.
T 31 A 6. Is this a LITTLE Voice, so small and still It cannot rise above the
senseless noise of sounds which have no meaning? God willed not His Son forget
Him. And the power of His Will is in the Voice that speaks for Him. Which
lesson will you learn? What outcome is inevitable, sure as God, and far beyond
all doubt and question? Can it be your little learning, strange in outcome, and
incredible in difficulty will withstand the simple lessons being taught to you
in every moment of each day, since time began and learning had been made?
T 31 A 7. The lessons to be learned are only two. Each has its outcome in a
different world. And each world follows surely from its source. The certain
outcome of the lesson that God's Son is guilty is the world you see.
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It IS a world of terror and despair. Nor is there hope of happiness in it.
There is no plan for safety you can make that ever will succeed. There is no
joy that you can seek for here, and hope to find. Yet this is not the only
outcome which your learning can produce. However much you may have overlearned
your chosen task, the lesson which reflects the love of God is stronger still.
And you WILL learn God's Son is innocent, and see another world.
T 31 A 8. The outcome of the lesson that God's Son is guiltless is a world in
which there is no fear, and everything is lit with hope, and sparkles with a
gentle friendliness. Nothing but calls to you in soft appeal to be your friend,
and let it join with you. And never does a call remain unheard, misunderstood,
nor left unanswered in the selfsame tongue in which the call was made. And you
will understand it was this call that everyone and everything within the world
has ALWAYS made, but you had not perceived it as it was. And now you see you
were mistaken. You had been deceived by forms the call was hidden in. And so
you did not hear it, and had lost a friend who always wanted to be part of you.
The soft, eternal calling of each part of God's creation to the whole is heard
throughout the world this second lesson brings.
T 31 A 9. There is no living thing which does not share the universal will that
it be whole, and that you do not leave its call unheard. Without your answer is
it left to die, as it is saved from death when you have heard its calling as the
ancient call to life, and understood that it is but your own. The Christ in you
remembers God with all the certainty with which He knows His love. But only if
His Son is innocent can He be Love. For God were fear indeed if he whom He
created innocent could be a slave to guilt. God's perfect Son remembers his
creation. But in guilt he has forgotten what he really is.
T 31 A 10. The fear of God results as surely from the lesson that His Son
is guilty as God's love must be remembered when he learns his innocence.
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For hate must father fear, and look upon its father as itself. How wrong are
you who fail to hear the call that echoes past each seeming call to death, that
sings behind each murderous attack, and pleads that love restore the dying
world! You do not understand Who calls to you beyond each form of hate, each
call to war. Yet you will recognize Him as you give Him answer in the language
that He calls. He will appear when you have answered Him, and you will know in
Him that God IS Love.
T 31 A 11. What is temptation but a wish to make the wrong decision on
what you would learn, and have an outcome that you do not want? It is the
recognition that it is a state of mind unwanted that becomes the means whereby
the choice is reassessed; another outcome seen to be preferred. You are
deceived if you believe you want disaster and disunity and pain. Hear not the
call for this within yourself. But listen, rather, to the deeper call beyond
it, that appeals for peace and joy. And all the world will GIVE you joy and
peace. For as you hear, you answer. And behold! Your answer is the proof of
what you learned. Its outcome is the world you look upon.
T 31 A 12. Let us be still an instant, and forget all things we ever
learned, all thoughts we had, and every preconception which we hold of what
things mean, and what their purpose is. Let us remember not our own ideas of
what the world is for. We do not know. Let every image held of everyone be
loosened from our minds and swept away. Be innocent of judgment, unaware of any
thoughts of evil or of good that ever crossed your mind of anyone. Now do we
know him not. But you ARE free to learn of him, and learn of him anew. Now is
he born again to you, and you are born again to him, without the past that
sentenced him to die, and you with him. Now is he free to live, as you are
free, because an ancient learning passed away, and left a place for truth to be
reborn.
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T 31 B. The Illusion of an Enemy
T 31 B 1. An ancient lesson is not overcome by the opposing of the new and old.
It is not vanquished that the truth be known, nor fought against to lose to
truth's appeal. There is no battle which must be prepared; no time to be
expended, and no plans that need be laid for bringing in the new. There IS an
ancient battle being waged AGAINST the truth, but truth does not respond. Who
could be hurt in such a war, unless he hurts himself? He has no enemy in truth.
And can he be assailed by dreams?
T 31 B 2. Let us review again what seems to stand between you and the truth of
what you are. For there are steps in its relinquishment. The first is a
decision that YOU make. But afterwards, the truth is GIVEN you. You would
ESTABLISH truth. And by your wish, you set two choices to be made each time you
think you must decide on anything. Neither is true. Nor are they different.
Yet must we see them both, before you can look past them, to the one alternative
that IS a different choice. But not in dreams you made, that this might be
obscured to you.
T 31 B 3. What YOU would choose between is not a choice, and gives but the
illusion it is free, for it will have one outcome either way. Thus is it really
not a choice at all. The leader and the follower emerge as separate roles, each
seeming to possess advantages you would not want to lose. So in their fusion
there appears to be the hope of satisfaction and of peace. You see yourself
divided into both these roles, forever split between the two. And every friend
or enemy becomes a means to help you save yourself from this.
T 31 B 4. Perhaps you call it love. Perhaps you think that it is murder
justified at last. You hate the one you gave the leader's role when you would
have it, and you hate as well his not assuming it, at times you want to let the
follower in you arise, and give away the role of leadership. And this is what
you made your brother FOR, and learned to think that this his purpose IS.
Unless he serves it, he has not fulfilled the function that was given him by
you. And thus he merits death, because he has no purpose
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and no usefulness to you.
T 31 B 5. And what of him? What does he want of you? What could he want, but
what you want of him? Herein is life as easily as death, for what you choose,
you choose as well for him. Two calls you make to him, as he to you. Between
THESE two IS choice, because from them there IS a different outcome. If he be
the leader or the follower to you, it matters not, for you have chosen death.
But if he calls for death or calls for life; for hate or for forgiveness and for
help, is not the same in outcome. Hear the one, and you are separate from him,
and are lost. But hear the other, and you join with him, and in your answer is
salvation found. The voice you hear in him is but your own. What does he ask
you for? And listen well! For he is asking what will come to you because you
see an image of YOURSELF, and hear YOUR voice requesting what you WANT.
T 31 B 6. Before you answer, pause to think of this:
"The answer that I give my brother is
What I am asking for. And what I learn
Of him is what I learn about myself."
Then let us wait an instant and be still, forgetting everything we thought we
heard; remembering how much we do not know. This brother neither leads nor
follows us, but walks beside us on the selfsame road. He is like us, as near or
far away from what we want as we will let him be. We make no gains he does not
make with us, and we fall back if he does not advance. Take not his hand in
anger but in love, for in his progress do you count your own. And we go
separately along the way unless you keep him safely by your side.
T 31 B 7. Because he is your equal in God's love, you will be saved from all
appearances, and answer to the Christ Who calls to you. Be still and listen.
Think not ancient thoughts. Forget the dismal lessons that you learned about
this Son of God who calls to you. Christ calls to all with equal tenderness,
seeing no leaders and no followers, and hearing but one answer to them all.
Because He hears one Voice, He cannot hear a different
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answer from the one He gave when God appointed Him His only Son.
T 31 B 8. Be very still an instant. Come without all thought of what you ever
learned before, and put aside all images you made. The old will fall away
before the new without your opposition or intent. There will be no attack upon
the things you thought were precious, and in need of care. There will be no
assault upon your wish to hear a call that never has been made. Nothing will
hurt you in this holy place, to which you come to listen silently, and learn the
truth of what you really want. No more than this will you be asked to learn.
But as you hear it, you will understand you need but come away without the
thoughts you did not want, and that were never true.
T 31 B 9. Forgive your brother all appearances, which are but ancient lessons
that you taught yourself about the sinfulness in YOU. Hear but his call for
mercy and release from all the fearful images he holds of what he is, and of
what you must be. He is afraid to walk with you, and thinks perhaps a bit
behind, a bit ahead, would be a safer place for him to be. Can YOU make
progress if you think the same, advancing only when he would step back, and
falling back when he would go ahead? For so do you forget the journey's goal,
which is but to decide to walk WITH him, so neither leads nor follows. Thus it
is a way you go TOGETHER, not alone. And in this choice is learning's outcome
changed, for Christ has been reborn to both of you.
T 31 B 10. An instant spent without your old ideas of who your great
Companion is and what he SHOULD be asking for, will be enough to let this
happen. And you will perceive his purpose is the same as yours. He asks for
what YOU want, and needs the same as YOU. It takes, perhaps, a different form
in him, but it is not the form you answer to. He asks and you receive, for you
have come with but one purpose; that you both may learn you love each other with
a brother's love. And as a brother, must his Father
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be the same as yours, as he is like yourself.
T 31 B 11. Together is your joint inheritance remembered and accepted by
you both. Alone it is denied to both of you. Is it not clear that while you
still insist on leading or on following, you think you walk alone, with no one
by your side? This is the road to nowhere, for the light cannot be given while
you walk alone, and so you cannot see which way you go. And thus there is
confusion, and a sense of endless doubting, as you stagger back and forward in
the darkness and alone. Yet these are but appearances of what the journey is,
and how it must be made. For next to you is One Who holds the light before you,
so that every step is made in certainty and sureness of the road. A blindfold
can indeed obscure your sight, but cannot make the way itself grow dark. And He
Who travels with you HAS the light.
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T 31 C. The Self-Accused
T 31 C 1. Only the self-accused condemn. As you prepare to make a choice that
will result in different outcomes, there is first one thing that must be
overlearned. It must become a habit of response so typical of everything you do
that it becomes your first response to all temptation, and to every situation
that occurs. Learn this, and learn it well, for it is here delay of happiness
is shortened by a span of time you cannot realize. You never hate your brother
for his sins, but ONLY for your own. Whatever form his sins appear to take it
but obscures the fact that you believe them [T265] to be yours, and therefore
meriting a "just" attack.
T 31 C 2. Why should his sins BE sins, if you did not believe they could not be
forgiven in you? Why are they real in him, if you did not believe that they are
your reality? And why do you attack them everywhere except you hate yourself?
Are YOU a sin? You answer "yes" whenever you attack, for by attack do you
assert that you are guilty, and must give as you deserve. And what can you
deserve but what you ARE? If you did not believe that you deserved attack, it
never would occur to you to GIVE attack to anyone at all. Why should you? What
would be the gain to you? What could the outcome be that you would WANT? And
how COULD murder bring you benefit?
T 31 C 3. Sins are in bodies. They are not perceived in minds. They are not
seen as purposes, but actions. Bodies act, and minds do not. And therefore
must the body be at fault for what it does. It is not seen to be a passive
thing, obeying your commands, and doing nothing of itself at all. If you are
sin you ARE a body, for the mind acts not. And purpose must be in the body, not
the mind. The body must act on its own, and motivate itself. If you are sin,
you lock the mind within the body, and you give its purpose to its prison-house,
which acts instead of it. A jailer does not follow orders, but ENFORCES orders
on the prisoner.
T 31 C 4. Yet is the BODY prisoner, and NOT the mind. The body thinks no
thoughts. It has no power to learn, to pardon, nor enslave. It gives no orders
that the mind need serve, nor sets conditions that it must obey. It
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holds in prison but the willing mind that would abide in it. It sickens at the
bidding of the mind that would become its prisoner. And it grows old and dies,
because that mind is sick within itself. Learning is all that causes change.
And so the body, where no learning can occur, could never change unless the mind
preferred the body change in its appearances, to suit the purpose given by the
mind. For it CAN learn, and THERE is all change made.
T 31 C 5. The mind that thinks it is a sin has but one purpose; that the body
be the source of sin, and keep it in the prison-house it chose and guards, and
holds itself at bay, a sleeping prisoner to the snarling dogs of hate and evil,
sickness and attack; of pain and age, of grief and suffering. Here are the
thoughts of sacrifice preserved, for here guilt rules, and orders that the world
be like itself; a place where nothing can find mercy, or survive the ravages of
fear except in murder and in death. For here are you made sin, and sin cannot
abide the joyous and the free, for they are enemies which sin must kill. In
death is sin preserved, and those who think that they are sin must die for what
they think they are.
T 31 C 6. Let us be glad that you WILL see what you believe, and that it has
been given you to CHANGE what you believe. The body will but follow. It can
never lead you where you would not be. It does not guard your sleep, nor
interfere with your awakening. Release your body from imprisonment, and you
will see no one as prisoner to what you have escaped. You will not want to hold
in guilt your chosen enemies, nor keep in chains to the illusion of a changing
love the ones you think are friends.
T 31 C 7. The innocent release in gratitude for THEIR release. And what they
see upholds their freedom from imprisonment and death. Open your mind to
change, and there will be no ancient penalty exacted from your brother OR
yourself. For God has said there IS no sacrifice that can be asked; there IS no
sacrifice that can be made.
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T 31 D. The Real Alternative
T 31 D 1. There is a tendency to think the world can offer consolation and
escape from problems which its purpose is to KEEP. Why should this be? Because
it is a place where choice among illusions seems to be the ONLY choice. And you
are in control of outcomes of your choosing. Thus you think, within the narrow
band from birth to death, a little time is given you to use for you alone; a
time when everyone conflicts with you, but you can choose which road will lead
you out of conflict, and away from difficulties which concern you not. Yet they
ARE your concern. How, then, can you escape from them by leaving them behind?
What must go with you, you will take with you whatever road you choose to walk
along.
T 31 D 2. REAL choice is no illusion. But the world has none to offer. All
its roads but lead to disappointment, nothingness and death. There IS no choice
in its alternatives. Seek not escape from problems here. The world was made
that problems could not BE escaped. Be not deceived by all the different names
its roads are given. They have but one end. And each is but the means to gain
that end, for it is here that all its roads will lead, however differently they
seem to start; however differently they seem to go. Their end is certain, for
there is no choice among them. All of them will lead to death. On some you
travel gaily for a while, before the bleakness enters. And on some the thorns
are felt at once. The choice is not WHAT will the ending be, but WHEN it comes.
T 31 D 3. There is no choice where every end is sure. Perhaps you would prefer
to try them all, before you really learn they are but one. The roads this world
can offer seem to be quite large in number, but the time must come when everyone
begins to see how like they are to one another. Men have died on seeing this,
because they saw no way except the pathways offered by the world. And learning
they led nowhere, lost their hope. And yet this was the time they could have
learned their greatest lesson. All must reach this point, and go beyond it. It
is true indeed there is
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no choice at all within the world. But this is not the lesson in itself. The
lesson has a purpose, and in THIS you come to understand what it is FOR.
T 31 D 4. Why would you seek to try another road, another person or another
place, when you have learned the way the lesson starts, but do not yet perceive
what it is for? Its purpose is the ANSWER to the search that all must undertake
who still believe there is another answer to be found. Learn now, without
despair, there is no hope of answer in the world. But do not judge the lesson
which is but BEGUN with this. Seek not another signpost in the world which
seems to point to still another road. No longer look for hope where there is
none. Make fast your learning NOW, and understand you but waste time unless you
go beyond what you have learned to what is yet to learn. For from this lowest
point will learning lead to heights of happiness, in which you see the purpose
of the lesson shining clear, and perfectly within your learning grasp.
T 31 D 5. Who would be willing to be turned away from all the roadways of the
world, unless he understood their real futility? Is it not needful that he
should begin with this, to seek another way instead? For while he sees a choice
where there is none, what power of decision can he use? The great release of
power must begin with learning where it really has a USE. And what decision has
power if it be applied in situations without choice?
T 31 D 6. The learning that the world can offer but one choice, no matter what
its form may be, is the beginning of acceptance that there is a REAL alternative
instead. To fight against this step is to defeat your purpose here. You did
not come to learn to find a road the world does not contain. The search for
different pathways in the world is but the search for different forms of truth.
And this would KEEP the truth from being reached.
T 31 D 7. Think not that happiness is ever found by following a road AWAY from
it. This makes no sense, and CANNOT be the way. To you who seem to find this
course to be too difficult to learn, let me repeat that, to
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achieve a goal, you must proceed in its direction, NOT away from it. And every
road that leads the other way will not advance the purpose to be found. If THIS
be difficult to understand, then IS this course impossible to learn. But only
then. For otherwise, it is a simple teaching in the obvious.
T 31 D 8. There IS a choice which you have power to make when you have seen the
real alternatives. Until that point is reached you HAVE no choice, and you can
but decide how you would choose the better to deceive yourself again. This
course attempts to teach no more than that the power of decision cannot lie in
choosing different forms of what is still the SAME illusion and the SAME
mistake. All choices in the world depend on this; you choose between your
brother and yourself, and you will gain as much as he will lose, and what you
lose is what is given him. How utterly opposed to truth is this, when what [T266]
the lesson's purpose is to teach that what your brother loses YOU have lost, and
what he gains is what is given YOU.
T 31 D 9. He has not left His Thoughts! But you forgot His Presence, and
remembered not His love. No pathway in the world can lead to Him, nor any
worldly goal is [T267] one with His. What road in all the world will lead within,
when every road was made to separate the journey from the purpose it MUST have
unless it be but futile wandering? All roads that lead away from what you are
will lead you to confusion and despair. Yet has He never left His Thoughts to
die, without their Source forever in themselves. He has not left His Thoughts!
He could no more depart from them than they could keep Him out. In unity with
Him do they abide, and in their Oneness both are kept complete.
T 31 D 10. There IS no road that leads away from Him. A journey from
YOURSELF does not exist. How foolish and insane it is to think that there could
be a road with such an aim! Where could it go? And how could you be made to
travel on it, walking there without your own reality at one with you? Forgive
yourself your madness, and forget all senseless journeys and
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all goal-less aims. They have no meaning. You can not escape from what you
are. For God IS merciful, and did not let His Son abandon Him. For what He is,
be thankful, for in that is your escape from madness and from death. Nowhere
but where He is can YOU be found. There IS no path that does not lead to Him.
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T 31 E. Self-Concept versus Self
T 31 E 1. The learning of the world is built upon a concept of the self
adjusted to the world's reality. It fits it well. For this an image is that
suits a world of shadows and illusions. Here it walks at home, where what it
sees is one with it. The building of a concept of the self is what the learning
of the world is FOR. This is its purpose; that you come without a self, and
make one as you go along. And by the time you reach "maturity," you have
perfected it to meet the world on equal terms, at one with its demands.
T 31 E 2. A CONCEPT of the self is made by YOU. It bears no likeness to
yourself at all. It is an idol, made to take the place of your reality as Son
of God. The concept of the self the world would teach is not the thing that it
appears to be. For it is made to serve two purposes, but one of which the mind
can recognize. The first presents the face of innocence, the aspect acted ON.
It is this face that smiles and charms and even seems to love. It searches for
companions, and it looks, at times with pity, on the suffering, and sometimes
offers solace. It believes that it is good, within an evil world.
T 31 E 3. This aspect can grow angry, for the world is wicked, and unable to
provide the love and shelter innocence deserves. And so this face is often wet
with tears at the injustices the world accords to those who would be generous
and good. This aspect never makes the first attack. But every day a hundred
little things make small assaults upon its innocence, provoking it to
irritation, and at last to open insult and abuse.
T 31 E 4. The face of innocence the concept of the self so proudly wears can
tolerate attack in self-defense, for is it not a well-known fact the world deals
harshly with defenseless innocence? No one who makes a picture of himself omits
this face, for he has need of it. The other side, he does not WANT to see. Yet
it is here the learning of the world has set its sights, for it is here the
world's "reality" is set, to see to it the idol lasts.
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T 31 E 5. Beneath the face of innocence there is a lesson that the concept
of the self was made to teach. It is a lesson in a terrible displacement, and a
fear so devastating that the face which smiles above it must forever look away,
lest it perceive the treachery it hides. The lesson teaches this: "I am the
thing you made of me, and as you look on me you stand condemned, because of what
I am." On this conception of the self the world smiles with approval, for it
guarantees the pathways of the world are safely kept, and those who walk on them
will not escape.
T 31 E 6. Here is the central lesson that ensures your brother is condemned
eternally. For what you are has now become HIS sin. For this is no forgiveness
possible. No longer does it matter what he does, for your accusing finger
points to him, unwavering and deadly in its aim. It points to you as well, but
this is kept still deeper in the mists below the face of innocence. And in
these shrouded vaults are all his sins and yours preserved, and kept in
darkness, where they cannot be perceived as errors, which the light would surely
show. You can be neither blamed for what you are, nor can you change the things
it makes you do. And you are each the symbol of your sins to one another,
silently, and yet with ceaseless urgency, condemning still your brother for the
hated thing you are.
T 31 E 7. Concepts are learned. They are not natural. Apart from learning
they do not exist. They are not given, and they must be made. Not one of them
is true, and many come from feverish imaginations, hot with hatred and
distortions born of fear. What is a concept but a thought to which its maker
gives a meaning of his own? Concepts maintain the world. But they can not be
used to demonstrate the world is real. For all of them are made within the
world, born in its shadow, growing in its ways, and finally "maturing" in its
thought. They are ideas of idols, painted with the brushes of the world, which
cannot make a single picture representing truth.
T 31 E 8. A concept of the self is meaningless, for no one here can see what it
is FOR, and therefore cannot picture what it IS. Yet is all learning
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which the world directs begun and ended with the single aim of teaching you this
concept of yourself, that you will choose to follow this world's laws, and never
seek to go beyond its roads, nor realize the way you see yourself. Now must the
Holy Spirit find a way to help you see this concept of the self must be undone,
if any peace of mind is to be given you. Nor can it be unlearned except by
lessons aimed to teach that you are something ELSE. For otherwise, you would be
asked to make exchange of what you now believe for total loss of self, and
greater terror would arise in you.
T 31 E 9. Thus are the Holy Spirit's lesson plans arranged in easy steps, that
though there be some lack of ease at times and some distress, there is no
shattering of what was learned, but just a re-translation of what seems to be
the evidence on its behalf. Let us consider, then, what proof there is that you
are what your brother made of you. For even though you do not yet perceive that
this is what you think, you surely learned by now that you BEHAVE as if it were.
Does HE react for YOU? And did he know exactly what would happen? Could he
see your future and ordain, before it came, what you should do in every
circumstance? He must have made the world as well as you, to have such
prescience in the things to come.
T 31 E 10. That you are what your brother made of you seems most unlikely.
Even if he did, who gave the face of innocence to you? Is this YOUR
contribution? Who is, then, the "you" who made it? And who is deceived by all
your goodness, and attacks it so? Let us forget the concept's foolishness, and
merely think of this; there are two parts to what you think yourself to be. If
one was generated by your brother, who was there to make the other? And from
whom must something be kept hidden? If the world be evil, there is still no
need to hide what YOU are made of. Who is there to see? And what but is
attacked could NEED defense?
T 31 E 11. Perhaps the reason why this concept must be kept in darkness is
that, in the light, the one who would not think it true is YOU. And what would
happen to the world you know, if all its underpinnings were removed?
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Your concept of the world DEPENDS upon this concept of the self. And both would
go, if either one were ever raised to doubt. The Holy Spirit does not seek to
throw you into panic. So He merely asks if just a LITTLE question might be
raised.
T 31 E 12. There are alternatives about the thing that you must be. You
might, for instance, be the thing you chose to have your BROTHER be. This
shifts the concept of the self from what is wholly passive, and at least makes
way for active choice, and some acknowledgment that interaction must have
entered in. There is some understanding that you chose for both of you, and
what he represents has meaning that was given it by you. It also shows some
glimmering of sight into perception's law that what you see reflects the state
of the PERCEIVER'S mind. Yet who was it that did the choosing first? If you
are what you chose your brother be, alternatives were there to choose among, and
someone must have first decided on the one to choose, and let the others go.
T 31 E 13. Although this step has gains, it does not yet approach a basic
question. Something must have gone BEFORE these concepts of the self. And
something must have done the learning which gave rise to them. Nor can this be
explained by either view. The main advantage of the shifting to the second from
the first is that YOU somehow entered in the choice by your decision. But this
gain is paid in almost equal loss, for now YOU stand accused of guilt for what
your brother is. And you must share his guilt, because you chose it for him in
the image of your own. While only he was treacherous before, now must you be
condemned along with him.
T 31 E 14. The concept of the self has always been the great preoccupation
of the world. And everyone believes that he must find the answer to the riddle
of himself. Salvation can be seen as nothing more than the ESCAPE from
concepts. It does not concern itself with content of the mind, but with the
simple statement that it THINKS. And what can think has choice, and CAN be
shown that different thoughts have different consequence. [T268] So it
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can learn that everything it thinks reflects the deep confusion that it feels
about how it was made, and what it is. And vaguely does the concept of the self
appear to answer what it does not know.
T 31 E 15. Seek not your Self in symbols. There can BE no concept that
can stand for what you are. What matters it which concept you accept while you
perceive a self which interacts with evil, and reacts to wicked things? Your
concept of yourself will still remain quite meaningless. And you will not
perceive that you can interact but with yourself. To see a guilty world is but
the sign your learning has been guided by the world, and you behold it as you
see yourself. The concept of the self embraces all you look upon, and nothing
is outside of this perception. If you can be hurt by anything, you see a
picture of your secret wishes. Nothing more than this. And in your suffering
of any kind, you see your own concealed desire to kill.
T 31 E 16. 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 [T269] in the confidence that it will go at
last, and leave your mind at peace. The role of the accuser [T270] will appear in
many places and in many forms. And each will seem to be accusing YOU. Yet have
no fear it will not be undone.
T 31 E 17. The world can teach no images of you unless you WANT to learn
them. There will come a time when images have all gone by, and you will see you
know not what you are. It is to this unsealed and open mind that truth returns,
unhindered and unbound. Where concepts of the self have been laid by is truth
revealed exactly as it IS. When every concept has been raised to doubt and
question, and been recognized as made on no assumptions which would stand the
light, then is the truth left free to enter in its sanctuary, clean and free of
guilt. There is no statement that the world is more afraid
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to hear than this:
"I do not know the thing I am, and therefore do not know what I am doing, where
I am, or how to look upon the world or on myself."
T 31 E 18. Yet in this learning is salvation born. And what you are will TELL
you of Itself.
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T 31 F. Recognizing the Spirit
T 31 F 1. You see the flesh or recognize the Spirit. There is no compromise
between the two. If one is real the other must be false, for what is real
denies its opposite. There is no choice in vision but this one. What you
decide in this determines ALL you see and think is real and hold as true. On
this one choice does all your world depend, for here have you established what
you are, as flesh or Spirit in your own belief. If you choose flesh, you never
will escape the body as your own reality, for you have chosen that you WANT it
so. But choose the Spirit, and all Heaven bends to touch your eyes and bless
your holy sight, that you may see the world of flesh no more except to heal and
comfort and to bless.
T 31 F 2. Salvation is undoing. If you choose to see the body, you behold a
world of separation, unrelated things, and happenings that make no sense at all.
This one appears and disappears in death; that one is doomed to suffering and
loss. And no one is exactly as he was an instant previous, nor will he be the
same as he is now an instant hence. Who could have trust where so much change
is seen, for who is worthy if he be but dust? Salvation is undoing of all this.
And constancy arises in the sight of those whose eyes salvation has released
from looking at the cost of keeping guilt, because they chose to let it go
instead.
T 31 F 3. Salvation does not ask that you behold the Spirit and perceive the
body not. It merely asks that this should be your CHOICE. For you can see the
body without help, but do not understand how to behold a world apart from it.
It is your world salvation will undo, and let you see another world YOUR eyes
could never find. Be not concerned how this could ever be. You do not
understand how what you see arose to meet your sight. For if you did, it would
be gone. The veil of ignorance is drawn across the evil and the good, and must
be passed that both may disappear, so that perception finds no hiding place.
How is this done? It is not done at all. What could there be within the
universe which God created that must still be done?
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T 31 F 4. Only in arrogance could you conceive that YOU must make the way to
Heaven plain. The means are given you by which to see the world that will
replace the one you made. Your will be done! In Heaven as on earth this is
forever true. It matters not where you believe you are, nor what you think the
truth about yourself must really be. It makes no difference what you look upon,
nor what you choose to feel or think or wish. For God Himself has said, "Your
will be done." And it IS done to you accordingly.
T 31 F 5. You who believe that you can choose to see the Son of God as you
would have him be, forget not that no concept of yourself will stand against the
truth of what you are. Undoing truth would be impossible. But concepts are not
difficult to change. ONE vision, clearly seen, that does not fit the picture as
it was perceived before will change the world for eyes that learn to see,
because the concept of the SELF has changed. Are YOU invulnerable? Then the
world is harmless in your sight. Do YOU forgive? Then is the world forgiving,
for you have forgiven it its trespasses, and so it looks on you with eyes that
see as yours. Are YOU a body? So is all the world perceived as treacherous,
and out to kill.
6. Are you a Spirit, deathless, and without the promise of corruption and the
stain of sin upon you? So the world is seen as stable, fully worthy of your
trust; a happy place to rest in for a while, where nothing need be feared, but
only loved. Who is unwelcome to the kind in heart? And what could hurt the
truly innocent? Your will be done, you holy Child of God. It does not matter
if you think you are in earth or Heaven. What your Father wills for you can
never change. The truth in you remains as radiant as a star, as pure as light,
as innocent as Love Itself. And you ARE worthy that your Will be done!
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T 31 G. The Savior's Vision
T 31 G 1. Learning is change. Salvation does not seek to use a means as yet
too alien to your thinking to be helpful, nor to make the kinds of change you
could not recognize. Concepts are needed while perception lasts, and CHANGING
concepts is salvation's task. For it must deal in contrasts, not in truth,
which has no opposite and cannot change. In this world's concepts are the
guilty "bad;" the "good" are innocent. And no one here but holds a concept of
himself in which he counts the "good" to pardon him the "bad." Nor does he
trust the "good" in anyone, believing that the "bad" must lurk behind. This
concept emphasizes treachery, and trust becomes impossible. Nor could it change
while you perceive the "bad" in YOU.
T 31 G 2. You could not RECOGNIZE your "evil" thoughts as long as you see value
in attack. You will perceive them sometimes, but will not see them as
meaningless. And so they come in fearful form, with content still concealed, to
shake your sorry concept of yourself, and blacken it with still another "crime."
You cannot give yourself your innocence, for you are too confused about
yourself. But should ONE brother dawn upon your sight as wholly worthy of
forgiveness, then your concept of yourself IS wholly changed. YOUR "evil"
thoughts have been forgiven with his, because you let them all affect you not.
No longer did you choose that you should be the sign of evil and of guilt in
him. And as you gave your trust to what is good in him, you gave it to the good
in you.
T 31 G 3. In terms of concepts, it is thus you see him more than just a body,
for the good is never what the body seems to be. The actions of the body are
perceived as coming from the "baser" part of you, and thus of him as well. By
focusing upon the good in him, the body grows decreasingly persistent in your
sight, and will at length be seen as little more than just a shadow circling
’round the good. And this will be your concept of YOURSELF, when you have
reached the world beyond the sight your eyes alone can offer you to see. For
you will not interpret what you see without the Aid that God has given you. And
in His sight there IS another world.
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T 31 G 4. You live in that world just as much as this. For both are concepts
of yourself, which can be interchanged but never jointly held. The contrast is
far greater than you think, for you will love this concept of yourself, because
it was not made for you alone. Born as a gift for someone not perceived to be
yourself, it has been given YOU. For your forgiveness, offered unto him, has
been accepted now for BOTH of you.
T 31 G 5. Have faith in him who walks with you, so that your fearful concept of
yourself may change. And look upon the good in him, that you may not be
frightened by your "evil" thoughts, because they do not cloud your view of him.
And all this shift requires is that you be WILLING that this happy change occur.
No more than this is asked. On its behalf, remember what the concept of
yourself which now you hold has brought you in its wake, and welcome the glad
contrast offered you. Hold out your hand, that you may have the gift of kind
forgiveness which you offer one whose need for it is just the same as yours.
And let the cruel concept of yourself be changed to one which brings the peace
of God.
T 31 G 6. The concept of yourself which now you hold would guarantee your
function here remain forever unaccomplished and undone. And thus it dooms you
to a bitter sense of deep depression and futility. Yet it need not be fixed
unless you choose to hold it past the hope of change, and keep it static and
concealed within your mind. Give it instead to Him Who understands the changes
that it needs to let it serve the function given you to bring you peace, that
you may offer peace to have it yours. Alternatives are in your mind to use, and
you CAN see yourself another way. Would you not rather look upon yourself as
NEEDED for salvation of the world, instead of as salvation's enemy?
T 31 G 7. The concept of the self stands like a shield, a silent barricade
before the truth, and hides it from your sight. All things you see are images,
because you look on them as through a barrier which dims your sight and warps
your vision, so that you behold nothing with clarity. The light
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is kept from everything you see. At most, you glimpse a shadow of what lies
beyond. At least, you merely look on darkness, and perceive the terrified
imaginings that come from guilty thoughts and concepts born of fear. And what
you see is hell, for fear IS hell. All that is given you is for release; the
sight, the vision and the inner Guide all lead you out of hell with those you
love beside you, and the universe with them.
T 31 G 8. Behold your role within the universe! To every part of true creation
has the Lord of Love and Life entrusted ALL salvation from the misery of hell.
And to each one has He allowed the grace to be a Savior to the holy ones
especially entrusted to his care. And this he learns when first he looks upon
ONE brother as he looks upon himself, and sees the mirror of himself in him.
Thus is the concept of himself laid by, for nothing stands between his sight and
what he looks upon, to judge what he beholds. And in this single vision does he
see the face of Christ, and understands he looks on everyone as he beholds this
One. For there is light where darkness was before, and now the veil is lifted
from his sight.
T 31 G 9. The veil across the face of Christ, the fear of God and of salvation,
and the love of guilt and death, they all are different names for just one
error; that there is a space between you and your brother, kept apart by an
illusion of yourself which holds him off from you, and you away from him. The
sword of judgment is the weapon which you give to the illusion of yourself, that
it may fight to keep the space that holds your brother off unoccupied by love.
Yet while you hold this sword, you must perceive the body as yourself [T271], for
you are bound to separation from the sight of him who holds the mirror to
another view of what he is, and thus what YOU must be.
T 31 G 10. What is temptation but the WISH to stay in hell and misery?
And what could this give rise to but an image of yourself that CAN be miserable,
and remain in hell and torment? Who has learned to see his brother NOT
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as this has saved himself, and thus is he a Savior to the rest. To everyone has
God entrusted all, because a partial savior would be one who is but partly
saved. The holy ones whom God has given each of you to save are everyone you
meet or look upon, not knowing who they are; all those you saw an instant and
forgot, and those you knew a long while since, and those you will yet meet, the
unremembered and the not yet born. For God has given you His Son to save from
every concept that he ever held.
T 31 G 11. Yet while you wish to stay in hell, how could you be the Savior
of the Son of God? How would you know his holiness while you see him apart from
yours? For holiness is seen through holy eyes that look upon the innocence
within, and thus expect to see it everywhere. And so they call it forth in
everyone they look upon, that he may be what they expect of him. This is the
Savior's vision: [T272] that he sees [T273] his innocence in all he looks upon, and
sees his own salvation everywhere. He holds no concept of himself between his
calm and open eyes and what he sees. He BRINGS the light to what he looks upon,
that he may see it as it really is.
T 31 G 12. Whatever form temptation seems to take, it always but reflects
a wish to be a self which you are not. And from that wish a concept rises,
teaching that you ARE the thing you wish to be. It will remain your concept of
yourself until the wish that fathered it no longer is held dear. But while you
cherish it, you will behold your brother in the likeness of the self whose image
has the wish begot of YOU. For vision CAN but represent a wish, because it has
no power to create. Yet it can look with love or look with hate, depending only
on the simple choice of whether you would join with what you see, or keep
yourself apart and separate.
T 31 G 13. The Savior's vision is as innocent of what your brother is as
it is free of any judgment made upon yourself. It sees no past in anyone at
all. And thus it serves a wholly open mind, unclouded by old concepts, and
prepared to look on only what the present holds. It cannot judge because it
does not know. And RECOGNIZING this, it merely asks, "What is the
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meaning of what I behold?" Then is the answer given. And the door held open
for the face of Christ to shine upon the one who asks, in innocence, to see
beyond the veil of old ideas and ancient concepts held so long and dear AGAINST
the vision of the Christ in you.
T 31 G 14. Be vigilant against temptation, then, remembering that it is
but a wish, insane and meaningless, to make yourself a thing which you are not.
And think as well upon the thing that you would be instead. It is a thing of
madness, pain and death; a thing of treachery and black despair, of failing
dreams and no remaining hope except to die, and end the dream of fear. THIS is
temptation; nothing more than this. Can THIS be difficult to choose AGAINST?
Consider what temptation IS, and see the real alternatives you choose between.
There ARE but two. Be not deceived by what appears as many choices. There is
hell or Heaven, and of these you choose but ONE.
T 31 G 15. Let not the world's light, given unto you, be hidden from the
world. It NEEDS the light, for it is dark indeed, and men despair because the
Savior's vision is withheld, and what they see is death. Their Savior stands,
unknowing and unknown, beholding them with eyes unopened. And they cannot see
until he looks on them with seeing eyes, and offers them forgiveness with his
own. Can you to whom God says, "Release My Son!" be tempted not to listen, when
you learn that it is YOU for whom He asks release? And what but this is what
this course would teach? And what but this is there for you to learn?
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T 31 H. Choose Once Again
T 31 H 1. Temptation has one lesson it would teach, in all its forms, wherever
it occurs. It would persuade the holy Son of God he is a body, born in what
must die, unable to escape its frailty, and bound by what it orders him to feel.
It sets the limits on what he can do; its power is the only strength he has;
his grasp cannot exceed its tiny reach. Would you BE this, if Christ appeared
to you in all His glory, asking you but this,
"Choose once again if you would take your place
among the Saviors of the world, or would
remain in hell, and hold your brothers there."
For He HAS come, and He IS asking this.
T 31 H 2. How do you make the choice? How easily is this explained! You
always choose between your weakness and the strength of Christ in you. And what
you choose is what you think is real. Simply by never using weakness to direct
your actions, you have given it no power. And the light of Christ in you is
given charge of everything you do. For you have brought your weakness unto Him,
and He has given you His strength instead.
T 31 H 3. Trials are but lessons which you failed to learn presented once
again, so where you made a faulty choice before you now can make a better one,
and thus escape all pain which what you chose before has brought to you. In
every difficulty, all distress, and each perplexity Christ calls to you and
gently says, "My brother, choose again." He would not leave one source of pain
unhealed, nor any image left to veil the truth. He would remove all misery from
you whom God created altars unto joy. [T274] He would not leave you comfortless,
alone in dreams of hell, but would release your minds from everything that hides
His face from you. His holiness is yours because He is the ONLY power that is
real in you. His strength is yours because He is the Self that God created as
His ONLY Son.
T 31 H 4. The images you make can NOT prevail against what God Himself would
have you be. Be never fearful of temptation, then, but see it as it is; another
chance to choose again, and let Christ's strength prevail
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in every circumstance and every place you raised an image of yourself before.
For what appears to hide the face of Christ is powerless before His majesty, and
disappears before His holy sight. The Saviors of the world, who see like Him,
are merely those who chose His strength instead of their own weakness, seen
apart from Him. They will redeem the world, for they are joined in all the
power of the Will of God. And what they will is ONLY what He wills.
T 31 H 5. Learn, then, the happy habit of response to all temptation to
perceive yourself as weak and miserable with these words,
"I am as God created me. His Son
can suffer nothing. And I AM His Son."
Thus is Christ's strength invited to prevail, replacing all your weakness with
the strength that comes from God, and that can never fail. And thus are
miracles as natural as fear and agony appeared to be before the choice for
holiness was made. For in that choice are false distinctions gone, illusory
alternatives laid by, and nothing left to interfere with truth.
T 31 H 6. You ARE as God created you, and so is every living thing you look
upon, regardless of the images you see. What you behold as sickness and as
pain, as weakness and as suffering and loss, is but temptation to perceive
yourself defenseless and in hell. Yield not to this, and you will see all pain,
in every form, wherever it occurs, but disappear as mists before the sun. A
miracle has come to heal God's Son, and close the door upon his dreams of
weakness, opening the way to his salvation and release. Choose once again what
you would have him be, remembering that every choice you make establishes your
own identity as you will see it, and believe it IS.
7. Deny me not the little gift I ask, when in exchange I lay before your feet
the peace of God, and power to bring this peace to everyone who wanders in the
world uncertain, lonely, and in constant fear. For it is given you to join with
him, and through the Christ in you unveil his eyes, and let him look upon the
Christ in him. My brothers in salvation, do not fail to hear my voice and
listen to my words. I ask for nothing but your
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OWN release. There is no place for hell within a world whose loveliness can yet
be so intense and so inclusive it is but a step from there to Heaven. To your
tired eyes I bring a vision of a different world, so new and clean and fresh you
will forget the pain and sorrow that you saw before. Yet this a vision is which
you must share with everyone you see, for otherwise you will behold it not. To
give this gift is how to make it yours. And God ordained, in loving kindness,
that it BE for you.
T 31 H 8. Let us be glad that we can walk the world, and find so many chances
to perceive another situation where God's gift can once again be recognized as
ours! And thus will all the vestiges of hell, the secret "sins" and hidden
hates be gone. And all the loveliness which they concealed appear like lawns of
Heaven to our sight, to lift us high above the thorny roads we traveled on
before the Christ appeared. Hear me, my brothers, hear and join with me. God
has ordained I cannot call in vain, and in His certainty I rest content. For
you WILL hear, and you WILL choose again. And in this choice is everyone made
free.
T 31 H 9. I thank You, Father, for these holy ones who are my brothers as they
are Your Sons. My faith in them is Yours. I am as sure that they will come to
me as You are sure of what they are, and will forever be. They will accept the
gift I offer them, because You gave it me on their behalf. And as I would but
do Your holy Will, so will they choose. And I give thanks for them.
Salvation's song will echo through the world with every choice they make. For
we are one in purpose, and the end of hell is near.
T 31 H 10. In joyous welcome is my hand outstretched to every brother who
would join with me in reaching past temptation, and who looks with fixed
determination toward the light that shines beyond in perfect constancy. Give me
my own, for they belong to You. And can You fail in what is but Your Will? I
give You thanks for what my brothers are. And as each one elects to join with
me, the song of thanks from earth to Heaven grows from tiny scattered threads of
melody to one inclusive chorus from a world redeemed from hell, and giving
thanks to You.
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T 31 H 11. And now we say "Amen." For Christ has come to dwell in the
abode You set for Him before time was, in calm eternity. The journey closes,
ending at the place where it began. No trace of it remains. Not one illusion
is accorded faith, and not one spot of darkness still remains to hide the face
of Christ from anyone. Thy Will is done, complete and perfectly, and all
creation recognizes You, and knows You as the only Source it has. Clear in Your
Likeness does the Light shine forth from everything that lives and moves in You.
For we have reached where all of us are One, and we are home, where You would
have us be.
{
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[T1] Capitalization is in question here. FIP changes this to all lower case:
"love’s presence" and also has the following pronoun "which," in lower case. In
the Sub-Ur we find this passage is not present. However, the expression occurs
twice, the two occurrences capitalized differently, one being "Love’s presence,"
another being "love’s presence". However if either word is to be capitalized,
it would seem more suitable to capitalize the former than the latter, or
probably both. It seems clear that capitalization was not inadvertent, and that
Helen and Bill understood this phrase to refer to the deity, in short, a "name
of God" since both "Presence" and "Which" are capitalized. An inadvertent
capitalization error would likely occur once only in one sentence. We have thus
chosen to capitalize "Love" here.
[T2] We won’t usually footnote variant readings from the earlier ACIM
manuscripts but this one strikes us as unusually significant. In the earlier
Sub-Urtext manuscript this paragraph reads: "Miracles are thought-creations.
Thought can create lower-order or higher-order realities. This is the basic
distinction between intellectualizing and thinking. One creates the physical
and the other the spiritual, and we believe in what we create."
[T3] ( The term "Spiritual eye" is later replaced by the Holy Spirit and the
physical eye becomes the ego. The emphasis on the two ways of seeing, however,
remains throughout.)This footnote appears in the original manuscript but is not
strictly correct as "Spiritual eye" and "Holy Spirit" are clearly not entirely
synonymous in all cases. While the word "thoughout" appears in the oldest
e-copies, it’s not on any manuscripts we’ve been able to examine. Nor could it
be since those photocopies would have cut off that line, if it originally
existed.
[T4] There appears to be a semicolon here in the original manuscript, but clearly
a comma is appropriate. I say "appears" because the dot above the comma is
probably just a speck of dirt.
[T5] Original is illegible and reconstructed from the Sub-Ur.
[T6] Original is illegible and reconstructed from the Sub-Ur.
[T7] FIP omits "a reasonable amount of" because, according to Wapnick (Absence),
Schucman told him she put that in although it was not part of the dictation.
Once again, Schucman was ‘frightened’ of some aspects of the message.
[T8] This sentence is found in the Sub-Ur and appears to have been omitted
inadvertently.
[T9] The original manuscript has "introduces" here which fails to agree in number
with the subject "shifts." The same problem shows up in the Sub-Ur.
[T10] Original is illegible, "abolishing" is restored from the Sub-Ur.
[T11] The manuscript is illegible at this point. Sub-Ur inserts "same"
[T12] Much of the right margin of page 17 of the original is illegible. We’ve
reconstructed several words from the Sub-Ur.
[T13] The HLC manuscript has a semi-colon here.
[T14] Original, and all other versions consulted place a period here, and start a
new sentence with "But." There is no need for a sentence break here, a comma
suffices, and it is poor style to introduce one and begin a sentence with "But"
in this case.
[T15] HLC original has "on" here but the Sub-Ur reading sounds better, so we’re
calling this a typo and restoring to the Sub-Ur.
[T16] This line does not appear in any version consulted other than the Sub-Ur.
It’s absence in the original HLC manuscript and all subsequent manuscripts
appears clearly to be an inadvertent omission.
[T17] The Sub-Ur and the HLC have it as "are evil." The subject of the sentence
is "use" which is singular, and the verb must be singular "is" and not the
plural "are." FIP agrees.
[T18] "This situation arises in two ways:" has a colon in the Sub-Ur and FIP, a
semi-colon in the HLC. We’ve agreed with the Sub-Ur and FIP and made it a
colon.
[T19] The original HLC has a line break (hard return) not followed by an
indentation. Was a paragraph break intended and the indentation omitted? Or
was the carriage return inadvertent? The Sub-Ur has a paragraph and a page
break here. We think the indentation was omitted in error and that a paragraph
break was intended.
[T20] Many words on this page are illegible in the HLC photocopy and have been
reconstructed from the Sub-Ur.
[T21] Most astonishingly, although explicit instructions to capitalize "Cause"
and "Effect" are given in the HLC and the Sub-Ur, the words are NOT capitalized
in either nor in the FIP version! We’ve fixed that.
[T22] Miracle principle 48
[T23] "Only men’s attempts" in the HLC is "Only man’s attempts" in the Sub-Ur.
The general pattern in the HLC is to use the word "man" rather than "men" and
"man’s" rather than "men’s". We’ve concluded this is a typo therefore, and
restored the material to the Sub-Ur reading. FIP appears to omit this material.
[T24] Originally this word is lower case and underlined by hand. For the
purposes of consistency, we’re switching the emphasis to all caps.
[T25] Originally "self concept" in this instance, "self-concept" is used for
consistency and for the purposes of the Concordance.
[T26] The words "(NOT destruction)" are enclosed in brackets in the HLC
manuscript, consistent with the Sub-Ur, however we’ve gone with the FIP
rendering which replaces the brackets with commas. FIP makes it "not the
destruction" but we leave it as "NOT destruction".
[T27] The original HLC and Sub-Ur manuscripts have the unusual punctuation, ",--"
(comma hyphen or comma em-dash) in this location. FIP preserves it. This form
of punctuation, using both a comma and an em-dash together is not used anywhere
else in written English that we’ve been able to find. Perhaps, since the
original presentation was oral, the intent here was to reflect a long pause for
emphasis. In any event, we are calling this a punctuation error and correcting
it by removing the em-dash.
[T28] The word "believableness" occurs in the text, but in no dictionary we’ve
consulted. It is thus changed to "believability." The Sub-Ur is identical.
This can be considered a spelling correction. FIP preserves "believableness."
[T29] "I am using your present state of how the mind CAN work" is not even a
sentence, but that is how the HLC reads. it appears obvious there is some
mistake here. In the Sub-Ur the line reads: "I would therefore like to use
your present state as an example of how the mind CAN work" At the very least
the words "as an example" appear to have been inadvertently left out,
inadvertent because the statement becomes ungrammatical and wholly meaningless
with their removal. The reading from the Sub-Ur is used here. This material is
so substantially changed in the FIP Second Edition that we get no help from that
source for this question. Blue Sparkly does not correct this.
[T30] The HLC has "a scissors" and this is changed to "scissors." FIP agrees.
Blue Sparkly and the Sub-Ur keep it as "a scissors." This may be a question of
local usage and, we can add, is hardly very important!
[T31] The HLC has a colon here, instead of a period. Neither the Sub-Ur nor FIP
do, and it is clearly a typo.
[T32] The "Spirit of Joy" is not capitalized in the HLC or FIP but is in the
Sub-Ur. We think it should be capitalized since the reference is clearly to the
deity.
[T33] The use of the word "repair" here is most curious. We strongly suspect a
copying error, but it’s not from the Sub-Ur which is identical. FIP re-writes
this as: "the means by which the Atonement heals until the whole mind returns to
creating." That’s a perfectly reasonable conjecture as to the meaning. We
really do need to check the Notes on this one.
[T34] The HLC manuscript has this as "yolk."
[T35] The HLC manuscript also has this as "yolk."
[T36] The HLC manuscript has this as "excape"
[T37] The HLC manuscript has "ingenuous" instead of "ingenious." This is a
suspected typo. It is not at all clear how Freud’s being "ingenuous" could
endow his thought with "ingenious" attributes. The two words are only one
letter apart in spelling and we suspect "ingenuous" here should be "ingenious."
In the Sub-Ur, we do find "ingenious" instead of "ingenuous", and so the text
was restored to the Sub-Ur’s reading. Blue Sparkly also corrects this error.
The material is not present in FIP.
[T38] The manuscript has semicolons instead of commas and does not have the
bracketed letters. See Specific Changes for more detail.
[T39] The HLC manuscript has "The process begins by excluding something THAT
exists" The word "THAT" is pencilled in, and probably should not be
capitalized. However, the Sub-Ur has "you think" instead of "that." Because we
know that no proofing against the Sub-Ur was ever done on the HLC before, we
conclude that the editors (Helen and Bill) recognized an inadvertent omission
of the words "you think" which resulted in bad grammar in the HLC typescript and
corrected it by pencilling in "THAT." However, while this fixes the grammar it
does not restore the original meaning. The statement "that exists in you" and
"you think exists in you" do not have the same meaning, as the former suggests a
fact and the latter implies illusion. This would appear therefore to be an
editing error, beginning with inadvertence, in leaving out two words, and ending
with the failure to proof adequately.
[T40] The words "were created" before "neither partially nor in part" are added
from the Sub-Ur. The HLC is illegible. We are unable to locate this phrase in
FIP. Page 136 of the original photocopy is in terrible shape, with several
words being quite illegible. Comparison with the Sub-Ur shows negligible
differences overall on this page so the missing words were copied here directly
from the Sub-Ur as follows. Only a few examples are listed here. See Appendix
I for the full Sub-Ur text of the page in question.
[T41] Reconstructed from the Sub-Ur. The HLC is illegible
[T42] The word "involve" is reconstructed from the Sub-Ur. The HLC is illegible.
FIP renders this "what never happened cannot be difficult" which largely
preserves the original meaning. Blue Sparkly goes with the Sub-Ur as we have.
[T43] Both FIP and Sub-Ur have a comma here, and we agree it should be there.
[T44] Both FI
P(2) and Sub-Ur include this sentence, though it is missing in the
HLC manuscript.
[T45] HLC manuscript has this word as "WRONG." The last word of the sentence is
an adverb, and as "teach wrongly" in the preceding clause is correct, "teach
yourselves wrongly" is the correct form in the latter. The word is thus changed
from the adjective to the adverb form, since "wrong" is modifying "teach" and
not "yourselves" and is thus an adverb and not an adjective. Neither FIP nor
Blue Sparkly change this. Sub-Ur is the same also.
[T46] The HLC manuscript has this as "placed." The entire paragraph is present
tense except for the second word in this sentence, "placed." In the Sub-Ur it
is "places" thus preserving the present tense. It is corrected to "places" in
FIP also, though not in "Blue Sparkly." We have restored the Sub-Ur reading.
[T47] The HLC manuscript has this as "believe." An obvious typo. Sub-Ur has it
in the past tense and emphasized "are BELIEVED in." Blue Sparkly corrects it.
FIP completely re-writes the passage. Instead of "are BELIEVED in" (Sub-Ur),
FIP holds "seem possible because you can respond to two conflicting voices."
[T48] The HLC manuscript has this as "defent."
[T49] The HLC manuscript has a semi-colon here. The Sub-Ur has a period. We
think the period is better. We are unable to locate this passage in FIP.
[T50] The HLC manuscript has a colon here. The Sub-Ur has a period. This
material is not present in FIP.
[T51] While the HLC has a semicolon here, we agree with FIP and Sub-Ur that it
should be a comma.
[T52] The HLC does not capitalize this, or does the Sub-Ur. FIP does and we
agree with FIP here.
[T53] Both the Sub-Ur and FI
P(2) include this sentence which we think was
inadvertently left out fo the HLC.
[T54] The HLC manuscript has a semicolon here and for the previous comma. FIP
has no punctuation here. The Sub-Ur has commas in both places. We agree with
FIP on this one.
[T55] Both FIP and Sub-Ur include this sentence, and we think it was
inadvertently left out of the HLC.
[T56] While the HLC manuscript has "its" here, both FIP and Sub-Ur have "the."
We agree that’s better. At the end of this sentence, Sub-Ur has the word
"UNmade" where the HLC and FIP have "undone."
[T57] The HLC manuscript has this as "possible", an obvious typo. We need an
adverb here, Sub-Ur agrees. FIP agrees.
[T58] Both FIP and Sub-Ur include this sentence which is apparently inadvertently
omitted from the HLC.
[T59] The HLC manuscript has this as "a" rather than "an" The Sub-Ur has it
correct, so does FIP.
[T60] The HLC manuscript has the paragraph break here, after the colon. Both
Sub-Ur and FIP have the paragraph break one sentence before, as we also chose to
do.
[T61] The word "Word" is capitalized here, as the quote from John 1:14
capitalizes it.
[T62] Original is illegible. Handwriting of unknown origin suggests it be
capitalized, the Sub-Ur does not capitalize it and in this case, neither do we.
[T63] The HLC manuscript has a paragraph break here, after the colon. Neither
the Sub-Ur nor FIP have that paragraph break, it is unique to the HLC and rather
clearly inappropriate, and thus removed.
[T64] The HLC manuscript has "by" rather than "be".
[T65] "To price for getting" is changed to "The price for getting" in FIP, but
Sub-Ur agrees with the HLC.
[T66] The HLC manuscript has YOUR and SELF over a line ending and there is no
visible hyphen. The photocopy is faded on the right margin however. Both
Sub-Ur and FIP have this as a single word, "YOURSELF", and so we’ve gone with
that.
[T67] The word "vacillates" is misspelled in the original, and corrected here.
[T68] The original manuscript has a comma here. We agree with FIP that the colon
is better.
[T69] This entire paragraph is omitted from the HLC and FIP 1st. FIP 2nd has it
and so does the Sub-Ur.
[T70] In the HLC the word "self" is not capitalized, but it is in the Sub-Ur. We
feel that clarity is lost in removing the emphasis so it has been restored.
[T71] While both the Sub-Ur and FI
P(2) have this sentence, the original HLC
leaves it out. We think that was by mistake.
[T72] Both the Sub-Ur and HLC capitalize "His" here. The Sub-Ur capitalizes both
"He" and "His" while FIP Second Edition puts both lower case. We agree with
Sub-Ur because "God’s Son" here refers to a person of the Trinity.
[T73] The words "Great Rays" are not capitalized in the HLC nor the Sub-Ur. FIP
capitalizes them and we agree with FIP.
[T74] Same as above
[T75] Same as above
[T76] Neither HLC nor FIP capitalize "Light" here but the Sub-Ur does and we
agree with the Sub-Ur.
[T77] The comma here is not present in the HLC nor FIP but the Sub-Ur has it and
we think it is necessary.
[T78] The HLC does not capitalize "Great Light", but both FIP and the Sub-Ur do.
[T79] Neither the Sub-Ur nor HLC capitalize "Rays" although FIP does. We agree
with FIP. Arguably "light" should be capitalized in this paragraph also but
none of the versions consulted does so.
[T80] The words "the foundation of" are not present in the original. Both FIP
and Sub-Ur include them and their absence appears inadvertent.
[T81] The words "capable of" are not present in any version consulted. FIP
renders this phrase "only God’s purpose can be accomplished," which catches the
likely meaning. The original "only God’s purpose is accomplishment" just
doesn’t make sense. The Sub-Ur capitalizes the word "IS" for "ONLY God’s
Purpose IS accomplishment." The Notes need to be consulted on this one.
[T82] The HLC has "interpretation" in the singular, although the Sub-Ur and FIP
both pluralize it.
[T83] The comma is not present in the HLC or FIP. The Sub-Ur has it however, and
its presence makes the passage clearer.
[T84] The original and all versions have "evoked" here but it seems that "invoke"
is better. What is being discussed seems to be more of an invocation. Not
changed, but considered. Again, we really need to check the Notes on this one.
[T85] While both the Sub-Ur and FI
P(2) have this phrase, the original HLC leaves
it out. We think that was by mistake.
[T86] Originally there is a comma here, but a colon is more appropriate.
[T87] The HLC manuscript has "had" here. Both Sub-Ur and FIP have "has" as we
do. This was likely a typo.
[T88] "Yet consider this:" ends paragraph 6 in the HLC manuscript. Ending a
paragraph with a colon is bad form. The words "Consider this:" were moved to
the beginning of the next paragraph (7). These words do not appear in the
"Sub-Ur" although the rest of the two paragraphs do. In FIP this material shows
up in Chapter 13, and the paragraph break is changed one sentence sooner. Blue
Sparkly leaves it as is.
[T89] The Sub-Ur has this as "if you will but bring it to light, the Light WILL
dispel it." The addition of the word "the" before the first (lower case)
"light" in the HLC transforms the meaning. "Bring to light" simply means
"reveal." "Bright to THE light" means bring to God, a very different nuance
with the definite article present. The second "Light" which is capitalized in
both versions is capitalized because it is a reference to the deity, whereas the
first "light" is not. So we are considering the first "the" before "light" to be
a typo and removing it. FIP drops all of the capitalization here and keeps the
article. This results in a completely transformed meaning, since "light"
without a capital simply means "light" or a form of electromagnetic energy that
is visible whereas "Light" with a capital L means God. The difference here is
between visible radiation dispelling the fear and God Himself dispelling it.
The earlier manuscripts have it as God, the later as mere "light."
[T90] The words "Love" and "It" referring to the "Love" of God are both
capitalized in the HLC. In the Sub-Ur they are not capitalized. In FIP only
Love is capitalized. If Love is capitalized due to its being "divine" Love,
then the pronoun referring to it, "It" in this case, needs to be capitalized
also.
[T91] The preceding two sentences are not in the HLC manuscript, but appear in
the Sub-Ur and in FI
P(2). Their absence appears inadvertent.
[T92] The word "to" is added because the grammar demands it. In no other version
is this correction made. This one should be checked against the Notes. There
are two possible ways to read this: Either it is God to Whom you must offer
them (His Sons which He has just given you) or it is God Who you must offer TO
them. Due to the use of "whom" instead of "who" here, we feel the word "to" was
intended before "Whom" and that "them", who are God’s Sons just given me, are to
be given back to God.
[T93] The Sub-Ur adds the comma plus emphasis: "But for this, light MUST be
excluded."
[T94] This colon was originally a comma. FIP changes it to a colon and we agree.
[T95] There are several open questions in Chapter 13 which require more
consideration, notably "awaking" which FIP changes to "waking" (sometimes) and
"whate’er" which FIP and Blue Sparkly change to "whatever" and "builded"
(another anachronism) which they leave intact. There is an argument that the
removal of a syllable and the addition of a syllable in the latter two generate
Iambic Pentameter.
[T96] Both FI
P(2) and Sub-Ur include this sentence which appears to have been
inadvertently omitted from the HLC.
[T97] This sentence appears in Sub-Ur and FI
P(2) but not in the HLC. It’s
omission appears inadvertent.
[T98] In the sentence "Can you expect to use your brothers as a means to "solve"
the past, and still to see them as they really are?" the problem is with the
final infinitive "to see" in a place where the present tense is called for. The
final "to" is out of place. The trick here is with implied antecedents. Some
might dispute whether the grammar problem is "real" or "imaginary." To this
native English speaker’s ear, there is something terribly audibly wrong with the
sentence as it stands, and what’s wrong is that the infinitive is being used
where the present tense of the verb "to see" is required. All versions
consulted keep it this way so we’re not removing it but we are flagging it as a
grammar question for future study. Once again, we need the Notes!!!
[T99] This comma is not in the HLC but is in the Sub-Ur. We think it was left
out inadvertently.
[T100] This comma is not in the HLC but is in the Sub-Ur. We think it was left
out inadvertently.
[T101] This comma is not in the HLC but is in the Sub-Ur and FIP. We think it
was left out inadvertently.
[T102] The HLC manuscript has a comma instead of a colon. We replaced the comma
with a colon because it is more appropriate.
[T103] This clause between the two commas is present in the Sub-Ur and FI
P(2) but
not in the HLC . We’re viewing it as an inadvertent omission.
[T104] The HLC has a comma here, but FI
P(2) and the Sub-Ur have a colon. We
agree with FIP that the colon is better.
[T105] The HLC has "every" here. The Sub-Ur and FI
P(2) have it as "each." We
agree with FIP about restoring the earlier form here. This may well be an
instance where Schucman "undid" an earlier editing change. It appears that the
original was "each", changed to "every" with the HLC, and then changed back in
the 1973-74 editing.
[T106] Both Sub-Ur and FI
P(2) include this sentence which is missing from the
HLC. We agree with FIP that the omission was an error.
[T107] The word "itself" begins with a capital in the HLC, but not in any other
version. We chose to go with the Sub-Ur and FIP in removing the capitalization.
[T108] The HLC manuscript, FIP and BS all have "lie" (plural) here, the Sub-Ur
has "lies" which is correct. The subject is "hope" and it is this (singular)
entity which "lies in it".
[T109] This sentence appears in the Sub-Ur and FI
P(2) but not in the HLC. We
agree with FIP that it should be restored.
[T110] This sentence is not present in the original manuscript. Both FI
P(2) and
Sub-Ur include it. We agree with FIP that the omission was inadvertent..
[T111] The original, Sub-Ur and BS have a comma here. FI
P(2) introduces the
colon and we agree that it is better.
[T112] This line appears in FI
P(2) and Sub-Ur, but not in the HLC manuscript. We
agree with FIP that it was omitted inadvertently.
[T113] "The Host of God needs not seek to find anything" which is how the HLC
puts it, is an apparent spelling error. The word "Host" is of course plural,
referring to many. Yet it is also singular, in that there is one host, as there
is for instance, one "crowd" consisting of many people. In this sense whether
it is dealt with grammatically as singular or plural is a matter of convention,
and such conventions can vary from region to region in the English-speaking
world. To our ears, it should be "need" rather than "needs" (The error is in
the Photocopy, and it is preserved in the FIP edition. However, in the Sub-Ur
the line reads correctly "The Host of God need not seek to find ANYTHING." This
reading was used as it appears correct and the emphasis on ANYTHING from the
Sub-Ur is kept because it is more consistent with the rest of the paragraph and
the preceding sentence where that word is also emphasized. The removal of the
emphasis appears inadvertent here.
[T114] The HLC manuscript has "attempt" which is corrected to "attempts."
[T115] Both the Sub-Ur and FI
P(2) capitalize "Him" here, and that is obviously
correct, though the HLC doesn’t.
[T116] FIP and Sub-Ur both have this sentence. It’s omission in the HLC appears
inadvertent.
[T117] Both FI
P(2) and Sub-Ur have this sentence. It’s omission from the HLC
appears inadvertent.
[T118] This sentence appears in FI
P(2). It is probably restored from the
Thetford Typescript. It is not in the Sub-Ur or any other version we’ve been
able to consult. Its omission was probably an inadvertent typing error in
Schucman’s first re-typing. We cannot be sure, however, that it was not a late
editorial interpolation by the FIP Second Edition editors.
[T119] Both FI
P(2) and Sub-Ur have this sentence. It’s omission from the HLC
appears to have been inadvertent.
[T120] These four words, "Awake and share it," appear in FI
P(2) and Sub-Ur.
Their omission from the HLC appears inadvertent. The Sub-Ur contains one more
sentence immediately before this: "He has Himself reminded you of Him." It was
possibly removed for good reason … it doesn’t quite make sense. "He has
reminded you of IT" might make sense. So too might "He has reminded you of
Himself." There appears to be a copying error between the Notes and the Sub-Ur
here, but having no access to the Notes at this time, we can’t check.
[T121] The words "Cause and Effect" are not capitalized in the HLC manuscript.
We capitalize them here pursuant to the Author’s instructions on page 42 of the
original, Chapter II:E:12.
[T122] The words "to bring LOVE INTO SEPARATION. And, as such, it is nothing more
than an attempt" appear in FI
P(2) and Sub-Ur and appear to have been
inadvertently left out of the HLC.
[T123] The word "one" is present in FI
P(2) and Sub-Ur but missing from the HLC.
[T124] This clause is missing in the HLC but present in both Sub-Ur and FI
P(2).
Its omission appears to be inadvertent.
[T125] Both FI
P(2) and Sub-Ur include the words "unworthy of value" although the
HLC does not. The omission was probably inadvertent but perhaps not, as this
paragraph includes other, probably intentional editing.
[T126] The HLC manuscript has "hold" instead of "holds."
[T127] Both FI
P(2) and Sub-Ur have this sentence which appears to have been
inadvertently omitted from the HLC.
[T128] The HLC manuscript has the singular "has" here, while both the Sub-Ur and
FIP use "have" which we agree, is correct.
[T129] The HLC manuscript has hyper alert as all one word: hyperalert.
[T130] Both FI
P(2) and Sub-Ur include this phrase ""for application is
specific." Its omission from the HLC appears inadvertent.
[T131] Both FI
P(2) and Sub-Ur include this sentence which is, apparently
inadvertently, omitted from the HLC.
[T132] Both FI
P(2) and Sub-Ur have this sentence. It’s omission from the HLC is
likely inadvertent.
[T133] The HLC has "him" here but the Sub-Ur has "Him" which we feel is correct.
FI
P(2) agrees.
[T134] This sentence appears in both FIP and Sub-Ur and appears to have been
inadvertently omitted from the HLC.
[T135] The HLC manuscript has "accepted" here, and FIP preserves it. The Sub-Ur
has "accept" which appears correct. Otherwise the tense shifts from present to
past in the middle of the sentence, which really doesn’t make sense in the
context.
[T136] The HLC manuscript reads: "No limits on substitution is laid upon you" is
a grammar error, disagreement in number. It must be "limit is" or "limits are."
The latter is used because that is what the Sub-Urtext uses. FIP agrees.
[T137] Both FIP and Sub-Ur have the words: "has a special place. It is the means
by which you try to make your SLEEPING dreams COME TRUE. From this, you do not
waken. The special relationship" which are missing from the HLC. The omission
appears inadvertent.
[T138] Both FIP and Sub-Ur include this sentence, which appears inadvertently
omitted from the HLC.
[T139] Both Sub-Ur and FIP have this sentence which appears to have been
inadvertently omitted from the HLC.
[T140] The original HLC manuscript has the word "lie" which is the plural form
and is incorrect since the subject, "power" is singular. The subject is
singular "power" and the verb must be "lies", and we changed it to that. FIP
changes this also but does other, apparently inadvertent, things to the sentence
which completely transforms its meaning:
"The power of joining its blessing lies in the fact that it is now impossible
for you or your brother to experience fear alone, or to attempt to deal with it
alone."
In FIP it’s no longer the "power of joining and its blessing" which would be the
blessing of joining, but it becomes "the power of joining its blessing." This
is likely a typo in FIP since there is no antecedent for the pronoun "it" … just
what noun does "it" refer to or stand for in this re-write? The Sub-Ur has it
as "lies" and we went with that.
[T141] "Which ever is saner" occurs in the HLC and the Sub-Ur. FIP changes it to
"Whoever", at least recognizing the spelling error. "Whichever" strikes us as
the appropriate spelling correction.
[T142] The HLC manuscript does not contain the word "in" here, but the Sub-Urtext
does. The precise problem here is difficult to pin down to a grammatical rule,
but it sounds wrong, and sounds like it was meant to say "for it is IN that
realization .." not "it is the realization" which is how the HLC reads. Sure
enough, that is the way it stands in the Sub-Ur. This is being called a "typo"
and restored to the Sub-Ur’s reading. FIP doesn’t change this one.
[T143] FIP adds the sentences from the Sub-Ur: "It is NOT made up of different
PARTS, which reach each other." In the Sub-Ur this is marked, by handwritten
square brackets for deletion. Thus its omission is perhaps not inadvertent, but
rather intentional.
[T144] Both FIP and Sub-Ur include this sentence which appears to have been
inadvertently left out.
[T145] Both FIP and Sub-Ur include this sentence which appears to have been
inadvertently left out.
[T146] Both FIP and Sub-Ur include this sentence which appears to have been
inadvertently left out.
[T147] The HLC manuscript has a typo here, spelling the word "concentrat".
However this may be the fact that the word runs to the end of a long line, and
perhaps the photocopy is missing part of the original. In any case, it seems
clear it is supposed to be "concentrate".
[T148] Both FIP and Sub-Ur include this sentence which appears to have been
inadvertently left out.
[T149] The expression "make believe" is changed to "make-believe". FIP agrees
with this correction.
[T150] Both FIP and Sub-Ur include thie words "of forgiveness" which appear to
have been inadvertently left out of the HLC.
[T151] This, or one or two sentences later, is probably where the
original for the "Love’s meaning" interpolated introduction section (Chapter 1A)
came from originally, and it should probably be put back here. This has not
been done in this edition. The likely need for it is simply being noted. We
didn’t move it, we’re just flagging it.
"The course does not aim at teaching the meaning of love, for that is beyond
what can be taught. It does aim, however, at removing the blocks to the
awareness of love's Presence, Which is your natural inheritance. The opposite
of love is fear, but what is all- encompassing can have no opposite."
(Editor’s note: While Helen placed this material at the beginning of Chapter
One, it was clearly NOT dictated there. We do have the Notes for that page, and
it is not present there. It seems very out of place there and very much better
here, so we’ve inserted it as a suggested change. Certainly it makes sense
here, and makes no sense at all in chapter one)
[T152] Both FIP and Sub-Ur include this sentence which appears to have been
inadvertently left out of the HLC.
[T153] Original has "unreconcilable" which doesn’t show up in any dictionary we
checked.
[T154] While FIP and the Sub-Ur both retain it, ‘disconnected to each other’ is
not proper English usage. It should be "disconnected from each other." In the
Sub-Ur, it reads "DISconnected to each other" which actually makes more sense as
a word play. Thus the capitalization of "DIS" is restored to the HLC from the
Sub-Ur.
[T155] "Your faithlessness had driven you apart" should probably be "has driven"
since the whole paragraph is in the simple past, not the past perfect tense.
FIP agrees with this correction. It will prove interesting to check this
against the Notes when that becomes possible. This is probably a typo in the
Sub-Ur which went uncorrected until the FIP edition.
Upon further consideration, the Sub-Ur/HLC rendering in past perfect is restored
because there is a meaning shift between "has driven" and "had driven." The
perfect tense makes the action complete, done, over with while the simple past
allows the action to be ongoing and not completed. In the context it seems like
the faithlessness being referred to was indeed a "past perfected" (finished
with) issue, and not an immediate issue since those being addressed ARE indeed
"recognizing salvation in each other" so their faithlessness must be over and
done with, such as "had driven" suggests. Due to the fact that there are
differences of opinion on this, we’ll simply draw your attention to a possible
error here and not actually change the HLC.
[T156] The original has the past tense: "changed". The Sub-Ur has it as we do,
in the present tense: "change". FIP agrees.
[T157] Both FIP and Sub-Ur include this phrase which appears to have been
inadvertently left out of the HLC.
[T158] Two entire lines here, "has already begun. This is the way in which He
will bring means and goal in line. The peace He laid, deep within BOTH of you,"
are missing from the HLC. FI
P(2) restores part of it but with alterations.
We’re restoring it all from the Sub-Ur, deeming its omission to have been
inadvertent.
[T159] Misspelling of the word "wisp." HLC and Sub-Ur both have it as ‘whisp.’
FIP corrects it, so do we. It should be "wisp".
[T160] Both FIP and Sub-Ur include this sentence which appears to have been
inadvertently left out of the HLC.
[T161] There is a grammatical problem with agreement in number here in the
original which is "each has messengers which they send." It must be either
"both have messengers which they send" or "each has messengers which it sends."
FIP corrects it in the second way, we correct it in the first way because
otherwise the word "them" also has to be changed to "it" later in the sentence.
One inadvertent mistake is far more probable than two, in our view. The Sub-Ur
has the same problem. Reference to the Notes is here required.
[T162] Both the HLC and the Sub-Ur have "breathe of love." It seems obvious to
us that it should be "breath of love."
[T163] The HLC manuscript deviates from the Sub-Ur here in a way that is
grammatically incorrect and quite confusing. We’ve restored the Sub-Ur reading
for this passage. See SPECIFIC CHANGES for the full explanation. It’s too
long for a footnote.
[T164] The HLC reads "This the value that you think." Both the Sub-Ur and FIP
agree with us that it should be "This is the value that you think." Another
scribal copying error … Helen and/or Bill must have been overtired when typing
this page!
[T165] Both FIP and Sub-Ur include this sentence which appears to have been
inadvertently left out of the HLC.
[T166] The HLC manuscript reads: "This is no arrogance". It sounds like it
should be "This is not arrogance." In the Sub-Ur we read "This is NOT
arrogance" and the stress there convinces us this is indeed a typo in the HLC
manuscript. In fact, because it is clearer, we’ve restored the emphasis from
the Sub-Ur as well. FIP doesn’t fix it.
[T167] Sub-Ur has "it" rather than "thus far" … we’re not sure if this is an
inadvertent copying error or intentional editing. FIP changes it to "this far."
In the oder rendition, "it" refers to the fear of God while "thus far" refers
to a far more vague notion. We think this was likely an editing error but
since it is not clearly inadvertent, we’re not changing the HLC text.
[T168] Both FIP and Sub-Ur include this sentence which appears to have been
inadvertently left out of the HLC.
[T169] The construction "forgiveness on himself"in the HLC manuscript is odd. One
would expect "forgiveness of himself." FIP preserves this reading. the Sub-Ur
has it "forgiveness upon himself" which we prefer, and so the HLC copy here has
been restored to its earlier form. Once again, a reference to the original
notes is required here, since the style remains curious and there may well be
other copying errors in this sentence. For instance, if we place a word such as
"bestowing" before the word "forgiveness" above, all the oddities in the
construction and word choice vanish.
[T170] Both FIP and Sub-Ur include this sentence which appears to have been
inadvertently left out of the HLC.
[T171] Agreement in number. It appears at first glance that it should be "lies"
and not "lie." FIP agrees. Blue Sparkly does not. The Sub-Ur keeps it as
"lie."
We almost fixed this "error" but upon further inquiry we noticed that the
subject of this sentence is plural "his release and your redemption" and the
verb is plural "lie" and the object of the sentence is "In your forgiveness".
It’s an inverted sentence. So, the Sub-Ur and the HLC are right and FIP, in
this case, has erred.
[T172] In the second sentence we read: "No-one but sees his chosen home an altar
to HIMSELF." We have a prepositional deficit here. There are at least two
simple ways to fix this:
1) No one but sees in his chosen home an altar to Himself … or
2) No one but sees his chosen home as an altar to Himself.
FIP chooses the second. After careful examination of the context, it appears
that the "chosen home" (which can be the body, and in this example is) is not
the altar per se, but that altars reside within homes. Homes are not altars,
but they may contain altars. We thus feel that if the grammar is to be
corrected, it should be in the manner of example 1, above, "No one but sees in
his chosen home an altar to Himself," believing the FIP editors erred here.
HOWEVER! There is poetic metre to consider. The original, with prepositional
deficit, is better Iambic Pentameter than EITHER correction for grammar.
This raises an issue which recurs, when grammar errors are required to preserve
Iambic Pentameter, should they be left uncorrected? At the moment our choice is
to leave them uncorrected but flag them with possible corrections. The latter
is likely to be especially helpful to readers whose native tongue is not English
and who are more likely to be confused by grammar aberrations.
[T173] In the sentence: "For if you do, so will it be to you:" we have a colon
where there should be a period in the original HLC manuscript. Corrected. In
the Sub-Ur and FIP there is a period rather than a colon here also.
[T174] The HLC and Sub-Ur have "they are" rather than "it is" here. FIP changes
it to "it is" which we’ve also done with some reservations.
FIP changes this to "it is", deciding the antecedent for the pronoun is
"condition". Is it the "condition" which is "not true" or is it the
"adjustements?" In the Sub-Ur, we get little help. We find "BECAUSE THEY ARE
NOT TRUE" capitalized and standing as a separate sentence between periods.
Errors in EMPHASIZED words are extremely rare, no example has so far been found,
so we are reluctant to accept FIP’s conclusion that there is an agreement in
number error. We have not yet come up with anything better and perhaps won’t
until we can check the Notes. It is possible the FIP editors did precisely that
and that this correction derives from there.
This is unlikely however as the correction was made before the Second Edition
"proofreading" as it appears in later printings of the First Edition as a rather
obvious "paste-up" correction on line 2 of page 400 of the First Edition. The
grammatical problem was likely noticed and thus removed without checking the
original since there is no evidence that they ever checked the original until
Second Edition.
For now, for lack of an alternative which appears any better, we are going with
the FIP remedy. "They are" becomes "it is".
[T175] "Here all thoughts of any separation between us becomes impossible."
Grammar problem: agreement in number. "Thoughts become" or "thought becomes" is
ok, but "thoughts becomes" is not. This was corrected to read: "Here all
thought of any separation between us becomes impossible" because that is how
the Sub-Ur reads. FIP resolves it the other way, leaving "thoughts" plural and
changing "becomes" to "become."
[T176] Both FIP and Sub-Ur include this sentence which appears to have been
inadvertently left out of the HLC.
[T177] HLC has this as two words, "heart beat." Sub-Ur and FIP agree with our
dictionaries that this should be one word "heartbeat".
[T178] There is a preposition deficit in all versions consulted. We should
perhaps add the word "of." When parsed, this becomes obvious. You can’t say:
"your body is use." It has to be "your body is of use." The addition of the
adjective "little" and the conjunction "as" which introduces the comparison
obscure the underlying grammatical structure, which is probably why this one
escaped the notice of so many editors previously. However, adding a word
changes the poetic meter and this is probably an instance of grammar being
sacrificed to generate IP.
[T179] In the sentence "Is the malevolence of the unholy relationship, so seeming
powerful and so bitterly misunderstood," the adjective "seeming" should be the
adverb "seemingly" modifying the implied verb "is" as in "(is) so seemingly
powerful." Grammatically we need an adverb here, and the adjective form is
incorrect. Sub-Ur and FIP maintain the adjective form.
However, the author seems to use adjectives as adverbs quite often, so while
flagging this as a potential problem, we aren’t changing it.
[T180] In the sentence: "What if you recognized this world is a hallucination?",
we should have the word "an" instead of "a". The Sub-Ur has it "a" while FIP
corrects it to "an" as do we.
[T181] Both FIP and Sub-Ur include these sentences which appear to have been
inadvertently left out of the HLC.
[T182] Quite possibly the word "it" should be present here. See Specific Changes
for a more extensive discussion. There are several issues in this section which
require consultation with the Notes.
[T183] Another case of "wisp" being misspelled "whisp." FIP corrects this, so do
we.
[T184] Both FIP and Sub-Ur include these two words which appear to have been
inadvertently left out of the HLC.
[T185] FIP changes "should" to "could" … which may come from the Notes … but the
Sub-Ur has it as "should" so we’re leaving it until we can check the Notes.
[T186] "Then only it is possible" should be "Then only is it possible." FIP
preserves the HLC reading. But the Sub-Ur has it correctly. We’ve restored the
Sub-Ur reading, viewing this as a typo.
[T187] See next footnote.
[T188] The HLC and Sub-Ur both read: "Desiring to look
upon their brothers in holiness, the power of belief and faith goes far beyond
the body, SUPPORTING vision, not obstructing it." FI
P(2) alters this to "As
they desire" We changed the period before "Desiring" to a comma and the comma
after "holiness" to a period which cures the grammar more easily, and without
having to change any words.
[T189] The HLC manuscript has "light" where "alight" is required. So, this is a
contraction, and is rendered "’light".
[T190] Both FIP and Sub-Ur include this sentence which appears to have been
inadvertently left out of the HLC.
[T191] The word "Self" has been capitalized in the word "self-EXTENDING" such
that it becomes "Self-EXTENDING." This was done to maintain consistency with
the use of capitalization on "Self" when it refers to a higher, or divine
"Self," which is clearly the "Self" involved in this passage. Sub-Ur and FIP
both capitalize "Self" in this instance. FIP drops the emphasis on "EXTENDING"
but the Sub-Ur includes the emphasis.
[T192] The sentence "It does not value them, but their correction" is
grammatically problematic and somewhat confusing, meaning it does value their
correction, but stating it in a very clumsy way. In the Sub-Ur, the words
"them" and "correction" are emphasized which substantially clarifies the
meaning, if not fixing the grammar. Since the contrast between what is and is
not valued is clearer in the Sub-Ur, the emphasis from the Sub-Ur was put back
into the HLC, the resultant sentence being: "It does not value THEM, but their
CORRECTION." With the emphasis it is obvious that "it does value" is implied
between "but" and "their correction." Otherwise it is unclear.
[T193] The word "SEEMS: is not capitalized in the HLC manuscript. It is
capitalized in the Sub-Ur and seems clearer that way.
[T194] We change the comma after "yourself" to a colon. So does FIP. The Sub-Ur
keeps it as a comma, but we agree with FIP on this one.
[T195] Both FIP and Sub-Ur include this sentence which appears to have been
inadvertently left out of the HLC.
[T196] This sentence lacks a verb. Perhaps it should be "There is nothing so
blinding" or "Nothing is so blinding." All versions have it the same way. Once
again, we need to check the Notes.
[T197] The HLC manuscript has "Unholy values will produce confusion, and in
AWARENESS." FIP has it: "Unholy values will produce confusion, and in
awareness." Sub-Ur has it: "Unholy values will produce confusion, and IN
AWARENESS". We find many ‘unconventional’ spelling patterns in the Sub-Ur, which
one might refer to as idiosyncratic spelling or just spelling mistakes. The use
of prefixes such as "un" where we’d expect "in" and vice versa is common, as is
the creation of totally new words such as "extra-mental" and "intra-mental" as a
kind of word game or pun to illustrate or emphasize a point. Therefore it
appears to be that "IN AWARENESS" is one such word game which works orally but
not so well in print. The basic point of the original is preserved by using the
word "UNAWARENESS" however. Arguably it might be better to represent it as UN
AWARENESS (preserving the original two words) or even just leave it alone
entirely and present it as IN AWARENESS with the emphasis as in the Sub-Ur.
An alternative reading suggested by some is that the comma and the word "and" be
removed to make it "Unholy values will produce confusion IN AWARENESS."
Either correction makes the sentence grammatical although there is a meaning
shift between "confusion in awareness" on the one hand and "confusion and
unawareness" on the other. It seems unlikely that a comma would be
inadvertently added, along with an entire word, and very much more likely that a
space was inadvertently added to a common (in the Sub-Ur) form of misspelling
"unawareness." There are a number of instances of the typing error of adding an
extra space. It’s quite a common issue with manual typewriters. Usually it is
completely obvious and we simply corrected it without comment. If we were to
see "UN AWARENESS" we would not hesitate to diagnose this one as an extra space.
Where we see "IN AWARENESS" there is more than one reasonable possibility.
A careful reading of the previous paragraphs suggests rather strongly that it is
not a "confusion in awareness" that is the point at issue here, but very much
"confusion AND unawareness."
However, like so many others, this one will have to wait for the Notes for
resolution.
[T198] [T198] Originally "past" (PAST in sub-Ur), this is changed to "passed" in
FIP. In the context, this appears correct.
[T199] The sentence appears inadvertently omitted, as it is present in Sub-Ur and
FIP.
[T200] The words "and serve it willingly" are not capitalized in the HLC. They
are capitalized in the Sub-Ur where they stand as a separate sentence. The
period before the "AND" is more inappropriate and is probably a typo. This
whole sentence is badly mangled in the HLC and we’ve reconstructed it as best we
can. Once more, we need to check the Notes.
[T201] The sentence appears inadvertently omitted, as it is present in Sub-Ur and
FIP.
[T202] FIP has this as "nor" which is probably better. However, the case for it
isn’t powerful enough to convince us we need to change it.
[T203] In the original HLC manuscript this is "illusions’s". In the Sub-Ur it is
"illusion’s" and that appears to be what was intended as there is no apparent
point to making the illusion plural, and it was not done correctly so was almost
certainly a typo and not an intent to change this to a plural. See Specific
Changes for more details
[T204] This sentence appears in both FIP and Sub-Ur. It’s omission from the HLC
appears inadvertent.
[T205] This sentence appears in both FIP and Sub-Ur. It’s omission from the HLC
appears inadvertent. FIP puts it at the beginning of the next Section … this
section division is rather arbitrary.
[T206] Every "one" here almost certainly refers to "every one of your beliefs"
and not "everyone" as in "all people." Sub-Ur omits "the" in this sentence.
[T207] In the original HLC, the sentence "What would they see instead?" is the
last sentence of the preceding paragraph. Both Sub-Ur and FIP move it as we
have done. The following sentence, beginning with "The shining radiance …" is
missing a verb so is not a proper sentence as it stands in all versions, without
the implied "(They would see )". The question and the answer need to stand
side by side. In this case the implied subject was added in brackets for
clarity. Breaking the paragraph between the question and answer is clearly
inappropriate and th us almost certainly an inadvertent mistake.
[T208] These two words occur in both FIP and Sub-Ur and may have been
inadvertently left out of the HLC.
[T209] "The print of nails are on your hands as well" is what the original reads.
The problem is agreement in number. It must be "prints (plural) are" or (print
(singular) is).
Sub-Ur has the same error, FIP has it "print is" but the reference here is to
the crucifixion in which there was more than one nail and more than one
nail-print so the plural throughout is appropriate. So we simply added an "s"
to "print" making it "The prints of nails are on you hands as well."
Arguably, a few lines up, where it says "Look on the print of nails upon his
hands" should also be the plural "prints" but there isn’t the same strong
grammatical necessity for a correction.
[T210] The words "and care" are missing in the HLC but are present in the Sub-Ur
and FIP.
[T211] (body) implied
[T212] The period after "everywhere" in the original HLC is probably a mistake,
since "EXCEPT in bodies" is not a sentence. The period should be a comma
instead.
[T213] The word "are" is is needed to make a sentence but adding it has IP
implications See.Specific Changes.
[T214] "What" is not capitalized in the original manuscript, but clearly refers
to "its Teacher" which is the Holy Spirit. FIP capitalizes it.
[T215] While FIP and Sub-Ur both retain this reading, it seems obvious to us that
the word "outcome" should be plural here. Either that, or a definite article is
needed to keep it grammatical, such as "a better outcome."
[T216] The HLC manuscript has no comma here. Nor does FIP. The Sub-Ur does, and
it seems much clearer with it.
[T217] This sentence occurs in FIP and Sub-Ur and appears to have been omitted
inadvertently.
[T218] Original has "he is mad" instead of "it is mad." Rather obviously a typo.
FIP preserves the error but the Sub-Ur has this as "it". If it were left as "he"
then the sentence says that the Holy Spirit is mad, since He would be the
antecedent to the pronoun in that case. Rather obviously not correct!
[T219] For some inexplicable reason the original HLC places a period and a
sentence break in this position. FIP keeps it and the Sub-Ur has it also.
Rather clearly, inserting a period causes the second sentence to not be a
sentence at all, a grammar error which the Scribes would not have knowingly
made.
[T220] Perhaps "had" should be changed to "would have" or else it is an
intentional Subjunctive, in which case it is correct.
[T221] HLC does not capitalize "AND" here but Sub-Ur does. The sense here is
that fairness and vengeance are incompatible, and that it is impossible for them
to be together. Neither fairness nor vengeance are "impossible" alone.
Fairness AND vengeance are impossible together or simultaneously. So we
restored the emphasis for clarity.
[T222] The original reads "must be be" instead of "must he be" which is an
obvious typo corrected here
[T223] The word "it" here is not necessary and potentially confusing. However
this peculiar style shows up elsewhere and the editors are not unanimous that it
should be removed. All versions preserve it and we leave it as it is with this
caveat, that it’s clearer if removed. Once again, we need to check the Notes to
see if this is part of the original or not.
[T224] The HLC manuscript misspells this word as "freedome".
[T225] The sentence beginning: "He has not greater difficulty" has obvious
problems. FIP preserves this unchanged. The Sub-Ur reads "He has not a greater
difficulty" which, while not ideal, is a lot better. However, "no greater" or
"not any greater" sound much better. After much consideration, "no greater" was
chosen since it sounds better and there is no question of any "meaning shift"
here. Once again, we need to check the Notes.
[T226] The sentence "It is not a place, and when you reach it is apart from time"
has some obvious problems. In the Sub-Ur emphasis is given the word "when"
which clarifies the meaning: "It is not a place, and WHEN you reach it is apart
from time." The Sub-Ur’s emphasis was returned as it clarifies the meaning.
The idea here, that the "when" or "moment in time" when you reach it is apart
from time is tricky to put into words at all! How can there be a time apart
from time? Yet without the emphasis it can appear nonsensical.
[T227] Both FIP and Sub-Ur include this sentence which appears to have been
omitted by mistake.
[T228] The manuscript, Sub-Ur and Blue Sparkly all have this as "passed." FIP (1
& 2) changes it to "past" and in the context, we agree this is what was
intended, and change it also.
[T229] The entirety of paragraph 7 was omitted from the HLC and FIP 1st. It is
present in the Sub-Ur and in FIP 2nd.
[T230] While both Sub-Ur and HLC have this as "affect", we agree with FI
P(2)
that it should be changed to "effect."
[T231] Originally written (all versions) "from out", there is a prepositional
deficit in this sentence. It needs to be "from out of" or changed to "out from"
instead of "from out" to be correct English. Perhaps it is poetic licence but
once again, we need to check the Notes to see if this is part of the original or
not.
[T232] We agree with FIP that the correct form of the possessive for "vengeance’
heels" should be "vengeance’s heels". A case can be made that either is
correct.
[T233] The HLC and Sub-Ur and FIP all have "the Heaven" here. The definite
article is unusual, and while previous editors leave it in place, it seems to us
it likely should be removed. Reference to the Notes will be required to clear
up whether this superfluous article is there also.
[T234] FIP and Sub-Ur both include this sentence which appears to have been
inadvertently omitted from the HLC.
[T235] Manuscript reads "gently." Sub-Ur and FIP also correct this as we have
[T236] Paragraphs 10, 11 and 12 are restored from the Sub-Ur in FI
P(2) and here.
[T237] "you were lost indeed." sounds much better as "you would be lost indeed."
FIP and Sub-Ur and Blue Sparkly all leave it as it is. We agree and believe
this is one of many instances of the Subjunctive Mood.
[T238] Both FIP and Sub-Ur include this sentence which appears to have been
inadvertently omitted from the HLC.
[T239] Both FIP and Sub-Ur include this sentence which appears to have been
inadvertently omitted from the HLC.
[T240] The future-conditional "would be" is arguably more appropriate here than
the apparently simple past tense "were" However we probably have the
Subjunctive Mood in this case.
[T241] Sub-Ur has "anymore" rather than "then". Arguably better poetic meter.
[T242] Sub-Ur and HLC Manuscript hyphenate "abiding-place." FIP removes it. We
are leaving it in.
[T243] comma added, the Sub-Ur reading being: "And what YOU see the world will
witness, and will witness TO." The emphasis implies a pause or comma here.
Removing the emphasis in the HLC removes the pause, so we put it back. We also
feel the emphasis greatly clarifies the sentences and that its removal must have
been inadvertent.
[T244] HLC original manuscript says "that" instead of "than". FIP and Sub-Ur
agree it should be "than".
[T245] The HLC manuscript has no quotes around "fear." The Sub-Urtext Ur does
and we’ve used the Sub-Ur form since it is clearer.
[T246] HLC original manuscript has "thw CAUSE" instead of "the CAUSE". FIP and
Sub-Ur agree on the fix.
[T247] Both FIP and Sub-Ur include this sentence which appears to have been
inadvertently omitted from the HLC.
[T248] The sentence is the same in the Sub-Ur, HLC and FIP. Yet obviously we
have a problem here, one too many instances of the word "it." The last phrase
could be "what it is given to do" or "what is given it to do" but cannot be
"what it is given it to do" without mangling the grammar. So this should
perhaps be changed to "what is given it to do." The main argument against this
change is that the extra "it" makes the line into Iambic Pentameter. Thus it
has not been changed but is flagged as a grammar problem. Once again,
reference to the Notes may help resolve this question.
[T249] The use of "waits" here, where "await" or "wait upon" or "wait for" or
even "wait" appears intended, introduces several grammatical problems. The word
"memory" is the subject, the word "waits" the verb. "It (memory) waits for the
future" is correct, but "It (memory) does not waits for the future" is not.
This has to be "memory does not wait for." Once again, reference to the Notes
may help resolve this question. Our best guess is that "waits" was supposed to
be "wait" as a contraction of "await" which means we’d spell by our Style Guide
it is to be spelled "’wait".
[T250] "Nor that you be excluded" should be "Nor that you will be excluded" or
even "should be" or "might be" in contemporary English grammar. This can be
considered "poetic licence" and also is a case of the subjunctive mood. The
period between "wills" and "Nor"", which occurs in the manuscript, is not
needed. The two sentences should probably be one. Both Sub-Ur and FIP preserve
this structure but we see no reason for the period, and so remove it
[T251] The problem here is with "a something." The indefinite article is
apparently not needed. In the Sub-Ur we find quotes around the word "something"
which seem necessary here, and inadvertently left out. So we put the quotes
back in as it makes the statement clearer.
[T252] The word "self" in this sentence, in both instances, should probably be
capitalized for consistency, since elsewhere "self" refers to the illusory
"self" and "Self" refers to the true "Self." In this case, we are told that we
think the body is the true "Self" or that we are thinking that the "self" is
really the "Self." Lower case would be appropriate only if the meaning of the
sentence were that we think the body is an illusion rather than real. While we
are told it is an illusion, in this passage, we are being told that we think it
is the real "Self."
[T253] This line, present in the Sub-Ur, and in modified form in FIP, appears to
have been left out inadvertently. FIP replaces "he instantly withdrew" with "did
he but instantly withdraw." Reference to the Notes will be required to
determine if this is interpolation by FIP or restoration of the original.
[T254] The HLC has this as "loving" but both the Sub-Ur and FIP have it as
"living" which we feel is likely correct.
[T255] The quotes around "something" do not appear in the manuscript nor the
Sub-Ur nor FIP, but are used in the next paragraph and other times in the same
construction. We feel the quotes were intended for clarity and inadvertently
left out.
[T256] Archaic form of the Subjunctive Mood, not actually an error.
[T257] The comma is not in the original HLC manuscript, but is in the Sub-Ur and
is added since this sentence is a real brain-teaser without it.
[T258] Agreement in number error. The original has "linger". So does the
Sub-Ur. But "memory (…) lingers" so this was corrected for grammar. FIP
agrees.
[T259] The HLC Manuscript has a colon here. FIP changes it to a period and
starts a new paragraph. The Sub-Ur has it as a period. It seems to us it
should be just a period. Since the latter part of the sentence is a question,
this might better be a question mark.
[T260] The word "Seven" is not in the original manuscript. It is added for
clarity.
[T261] The word "First" is not in the original manuscript. Because the numerals
for the seven rules for decision vary from the paragraph numbers (which are also
not in the original) and might be confused with each other, we added the words
"First", "Second", "Third", etc. and print them in bold type such that the
original structUre stands out visually within the paragraph numbering system
we’ve added.
[T262] The original manuscript has a period here, beginning a new sentence with
"And." This leaves a sentence fragment with no verb, making it clear the period
should be a comma.
[T263] HLC original manuscript and Blue Sparkly have "questions asks". Both
Sub-Ur and FIP have it as shown here, "question asks"
[T264] Sub-Ur capitalizes "you" here, which clarifies the meaning.
[T265] HLC Manuscript and Sub-Ur have "it" instead of "them" which, referring to
"sins" is a grammar error of agreement in number. FIP corrects it as we have
done.
[T266] The grammar and clarity is better without this "what". But removing it
disrupts poetic meter. Sub-Ur has it, FIP changes "that" to "all". The use of
"all" however is not any more correct and suggests other connotations not in the
original. We decided to leave this one alone, just flagging the problem.
[T267] The original HLC manuscript and the Sub-Ur have "is" instead of "be". FIP
changes it to "be" which sounds better. It would ordinarily be stated "nor is
any worldly goal one with His." The odd word order is often used to make Iambic
Pentameter work, and we think this is one such case.
[T268] It is possible that the word "consequence" should be plural, but all
versions we’ve consulted keep it singular here. There is a substantial
difference in meaning between "thought’s consequence" and "thought’s
consequences" so we left it alone.
[T269] FIP changes "sure and happy" to "thankful". Blue Sparkly omits the word
"you" before "sure and happy."
[T270] Manuscript has "accusor"
[T271] Some think this should be two words, "your self" because it seems that the
body is confused for self and the self in question happens to be YOURS here,
which is quite a different connotation from "yourself." In the Sub-Ur it is
"YOURSELF".
[T272] The semicolon is inappropriate here, it needs to be a colon or a comma.
In the Sub-Ur it appears to be both a comma and a colon, with a manual
correction having been made. We just made it a colon. We haven’t corrected all
inappropriate semicolon use, but this one appears to be a typo.
[T273] All versions have "he see" which is disagreement in number, and needs to
be "he sees" as we have made it. It doesn’t qualify as a Subjunctive.
[T274] This sentence occurs in both the Sub-Ur and FIP. Its omission appears to
have been inadvertent.-
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W(1)
Volume II: Sub-Urtext Workbook
{proof reader’s V 4.0a © 2005-2006 Doug Thompson
Updated October 24, 2006 –
Concordance Tags Edition}
Introduction to the Workbook
May 26, 1969
1. A theoretical foundation such as the text is necessary as a background to
make these exercises meaningful. Yet it is the exercises which will make the
goal possible. An untrained mind can accomplish nothing. It is the purpose of
these exercises to train the mind to think along the lines which the course sets
forth.
2. The exercises are very simple. They do not require more than a few minutes,
and it does not matter where or when you do them. They need no preparation.
They are numbered, running from 1 to 365. The training period is one year. Do
not undertake more than one exercise a day.
3. The purpose of these exercises is to train the mind to a different
perception of everything in the world. The workbook is divided into two
sections, the first dealing with the undoing of what you see now, and the second
with the restoration of sight. It is recommended that each exercise be repeated
several times a day, preferably in a different place each time, and if possible
in every situation in which you spend any long period of time. The purpose is
to train the mind to generalize the lessons, so that you will understand that
each of them is as applicable to one situation as it is to another.
4. Unless specified to the contrary, the exercise should be practiced with the
eyes open, since the end [W1] is to learn how to see. The only rule that should
be followed throughout is to practice the exercises with great specificity.
Each one applies to every situation in which you find yourself, and to
everything you see in it. Each day's exercises are planned around one central
idea, the exercises themselves consisting of applying that idea to as many
specifics as possible. Be sure that you do not decide that there are some
things you see to which the idea for the day is inapplicable. The aim
W(2)
of the exercises is [W2] to increase the application of the idea to everything.
This will not require effort. Only be sure that you make no exceptions in
applying the idea.
5. Some of the ideas you will find hard to believe, and others will seem quite
startling. It does not matter. You are merely asked to apply them to what you
see. You are not asked to judge them, nor even to believe them. You are asked
only to use them. It is their use which will give them meaning to you, and show
you they are true. Remember only this; you need not believe them, you need not
accept them, and you need not welcome them. Some of them you may actively
resist. None of this will matter, nor decrease their efficacy. But allow
yourself to make no exceptions in applying the ideas the exercises contain.
Whatever your reactions to the ideas may be, use them. Nothing more than this
is required.
- - - - - - - - - - - - -
Lesson 1. "Nothing I see in this room (on this street, from this window, in
this place) means anything."
1. Now look slowly around you, and practice applying this idea very
specifically to whatever you see: [W3]
"This table does not mean anything."
"This chair does not mean anything."
"This hand does not mean anything."
"This pen does not mean anything."
2. Then look farther away from your immediate area, and apply the idea to a
wider range:
W(3)
"That door does not mean anything."
"That body does not mean anything."
"That lamp does not mean anything."
"That sign does not mean anything."
"That shadow does not mean anything."
3. Notice that these statements are not arranged in any order, and make no
allowance for differences in the kinds of things to which they are applied.
That is the purpose of the exercise. The statement is merely applied to
anything you see. As you practice applying the idea for the day, use it totally
indiscriminately. Do not attempt to apply it to everything you see, for these
exercises should not become ritualistic. Only be sure that nothing you see is
specifically excluded. One thing is like another as far as the application of
the idea is concerned.
W(4) May 27, 1969
Lesson 2. "I have given everything I see in this room (on this street, from
this window, in this place) all the meaning that it has for me."
1. The exercises with this idea are the same as those for the first one.
Begin with the things that are near you, and apply the idea to whatever your
glance rests on. Then increase the range outward. Turn your head so that you
include whatever is to either side. If possible, turn around and apply the idea
to what was behind you. Remain as indiscriminate as possible in selecting
subjects for its application, do not concentrate on anything in particular, and
do not attempt to include everything in an area or you will introduce strain.
Merely glance easily and fairly quickly around you, trying to avoid selection by
size, brightness, color, material, or relative importance to you.
2. Take the subjects simply as you see them. Try to apply the exercise with
equal ease to a body or a button, a fly or a floor, an arm or an apple. The
sole criterion for applying the idea to anything is merely that your eyes have
‘lighted on it. Make no attempt to include anything in particular, but be sure
that nothing is specifically excluded.
W(5) May 28, 1969
Lesson 3. "I do not understand anything I see in this room (on this street,
from this window, in this place)."
1. Apply this idea in the same way as the previous ones, without making
distinctions of any kind. Whatever you see becomes a proper subject for
applying the idea. Be sure that you do not question the suitability of anything
for the application of the idea. These are not exercises in judgment. Anything
is suitable if you see it. Some of the things you see may have
emotionally-charged meaning for you. Try to lay such feelings aside, and merely
use these things exactly as you would anything else.
2. The point of the exercises is to help you clear your mind of all past
associations, to see things exactly as they appear to you now, and to realize
how little you really understand about them. It is therefore essential that you
keep a perfectly open mind, unhampered by judgment, in selecting the things to
which the idea for the day is to be applied. For this purpose one thing is like
another; equally suitable and therefore equally useful.
W(6) May 29, 1969
Lesson 4. "These thoughts do not mean anything. They are like the things I see
in this room (on this street, from this window, in this place)."
1. Unlike the preceding ones, these exercises do not begin with the idea for
the day. In these practice periods, begin with noting the thoughts that are
crossing your mind for about a minute. Then apply the idea to them. If you are
already aware of unhappy thoughts use them as subjects for the idea. Do not,
however, select only the thoughts you think are "bad." You will find, if you
train yourself to look at your thoughts, that they represent such a mixture
that, in a sense, none of them can be called "good" or "bad." This is why they
do not mean anything.
2. In selecting the subjects for the application of today's idea, the usual
specificity is required. Do not be afraid to use "good" thoughts as well as
"bad." None of them represents your real thoughts, which are being covered up
by them. The "good" ones of which you are aware are but shadows of what lies
beyond, and shadows make sight difficult. The "bad" ones are blocks to sight,
and make seeing impossible. You do not want either.
3. This is a major exercise, and will be repeated from time to time in
somewhat different form. The aim here is to train you in the first steps toward
the goal of separating the meaningless from the meaningful. It is a first
attempt in the long-range purpose of learning to see the meaningless as outside
you and the meaningful within. It is also the beginning of training your mind
to recognize what is the same and what is different. In using your thoughts for
application of the idea for today, identify each thought by the central figure
or event it contains; for example:
"This thought about ___ does not mean anything. It is like the things I see in
this room (or wherever you are)."
W(7)
4. You can also use the idea for a particular thought which you recognize as
harmful. This practice is useful, but is not a substitute for the more random
procedures to be followed for the exercises. Do not, however, examine your mind
for more than a minute or so. You are too inexperienced as yet to avoid a
tendency to become pointlessly preoccupied. Further, since these exercises are
the first of their kind, you may find the suspension of judgment in connection
with thoughts particularly difficult. Do not repeat these exercises more than
three or four times during the day. We will return to them later.
W(8) May 31, 1969
Lesson 5. "I am never upset for the reason I think."
1. This idea, like the preceding one, can be used with any person, situation
or event you think is causing you pain. Apply it specifically to whatever you
believe is the cause of your upset, using the description of the feeling in
whatever term seems accurate to you. The upset may seem to be fear, worry,
depression, anxiety, anger, hatred, jealousy, or any number of forms, all of
which will be perceived as different. This is not true. However, until you
learn that form does not matter, each form becomes a proper subject for the
exercises for the day. Applying the same idea to each of them separately is the
first step in ultimately recognizing they are all the same.
2. When using the idea for today for a specific perceived cause of an upset
in any form, use both the name of the form in which you see the upset, and the
cause which you ascribe to it. For example:
"I am not angry at ____ for the reason I think."
"I am not afraid of ____ for the reason I think."
But again, this should not be substituted for practice periods in which you
first search your mind for "sources" of upset in which you believe, and forms of
upset which you think result.
3. In these exercises, more than in the preceding ones, you may find it hard
to be indiscriminate, and to avoid giving greater weight to some subjects than
to others. It might help to precede the exercises with the statement:
"There are no small upsets. They are all equally disturbing to my peace
of mind."
Then examine your mind for whatever is distressing you, regardless of how much
or how little you think it is doing so.
4. You may also find yourself less willing to apply today's idea
W(9)
to some perceived sources of upset than to others. If this occurs, think first
of this:
"I cannot keep this form of upset and let the others go. For the purposes of
these exercises, then, I will regard them all as the same."
Then search your mind for no more than a minute or so, and try to identify a
number of different forms of upset that are disturbing you, regardless of the
relative importance you may give them. Apply the idea for today to each of
them, using the name of both the source of the upset as you perceive it, and of
the feelings as you experience it. Further examples are:
"I am not worried about ____ for the reason I think."
"I am not depressed about ____ for the reason I think."
Three or four times during the day is enough.
W(10) June 1, '69
Lesson 6. "I am upset because I see something that is not there."
1. The exercises with this idea are very similar to the preceding ones. Again,
it is necessary to name both the form of upset (anger, fear, worry, depression,
and so on) and the perceived source very specifically for any application of the
idea. For example:
"I am angry at ____ because I see something that is not there."
"I am worried about ___because I see something that is not there."
2. Today's idea is useful for application to anything that seems to upset you,
and can profitably be used throughout the day for that purpose. However, the
three or four practice periods which are required should be preceded by a minute
or so of mind-searching, as before, and the application of the idea to each
upsetting thought uncovered in the search.
3. Again, if you resist applying the idea to some upsetting thoughts more than
to others, remind yourself of the two cautions stated in the previous lesson:
"There are no small upsets. They are all equally disturbing to my peace
of mind."
and
"I cannot keep this form of upset and let the others go. For the purposes
of these exercises, then, I will regard them all as the same."
W(11) June 2, '69
Lesson 7. "I see only the past."
1. This idea is particularly difficult to believe at first. Yet it is the
rationale for all of the preceding ones.
It is the reason why nothing that you see means anything.
It is the reason why you have given everything you see all the meaning that it
has for you.
It is the reason why you do not understand anything you see.
It is the reason why your thoughts do not mean anything, and why they are like
the things you see.
It is the reason why you are never upset for the reason you think.
It is the reason why you are upset because you see something that is not there.
2. Old ideas about time are very difficult to change, because everything you
believe is rooted in time, and depends on your not learning these new ideas
about it. Yet that is precisely why you need new ideas about time. This first
time idea is not really so strange as it may sound at first. Look at a cup, for
example.
3. Do you see a cup, or are you merely reviewing your past experiences of
picking up a cup, being thirsty, drinking from a cup, feeling the rim of a cup
against your lips, having breakfast, and so on? Are not your aesthetic
reactions to the cup, too, based on past experiences? How else would you know
whether or not this kind of cup will break if you drop it? What do you know
about this cup except what you learned in the past? You would have no idea what
this cup is except for your past learning. Do you, then, really see it?
4. Look about you. This is equally true of whatever you look at. Acknowledge
this by applying the idea for today indiscriminately to whatever catches your
eye. For example:
W(12)
"I see only the past in this pencil."
"I see only the past in this shoe."
"I see only the past in this hand."
"I see only the past in that body."
"I see only the past in that face."
Do not linger over any one thing in particular, but remember to omit nothing
specifically [W4]. Glance briefly at each subject, and then move on to the next.
W(13) June 2, 1969
Lesson 8. "My mind is preoccupied with past thoughts."
1. This idea is, of course, the reason why you see only the past. No one
really sees anything. He sees only his thoughts projected outward. The mind's
preoccupation with the past is the cause of the total misconception about time
from which your seeing suffers. Your mind cannot grasp the present, which is
the only time there is. It therefore cannot understand time, and cannot, in
fact, understand anything.
2. The only wholly true thought one can hold about the past is that it is not
here. To think about it at all is therefore to think about delusions [W5]. Very
few minds have realized what is actually entailed in picturing the past or in
anticipating the future. The mind is actually blank when it does this, because
it is not really thinking about anything.
3. The purpose of the exercises for today is to begin to train your mind to
recognize when it is not really thinking at all. While thoughtless "ideas"
preoccupy your mind, the truth is blocked. Recognizing that your mind has been
merely blank, rather than believing that it is filled with real ideas, is the
first step to opening the way to vision.
4. The exercises for today should be done with eyes closed. This is because
you actually cannot see anything, and it is easier to recognize that no matter
how vividly you may picture a thought, you are not seeing anything. With as
little investment as possible, search your mind for the usual minute or so,
merely noting the thoughts that [W6] you find there. Name each one by the central
figure or theme it contains, and pass on to the next. Introduce the practice
period by saying:
"I seem to be thinking about ___."
W(14)
Then name each of your thoughts specifically, for example:
"I seem to be thinking about (name of person), about (name of object), about
(name of emotion), and so on,"
concluding at the end of the mind-searching period with:
"But my mind is preoccupied with past thoughts."
5. This can be done four or five times during the day, unless you find it
irritates you. If you find it trying, three or four times is sufficient. You
might find it helpful, however, to include your irritation, or any emotion which
the idea [W7] may induce, in the mind-searching itself.
W(15) June 3, 1969
Lesson 9. "I see nothing as it is now."
1. This idea obviously follows from the two preceding ones. But while you may
be able to accept it intellectually, it is unlikely that it will mean anything
to you as yet. However, understanding is not necessary at this point. In fact,
the recognition that you do not understand is a prerequisite for undoing your
false ideas. These exercises are concerned with practice, not with
understanding. You do not need to practice what you really understand. It
would indeed be circular to aim at understanding, and assume that you have it
already.
2. It is difficult for the untrained mind to believe that what seems to be
pictured before it is not there. This idea can be quite disturbing, and may
meet with active resistance in any number of forms. Yet that does not preclude
applying it. No more than that is required for these or any other exercises.
Each little [W8] step will clear a little of the darkness away, and understanding
will finally come to lighten every corner of the mind which [W9] has been cleared
of the debris which darkens it.
3. These exercises, for which three or four practice periods are sufficient,
involve looking about you and applying the idea for the day to whatever you see,
remembering that [W10] the need for its indiscriminate application, and the
essential rule of excluding nothing. [W11] It is emphasized again that while
complete inclusion should not be attempted, specific exclusion must be avoided.
Be sure you are honest with yourself in making this distinction. You may be
tempted to obscure it.
W(16)
For example:
"I do not see that [W12] typewriter as it is now."
"I do not see this key as it is now."
"I do not see this telephone as it is now."
Begin with things that are nearest you, and then extend the range:
"I do not see that coat rack as it is now."
"I do not see that face as it is now."
"I do not see that door as it is now." [W13]
W(17) June 4, 1969
Lesson 10. "My thoughts do not mean anything."
1. This idea applies to all the thoughts of which you are aware, or become
aware in the practice periods. The reason the idea is applicable to all of them
is that they are not your real thoughts. We have made this distinction before,
and will again. You have no basis for comparison as yet. When you do, you will
have no doubt that what you once believed were your thoughts did not mean
anything.
2. This is the second time we have used this kind of idea. The form is only
slightly different. This time, the idea is introduced with "My thoughts"
instead of "These thoughts," and no link is made overtly with the things around
you. The emphasis is now on the lack of reality of what you think you think.
3. This aspect of the correction process began with the idea that the thoughts
of which you are aware are meaningless, outside rather than within; and then
stressed their past rather than their present status. Now we are emphasizing
that the presence of these "thoughts" means that you are not thinking. This is
merely another way of repeating our earlier statement that your mind is really a
blank. To recognize this is to recognize nothingness when you think you see it.
As such, it is the prerequisite for vision.
4. Close your eyes for these exercises, and introduce them by repeating the
idea for today quite slowly to yourself. Then add:
"This idea will help to release me from all that I now believe."
The exercises consist, as before, in searching your mind for all the thoughts
which are available to you, without selection or judgment. Try to avoid
classification of any kind. In fact, if you find it helpful to do so, you might
imagine that you are watching an oddly assorted procession going by, which has
little if any personal meaning to you. As each one crosses your mind, say:
"This thought about ____ does not mean anything."
"That thought about ____ does not mean anything."
W(18)
5. Today's idea can obviously serve for any thought that distresses you at any
time. In addition, five practice periods are recommended, each involving no
more than a minute or so of mind-searching. It is not recommended that this
time period be extended, and it should be reduced to half a minute or even less
if you experience discomfort. Remember, however, to repeat the idea slowly
before applying it specifically, and also to add:
"This idea will help to release me from all that I now believe."
W(19) June 5, 1969
Lesson 11. "My meaningless thoughts are showing me a meaningless world."
1. This is the first idea we have had which is related to a major phase of the
correction process; the reversal of the thinking of the world. It seems as if
the world determines what you perceive. Today's idea introduces the concept
that your thoughts determine the world you see. Be glad indeed to practice it
in this initial form, for in this idea is your release made sure. The key to
forgiveness lies in it.
2. The practice periods for today's idea are to be undertaken somewhat
differently from the previous ones. Begin with eyes closed, and repeat the idea
slowly to yourself. Then open your eyes and look about, near or far, up or
down, -- anywhere. During the minute or so to be spent in using the idea,
merely repeat it to yourself, being sure to do so without haste and with no
sense of urgency or effort.
3. To do these exercises for maximum benefit, the eyes should move from one
thing to another fairly rapidly, since they should not linger on anything in
particular. The words, however, should be used in an unhurried, even leisurely
fashion. The introduction to this idea should be practiced as casually as
possible. It contains the foundation for the peace, relaxation and freedom from
worry that we are trying to achieve. On concluding the exercises, close your
eyes and repeat the idea once more, slowly to yourself.
4. Three practice periods today will probably be sufficient. However, if there
is little or no uneasiness and an inclination to do more, as many as five may be
undertaken. More than this is not recommended.
W(20)
Lesson 12. "I am upset because I see a meaningless world."
1. The importance of this idea lies in the fact that it contains a correction
for a major perceptual distortion. You think that what upsets you is a
frightening world, or a sad world, or a violent world, or an insane world. All
these attributes are given it by you. The world is meaningless in itself.
2. These exercises are done with eyes open. Look around you, this time quite
slowly. Try to pace yourself so that the slow shifting of your glance from one
thing to another involves a fairly constant time interval. Do not allow the
time of the shift to become markedly longer or shorter, but try, instead, to
keep a measured, even tempo throughout. What you see does not matter. You
teach yourself this as you give whatever your glance rests on equal attention
and equal time. This is a beginning step in learning to give them all equal
value.
3. As you look about you, say to yourself:
"I think I see a fearful world, a dangerous world,
a hostile world, a sad world, a wicked world, a crazy world,"
and so on, using whatever descriptive terms happen to occur to you. If terms
which seem positive rather than negative occur to you, include them. For
example, you might think of "a good world," or "a satisfying world." If such
terms occur to you, use them along with the rest. You may not yet understand
why these "nice" adjectives belong in these exercises, but remember that "a good
world" implies a "bad" one, and "a satisfying world" implies an "unsatisfying"
one. All terms which cross your mind are suitable subjects for today's
exercises. Their seeming quality does not matter.
4. Be sure that you do not alter the time intervals between applying today's
idea to what you think is pleasant and what you think is unpleasant. For the
purposes of these exercises, there is no difference between them.
W(21)
At the end of the practice period, add:
"But I am upset because I see a meaningless world."
5. What is meaningless is neither good nor bad. Why, then, should a
meaningless world upset you? If you could accept the world as meaningless and
let the truth be written upon it for you, it would make you indescribably happy.
But because it is meaningless, you are impelled to write upon it what you would
have it be. It is this you see in it. It is this that is meaningless in truth.
Beneath your words is written the Word of God. The truth upsets you now, but
when your words have been erased, you will see His. That is the ultimate
purpose of these exercises.
6. Three or four times is enough for practicing the idea for today. Nor should
the practice periods exceed a minute. You may find even this too long.
Terminate the exercises whenever you experience a sense of strain.
W(22) June 7, 1969
Lesson 13. "A meaningless world engenders fear."
1. Today's idea is really another form of the preceding one, except that it is
more specific as to the emotion aroused. Actually, a meaningless world is
impossible. Nothing without meaning exists. However, it does not follow that
you will not [W14] perceive something that has no meaning. On the contrary, you
will be particularly likely to think you do [W15] perceive it.
2. Recognition of meaninglessness arouses intense anxiety in all the separated
ones. It represents a situation in which God and the ego "challenge" each
other as to whose meaning is to be written in the empty space which
meaninglessness provides. The ego rushes in frantically to establish its own
"ideas" there, fearful that the void may otherwise be used to demonstrate its
own unreality. And on this alone it is correct.
3. It is essential, therefore, that you learn to recognize the meaningless, and
accept it without fear. If you are fearful, it is certain that you will endow
the world with attributes which it does not possess, and crowd it with images
that do not exist. To the ego illusions are safety devices, as they must also
be to you who equate yourself with the ego.
4. The exercises for today, which should be done about three or four times, for
not more than a minute or so at most each time, are to be practiced in a
somewhat different way from the preceding ones. With eyes closed, repeat
today's idea to yourself. Then open your eyes and look about you slowly, [W16]
"I am looking at a meaningless world."
Repeat this statement to yourself as you look about. Then close your eyes and
conclude with: "A meaningless world engenders fear because I think I am in
competition with God."
W(23)
5. You may find it difficult to avoid resistance, in one form or another, to
this concluding statement. Whatever form such resistance may take, remind
yourself that you are really afraid of such a thought because of the "vengeance"
of the "enemy." You are not expected to believe the statement at this point,
and will probably try to dismiss it as preposterous. Note carefully, however,
any signs of overt or covert fear which it may arouse.
6. This is our first attempt at stating an explicit cause and effect
relationship of a kind which you are very inexperienced in recognizing. Do not
dwell on the concluding statement, and try not even to think of it except during
the exercise periods. That will suffice at present.
W(24) June 8, 1969
Lesson 14. "God did not create a meaningless world."
1. The idea for today is, of course, the reason why a meaningless world is
impossible. What God did not create does not exist. And everything that does
exist exists as He created it. The world you see has nothing to do with
reality. It is of your own making, and it does not exist.
2. The exercises for today are to be practiced with eyes closed throughout.
The mind-searching period should be short, a minute at most. Do not have more
than three practice periods with today's idea unless you find them comfortable.
If you do, it will be because you really understand what they are for.
3. The idea for today is another step in learning to let go the thoughts which
you have written on the world, and see the Word of God in their place. The
early steps in this exchange, which can truly be called salvation, can be quite
difficult and even quite painful. Some of them will lead you directly into
fear. You will not be left there. You will go far beyond it. Our direction is
toward perfect safety and perfect peace.
4. With eyes closed, think of all the horrors in the world that cross your
mind. Name each one as it occurs to you, and then deny its reality. God did
not create it, and so it is not real. Say, for example:
"God did not create that war, and so it is not real."
"God did not create that airplane crash, and so it is not real."
"God did not create that disaster (specify), and so it is not real."
5. Suitable subjects for the application of today's idea also >include anything
you are afraid might happen to you, or to anyone about whom you are concerned.
In each case, name the "disaster" quite specifically.
W(25)
Do not use general terms. For example, do not say, "God did not create
illness," but, "God did not create cancer," or heart attacks, or whatever may
arouse fear in you.
6. This is your personal repertory of horrors at which you are looking. These
things are part of the world you see. Some of them are shared illusions, and
others are part of your personal hell. It does not matter. What God did not
create can only be in your own mind apart from His. Therefore, it has no
meaning. In recognition of this fact, conclude the practice periods by
repeating today's idea.
"God did not create a meaningless world."
7. The idea for today can, of course, be applied to anything that disturbs you
during the day, aside from the practice periods. Be very specific in applying
it. Say:
"God did not create a meaningless world. He did
not create (specify the situation which is disturbing
you), and so it is not real."
W(26) June 9, 1969
Lesson 15. "My thoughts are images which I have made."
1. It is because the thoughts you think you think appear as images that you do
not recognize them as nothing. You think you think them, and so you think you
see them. This is how your "seeing" was made. This is the function you have
given your body's eyes. It is not seeing. It is image-making. It takes the
place of seeing, replacing vision with illusions.
2. This introductory idea to the process of image-making which you call seeing
will not have much meaning for you. You will begin to understand it when you
have seen little edges of light around the same familiar objects which you see
now. That is the beginning of real vision. You can be certain that real vision
will come quickly when this has occurred.
3. As we go along, you may have many "light episodes". They may take many
different forms, some of them quite unexpected. Do not be afraid of them. They
are signs that you are opening your eyes at last. They will not persist,
because they merely symbolize true perception, and they are not related to
knowledge. These exercises will not reveal knowledge to you. But they will
prepare the way to it.
4. In practicing the idea for today, repeat it first to yourself, and then
apply it to whatever you see around you, using its name and letting your eyes
rest on it as you say:
"This ____ is an image which I have made."
"That ____ is an image which I have made."
It is not necessary to include a large number of specific subjects for the
application of today's idea. It is necessary, however, to continue to look at
each subject while you repeat the idea to yourself. The idea should be repeated
quite slowly each time.
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5. Although you will obviously not be able to apply the idea to very many
things during the minute or so of practice that is recommended, try to make the
selection as random as possible. Less than a minute will do for the practice
periods, if you begin to feel uneasy. Do not have more than three application
periods for today's idea unless you feel completely comfortable with it, and do
not exceed four [W17].
W(28) June 10, 1969
Lesson 16. "I have no neutral thoughts."
1. The idea for today is a beginning step in dispelling the belief that your
thoughts have no effect. Everything you see is the result of your thoughts.
There is no exception to this fact. Thoughts are not big or little; powerful or
weak. They are merely true or false. Those which are true create their own
likeness. Those which are false make theirs.
2. There is no more self-contradictory concept than that of "idle thoughts."
What gives rise to the perception of a whole world can hardly be called idle.
Every thought you have contributes to truth or to illusion; either it extends
the truth or it multiplies illusions. You can indeed multiply nothing, but you
will not extend it by doing so.
3. In addition to never being idle, salvation requires that you recognize that
every thought you have brings either peace or war; either love or fear. A
neutral result is impossible because a neutral thought is impossible. There is
such a temptation to dismiss fear thoughts as unimportant, trivial; and not
worth bothering about that it is essential you recognize them all as equally
destructive but equally unreal. We will practice this idea in many forms before
you really understand it.
4. In applying the idea for today, search your mind for a minute or so, with
eyes closed, and actively seek not to overlook any "little" thought which tends
to elude the search. This is quite difficult until you get used to it. You
will find that it is still hard for you not to make artificial distinctions.
Every thought that occurs to you, regardless of the quality which you assign to
it, is a suitable subject for applying today's idea.
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5. In the practice periods, first repeat the idea, and then as each one crosses
your mind, hold it in awareness while you tell yourself:
"This thought about ____ is not a neutral thought."
"That thought about ____ is not a neutral thought."
6. As usual, use today's idea whenever you are aware of a particular thought
which arouses uneasiness. The following form is suggested for this purpose:
"This thought about ____ is not a neutral thought, because I have no neutral
thoughts."
7. Four or five practice periods are recommended, if you find them relatively
effortless. If strain is experienced, three will be enough. The length of the
exercise period [W18] should also be reduced if there is discomfort.
W(30) June 11, 1969
Lesson 17. "I see no neutral things."
1. This idea is another step in the direction of identifying cause and effect
as it really operates. You see no neutral things because you have no neutral
thoughts. It is always the thought that comes first, despite the temptation to
believe that it is really the other way around. This is not the way the world
thinks, but you must learn that it is the way you think. If it were not so,
perception would have no cause, and would itself be the cause of reality. In
view of its highly variable nature, this is hardly likely.
2. In applying today's idea, say to yourself, with eyes open:
"I see no neutral things because I have no neutral thoughts."
Then look about you, resting your glance on each thing that catches your eye
long enough to say:
"I do not see a neutral ____ because my thoughts about ____ are not neutral."
For example, you might say:
"I do not see a neutral wall, because my thoughts about walls are not neutral."
"I do not see a neutral body, because my thoughts about bodies are not neutral."
3. As usual, it is essential to make no distinction between what you believe to
be animate or inanimate; pleasant or unpleasant. Regardless of what you may
believe, you do not see anything which is really alive and really joyous. That
is because you are unaware as yet of any thoughts which are really true and
therefore really happy.
4. Three or four specific practice periods are recommended, and no less than
three are required for maximum benefit, even if you experience resistance.
However, if you do, the length of the practice period may be reduced to less
than the minute or so which is otherwise recommended.
W(31) June 12,1969
Lesson 18. "I am not alone in experiencing the effects of my seeing."
1. The idea for today is another step in learning that the thoughts which give
rise to what you see are never neutral or unimportant. It also emphasizes the
idea that minds are joined, which will be given increasing stress later.
2. Today's idea does not refer to what you see as much as to how you see it.
Therefore, the exercises for today will emphasize this aspect of your
perception. The three or four practice periods which are recommended should be
done as follows:
3. Selecting subjects for the application of the idea randomly, look at each
one long enough to say:
"I am not alone in experiencing the effects of how I see ___."
Conclude the practice period by repeating the more general statement:
"I am not alone in experiencing the effects of my seeing."
A minute or so or even less will be sufficient.
W(32) June 13, 1969
Lesson 19. "I am not alone in experiencing the effects of my thoughts."
1. The idea for today is obviously the reason why your seeing does not affect
you alone. You will notice that at times the ideas related to thinking precede
those related to perceiving, while at other times the order is reversed. The
reason is that the order does not actually matter. Thinking and its results are
really simultaneous, for cause and effect are never separate.
2. Today we are again emphasizing the fact that minds are joined. This is
rarely a wholly welcome idea at first, since it seems to carry with it an
enormous sense of responsibility, and may even be regarded as an "invasion of
privacy." Yet it is a fact that there are no private thoughts. Despite your
initial resistance to this idea, you will yet understand that it must be true if
salvation is possible at all. And salvation must be possible because it is the
Will of God.
3. The minute or so of mind-searching which today's exercises require is [W19] to
be undertaken with closed eyes. The idea is to be repeated first, and then the
mind should be carefully searched for the thoughts it contains at that time. As
you consider each one, name it in terms of the central person or theme it
contains, and holding it in your mind as you do so, say:
"I am not alone in experiencing the effects of this thought about ____."
4. The requirement of as much indiscriminateness as possible in selecting
subjects for the practice period should be quite familiar to you by now, and
will no longer be repeated each day, although it will occasionally be included
as a reminder. Do not forget, however, that random selection of subjects for
all practice periods remains essential throughout. Lack of order in this
connection will ultimately make the recognition of lack of order in miracles
meaningful to you.
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5. Apart from the "as needed" application of today's idea, at least three
practice periods are required, shortening the length of time involved, if
necessary. Do not attempt more than four.
W(34) June 14, 1969
Lesson 20. "I am determined to see."
1. We have been quite casual about our practice periods thus far. There has
been virtually no attempt to direct the time for undertaking them, minimal
effort has been required, and not even active cooperation and interest have been
asked. This casual approach has been intentional, and very carefully planned.
We have not lost sight of the crucial importance of the reversal of your
thinking. The salvation of the world depends on it. Yet you will not see if
you regard yourself as being coerced, and if you give in to resentment and
opposition.
2. This is our first attempt to introduce structure. Do not misconstrue it as
an effort to exert force or pressure. You want salvation. You want to be
happy. You want peace. You do not have them now because your minds are
totally undisciplined, and you cannot distinguish between joy and sorrow,
pleasure and pain, love and fear. You are now learning how to tell them apart.
And great indeed will be your reward.
3. Your decision to see is all that vision requires. What you want is yours.
Do not mistake the little effort that is asked of you for a sign that our goal
is of little worth. Can the salvation of the world be a trivial purpose? And
can the world be saved if you are not? God has one Son, and he is the
resurrection and the life. His will is done because all power is given him in
Heaven and on earth. In your determination to see is vision given you.
4. The exercises for today consist in reminding yourselves throughout the day
that you want to see. Today's idea also tacitly implies the recognition that
you do not see now. Therefore, as you repeat the idea, you are stating that you
are determined to change your present state for a better one, and one you really
want.
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5. Repeat today's idea slowly and positively at least twice an hour today,
attempting to do so every half hour. Do not be distressed if you forget to do
so, but make a real effort to remember. The extra repetitions should be applied
to any situation, person, or event which upsets you. You can see them
differently, and you will. What you desire you will see. Such is the real law
of cause and effect as it operates in the world.
W(36) June 15, 1969
Lesson 21. "I am determined to see things differently."
1. The idea for today is obviously a continuation and extension of the
preceding one. This time, however, specific mind-searching periods are
necessary in addition to applying the idea to particular situations as they
arise. Five practice periods are urged, allowing a full minute for each.
2. In the practice periods, begin by repeating the idea to yourself. Then
close your eyes and search your mind carefully for situations past, present or
anticipated, which arouse anger in you. The anger may take the form of any
reaction ranging from mild irritation to rage. The degree of the emotion you
experience does not matter. You will become increasingly aware that a slight
twinge of annoyance is nothing but a veil drawn over intense fury.
3. Try, therefore, not to let the "little" thoughts of anger escape you in the
practice periods. Remember that you do not really recognize what really arouses
anger in you, and nothing that you believe in this connection means anything.
You will probably be tempted to dwell more on some situations than on others, on
the fallacious grounds that they are more "obvious." This is not so. It is
merely an example of the belief that some forms of attack are more justified
than others.
4. As you search your mind for all the forms in which attack thoughts present
themselves, hold each one in mind and tell yourself;
"I am determined to see ____ (name of person) differently."
"I am determined to see ____ (specify the situation) differently."
Try to be as specific as possible. You may, for example, focus your anger on a
particular attribute of a particular person, believing that the anger is limited
to this aspect. If your perception of the person is suffering from this form of
distortion, say:
"I am determined to see____ (specify the attribute) in____ (name of person)
differently."
W(37) June 16, 1969
Lesson 22. "What I see is a form of vengeance."
1. Today's idea accurately describes the way anyone who holds attack thoughts
in his mind must see the world. Having projected his anger onto the world, he
sees vengeance about to strike at him. His own attack is thus perceived as
self-defense. This becomes an increasingly vicious circle until he is willing
to change how he sees. Otherwise, thoughts of attack and counterattack will
preoccupy him, and people his entire world. What peace of mind is possible to
him then?
2. It is from this savage fantasy that you want to escape. Is it not joyous
news to hear that it is not real? Is it not a happy discovery to find that you
can escape? You made what you would destroy; everything that you hate and would
attack and kill. All that you fear does not exist.
3. Look at the world about you at least five times today, for at least a minute
each time. As your eyes move slowly from one object to another, from one body
to another, say to yourself:
"I see only the perishable.
I see nothing that will last. [W20]
What I see is a form of vengeance."
At the end of each practice period, ask yourself:
"Is this the world I really want to see?"
The answer is surely obvious.
W(38) June 17, 1969
Lesson 23. "I can escape from the world I see by giving up attack thoughts."
1. The idea for today contains the only way out of fear that will [W21] succeed.
Nothing else will work; everything else is meaningless. But this way cannot
fail. Every thought you have makes up some segment of the world you see. It is
with your thoughts, then, that we must work, if your perception of the world is
to be changed.
2. If the cause of the world you see is attack thoughts, you must learn that it
is these thoughts which you do not want. There is no point in lamenting the
world. There is no point in trying to change the world. It is incapable of
change because it is merely an effect. But there is indeed a point in changing
your thoughts about the world. Here you are changing the cause. The effects
will change automatically.
3. The world you see is a vengeful world, and everything in it is a symbol of
vengeance. Each of your perceptions of "external reality" is a pictorial
representation of your own attack thoughts. One can well ask if this can be
called seeing. Is not fantasy a better word for such a process, and
hallucination a more appropriate term for the result?
4. You see the world which you have made, but you do not see yourself as the
image-maker. You cannot be saved from the world, but you can escape from its
cause. This is what salvation means, for where is the world you see when its
cause is gone? Vision already holds a replacement for everything you think you
see now. Loveliness can light your images, and so transform them that you will
love them even though they were made of hate. For you will not be making them
alone.
W(39)
5. The idea for today introduces the thought that you are not trapped in the
world you see, because its cause can be changed. This change requires, first,
that the cause be identified and then let go, so that it can be replaced. The
first two steps in this process require your cooperation. The final one does
not. Your images have already been replaced. By taking the first two steps,
you will see that this is so.
6. Besides using it throughout the day as the need arises, five practice
periods are required in applying today's idea. As you look about you, repeat
the idea slowly to yourself, and then close your eyes and devote about a minute
to searching your mind for as many attack thoughts as occur to you. As each one
crosses your mind, say:
"I can escape from the world by giving up attack thoughts about ___."
Hold each [W22] attack thought in mind as you say this, and then dismiss that
thought and go on to the next.
7. In the practice periods, be sure to include both your thoughts of attacking
and of being attacked. Their effects are exactly the same, because they are
exactly the same. You do not yet recognize this, and you are asked at this
time only to treat them as the same in today's practice periods. We are still
at the stage of identifying the cause of the world you see. When you finally
realize that thoughts of attack and of being attacked are not different, you
will be ready to let the cause go.
W(40) June 18, 1969
Lesson 24. "I do not perceive my own best interests."
1. In no situation which arises do you realize the outcome that would make you
happy. Therefore you have no guide to appropriate action, and no way of judging
the results [W23]. What you do is determined by your perception of the situation,
and that perception is wrong. It is inevitable, then, that you will not serve
your own best interests. Yet they are your only goal in any situation which is
correctly perceived. Otherwise you will not recognize what they are.
2. If you realized that you do not perceive your own best interests, you could
be taught what they are. But in the presence of your conviction that you do
know what they are, you cannot learn. The idea for today is a step toward
opening your mind so that learning can begin.
3. The exercises for today require much more honesty than you are accustomed to
using. A few subjects, honestly and carefully considered in each of the five
practice periods which should be undertaken today, will be more helpful than a
more cursory examination of a large number. Two minutes are suggested for each
of the mind-searching periods which the exercises involve.
4. Practice periods begin with repeating today's idea, followed by searching
the mind, with closed eyes, for unresolved situations about which you are
currently concerned. The emphasis should be on uncovering the outcome you want.
You will quickly realize that you have a number of goals in mind as part of the
desired outcome; and also that these goals are on different levels, and often
conflict.
5. Name each situation that occurs to you, and enumerate carefully as many
goals as possible that you would like to be met in its resolution. The form of
each application should be roughly as follows:
W(41)
"In the situation involving ___, I would like ____ to happen, and ____ to
happen," and so on.
Try to cover as many different kinds of outcome as may honestly occur to you,
even if some of them do not appear to you to be directly related to the
situation, or even to be inherent in it at all.
6. If these exercises are done properly, you will quickly recognize that you
are making a large number of demands of the situation which have nothing to do
with it. You will also recognize that many of your goals are contradictory,
that you have no unified outcome in mind, and that you must experience
disappointment in connection with some of your goals however the situation turns
out. After covering the list of as many hoped-for goals as possible for each
unresolved situation that crosses your mind, say to yourself:
"I do not perceive my own best interests in this situation,"
and go on to the next.
W(42) June 19, 1969
Lesson 25. "I do not know what anything is for."
1. Purpose is meaning. Today's idea explains why nothing you see means
anything. You do not know what it is for. Therefore it is meaningless to you.
Everything is for your own best interests. That is what it is for; that is its
purpose; that is what it means. It is in recognizing this that your goals
become unified. It is in recognizing this that what you see is given meaning.
2. You perceive the world and everything in it as meaningful in terms of ego
goals. These goals have nothing to do with your own best interests, because
the ego is not you. This false identification makes you incapable of
understanding what anything is for. As a result, you are bound to misuse it.
When you believe this, you will try to withdraw the goals you have assigned to
the world, instead of attempting to reinforce them.
3. Another way of describing the goals you now perceive as valuable is to say
that they are all concerned with "personal" interests. Since you have no
personal interests, your goals are really concerned with nothing. In cherishing
them, therefore, you have no goals at all. And thus you do not know what
anything is for.
4. Before you can make any sense out of the exercises for today, one more
thought is necessary. At the most superficial levels, you do recognize purpose.
Yet purpose cannot be understood at these levels. For example, you do
understand that a telephone is for the purpose of talking to someone who is not
physically in your immediate vicinity. What you do not understand is what you
want to reach him for. And it is this that makes your contact with him
meaningful or not.
W(43)
5. It is crucial to your learning to be willing to give up the goals you have
established for everything. The recognition that they are meaningless, rather
than "good" or "bad", is the only way to accomplish this. The idea for today is
a step in this direction.
6. Six practice periods, each of two minutes’ [W24] duration, are required. Each
practice period should begin with a slow repetition of the idea for today,
followed by looking about you and letting your glance rest on whatever happens
to catch your eye, near or far, "important" or "unimportant," "human" or
"unhuman," with your eyes resting on each subject you so select, say, for
example:
"I do not know what this chair is for."
"I do not know what this pencil is for."
"I do not know what this hand is for."
Say this quite slowly, without shifting your eyes until you have completed the
statement. Then move on to the next subject, and apply today's idea as before.
W(44) June 20, 1969
Lesson 26. "My attack thoughts are attacking my invulnerability."
1. It is surely obvious that if you can be attacked you are not invulnerable.
You see attack as a real threat. That is because you believe that you can
really attack. And what would have effects through you must also have effects
on you. It is this law that will ultimately save you. But you are misusing it
now. You must therefore learn how it can be used for your own best interests,
rather than against them.
2. Because your attack thoughts will be projected, you will fear attack. And
if you fear attack, you must believe that you are not invulnerable. Attack
thoughts therefore make you vulnerable in your own mind, which is where the
attack thoughts are. Attack thoughts and invulnerability cannot be accepted
together. They contradict each other.
3. The idea for today introduces the thought that you always attack yourself
first. If attack thoughts must entail the belief that you are vulnerable, their
effect is to weaken you in your own eyes. Thus they have attacked your
perception of yourself. And because you believe in them, you can no longer
believe in yourself. A false image of yourself has come to take the place of
what you are.
4. Practice with today's idea will help you to understand that vulnerability or
invulnerability is the result of your own thoughts. Nothing except your
thoughts can attack you. Nothing except your thoughts can make you think you
are vulnerable. And nothing except your thoughts can prove to you this is not
so.
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5. Six practice periods are required in applying today's idea. A full two
minutes should be attempted for each of them, although the time may be reduced
to a minute if the discomfort is too great. Do not reduce it further.
6. The practice period should begin with repeating the idea for today, then
closing your eyes and reviewing the unresolved situations whose outcomes are
causing you concern. The concern may take the form of depression, worry, anger,
a sense of imposition, fear, foreboding, or preoccupation. Any problem as yet
unsettled which tends to recur in your thoughts during the day is a suitable
subject. You will not be able to use very many for one practice period, because
a longer time than usual should be spent with each one. Today's idea should be
applied as follows:
First, name the situation:
"I am concerned about ____."
Then go over every possible outcome which has occurred to you in that connection
and which has caused you concern, referring to each one quite specifically,
saying:
"I am afraid ____ will happen."
If you are doing the exercises properly, you should have some five or six
distressing possibilities available for each situation you use, and quite
possibly more. It is much more helpful to cover a few situations thoroughly
than to touch on a larger number.
7. As the list of anticipated outcomes for each situation continues, you will
probably find some of them, especially those which occur to you toward the end,
less acceptable to you. Try, however, to treat them all alike to whatever
extent you can.
8. After you have named each outcome of which you are afraid, tell yourself:
"That thought is an attack upon myself."
Conclude each practice period by repeating today's idea once more.
W(46) June 21, 1969
Lesson 27. "Above all else I want to see."
1. Today's idea expresses something stronger than mere determination. It gives
vision priority among your desires. You may feel hesitant about using the idea
on the ground that you are not sure you really mean it. This does not matter.
The purpose of today's exercises is to bring the time when the idea will be
wholly true a little nearer.
2. There may be a great temptation to believe that some sort of sacrifice is
being asked of you when you say you want to see above all else. If you become
uneasy by the lack of reservation involved, add:
"Vision has no cost to anyone."
If fear of loss still persists, add further:
"It can only bless."
3. The idea for today needs many repetitions for maximum benefit. It should be
used at least every half hour, and more often if possible. You might try for
every 15 or 20 minutes. It is recommended that you set a definite time interval
for using the idea when you wake or shortly afterwards, and attempt to adhere to
it throughout the day. It will not be difficult to do this, even if you are
engaged in conversation or otherwise occupied at the time. You can still repeat
one short sentence to yourself without disturbing anything that is going on.
4. The real question is how often will you remember? How much do you want
today's idea to be true? Answer either [W25] of these two questions, and you have
answered the other. You will probably miss several applications, and perhaps
quite a number. Do not be disturbed by this, but do try to keep on your
schedule from then on. If only once during the day you feel that you were
perfectly sincere while you were repeating today's idea, you can be sure that
you have saved yourself many years of effort.
W(47) June 22, 1969
Lesson 28. "Above all else I want to see things differently."
1. Today we are really giving specific application to the idea of for
yesterday. In these practice periods you will be making a series of definite
commitments. The question of whether you will keep them in the future is not
our concern here. If you are willing at least to make them now, you have
started on the way to keeping them. And we are still at the beginning.
2. You may wonder why it is important to say, for example, "Above all else I
want to see this table differently." In itself it is not important at all. Yet
what is by itself? And what does "in itself" mean? You see a lot of separate
things about you, which really means you are not seeing at all. You either see
or not. When you have seen one thing differently, you will see all things
differently. The light you will see in any one of them is the same light you
will see in them all.
3. When you say "Above all else I want to see this table differently," you are
making a commitment to withdraw your preconceived ideas about the table, and
open your minds to what it is and what it is for. You are not defining it in
past terms. You are asking what it is, rather than telling it what it is. You
are not binding its meaning to your tiny experiences of tables, nor are you
limiting its purpose to your little personal thoughts.
4. You will not question what we have already defined. And the purpose of
these exercises is to ask questions and receive the answers. In saying, "Above
all else I want to see this table differently," you are committing yourself to
seeing. It is not an exclusive commitment. It is a commitment which applies to
the table just as much as to anything else, neither more nor less.
W(48)
5. You could, in fact, gain vision from just that table, if you could withdraw
all your own ideas from it, and look upon it with a completely open mind. It
has something to show you; something beautiful and clean and of infinite value,
full of happiness and hope. Hidden under all your ideas about it is its real
purpose, the purpose it shares with all the universe.
6. In using the table as a subject for applying the idea for today you are
therefore really asking to see the purpose of the universe. You will be making
the same request of each subject which you use in the practice periods. And you
are making a commitment to each of them to let their purpose be revealed to you,
instead of placing your own judgment upon them.
7. We will have six two minute practice periods today, in which the idea for
the day is stated first, and then applied to whatever you see in looking about
you. Not only should the subjects be chosen randomly, but each one should be
accorded equal sincerity as today's idea is applied to it, in an attempt to
acknowledge the equal value of them all in their contribution to your seeing.
8. As usual, the applications should include the name of the subject which your
eyes happen to ’light on, and you should rest your eyes on it while saying:
"Above all else, I want to see this ___ differently [W26] "
Each application should be made quite slowly and as thoughtfully as possible.
There is no hurry.
W(49) June 23, 1969
Lesson 29. "God is in everything I see."
1. The idea for today explains why you can see all purpose in anything. It
explains why nothing is separate, by itself or in itself. And it explains why
nothing you see means anything. In fact, it explains every idea we have used
thus far, and all subsequent ones as well. Today's idea is the whole basis for
vision.
2. You will probably find this idea very difficult to grasp at this point. You
may find it silly, irreverent, senseless, funny, and even objectionable.
Certainly God is not in a table, for example, as you see it. Yet we emphasized
yesterday that a table shares the purpose of the universe. And what shares the
purpose of the universe shares the purpose of its Creator.
3. Try then, today, to begin to learn how to look on all things with love,
appreciation, and open-mindedness. You do not see them now. Would you know
what is in them? Nothing is as it appears to you. Its holy purpose stands
beyond your little range. When vision has shown you the holiness that lights up
the world, you will understand today's idea perfectly. And you will not
understand how you could ever have found it difficult.
4. Our six two minute practice periods for today should follow a now familiar
pattern; begin with repeating the idea to yourself, and then apply it to
randomly chosen subjects about you, naming each one specifically. Try to avoid
the tendency toward self-directed selection, which may be particularly tempting
in connection with today's idea because of its wholly alien nature. Remember
that any order which you impose is equally alien to reality.
5. Your list of subjects should therefore be as free of self-selection as
possible. For example, a suitable list might include:
W(50)
"God is in this coathanger."
"God is in this magazine."
"God is in this finger."
"God is in this lamp."
"God is in that body."
"God is in that door."
"God is in that wastebasket."
6. In addition to the assigned practice periods, repeat the idea for today at
least once an hour, looking slowly about you as you say the words unhurriedly to
yourself. At least once or twice you should experience a sense of restfulness
as you do this.
W(51) June 24, 1969
Lesson 30. "God is in everything I see because God is in my mind."
1. The idea for today is the springboard for vision. From this idea will the
world open up before you, and you will look upon it and see in it what you have
never seen before. Nor will what you saw before be even faintly visible to you.
2. Today we are trying to use the new kind of projection. We are not
attempting to get rid of what we do not like by seeing it outside. Instead, we
are trying to see in the world what is in our minds, and what we want to
recognize is there. Thus we are trying to join with what we see, rather than
keeping it apart from us. That is the fundamental difference between vision and
the way you see.
3. Today's idea should be applied as often as possible throughout the day.
Whenever you have a moment or so, repeat it to yourself slowly, looking about
you, and trying to realize that the idea applies to everything you do see now,
or could see now if it were within the range of your sight.
4. Real vision is not limited to concepts such as "near" and "far." To help
you begin to get used to this idea, try to think of things beyond your present
range as well as those you can actually see, as you apply today's idea. Real
vision is not only unlimited by space and distance, but it does not depend on
the body's eyes at all. The mind is its only source.
5. To aid in helping you to become more accustomed to this idea as well, devote
several practice periods to applying today's idea with your eyes closed, using
whatever subject comes to mind, and looking within rather than without. Today's
idea applies equally to both.
W(52) June 25, 1969
Lesson 31. "I am not the victim of the world I see."
1. Today's idea is the introduction to your declaration of release. Again, the
idea should be applied to both the world you see without and the world you see
within. In applying the idea, we will use a form of practice which will be used
more and more, with changes as indicated. Generally speaking, the form includes
two aspects, one in which you apply the idea on a more sustained basis, and the
other consisting of frequent applications of the idea throughout the day.
2. Two longer periods of practice with the idea for today are needed, one in
the morning and one at night. Three to five minutes for each of them is
recommended. During that time, look about you slowly while repeating the idea
two or three times. Then close your eyes and apply the same idea to your inner
world. You will escape from both together, for the inner is the cause of the
outer.
3. As you survey your inner world, merely let whatever thoughts cross your mind
come into your awareness, each to be considered for a moment and then replaced
by the next. Try not to establish any thought of hierarchy among them. Watch
them come and go as dispassionately as possible. Do not dwell on any one in
particular, but try to let the stream move on evenly and calmly, without any
special investment on your part. As you sit and quietly watch your thoughts,
repeat today's idea to yourself as often as you care to, but with no sense of
hurry.
4. In addition, repeat the idea for today as often as possible during the day.
Remind yourself that you are making a declaration of independence in the name of
your own freedom. And in your freedom lies the freedom of the world.
5. The idea for today is a particularly useful one to use as a response to any
form of temptation. It is a declaration that you will not yield to it and put
yourself in bondage.
W(53) June 26, 1969
Lesson 32. "I have invented the world I see."
1. Today we are continuing to develop the theme of cause and effect. You are
not the victim of the world you see because you invented it. You can give it up
as easily as you made it up. You will see it or not see it, as you wish. While
you want it you will see it; when you no longer want it, it will not be there
for you to see.
2. The idea for today, like the preceding ones, applies to your inner and outer
worlds, which are actually the same. However, since you see them as different,
the practice periods for today will again include two phases, one involving the
world you see outside you, and the other the world you see in your mind. In
today's exercises, try to introduce the thought that both are in your own
imagination.
3. Again we will begin the practice periods for the morning and evening by
repeating the idea for today two or three times, while looking around at the
world you see as outside yourself. Then close your eyes, and look around your
inner world. Try to treat them both as equally as possible. Repeat the idea
for today unhurriedly as often as you wish, as you watch the images which your
imagination presents to your awareness.
4. For the two longer practice periods, three to five minutes are recommended
with not less than three required. More than five can be utilized, if you find
the exercises restful. To facilitate this, select a time when few distractions
are anticipated, and when you yourself feel reasonably ready.
5. These exercises are also to be continued during the day, as often as
possible. The shorter applications consist of repeating the idea slowly, as you
survey either your inner or outer world. It does not matter which you choose.
6. The idea for today should also be applied immediately to any situation which
may distress you. Apply the idea by telling yourself:
"I have invented this situation as I see it."
W(54) June 27, 1969
Lesson 33. "There is another way of looking at the world."
1. Today's idea is an attempt to recognize that you can shift your perception
of the world in both its outer and inner aspects. A full five minutes should be
devoted to the morning and evening application.
2. In these practice periods, the idea should be repeated as often as you find
profitable, though unhurried applications are essential. Alternate between
surveying your outer and inner perceptions, but without an abrupt sense of
shifting. Merely glance casually around the world you perceive as outside
yourself, then close your eyes and survey your inner thoughts with equal
casualness. Try to remain equally uninvoled in both, and to maintain this
detachment as you repeat the idea throughout the day.
3. The shorter exercise periods should be as frequent as possible. Specific
applications of today's idea should also be made immediately when any situation
arises which tempts you to become disturbed. For these applications, say:
"There is another way of looking at this."
4. Remember to apply today's idea the instant you are aware of distress. It
may be necessary to take a minute or so to sit quietly and repeat the idea to
yourself several [W27] times. Closing your eyes will probably help in this form
of application.
W(55) June 28, 1969
Lesson 34. "I could see peace instead of this."
1. The idea for today begins to describe the conditions which prevail in the
other way of seeing. Peace of mind is clearly an internal matter. It must
begin with your own thoughts, and then extend outward. It is from your peace of
mind that a peaceful perception of the world arises.
2. Three longer practice periods are required for today's exercises. One in
the morning and one in the evening is advised, with an additional one to be
undertaken at any time in between which seems most conducive to readiness. All
applications should be done with your eyes closed. It is your inner world to
which the applications of today's idea should be made.
3. Some five minutes of mind-searching are required for each of the longer
practice periods. Search your mind for fear thoughts, anxiety provoking
situations, "offending" personalities or events, or anything else about which
you are harboring unloving thoughts. Note each one casually, repeating the idea
for today slowly, as you watch them arise in your mind, and let each one go to
be replaced by the next.
4. If you begin to experience difficulty in thinking of specific subjects,
continue to repeat the idea to yourself in an unhurried manner, without applying
it to anything in particular. Be sure, however, not to make any specific
exclusions.
5. The shorter applications are to be frequent, and made whenever you feel your
peace of mind is threatened in any way. The purpose is to protect yourself from
temptation throughout the day. If a specific form of temptation arises in your
awareness, the exercise should take this form:
"I could see peace in this situation instead of what I now see in it."
If the inroads on your peace of mind take the form of more generalized adverse
emotions, such as depression, anxiety or worry, use the idea in its original
form.
W(56)
6. If you find you need more than one application of today's idea to help you
change your mind in any specific context, try to take several minutes and devote
them to repeating the idea until you feel some sense of relief. It will help
you if you tell yourself specifically:
"I can replace my feelings of depression, anxiety, or worry (or
my thoughts about this situation, personality, or event) with
peace."
W(57) June 29, 1969
Lesson 35. "My mind is part of God's. I am very holy."
1. Today's idea does not describe the way you see yourself now. It does,
however, describe what vision will show you. It is difficult for anyone who
thinks he is in this world to believe this of himself. Yet the reason he thinks
he is in this world is because he does not believe it.
2. You will believe that you are part of where you think you are. That is
because you surround yourself with the environment you want. And you want it to
protect the image of yourself which you have made. The image is part of it [W28].
What you see while you believe you are in it is seen through the eyes of the
image. It [W29] is not vision. Images cannot see.
3. The idea for today presents a very different view of yourself. By
establishing your Source it establishes your identity, and it describes you as
you must really be in truth. We will use a somewhat different kind of
application for today's idea, because the emphasis for today is on the
perceiver, rather than on what he perceives.
4. For each of the three five-minute practice periods today, begin by repeating
today's idea to yourself, and then close your eyes and search your mind for the
various kinds of descriptive terms in which you see yourself. Include all of
the ego-based attributes which you ascribe to yourself, positive or negative,
desirable or undesirable, grandiose or debased. All of them are equally unreal
because you do not look upon yourself through the eyes of holiness.
5. In the earlier part of the mind-searching period, you will probably
emphasize what you consider to be the more negative aspects of your perception
of yourself. Toward the latter part of the exercise period, however, more
self-inflating descriptive terms may well cross your mind. Try to recognize
that the direction of your fantasies about yourself does not matter. Illusions
have no direction in reality. They are merely not true.
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6. A suitable unselected list for applying the idea for today might be as
follows:
"I see myself as imposed on."
"I see myself as depressed."
"I see myself as failing."
"I see myself as endangered."
"I see myself as helpless."
"I see myself as victorious."
"I see myself as losing out."
"I see myself as charitable."
"I see myself as virtuous."
7. You should not think of these terms in an abstract way. They will occur to
you as various situations, personalities, and events in which you figure cross
your mind. Pick up any specific situation that occurs to you, identify the
descriptive term or terms which you feel are applicable to your reactions to
that situation, and use them in applying today's idea. After you have named
each one, add:
"But my mind is part of God's. I am very holy."
8. During the longer exercise periods, there will probably be intervals in
which nothing specific occurs to you. Do not strain to think up specific things
to fill the interval, but merely relax and repeat today's idea slowly until
something occurs to you. Although nothing that does occur should be omitted
from the exercises, nothing should be "dug out" with effort. Neither force nor
discrimination should be used.
9. As often as possible during the day, pick up a specific attribute or
attributes which you are ascribing to yourself at the time, and apply the idea
for today to them, adding the idea to each of them in the form stated above. If
nothing particular occurs to you, merely repeat the idea to yourself, with
closed eyes.
W(59) June 30, 1969
Lesson 36. "My holiness envelops everything I see."
1. Today's idea extends the idea for yesterday from the perceiver to the
perceived. You are holy because your mind is part of God's. And because you
are holy, your sight must be holy as well. "Sinless" means without sin. You
cannot be without sin a little. You are sinless or not. If your mind is part
of God's you must be sinless, or a part of His Mind would be sinful. Your sight
is related to His holiness, not to your ego and therefore not to your body.
2. Four three to five minute practice periods are required for today. Try to
distribute them fairly evenly, and make the shorter application frequently, to
protect your protection throughout the day. The longer practice periods should
take this form:
3. First, close your eyes and repeat the idea for today several times slowly.
Then open your eyes and look quite slowly about you, applying the idea
specifically to whatever you note in your casual survey. Say, for example:
"My holiness envelops that rug."
"My holiness envelops that wall."
"My holiness envelops these fingers."
"My holiness envelops that chair."
"My holiness envelops that body."
"My holiness envelops this pen."
Several times during these practice periods, close your eyes and repeat the idea
to yourself. Then open your eyes and continue as before.
4. For the shorter exercise periods, close your eyes and repeat the idea; look
about you as you repeat it again; and conclude with one more repetition with
your eyes closed. All applications should, of course, be made quite slowly, as
effortlessly and unhurriedly as possible.
W(60) July 1, 1969
Lesson 37. "My holiness blesses the world."
1. This idea contains the first glimmerings of your true function in the world,
or why you are here. Your purpose is to see the world through your own
holiness. Thus are you and the world blessed together. No one loses; nothing
is taken away from anyone; everyone gains through your holy vision. It
signifies the end of sacrifice, because it offers everyone his full due. And he
is entitled to everything, because it is his birthright as a Son of God.
2. There is no other way in which the idea of sacrifice can be removed from the
world's thinking. Any other way of seeing will inevitably demand payment of
someone or something. As a result, the perceiver will lose. Nor will he have
any idea why he is losing. Yet is his wholeness restored to his awareness
through your vision. Your holiness blesses him by asking nothing of him. Those
who see themselves as whole make no demands.
3. Your holiness is the salvation of the world. It lets you teach the world
that it is one with you, not by preaching to it, not by telling it anything, but
merely by your quiet recognition that in your holiness are all things blessed,
along with you.
4. Today's four longer exercise periods, each to involve three to five minutes
of practice, begin with the repetition of the idea for today, followed by a
minute or so of looking about you as you apply the idea to whatever you see:
"My holiness blesses this chair."
"My holiness blesses that window."
"My holiness blesses this body."
Then close your eyes and apply the idea to any person who occurs to you, using
his name and saying:
"My holiness blesses you, (name)"
W(61)
You may continue the practice period with your eyes closed; you may open
your eyes again and apply the idea for today to your outer world if you so
desire; you may alternate between applying it [W30] to what you see around you and
to those who are in your thoughts; or you may use any combination of these two
phases of application which you prefer. The practice period should conclude
with a repetition of the idea made with your eyes closed, and another, following
immediately, made with your eyes open.
6. The shorter exercises consist of repeating the idea as often as you can. It
is particularly helpful to apply it silently to anyone you meet, using his name
as you do so. It is essential to use the idea if anyone seems to cause an
adverse reaction in you. Offer him the blessing of your holiness immediately,
that you may learn to keep it in your own awareness.
W(62) July 2, 1969
Lesson 38. "There is nothing my holiness cannot do."
1. Your holiness reverses all the laws of the world. It is beyond every
restriction of time, space, distance, and limits of any kind. Your holiness is
totally unlimited in its power because it establishes you as a Son of God, at
one with the Mind of his Creator. Through your holiness the power of God is
made manifest. Through your holiness the power of God is made available. And
there is nothing the power of God cannot do.
2. Your holiness, then, can remove all pain, can end all sorrow, and can solve
all problems. It can do so in connection with yourself and with anyone else.
It is equal in its power to help anyone, because it is equal in its power to
save anyone. If you are holy, so is everything God created. You are holy
because all things He created are holy, and all things He created are holy
because you are.
3. In today's exercises, we will apply the power of your holiness to all
problems, difficulties, or suffering in any form that you happen to think of in
yourself or someone [W31] else. We will make no distinctions because there are no
distinctions.
4. In the four longer practice periods, each preferably to last a full five
minutes, repeat the idea for today, close your eyes, and then search your mind
for any sense of loss or unhappiness of any kind, as you see it. Try to make as
little distinction as possible between a situation that is difficult for you and
one that is difficult for someone else. Identify the situation specifically,
and also name the person concerned. Use this form in applying the idea for
today:
"In the situation involving ____ in which I see myself, there is nothing that my
holiness cannot do."
"In the situation involving ____ in which ____ sees himself, there is nothing my
holiness cannot do."
W(63)
5. From time to time you may want to vary this procedure, and add some relevant
thoughts of your own. You might like, for example, to include thoughts such as:
"There is nothing my holiness cannot do because the power of God lies in it."
Introduce whatever variations appeal to you, but keep the exercises focused on
the theme
"There is nothing your [W32] holiness cannot do."
The purpose of today's exercises is to begin to instill in you a sense that you
have dominion over all things because of what you are.
6. In the frequent shorter applications, apply the idea in its original form
unless a specific problem concerning you or someone else arises, or comes to
mind. In that event, use the more specific form of application.
W(64) July 3, 1969
Lesson 39. "My holiness is my salvation."
1. If guilt is hell, what is its opposite? Like the text for which this
workbook was written, the ideas which are used for these exercises are very
simple, very clear, and totally unambiguous. We are not concerned with
intellectual feats nor logical toys. We are dealing only in the very obvious,
which has been overlooked in the clouds of complexity in which you think you
think.
2. If guilt is hell, what is its opposite? This is not difficult, surely. The
hesitation you may feel in answering is not due to the ambiguity of the
question. But do you believe that guilt is hell? If you did, you would see at
once how direct and simple the text is, and you would not need a workbook at
all. No one needs practice to gain what is already his.
3. We have already said that your holiness is the salvation of the world. What
about your own salvation? You cannot give what you do not have. A Savior must
be saved. How else can he teach salvation? Today's exercises will apply to
you alone, recognizing that your salvation is crucial to the salvation of the
world. As you apply the exercises to your own world, the whole world stands to
benefit.
4. Your holiness is the answer to every question that was ever asked, is being
asked now, or will be asked in the future. Your holiness means the end of
guilt, and therefore the end of hell. Your holiness is the salvation of the
world, and your own. How could you to whom your holiness belongs be excluded
from it? God does not know unholiness. Can it be He does not know His Son?
5. A full five minutes are urged [W33] for the four longer practice periods for
today. [W34] Longer and more frequent practice sessions are encouraged [W35]. If
you want to exceed the minimum requirements more rather than longer sessions are
recommended, although both are encouraged.
W(65)
6. Begin the practice periods as usual, by repeating today's idea to yourself.
Then, with closed eyes, search out your unloving thoughts in whatever form they
appear; uneasiness, depression, anger, fear, worry, attack, insecurity, and so
on. Whatever form they take they are unloving and therefore fearful. And so it
is from them that you need to be saved.
7. Specific situations, events or personalities you associate with unloving
thoughts of any kind are suitable subjects for today's exercises. It is
imperative for your own salvation that you see them differently. And it is your
blessing on them that will save you and give you vision.
8. Slowly, without conscious selection and without undue emphasis on any one in
particular, search your mind for every thought that stands between you and your
salvation. Apply the idea for today to each one of them in this way:
"My unloving thoughts about ____ are keeping me in hell. My holiness
is my salvation."
9. You may find these sessions [W36] easier if you intersperse the
applications [W37] with several short periods during which you merely repeat
today's idea to yourself slowly a few times. You may also find it helpful to
include a few short intervals in which you just relax and do not seem to be
thinking of anything. Sustained concentration is very difficult at first. It
will become much easier as your mind becomes more disciplined and less
distractable.
10. Meanwhile, you should feel free to introduce variety into your
application [W38] periods, in whatever form appeals to you. Do not, however,
change the idea itself in varying the method of applying it. However you elect
to use it, the idea should be stated so that its meaning remains [W39] that your
holiness is your salvation. End each practice period by repeating the idea in
its original form once more, and adding:
"If guilt is hell, what is its opposite?"
W(66)
In the shorter applications, which should be made some three or four times
an hour and more if possible, you may ask yourself this question, repeat today's
idea, or preferably both. If temptations arise, a particularly helpful form of
the idea is:
"My holiness is my salvation from this."
W(67) July 4, 1969
Lesson 40. "I am blessed as a Son of God."
1. Today we will begin to assert [W40] some of the happy things to which you are
entitled, being what you are. No long practice periods are required today, but
very frequent short ones are necessary. Once every ten minutes would be highly
desirable, and you are urged to attempt this and to adhere to this schedule
whenever possible. If you forget, try again. If there are long interruptions,
try again. Whenever you remember, try again.
2. You need not close your eyes for the exercise periods, although you will
probably find it more helpful if you do. However, you may be in a number of
situations during the day when closing your eyes would not be appropriate. Do
not miss a practice period because of this. You can practice quite well under
almost any circumstance, if you really want to.
3. Today's exercises take little time and no effort. Repeat today's idea, and
then add several of the attributes which you associate with being a Son of God,
applying them to yourself. One practice period might, for example, consist of
the following:
"I am blessed as a Son of God.
I am happy, peaceful, loving and contented."
Another might be something as follows:
"I am blessed as a Son of God.
I am calm, quiet, assured and confident."
If only a brief period is available, merely telling yourself that you are
blessed as a Son of God will do.
W(68) July 5, 1969
Lesson 41. "God goes with me wherever I go."
1. Today's idea will eventually overcome completely the sense of loneliness and
abandonment which all the separated ones experience. Depression is an
inevitable consequence of separation. So are anxiety, worry, a deep sense of
helplessness, misery, suffering, and intense fear of loss.
2. The separated ones have invented many "cures" for what they believe to be
the "ills of the world." But the one thing they do not do is to question the
reality of the problem. Yet its effects cannot be cured because it is not real.
The idea for today has the power to end all this foolishness forever. And
foolishness it is, despite the serious and tragic forms it may take.
3. Deep within you is everything that is perfect, ready to radiate through you
and out into the whole world. It will cure all sorrow and pain and fear and
loss because it will heal the mind that thought these things were real, and
suffered out of its allegiance to these beliefs.
4. You can never be deprived of your perfect holiness because its Source goes
with you wherever you go. You can never suffer because the Source of all joy
goes with you wherever you go. You can never be alone because the Source of all
life goes with you wherever you go. Nothing can destroy your peace of mind
because God goes with you wherever you go.
5. We understand that you do not believe all this. How could you, when the
truth is hidden deep within, under a heavy cloud of insane thoughts, dense and
obscuring, yet representing all you see?
6. Today we will make our first real attempt to get past this dark and heavy
cloud, and to go through it to the light beyond.
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There will be only one long practice period today. In the morning, as soon as
you get up if possible, sit quietly for some three to five minutes with your
eyes closed. At the beginning of this [W41] practice period, repeat today's idea
very slowly. Then make no effort to think of anything. Try, instead, to get a
sense of turning inward, past all the idle thoughts of the world. Try to enter
very deeply into your own mind, keeping it clear of any thoughts that might
divert your attention.
7. From time to time you may repeat today's [W42] idea, if you find it helpful.
But most of all, try to sink down and inward, away from the world and all the
foolish thoughts of the world. You are trying to reach past all these things.
You are trying to leave appearances and approach reality.
8. It is quite possible to reach God. In fact it is very easy, because it is
the most natural thing in the world. You might even say it is the only natural
thing in the world. The way will open if you believe that it is possible.
This exercise can bring very startling results even the first time it is
attempted, and [W43] sooner or later it is always successful. We will go into
more detail in connection with this kind of practice as we go along. But it
will never fail completely, and instant success is possible.
9. Throughout the day use today's idea often, repeating it very slowly, and
preferably with eyes closed. Think of what you are saying; what the words mean.
Concentrate on the holiness which they imply about you; on the unfailing
companionship which is yours; on the complete protection that surrounds you.
10. You can indeed afford to laugh at fear thoughts, remembering that God goes
with you wherever you go.
W(70) July 6, 1969
Lesson 42. "God is my strength. Vision is His gift."
1. The idea for today combines two very powerful thoughts, both of major
importance. It also sets forth a cause and effect relationship which explains
why you cannot fail in your efforts to achieve the goal of the course. You will
see because it is the Will of God. It is His strength, not your own, that gives
you power. And it is His gift to you, rather than your own, which offers vision
to you.
2. God is indeed your strength, and [W44] what He gives is truly given. This
means that you can receive it any time and anywhere, wherever you are and in
whatever circumstances you find yourself. Your passage through time and space
is not random. You cannot but be in the right place at the right time. Such is
the strength of God. Such are His gifts.
3. We will have two three-to-five-minute longer exercise periods today, one as
soon as possible after you wake, and another as close as possible to the time
you go to sleep. It is better, however, to wait until you can sit quietly by
yourself at a time when you feel ready, than it is to be concerned with the time
as such.
4. Begin the longer [W45] practice period by repeating the idea for today slowly,
with eyes open, looking about you. Then close your eyes and repeat the idea
again, quite slowly. After this, try to think of nothing except thoughts which
occur to you in relation to today's idea. You might think, for example:
"Vision must be possible. God gives truly."
or,
"God's gifts to me must be mine because He gave them to me."
Whatever [W46] thought that is clearly related to the idea itself is suitable.
5. You may, in fact, be astonished at the amount of course-related
understanding some of your own thoughts contain. Let them come without
censoring unless you realize that your mind is merely wandering, and you have
let obviously irrelevant thoughts
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intrude. You may also reach a point where no thoughts at all seem to come to
mind. If such interferences occur, open your eyes and repeat the thought once
more while looking slowly about; close your eyes, repeat the idea once more, and
then continue to look for related thoughts in your mind.
6. Remember, though, that active searching [W47] is not appropriate for today's
exercises. Try merely to step back and let the thoughts come. If you find this
difficult, it is better to spend the practice period alternating between slow
repetitions of the idea with eyes open, then [W48] closed, then [W49] open, and so
on than it is to strain in order to find suitable thoughts.
7. There is no limit on the number of short practice periods which would be
most beneficial. The idea for today is a beginning step in bringing thoughts
together and teaching you that what you are studying is a unified thought system
in which nothing is lacking that is needed, and nothing is included that is
contradictory or irrelevant. The more often you repeat [W50] the idea during the
day, the more often you will be reminding yourself that the goal of the course
is important to you, and that you have not forgotten it.
W(72) July 7, 1969
Lesson 43. "God is my Source. I cannot see apart from Him."
1. Perception is not an attribute of God. His is the realm of knowledge. Yet
He has created the Holy Spirit as the Mediator between perception and knowledge.
Without this link with God, perception would have replaced knowledge forever in
your minds. With this link with God, perception will become so changed and
purified that it will lead to knowledge. That is its function as the Holy
Spirit sees it. Therefore, that is its function in truth.
2. In God you cannot see. Perception has no function in God, and does not
exist. Yet in salvation, which is the undoing of what never was, perception has
a mighty purpose. Made by the Son of God for an unholy purpose, it must become
the means for the restoration of his holiness to his awareness. Perception has
no meaning. Yet does the Holy Spirit give it a meaning very close to God's.
Healed perception becomes the means by which the Son of God forgives his brother
and thus forgives himself.
3. You cannot see apart from God because you cannot be apart from God.
Whatever you do you do in Him, because whatever you think you think with His
Mind. If vision is real, and it is real to the extent to which it shares the
Holy Spirit's purpose, then you cannot see apart from God.
4. Three five-minute practice periods are required today, one as early as
possible and another as late as possible [W51]. The third may be undertaken at
the most convenient and suitable time which circumstances and readiness permit.
At the beginning of the [W52] practice period [W53], repeat the idea [W54] to
yourself with your eyes open. Then glance around you for a short time, applying
today's idea specifically to what you see. Four or five subjects for this phase
of the exercise are sufficient. You might say, for example:
"God is my Source. I cannot see this desk apart from Him."
"God is my Source. I cannot see that picture apart from Him."
5. Although this part of the exercise period should be relatively short, be
sure that you select the subjects for this phase indiscriminately, without
self-directed inclusion or exclusion.
W(73)
For the second and longer phase of the exercise period, close your eyes, repeat
today's idea again, and then let whatever relevant thoughts occur to you add to
the idea in your own personal way. Thoughts such as:
"I see through the eyes of forgiveness,"
"I see the world as blessed,"
"The world can show me myself,"
"I see my own thoughts, which are like God's,"
or any thought related more or less directly to today's idea is suitable. The
thoughts need not bear an obvious relationship to the idea, but they should not
be in opposition to it.
6. If you should find your mind wandering; if you begin to be aware of thoughts
which are clearly out of accord with today's idea; or if you seem to be unable
to think of anything, open your eyes, repeat the first phase; and then try the
second phase again. Do not allow any protracted period to occur in which you
become preoccupied with irrelevant thoughts. Return to the first phase as often
as necessary to prevent this.
7. In applying today's idea in the shorter practice periods, the form may vary
according to the circumstances and situations in which you find yourself during
the day. When you are with someone else, for example, try to remember to tell
him silently:
"God is my Source. I cannot see you apart from Him."
This form is equally applicable to strangers and to those you know well [W55].
Try, in fact, not to make distinctions of this kind at all.
8. The [W56] idea should also be applied throughout the day to various situations
and events which may occur, particularly those which distress you in any way.
For this kind of application, use this form:
"God is my Source. I cannot see this apart from Him."
If no particular subject presents itself to your awareness [W57], merely repeat
the idea in its original form.
W(74)
Try today not to allow long periods of time to slip by without remembering
today's idea, and thus remembering your function.
W(75) July 8, 1969
Lesson 44. "God is the Light in which I see."
1. Today we are continuing with the idea for yesterday, adding another
dimension to it. You cannot see in darkness, and you cannot make light. You
can make darkness and then think you see in it, but light reflects life, and is
therefore an aspect of creation. Creation and darkness cannot coexist, but
light and life must go together, being but different aspects of creation.
2. In order to see, one [W58] must recognize that light is within, not without.
You do not see outside yourself. Nor is the equipment for seeing outside you.
An essential part of this equipment is the light which makes seeing possible.
It is with you always, making vision possible in every circumstance.
3. Today we are going to attempt to reach that light. For that [W59] purpose, we
will use a form of practice which has been suggested once before, and which we
will utilize increasingly. It is a particularly difficult form for the
undisciplined mind because it [W60] represents a major goal of mind training.
It embodies precisely what the untrained mind lacks. Yet the training must be
accomplished if you are to see.
4. Have at least three practice periods today, each lasting three-to-five
minutes. A longer time [W61] is highly recommended, but only if you find the time
merely slipping by with little or no sense of strain. The form of exercise we
will use today is the most natural and easy one in the world for the trained
mind, just as it seems to be the most unnatural and difficult for the untrained
mind.
5. Your mind is no longer wholly untrained. You are quite ready to learn the
form of exercise we will use today, but you may find that you will encounter
strong resistance. The reason is very simple. While you practice in this
form [W62], you leave behind everything that you now believe, and all the thoughts
which you have made up. Properly speaking, this is the release from hell.
Perceived through the ego's eyes, it is loss of identity and a descent into
hell.
W(76)
6. If you can stand aside from the ego [W63] ever so little, you will have no
difficulty in recognizing that its opposition and fears are meaningless. You
might find it helpful to remind yourself from time to time that to reach light
is to escape from darkness, whatever you may believe to the contrary. God is
the Light in which you see. You are attempting to reach Him.
7. Begin the practice period by repeating today's idea with your eyes open, and
close them slowly, repeating the idea several times more. Then try to sink into
your mind, letting go every kind of interference and intrusions by quietly
sinking past them. Your mind cannot be stopped in this unless you choose to
stop it. It is merely taking its natural course. Try to observe your passing
thoughts without involvement, and slip quietly by them.
8. While no particular form of approach is advocated, what is needful is a
sense of the importance of what you are doing, its inestimable value to you, and
an awareness that you are attempting something very holy. Salvation is your
happiest accomplishment. It is also the only one that has any meaning, because
it is the only one that has any use to you at all.
9. If resistance rises in any form, pause long enough to repeat today's idea,
keeping your eyes closed unless you are aware of fear. In that case, you will
probably find it more reassuring to open your eyes briefly. Try, however, to
return to the exercises as soon as possible.
10. If you are doing the exercises correctly, you should experience some sense
of relaxation, and even a feeling that you are approaching, if not actually
entering into light. Try to think of light, formless and without limit, as you
pass by the thoughts of this world. And do not forget that they cannot hold you
to the world unless you give them the power to do so.
W(77)
11. Throughout the day, repeat the idea often, with eyes open or closed as
seems better to you at the time. Do not forget. Above all, be determined not
to forget today.
W(78) July 10, 1969
Lesson 45. "God is the Mind with which I think."
1. Today's idea holds the key to what your real thoughts are. They are nothing
that you think you think, just as nothing that you think you see is related to
vision in any way. There is no relationship between what is real and what you
think is real. Nothing that you think are your real thoughts resemble your real
thoughts in any respect. Nothing that you think you see bears any resemblance
to what vision will show you.
2. You think with the Mind of God. Therefore you share your thoughts with Him,
as He shares His with you. They are the same thoughts, because they are thought
by the same Mind. To share is to make alike, or to make one. Nor do the
thoughts you think with the Mind of God leave your mind, because thoughts do not
leave their source. Therefore your thoughts are in the Mind of God, as you
are. They are in your mind as well, where He is. As you are part of His Mind,
so are your thoughts part of His Thoughts.
3. Where, then, are your real thoughts? Today we will attempt to reach them.
We will have to look for them in your mind, because that is where they are.
They must still be there because they cannot have left. What is thought by the
Mind of God is eternal, being part of creation.
4. Our three five-minute practice periods for today will take the same general
form that we used in applying yesterday's idea. We will attempt to leave the
unreal and seek for the real. We will deny the world in favor of truth. We
will not let the thoughts of the world hold us back, and [W64] we will not let the
beliefs of the world tell us that what God would have us do is impossible.
5. Instead, we will try to recognize that only what God would have us do is
possible. We will also try to understand that only what God would have us do
is what we want to do. And we will also try to remember that we cannot fail in
doing what He would have us do. There is every reason to feel confident that
you will succeed today. It is the Will of God.
W(79)
Begin the exercises for today by repeating the idea to yourself, closing
your eyes as you do so. Spend a fairly short period in thinking a few relevant
thoughts of your own, keeping the idea in mind as you do so. After you have
added some four or five thoughts of your own, repeat the idea again, and tell
yourself gently:
"My real thoughts are in my mind. I would like to find them."
Then try to go past all the unreal thoughts which cover the truth in your mind,
and reach to the eternal. Under all the senseless thoughts and mad ideas with
which you have cluttered up your mind are the thoughts which you thought with
God in the beginning. They are there in your mind now, completely unchanged.
They will always be in your mind, exactly as they always were.
7. Everything that you have thought since then will change, but the foundation
on which they rest is wholly changeless. It is this foundation toward which the
exercises for today are directed. Here is your mind joined with the Mind of
God. Here are your thoughts one with His.
8. For this kind of practice only one thing is necessary; approach it as you
would an altar dedicated in Heaven itself to God the Father and God the Son.
For such is the place you are trying to reach. You will probably be unable as
yet to realize how high you are trying to go. Yet even with the little
understanding you have already gained, you should be able to remind yourself
that this is no idle game, but an exercise in holiness and an attempt to reach
the Kingdom of Heaven.
9. In using the shorter form for applying today's idea, try to remember how
important it is to you to understand the holiness of the mind that thinks with
God. Take a minute or two, as you repeat the idea throughout the day, to
appreciate your mind's holiness. Stand aside, however briefly,
W(80)
from all thoughts that are unworthy of Him Whose host you are. And thank Him
for the thoughts He is thinking with you.
W(81) July 11, 1969
Lesson 46. "God is the Love in which I forgive."
1. God does not forgive because He has never condemned. And there must be
condemnation before forgiveness is necessary. Forgiveness is the great need of
this world, but that is because it is a world of illusions. Those who forgive
are thus releasing themselves from illusions, while those who withhold
forgiveness are binding themselves to them. As you condemn only yourself, so do
you forgive only yourself.
2. [W65] Although God does not forgive, His Love is nevertheless the basis of
forgiveness. Fear condemns and love forgives. Forgiveness thus undoes what
fear has produced, returning the mind to the awareness of God. For this reason,
forgiveness can truly be called salvation. It is the means by which illusions
disappear.
3. Today's exercises require at least three full five-minute practice periods,
and as many shorter applications [W66] as possible. Begin the [W67] practice
periods by repeating today's idea to yourself, as usual. Close your eyes as you
do so, and spend a minute or two in searching your mind for those whom you have
not forgiven. It does not matter "how much" you have not forgiven [W68]. You
have forgiven them entirely or not at all.
4. If you are doing the exercises well, you should have no difficulty in
finding a number of people you have not forgiven. It is a safe rule that anyone
you do not like is a suitable subject. Mention each one by name, and say:
"God is the Love in which I forgive you, (name)"
5. The purpose of the first phase of today's practice [W69] is to put you in the
best [W70] position to forgive yourself. After you have applied the idea for
today to all those who have come to mind, tell yourself:
"God is the Love in which I forgive myself."
W(82)
Then devote the remainder of the practice period to offering [W71] related ideas
such as:
"God is the Love with which I love myself."
"God is the Love in which I am blessed."
6. The form of the applications may vary considerably, but the central idea
should not be lost sight of. You might say, for example:
"I cannot be guilty because I am a Son of God."
"I have already been forgiven."
"No fear is possible in a mind beloved of God."
"There is no need to attack because love has forgiven me."
The practice period should end, however, with a repetition of today's idea as
originally stated.
7. The shorter applications may consist either of a repetition of the idea in
the original or in a related form [W72] or in [W73] more specific applications
if [W74] needed. They will be needed at any time during the day when you become
aware of any kind of negative reaction to anyone, present or not. In this
event, tell him silently:
"God is the Love in which I forgive you."
W(83) July 12, 1969
Lesson 47. "God is the Strength in which I trust."
1. If you are trusting your own strength, you have every reason to be
apprehensive, anxious, and fearful. What can you predict or control? What is
there in you that can be counted on? What would give you the ability to be
aware of all the facets of any problem, and to resolve them in such a way that
only good can come of it? What is there in you that gives you the recognition
of the right solution, and the guarantee that it will be accomplished?
2. Of yourself you can do none of these things. To believe that you can is to
put your trust where trust is unwarranted, and to justify fear, anxiety,
depression, anger, and sorrow. Who can put his faith in weakness and feel safe?
Yet who can put his faith in strength and feel weak?
3. God is your safety in every circumstance. His Voice speaks for Him in all
situations and in every aspect of all situations, telling you exactly what to do
to call upon His strength and His protection. There are no exceptions because
God has no exceptions. And the Voice Which speaks for Him thinks as He does.
4. Today we will try to reach past your own weakness to the Source of real
strength. Four five-minute practice periods are necessary today, and longer
and more frequent ones are urged. Close your eyes and begin as usual by
repeating today's idea. Then spend a minute or two in searching for situations
in your life which you have invested with fear, dismissing each one by telling
yourself,
"God is the Strength in which I trust."
5. Now try to slip past all concerns related to your own sense of inadequacy.
It is obvious that any situation which causes you concern is associated with
feelings of inadequacy, since [W75] otherwise you would believe that you could
deal with the situation successfully. It is not by trusting yourself
W(84)
that you will gain confidence. But the strength of God in you is successful in
all things.
6. The recognition of your own frailty is a necessary step in the correction of
your errors. But it is [W76] hardly [W77] a sufficient one in giving you the
confidence which you need and to which you are entitled. You must also gain an
awareness that your confidence in your real strength is fully justified in every
respect and in all circumstances.
7. In the latter phase of the practice period, try to reach down into your mind
to a place of real safety. You will recognize that you have reached it if you
feel a [W78] deep peace, however briefly. Let go all the trivial things that
churn and bubble on the surface of your mind, and reach down and below them to
the Kingdom of Heaven. There is a place in you where there is perfect peace.
There is a place in you where nothing is impossible. There is a place in you
where the strength of God abides.
8. Repeat the idea for today often. Use it as your answer to any disturbance.
Remember that peace is your right because you are giving your trust to the
strength of God.
W(85) July 13, 1969
Lesson 48. "There is nothing to fear."
1. The idea for today simply states a fact. It is not a fact to those who
believe in illusions, but illusions are not facts. In truth there is nothing to
fear. It is very easy to recognize this. But it is very difficult to
recognize [W79] for those who want illusions to be true.
2. Today's practice periods will be very short, very simple, and very frequent.
Merely repeat the idea as often as possible. You can use it with your eyes
open at any time and in any situation. It is strongly recommended, however,
that you take a minute or so whenever possible to close your eyes and repeat the
idea slowly to yourself several times. It is particularly important that you
use the idea immediately, should anything disturb your peace of mind.
3. The presence of fear is a sure sign that you are trusting in your own
strength. The awareness that there is nothing to fear shows that somewhere in
your mind, not necessarily in a place which you recognize as yet, you have
remembered God and let His strength take the place of yours [W80]. The instant
you are willing to do this there is indeed nothing to fear.
W(86) July 14, 1969
Lesson 49. "God's Voice speaks to me all through the day."
1. It is quite possible to listen to God's Voice all [W81] day without
interrupting your regular activities in any way. The part of your mind in which
truth abides is in constant communication with God, whether you are aware of it
or not. It is the other part of your mind that functions in the world and obeys
the world's laws. It is this part which is constantly distracted, disorganized,
and highly uncertain.
2. The part that is listening to the Voice of God is calm, always at rest and
wholly certain. It is really the only part there is. The other part is a wild
illusion, frantic and distraught, but without reality of any kind. Try today
not to listen to it. Try to identify with the part of your mind where stillness
and peace reign forever. Try to hear God's Voice call to you lovingly,
reminding you that your Creator has not forgotten His Son.
3. We will need at least four five-minute practice periods today, and more if
possible. We will try actually to hear the [W82] Voice reminding you of God [W83]
and of your Self. We will approach this happiest and holiest of thoughts with
confidence, knowing that in doing so we are joining our will with the Will of
God. He wants you to hear His Voice. He gave It to you to be heard.
4. Listen in deep silence. Be very still and open your mind. Go past all the
raucous shrieks and sick imaginings that cover your real thoughts and obscure
your eternal link with God. Sink deep into the peace that waits for you beyond
the frantic, riotous thoughts and sounds and sights [W84] of this insane world.
You do not live there [W85]. We are trying to reach your real home. We are
trying to reach the place where you are truly welcome. We are trying to reach
God.
W(87)
5. Do not forget to repeat today's idea very frequently. Do so with your eyes
open when necessary, but closed when possible. And be sure that you [W86] sit
quietly and repeat the idea for today slowly [W87] whenever you can, closing your
eyes on the world, and realizing that you are inviting God's Voice to speak to
you.
W(88) July 15, 1969
Lesson 50. "I am sustained by the Love of God."
1. Here is the answer to every problem that confronts [W88] you today and
tomorrow and throughout time. In this world, you believe you are sustained by
everything but God. Your faith is placed in the most trivial and insane
symbols; pills, money, "protective" clothing, "influence," "prestige," being
liked, knowing the "right" people, and an endless list of forms of nothingness
which you endow with magical powers.
2. All these things are your replacements for the Love of God. All these
things are cherished to ensure a body identification. They are songs of praise
to the ego. Do not put your faith in the worthless. It will not sustain you.
3. Only the Love of God will protect you in all circumstances. It will lift
you out of every trial, and raise you high above all the perceived dangers of
this world into a climate of perfect peace and safety. It will transport you
into a state of mind which nothing can threaten, nothing can disturb, and [W89]
nothing can intrude upon the eternal calm of the Son of God.
4. Put not your faith in illusions. They will fail you. Put all your faith in
the Love of God within you, eternal, changeless and forever unfailing. This is
the answer to whatever confronts you today. Through the Love of God in you, you
can resolve all seeming difficulties without effort and in sure confidence.
Tell yourself this often today. It is a declaration of release from the belief
in idols. It is your acknowledgment of the truth about yourself.
5. Twice today, morning and evening, let the idea for today sink deep into your
consciousness. Repeat it, think about it, let related thoughts come to help you
recognize its truth, and allow peace to flow over you like a blanket of
protection and surety. Let no idle and foolish thoughts enter to
W(89)
disturb the holy mind of the Son of God. Such is the Kingdom of Heaven. Such
is the resting-place where your Father has placed you forever.
W(90) Aug. 5, 1969
Review I
1. Beginning with today, we will have a series of review periods. Each of them
will cover five of the ideas already presented, starting with the first and
ending with the fiftieth. There will be [W90] short comments [W91] after each of
the ideas, which you should consider in your review. In the practice period,
the exercises should be done as follows:
2. Begin, the day by reading the five ideas, with the comments included.
Thereafter, it is not necessary to follow any particular order in considering
them, though each one should be practiced at least once. Devote two minutes or
more to each practice period, thinking about the idea and the related
comments [W92]. Do this as often as possible during the day. If any one of the
five ideas appeals to you more than the others, concentrate on that one. At the
end of the day, however, be sure to review all of them once more.
3. It is not necessary to cover the comments literally or thoroughly in the
practice periods. Try, rather, merely to emphasize the central point, and think
about it as part of your review of the idea to which it relates. The review [W93]
exercises should be done with the eyes closed, and when you are alone in a quiet
place, if possible.
4. This is emphasized particularly for reviews at your stage of learning. It
will be necessary, however, that you learn to require no special settings in
which to apply what you have learned. You will need it most in situations which
appear to be upsetting, rather than in those which already seem to be calm and
quiet. The purpose of your learning is to enable you to bring the quiet with
you, and to heal distress and turmoil. This is not done by avoiding them and
seeking a haven of isolation for yourself.
5. You will yet learn that peace is part of you, and requires only that you be
there to embrace any situation in which you are. And finally you will learn
that there is no limit to where you are, so that your peace is everywhere, as
you are.
W(91)
You will note that for review purposes [W94] the ideas are not always given
in quite their original form of statement [W95]. Use them as they are given here.
It is not necessary to return to the original statements, nor to apply the
ideas as was suggested then. We are now emphasizing the relationships among the
first fifty of the ideas we have covered, and the cohesiveness of the thought
system to which they are leading you.
W(92)
Lesson 51. The review for today covers the following ideas: (1-5)
1. 1) "Nothing I see means anything."
The reason this is so is that I see nothing, and nothing has no meaning. It is
necessary that I recognize this that I may learn to see. What I think I see now
is taking the place of vision. I must let it go by realizing that it has no
meaning, so that vision may take its place.
2. 2) "I have given what I see all the meaning it has for me."
I have judged everything I look upon. And it is this and only this that I see.
This is not vision. It is merely an illusion of reality, because my judgments
have been made quite apart from reality. I am willing to recognize the lack of
validity in my judgments because I want to see. My judgments have hurt me, and
I do not want to see according to them.
3. 3) "I do not understand anything I see."
How could I understand what I see when I have judged it amiss? What I see is
the projection of my own errors of thought. I do not understand what I see
because it is not understandable. There is no sense in trying to understand it.
But there is every reason to let it go, to make room for what can be seen and
understood and loved. I can exchange what I see now for this merely by being
willing to do so. Is not this a better choice than the one I made before?
4. 4) "These thoughts do not mean anything."
The thoughts of which I am aware do not mean anything because I am trying to
think without God. What I call "my" thoughts are not my real thoughts. My real
thoughts are the thoughts I think with God. I am not aware of them because I
have made "my" thoughts to take their place. I am willing to recognize that
"my" thoughts do not mean anything, and to let them go. I choose to have them
replaced by what they were intended to replace. "My" thoughts are meaningless,
but all creation lies in the Thoughts I think with God.
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5. 5) "I am never upset for the reason I think."
I am never upset for the reason I think because I am constantly trying to
justify "my" thoughts. I am constantly trying to make them true. I make all
things my "enemies," so that my anger is justified, and my attacks are
warranted. I have not realized how much I have misused everything I see by
assigning this role to it. I have done this to defend a thought system which
has hurt me, and which I no longer want. I am willing to let it go.
W(94) August 7, 1969
Lesson 52. Today's review covers these ideas: (6-10)
1. 6) "I am upset because I see what is not there."
Reality is never frightening. It is impossible that it could upset me. Reality
brings only perfect peace. When I am upset, it is always because I have
replaced reality with illusions which I made up. The illusions are upsetting
because I have given them reality, and thus regard reality as an illusion.
Nothing in God's creation is affected in any way by this confusion of mine. I
am always upset by nothing.
2. 7) "I see only the past."
As I look about, I condemn the world I look upon. I call this seeing. I hold
the past against everyone and everything, making them my "enemies." When I have
forgiven myself and remembered who I am, I will bless everyone and everything I
see. There will be no past, and therefore no "enemies." And I will look with
God [W96] on all that I failed to see before.
3. 8) "My mind is preoccupied with past thoughts."
I see only my own thoughts, and my mind is preoccupied with the past. What,
then, can I see as it is? Let me remember that I look on the past to prevent
the present from dawning on my mind. Let me understand that I am trying to use
time against God. Let me learn to give the past away, realizing that in so
doing I am giving up nothing.
4. 9) "I see nothing as it is now."
If I see nothing as it is now, it can truly be said that I see nothing. I can
see only what is now. The choice is not whether to see the past or the present:
it is merely whether to see or not. What I have chosen to see has cost me
vision. Now I would choose again, that I may see.
W(95)
5. 10) "My thoughts do not mean anything."
I have no private thoughts. Yet it is only private thoughts of which I am
aware. What can these thoughts mean? They do not exist, and so they mean
nothing. Yet my mind is part of creation and part of its Creator. Would I not
rather join the thinking of the universe than to obscure all that is really
mine [W97] with my pitiful and meaningless "private" thoughts?
W(96) August 8, 1969
Lesson 53. Today we will review the following: (11-15)
1. 11) "My meaningless thoughts are showing me a meaningless world."
Since the thoughts of which I am aware do not mean anything, the world which
pictures them can have no meaning. What is producing this world is insane, and
so is what it produces. Reality is not insane, and I have real thoughts as well
as insane ones. I can therefore see a real world, if I look to my real thoughts
as my guide for seeing.
2. 12) "I am upset because I see a meaningless world."
Insane thoughts are upsetting, and They produce a world in which there is no
order anywhere. Only chaos rules a world which represents chaotic thinking, and
chaos has no laws. I cannot live in peace in such a world. I am grateful that
this world is not real, and that I need not see it at all unless I choose to
value it. And I do not choose to value what is totally insane and has no
meaning.
3. 13) "A meaningless world engenders fear."
The totally insane engenders fear because it is completely undependable, and
offers no grounds for trust. Nothing in madness is dependable. It holds out no
safety and no hope. But such a world is not real. I have given it the illusion
of reality, and have suffered from my belief in it. Now I choose to withdraw
this belief, and place my trust in reality. In choosing this, I will escape all
the effects of the world of fear because I am acknowledging that it does not
exist.
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4. 14) "God did not create a meaningless world."
How can a meaningless world exist if God did not create it? He is the Source of
all meaning, and everything that is real is in His Mind. It is in my mind too,
because He created it with me. Why should I continue to suffer from the effects
of my own insane thoughts, when the perfection of creation is my hone? Let me
remember the power of my decision, and recognize where I really abide.
5. 15) "My thoughts are images which I have made."
Whatever I see reflects my thoughts. It is my thoughts which tell me where I am
and what I am. The fact that I see a world in which there is suffering and loss
and death shows me that I am seeing only the representation of my insane
thoughts, and am not allowing my real thoughts to cast their beneficent light on
what I see. Yet God's way is sure. The images I have made can not prevail
against Him because it is not my will that they do so. My will is His, and I
will place no other gods before Him.
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Lesson 54. These are the review ideas for today: (16-20)
1. 16) "I have no neutral thoughts."
Neutral thoughts are impossible because all thoughts have power. They will
either make a false world or lead me to the real one. But thoughts cannot be
without effects. As the world I see arises from my thinking errors, so will the
real world rise before my eyes as I let my errors be corrected. My thoughts
cannot be neither true nor false. They must be one or the other. What I see
shows me which they are.
2. 17) "I see no neutral things."
What I see witnesses to what I think. If I did not think I would not exist,
because life is thought. Let me look on the world [W98] as the representation of
my own state of mind. I know that my state of mind can change. And so I also
know that the world I see can change as well.
3. 18) "I am not alone in experiencing the effects of my seeing."
If I have no private thoughts, I cannot see a private world. Even the mad idea
of separation had to be shared before it could form the basis of the world I
see. Yet that sharing was a sharing of nothing. I can also call upon my real
thoughts, which share everything with everybody. As my thoughts of separation
call to the separation thoughts of others, so my real thoughts await the real
thoughts in them. And the world my real thoughts show me will dawn on their
sight as well as mine.
4. 19) "I am not alone in experiencing the effects of my thoughts."
I am alone in nothing. Everything I think or say or do touches all the
universe. A Son of God cannot think or speak or act in vain. He cannot be
alone in anything. It is therefore in my power to change every mind along with
mine, for mine is the power of God.
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5. 20) "I am determined to see."
Recognizing the shared nature of my thoughts, I am determined to see. I would
look upon the witnesses that show me the thinking of the world has been changed.
I would behold the proof that what has been done through me has enabled love to
replace fear, laughter to replace weeping, and abundance to replace loss. I
would look upon the real world, and let it teach me that my will and the Will of
God are one.
W(100) August 10, 1969
Lesson 55. Today's review includes the following: (21-25)
1. 21) "I am determined to see things differently."
What I see now are but signs of disease, disaster and death. This cannot be
what God created for His beloved Son. The very fact that I see such things is
proof that I do not understand God. Therefore I also do not understand His Son.
What I see tells me that I do not know who I am. I am determined to see the
witnesses to the truth in me, rather than those which show me an illusion of
myself.
2. 22) "What I see is a form of vengeance."
The world I see is hardly the representation of loving thoughts. It is a
picture of attack on everything and by everything. It is anything but a
reflection of the Love of God and the love of His Son. It is my own attack
thoughts which give rise to this picture. My loving thoughts will save me from
this perception of the world, and give me the peace God intended me to have.
3. 23) "I can escape from the world by giving up attack thoughts."
Herein lies my salvation, and nowhere else. Without attack thoughts I could not
see a world of attack. As forgiveness allows love to return to my awareness I
will see a world of peace and safety and Joy. And It is this that I choose to
see, in place of what I look on now.
4. 24) "I do not perceive my own best interests."
How could I recognize my own best interests when I do not know who I am? What I
think are my best interests would merely bind me closer to the world of
illusions. I am willing to follow the Guide God has given me to find out what
my own best interests are, recognizing that I cannot perceive them by myself.
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5. 25) "I do not know what anything is for."
To me, the purpose of everything is to prove that my illusions about myself are
real. It is for that purpose that I attempt to use everyone and everything. It
is this that I believe the world is for. Therefore I do not recognize its real
purpose. The purpose I have given the world has led to a frightening picture
of it. Let me open my mind to its [W99] real purpose by withdrawing the one I
have given it, and learning the truth about it.
W(102) August 11, 1969
Lesson 56. Our review for today covers the following: (26-30)
1. 26) "My attack thoughts are attacking my invulnerability."
How can I know who I am when I see myself as under constant attack? Pain,
illness, loss, age and death seem to threaten me. All my hopes and wishes and
plans appear to be at the mercy of a world I cannot control. Yet perfect
security and complete fulfillment are my inheritance. I have tried to give my
inheritance away in exchange for the world I see. But God has kept my
inheritance safe for me. My own real thoughts will teach me what it is.
2. 27) "Above all else I want to see."
Recognizing that what I see reflects what I think I am, I realize that vision is
my greatest need. The world I see attests to the fearful nature of the
self-image I have made. If I would remember who I am, it is essential that I
let this image of myself go. As it is replaced by truth, vision will surely be
given me. And with this vision I will look upon the world and upon myself with
charity and love.
3. 28) "Above all else I want to see differently."
The world I see holds my fearful self-image in place, and guarantees its
continuance. While I see the world as I see it now, truth cannot enter my
awareness. I would let the door behind this world be opened for me, that I may
look past it to the world that [W100] reflects the Love of God.
4. 29) "God is in everything I see."
Behind every image I have made, the truth remains unchanged. Behind every veil
I have drawn across the face of love, its light remains undimmed. Beyond all my
insane wishes is my will united with the Will of my Father. God is still
everywhere and in everything forever. And we who are part of Him will yet look
past all appearances, and recognize the truth beyond them all.
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5. 30) "God is in everything I see because God is in my mind."
In my own mind, behind all my insane thoughts of separation and attack, is the
knowledge that all is one forever. I have not lost the knowledge of who I am
because I have forgotten it. It has been kept for me in the Mind of God, Who
has not left His Thoughts. And I, who am among them, am one with them and [W101]
with Him.
W(104) August 12, 1969
Lesson 57. Today let us review these ideas: (31-35)
1. 31) "I am not the victim of the world I see."
How can I be the victim of a world which can be completely undone if I so
choose? My chains are loosened. I can drop them off merely by desiring to do
so. The prison door is open. I can leave it simply by walking out. Nothing
holds me in this world. Only my wish to stay keeps me a prisoner. I would give
up [W102] insane wishes, and walk into the sunlight at last.
2. 32) "I have invented the world I see."
I made up the prison in which I see myself. All I need do is recognize this,
and I am free. I have deluded myself into believing it is possible to imprison
the Son of God. I was bitterly mistaken in this belief, which I no longer want.
The Son of God must be forever free. He is as God created him, and not what I
would make of him. He is where God would have him be, and not where I thought
to hold him prisoner.
3. 33) "There is another way of looking at the world."
Since the purpose of the world is not the one I ascribed to it, there must be
another way of looking at it. I see everything upside down, and my thoughts are
the opposite of truth. I see the world as a prison for God's Son. It must be,
then, that the world is really a place where he can be [W103] set free. I would
look upon the world as it is, and see it as a place where the Son of God finds
his freedom.
4. 34) "I could see peace instead of this."
When I see the world as a place of freedom, I will realize that it reflects the
laws of God instead of the rules which I made up for it to obey. I will
understand that peace, not war, abides in it. And I will perceive that peace
also abides in the hearts of all who share this place with me.
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5. 35) "My mind is part of God's. I am very holy."
As I share the peace of the world with my brothers, I begin to understand that
this peace comes from deep within myself. The world I look upon has taken on
the light of my forgiveness, and shines forgiveness back at me. In this
light [W104], I begin to see what my illusions about myself had kept hidden. I
begin to understand the holiness of all living things including myself, and
their oneness with me.
W(106) August 12, 1969
Lesson 58. These ideas are for review today: (36-40)
1. 36) "My holiness envelops everything I see."
From my holiness does the perception of the real world come. Having forgiven, I
no longer see myself as guilty. I can accept the innocence that is the truth
about me. Seen through understanding eyes the holiness of the world is all I
see, for I can picture only the thoughts I hold about myself.
2. 37) "My holiness blesses the world."
The perception of my holiness does not bless me alone. Everyone and everything
I see in it's light shares in the joy it brings to me. There is nothing that is
apart from this joy, because there is nothing that does not share my holiness.
As I recognize my holiness, so does the holiness of the world shine forth for
everyone to see.
3. 38) "There is nothing my holiness cannot do."
My holiness is unlimited in its power to heal, because it is unlimited in its
power to save. What is there to be saved from except illusions? And what are
all illusions except false ideas about myself? My holiness undoes them all by
asserting the truth about me. In the presence of my holiness, which I share
with God Himself, all idols vanish.
4. 39) "My holiness is my salvation."
Since my holiness saves me from all guilt, recognizing my holiness is
recognizing my salvation. It is also recognizing the salvation of the world.
Once I have accepted my holiness, nothing can make me afraid. And because I am
unafraid, everyone must share in my understanding [W105], which is the gift of God
to me and to the world.
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5. 40) "I am blessed as a Son of God."
Herein lies my claim to all good and only good. I am blessed as a Son of God.
All good things are mine because God intended them for me. I cannot suffer any
loss or deprivation or pain because of who I am. My Father supports me,
protects me, and directs me in all things. His care for me is infinite, and is
with me forever. I am eternally blessed as His Son.
W(108) August 13, 1969
Lesson 59. The following ideas are for review today: (41-45)
1. 41) "God goes with me wherever I go."
How can I be alone when God always goes with me? How can I be doubtful and
unsure of myself when perfect certainty abides in Him? How can I be disturbed
by anything when He rests in absolute [W106] peace? How can I suffer when love
and joy surround me through Him? Let me not cherish illusions about myself. I
am perfect because God goes with me wherever I go.
2. 42) "God is my strength. Vision is His gift."
Let me not look to my own eyes to see today. Let me be willing to exchange my
pitiful illusion of seeing for the vision that is given by God. Christ's vision
is His gift, and He has given it to me. Let me call upon this gift today, so
that this day may help me to understand eternity.
3. 43) "God is my Source. I cannot see apart from Him."
I can see what God wants me to see. I cannot see anything else. Beyond His
Will lie only illusions. It is these I choose when I think I can see apart from
Him. It is these I choose when I try to see through the body's eyes. Yet the
vision of Christ has been given me to replace them. It is through this vision
that I choose to see.
4. 44) "God is the Light in which I see."
I cannot see in darkness. God is the only Light. Therefore, if I am to see, it
must be through Him. I have tried to define what seeing is, and I have been
wrong. Now it is given me to understand that God is the Light in which I see.
Let me welcome vision and the happy world it will show me.
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5. 45) "God is the Mind with which I think."
I have no thoughts which I do not share with God. I have no thoughts apart from
Him because I have no mind apart from His. As part of His Mind, my thoughts are
His and His Thoughts are mine.
W(110) August 14, 1969
Lesson 60. These ideas are for today's review. (46-50)
1. 46) "God is the Love in which I forgive."
God does not forgive because He has never condemned. The blameless cannot
blame, and those who have accepted their innocence see nothing to forgive. Yet
forgiveness is the means by which I will recognize my innocence. It is the
reflection of God's Love on earth. It will bring me near enough to Heaven that
the Love of God can reach down to me and raise me to my home.
2. 47) "God is the Strength in which I trust."
It is not my own strength through which I forgive. It is through the strength
of God in me, which I am remembering as I forgive. As I begin to see, I
recognize His reflection on earth. I forgive all things because I feel the
stirring of His strength in me. And I begin to remember the Love I chose to
forget, but Which has not forgotten me.
3. 48) "There is nothing to fear."
How safe the world will look to me when I can see it! It will not look anything
like what I imagine I see now. Everyone and everything I see will lean toward
me to bless me. I will recognize in everyone my dearest Friend. What could
there be to fear in a world which I have forgiven, and which has forgiven me?
4. 49) "God's Voice speaks to me all through the day."
There is not a moment in which God's Voice ceases to call on my forgiveness to
save me. There is not a moment in which His Voice fails to direct my thoughts,
guide my actions, and lead my feet. I am walking steadily on toward truth.
There is nowhere else I can go, because God's Voice is the only voice and the
only guide that has been given to His Son.
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5. 50) "I am sustained by the Love of God."
As I listen to God's Voice, I am sustained by [W107] His Love. As I open my eyes,
His Love lights up the world for me to see. As I forgive, His Love reminds me
that His Son is sinless. And as I look upon the world with the vision He has
given me, I remember that I am His Son.
W(112) August 15, 1969
Lesson 61. "I am the light of the world."
1. Who is the light of the world except God's Son? This, then, is merely a
statement of the truth about yourself. It is the opposite of a statement of
pride, of arrogance, or of self-deception. It does not describe the
self-concept you have made. It does not refer to any of the characteristics
with which you have endowed your idols. It refers to you as you were created by
God. It simply states the truth.
2. To the ego, today's idea is the epitome of self-glorification. But the ego
does not understand humility, mistaking it for self-debasement. Humility
consists of accepting your role in salvation, and in taking no other. It is not
humility to insist that you cannot be the light of the world, if that is the
function God assigned to you. It is only arrogance that would assert this
function cannot be for you, and arrogance is always of the ego.
3. True humility requires that you accept today's idea because it is God's
Voice which tells you it is true. This is a beginning step in accepting your
real function on earth. It is a giant stride toward taking your rightful place
in salvation. It is a positive assertion of your right to be saved, and an
acknowledgment of the power that is given you to save others.
4. You will want to think about this idea as often as possible today. It is
the perfect answer to all illusions, and therefore to all temptation. It brings
all the images you have made about yourself to the truth, and helps you depart
in peace, unburdened and certain of your purpose.
5. As many practice periods as possible should be undertaken today, although
each one need not exceed a minute or two. They should begin with telling
yourself:
W(113)
"I am the light of the world.
That is my only function.
That is why I am here."
Then think about these statements for a short while, preferably with your eyes
closed if the situation permits. Let a few related thoughts come to you, and
repeat the idea to yourself if your mind wanders away from the central thought.
6. Be sure both to begin and end the day [W108] with a practice period. Thus you
will awaken with an acknowledgment of the truth about yourself, reinforce it
throughout the day, and turn to sleep as you re-affirm your function and your
only purpose here. These two practice periods may be longer than the
rest [W109], if you find them helpful and want to extend them.
7. Today's idea goes far beyond the ego's petty views of what you are and what
your purpose is. As a bringer of salvation, this is obviously necessary. This
is the first of a number of giant steps we will take in the next few weeks. Try
today to begin to build a firm foundation for these advances. You are the light
of the world. God has built His plan for the salvation of His Son on you.
W(114) August 16, 1969
Lesson 62. "Forgiveness is my function as the light of the world."
1. It is your forgiveness that will bring the world of darkness to the light.
It is your forgiveness that lets you recognize the light in which you see.
Forgiveness is the demonstration that you are the light of the world. Through
your forgiveness does the truth about yourself return to your memory. Therefore
in your forgiveness lies your salvation.
2. Illusions about yourself and the world are one. That is why all forgiveness
is a gift to yourself. Your goal is to find out who you are, having denied your
identity by attacking creation and its Creator. Now you are learning how to
remember the truth. For this, attack must be replaced by forgiveness, so that
thoughts of life may replace thoughts of death.
3. Remember that in every attack you call upon your own weakness, while
every [W110] time you forgive you call upon the strength of Christ in you. Do you
not then begin to understand what forgiveness will do for you? It will remove
all sense of weakness, strain and fatigue from your mind. It will take away all
fear and guilt and pain. It will restore the invulnerability and power God gave
His Son to your awareness.
4. Let us be glad to begin and end this day by practicing today's idea, and to
use it as frequently as possible throughout the day. It will help to make the
day as happy for you as God wants you to be. And it will help those around you,
as well as those who seem to be far away in space and time, to share this
happiness with you.
5. As often as you can, closing your eyes if possible, say to yourself:
"Forgiveness is my function as the light of the world.
I would fulfill my function that I may be happy."
Then devote a minute or two to considering your function, and the happiness and
release [W111] it will bring you.
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6. Let related thoughts come freely, for your heart will recognize these words,
and in your mind is the awareness that they are true. Should your attention
wander, repeat the idea and add:
"I would remember this because I want to be happy."
W(116) August 17, 1969
Lesson 63. "The light of the world brings peace to every mind through my
forgiveness."
1. How holy are you who have the power to bring peace to every mind! How
blessed are you who can learn to recognize the means for letting this be done
through you! What purpose could you have that would bring you greater
happiness?
2. You are indeed the light of the world with such a function. The Son of God
looks to you for his redemption. It is yours to give him, for it belongs to
you. Accept no trivial purpose or meaningless desire in its place, or you will
forget your function and leave the Son of God in hell. This is no idle request
that is being asked of you. You are asked to accept salvation that it may be
yours to give.
3. Recognizing the importance of this function, we will be happy to remember it
very often today. We will begin the day by acknowledging it, and close the day
with the thought of it in our awareness. And throughout the day, we will repeat
this as often as we can:
"The light of the world brings peace to every mind through my
forgiveness.
I am the means God has appointed for the salvation of the world."
4. [W112] You will probably find it easier to let the related thoughts come to
you in the minute or two which you should devote to considering this if you can
close your eyes. Do not, however, wait for such an opportunity. No chance
should be lost for reinforcing today's idea. Remember that God's Son looks to
you for his salvation. And who but your Self must be His Son?
W(117) August 19, 1969
Lesson 64. "Let me not forget my function."
1. Today's idea is merely another way of saying, "Let me not wander into
temptation." The purpose of the world you see is to obscure your function of
forgiveness, and provide you with a justification for forgetting it. It is the
temptation to abandon God and His Son, taking on a physical appearance. It is
this which the body's eyes look upon.
2. Nothing the body's eyes seem to see can be anything but a form of
temptation, since this was the purpose of the body itself. Yet we have learned
that the Holy Spirit has another use for all the illusions you have made, and
therefore He sees another purpose in them. To the Holy Spirit, the world is a
place where you learn to forgive yourself what you think of as your sins. In
this perception, the physical appearance of temptation becomes the spiritual
recognition of salvation.
3. To review our last few lessons, your function here is to be the light of the
world, a function given you by God. It is only the arrogance of the ego which
leads you to question this, and only the fear of the ego which induces you to
regard yourself as unworthy of the task assigned to you by God Himself. The
world's salvation awaits your forgiveness because through it does the Son of God
escape from all illusions and thus from all temptation. The Son of God is you.
4. Only by fulfilling the function given you by God will you be happy. That is
because your function is to be happy by using the means by [W113] which happiness
becomes inevitable. There is no other way. Therefore every time you choose
whether or not to fulfill your function, you are really choosing whether to be
happy or not.
5. Let us remember this today. Let us remind ourselves of it in the morning
and again at night, and all through the day as well.
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Prepare yourself in advance for all the decisions you will make today by
remembering that they are all really very simple. Each one will lead to
happiness or unhappiness. Can such a simple decision really be difficult to
make?
6. Let not the form of the decision deceive you. Complexity of form does not
imply complexity of content. It is impossible that any decision on earth can
have a content different from just this one simple choice. That is the only
choice the Holy Spirit sees. Therefore it is the only choice there is.
7. Today, then, let us practice these thoughts:
"Let me not forget my function.
Let me not try to substitute mine for God's.
Let me forgive and be happy."
At least once devote ten or fifteen minutes to reflecting on this with closed
eyes. Related thoughts will come to help you, if you remember the crucial
importance of your function to you and to the world.
8. In the frequent applications of today's idea to be made throughout the day,
devote several minutes to reviewing the [W114] thoughts, and then to thinking
about them and about nothing else. This will be difficult at first
particularly, since you are not proficient in the mind discipline which it
requires. You may need to repeat "Let me not forget my function" quite often,
to help you concentrate.
9. Two forms of the shorter practice periods are required. At times, do the
exercises with your eyes closed, trying to concentrate on the thoughts you are
applying. At other times keep your eyes open after reviewing the thoughts and
look slowly and unselectively about you, telling yourself:
"This is the world it is my function to save."
W(119) August 20, 1969
Lesson 65. "My only function is the one God gave me."
1. The idea for today reaffirms your commitment to salvation. It also reminds
you that you have no other function [W115] than this. Both of these thoughts are
obviously necessary for a total commitment. Salvation cannot be the only
purpose you hold while you still cherish others. The full acceptance of
salvation as your only function necessarily entails two phases; the recognition
of salvation as your function, and the relinquishment of all the other goals you
have invented for yourself.
2. This is the only way in which you can take your rightful place among the
Saviors of the world. This is the only way in which you can say and mean, "My
only function is the one God gave me." This is the only way in which you can
find peace of mind.
3. Today, and for a number of days to follow, set aside ten to fifteen minutes
for a more sustained practice period in which you try to understand and accept
what today's idea [W116] really means. It [W117] offers you escape from all your
perceived difficulties. It places the key to the door to peace, which you have
closed upon yourself, in your own hands. It gives you the answer to all the
searching you have done since time began.
4. Try, if possible, to undertake the daily extended practice periods at
approximately the same time each day. Try, also, to determine this time today
in advance, and then adhere to it as closely as possible. The purpose of this
is to arrange your day so that you have set apart the time for God, as well as
for all the trivial purposes and goals you will pursue. This is part of the
long range disciplinary training which your mind needs so that the Holy Spirit
can use it consistently for the purpose He shares with you.
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5. For this [W118] practice period, begin by reviewing the idea for today. Then
close your eyes, repeat the idea to yourself once again, and watch your mind
carefully to catch whatever thoughts cross it. At first, make no attempt to
concentrate only on thoughts related to the idea for today [W119]. Rather, try to
uncover each one [W120] that arises to [W121] interfere with it. Note each one [W122]
as it [W123] comes to you with as little involvement or concern as possible,
dismissing them [W124] by telling yourself:
"This thought reflects a goal which is preventing me from
accepting my only function."
6. After a while, interfering thoughts will become harder to find. Try,
however, to continue a minute or so longer, attempting to catch a few of the
idle thoughts which escaped your attention before, but do not strain or make
undue effort in doing this. Then tell yourself:
"On this clean slate, let my true function be written for me."
You need not use these exact words, but try to get a sense of being willing to
have your illusions of purpose be replaced by truth.
7. Finally, repeat the idea for today once more and devote the rest of the
practice period to trying to focus on its importance to you; the relief its
acceptance will bring you by resolving your conflicts once and for all, and the
extent to which you really want salvation in spite of your own foolish ideas to
the contrary.
8. In the shorter practice periods, which should be undertaken at least once an
hour, use this form in applying today's idea:
"My only function is the one God gave me.
I want no other and I have no other."
Sometimes close your eyes as you practice, and sometimes keep them open and look
about you. It is what you see now that will be totally changed when you accept
today's idea completely.
W(121) August 21, 1969
Lesson 66. "My happiness and my function are one."
1. You have surely noticed an emphasis throughout our recent lessons on the
connection between fulfilling your function and achieving happiness. This is
because you do not really see the connection. Yet there is more than just a
connection between them; they are the same. Their forms are different, but
their content is completely one.
2. The ego does constant battle with the Holy Spirit on the fundamental
question of what your function is. So does it do constant battle with the Holy
Spirit about what your happiness is. It is not a two-way battle. The ego
attacks and the Holy Spirit does not respond. He knows what your function is.
He knows that it is your happiness.
3. Today we will try to go past this wholly meaningless battle, and arrive at
the truth about your function. We will not engage in ceaseless arguments about
what it is. We will not become hopelessly involved in defining happiness and
determining the means for achieving it. We will not indulge the ego by
listening to its attacks on truth. We will merely be glad that we can find out
what truth is.
4. Our longer practice period today has as its purpose your acceptance of the
fact that not only is there a very real connection between the function God gave
you and your happiness, but that they are actually identical. God gives you
only happiness. Therefore the function He gave you must be happiness, even if
it appears to be different. Today's exercises are an attempt to go beyond
these differences in appearance, and recognize a common content where it exists
in truth.
5. Begin the 10 to 15 minute practice period by reviewing these thoughts:
"God gives me only happiness.
He has given my function to me.
Therefore my function must be happiness."
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Try to see the logic in this sequence, even if you do not [W125] accept the
conclusion. It is only if the first two thoughts are wrong that the conclusion
could be false. Let us, then, think about the premises for a while, as we are
practicing.
6. The first premise is that God gives you only happiness. This could be
false, of course, but in order to be false it is necessary to define God as
something He is not. Love cannot give evil, and what is not happiness is evil.
God cannot give what He does not have, and He cannot have what He is not.
Unless God gives you only happiness, He must be evil. And it is this definition
of Him which you are believing if you do not accept the first premise.
7. The second premise is that God has given you your function. We have seen
that there are only two parts of your mind. One is ruled by the ego, and is
made up of illusions. The other is the home of the Holy Spirit, where truth
abides. There are no other guides but these to choose between, and no other
outcomes possible as a result of your choice but the fear which the ego always
engenders and the love which the Holy Spirit always offers to replace it.
8. Thus it must be that your function is established by God through His Voice
or is made by the ego which you made to replace Him. Which is true? Unless God
gave your function to you, it must be the gift of the ego. Does the ego really
have gifts to give, being itself an illusion and offering only the illusion of
gifts?
9. Think about this during the longer practice period today. Think also about
the many forms which the illusion of your function has taken in your mind, and
the many ways in which you try [W126] to find salvation under the ego's guidance.
Did you find it? Were you happy? Did they bring you peace?
W(123)
We need great honesty today. Remember the outcomes fairly, and consider also
whether it was ever reasonable to expect happiness from anything the ego has
ever proposed. Yet the ego is the only alternative to the Holy Spirit's Voice.
10. You will listen to madness or hear the truth. Try to make this choice as
you think about the premises on which our conclusion rests. We can share in
this conclusion, but in no other. For God Himself shares it with us.
11. Today's idea is another giant stride in the perception of the same as the
same, and the different as different. On one side stand all illusions. All
truth stands on the other. Let us try today to realize that only the truth is
true.
12. In the shorter practice periods, which would be most helpful today if
undertaken twice an hour, this form of the application is suggested:
"My happiness and function are one,
because God has given me both."
It will not take more than a minute, and probably less, to repeat these words
slowly, and think about them a little [W127] as you say them.
W(124) August 22, 1969
Lesson 67. "Love created me like Itself."
1. Today's idea is a complete and accurate statement of what you are. This is
why you are the light of the world. This is why God appointed you as the
world's savior. This is why the Son of God looks to you for his salvation. He
is saved by what you are. We will make every effort today to reach this truth
about you, and to realize fully, if only for a moment, that it is the truth.
2. In the longer practice period, we will think about your reality and its
wholly unchanged and unchangeable nature. We will begin by repeating this truth
about you, and then spend a few minutes adding some relevant thoughts, such as:
"Holiness created me whole [W128] "
"Kindness created me kind."
"Helpfulness created me helpful."
"Perfection created me perfect."
Any attribute which is in accord with God as He defines Himself is appropriate
for use. We are trying today to undo your definition of God and replace it
with His Own. We are also trying to emphasize that you are part of His
definition of Himself.
3. After you have gone over several such related thoughts, try to let all
thoughts drop away for a brief preparatory interval, and then try to reach past
all your images and preconceptions about yourself to the truth in you. If Love
created you like Itself this Self must be in you. And somewhere in your mind It
is there for you to find.
4. You may find it necessary to repeat the idea for today from time to time, to
replace distracting thoughts. You may also find that this is not sufficient,
and that you need to continue adding other thoughts related to the truth about
yourself. Yet perhaps you will succeed in going past that, and through the
interval of thoughtlessness [W129] to the awareness of a blazing
W(125)
light in which you recognize yourself as Love created you. Be confident that
you will do much today to bring that awareness nearer, whether you feel you have
succeeded or not.
5. It will be particularly helpful today to practice the idea for today [W130] as
often as you can. You need to hear the truth about yourself as frequently as
possible, because your mind is so preoccupied with false self-images. Four or
five times an hour, and perhaps even more, it would be most beneficial to remind
yourself that Love created you like Itself. Hear the truth about yourself in
this.
6. Try to realize in the shorter practice periods, that this is not your tiny
solitary voice that tells you this. This is the Voice for God, reminding you of
your Father and of your Self. This is the Voice of truth, replacing everything
that the ego tells you about yourself with the simple truth about the Son of
God. You were created by Love like Itself.
W(126) August 23, 1969
Lesson 68. "Love holds no grievances."
1. You who were created by Love like Itself can hold no grievances and know
your Self. To hold a grievance is to forget who you are. To hold a grievance
is to see yourself as a body. It is the decision [W131] to let the ego rule your
mind, and to condemn the body to death. Perhaps you do not yet fully realize
just what holding grievances does to your awareness [W132]. It seems to split you
off from your Source, and make you unlike Him. It makes you believe that He is
like what you think you have become, for no one can conceive of his Creator as
unlike himself.
2. Shut off from your Self, Who [W133] remains aware of His [W134] likeness to
His [W135] Creator, your Self seems to sleep, while the part of your mind that
weaves illusions in its sleep appears to be awake. Can all this arise from
holding grievances? Oh yes! For he who holds grievances denies he was created
by Love, and his Creator has become fearful to him in his dreams [W136] of hate.
Who can dream of hatred and not fear God?
3. It is as sure that those who hold grievances will redefine God in their
image as it is certain that God created them like Himself and defined them as
part of Him. It is as sure that those who hold grievances will suffer guilt as
it is certain that those who forgive will find peace. It is as sure that those
who hold grievances will forget who they are as it is certain that those who
forgive will remember.
4. Would you not be willing to relinquish your grievances if you believed all
this were so? Perhaps you do not think that you can let all your grievances go.
That, however, is simply a question of motivation. Today we will try to find
out how you would feel without them. If you succeed even by ever so little,
there will never be a problem in motivation ever again.
W(127)
5. Begin today's extended practice period by searching your mind for those
against whom you hold what you regard as major grievances. Some of these will
be quite easy to find. Then think of the seemingly minor grievances you hold
against those you like, and even think you love. It will quickly become
apparent that there is no one against whom you do not cherish grievances of some
sort. This has left you alone in all the universe in your perception of
yourself.
6. Determine now to see all these people as friends. Say to them all,
collectively, thinking of each one in turn as you do so:
"I would see you as my friend,
that I may remember you are part of me,
and come to know myself."
Spend the remainder of the practice period trying to think of yourself as
completely at peace with everyone and everything, safe in a world which protects
you and loves you, and which you love in return.
7. Try to feel safety surrounding you, hovering over you, and holding you up.
Try to believe, however briefly, that nothing can harm you in any way. At the
end of the practice period tell yourself:
"Love holds no grievances.
when I let all my grievances go,
I will know I am perfectly safe."
8. The short practice periods should include a quick application of today's
ideas in this form, whenever any thought of grievance arises against anyone,
physically present or not:
"Love holds no grievances.
Let me not betray my Self."
In addition, repeat the idea several times an hour in this form:
"Love holds no grievances.
I would wake to my Self
by laying all grievances aside
and wakening in Him."
W(128) August 24, 1969
Lesson 69. "My grievances hide the light of the world in me."
1. No one can look upon what your grievances conceal. Because your grievances
are hiding the light of the world in you, everyone stands in darkness, and you
beside him. But as the veil of your grievances is lifted, you are released
with him. Share your salvation now with him who stood beside you when you were
in hell. He is your brother in the light of the world which saves you both.
2. Today let us make another real attempt to reach the light in you. Before we
undertake this in our more extended practice period, let us devote several
minutes in thinking about what we are [W137] trying to do. We are literally
attempting to get in touch with the salvation of the world. We are trying to
see past the veil of darkness that keeps it concealed. We are trying to let the
veil be lifted, and [W138] see the tears of God's Son disappear in the sunlight.
3. Let us begin our longer practice period today with the full realization of
all this [W139], and [W140] real determination to reach what is dearer to us than
all else. Salvation is our only need. There is no other purpose here, and no
other function to fulfill. Learning salvation is our only goal. Let us end the
ancient search today, by finding the light in us and holding it up for everyone
who searches with us to look upon and rejoice.
4. Very quietly now, with your eyes closed, try to let [W141] all the content
which generally occupies your consciousness go. Think of your mind as a vast
round area [W142], surrounded by a layer of heavy dark clouds. You can see only
the clouds because you seem to be standing outside the whole area [W143], and
quite apart from it. From where you stand, you can see no reason to believe
there is a brilliant light hidden by the clouds. The clouds seem to be the only
reality. They seem to be all there is to see. Therefore you do not attempt to
go through them and past them, which is the only way in which you would be
really convinced
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of their lack of substance. We will make this attempt today.
5. After you have thought about the importance of what you are trying to do for
yourself and the world, try to settle [W144] in perfect stillness, remembering
only how much you want to reach the light in you today, - now. Determine to go
past the clouds. Reach out and touch them in your mind. Brush them aside with
your hand; feel them resting on your cheeks and forehead and eyelids as you go
through them. Go on; clouds cannot stop you.
6. If you are doing the exercises properly, you will begin to feel a sense of
being lifted up and carried ahead. Your little effort and small determination
call on the power of the universe to help you, and God Himself will raise you
from darkness into light. You are in accord with His Will. You cannot fail
because your will is His.
7. Have confidence in your Father today, and [W145] be certain that He has heard
you and has answered you. You may not recognize His answer yet, but you can
indeed be sure that it is given you, and you will yet receive it. Try, as you
attempt to go through the clouds to the light, to hold this confidence in your
mind. Try to remember that you are at last joining your will to God's. Try to
keep the thought clearly in mind that what you undertake with God must succeed.
Then let the power of God work in you and through you, that His Will and yours
may be done.
8. In the shorter practice periods, which you will want to do as often as
possible in view of the importance of today's idea to you and your happiness,
remind yourself that your grievances are hiding the light of the world from your
awareness. Remind yourself also that you are not searching for it alone, and
that you do know where to look for it. Say, then:
"My grievances hide the light of the world in me.
I cannot see what I have hidden.
Yet I want to let it be revealed to me
for my salvation and the salvation of the world."
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Also, be sure to tell yourself:
"If I hold this grievance, the light of the world will be hidden from me,"
if you are tempted to hold anything against anyone today.
W(131) August 25, 1969
Lesson 70. "My salvation comes from me."
1. All temptation is nothing more than some form of the basic temptation not to
believe the idea for today. Salvation seems to come from anywhere except from
you. So, too, does the source of guilt. You see neither guilt nor salvation as
in your own mind, and nowhere else. When you realize that all guilt is solely
an invention of your mind, you must also realize that guilt and salvation must
be in the same place. [W146] Understanding this you are saved.
2. The seeming "cost" of accepting today's idea is this: It means that nothing
outside yourself can save you; nothing outside yourself can give you peace. But
it also means that nothing outside yourself can hurt you, or disturb your peace,
or upset you in any way. Today's idea places you in charge of the universe,
where you belong because of who you are.
3. This is not a role which can be partially accepted, and [W147] you must surely
begin to see that accepting it is salvation. It may not, however, be clear to
you why the recognition that guilt is in your own mind entails the realization
that salvation is there as well. God would not have put the remedy for sickness
where it cannot help. That is the way your mind has worked, but hardly His. He
wants you to be healed, and so He has kept the Source of healing where the need
for healing lies.
4. You have tried to do just the opposite, making every attempt, however
distorted and fantastic it might be, to separate healing from the sickness for
which it was intended, and thus keep the sickness. Your purpose was to ensure
that healing did not occur; God's purpose was to ensure that it did. Today we
will practice realizing that God's Will and ours are really the same in this.
W(132)
God wants us to be healed, and we do not really want to be sick because it makes
us unhappy. Therefore, in accepting the idea for today, we are in agreement
with God. He does not want us to be sick. Neither do we. He wants us to be
healed. So do we.
5. We are ready for two longer practice periods today, each of which should
last some ten to fifteen minutes. We will, however, still let you decide when
to undertake them. We will follow this practice for a number of lessons, and it
would again be well to decide in advance when would be a good time to lay aside
for each of them, and adhere to your own decision [W148] as closely as possible.
6. Begin these practice periods by repeating the idea for today, adding a
statement signifying your recognition that salvation comes from nothing outside
of you. You might put it this way:
"My salvation comes from me.
It cannot come from anywhere else."
Then devote a few minutes with your eyes closed, to reviewing some of the
external places where you have looked for salvation in the past, - in other
people, in possessions, in various situations and events, and in self-concepts
which you sought to make real. Recognize that it was [W149] not there.
[W150] Tell yourself:
"My salvation cannot come from any of these things.
My salvation comes from me, and only from me."
7. Now we will try again to reach the light in you, which is where your
salvation is. You cannot find it in the clouds that surround the light, and it
is in them you have been looking for it. It is not there. It is past the
clouds, and in the light beyond. Remember that you will have to go through the
clouds before you can reach the light. But remember also that you have never
found anything in the cloud patterns you imagined that endured, or that you
wanted.
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8. Since all illusions of salvation have failed you, surely you do not want to
remain in the clouds looking vainly for idols there, when you could so easily
walk on into the light of real salvation. Try to pass the clouds by whatever
means appeals to you. If it helps you, think of me holding your hand and
leading you. And I assure you that this will be no idle fantasy.
9. For the short and frequent practice periods today, remind yourself that your
salvation comes from you, and nothing but your own thoughts can hamper your
progress. You are free from all external interference. You are in charge of
your salvation. You are in charge of the salvation of the world. Say, then:
"My salvation comes from me.
Nothing outside of me can hold me back.
Within me is the world's salvation and my own."
W(134) August 26, 1969
Lesson 71. "Only God's plan for salvation will work."
1. You may not realize that the ego has set up a plan for salvation in
opposition to God's. It is this plan in which you believe. Since it is the
opposite of God's, you also believe that to accept God's plan in place of the
ego's is to be damned. This sounds preposterous, of course. Yet after we have
considered just what the ego's plan is, perhaps you will realize that, however
preposterous it may be, you do believe in [W151] it.
2. The ego's plan for salvation centers around holding grievances. It
maintains that if someone else spoke or acted differently, if some external
circumstance or event were changed, you would be saved. Thus the source of
salvation is constantly perceived as outside yourself. Each grievance you hold
is a declaration, and an assertion in which you believe, that [W152] says, "If
this were different, I would be saved." The change of mind that is necessary
for salvation is thus demanded of everyone and everything except yourself.
3. The role assigned to your own mind in this plan, then, is simply to
determine what other than itself must change if you are to be saved. According
to this insane plan, any perceived source of salvation is acceptable, provided
that it will not work. This ensures that the fruitless search will continue,
for the illusion that [W153], although this hope has [W154] failed, there are [W155]
still grounds for hope in other places and in other things, persists. Another
person will yet serve better; another situation will yet offer success.
4. Such is the ego's plan for your salvation. Surely you can see how it is in
strict accord with the ego's basic doctrine, "Seek but do not find?" For what
could more surely guarantee that you will not find salvation than to channelize
all your efforts in searching for it where it is not?
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5. God's plan for salvation works simply because, by following His direction,
you seek for salvation where it is. But if you are to succeed, as God promises
you will, you must be willing to seek there only. Otherwise your purpose is
divided, and you will attempt to follow two plans for salvation which are
diametrically opposed in all ways. The result can only bring confusion,
misery, and a deep sense of failure and despair.
6. How can you escape all this? Very simply. The idea for today is the
answer. Only God's plan for salvation will work. There can be no real conflict
about this, because there is no possible alternative to God's plan [W156] that
will save you. His is the only plan that is certain in its outcome. His is
the only plan that must succeed. Let us practice recognizing this certainty
today. And let us rejoice that there is an answer to what seems to be a
conflict with no resolution possible. All things are possible to God.
Salvation must be yours because of His plan, which cannot fail.
7. Begin the two longer practice periods for today by thinking about today's
idea, and realizing that it contains two parts, each making equal contribution
to the whole. God's plan for your salvation will work, and other plans will
not. Do not allow yourself to become depressed or angry at the second part; it
is inherent in the first. And in the first is your full release from all your
own insane attempts and mad proposals to free yourself. They have led to
depression and anger, but [W157] God's plan will succeed. It will lead to release
and joy.
8. Remembering this, let us devote the remainder of the extended practice
period to asking God to reveal His plan to us. Ask Him very specifically:
"What would you have me do?"
Where would You have me go?
What would You have me say, and to whom?"
Give Him full charge of the rest of the practice period, and let Him tell you
what needs to be done by you in His plan for your salvation. He will answer
you in proportion to your willingness to hear His Voice. Refuse not to hear.
The very
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fact that you are doing the exercises proves that you have some willingness to
listen. This is enough to establish your claim to God's answer.
9. In the shorter practice periods tell yourself often that God's plan for
salvation, and only His, will work. Be alert to all temptation to hold
grievances today, and respond to them with this form of today's idea:
"Holding grievances is the opposite of God's plan for salvation.
And only His plan will work."
Try to remember the [W158] idea for today some six or seven times an hour. There
could be no better way to spend a half-minute or less than to remember the
Source of your salvation, and to see It where It is.
W(137) August 27, 1969
Lesson 72. "Holding grievances is an attack on God's plan for salvation."
1. While we have recognized that the ego's plan for salvation is the opposite
of God's, we have not yet emphasized that it is an active attack on His plan,
and a deliberate attempt to destroy it. In the attack, God is assigned the
attributes which are actually associated with the ego, while the ego appears to
take on the attributes of God.
2. The ego's fundamental wish is to replace God. In fact, the ego is the
physical embodiment of this [W159] wish. For it is this [W160] wish which seems to
surround the mind with a body, keeping it separate and alone, and unable to
reach other minds except through the body which was made to imprison it. The
limit on communication cannot be the best means to expand communication. Yet
the ego would have you believe that it is.
3. Although the attempt to keep the limitations which a body would impose is
obvious here, it is perhaps not so apparent why holding grievances is an attack
on God's plan for salvation. But let us consider the kinds of things which you
are apt to hold grievances for. Are they not always associated with something a
body does? A person says something we [W161] do not like; he does something that
displeases us [W162]; he "betrays" his hostile thoughts in his behavior.
4. We [W163] are not dealing here with what the person is. On the contrary,
we [W164] are exclusively concerned with what he does in a body. We [W165] are
doing more than failing to help in freeing him from its [W166] limitations.
We [W167] are actively trying to hold him to it by confusing it with him, and
judging them as one. Herein is God attacked, for if His Son is only a body, so
must He be as well. A creator wholly unlike his creation is inconceivable.
5. If God is a body, what must His plan for salvation be? What could it be but
death? In trying to present Himself as the Author of life and not of death, He
is a liar and a deceiver, full of false promises, and offering illusions in
place of truth.
W(138)
The body's apparent reality makes this view of God quite convincing. In fact,
if the body were real, it would be difficult indeed to escape this conclusion.
And every grievance that you hold insists that the body is real. It overlooks
entirely what your brother is. It reinforces your belief that he is a body, and
condemns him for it. And it asserts that his salvation must be death,
projecting this attack onto God, and holding Him responsible for it.
6. To this carefully prepared arena, where angry animals seek for prey and
mercy cannot enter, the ego comes to save you. God made you a body. Very well.
Let us accept this and be glad. As a body, do not let yourself be deprived of
what the body offers. Take the little you can get. God gave you nothing. The
body is your only savior. It is the death of God and your salvation. This is
the universal belief of the world you see.
7. Some hate the body, and try to hurt and humiliate it. Others love the body,
and try to glorify and exalt it. But while it stands at the center of your
concept of yourself, you are attacking God's plan for salvation, and holding
your grievances against Him and His creations, that you may not hear the Voice
of truth and welcome it as Friend. Your chosen Savior takes His place instead.
It is your friend; He is your enemy. We will try today to stop these senseless
attacks on salvation. We will try to welcome it instead.
8. Our [W168] upside-down perception has been ruinous to our [W169] peace of mind.
We [W170] have seen ourselves [W171] in a body and the truth outside us [W172], locked
away from our [W173] awareness by the body's limitations. Now we are going to try
to see this differently. The light of truth is in us, where it was placed by
God. It is the body that is outside us, and is not our concern. To be without
a body is to be in our natural state. To recognize the light of truth in us is
to recognize ourselves as we are. To see our Self as separate from the body is
to end the attack on God's plan for salvation, and to accept it instead. And
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wherever it [W174] is accepted it is accomplished already.
9. Our goal in the longer practice periods today is to become aware that God's
plan for salvation has already been accomplished in us. To achieve this goal,
we must replace attack with acceptance. As long as we attack it, we cannot
understand what God's plan for us is. We are therefore attacking what we do not
recognize. Now we are going to try to lay judgment aside, and ask what God's
plan for us is:
"What is salvation, Father?
I do not know.
Tell me, that I may understand."
Then we will wait in quiet for His answer.
10. We have attacked God's plan for salvation, without waiting to hear what it
is. We have shouted our grievances so loudly that we have not listened to His
Voice. We have used our grievances to close our eyes and stop our ears. Now we
would see and hear and learn. "What is salvation, Father?" Ask and you will be
answered. Seek and you will find.
11. We are no longer asking the ego what salvation is and where to find it. We
are asking it of truth. Be certain, then, that the answer will be true because
of Whom you ask. Whenever you feel your confidence wane and your hope of
success flicker and go out, repeat your question and your request, remembering
that you are asking them of the infinite Creator of infinity, Who created you
like Himself:
"What is salvation, Father?
I do not know.
Tell me, that I may understand."
He will answer. Be determined to hear.
12. One or perhaps two shorter practice periods an hour will be enough for
today, since they will be somewhat longer than usual. The exercises are as
follows [W175] :
"Holding grievances is an attack on God's plan for salvation.
Let me accept it instead.
What is salvation, Father?"
Then wait a minute or so in silence, preferably with your eyes closed, and
listen for His answer.
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W(141) August 28, 1969
Lesson 73. "I will there be light."
1. Today we are considering the will that you share with God. This is not the
same as the ego's idle wishes, out of which darkness and nothingness arise. The
will you share with God has all the power of creation in it. The ego's idle
wishes are unshared, and therefore have no power at all. Its wishes are not
idle in the sense that they can make a world of illusions in which your belief
can be very strong. But they are idle indeed in terms of creation. They make
nothing that is real.
2. Idle wishes and grievances are partners or co-makers in picturing the world
you see. The wishes of the ego gave rise to it, and the ego's need for
grievances, which are necessary to maintain it, peoples it with figures which
seem to attack you and call for "righteous" judgment. They [W176] become the
"middlemen" the ego employs to traffic in grievances, and [W177] stand between
your awareness and your brother's [W178] reality. Beholding them, you do not know
your brothers nor [W179] your Self.
3. Your will is lost to you in this strange bartering, in which guilt is traded
back and forth, and grievances increase with each exchange. Can such a world
have been created by the will the Son of God shares with his Father? Did God
create disaster for His Son? Creation is the will [W180] of both [W181] together.
Would God create a world that kills Himself?
4. Today we will try once more to reach the world that is in accordance with
your will. The light is in it because it does not oppose the Will of God. It
is not Heaven, but the light of Heaven shines on it. Darkness has vanished; the
ego's idle wishes have been withdrawn. Yet the light that [W182] shines upon this
world reflects your will, and so it must be in you that we will look for it.
5. Your picture of the world can only mirror what is within. The source of
neither light nor darkness can be found without. Grievances darken your mind,
and you look out on a darkened world. Forgiveness lifts the darkness, reasserts
your will, and lets you look upon
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a world of light.
6. We have repeatedly emphasized that the barrier of grievances is easily past,
and cannot stand between you and your salvation. The reason is very simple. Do
you really want to be in hell? Do you really want to weep and suffer and die?
Forget the ego's arguments which seek to prove all this is really Heaven. You
know it is not so. You can [W183] not want this for yourself. There is a point
beyond which illusions cannot go. Suffering is not happiness, and it is
happiness you really want. Such is your will in truth. And so salvation is
your will as well. You want to succeed in what we are trying to do today. We
undertake it with your blessing and your glad accord.
7. We will succeed today if you remember that you will salvation for yourself.
You will to accept God's plan because you share in it. You have no will that
can really oppose it, and you do not want to do so. Salvation is for you.
Above all else you want the freedom to remember who you really are. Today it is
the ego which stands powerless before your will. Your will is free, and nothing
can prevail against it.
8. Therefore we undertake the exercises for today in happy confidence, certain
that we will find what it is your will to find, and remember what it is your
will to remember. No idle wishes can detain us, nor deceive us with an illusion
of strength. Today let your will be done. And end forever the insane belief
that it is hell in place of Heaven that you choose.
9. We will begin our longer practice periods with the recognition that God's
plan for salvation, and only His, is wholly in accord with your will. It is not
the purpose of an alien power, thrust upon you unwillingly. It is the one
purpose here on which you and your Father are in perfect accord.
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You will succeed today, the time appointed for the release of the Son of God
from hell and from all idle wishes. His will is now restored to his awareness.
He is willing this very day to look upon the light in him and be saved.
10. After reminding yourself of this and determining to keep your will clearly
in mind, tell yourself with gentle firmness and quiet certainty:
"I will there be light.
Let me behold the light
that reflects God's Will and mine."
Then let your will assert itself, joined with the power of God and united with
your Self. Put the rest of the practice period under Their guidance. Join with
Them as They lead the way.
11. In the shorter practice periods, again make a declaration of what you
really want. Say:
"I will there be light.
Darkness is not my will."
This should be repeated several times an hour. It is most important, however,
to apply today's idea in this form immediately you are tempted to hold a
grievance of any kind. This will help you let your grievances go, instead of
cherishing them and hiding them in the darkness.
W(144) August 29, 1969
Lesson 74. "There is no will but God's."
1. The idea for today can be regarded as the central thought toward which all
our exercises are directed. God's is the only will. When you have recognized
this, you have recognized that your will is His. The belief that conflict is
possible has gone. Peace has replaced the strange idea that you are torn by
conflicting goals. As an expression of the Will of God, you have no goal but
His.
2. There is great peace in today's idea. And the exercises for today are
directed towards finding it. The idea itself is wholly true. Therefore it
cannot give rise to illusions. Without illusions conflict is impossible. Let
us try to recognize this today, and experience the peace this recognition
brings.
3. Begin the longer practice periods by repeating these thoughts several times,
slowly and with firm determination to understand what they mean and to hold them
in mind:
"There is no will but God's.
I cannot be in conflict."
Then spend several minutes in adding same related thoughts, such as:
"I am at peace."
"Nothing can disturb me. My will is God's."
"My will and God's are one."
"God wills peace for His Son."
During this introductory phase, be sure to deal quickly with any conflict
thoughts that may cross your mind. Tell yourself immediately:
"There is no will but God's
These conflict thoughts are meaningless."
4. If there is one conflict area which seems particularly difficult to resolve,
single it out for special consideration. Think about it briefly but very
specifically, identify the particular person or persons and the situation or
situations involved, and tell yourself:
"There is no will but God's.
I share it with Him.
My conflicts about _____ cannot be real."
W(145)
5. After you have cleared your mind in this way, close your eyes and try to
experience the peace to which your reality entitles you. Sink into it, and feel
it closing around you. There may be some temptation to mistake these attempts
for withdrawal, but the difference is easily detected. If you are succeeding,
you will feel a deep sense of joy and an increased alertness, rather than a
feeling of drowsiness and enervation. Joy characterizes peace. By this
experience will you recognize that you have reached it.
6. If you feel yourself slipping off into withdrawal, quickly repeat the idea
for today and try again. Do this as often as necessary. There is definite gain
in refusing to allow retreat into withdrawal, even if you do not experience the
peace you seek.
7. In the shorter periods, which should be undertaken at regular and
predetermined intervals today, say to yourself:
"There is no will but God's.
I seek His peace today."
Then try to find what you are seeking. A minute or two every half-hour, with
eyes closed if possible, would be well spent on this today.
W(146) Sept. 2, 1969
Lesson 75. "The light has come."
1. The light has come. You are healed and you can heal. The light has come.
You are saved and you can save. You are at peace and you bring peace with you
wherever you go. Darkness and turmoil and death have disappeared. The light
has come. Today we celebrate the happy ending to your long dream of disaster.
There are no dark dreams now. The light has come.
2. Today the time of light begins for you and everyone. It is a new era, in
which a new world is born. The old one has left no trace upon it in its
passing. Today we see a different world because the light has come. Our
exercises for today will be happy ones, in which we offer thanks for the passing
of the old and the beginning of the new. No shadows from the past remain to
darken our sight and hide the world forgiveness offers us.
3. Today we will accept the new world as what we want to see. We will be given
what we desire. We will to see the light; the light has come.
4. Our longer practice periods will be devoted to looking at the world which
our forgiveness shows us. This is what we want to see, and only this. Our
single purpose makes our goal inevitable. Today the real world rises before us
in gladness, to be seen at last. Sight is given us, now that the light has
come.
We do not see the ego's shadow on the world today. We see the light, and in it
we see Heaven's reflection lie across the world.
5. Begin the [W184] practice period by telling yourself the glad tidings of your
release:
"The light has come.
I have forgiven the world."
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Dwell not upon the past today. Keep a completely open mind, washed of all
past ideas and clean of every concept you have made. You have forgiven the
world today. You can look upon it now as if you never saw it before. You do
not know yet what it looks like. You merely wait to have it shown to you.
[W185] While you wait, repeat several times slowly and in complete patience;
"The light has come.
I have forgiven the world."
6. Realize that your forgiveness entitles you to vision. Understand that the
Holy Spirit never fails to give the gift of sight to the forgiving. Believe He
will not fail you now. You have forgiven the world. He will be with you as you
watch and wait. He will show [W186] what true vision sees. It is His Will, and
you have joined with Him.
7. Wait patiently for Him. He will be there. The light has come. You have
forgiven the world. Tell Him you know you cannot fail because you trust in
Him. [W187] Tell yourself you wait in certainty to look upon the world He
promised you. From this time forth you will see differently. Today the light
has come. And you will see the world that has been promised you since time
began, and in which is the end of time ensured.
8. The shorter practice periods, too, will be joyful reminders of your release.
Remind yourself every quarter of an hour or so that today is a time for special
celebration. Give thanks for mercy and the Love of God. Rejoice in the power
of forgiveness to heal your sight completely. Be confident that on this day
there is a new beginning. Without the darkness of the past upon your eyes, you
cannot fail to see today. And what you see will be so welcome that you will
gladly extend today forever. Say, then:
"The light has come.
I have forgiven the world."
W(148)
Should you be tempted, say to anyone who seems to pull you back to darkness:
"The light has come.
I have forgiven you."
9. We dedicate this day to the serenity in which God would have you be. Keep
it in your awareness of yourself and see it everywhere today, as we celebrate
the beginning of your vision, and the sight of the real world which has come to
replace the unforgiven world you thought was real.
W(149) Sept. 4, 1969
Lesson 76. "I am under no laws but God's"
1. We have observed before how many senseless things have seemed to you to be
salvation. Each has imprisoned you with laws as senseless as itself. You are
not bound by them. Yet to understand that this is so, you must first realize
salvation lies not there. While you would seek for it in things that have no
meaning, you bind yourself to laws that make no sense.
2. Thus do you seek to prove salvation is where it is not. Today we will be
glad you cannot prove it. For if you could, you would forever seek [W188] where
it is not and never find it. The idea for today tells you once again how simple
is salvation. Look for it where it waits for you, and there it will be found.
Look nowhere else, for it is nowhere else.
3. Think of the freedom in the recognition that you are not bound by all the
strange and twisted laws which you have set up to save you. You really think
that you would starve unless you have stacks of green paper strips and piles of
metal discs. You really think a small round pellet or some fluid pushed into
your veins through a sharpened needle will ward off death. You really think you
are alone unless another body is with you.
4. It is insanity that thinks these things. You call them laws, and put them
under different names in a long catalogue of rituals that have no use and serve
no purpose. You think you must obey the "laws" of medicine, of economics, and
of health. Protect the body and you will be saved. These are not laws, but
madness.
5. The body is endangered by the mind that hurts itself. The body suffers [W189]
that the mind will fail to see it is the victim of itself. The body's suffering
is a mask the mind holds up to hide what really suffers. It would not
understand it is its own enemy; that it attacks itself and wants to die. It is
from this your
W(150)
"laws" would save the body. It is for this you think you are a body.
6. There are no laws except the laws of God. This needs repeating, - over and
over until you realize that it applies to everything that you have made in
opposition to His Will. Your magic has no meaning. What it is meant to save
does not exist. Only what it is meant to hide will save you.
7. The laws of God can never be replaced. We will devote today to rejoicing
that this is so. It is no longer a truth which we would hide. We realize
instead it is a truth which keeps us free forever. Magic imprisons, but the
laws of God set free. The light has come because there are no laws but His.
8. We will begin the longer practice periods today with a short review of the
different kinds of "laws" we have believed we must obey. These would include,
for example, the laws of nutrition, of immunization, of medication, and of the
body's protection in innumerable ways. Think further; you believe in laws of
friendship, of "good" relationships and reciprocity.
9. Perhaps you even think that there are laws which set forth what is God's and
what is yours. Many "religions" have been based on this. They would not save,
but damn in Heaven's name. Yet they are no more strange than other "laws" you
hold must be obeyed to make you safe.
10. There are no laws but God's. Dismiss all foolish magical beliefs today,
and hold your mind in silent readiness to hear the Voice that speaks the truth
to you. You will be listening to One Who says there is no loss under the laws
of God. Payment is neither given nor received. Exchange cannot be made, there
are no substitutes, and nothing is replaced by something else. God's laws
forever give and never take.
W(151)
Hear Him Who tells you this, and realize how foolish are the laws you
thought upheld the world you thought you saw. Then listen further. He will
tell you more. About the love your Father has for you. About the endless joy
He offers you. About His yearning for His only Son, created as His channel for
creation; denied to Him by his belief in hell.
12. Let us today open God's channels to Him, and let His Will extend through us
to Him. Thus is creation endlessly increased. His Voice will speak of this to
us, as well as of the joys of Heaven which His laws keep limitless forever. We
will now [W190] repeat today's idea until we have listened and understood there
are no laws but God's. Then we will tell ourselves, as a dedication with which
the practice period concludes:
"I am under no laws but God's."
13. We will repeat this dedication as often as possible today; at least four or
five times an hour, as well as in response to any temptation to experience
ourselves as subject to other laws throughout the day. It is our statement of
freedom from all danger and all tyranny. It is our acknowledgment that God is
our Father, and that His Son is saved.
W(152) Sept. 5, 1969
Lesson 77. "I am entitled to miracles."
1. You are entitled to miracles because of what you are. You will receive
miracles because of what God is. And you will offer miracles because you are
one with God. Again, how simple is salvation! It is merely a statement of your
true identity. It is this that we will celebrate today.
2. Your claim to miracles does not lie in your illusions about yourself. It
does not depend on any magical powers you have ascribed to yourself, nor on any
of the rituals you have devised. It is inherent in the truth of what you are.
It is implicit in what God your Father is. It was ensured in your creation, and
guaranteed by the laws of God.
3. Today we will claim the miracles which are your right, since they belong to
you. You have been promised full release from the world you made. You have
been assured that the Kingdom of God is within you, and can never be lost. We
ask no more than what belongs to us in truth. Today, however, we will also make
sure that we will not content ourselves with less.
4. Begin the longer practice periods [W191] by telling yourself quite confidently
that you are entitled to miracles. Closing your eyes, remind yourself that you
are asking only for what is rightfully yours. Remind yourself also that
miracles are never taken from one and given to another, and that in asking for
your rights you are upholding the rights of everyone. Miracles do not obey the
laws of this world. They merely follow from the laws of God.
5. After this brief introductory phase, wait quietly for the assurance that
your request is granted. You have asked for the salvation of the world and for
your own. You have requested that you be given the means by which this is
accomplished. You cannot fail to be assured in this. You are but asking that
the Will of God be done.
6. In doing this, you do not really ask for anything. You state a fact that
cannot be denied.
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The Holy Spirit cannot but assure you that your request is granted. The fact
that you accepted must be so. There is no room for doubt and uncertainty today.
We are asking a real question at last. The answer is a simple statement of a
simple fact. You will receive the assurance that you seek.
7. Our shorter practice periods will be frequent, and will also be devoted to a
reminder of a simple fact. Tell yourself often today:
"I am entitled to miracles."
Ask for them whenever a situation arises in which they are called for. You
will recognize these situations, [W192] you are not relying on yourself to find
them [W193], and you are therefore fully entitled to receive them [W194] whenever
you ask. Remember, too, not to be satisfied with less than the perfect answer.
Be quick to tell yourself, should you be tempted:
"I will not trade miracles for grievances.
I want only what belongs to me.
God has established miracles as my right."
W(154) Sept. 6, 1969
Lesson 78. "Let miracles replace all grievances."
1. Perhaps it is not yet quite clear to you that each decision that you make is
one between a grievance and a miracle. Each grievance stands like a dark shield
of hate before the miracle it would conceal. And as you raise it up before your
eyes, you will not see the miracle beyond. Yet all the while it waits for you
in light, but you behold your grievances instead.
2. Today we go beyond the grievances, to look upon the miracle instead. We
will reverse the way you see by not allowing sight to stop before it sees. We
will not wait before the shield of hate, but lay it down and gently lift our
eyes in silence, to behold the Son of God.
3. He waits for you behind your grievances, and as you lay them down he will
appear in shining light where each one stood before. For every grievance is a
block to sight, and as it lifts, you see the Son of God where he has always
been. He stands in light, but you were in the dark. Each grievance made the
darkness deeper, and you could not see. Today we will attempt to see God's Son.
We will not let ourselves be blind to him; we will not look upon our
grievances. So is the seeing of the world reversed, as we look out toward
truth, away from fear.
4. We will select one person you have used as target for your grievances, and
lay the grievances aside, and look at him. Someone, perhaps, you fear and even
hate; someone you think you love who angers you; someone you call a friend, but
whom you see as difficult at times, or hard to please; demanding, irritating, or
untrue to the ideal he should accept as his according to the role you set for
him.
5. You know the one to choose; his name has crossed your mind already. He will
be the one of whom we ask God's Son be shown to us [W195]. Through seeing him
behind the grievances that we [W196] have held against him, you will learn
W(155)
that what lay hidden while you saw him not is there in everyone, and can be
seen. He who was enemy is more than friend when be is freed to take the holy
role the Holy Spirit has assigned to him. Let him be Savior unto you today.
Such is his role in God your Father's plan.
6. Our longer practice periods today will see him in this role. We [W197] will
attempt to hold him in our [W198] mind, first as you now consider him. We [W199]
will review his faults, the difficulties you have had with him, the pain be
caused you, his neglect, and all the little and the larger hurts he gave.
We [W200] will regard his body with its flaws and better points as well, as [W201]
we [W202] will think of his mistakes and even of his "sins."
7. Then let us ask of Him who knows this Son of God in his reality and truth,
that we may look on him a different way, and see our Savior shining in the light
of true forgiveness, given unto us. We ask Him in the Holy Name of God and of
His Son, as holy as Himself:
"Let me behold my Savior in this one
You have appointed as the One for me
To ask to lead me to the holy light
In which he stands, that I may join with him."
The body's eyes are closed, and as you think of him who grieved you, let your
mind be shown the light in him beyond your grievances.
8. What you have asked for cannot be denied. Your Savior has been waiting
long for this. He would be free, and make his freedom yours. The Holy Spirit
leans from him to you, seeing no separation in God's Son. And what you see
through Him will free you both.
Be very quiet now, and look upon your shining Savior. No dark grievances
obscure the sight of him. You have allowed the Holy Spirit to express through
him the role God gave Him, that you might be saved.
9. God thanks you for these quiet times today, in which you laid your images
aside,
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and looked upon the miracle of love the Holy Spirit showed you in their place.
The world and Heaven join in thanking you, for not one Thought of God but must
rejoice as you are saved, and all the world with you.
10. We will remember this throughout the day, and take the role assigned to us
as part of God's salvation plan, and not our own. Temptation falls away when we
allow each one we meet to save us, and refuse to hide his light behind our
grievances. To everyone you meet, and to the ones you think of, or remember
from the past, allow the role of Savior to be given, that you may share it with
them [W203]. For you both, and all the sightless ones as well, we pray:
"Let miracles replace all grievances."
W(157) Sept. 8, 1969
Lesson 79. "Let me recognize the problem so it can be solved."
1. A problem cannot be solved if you do not know what it is. Even if it is
really solved already, you will still have the problem because you cannot [W204]
recognize that it has been solved. This is the situation of the world. The
problem of separation, which is really the only problem, has already been
solved. But [W205] the solution is not recognized because the problem is not
recognized.
2. Everyone in this world seems to have his own special problems. Yet they are
all the same, and must be recognized as one if the one solution which solves
them all is to be accepted. Who can see that a problem has been solved if he
thinks the problem is something else? Even if he is given the answer, he cannot
see its relevance.
3. That is the position in which you find yourselves now. You have the answer,
but you are still uncertain about what the problem is. A long series of
different problems seem to confront you, and as one is settled the next one and
the next arise. There seems to be no end to them. There is no time in which
you feel completely free of problems, and at peace.
4. The temptation to regard problems as many is the temptation to keep the
problem of separation unsolved. The world seems to present you with a vast
number of problems, each requiring a different answer. This perception places
you in a position in which your problem solving must be inadequate, and failure
must be [W206] inevitable.
5. No one could solve all the problems the world appears to hold. They seem to
be on so many levels, in such varying forms and with such varied content, that
they confront you with an impossible situation. Dismay and depression are
inevitable as you regard them. Some spring up unexpectedly, just as you think
you have resolved the previous ones. Others remain unsolved under a cloud of
denial, and rise to haunt you from time to time, only to be hidden again but
still unsolved.
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6. All this complexity is but a desperate attempt not to recognize the problem,
and therefore not to let it be resolved. If you could recognize that your only
problem is separation, no matter what form it takes, you could accept the answer
because you would see its relevance. Perceiving the underlying constancy in all
the problems which confront you, you would understand that you have the means to
solve them all. And you would use the means because you recognize the problem.
7. In our longer practice periods [W207], we will ask what the problem is, and
what is the answer to it. We will not assume that we already know. We will try
to free our minds of all the many different kinds of problems that we think we
have. We will try to realize that we have only one problem, which we have
failed to recognize. We will ask what it is, and wait for the answer. We will
be told. Then we will ask for the solution to it. And we will be told.
8. Our [W208] exercises for today will be successful to the extent to which
we [W209] do not insist on defining the problem. Perhaps we [W210] will not succeed
in letting all our [W211] preconceived notions go, but that is not necessary. All
that is necessary is to entertain some doubt about the reality of our [W212]
version of what our [W213] problems are. We [W214] are trying to recognize that
we [W215] have been given the answer by recognizing the problem, so that the
problem and the answer can be brought together, and we [W216] can be at peace.
9. The shorter practice periods for today will not be set by time, but by need.
You will see many problems today, each one calling for an answer. Our efforts
will be directed toward recognizing that there is only one problem and one
answer. In this recognition are all problems resolved. In this recognition
there is peace.
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10. Be not deceived by the form of problems today. Whenever any difficulty
seems to rise, tell yourself quickly:
"Let me recognize this problem so it can be solved."
Then try to suspend all judgment about what the problem is. If possible, close
your eyes for a moment, and ask what it is. You will be heard and you will be
answered.
W(160) Sept. 9, 1969
Lesson 80. "Let me recognize my problems have been solved."
1. If you are willing to recognize your problems, you will recognize that you
have no problems. Your one central problem has been answered, and you have no
other. Therefore you must be at peace. Salvation does [W217] depend [W218] on
recognizing this one problem, and understanding that it has been solved. One
problem -- one solution. Salvation is accomplished. Freedom from conflict has
been given you. Accept that fact, and you are ready to take your rightful place
in God's plan for salvation.
2. Your only problem has been solved! Repeat this over and over to yourself
today, with gratitude and conviction. You have recognized your only problem,
opening the way for the Holy Spirit to give you God's answer. You have laid
deception aside, and seen the light of truth. You have accepted salvation for
yourself by bringing the problem to the answer. And you can recognize the
answer because the problem has been identified.
3. You are entitled to peace today. A problem that has been resolved cannot
trouble you. Only be certain you do not forget that all problems are the same.
Their many forms will not deceive you while you remember this. One problem --
one solution. Accept the peace this simple statement brings.
4. In our longer practice periods today, we will claim the peace that must be
ours when the problem and the answer have been brought together. The problem
must be gone because God's answer cannot fail. Having recognized one, you have
recognized the other. The solution is inherent in the problem. You are
answered and have accepted the answer. You are saved.
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5. Now let the peace that your acceptance brings be given you. Close your eyes
and receive your reward. Recognize that your problems have been solved.
Recognize that you are out of conflict, free and at peace. Above all, remember
that you have one problem and that the problem has one solution. It is in this
that the simplicity of salvation lies. It is because of this that it is
guaranteed to work.
6. Assure yourselves often today that your problems have been solved. Repeat
the idea with deep conviction as frequently as possible. And be particularly
sure to remember to apply the idea for today to any specific problem that may
arise. Say quickly:
"Let me recognize this problem has been solved."
Let us be determined not to collect grievances today. Let us be determined to
be free of problems that do not exist. The means is simple honesty. Do not
deceive yourself about what the problem is, and you must recognize it has been
solved.
W(162) Sept. 10, 1969
Review II
Introduction
1. We are now ready for another review. We will begin where our last review
left off, and cover two ideas each day. The earlier part of the day will be
devoted to one of these ideas, and the latter part of the day to the other. We
will have one longer exercise period and frequent shorter ones in which we
practice each of them.
2. The longer practice periods will follow this general form: Take about 15
minutes for each of them, and begin by thinking about the idea and the comments
which are included in the assignments. Devote about 3 or 4 [W219] minutes to
reading them over slowly, several times if you wish, and then close your eyes
and listen. Repeat the first phase if you find your mind wandering, but try to
spend the major part of the practice period [W220] listening quietly but
attentively.
3. There is a message waiting for you. Be confident that you will receive it.
Remember that it belongs to you, and that you want it. Do not allow your intent
to waver in the face of distracting thoughts. Realize that, whatever form they
[W221] take, they have no meaning and no power. Replace them with your
determination to succeed.
4. Do not forget that your will has power over fantasies and dreams. Trust it
to see you through, and carry you beyond them all. Regard these practice
periods as dedications to the way, the truth, and the life. Refuse to be
side-tracked into detours, illusions, and thoughts of death. You are dedicated
to salvation. Be determined each day not to leave your function unfulfilled.
5. Reaffirm your determination in the shorter practice periods as well, and
using the original form of the idea for general application, and a more specific
form when needed. Some specific forms will be included in the comments.
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These, however, are merely suggestions. It is not the particular words you use
that matter.
W(164) Sept. 10, 1969
Lesson 81. Our ideas for review today are: (61-62)
1. 61. "I am the light of the world."
2. How holy am I, who have been given the function of lighting up the world!
Let me be still before my holiness. In its calm light let all my conflicts
disappear. In its peace let me remember who I am.
3. Some specific forms for applying the idea when specific difficulties seem to
arise might be:
"Let me not obscure the light of the world in me."
"Let the light of the world shine through this appearance."
"This shadow will vanish before the light."
4. 62. "Forgiveness is my function as the light of the world."
5. It is through accepting my function that I will see the light in me. And in
this light will my function stand clear and perfectly unambiguous before my
sight. My acceptance does not depend on my recognizing what my function is, for
I do not yet understand forgiveness. Yet I will trust that in the light I will
see it as it is.
6. Specific forms for using the idea might include:
"Let this help me learn what forgiveness means."
"Let me not separate my function from my will."
"I would not use this for an alien purpose."
W(165) Sept. 11, 1969
Lesson 82. We will review these ideas today: (63-64)
1. 63. "The light of the world brings peace to every mind through my
forgiveness."
2. My forgiveness is the means by which the light of the world finds expression
through me. My forgiveness is the means by which I become aware of the light of
the world in me. My forgiveness is the means by which the world is healed,
together with myself. Let me, then, forgive the world that it may be healed
along with me.
3. Suggestions for specific forms for applying this idea are:
"Let to peace extend from my mind to yours, (name)"
"I share the light of the world with you, (name)"
"Through my forgiveness I can see this as it is."
4. 64. "Let me not forget my function."
5. I would not forget my function because I would remember my Self. I cannot
fulfill my function by forgetting [W222]. And unless I fulfill my function, I
will not experience the joy that God intends for me.
4. Suitable specific forms of this idea include:
"Let me not use this to hide my function from me."
"I would use this as an opportunity to fulfill my function."
"This may threaten my ego, but cannot change my function in any way."
W(166) Sept. 12, 1969
Lesson 83. Today let us review these ideas: (65-66)
1. 65. "My only function is the one God gave me."
2. I have no function but the one God gave me. This recognition releases me
from all conflict, because it means I cannot have conflicting goals. With one
purpose only, I am always certain what to do, what to say, and what to think.
All doubt must disappear and [W223] I acknowledge that my only function is the one
God gave me.
3. More specific applications of this idea might take these forms:
"My perception of this does not change my function."
"This does not give me a function other than the one God gave me."
"Let me not use this to justify a function God did not give to me."
4. 66. "My happiness and my function are one."
5. All things that come from God are one. They come from Oneness, and must be
received as one. Fulfilling my function is my happiness because both come from
the same Source. And I must learn to recognize what makes me happy if I would
find happiness.
6. Some useful forms for specific applications of this idea are:
"This cannot separate my happiness from my function."
"The oneness of my happiness and my function remains wholly
unaffected by this."
"Nothing, including this, can justify the illusion of happiness apart from my
function."
W(167) Sept. 13, 1969
Lesson 84. These are the ideas for today's review: (67-68)
1. 67. "Love created me like Itself."
2. I am in the likeness of my Creator. I cannot suffer, I cannot experience
loss, and I cannot die. I am not a body. I would recognize my reality today.
I will worship no idols, nor raise my own self-concepts to replace my Self. I
am in the likeness of my Creator. Love created me like Itself.
3. You might find these specific forms helpful in applying the idea:
"Let me not see an illusion of myself in this."
"As I look on this, let me remember my Creator."
"My Creator did not create this as I see it."
4. 68. "Love holds no grievances."
5. Grievances are completely alien to love. Grievances attack love, and keep
its light obscure. If I hold grievances I am attacking love, and therefore
attacking my Self. My Self thus becomes alien to me. I am determined not to
attack my Self today, so that I can remember who I am.
6. These specific forms for applying this idea would be helpful:
"This is no justification for denying my Self."
"I will not use this to attack love."
"Let this not tempt me to attack myself."
W(168) Sept. 14, 1969
Lesson 85. Today's review will cover these ideas: (69-70)
1. 69. "My grievances hide the light of the world in me."
2. My grievances show me what is not there, and hide from me what I would see.
Recognizing this, what do I want my grievances for? They keep me in darkness
and hide the light. Grievances and light cannot go together, but light and
vision must be joined for me to see. To see, I must lay grievances aside. I
want to see, and this will be the means by which I will succeed.
3. Specific applications of this idea might be made in these forms:
"Let me not use this as a block to sight."
"The light of the world will shine all this away."
"I have no need for this. I want to see."
4. 70. "My salvation comes from me."
5. Today I will recognize where my salvation is. It is in me because its
Source is there. It has not left its Source and so it cannot have left my mind.
I will not look for it outside myself. It is not found outside and then
brought in. But from within me it will reach beyond, and everything I see will
but reflect the light that shines in me and in itself.
6. These forms of the idea are suitable for more specific application [W224] :
"Let this not tempt me to look away from me for my salvation."
"I will not let this interfere with my awareness of the Source of my
salvation."
"This has no power to remove salvation from me."
W(169) September 15, 1969
Lesson 86. These ideas are for review today: (71-72)
1. 71 "Only God's plan for salvation will work."
2. It is senseless for me to search wildly about for salvation. I have seen it
in many people and in many things, but when I reached for it, it was not there.
I was mistaken about where it is. I was mistaken about what it is. I will
undertake no more idle seeking. Only God's plan for salvation will work. And I
will rejoice because His plan can never fail.
3. These are some suggested forms for applying this idea specifically:
"God's plan for salvation will save me from my perception of this."
"This is no exception in God's plan for my salvation."
"Let me perceive this only in the light of God's plan for salvation."
4. 72 "Holding grievances is an attack on God's plan for salvation."
5. Holding grievances is an attempt to prove that God's plan for salvation will
not work. Yet only His plan will work. By holding grievances I am therefore
excluding my own only hope of salvation from my awareness. I would no longer
defeat my own best interests in this insane way. I would accept God's plan for
salvation and be happy.
6. Specific applications of this idea might be in these forms:
"I am choosing between misperception and salvation as I look on this." "If I
see grounds for grievances in this, I will not see the grounds for my
salvation."
"This calls for salvation, not attack."
W(170) September 16, 1969
Lesson 87. Our review today will cover these ideas: (73-74)
1. 73. "I will there be light."
2. I will use the power of my will today. It is not my will to grope about in
darkness, fearful of shadows and afraid of things unseen and unreal. Light
shall be my guide today. I will follow it where it leads me, and I will look on
only what it shows me. This day I will experience the peace of true perception.
3. These forms of this idea would be helpful for specific application:
"This cannot hide the light I will to see."
"You stand with me in light, (name)"
"In the light this will look different."
4. 74. "There is no will but God's."
5. I am safe today because there is no will but God's. I can become afraid
only when I believe that there is another will. I try to attack only when I am
afraid, and only when I try to attack can I believe that my eternal safety is
threatened. Today I will recognize that all this has not occurred. I am safe
because there is no will but God's.
5. These are some useful forms of this idea for specific applications:
"Let me perceive this in accordance with the Will of God."
"It is God's Will you are His Son (name), and mine as well."
"This is part of God's Will for me, however I may see it."
W(171) September 17, 1969
Lesson 88. Today we will review these ideas: (75-76)
1. 75. "The light has come."
2. In choosing salvation rather than attack I merely choose to recognize what
is already there. Salvation is a decision made already. Attack and grievances
are not there to choose. That is why I always choose between truth and
illusion; between what is there and what is not. The light has come. I can but
choose the light, for it has no alternative. It has replaced the darkness, and
the dark is gone.
3. These would prove useful forms for specific applications of this idea:
"This cannot show me darkness, for the light has come."
"The light in you is all that I would see, (name)"
"I would see in this only what is there."
4. 76. "I am under no laws but God's."
5. Here is the perfect statement of my freedom. I am under no laws but God's.
I am constantly tempted to make up other laws, and give them power over me. I
suffer only because of my belief in them. They have no real effect on me at
all. I am perfectly free of the effects of all laws save God's. And His are
the laws of freedom.
6. For specific forms in applying this idea, these would be useful:
"My perception of this shows me I believe in laws which do not exist."
"I see only the laws of God at work in this."
"Let me allow God's laws to work in this, and not my own."
W(172) September 18, 1969
Lesson 89. These are our review ideas for today: (77-78)
1. 77. "I am entitled to miracles."
2. I am entitled to miracles because I am under no laws but God's. His laws
release me from all grievances, and replace them with miracles. And I would
accept the miracles in place of the grievances, which are but illusions that
hide the miracles beyond. Now I would accept only what the laws of God entitle
me to have, that I may use it on behalf of the function He has given me.
3. You might use these suggestions for specific applications of this idea:
"Behind this is a miracle to which I am entitled."
"Let me not hold a grievance against you (name), but offer you the
miracle that belongs to you instead."
"Seen truly, this offers me a miracle."
4. 78. "Let miracles replace all grievances."
5. By this idea do I unite my will with the Holy Spirit's, and perceive them as
one. By this idea do I accept my release from hell. By this idea do I express
my willingness to have all my illusions be replaced with truth, according to
God's plan for my salvation. I would make no exceptions and no substitutes. I
want all of Heaven and only Heaven, as God wills me to have.
6. Useful specific forms for applying this idea would be:
"I would not hold this grievance apart from my salvation."
"Let our grievances be replaced by miracles, (name)"
"Beyond this is the miracle by which all my grievances are replaced."
W(173) September 19, 1969
Lesson 90. For this review we will use these ideas: (79-80)
1. 79. "Let me recognize the problem so it can be solved."
2. Let me realize today that the problem is always some form of grievance which
I would cherish. Let me also understand that the solution is always a miracle
with which I let the grievance be replaced. Today I would remember the
simplicity of salvation by reinforcing the lesson that there is one problem and
one solution. The problem is a grievance; the solution is a miracle. And I
invite the solution to come to me through my forgiveness of the grievance, and
my welcome of the miracle which takes its place.
3. Specific applications of this idea might be in these forms:
"This presents a problem to me which I would have resolved."
"The miracle behind this grievance will resolve it for me."
"The answer to this problem is the miracle which it conceals."
4. 80. "Let me recognize my problems have been solved."
5. I seem to have problems only because I am misusing time. I believe that the
problem comes first, and time must elapse before it can be worked out. I do not
see the problem and the answer as simultaneous in their occurrence. That is
because I do not yet realize that God has placed the answer together with the
problem, so that they cannot be separated by time. The Holy Spirit will teach
me this, if I will let Him. And I will understand it is impossible that I could
have a problem which has not been solved already.
6. These forms of the idea will be useful for specific applications:
"I need not wait for this to be resolved."
"The answer to this problem is already given me, if I will accept it."
"Time cannot separate this problem from its solution."
W(174) September 20, 1969
Lesson 91. "Miracles are seen in light."
1. It is important to remember that miracles and vision necessarily go
together. This needs repeating and frequent repeating. It is a central idea in
your new thought system and the perception which it produces. The miracle is
always there. Its presence is not caused by your vision; its absence is not the
result of your failure to see. It is only your awareness of miracles that is
affected. You will see it [W225] in the light; you will not see it [W226] in the
dark.
2. To you, then, light is crucial. While you remain in darkness the miracle
remains unseen. Thus you are convinced it is not there. This follows from the
premises from which the darkness comes. Denial of light leads to failure to
perceive it. Failure to perceive light is to perceive darkness. The light is
useless to you then, even though it is there. You cannot use it because its
presence is unknown to you. And the seeming reality of the darkness makes the
idea of light meaningless.
3. To be told that what you do not see is there sounds like insanity. It is
very difficult to become convinced that it is insanity not to see what is there,
and to see what is not there instead. You do not doubt that the body's eyes can
see. You do not doubt the images they show you are reality. Your faith lies in
the darkness, not the light. How can this be reversed? For you it is
impossible, but you are not alone in this.
4. Your efforts, however little they may be, have strong support. Did you but
realize how great [W227] this strength, your doubts would vanish. Today we will
devote ourselves to the attempt to let you feel this strength. When you have
felt the strength in you, which makes all miracles within your easy reach, you
will not doubt. The miracles your sense of weakness hides will leap into
awareness as you feel the [W228] strength in you.
W(175)
September 21, 1969
5. Three times today, set aside about 10 [W229] minutes for a quiet time in which
you try to leave your weakness behind. This is accomplished very simply, as you
instruct yourself that you are not a body. Faith goes to [W230] what you want,
and you instruct your mind accordingly. Your will remains your teacher, and
your will has all the strength to do whatever [W231] it desires. You can escape
the body if you choose. You can experience the strength in you.
6. Begin the longer practice periods with this statement of true cause and
effect relationships:
"Miracles are seen in light.
The body's eyes do not perceive the light.
But I am not a body. What am I?"
The question with which this statement ends is needed for our exercises today.
What you think you are is a belief to be undone. But what you really are must
be revealed to you. The belief you are a body calls for correction, being a
mistake. The truth of what you are calls on the strength in you to bring to
your awareness what the mistake concealed.
7. If you are not a body, what are you? You need to be aware of what the Holy
Spirit uses to replace the image of a body in your mind. You need to feel
something to put your faith in, as you lift it from the body. You need a real
experience of something else, something more solid and more sure; more worthy of
your faith, and really there.
8. If you are not a body, what are you? Ask this in honesty, and then devote
several minutes to allowing your mistaken thoughts about your attributes to be
corrected, and their opposites to take their place. Say, for example:
"I am not weak, but strong."
"I am not helpless, but all powerful."
"I am not limited, but unlimited."
"I am not doubtful, but certain."
"I am not an illusion, but a reality."
"I cannot see in darkness, but in light."
W(176)
9. In the second phase of the exercise period, try to experience these truths
about yourself. Concentrate particularly on the experience of strength.
Remember that all sense of weakness is associated with the belief [W232] you are a
body, a belief that is mistaken and deserves no faith. Try to remove your faith
from it, if only for a moment. You will become accustomed to keeping faith with
the more worthy in you as we go along.
10. Relax for the rest of the practice period, confident that your efforts,
however meager, are fully supported by the strength of God and all His Thoughts.
It is from Them your strength will come. It is through Their strong support
that you will feel the strength in you. They are united with you in this
practice period, in which you share a purpose like Their own. Theirs is the
light in which you will see miracles, because Their strength is yours. Their
strength becomes your eyes, that you may see.
11. Five or six times an hour, at reasonably regular intervals, remind yourself
that miracles are seen in light. Also, be sure to meet temptation with today's
idea. This form would be helpful for this special purpose:
"Miracles are seen in light.
Let me not close my eyes because of this."
W(177) September 22, 1969
Lesson 92. "Miracles are seen in light, and light and strength are one."
1. The idea for today is an extension of the previous one. You do not think of
light in terms of strength and darkness in terms of weakness. That is because
your idea of what seeing means is tied up with the body, and its eyes and brain.
This is why you believe that you can change what you see by keeping [W233] little
bits of glass or other clear material before your eyes held in a frame or placed
against the eye. These are [W234] among the many magical beliefs that come from
the conviction you are a body, and the body's eyes can see.
2. You also believe the body's brain can think. If you but understood the
nature of thought, you could but laugh at this insane idea. It is as if you
thought you held the match that lights the sun, and gives it all its warmth; or
that you held the universe imprisoned in your hand, securely bound until you let
it go. [W235] Yet this is no more foolish than to believe [W236] the body's eyes
can see; the brain can think [W237].
3. It is God's strength in you that is the light in which you see, as it is His
Mind with which you think. His strength denies your weakness. It is your
weakness that sees through the body's eyes, peering about in darkness to behold
the likeness of itself; the small, the weak, the sickly and the dying, those in
need, the helpless and afraid, the sad, the poor, the starving and the joyless.
These are seen through eyes which cannot see and cannot bless.
4. Strength overlooks these things by seeing past appearances. It keeps its
steady gaze upon the light that lies beyond them. It united [W238] with light, of
which it is a part. It sees itself. It brings the light in which your Self
appears. In darkness you perceive a self that is not there.
W(178)
Strength is the truth about you; weakness is an idol falsely worshipped, and
adored that strength may be dispelled, and darkness rule where God appointed
that there should be light.
5. Strength comes from truth, and shines with light its Source has given it;
weakness reflects the darkness of its maker. It is sick and looks on sickness,
which is like itself. Truth is a savior, and can only will for happiness and
peace for everyone. It gives its strength to everyone who asks, in limitless
supply. It sees that lack in anyone would be a lack in all, and so it gives its
light that all may see, and benefit as one. Its strength is shared, that it may
bring to all the miracle in which they will unite in purpose and forgiveness and
in love.
6. Weakness, which looks in darkness, cannot see a purpose in forgiveness and
in love. It sees all others different from itself, and nothing in the world
which it would share. It judges and condemns, but does not love. In darkness
it remains to hide itself, and dreams that it is strong and conquering, a victor
over limitations which but grow in darkness to enormous size. It fears and it
attacks and hates itself, and darkness covers everything it sees, leaving it
dreams as fearful as itself. No miracles are here, but only hate. It separates
itself from what it sees, while light and strength perceive themselves as one.
7. The light of strength is not the light you see. It does not change and
flicker and go out. It does not shift from night to day and back to darkness
‘til the morning comes again. The light of strength is constant, sure as love,
forever glad to give itself away because it cannot give but to Itself. No one
can ask in vain to share its sight, and none who enters its abode can leave
without a miracle before his eyes, and strength and light abiding in his heart.
W(179)
8. The strength in you will offer you the light and guide your seeing, so you
do not dwell on idle shadows which the body's eyes provide for self-deception.
Strength and light unite in you, and where they meet your Self stands ready to
embrace you as Its own. Such is the meeting place we try today to find and rest
in, for the peace of God is where your Self, His Son, is waiting now to meet
Itself again, and be as One.
9. Let us give 20 [W239] minutes twice today to join this meeting. Let yourself
be brought unto your Self. Its strength will be the light in which the gift of
sight is given you. Leave, then, the dark a little while today, and we will
practice seeing in the light, closing the body's eyes, and asking truth to show
us how to find the meeting place of self and Self, where light and strength are
one.
10. [W240] After the morning meeting, we will use the day in preparation for the
time at night when we will meet again in hope and trust. Let us repeat as often
as we can the idea for today, and recognize that we are being introduced to
sight, and led away from darkness to the light where only miracles can be
perceived.
W(180) September 23, 1969
Lesson 93. "Light and joy and peace abide in me."
1. You think you are the home of evil, darkness and sin. You think if anyone
could see the truth about you he would be repelled, recoiling from you as if
from a poisonous snake. You think if what is true about you were revealed to
you, you would be struck with horror so intense that you would rush to death by
your own hand, living on after seeing this being impossible.
2. These are beliefs so firmly fixed that it is difficult to help you see that
they are based on nothing. That you have made mistakes is obvious. That you
have sought salvation in strange ways; have been deceived, deceiving and afraid
of foolish fantasies and savage dreams; and have bowed down to idols made of
dust; all this is true by what you now believe.
3. Today we question this, not from the point of view of what you think, but
from a very different reference point, from which such idle thoughts are
meaningless. These thoughts are not according to God's Will. These weird [W241]
beliefs He does not share with you. This is enough to prove that they are
wrong, but you do not perceive that this is so.
4. Why would you not be overjoyed to be assured that all the evil which you
think you did was never done, that all your "sins" are nothing; that you are as
pure and holy as you were created, and that light and joy and peace abide in
you? Your image of yourself cannot withstand the Will of God. You think that
this is death, but it is life. You think you are destroyed, but you are saved.
5. The self you made is not the Son of God. Therefore this self does not exist
at all. And anything it seems to do and think means nothing. It is neither bad
nor good. It is unreal, and nothing more than that. It does not battle with
the Son of God. It does not hurt him, nor attack his peace. It has not changed
creation, nor reduced eternal sinlessness to sin and love to hate. What power
can this self you made possess, when it would contradict the Will of God?
W(181)
6. Your sinlessness is guaranteed by God. Over and over this must be
repeated until it is accepted. It is true. Your sinlessness is guaranteed by
God. Nothing can touch it, nor can change what God created as eternal. The
self you made, evil and full of sin, is meaningless. Your sinlessness is
guaranteed by God, and light and joy and peace abide in you.
7. Salvation requires the acceptance of but one thought; you are as God created
you, not what you made of yourself. Whatever evil you may think you did, you
are as God created you. Whatever mistakes you made, the truth about you is
unchanged. Creation is eternal and unalterable. Your sinlessness is guaranteed
by God. You are and will forever be exactly as you were created. Light and joy
and peace abide in you because God put them there.
8. In our longer exercise periods today, which would be most profitable if done
for the first five minutes of every waking hour, we will begin by stating the
truth about our [W242] creation:
"Light and joy and peace abide in me.
My sinlessness is guaranteed by God."
Then put away your foolish self-images, and spend the rest of the practice
period in trying to experience what God has given you, in place of what you have
decreed for yourself.
9. You are what God created, or what you made. One Self is true; the other is
not there. Try to experience the unity of your One Self. Try to appreciate Its
holiness and the Love from Which [W243] It was created. Try not to interfere with
the Self Which God created as you by hiding Its majesty behind the tiny idols of
evil and sinfulness you have made to replace It. Let It come into Its own.
Here you are; This is you. And light and joy and peace abide in you because
this is so.
W(182)
10. You may not be willing or even able to use the first five minutes of each
hour for these exercises. Try, however, to do so when you can. At least
remember to repeat these thoughts each hour:
"Light and joy and peace abide in me.
My sinlessness is guaranteed by God."
Then try to devote at least a minute or so to closing your eyes and realizing
that this is a statement of the truth about you.
11. If a situation arises which seems to be disturbing, quickly dispel the
illusion of fear by repeating these thoughts again. Should you be tempted to
become angry with someone [W244], tell him silently:
"Light and joy and peace abide in you.
Your sinlessness is guaranteed by God."
12. You can do much for the world's salvation today. You can do much today to
bring you closer to [W245] the part in salvation which God has assigned to you.
And you can do much today to bring the conviction to your mind that the idea for
the day is true indeed.
W(183) September 24, 1969
Lesson 94. "I am as God created me."
1. Today we continue with the one idea which brings complete salvation; the one
statement which makes all forms of temptation powerless; the one thought which
renders the ego silent and entirely undone. You are as God created you. The
sounds of this world are still, the sights of this world disappear, and all the
thoughts which this world ever held are wiped away forever by this one idea.
Here is salvation accomplished. Here is sanity restored.
2. True light is strength, and strength is sinlessness. If you remain as God
created you, you must be strong, and light must be in you. He Who ensured your
sinlessness must be the guarantee of strength and light as well. You are as God
created you. Darkness cannot obscure the glory of the Son of God [W246]. You
stand in light, strong in the sinlessness in which you were created, and in
which you will remain throughout eternity.
3. Today we will again devote the first five minutes of each waking hour to the
attempt to feel the truth in you. Begin these times of searching with these
words:
"I am as God created me.
I am His Son eternally."
Now try to reach the Son of God in you. This is the Self Which never sinned,
nor made an image to replace reality. This is the Self Which never left Its
home in God, to walk the world uncertainly. This is the Self Which knows no
fear, nor could conceive of loss or suffering or death.
4. Nothing is required [W247] of you to reach this goal except to lay all idols
and self-images aside; go past the long list of attributes, both "good" and
"bad," you have ascribed to yourself; and wait in silent expectancy for the
truth. God has Himself promised that it will be revealed to all who ask for it.
You are asking now. You will not fail because He cannot fail.
W(184)
5. If you do not meet the requirement of practicing for the first five minutes
of every hour, at least remind yourself hourly:
"I am as God created me.
I am His Son eternally."
Tell yourself frequently today that you are as God created you. And be sure to
respond to anyone who seems to irritate you with these words:
"You are as God created You.
You are His Son eternally."
Make every effort to do the hourly exercises today. Each one you do will be a
giant stride toward your release, and a milestone in learning the thought system
which this course sets forth.
W(185) September 25,1969
Lesson 95. "I am One Self, united with My Creator."
1. Today's idea accurately describes you as God created you. You are one
within yourself, and One with Him. Yours is the unity of all creation. Your
perfect unity makes change in you impossible. You do not accept this, and you
fail to realize it must be so, only because you believe that you have changed
yourself already.
2. You see yourself as a ridiculous parody of [W248] God's creation, weak,
vicious, ugly and sinful, miserable and beset with pain. Such is your version
of your self; a self divided into many warring parts, separated from God, and
tenuously held together by its erratic and capricious maker, to which you pray.
It does not hear your prayers, for it is deaf. It does not see the Oneness [W249]
in you, for it is blind. It does not understand you are the Son of God, for it
is senseless and understands nothing.
3. We will attempt today to be aware only of what can hear and see, and what
makes perfect sense. We will again direct our exercises towards reaching your
One Self, which is united with Its Creator. In patience and in hope we try
again today. The use of the first 5 [W250] minutes of every waking hour for
practicing the idea for the day has special advantages at the stage of learning
in which you are at present.
4. It is difficult at this point not to allow your mind to wander if it
undertakes extended attempts [W251]. To have surely realized this by now. You
have seen the extent of your lack of mental discipline, and of your need for
mind training. It is necessary that you be aware of this, for it is indeed a
hindrance to your advance.
5. Frequent but shorter practice periods have other advantages for you at this
time. In addition to recognizing your difficulties with sustained attention,
you must also have noticed that, unless you are reminded of your purpose
frequently, you tend to forget about it for long periods of time. You often
fail to remember
W(186)
the short applications of the idea for the day, and you have not yet formed the
habit of using it [W252] as an automatic response to temptation.
6. Structure, then, is necessary for you at this time, planned to include
frequent reminders of your goal, and regular attempts to reach it. Regularity
in terms of time is not the ideal requirement for the most beneficial form of
practice in salvation. It is advantageous, however, for these whose motivation
is inconsistent, and who remain heavily defended against learning.
7. We will therefore keep to the five minutes an hour practice periods for a
while, and urge you to omit as few as possible. Using the first five minutes of
the hour will be particularly helpful, since it imposes firmer structure. Do
not, however, use your lapses from this schedule as an excuse not to return to
it again as soon as you can.
8. There may well be a temptation to regard the day as lost because you have
already failed to do what is required. This should, however, merely be
recognized as what it is; a refusal to let your mistakes [W253] be corrected, and
an unwillingness to try again. The Holy Spirit is not delayed in His teaching
by your mistakes. He can be held back only by your unwillingness to let them
go.
9. Let us therefore be determined, particularly for the next week or so, to be
willing to forgive ourselves for our lapses in diligence, and our failures to
follow the instructions for practicing the day's idea. This tolerance for
weakness will enable us to overlook it, rather than give it power to delay our
learning. If we give it power to do this, we are regarding it as strength, and
are confusing strength and weakness.
10. When you fail to comply with the requirements of this course you have
merely made a mistake. This calls for correction, and for nothing else.
W(187)
To allow a mistake to continue is to make additional mistakes, based on the
first, and reinforcing it. It is this process which must be laid aside, for it
is but another way in which you would defend illusions against the truth.
11. Let all these errors go by recognizing them for what they are. They are
attempts to keep you unaware you are One Self, united with your Creator, at one
with every aspect of creation, and limitless in power and in peace. This is the
truth, and nothing else is true. Today we will affirm this truth again, and try
to reach the place in you in which there is no doubt that only this is true.
Begin the longer practice periods with this assurance, given [W254] to your mind
with all the certainty that you can give:
"I am One Self, united with my Creator,
At one with every aspect of creation,
And limitless in power and in peace."
Then close your eyes and tell yourself again, slowly and thoughtfully,
attempting to allow the meaning of the words to sink into your mind, replacing
false ideas:
"I am One Self."
Repeat this several times, and then attempt to feel the meaning which the words
convey. You are One Self, united and secure in light and joy and peace. You
are God's Son, One Self with One Creator and one goal; to bring awareness of
this Oneness to all minds, that true creation may extend the Allness and the
Unity of God.
13. You are One Self, complete and healed and whole, with power to lift the
veil of darkness from the world, and let the light in you come through to teach
the world the truth about itself. You are One Self, in perfect harmony with all
there is and all that there will be. You are One Self, the holy Son of God,
united with your brothers in this Self; united with your Father in His Will.
W(188)
14. Feel this One Self in you, and let It shine away all your illusions and
your doubts. This is your Self, the Son of God Himself, sinless as Its Creator,
with His strength within you, and His Love forever yours. You are One Self, and
it is given you to feel this Self within you, and to cast all your illusions out
of the One Mind Which is this Self, the holy truth in you.
15. Do not forget today. We need your help, your little part in bringing
happiness to all the world. And Heaven looks to you in confidence that you will
try today. Share, then, its surety, for it is yours. Be vigilant. Do not
forget today.
16. Throughout the day do not forget your goal. Repeat today's idea as
frequently as possible, and understand each time you do so, someone hears the
voice of hope, the stirring of the truth within his mind, the gentle rustling of
the wings [W255] of peace. Your own acknowledgment you are One Self, united with
your Father, is a call to all the world, to be at one with you.
17. To everyone you meet today be sure to give the promise of today's idea, and
tell him this:
"You are One Self with me,
United with our Creator in this Self.
I honor you because of what I am,
And what He is, Who loves us both as one."
W(189) September 26, 1969
Lesson 96. "Salvation comes from my One Self."
1. Although you are One Self, you experience yourself as two; as both good and
evil, loving and hating, mind and body. This sense of being split into
opposites induces feelings of acute and constant conflict, and leads to frantic
attempts to reconcile the contradictory aspects of this self-perception. You
have sought many such solutions, and none of them has worked. The opposites you
see in you will never be compatible. But one exists.
2. The fact that truth and illusion cannot be reconciled no matter how you try,
what means you use and where you see the problem, must be accepted if you would
be saved. Until you have accepted this, you will attempt endless lists [W256] of
goals you cannot reach; a senseless series of expenditures of time and effort,
hopefulness and doubt, each one as futile as the one before, and failing as the
next one surely will.
3. Problems which have no meaning cannot be resolved within the framework they
are set. Two selves in conflict could not be resolved, and good and evil have
no meeting place. The self you made can never be your Self, nor can your Self
be split in two and still be what it is, and must forever be.
4. A mind and body cannot both exist. Make no attempt to reconcile the two,
for one denies the other can be real. If you are physical your mind is gone
from your self-concept, for it has no place in which it could be really part of
you. If you are Spirit, then the body must be meaningless to your reality.
5. Spirit makes use of mind as means to find Its Self-expression. And the mind
that serves the Spirit is at peace and filled with joy. Its power comes from
Spirit, and it is fulfilling happily its function here. Yet mind can also see
itself divorced from Spirit, and perceive itself within a body it confuses with
itself. Without its function then, it has no peace, and happiness is alien to
its thoughts.
W(190)
6. Yet mind apart from Spirit cannot think. It has denied its Source of
strength, and sees itself as helpless, limited and weak. Dissociated from its
function now, it thinks it is alone and separate, attacked by armies massed
against itself, and hiding in the body's frail support. Now must it reconcile
unlike with like, for this is what it thinks that it is for. Waste no more time
on this. Who can resolve the senseless conflicts which a dream presents? What
could the resolution mean in truth? What purpose could it serve? What is it
for?
7. Salvation cannot make illusions real, and solve a problem which does not
exist. Perhaps you hope it can. Yet would you have God's plan for the release
of His dear Son bring pain to him, and fail to set him free? Your Self retains
Its Thoughts, and They remain within your mind and in the Mind of God. The Holy
Spirit holds salvation in your mind, and offers it the way to peace.
8. Salvation is a Thought you share with God, because His Voice accepted it for
you, and answered in your name that it was done. Thus is salvation kept among
the Thoughts your Self holds dear and cherishes for you. We will attempt today
to find this Thought, Whose [W257] presence in your mind is guaranteed by Him Who
speaks to you from your One Self. Our hourly five minute practicing will be a
search for Him within your mind. Salvation comes from this One Self through Him
Who is the bridge between your mind and It.
9. Wait patiently, and let Him speak to you about your Self, and what your mind
can do, restored to It and free to serve Its Will. Begin by saying this:
"Salvation comes from my One Self.
Its Thoughts are mine to use."
Then seek Its Thoughts, and claim them as your own.
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These are your own real thoughts you have denied, and let your mind go wandering
in a world of dreams, to find illusions in their place. Here are your Thoughts,
the only ones you have. Salvation is among Them; find it there.
10. If you succeed, the Thoughts that come to you will tell you you are saved,
and that your mind has found the function that it sought to lose. Your Self
will welcome it, and give it peace. Restored in strength, it will again flow
out from Spirit to the Spirit in all things created by the Spirit as Itself.
Your mind will bless all things. Confusion done, you are restored, for you have
found your Self.
11. Your Self knows that you cannot fail today. Perhaps your mind remains
uncertain yet a little while. Be not dismayed by this. The joy your Self
experiences, It will save for you, and it will yet be yours in full awareness.
Every time you spend five minutes of the hour seeking Him Who joins your mind
and Self, you offer Him another treasure to be kept for you.
12. Each time today you tell your frantic mind salvation comes from your One
Self, you lay another treasure in your growing store. And all of it is given
everyone who asks for it, and will accept the gift. Think, then, how much is
given unto you to give this day, that it be given you!
W(192) Sept. 27, 1969
Lesson 97. "I am a [W258] Spirit."
1. Today's idea identifies you with your One Self. It accepts no split
identity, nor tries to weave opposing factors into unity. It simply states the
truth. Practice this truth today as often as you can, for it will bring your
mind from conflict to the quiet fields of peace. No chill of fear can enter,
for your mind has been absolved of madness, letting go illusions of a split
identity.
2. We state again the truth about your Self, the holy Son of God Who rests in
you; Whose mind has been restored to sanity. You are the Spirit lovingly
endowed with all your Father's Love and peace and joy. You are the Spirit Which
completes Himself, and shares His Function as Creator. He is with you always,
as you are with Him.
3. Today we try to bring reality still closer to your mind. Each time you
practice, awareness is brought a little nearer at least; sometimes a thousand
years or more are saved. The minutes which you give are multiplied over and
over, for the miracle makes use of time, but is not ruled by it. Salvation is a
miracle, the first and last; the first that is the last, for it is one.
4. You are the Spirit in Whose Mind abides the miracle in which all time stands
still; the miracle in which a minute spent in using these ideas becomes a time
which has no length [W259] and which has no end. Give, then, these minutes
willingly, and count on Him Who promised to lay timelessness beside them. He
will offer all His strength to every little effort which [W260] you make.
5. Give Him the minutes which He needs today to help you understand with Him
you are the Spirit that abides in Him, and Which calls through His Voice to
every living thing; offers His sight to everyone who asks; replaces errors with
the simple truth.
W(193)
6. The Holy Spirit will be glad to take five minutes of each hour from your
hands, and carry them around this aching world where pain and misery appear to
rule. He will not overlook one open mind that will accept the healing gifts
they bring, and He will lay them everywhere He knows they will be welcome. And
they will increase in healing power each time someone accepts them as his
thoughts, and uses them to heal.
7. Thus will your gifts [W261] to Him be multiplied a thousand-fold and tens of
thousands more. And when it is returned to you, it will surpass in might the
little gift you gave as much as does the radiance of the sun outshine the tiny
gleam a firefly makes an uncertain moment, and goes out. The steady brilliance
of this light remains, and leads you out of darkness, nor will you be able to
forget the way again.
8. Begin these happy exercises with the words the Holy Spirit speaks to you,
and let them echo round the world through Him:
"Spirit am I, a holy Son of God,
Free of all limits, safe and healed and whole,
Free to forgive, and free to save the world."
Expressed through you, the Holy Spirit will accept this gift which you received
of Him, increase its power, and give it back to you.
9. Offer each practice period today gladly to Him. And He will speak to you,
reminding you that you are Spirit, one with Him and God, your brothers and your
Self. Listen for His assurance every time you speak the word He offers you
today, and let Him tell your mind that they are true. Use them against
temptation, and escape its sorry consequences if you yield to the belief that
you are something else. The Holy Spirit gives you peace today. Receive His
words, and offer them to Him.
W(194) October 2, 1969
Lesson 98. "I will accept my part in God's plan for salvation."
1. Today is a day of special dedication. We take a stand on but one side
today. We side with the truth and let illusions go. We will not vacillate
between the two, but take a firm position with the One. We dedicate ourselves
to truth today, and to salvation as God planned it be. We will not argue it is
something else, we will not seek for it where it is not. In gladness we accept
it as it is, and take the part assigned to us by God.
2. How happy to be certain! All our doubts we lay aside today, and take our
stand with certainty of purpose, and with thanks that doubt is gone and surety
has come. We have a mighty purpose to fulfill, and have been given everything
we need with which to reach the goal. Not one mistake stands in our way. For
we have been absolved of errors. All our sins are washed away by realizing that
they were but mistakes.
3. The guiltless have no fear, for they are safe and recognize their safety.
They do not appeal to magic, nor invent escapes from fancied threats without
reality. They rest in quiet certainty that they will do what it is given them
to do. They do not doubt their own ability, because they know their function
will be filled completely, in the perfect time and place. They took the stand
which we will take today, that we may share their certainty, and thus increase
it by accepting it ourselves.
4. They will be with us; all who took the stand we take today will gladly offer
us all that they learned and every gain they made. Those still uncertain, too,
will join with us, and borrowing our certainty, will make it stronger still.
While those as yet unborn will hear the call we heard, and answer it, when they
have come to make their choice again. We do not choose but for ourselves today.
W(195)
5. Is it not worth five minutes of your time each hour to be able to accept the
happiness which God has given you? Is it not worth five minutes hourly to
recognize your special function here? Is not five minutes of the hour but a
small request in terms of a reward so great it has no measure? You have made a
thousand losing bargains at the least.
6. Here is an offer guaranteeing you your full release from pain of every [W262]
kind, and joy the world does not contain. You can exchange a little of your
time for peace of mind and certainty of purpose, with the promise of complete
success. And since time has no meaning, you are being asked for nothing in
return for everything. Here is a bargain which you cannot lose. And what you
gain is limitless indeed!
7. Each hour today give Him your tiny gift of but five minutes. He will give
the words you use in practicing today's idea the deep conviction and the
certainty you lack. His words will join with yours, and make each repetition of
today's idea a total dedication, made in faith as perfect and as sure as His in
you. His confidence in you will bring the light to all the words you say, and
you will go beyond their sound to what they really mean.
8. Today you practice with Him, as you say:
"I will accept my part in God's plan for salvation."
In each five minutes that you spend with Him, He will accept your words and give
them back to you all bright with faith and confidence so strong and steady they
will light the world with hope and gladness. Do not lose one chance to be the
glad receiver of His gifts, that you may give them to the world today.
W(196)
9. Give Him the words, and He will do the rest. He will enable you to
understand your special function. He will open up the way to happiness, and
peace and trust will be His gifts, His answer to your words. He will respond
with all His faith and joy and certainty that what you say is true. And you
will have conviction then of Him Who knows the function that you have on earth
as well as Heaven. He will be with you each practice period you share with Him,
exchanging every instant of the time you offer Him for timelessness and peace.
10. Throughout the hour let your time be spent in happy preparation for the
next five minutes you will spend again with Him. Repeat today's idea while you
wait for the glad time to come to you again. Repeat it often, and do not forget
each time you do so, you have let your mind be readied for the happy time to
come.
11. And when the hour is gone [W263], and He is there once more to spend a little
time with you be thankful, and lay down all earthly tasks, all little thoughts
and limited ideas, and spend a happy time again with Him. Tell Him once more
that you accept the part which [W264] He would have you take, and help you fill,
and He will make you sure you want this choice, which He has made with you, and
you with Him.
W(197) Oct. 4, 1969
Lesson 99. "Salvation is my only function here."
1. Salvation and forgiveness are the same. They both imply that something has
gone wrong; something you need be saved from or forgiven for; something amiss
that needs corrective change, something apart or different from the Will of God.
Thus do both terms imply something impossible but yet [W265] which has occurred,
resulting in a state of conflict [W266] between what is and what could never be.
2. Truth and illusions both are equal now, for both have happened. The
impossible becomes the thing you need forgiveness for; salvation from.
Salvation is the borderland between truth and illusion. [W267] It [W268] reflects
the truth because it is the means by which you can escape illusions. Yet it is
not truth because it undoes what was never done.
3. How could there be a meeting place at all where earth and Heaven can be
reconciled within a mind where both of them exist? The mind which sees
illusions thinks them real. They have existence in that they are thoughts. And
yet they are not real because the mind that thinks these thoughts is separate
from God.
4. What joins the separated mind and thoughts with Mind and Thought which are
forever One? What plan could hold the truth inviolate, yet recognize the need
illusions bring, and offer means by which they are undone without attack, and
with no touch of pain? What but a Thought of God could be this plan by which
the never done is overlooked, and sins forgotten which were never real?
5. The Holy Spirit holds this plan of God exactly as it was received of Him
within the Mind of God, and in your own. It is apart from time in that its
Source is timeless. Yet it operates in time because of your belief that time is
real. Unshaken does the Holy Spirit look on what you see; on sin and pain and
death, on grief and separation and on loss. Yet does He know one thing must
W(198)
still be true; God still is Love, and this is not His Will.
6. This is the Thought Which brings illusions to the truth, and sees them as
appearances behind which is the changeless and the sure. This is the Thought
Which saves and Which forgives, because It lays no faith in what is not created
by the only Source It knows. This is the Thought Whose function is to save by
giving you Its function as your own.
7. Salvation is your function, with the One to Whom the plan was given. Now
are you entrusted with this plan, along with Him. He has one answer to
appearances regardless of their form, their size, their depth, or any attribute
they seem to have:
"Salvation is my only function here.
God still is Love, and this is not His Will."
8. You who will yet work miracles, be sure you practice well the idea for
today. Try to perceive the strength in what you say, for these are words in
which your freedom lies. Your Father loves you. All the world of pain is not
His will. Forgive yourself the thought He wanted this for you. Then let the
Thought with Which He has replaced all your mistakes enter the darkened places
of your mind which thought the thoughts that never were His Will. This part
belongs to God, as does the rest. It does not think its solitary thoughts and
make them real by hiding them from Him.
9. Let in the light, and you will look upon no obstacle to what He wills for
you. Open your secrets to His kindly Light, and see how bright this Light still
shines in you. Practice His Thought today, and let His Light seek out and
lighten up all darkened spots, and shine through them to join them to the rest.
10. It is God's will your mind be One with His. It is God's Will that He has
but one Son.
W(199)
It is God's Will that His one Son is you. Think of these things in practicing
today, and start your longer practice periods with this instruction in the way
of truth:
"Salvation is my only function here.
Salvation and forgiveness are the same."
Then turn to Him who shares your function with you [W269], and let Him teach you
what you need to learn to lay all fear aside, and know your Self as Love Which
has no opposite in you.
11. Forgive all thoughts which would oppose the truth of your completeness,
unity and peace. You cannot lose the gifts your Father gave. You do not want
to be another self. You have no function that is not of God. Forgive yourself
the one you think you made. Forgiveness and salvation are the same. Forgive
what you have made, and you are saved.
12. You have a special message for today which has the power to remove all
forms of doubt and fear forever from your mind. If you are tempted to believe
them true, remember that appearances can not withstand the truth these mighty
words contain:
"Salvation is my only function here.
God still is Love, and this is not His Will."
13. Your only function tells you you are One. Remind yourself of this between
the times you give five minutes to be shared with Him Who shares God's plan with
you. Remind yourself:
"Salvation is my only function here."
Thus do you lay forgiveness on your mind, and let all fear be gently laid aside
that Love may find Its rightful place in you, and show you that you are the Son
of God.
W(200) Oct. 7, 1969
Lesson 100. "My part is essential to God's plan for salvation."
1. Just as God's Son completes his Father, so your part in it completes your
Father's plan. Salvation must reverse the mad belief in separate thoughts and
separate bodies which lead separate lives and go their separate ways. One
function shared by separate minds unites them in one purpose, for each one is
equally essential to them all.
2. God's Will for you is perfect happiness. Why should you choose to go
against His Will? The part that [W270] He has saved for you to take in working
out His plan is given you that you might be restored to what He wills. This
part is as essential to His plan as to your happiness. Your joy must be
complete to let His plan be understood by those to whom He sends you. They will
see their function in your shining face, and hear God calling to them in your
happy laugh.
3. You are indeed essential to God's plan. Without your joy His joy is
incomplete. Without your smile the world cannot be saved. While you are sad
the light which God Himself appointed as the means to save the world is dim and
lusterless. And no one laughs because all laughter can but echo yours. You are
indeed essential to God's plan. Just as your light increases every light that
shines in Heaven, so your joy on earth calls to all minds to let their sorrows
go, and take their place beside you in God's plan.
4. God's messengers are joyous, and their joy heals sorrow and despair. They
are the proof that God wills perfect happiness for all who will accept their
Father's gifts as theirs. We will not let ourselves be sad today. For if we
do, we fail to take the part that is essential to God's plan, as well as to our
vision. Sadness is the sign that you would play another part, instead of what
has been assigned to you by God. Thus do you fail to show the world how great
the happiness He wills for you. And so you do not recognize that it is yours.
W(201)
5. Today we will attempt to understand joy is our function here. If you are
sad your part is unfulfilled, and all the world is thus deprived of joy, along
with you. God asks that you be happy, so the world can see how much He loves
His Son, and wills no sorrow rises to abate his joy; no fear besets him to
disturb his peace. You are God's messenger today. You bring His happiness to
all you look upon; His peace to everyone who looks on you, and sees His message
in your happy face.
6. We will prepare ourselves for this today in our five minute practice
periods, by feeling happiness arise in us according to our Father's will and
ours. Begin the exercises with the thought today's idea contains. Then realize
your part is to be happy. Only this is asked of you or anyone who wants to take
his place among God's messengers.
7. Think what this means. You have indeed been wrong in your belief that
sacrifice is asked. You but receive according to God's plan, and never lose or
sacrifice or die. Now let us try to find that joy which proves to us and all
the world God's Will for us. It is your function that you find it here, and
that you find it now. For this you came. Let this one be the day that you
succeed!
8. Look deep within you, undismayed by all the little thoughts and foolish
goals you pass as you ascend to meet the Christ in you. He will be there. And
you can reach Him now. What could you rather look upon in place of Him who
waits that you may look on Him? What little thought has power to hold you back?
What foolish goal can keep you from success when He Who calls to you is God
Himself?
9. He will be there. You are essential to His plan. You are His messenger
today, and you must find what He would have you give.
W(202)
Do not forget the idea for today between your longer practice periods. It is
your Self who calls to you today. And it is Him you answer every time you tell
yourself you are essential to God's plan for the salvation of the world.
W(203) Oct. 8, 1969
Lesson 101. "God's will for me is perfect happiness."
1. Today we will continue with the theme of happiness. This is a key idea in
understanding what salvation means. You still believe it asks for suffering as
penance for your "sins." This is not so. Yet you must think it so while you
believe that sin is real, and that God's Son can sin.
2. If sin is real then punishment is just, and cannot be escaped. Salvation
thus cannot be purchased but through suffering. If sin is real then happiness
must be illusion, for they cannot both be true. The sinful warrant only death
and pain, and it is this they ask for, for they know it waits for them and it
will seek them out and find them somewhere, sometime, in some form which evens
the account they owe to God. They would escape Him in their fear. And yet He
will pursue, and they can not escape.
3. If sin is real, salvation must be pain. Pain is the cost of sin, and
suffering can never be escaped if sin is real. Salvation must be feared, for it
will kill, but slowly, taking everything away before it grants the welcome boon
of death [W271] to victims who are little more than bones before salvation is
appeased. Its wrath is boundless, merciless, but wholly just.
4. Who would seek out such savage punishment? Who would not flee salvation,
and attempt in every way he can to drown the Voice Which offers it to him? Why
would he try to listen, and accept Its offering? If sin is real Its offering is
death, and meted out in cruel form to match the vicious wishes in which sin is
born. If sin is real salvation has become your bitter enemy, the curse of God
upon you who have crucified His Son.
5. You need the practice periods today. The exercises teach sin is not real,
and all that you believe must come from sin will never happen, for it has no
cause. Accept atonement with an open mind which cherishes no lingering belief
that you have made a devil of God's Son.
W(204)
6. There is no sin. We practice with this thought as often as we can today,
because it is the basis for today's idea. God's Will for you is perfect
happiness because there is no sin, and suffering is causeless. Joy is just, and
pain is but the sign you have misunderstood yourself.
7. Fear not the Will of God. But turn to It in confidence that It will set you
free from all the consequences sin has wrought in feverish imagination. Say:
"God's Will for me is perfect happiness.
There is no sin; it has no consequence."
So should you start your practice periods, and then attempt again to find the
joy these thoughts will introduce into your mind. Give these five minutes
gladly, to remove the heavy load you laid upon yourself with the insane belief
that sin is real.
8. Today escape from madness. You are set on freedom's road, and now today's
idea brings wings to speed you on, and hope to go still faster to the waiting
goal of peace. There is no sin. Remember this today, and tell yourself as
often as you can:
"God's Will for me is perfect happiness.
This is the truth because there is no sin."
W(205) October 9, 1969
Lesson 102. "I share God's Will for happiness for me."
1. You do not want to suffer. You may think it buys you something, and may
still believe a little that it buys you what you want. Yet this belief is
surely shaken now, at least enough to let you question it, and to suspect it
really makes no sense. It has not gone as yet, but lacks the roots that once
secured it tightly to the dark and hidden secret places of your mind.
2. Today we try to loose its weakened hold still further and to realize that
pain is purposeless, without a cause, and with no power to accomplish anything.
It cannot purchase anything at all. It offers nothing, and does not exist, [W272]
and everything you think it offers you is lacking in existence like itself. You
have been slave to nothing. Be you free today to join the happy Will of God.
3. For several days we will continue to devote our longer practice periods to
exercises planned to help you reach the happiness God's Will has placed in you.
Here is your home, and here your safety is. Here is your peace, and here there
is no fear. Here is salvation. Here is rest at last.
4. Begin the longer practice periods today with this acceptance of God's Will
for you:
"I share God's Will for happiness for me,
And I accept it as my function now."
Then seek this function deep within your mind, for it is there, awaiting but
your choice. You cannot fail to find it when you learn it is your choice, and
that you share God's Will.
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5. Be happy, for your only function here is happiness. You have no need to be
less loving to God's Son than He Whose Love created him as loving as Himself.
Besides these hourly five minute rests, pause frequently today to tell yourself
that you have now accepted happiness as your one function. And be sure that you
are joining with God's Will in doing this.
W(207) October 10, 1969
Lesson 103. "God, being Love, is also happiness."
1. Happiness is an attribute of love. It cannot be apart from it, nor can it
be experienced where love is not. Love has no limits, being everywhere. And
therefore joy is everywhere as well. Yet can the mind deny that this is so,
believing there are gaps in love where sin can enter, bringing pain instead of
joy. This strange belief would limit happiness by redefining love as limited,
and introducing opposition in what has no limit and no opposite.
2. Fear is associated then with love, and its results become the heritage of
minds which think what they have made is real. These images, with no reality in
truth, bear witness to the fear of God, forgetting being Love He must be joy.
This basic error we will try again to bring to truth today, and teach ourselves:
"God, being Love, is also happiness.
To fear Him is to be afraid of joy."
Begin your longer exercises for [W273] today with this association, which corrects
the false belief that God is fear. It also emphasizes happiness belongs to you
because of what He is.
3. Allow this one correction to be placed within your minds each waking hour
today. Then welcome all the happiness it brings, as truth replaces fear, and
joy becomes what you expect to take the place of pain. God being Love, it will
be given you. Bolster this expectation frequently throughout the day, and quiet
all your fears with this assurance, kind and wholly true:
"God, being Love, is also happiness.
And it is happiness I seek today.
I cannot fail, because I seek the truth."
W(208) Oct. 11, 1969
Lesson 104. "I seek but what belongs to me in truth."
1. Today's idea continues with the thought that joy and peace are not but idle
dreams. They are your right, because of what you are. They come to you from
God, Who cannot fail to give you what He wills. Yet must there be a place made
ready to receive His gifts. They are not welcomed gladly by a mind which has
instead received the gifts it made where His belong, as substitutes for them.
2. Today we would remove all meaningless and self-made gifts which we have
placed upon the holy altar where God's gifts belong. These [W274] are the gifts
which are our own in truth. These [W275] are the gifts which we inherited before
time was, and which will still be ours when time has passed into eternity.
These [W276] are the gifts which are within us now, for they are timeless. And we
need not wait to have them. They belong to us today. Therefore we will to have
them now, and know in choosing them in place of what we made, we but unite our
will with what God wills, and recognize the same as being One.
3. Our longer practice periods today, the hourly five minutes given to the
truth for your salvation, should begin with this:
"I seek but what belongs to me in truth."
And joy and peace are my inheritance."
Then lay aside the conflicts of the world which offer other gifts and other
goals made of illusions, witnessed to by them, and sought for only in a world of
dreams.
4. All this we lay aside, and seek instead that which is truly ours, as we ask
to recognize what God has given us. We clear a holy place within our minds
before His altar, where His gifts of peace and joy are welcome, and to which we
come to find what has been given us by Him. We come in confidence today, aware
that what belongs to us in truth is what He gives. And we would wish for
nothing else, for nothing else belongs to us in truth.
W(209)
5. So do we clear the way for Him today by simply recognizing that His Will is
done already, and that joy and peace belong to us as His eternal gifts. We will
not let ourselves lose sight of them between the times we come to seek for them
where He has laid them. This reminder will we bring to mind as often as we can:
"I seek but what belongs to me in truth.
God's gifts of joy and peace are all I want."
W(210) Oct. 14, 1969
Lesson 105. "God's peace and joy are mine."
1. God's peace and joy are yours. Today we will accept them, knowing they
belong to us. And we will try to understand these gifts increase as we receive
them. They are not like to the gifts the world can give, in which the giver
loses as he gives the gift; the taker is the richer by his loss. These [W277] are
not gifts, but bargains made with guilt. The truly given gift entails no loss.
It is impossible that one can gain because another loses. This implies a limit
and an insufficiency.
2. No gift is given thus. Such "gifts" are but a bid for a more valuable
return; a loan with interest to be paid in full; a temporary lending, meant to
be a pledge of debt to be repaid with more than was received by him who took the
gift. This strange distortion of what giving means pervades all levels of the
world you see. It strips all meaning from the gifts you give, and leaves you
nothing in the ones you take.
3. A major learning goal this course has set is to reverse your view of giving,
so you can receive. For giving has become a source of fear, and so you would
avoid the only means by which you can receive. Accept God's peace and joy, and
you will learn a different way of looking at a gift. God's gifts will never
lessen when they are given away. They but increase thereby. As Heaven's peace
and joy intensify when you accept them as God's gift to you, so does the joy of
your Creator grow when you accept His joy and peace as yours.
4. True giving is creation. It extends the limitless to the unlimited,
eternity to timelessness, and love unto itself. It adds to all that is complete
already, not in simple terms of adding more, for that implies that it was less
before. It adds by letting what cannot contain itself fulfill its aim of giving
everything it has away, securing it forever for itself.
W(211)
5. Today accept God's peace and joy as yours. Let Him complete Himself as He
defines completion. You will understand that what completes Him must complete
His Son as well. He cannot give through loss. No more can you. Receive His
gift of joy and peace today, and He will thank you for your gift to Him.
6. Today our practice periods will start a little differently. Begin today by
thinking of those brothers who have been denied by you the peace and joy which
are their right under the equal laws of God. Here you denied them to yourself.
And here you must return, to claim them as your own. Think of your "enemies" a
little while, and tell each one as he occurs to you:
"My brother, peace and joy I offer you,
That I may have God's peace and joy as mine."
7. Thus you prepare yourself to recognize God's gifts to you, and let your mind
be free of all that would prevent success today. Now are you ready to accept
the gift of peace and joy which God has given you. Now are you ready to
experience the joy and peace you have denied yourself. Now you can say "God's
peace and joy are mine," for you have given what you would receive.
8. You must succeed today if you prepare your mind as we suggest, for you have
let all bars to peace and joy be lifted up, and what is yours can come to you at
last. So tell yourself "God's peace and joy are mine," and close your eyes a
while, and let His Voice assure you that the words you speak are true.
9. Spend your five minutes thus with Him each time you can today, but do not
think that less is worthless when you cannot give Him more. At least remember
hourly to say the words which call on Him to give you what He wills to give, and
wills you to receive.
W(212)
Determine not to interfere today with what He wills. And if a brother seems to
tempt you to deny God's gift to him, see it as but another chance to let
yourself receive the gifts of God as yours. Then bless your brother thankfully,
and say:
"My brother, peace and joy I offer you,
That I may have God's peace and joy as mine."
W(213) Oct. 15, 1969
Lesson 106. "Let me be still and listen to the truth."
1. If you will lay aside the ego's voice however loudly it may seem to call; if
you will not accept its petty gifts which give you nothing that you really want;
if you will listen with an open mind which [W278] has not told you what salvation
is; then you will hear the mighty Voice of truth, quiet in power, strong in
stillness, and completely certain in Its messages. Listen, and hear your Father
speak to you through His appointed Voice, Which silences the thunder of the
meaningless, and shows the way to peace to those who cannot see.
2. Be still today and listen to the truth. Be not deceived by voices of the
dead which tell you they have found the source of life, and offer it to you for
your belief. Attend them not, but listen to the truth. Be not afraid today to
circumvent the voices of the world. Walk lightly past their meaningless
persuasion. Hear them not.
3. Be still today and listen to the truth. Go past all things which do not
speak of Him Who holds your happiness within His hand, held out to you in
welcome and in love. Hear only Him today, and do not wait to reach Him longer.
Hear one Voice today.
4. Today the promise of God's Word is kept. Hear and be silent. He would
speak to you. He comes with miracles a thousand times as happy and as wonderful
as those you ever dreamt [W279] or wished for in your dreams. His miracles are
true. They will not fade when dreaming ends. They end the dream instead, and
last forever for they come from God, to His dear Son, whose other name is you.
Prepare yourself for miracles today. Today allow your Father's ancient pledge
to you and all your brothers to be kept.
5. Hear Him today, and listen to the Word which lifts the veil which [W280] lies
upon the earth, and wakes all those who sleep and cannot see. God calls to them
through you. He needs your voice to speak to them, for who could reach God's
Son except his Father calling through your Self?
W(214)
6. Hear Him today, and offer Him your voice to speak to all the multitudes who
wait to hear the Word that He will speak today. Be ready for salvation. It is
here, and will today be given unto you. And you will learn your function from
the One Who shows [W281] it in your Father's Name for you.
7. Listen today, and you will hear a Voice Which will resound throughout the
world through you. The Bringer of all miracles has need that you receive them
first, and thus become the joyous giver of what you received. Thus does
salvation start and thus it ends; when everything is yours, and everything is
given away, it will remain with you forever. And the lesson has been learned.
8. Today we practice giving, not the way you understand it now, but as it is.
The longer [W282] exercises should begin with this request for your enlightenment:
"I will be still and listen for the truth.
What does it mean to give and to receive?"
Ask and expect an answer. Your request is one whose answer has been waiting
long to be received by you. It will begin the ministry for which you came, and
which will free the world from thinking giving is a way to lose. And so the
world becomes ready to understand and to receive.
9. Be still and listen to the truth today. For each five minutes spent in
listening a thousand minds are opened to the truth, and [W283] they will hear the
holy Word you hear. And when the hour is past, you will again release a
thousand more who pause to ask that truth be given them, along with you.
10. Today the holy Word of God is kept through your receiving it to give away,
so you can teach the world what giving means by listening and learning it of
Him. Do not forget today to reinforce your choice to hear and to receive the
Word by your [W284] reminder, given to yourself as often as is possible today:
"Let me be still and listen to the truth.
I am the messenger of God today,
My voice is His, to give what I receive."
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W(216) Oct. 16, 1969
Lesson 107. "Truth will correct the [W285] errors in my mind."
1. What can correct illusions but the truth? And what are errors but illusions
which remain unrecognized for what they are? Where truth has entered errors
disappear. They merely vanish, leaving not a trace by which to be remembered.
They are gone because without belief they have no life, and so they disappear to
nothingness, returning whence they came. From dust to dust they come and go,
for only truth remains.
2. Can you imagine what a state of mind without illusions is? How it would
feel? Try to remember when there was a time, - perhaps a minute, maybe even
less, - when nothing came to interrupt your peace; when you were certain you
were loved and safe. Then try to picture what it would be like to have that
moment be extended to the end of time and to eternity. Then let the sense of
quiet that you felt be multiplied a hundred times, and then be multiplied
another hundred more.
3. And now you have a hint, not more than just the faintest intimation of the
state your mind will rest in when the truth has come. Without illusions there
could be no fear, no doubt and no attack. When truth has come all pain is over,
for there is no room for transitory thoughts and dead ideas to linger in your
mind. Truth occupies your mind completely, liberating you from all beliefs in
the ephemeral. They have no place because the truth has come, and they are
nowhere. They cannot be found, for truth is everywhere forever now.
4. When truth has come it does not stay a while, to disappear, or change to
something else. It does not shift and alter in its form, nor come and go and go
and come again. It stays exactly as it always was, to be depended on in every
need, and trusted with a perfect trust in all the seeming difficulties and the
doubts which the appearances the world presents engender. They will merely
blow [W286] away when truth corrects the errors in your mind.
W(217)
5. When truth has come it harbors in its wings the gift of perfect constancy,
and love which does not falter in the face of pain but looks beyond it, steadily
and sure. Here is the gift of healing, for the truth needs no defense, and
therefore no attack is possible. Illusions can be brought to truth to be
corrected. But the truth stands far beyond illusions, and can not be brought to
them to turn them into truth.
6. Truth does not come and go nor shift nor change, in this appearance now and
then in that, evading capture and escaping grasp. It does not hide. It stands
in open light, in obvious accessibility. It is impossible that anyone could
seek it truly and would not succeed. Today belongs to truth. Give truth its
due, and it will give you yours. You were not meant to suffer and to die. Your
Father wills these dreams be gone. Let truth correct them all.
7. We do not ask for what we do not have. We merely ask for what belongs to
us, that we [W287] recognize it as our own. Today we practice on the happy note
of certainty which has been born of truth. The shaky and unsteady footsteps of
illusion is [W288] not our approach today. We are as certain of success as we
are sure we live and hope and breathe and think. We do not doubt we walk with
truth today, and count on it to enter into all the exercises that we do this
day.
8. Begin by asking Him Who goes with you upon this undertaking that He be in
your awareness as you go with Him. You are not made of flesh and blood and
bone, but were created by the self-same Thought Which gave the gift of life [W289]
to Him as well. He is your Brother, and so like to you your Father knows that
you are both the same. It is your Self you ask to go with you, and how could He
be absent where you are?
W(218)
9. Truth will correct all errors in your mind which tell you you could be apart
from Him. You speak to Him today, and make your pledge to let His function be
fulfilled through you. To share His function is to share His joy. His
confidence is with you as you say:
"Truth will correct all errors in my mind,
And I will rest in Him who is my Self."
Then let Him lead you gently to the truth which will envelop you and give you
peace so deep and tranquil that you will return to the familiar world
reluctantly.
10. And yet you will be glad to look again upon this world. For you will bring
with you the promise of the changes which the truth that goes with you will
carry to the world. They will increase with every gift you give of five small
minutes, and the errors which surround the world will be corrected as you let
them be corrected in your mind.
11. Do not forget your function for today. Each time you tell yourself with
confidence, "Truth will correct all errors in my mind," you speak for all the
world, and Him Who would release the world as He would set you free.
W(219) Oct. 17, 1969
Lesson 108. "To give and to receive are one in truth."
1. Vision depends upon today's idea. The light is in it, for it reconciles all
seeming opposites. And what is light except the resolution, born of peace, of
all your conflicts and mistaken thoughts into one concept which is wholly true?
Even that one will disappear because the Thought behind it will appear instead,
to take its place. And now we are at peace forever, for the dream is over now.
2. True light which makes true vision possible is not the light the body's eyes
behold. It is a state of mind which has become so unified that darkness cannot
be perceived at all. And thus what is the same is seen as one, while what is
not the same remains unnoticed, for it is not there.
3. This is the light which shows no opposites, and vision, being healed, has
power to heal. This is the light which brings your peace of mind to other
minds, to share it and be glad that they are one with you and with themselves.
This is the light which heals because it brings single perception, based upon
one frame of reference from which one meaning comes.
4. Here are both giving and receiving seen as different aspects of one Thought
Whose truth does not depend on which is seen as first, nor which appears to be
in second place. Here it is understood that both occur together, that the
Thought remains complete. And in this understanding is the base on which all
opposites are reconciled, because they are perceived from the same frame of
reference which unifies this Thought.
5. One thought, completely unified, will serve to unify all thought. This is
the same as saying one correction will suffice for all correction, or that to
forgive one brother wholly is enough to bring salvation to all minds. For these
are but some special cases of one law which holds for every kind of learning, if
it be directed by the One Who knows the truth.
W(220)
6. To learn that giving and receiving are the same has special usefulness,
because it can be tried so easily and seen as true. And when this special case
has proved it always works in every circumstance where it is tried, the thought
behind it can be generalized to other areas of doubt and double vision. And
from there it will extend, and finally arrive at the one Thought Which underlies
them all.
7. Today we practice with the special case of giving and receiving. We will
use this simple lesson in the obvious because it has results we cannot miss. To
give is to receive. Today we will attempt to offer peace to everyone, and see
how quickly peace returns to us. Light is tranquility, and in that peace is
vision given us, and we can see.
8. So we begin the practice periods with the instruction for today, and say:
"To give and to receive are one in truth.
I will receive what I am giving now."
Then close your eyes, and for five minutes think of what you would hold out to
everyone to have it yours. You might, for instance, say:
"To everyone I offer quietness."
"To everyone I offer peace of mind."
"To everyone I offer gentleness."
9. Say each one slowly, and then pause a while, expecting to receive the gift
you gave, and it will come to you in the amount in which you gave it. You will
find you have exact return, for this [W290] is what you asked. It might be
helpful, too, to think of one to whom to give your gifts. He represents the
others, and through him you give to all.
W(221)
10. Our very simple lesson for today will teach you much. Effect and cause
will be far better understood from this time on, and we will make much faster
progress now. Think of the exercises for today as quick advances in your
learning, made still faster and more sure each time you say: [W291]
"To give and to receive are one in truth."
W(222) Oct. 18, 1969
Lesson 109. "I rest in God."
1. We ask for rest today, and quietness unshaken by the world's appearances.
We ask for peace and stillness in the midst of all the turmoil born of clashing
dreams. We ask for safety and for happiness, although we seem to look on danger
and on sorrow. And we have the thought that will answer our asking with what we
request.
2. "I rest in God." This thought will bring to you the rest and quiet, peace
and stillness, and the safety and the happiness you seek. "I rest in God."
This thought has power to wake the sleeping truth in you, whose vision sees
beyond appearances to that same truth in everyone and everything there is. Here
is the end of suffering for all the world, and everyone who ever came and yet
will come to linger for a while. Here is the thought in which the Son of God is
born again, to recognize Himself.
3. "I rest in God." Completely undismayed this thought will carry you through
storms and strife, past misery and pain, past loss and death, and onward to the
certainty of God. There is no suffering it cannot heal. There is no problem
which [W292] it cannot solve. And no appearance but will turn to truth before the
eyes of you who rest in God.
4. This is the day of peace. You rest in God, and while the world is torn by
winds of hate, your rest remains completely undisturbed. Yours is the rest of
truth. Appearances cannot intrude on you. You call to all to join you in your
rest, and they will hear and come to you because you rest in God. They will not
hear another voice but yours, because you gave your voice to God and now you
rest in Him, and let Him speak through you.
5. In Him you have no cares and no concerns, no burdens, no anxiety, no pain,
no fear of future and no past regrets. In timelessness you rest, while time
goes by without its touch upon you, for your rest can never change in any way at
all.
W(223)
You rest today. And as you close your eyes, sink into stillness. Let these
periods of rest and respite reassure your mind that all its frantic fantasies
were but the dreams of fever that has passed away. Let it be still and
thankfully accept its healing. No more fearful dreams will come now that you
rest in God. Take time today to slip away from dreams and into peace.
6. Each hour that you take your rest today a tired mind is suddenly made glad,
a bird with broken wings begins to sing, a stream long dry begins to flow again.
The world is born again each time you rest, and hourly remember that you came
to bring the peace of God into the world, that it might take its rest along with
you.
7. With each five minutes that you rest today the world is nearer waking. And
the time when rest will be the only thing there is comes closer to all worn and
tired minds, too weary now to go their way alone. And they will hear the bird
begin to sing, and see the stream begin to flow again, with hope reborn and
energy restored to walk with lightened steps along the road that suddenly seems
easy as they go.
8. You rest within the peace of God today, and call upon your brothers from
your rest, to draw them to their rest along with you. You will be faithful to
your trust today, forgetting no one, bringing everyone into the boundless circle
of your peace, the holy sanctuary where you rest. Open the temple doors and let
them come from far across the world and near as well; your distant brothers and
your closest friends; bid them all enter here and rest with you.
9. You rest within the peace of God today, quiet and unafraid. Each brother
comes to take his rest, and offer it to you.
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We rest together here, for thus our rest is made complete, and what we give
today we have received already. Time is not the guardian of what we give today.
We give to those unborn and those passed by, to every Thought of God, and to
the Mind in Which these Thoughts were born, and where they rest. And we remind
them of their resting place each time we tell ourselves:
"I rest in God."
W(225) October 21, 1969
Lesson 110. "I am as God created me."
1. We will repeat today's idea from time to time. For this one thought would
be enough to save you and the world, if you believed that it is true. Its truth
would mean that you have made no changes in yourself which have reality, nor
changed the universe so that what God created was replaced by fear and evil,
misery and death. If you remain as God created you, fear has no meaning, evil
is not real, and misery and death do not exist.
2. Today's idea is therefore all you need to let complete correction heal your
mind and give you perfect vision, which will heal all the mistakes that any mind
has made at any time or place. It is enough to heal the past and make the
future free. It is enough to let the present be accepted as it is. It is
enough to let time be the means for all the world to learn escape from time, and
every change which time appears to bring in passing by.
3. If you remain as God created you appearances cannot replace the truth,
health cannot turn to sickness, nor can death be substitute for life, or fear
for love. All this has not occurred, if you remain as God created you. You
need no thought but just this one, to let redemption come to light the world and
free it from the past.
4. In this one thought is all the past undone; the present saved to quietly
extend into a timeless future. If you are as God created you, then there has
been no separation of your mind from His, no split between your mind and other
minds, and only unity within your own.
5. The healing power of today's idea is limitless. It is the birthplace of all
miracles, the great restorer of the truth to the awareness of the world.
Practice today's idea with gratitude. This is the truth that comes to set you
free. This is the truth that God has promised you. This is the Word in which
all sorrow ends.
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6. For your five minute practice periods, begin with this quotation from the
text:
"I am as God created me. His Son
can suffer nothing. And I am His Son."
Then, with this statement firmly in your mind, try to discover in your mind
this [W293] Self Who is the holy Son of God Himself. Seek Him within you Who is
Christ in you, the Son of God and Brother to the world; the Savior Who has been
forever saved, with power to save whoever touches Him however lightly, asking
for the Word which tells him he is brother unto Him.
7. You are as God created you. Today honor your Self. Let graven images you
made to be the Son of God instead of what he is be worshipped not today. Deep
in your mind the holy Christ in you is waiting your acknowledgment as you. And
you are lost and do not know yourself while He is unacknowledged and unknown.
8. Seek Him today, and find Him. He will be your Savior from all idols you
have made. For when you find Him you will understand how worthless are your
idols, and how false the images which you believe were you. Today we make a
great advance to truth by letting idols go, and opening our hands and hearts and
minds to God today.
9. We will remember Him throughout the day with thankful hearts, and loving
thoughts for all who meet with us today, for it is thus that we remember Him.
And we will say, that we may be reminded of His Son, our holy Self, the Christ
in each of us,
"I am as God created me."
Let us declare this truth as often as we can. This is the Word of God that sets
you free. This is the key that opens up the gate of Heaven, and which lets you
enter in the peace of God and His eternity.
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W(228) October 22, 1969
REVIEW III
1. Our third [W294] review begins today. We will review two of the last twenty
ideas each day until we have reviewed them all. [W295] We will observe the [W296]
special format for these practice periods, which you are urged to follow [W297] as
closely as you can. We understand, of course, that it may be impossible for you
to undertake what is suggested here as optimal each day and every hour of the
day.
2. Learning will not be hampered when you miss a practice period because it is
impossible at the appointed time. Nor is it necessary that you make excessive
efforts to be sure that you catch up in terms of numbers. Rituals are not our
aim, and would defeat our learning goal. But learning will be hampered when you
skip a practice period because you are unwilling to devote the time to it which
you are asked to give. Do not deceive yourself in this. Unwillingness can be
most carefully concealed behind a cloak of situations you can not control.
3. Learn to distinguish situations which are poorly suited to your practicing
from those which you establish to uphold a camouflage for your unwillingness.
Those practice periods which you have lost because you did not want to do them
for whatever reason should be done as soon as you have changed your mind about
your goal.
4. You are unwilling to cooperate in practicing salvation only if it interferes
with gods you hold more dear. When you withdraw the value given them, allow
your practice periods to be replacements for your litanies to them. They gave
you nothing. But your practice periods [W298] offer you everything [W299]. Accept
their offering and be at peace. [W300]
5. The format you should use for these reviews is this: Devote five minutes
twice a day, or longer if you would prefer, to contemplating the ideas
assigned. Read over the ideas and comments which are written first in each
day's exercises. [W301] Then begin to think about them quietly, letting your mind
W(229)
relate them to your needs, your seeming problems and all your concerns.
6. Place the ideas within your mind, and let it use them as it chooses. Give
it faith that it will use them wisely, being helped in its decisions by the One
Who gave the thoughts to you. What can you trust but what is in your mind?
Have faith, in these reviews, the means the Holy Spirit uses will not fail. The
wisdom of your mind will come to your assistance. Give it direction at the
start, and then lean back in quiet faith, and let it use the ideas you have
given it as they were given you. [W302]
7. You have been given them in perfect trust; in perfect confidence that you
would use them well; in perfect faith that you would understand [W303] their
messages, and use them for yourself. Offer them to your mind in that same trust
and confidence and faith. It will not fail. It is the Holy Spirit's chosen
means for your salvation. And with His trust it merits yours as well. [W304]
8. We emphasize the benefits to you, if you devote the first five minutes of
the day to your review [W305], and also give the last five minutes of your waking
day to it [W306]. If this cannot be done, at least try to divide them so you
undertake one in the morning, and the other in the hour just before you go to
sleep.
9. The exercises to be done throughout the day are equally important, and
perhaps of even greater value. You have been inclined to do the exercises and
then go on to other things, without applying what you learned to them. As a
result, your learning has had little reinforcement, and you have not given it
the opportunity to prove its worth to you. [W307]
10. Here is another chance to use it well. In these reviews we stress the need
to let your learning not lie idly by between your longer practice periods.
Attempt to give your daily two ideas a brief but serious review each hour. Use
one on the hour, and the other one a half an hour later. You need not give more
than just a moment to each one.
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Repeat it, and allow your mind to rest a little time in silence and in peace.
11. Then turn to other things, but try to keep the thought with you, and let it
serve to help you keep your peace throughout the day [W308]. If you are shaken,
think of it again. These practice periods are planned to help you form the
habit of applying what you learn each day to everything you do. Do not repeat
it [W309] and then lay it down. Its usefulness is limitless to you. And it is
meant to serve you in all ways, all times and places, and whenever you need help
of any kind. Try, then, to take it with you in the business of the day, and
make it holy, worthy of God's Son, acceptable to God and to your Self.
12. Each day's review assignment will conclude with a restatement of the
thought to use each hour, and the one to be applied on each half hour as well.
Forget them not. This second chance with each of these ideas will bring such
large advances that we come from these reviews with learning gains so great that
we begin again [W310] on [W311] solid ground. Do not forget how little you have
learned. Do not forget how much you can learn now. Do not forget your Father's
need of you, as you review these thoughts He gave to you.
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Lesson 111. For morning and evening review: (91-92)
1. 91) "Miracles are seen in light."
I cannot see in darkness. Let the light
Of holiness and truth light up my mind,
And let me see the innocence within.
2. 92) "Miracles are seen in light, and light and strength are one."
I see through strength, the gift of God to me.
My weakness is the dark His gift dispels
By giving me His strength to take its place.
3. On the hour:
"Miracles are seen in light."
4. On the half hour:
"Miracles are seen in light, and light and strength are one."
W(232) Oct. 18, 1969
Lesson 112. For morning and evening review: (93-94)
1. 93) "Light and joy and peace abide in me."
I am the home of light and joy and peace.
I welcome them into the home I share
With God, because I am a part of Him.
2. 94) "I am as God created me."
I will remain forever as I was
Created by the Changeless like Himself.
And I am one with Him, and He with me.
3. On the Hour:
"Light and joy and peace abide in me."
4. On the half hour:
"I am as God created me."
W(233) Oct. 19, 1969
Lesson 113. For morning and evening review: (95-96)
1. 95) "I am One Self, united with my Creator."
Serenity and perfect peace are mine
Because I am One Self, completely whole,
At one with all creation and with God.
2. 96) "Salvation comes from my One Self."
From my One Self, Whose knowledge still remains
Within my mind, I see God's perfect plan
For my salvation perfectly fulfilled.
3. On the hour:
"I am One Self, united with my Creator."
4. On the half hour:
"Salvation comes from my One Self."
W(234) Oct. 20, 1969
Lesson 114. For morning and evening review: (97-98)
1. 97) "I am Spirit."
I am the Son of God. No body can
Contain my Spirit, nor impose on me
A limitation God created not.
2. 98) "I will accept my part in God's plan for salvation."
What can my function be but to accept
The Word of God, Who has created me,
For what I am and will forever be?
3. On the hour:
"I am Spirit."
4. On the half hour:
"I will accept my part in God's plan for salvation."
W(235) Oct. 21, 1969
Lesson 115. For morning and evening review: (99-100)
1. 99) "Salvation is my only function here."
My function here is to forgive the world
For all the errors I have made. For thus
Am I released from them with all the world.
2. 100) "My part is essential to God's plan for salvation."
I am essential to the plan of God
For the salvation of the world. For He
Gave me His plan that I might save the world.
3. On the hour:
"Salvation is my only function here."
4. On the half hour:
"My part is essential to God's plan for salvation."
W(236) Oct. 22, 1969
Lesson 116. For morning and evening review: (101-102)
1. 101) "God's Will for me is perfect happiness."
God's Will is perfect happiness for me.
And I can suffer but from the belief
There is another will apart from His.
2. 102) "I share God's Will for happiness for me."
I share my Father's Will for me, His Son.
What He has given me is all I want.
What He has given me is all there is.
3. On the hour:
"God's Will for me is perfect happiness."
4. On the half hour:
"I share God's Will for happiness for me."
W(237) Oct. 28, 1969
Lesson 117. For morning and evening review: (103-104)
1. 103) "God, being Love, is also happiness."
Let me remember love is happiness
And nothing else brings joy. And so I choose
To entertain no substitutes for love.
2. 104) "I seek but what belongs to me in truth."
Love is my heritage, and with it joy.
These are the gifts my Father gave to me.
I would accept all that is mine in truth.
3. On the hour:
"God, being Love, is also happiness."
4. On the half hour:
"I seek but what belongs to me in truth."
W(238) Oct. 29, 1969
Lesson 118. For morning and evening review: (105-106)
1. 105) "God's peace and joy are mine"
Today I will accept God's peace and joy
In glad exchange for all the substitutes
Which I have made for happiness and peace.
2. 106) "Let me be still and listen to the truth."
Let my own feeble voice be still, and let
Me hear the mighty Voice of truth itself
Assure me that I am God's perfect Son.
3. On the hour:
"God's peace and joy are mine."
4. On the half hour:
"Let me be still and listen to the truth."
W(239) October 30, 1969
Lesson 119. For morning and evening review: (107-108)
1. 107) "Truth will correct all errors in my mind."
I am mistaken when I think I can
Be hurt in any way. I am God's Son,
Whose Self rests safely in the Mind of God.
2. 108) "To give and to receive are one in truth."
I will forgive all things today, that I
May learn how to accept the truth in me,
And come to recognize my sinlessness.
3. On the hour:
"Truth will correct all errors in my mind."
4. On the half hour:
"To give and to receive are one in truth."
W(240) October 31, 1969
Lesson 120. For morning and evening review: (109-110)
1. 109) "I rest in God."
I rest in God today, and let Him work
In me and through me, while I rest in Him
In quiet and in perfect certainty.
2. 110) "I am as God created me."
I am God's Son. Today I lay aside
All sick illusions of myself, and let
My Father tell me Who I really am.
3. On the hour:
"I rest in God."
4. On the half hour:
"I am as God created me."
W(241) November 1, 1969
Lesson 121. "Forgiveness is the key to happiness."
1. Here is the answer to your search for peace. Here is the key to meaning in
a world which seems to make no sense. Here is the way to safety in apparent
dangers which appear to threaten you at every turn, and bring uncertainty to all
your hopes of ever finding quietness and peace. Here are all questions
answered; here the end of all uncertainty ensured at last.
2. The unforgiving mind is full of fear, and offers love no room to be itself;
no place where it can spread its wings in peace, and soar above the turmoil of
the world. The unforgiving mind is sad, without the hope of respite and release
from pain. It suffers and abides in misery, peering about in darkness, seeing
not, yet certain of the danger lurking there.
3. The unforgiving mind is torn with doubt, confused about itself and all it
sees, afraid and angry, weak and blustering, afraid to go ahead, afraid to stay,
afraid to waken or to go to sleep, afraid of every sound, yet more afraid of
stillness; terrified of darkness, yet more terrified at the approach of light.
What can the unforgiving mind perceive but its damnation? What can it behold
except the proof that all its sins are real?
4. The unforgiving mind sees no mistakes, but only sins. It looks upon the
world with sightless eyes, and shrieks as it beholds its own projections rising
to attack its miserable parody of life. It wants to live, yet wishes it were
dead. It wants forgiveness, yet it sees no hope. It wants escape, yet can
conceive of none because it sees the sinful everywhere.
W(242)
5. The unforgiving mind is in despair, without the prospect of a future which
can offer anything but more despair. Yet it regards its judgment of the world
as irreversible, and does not see it has condemned itself to this despair. It
thinks it cannot change, for what it sees bears witness that its judgment is
correct. It does not ask because it thinks it knows. It does not question,
certain it is right.
6. Forgiveness is acquired. It is not inherent in a [W312] mind which cannot
sin. As sin was an idea you taught yourself, forgiveness must be learned by you
as well, but from a Teacher other than yourself, who represents the other Self
in you. Through Him you learn how to forgive the self you think you made, and
let it disappear. Thus you return your mind as one to Him Who is your Self, and
Who can never sin.
7. Each unforgiving mind presents you with an opportunity to teach your own how
to forgive itself. Each one awaits release from hell through you, and turns to
you imploringly for Heaven here and now. It has no hope, but you become its
hope. And as its hope do you become your own. The unforgiving mind must learn
through your forgiveness that it has been saved from hell. And as you teach
salvation, you will learn. Yet all your teaching and your learning will be not
of you, but of the Teacher Who was given you to show the way to you.
8. Today we practice learning to forgive. If you are willing, you can learn
today to take the key to happiness, and use it on your own behalf. We will
devote ten minutes in the morning, and at night another ten, to learning how to
give forgiveness and receive forgiveness too.
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9. The unforgiving mind does not believe that giving and receiving are the
same. Yet we will try to learn today that they are one through practicing
forgiving towards one whom you think of as an enemy and one whom you consider as
a friend. And as you learn to see them both as one, we will extend the lesson
to ourselves [W313], and see that their escape included ours [W314].
10. Begin the longer practice periods by thinking of someone you do not like,
who seems to irritate you, or to cause regret in you if you should meet him; one
you actively despise, or merely try to overlook. It does not matter what the
form your anger takes. You probably have chosen him already. He will do.
11. Now close your eyes and see him in your mind, and look at him a while. Try
to perceive some light in him somewhere; a little gleam which you had never
noticed. Try to find some little spark of brightness shining through the ugly
picture which you hold of him. Look at this picture until [W315] you see a light
somewhere within it, and then try to let this light extend until it covers him,
and makes the picture beautiful and good.
12. Look at this changed perception for a while, and turn your mind to one you
call a friend. Try to transfer the light you learned to see around your former
"enemy" to him. Perceive him now as more than friend to you, for in that light
his holiness shows you your Savior, saved and saving, healed and whole.
13. Then let him offer you the light you see in him, and let your "enemy" and
Friend unite in blessing you with what you gave. Now are you one with them, and
they with you. Now have you been forgiven by yourself. Do not forget,
throughout the day, the role forgiveness plays in bringing happiness to every
unforgiving mind, with yours among them.
14. Every hour tell yourself:
"Forgiveness is the key to happiness.
I will awaken from the dream that I
Am mortal, fallible, and full of sin,
And know I am the perfect Son of God."
W(244) November 2, 1969
Lesson 122. "Forgiveness offers everything I want."
1. What could you want forgiveness cannot give? Do you want peace?
Forgiveness offers it. Do you want happiness, a quiet mind, a certainty of
purpose, and a sense of worth and beauty that transcends the world? Do you want
care and safety, and the warmth of sure protection always? Do you want a
quietness that cannot be disturbed, a gentleness that never can be hurt, a deep,
abiding comfort, and a rest so perfect it can never be upset?
2. All this forgiveness offers you, and more. It sparkles in your eyes as you
awake, and gives you joy with which to meet the day. It soothes your forehead
while you sleep, and rests upon your eyelids so you see no dreams of fear and
evil, malice and attack. And when you wake again, it offers you another day of
happiness and peace. All this forgiveness offers you, and more.
3. Forgiveness lets the veil be lifted up which hides the Face of Christ from
those who look with unforgiving eyes upon the world. It lets you recognize the
Son of God, and clears your memory of all dead thoughts so that remembrance of
your Father can arise across the threshold of your mind. What would you want
forgiveness cannot give? What gifts but these are worthy to be sought? What
fancied value, trivial effect, or transient promise never to be kept, can hold
more hope than what forgiveness brings?
4. Why would you seek an answer other than the answer that will answer
everything? Here is the perfect answer, given to imperfect questions,
meaningless requests, half-hearted willingness to hear, and less than halfway
diligence and partial trust. Here is the answer! Seek for it no more. You
will not find another one instead.
5. God's plan for your salvation cannot change, nor can it fail. Be thankful
it remains exactly as He planned it. Changelessly it stands before you, like an
open door with warmth and welcome calling from beyond the doorway, bidding you
to enter in, and make yourself at home where you belong.
W(245)
6. Here is the answer! Would you stand outside while all of Heaven waits for
you within? Forgive and be forgiven. As you give you will receive. There is
no plan but this for the salvation of the Son of God. Let us today rejoice that
this is so, for here we have an answer, clear and plain, beyond deceit in its
simplicity.
7. All of the complexities the world has spun of fragile cobwebs disappear
before the power and the majesty of this extremely simple statement of the
truth. Here is the answer! Do not turn away in aimless wandering again.
Accept salvation now. It is the gift of God and not the world. The world can
give no gifts of any value to a mind which has received what God has given as
its own.
8. God wills salvation be received today, and that the intricacies of your
dreams no longer hide their nothingness from you. Open your eyes today, and
look upon a happy world of safety and of peace. Forgiveness is the means by
which it comes to take the place of hell. In quietness it rises up to greet
your open eyes, and fill your heart with deep tranquility as ancient truths,
forever newly born, arise in your awareness. What you will remember then can
never be described. Yet your forgiveness offers it to you.
9. Remembering the gifts forgiveness gives, we undertake our practicing today
with hope and faith that this will be the day salvation will be ours. Earnestly
and gladly will we seek for it today, aware we hold the key within our hands,
accepting Heaven's answer to the hell we made, but where we would remain no
more.
10. Morning and evening do we gladly give a quarter of an hour to the search in
which the end of hell is guaranteed. Begin in hopefulness, for we have reached
the turning point at which the road becomes far easier. And now the way is
short that yet we travel. We are close indeed to the appointed ending of the
dream.
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11. Sink into happiness as you begin these practice periods, for they hold out
the sure rewards of questions answered, and what your acceptance of the answer
brings. Today it will be given you to feel the peace forgiveness offers, and
the joy the lifting of the veil holds out to you.
12. Before the light you will receive today the world will fade until it
disappears, and you will see another world arise you have no words to picture.
Now we walk directly into light, and we receive the gifts which have been held
in store for us since time began, kept waiting for today.
13. Forgiveness offers everything you want. Today all things you want are
given you. Let not your gifts recede throughout the day, as you return again to
meet a world of shifting change and bleak appearances. Retain your gifts in
clear awareness as you see the changeless in the heart of change; the light of
truth behind appearances.
14. Be tempted not to let your gifts slip by, and drift into forgetfulness but
hold them firmly in your mind by your attempts to think of them at least a
minute as each quarter of an hour passes by.
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Remind yourself how precious are these gifts with this reminder, which has power
to hold your gifts in your awareness through the day:
"Forgiveness offers everything I want.
Today I have accepted this as true.
Today I have received the gifts of God."
W(248) November 4, 1969
Lesson 123. "I thank my Father for His gifts to me."
1. Today let us be thankful. We have come to gentler pathways and to smoother
roads. There is no thought of turning back, and no implacable resistance to the
truth. A bit of wavering remains, some small objections and a little hesitance,
but we [W316] can well be grateful for our [W317] gains, which are far greater than
we [W318] realize. A day devoted now to gratitude will add the benefit of some
insight into the real extent of all the gains which you have made; the gifts you
have received.
2. Be glad today in loving thankfulness your Father has not left you to
yourself, nor let you wander in the dark alone. Be grateful He has saved you
from the self you thought you made to take the place of Him and His creation.
Give Him thanks today. Give thanks that He has not abandoned you, and that His
Love forever will remain shining on you, forever without change.
3. Give thanks as well that you are changeless, for the Son He loves is
changeless as Himself. Be grateful you are saved. Be glad you have a function
in salvation to fulfill. Be thankful that your value far transcends your meager
gifts and petty judgments of the one whom God established as His Son.
4. Today in gratitude we lift our hearts above despair, and raise our thankful
eyes, no longer looking downward to the dust. We sing the song of thankfulness
today in honor of the Self Which God has willed to be our true identity in Him.
Today we smile on everyone we see, and walk with lightened footsteps as we go to
do what is appointed us to do.
5. We do not go alone. And we give thanks that in our solitude a Friend has
come to speak the saving Word of God to us.
W(249)
And thanks to you for listening to Him. His Word is soundless if it be not
heard. In thanking Him the thanks are yours as well. An unheard message will
not save the world, however mighty be the Voice that speaks, however loving may
the message be.
6. Thanks be to you who heard, for you become the messengers who bring His
Voice with you, and let it echo round and round the world. Receive the thanks
of God today, as you give thanks to Him. For He would offer you the thanks you
give, since He receives your gifts in loving gratitude, and gives them back a
thousand and a hundred thousand more than they were given. He will bless your
gifts by sharing them with you. And so they grow in power and in strength until
they fill the world with gladness and with gratitude.
7. Receive His thanks and offer yours to Him for fifteen minutes twice today.
And you will realize to Whom you offer thanks, and Whom He thanks as you are
thanking Him. This holy half an hour given Him will be returned to you in terms
of years for every second; power to save the world eons more quickly for your
thanks to Him.
8. Receive His thanks, and you will understand how lovingly He holds you in His
Mind, how deep and limitless His care for you, how perfect is His gratitude to
you. Remember hourly to think of Him, and give Him thanks for everything you
gave His Son, that he might rise above the world remembering His Father and his
Self.
W(250) Nov. 5, 1969
Lesson 124. "Let me remember I am one with God."
1. Today we will again give thanks for our identity in God. Our home is safe,
protection guaranteed in all we do, power and strength available to us in all
our undertakings. We can fail in nothing. Everything we touch takes on a
shining light which blesses and which heals. At one with God and with the
universe, we go our way rejoicing, with the thought that God Himself goes
everywhere with us.
2. How holy are our minds! And everything we see reflects the holiness within
the mind at one with God and with itself. How easily do errors disappear, and
death give place to everlasting life. Our shining footprints point the way to
truth, for God is our Companion as we walk the world a little while. And those
who come to follow us will recognize the way because the light we carry stays
behind, yet still remains with us as we walk on.
3. What we receive is our eternal gift to those who follow after, and to those
who went before or stayed with us a while. And God, Who loves us with the equal
love in which we were created, smiles on us and offers us the happiness we gave.
4. Today we will not doubt His Love for us, nor question His protection and His
care. No meaningless anxieties can come between our faith and our awareness of
His Presence. We are one with Him today in recognition and remembrance. We
feel Him in our hearts. Our minds contain His Thoughts, our eyes behold His
loveliness in all we look upon. Today we see only the loving and the loveable.
5. We see it in appearances of pain, and pain gives way to peace. We see it
in the frantic, in the sad and the distressed, the lonely and afraid, who are
restored to the tranquility and peace of mind in which they were created. And
we see it in the dying and the dead as well, restoring them to life.
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All this we see because we saw it first within ourselves.
6. No miracle can ever be denied to those who know that they are one with God.
No thought of theirs but has the power to heal all forms of suffering in anyone
in times gone by and times as yet to come as easily as in the ones who walk
beside them now. Their thoughts are timeless, and apart from distance as apart
from time.
7. We join in this awareness as we say that we are one with God. For in these
words we say as well that we are saved and healed; that we can save and heal
accordingly. We have accepted and we now would give, for we would keep the
gifts our Father gave. Today we would experience ourselves at one with Him, so
that the world may share our recognition of reality. In our experience the
world is freed. As we deny our separation from our Father, it is healed along
with us.
8. Peace be to you today. Secure your peace by practicing awareness you are
one with your Creator, as He is with you. Sometime today, whenever it seems
best, devote a half an hour to the thought that you are one with God. This is
our first attempt at an extended period for which we give no rules nor special
words to guide your meditation. We will trust God's Voice to speak as He sees
fit today, certain He will not fail. Abide with Him this half an hour. He will
do the rest.
9. Your benefit will not be less if you believe that nothing happened. You may
not be ready to accept the gain today. Yet sometime, somewhere, it will come to
you, nor will you fail to recognize it when it dawns with certainty upon your
mind. This half an hour will be framed in gold, with every minute like a
diamond set around the mirror that this exercise will offer you. And you will
see Christ's Face upon it, in reflection of your own.
W(252)
10. Perhaps today, perhaps tomorrow, you will see your own transfiguration in
the glass this holy half an hour will hold out to you, to look upon yourself.
When you are ready; you will find it there, within your mind and waiting to be
found. You will remember then the Thought to which you gave this half an hour,
thankfully aware no time was ever better spent. Perhaps today, perhaps
tomorrow, you will look into this glass, and understand the sinless light you
see belongs to you; the loveliness you look on is your own.
11. Count this half hour as your gift to God, in certainty that His return will
be a sense of love you cannot understand, a joy too deep for you to comprehend,
a sight too holy for the body's eyes to see, and yet you can be sure some day,
perhaps today, perhaps tomorrow, you will understand and comprehend and see.
Add further jewels to the golden frame that holds the mirror offered you today
by hourly repeating to yourself:
"Let me remember I am one with God,
At one with all my brothers and my Self,
In everlasting holiness and peace."
W(253) November 6, 1969
Lesson 125. "In quiet I receive God's Word today."
1. Let this day be a day of stillness and of quiet listening. Your Father
wills you hear His Word today. He calls to you from deep within your mind where
He abides. Hear Him today. No peace is possible until His Word is heard around
the world; until your mind, in quiet listening, accepts the message which the
world must hear to usher in the quiet time of peace.
2. This world will change through you. No other means can save it, for God's
plan is simply this: The Son of God is free to save himself, given the Word of
God to be his Guide, forever in his mind and at his side to lead him surely to
his Father's house by his own will, forever free as God's. He is not led by
force, but only love. He is not judged, but only sanctified.
3. In stillness we will hear His [W319] Voice today, without intrusion of our
petty thoughts, without our personal desires, and without all judgment of His
holy Word. We will not judge ourselves today, for what we are can not be
judged. We stand apart from all the judgments which the world has laid upon the
Son of God. It knows him not. Today we will not listen to the world, but wait
in silence for the Word of God.
4. Hear, holy Son of God, your Father speak. His Voice would give to you His
holy Word to spread across the world the tidings of salvation and the holy time
of peace. We gather at the throne of God today, the quiet place within
your [W320] mind where He abides forever in the holiness which He created and will
never leave.
5. He has not waited until you return your mind to Him to give His Word to you.
He has not hid Himself from you while you have wandered off a little while from
Him. He does not cherish the illusions which you hold about yourself. He knows
His Son, and wills that he remain as part of Him regardless of his dreams;
regardless of his madness that his will is not his own.
W(254)
6. Today He speaks to you. His Voice awaits your silence, for His Word cannot
be heard until your mind is quiet for a while, and meaningless desires have been
stilled. Await His Word in quiet. There is peace within you to be called upon
today to help make ready your most holy mind to hear the Voice of its Creator
speak.
7. Three times today, at times most suitable for silence, give ten minutes set
apart from listening to the world, and choose instead a gentle listening to the
Word of God. He speaks from nearer than your heart to you. His Voice is closer
than your hand. His Love is everything you are and that He is; the same as you,
and you the same as He.
8. It is your voice to which you listen as He speaks to you. It is your Word
He speaks. It is the Word of freedom and of peace, of unity of will and
purpose, with no separation nor division in the single Mind of Father and of
Son. In quiet listen to your Self today, and let Him tell you God has never
left is Son, and you have never left your Self.
9. Only be quiet. You will need no rule but this to let your practicing today
lift you above the thinking of the world, and free your vision from the body's
eyes. Only be still and listen. You will hear the Word in which the Will of
God the Son joins in His Father's Will, at one with It, with no illusions
interposed between the wholly indivisible and true. As every hour passes by
today be still a moment, and remind yourself you have a special purpose for this
day; - in quiet to receive the Word of God.
W(255) November 7, 1969
Lesson 126. "All that I give is given to myself."
1. Today's idea, completely alien to the ego and the thinking of the world, is
crucial to the thought reversal which this course will bring about. If you
believed this statement there would be no problem in complete forgiveness,
certainty of goal, and sure direction. You would understand the means by which
salvation comes to you, and would not hesitate to use it now.
2. Let us consider what you do believe in place of this idea. It seems to you
that other people are apart from you, and able to behave in ways which have no
bearing on your thoughts, nor theirs on yours. Therefore your attitudes have no
effect on them, and their appeals for help are not in any way related to your
own. You further think that they can sin without affecting your perception of
yourself, while you can judge their sin and yet remain apart from condemnation
and at peace.
3. When you "forgive" a sin, there is no gain to you directly. You give
charity to one unworthy merely to point out that you are better, on a higher
plane than he whom you forgive. He has not earned your charitable tolerance,
which you bestow on one unworthy of the gift because his sins have lowered him
beneath a true equality with you. He has no claim on your forgiveness. It
holds out a gift to him but hardly to yourself.
4. Thus is forgiveness basically unsound; a charitable whim, benevolent yet
undeserved; a gift bestowed at times, at other times withheld. Unmerited,
withholding it is just, nor is it fair that you should suffer when it is
withheld. The sin which you forgive is not your own. Someone apart from you
committed it and if you then are gracious unto him by giving him what he does
not deserve, your [W321] gift is no more yours than was his sin.
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5. If this be true, forgiveness has no grounds on which to rest dependably and
sure. It is an eccentricity in which you sometimes choose to give indulgently
an undeserved reprieve. Yet it remains your right to let the sinner not escape
the justified repayment for his sin. Think you the Lord of Heaven would allow
the world's salvation to depend on this? Would not His care for you be small
indeed if your salvation rested on a whim?
6. You do not understand forgiveness. As you see it, it is but a check upon
overt attack, without requiring correction in your mind. It cannot give you
peace as you perceive it. It is not a means for your release from what you see
in someone other than yourself. It has no power to restore your unity with him
to your awareness. It is not what God intended it to be for you.
7. Not having given Him the gift He asks of you, you cannot recognize His
gifts, and think He has not given them to you. Yet would He ask you for a gift
unless it was for you? Could He be satisfied with empty gestures, and evaluate
such petty gifts as worthy of His Son? Salvation is a better gift than
this, [W322] and true forgiveness, as the means by which it is attained, must heal
the mind that gives, for giving is receiving. What remains as unreceived has
not been given, but what has been given must have been received.
8. Today we try to understand the truth that giver and receiver are the same.
You will need help to make this meaningful because it is so alien to the
thoughts to which you are accustomed. But the Help you need is there. Give Him
your faith today and ask Him that He share your practicing in truth today. And
if you only catch a tiny glimpse of the release which lies in the idea we
practice for today, this is a day of glory for the world.
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9. Give fifteen minutes twice today to the attempt to understand today's idea.
It is the thought by which forgiveness takes its proper place in your
priorities. It is the thought that will release your mind from every bar to
what forgiveness means, and let you realize its worth to you.
10. In silence close your eyes upon the world which does not understand
forgiveness, and seek sanctuary in the quiet place where thoughts are changed
and false beliefs laid by. Repeat today's idea, and ask for help in
understanding what it really means. Be willing to be taught. Be glad to hear
the Voice of truth and healing speak to you, and you will understand the words
He speaks, and recognize He speaks your words to you.
11. As often as you can, remind yourself you have a goal today; an aim which
makes this day of special value to yourself and all your brothers. Do not let
your mind forget this goal for long, but tell yourself:
"All that I give is given to myself.
The Help I need to learn that this is true
Is with me now. And I will trust in Him."
Then spend the [W323] quiet moment, opening your mind to His correction and His
Love. And what you hear of Him you will believe, for what He gives will be
received by you.
W(258) Dec. 8, 1969
Lesson 127. "There is no love but God's."
1. Perhaps you think that different kinds of love are possible. Perhaps you
think there is a kind of love for this, a kind for that; a way of loving one,
another way of loving still another. Love is one. It has no separate parts and
no degrees; no kinds nor levels, no divergences and no distinctions. It is like
itself, unchanged throughout. It never alters with a person or a circumstance.
It is the heart of God and also of His Son.
2. Love's meaning is obscure to anyone who thinks that love can change. He
does not see that changing love must be impossible. And thus he thinks that he
can love at times and hate at other times. He also thinks that love can be
bestowed on one and yet remain itself although it is withheld from others. To
believe these things of love is not to understand it. If it could make such
distinctions it would have to judge between the righteous and the sinner, and
perceive the Son of God in separate parts.
3. Love cannot judge. As it is one itself, it looks on all as one. Its
meaning lies in oneness. And it must elude the mind that thinks of it as
partial or in part. There is no love but God's, and all of love is His. There
is no [W324] principle which rules where love is not. Love is a law without an
opposite. Its wholeness is the power holding everything as one, the link
between the Father and the Son which holds them both forever as the same.
4. No course whose purpose is to teach you what you really are could fail to
emphasize there is no difference in what you are and what love is. Love's
meaning is your own, and shared by God Himself. For what you are is what He is.
There is no love but His, and what He is is everything there is. There is no
limit placed upon Himself, and so are you unlimited as well.
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5. No laws the world obeys can help you grasp love's meaning. What the world
believes was made to hide love's meaning and to keep it dark and secret. There
is not one principle the world upholds but violates the truth of what love is,
and what you are as well. Seek not within the world to find your Self. Love is
not found in darkness and in death. Yet it is perfectly apparent to the eyes
that see and ears that hear its [W325] Voice.
6. Today we practice making free our [W326] minds of all the laws you think you
must obey; of all the limits under which you live, and all the changes which you
think are part of human destiny. Today we take the largest single step this
course requests in your advance toward its established goal. If you achieve the
faintest glimmering of what love means today, you have advanced in distance
without measure and in time beyond the count of years to your release.
7. Let us together, then, be glad to give some time to God today, and
understand there is no better use for time than this. For fifteen minutes twice
today escape from every law in which you now believe. Open your mind and rest.
The world which seems to hold you prisoner can be escaped by anyone who does not
hold it dear. Withdraw all value you have placed upon its meagre offerings and
senseless gifts, and let the Gift of God replace them all.
8. Call to your Father, certain that His Voice will answer. He Himself has
promised this. And He Himself will place a spark of truth within your mind
wherever you give up a false belief, a dark illusion of your own reality and
what love means. He will shine through your idle thoughts today, and help you
understand the truth of love. In loving gentleness He will abide with you, as
you allow His Voice to teach love's meaning to your clean and open mind. And He
will bless the lesson with His Love.
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9. Today the legion of the future years of waiting for salvation disappears
before the timelessness of what you learn. Let us give thanks today that we are
spared a future like the past. Today we leave the past behind us, never more to
be remembered. And we raise our eyes upon a different present, where a future
shines [W327] unlike the past in every attribute.
10. The world in infancy is newly born. And we will watch it grow in strength
and health [W328] to shed its blessing upon all who come to learn to cast aside
the world they thought was made in hate to be love's enemy. Now are they all
made free along with us. Now are they all our brothers in God's Love.
11. We will remember them throughout the day because we cannot leave a part of
us outside our love, if we would know our Self. At least three times an hour
think of one who makes the journey with you, and who came to learn what you must
learn. And as he comes to mind, give him this message from your Self:
"I bless you, brother, with the Love of God
Which I would share with you. For I would learn
The joyous lesson that there is no love
But God's and yours and mine and everyone's."
W(261) December 22, 1969
Lesson 128. "The world I see has nothing that I want."
1. The world you see has nothing that you need to offer you; nothing that you
can use in any way, nor anything at all that serves to give you joy. Believe
this thought, and you are saved from years of misery, from countless
disappointments, and from hopes that turn to bitter ashes of despair. No one
but must accept this thought as true, if he would leave this world behind and
soar beyond its petty scope and little ways.
2. Each thing you value here is but a chain that binds you to the world, and it
will serve no other end but this. For everything must serve the purpose you
have given it until you see a different purpose there. The only purpose worthy
of your mind this world contains is that you pass it by, without delaying to
perceive some hope where there is none. Be you deceived no more. The world you
see has nothing that you want.
3. Escape today the chains you place upon your mind when you perceive salvation
here. For what you value you make part of you, as you perceive yourself. All
things you seek to make your value greater in your sight limit you further, hide
your worth from you, and add another bar across the door that leads to true
awareness of your Self.
4. Let nothing which [W329] relates to body thoughts delay your progress to
salvation, nor permit temptation to believe the world has anything you want to
hold you back. Nothing is here to cherish. Nothing here is worth one instant
of delay and pain; one moment of uncertainty and doubt. The worthless offers
nothing. Certainty of worth cannot be found in worthlessness.
5. Today we practice letting go all thought of values we have given to the
world. We leave it free of purposes we gave its aspects and its phases and its
dreams. We hold it purposeless within our minds, and loosen it from all we wish
it were. Thus do we lift the chains which bar the door to freedom from
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the world, and go beyond all little values and diminished goals.
6. Peace and be still a little while, and see how far you rise above the world
when you release your mind from chains, and let it seek the level where it finds
itself at home. It will be grateful to be free a while. It knows where it
belongs. But free its wings, and it will fly in sureness and in joy to join its
holy purpose. Let it rest in its Creator, there to be restored to sanity, to
freedom and to love.
7. Give it ten minutes rest three times today. And when your eyes are opened
afterwards, you will not value anything you see as much as when you looked at it
before. Your whole perspective on the world will shift by just a little every
time you let your mind escape its chains. The world is not where it belongs.
And you belong where it would be, and where it goes to rest when you release it
from the world. Your Guide is sure. Open your mind to Him. Be still and rest.
8. Protect your mind throughout the day as well. And when you think you see
some value in an aspect or an image of the world, refuse to lay this chain upon
your mind, and tell yourself with quiet certainty:
"This will not tempt me to delay myself.
The world I see has nothing that I want."
W(263) Dec. 23, 1969
Lesson 129. "Beyond this world there is a world I want."
1. This is the thought which follows from the one we practiced yesterday. You
cannot stop with the idea the world is worthless, for unless you see that there
is something else to hope for you will only be depressed. Our emphasis is not
on giving up the world, but on exchanging it for what is far more satisfying,
filled with joy, and capable of offering you peace. Think you this world can
offer that to you?
2. It might be worth a little time to think once more about the value of this
world. Perhaps you will concede there is no loss in letting go all thought of
value here. The world you see is merciless indeed, unstable, cruel, unconcerned
with you, quick to avenge and pitiless with hate. It gives but to rescind, and
takes away all things that you have cherished for a while. No lasting love is
found, for none is here. This is the world of time, where all things end.
3. Is it a loss to find a world instead where losing is impossible? Where love
endures forever, hate cannot exist, and vengeance has no meaning? Is it loss to
find all things you really want and know they have no ending, and they will
remain exactly as you want them throughout time? Yet even they will be
exchanged at last for what we cannot speak of, for you go from there to where
words fail entirely, into a silence where the language is unspoken and yet
surely understood.
4. Communication, unambiguous and plain as day, remains unlimited for all
eternity. And God Himself speaks to His Son as His Son speaks to Him. Their
language has no words, for what they say cannot be symbolized. Their knowledge
is direct and wholly shared and wholly one.
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5. How far away from this are you who stay bound to this world. And yet how
near are you when you exchange it for the world you want. Now is the last step
certain; now you stand an instant's space away from timelessness. Here can you
but look forward, never back to see again the world you do not want. Here is
the world that comes to take its place as you unbind your mind from little
things the world sets forth to keep you prisoner there. Value them not, and
they will disappear. Esteem them, and they will seem real to you.
6. Such is the choice. What loss can be for you in choosing not to value
nothingness? This world holds nothing that you really want, but what you choose
instead you want indeed! Let it be given you today. It waits but for your
choosing it to take the place of all the things you seek but do not want.
7. Practice your willingness to make this change ten minutes in the morning and
at night, and once more in between. Begin with this:
"Beyond this world there is a world I want.
I choose to see that world instead of this,
For here is nothing that I really want."
Then close your eyes upon the world you see, and in the silent darkness watch
the lights that are not of this world light one by one until where one begins,
another ends, loses all meaning as they blend in one.
8. Today the lights of Heaven bend to you, to shine upon your eyelids as you
rest beyond the world of darkness. Here is light your eyes cannot behold. And
yet your mind can see it plainly, and can understand. A day of grace is given
you today, and we give thanks.
9. This day we realize that what you feared to lose was only loss.
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Now do we understand there is no loss. For we have seen its opposite at last,
and we are grateful that the choice is made. Remember your decision hourly, and
take a moment to confirm your choice by laying by whatever thoughts you have,
and dwelling briefly only upon this:
"The world I see has nothing that I want.
Beyond this world there is a world I want."
W(266) December 29, '69
Lesson 130. "It is impossible to see two worlds."
1. Perception is consistent. What you see reflects your thinking. And your
thinking but reflects your choice of what you want to see. Your values are
determiners of this, for what you value you must want to see, believing what you
see is really there. No one can see a world his mind has not accorded value.
And no one can fail to look upon what he believes he wants.
2. Yet who can really hate and love at once? Who can desire what he does not
want to have reality? And who can choose to see a world of which he is afraid?
Fear must make blind, for this its weapon is; that which you fear to see you
cannot see. Love and perception thus go hand in hand, but fear obscures in
darkness what is there.
3. What, then, can fear project upon the world? What can be seen in darkness
that is real? Truth is eclipsed by fear, and what remains is but imagined. Yet
what can be real in blind imaginings of panic born? What would you want that
this [W330] is shown to you? What would you wish to keep in such a dream?
4. Fear has made everything you think you see. All separation, all
distinctions, and the multitude of differences you believe make up the world.
They are not there. Love's enemy has made them up. Yet love can have no enemy,
and so they have no cause, no being and no consequence. They can be valued, but
remain unreal. They can be sought, but they can not be found. Today we will
not seek for them, nor waste this day in seeking not what can be found.
5. It is impossible to see two worlds which have no overlap of any kind. Seek
for the one; the other disappears. But one remains. They are the range of
choice beyond which your decision cannot go. The real and the unreal are all
there is to choose between, and nothing more than these.
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6. Today we will attempt no compromise where none is possible. The world you
see is proof you have already made a choice as all-embracing as its opposite.
What we would learn today is more than just the lesson that you cannot see two
worlds. It also teaches that the one you see is quite consistent from the point
of view from which you see it. It is all a piece because it stems from one
emotion, and reflects its source in everything you see.
7. Six times today, in thanks and gratitude, we gladly give five minutes to the
thought which ends all compromise and doubt, and go beyond it [W331] all as one.
We will not make a thousand meaningless distinctions, nor attempt to bring with
us a little part of unreality, as we devote our minds to finding only what is
real.
8. Begin your searching for the other world, by asking for a strength beyond
your own, and recognize what it is you seek. You do not want illusions. And
you come to these five minutes emptying your hands of all the petty treasures of
this world. You wait for God to help you, as you say:
"It is impossible to see two worlds.
Let me accept the strength God offers me
And see no value in this world, that I
May find my freedom and deliverance."
9. God will be there. For you have called upon the great unfailing Power Who
will take this giant step with you in gratitude. Nor will you fail to see His
thanks expressed in tangible perception and in truth. You will not doubt what
you will look upon. For though it is perception, it is not the kind of seeing
that your eyes alone have ever seen before. And you will know God's strength
upheld as you made this choice.
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10. Dismiss temptation easily today whenever it arises, merely by remembering
the limits on your choice. The unreal or the real, the false or true is what
you see, and only what you see. Perception is consistent with your choice, and
hell or Heaven comes to you as one.
11. Accept a little part of hell as real, and you have damned your eyes and
cursed your sight, and what you will behold is hell indeed. Yet the release of
Heaven still remains within your range of choice, to take the place of
everything that hell would show to you. All you need say to any part of hell,
whatever form it takes, is simply this:
"It is impossible to see two worlds.
I seek my freedom and deliverance,
And this is not a part of what I want."
W(269) January 19, 1970
Lesson 131. "No one can fail who asks to reach the truth."
1. Failure is all about you while you seek for goals which cannot be achieved.
You look for permanence in the impermanent; for love where there is none; for
safety in the midst of danger; immortality within the darkness of the dream of
death. Who could succeed where contradiction is the setting of his searching,
and the place to which he comes to find stability?
2. Goals which are meaningless are not attained. There is no way to reach
them, for the means by which you strive for them are meaningless as they are.
Who can use such senseless means and hope through them to gain in anything?
Where can they lead? And what could they achieve that offers any hope of being
real? Pursuit of the imagined leads to death because it is the search for
nothingness, and while you seek for life you ask for death. You look for safety
and security while in your heart you pray for danger and protection for the
little dream you made.
3. Yet searching is inevitable here. For this you came, and you will surely do
the thing you came for. But the world can not dictate the goal for which you
search unless you give it power to do so. Otherwise, you still are free to
choose a goal that lies beyond the world and every worldly thought, and one
which comes to you from an idea relinquished yet remembered, old yet new; an
echo of a heritage forgot, yet holding everything you really want.
4. Be glad that search you must. Be glad as well to learn you search for
Heaven, and must find the goal you really want. No one can fail to want this
goal, and reach it in the end. God's Son cannot seek vainly, though he try to
force delay, deceive himself, and think that it is hell he seeks. When he is
wrong he finds correction, when he wanders off he is led back to his appointed
task.
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5. No one remains in hell, for no one can abandon his Creator, nor affect His
perfect, timeless and unchanging Love. You will find Heaven. Everything you
seek but this will fall away, yet not because it has been taken from you. It
will go because you do not want it. You will reach the goal you really want as
certainly as God created you in sinlessness.
6. Why wait for Heaven? It is here today. Time is the great illusion it is
past or in the future. Yet this cannot be if it is where God wills His Son to
be. How could the Will of God be in the past or yet to happen? What He wills
is now, without a past and wholly futureless. It is as far removed from time as
is a tiny candle from a distant star, or what you chose from what you really
want.
7. Heaven remains your one alternative to this strange world you made and all
its ways; its shifting patterns and uncertain goals, its painful pleasures and
its tragic joys. God made no contradictions. What denies its own existence and
attacks itself is not of Him. He did not make two minds, with Heaven as the
glad effect of one, and earth the other's sorry outcome which is Heaven's
opposite in every way.
8. God does not suffer conflict. Nor is His creation split in two. How could
it be His Son could be in hell when God Himself established him in Heaven?
Could he lose what the Eternal Will has given him to be his home forever? Let
us not try longer to impose an alien will upon His [W332] single purpose. He is
here because He Wills to be, and what He wills is present now beyond the reach
of time.
9. Today we will not choose a paradox in place of truth. How could the Son of
God make time to take away the Will of God? He thus denies himself, and
contradicts what has no opposite. He thinks he made a hell opposing Heaven, and
believes that he abides in what does not exist, while Heaven is the place he
cannot find. Leave foolish thoughts like these behind today, and turn your mind
to true ideas instead.
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No one can fail who asks to reach the truth, and it is truth we ask to reach
today.
10. We will devote ten minutes to this goal three times today, and we will ask
to see the rising of the real world to replace the foolish images that we held
dear, with true ideas arising in the place of thoughts which have no meaning, no
effect, and neither source nor substance in the truth. This we acknowledge as
we start upon our practice periods. Begin with this:
"I ask to see a different world, and think
A different kind of thoughts from those I made.
The world I seek I did not make alone,
The thoughts I want to think are not my own."
11. For several minutes watch your mind and see, although your eyes are closed,
the senseless world you think is real. Review the thoughts as well which are
compatible with such a world, and which you think are true. Then let them go,
and sink below them to the holy place where they can enter not. There is a door
beneath them in your mind which you could not completely lock to hide what lies
beyond.
12. Seek for that door and find it. But before you try to open it, remind
yourself no one can fail who asks to reach the truth, and it is this request you
make today. Nothing but this has any meaning now; no other goal is valued now
nor sought; nothing before this door you really want, and only what lies past it
do you seek.
13. Put out your hand and see how easily the door swings open with your one
intent to go beyond it. Angels light the way, so that all darkness vanishes and
you are standing in a light so bright and clear that you can understand all
things you see. A tiny moment of surprise, perhaps, will make you pause before
you realize the world you see before you in the light reflects the truth you
knew, and did not quite forget in wandering away in dreams.
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14. You cannot fail today. There walks with you the Spirit Heaven sent you
that you might approach this door some day, and through His aid slip
effortlessly past it to the light. Today that day has come. Today God keeps
His ancient promise to His holy Son, as does His Son remember his to Him. This
is a day of gladness, for we come to the appointed time and place where you will
find the goal of all your searching here and all the seeking of the world, which
end together as you pass beyond the door.
15. Remember often that today should be a time of special gladness, and refrain
from dismal thoughts and meaningless laments. Salvation's time has come. Today
is set by Heaven Itself to be a time of grace for you and for the world. If you
forget this happy fact, remind yourself with this:
"Today I seek and find all that I want.
"My single purpose offers it to me.
No one can fail who asks to reach the truth."
W(273) January 20, 1970
Lesson 132. "I loose the world from all I thought it was."
1. What keeps the world in chains but your beliefs? And what can save the
world except your Self? Belief is powerful indeed. The thoughts you hold are
mighty, and illusions are as strong in their effects as is the truth. A madman
thinks the world he sees is real and does not doubt it. Nor can he be swayed by
questioning his thoughts' effects. It is but when their source is raised to
question that the hope of freedom comes to him at last.
2. Yet is salvation easily achieved, for anyone is free to change his mind, and
all his thoughts change with it. Now the source of thought has shifted, for to
change your mind means you have changed the source of all ideas you think or
ever thought or yet will think. You free the past from what you thought before.
You free the future from all ancient thoughts of seeking what you do not want to
find. The present now remains the only time.
3. Here in the present is the world set free. For as you let the past be
lifted and release the future from your ancient fears, you find escape and give
it to the world. You have enslaved the world with all your fears, with [W333]
doubts and miseries, your pain and tears, and all your sorrows press upon it,
and keep it a prisoner to your beliefs. Death strikes it everywhere because you
hold the bitter thought of death within your mind.
4. The world is nothing in itself. Your mind must give it meaning. And what
you behold upon it are your wishes, acted out so you can look on them and think
them real.
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Perhaps you think you did not make the world, but came unwillingly to what was
made already, hardly waiting for your thoughts to give it meaning. Yet in truth
you found exactly what you looked for when you came. There is no world apart
from what you wish, and herein lies your ultimate release. Change but your mind
on what you want to see, and all the world must change accordingly.
5. Ideas leave not their source. This central theme is often stated in the
text, and must be borne in mind if you would understand the lesson for today.
It is not pride that [W334] tells you that you made the world you see, and that it
changes as you change your mind. But it is pride that argues you have come into
a world quite separate from yourself, impervious to what you think, and quite
apart from what you chance to think it is.
6. There is no world! This is the central thought the course attempts to
teach. Not everyone is ready to accept it, and each one must go as far as he
can let himself be led along the road to truth. He will return and go still
farther, or perhaps step back a while and then return again. But healing is the
gift of those who are prepared to learn there is no world, and can accept the
lesson now. Their readiness will bring the lesson to them in some form which
they can understand and recognize.
7. Some see it suddenly on point of death, and rise to teach it. Others find
it in experience that is not of this world, which shows them that the world does
not exist because what they behold must be the truth, and yet it clearly
contradicts the world. And some will find it in this course, and in the
exercises that we do today.
8. Today's idea is true because the world does not exist. And if it is indeed
your own imagining, then you can loose it from all things you ever thought it
was by merely changing all the thoughts that gave it these appearances. The
sick are healed as you let go all thoughts of sickness, and the dead arise when
you let thoughts of life replace all thoughts you ever held of death.
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9. A lesson earlier repeated once must now be stressed again, for it contains
the firm foundation for today's idea. You are as God created you. There is no
place where you can suffer, and no time that can bring change to your eternal
state. How can a world of time and place exist if you remain as God created
you?
10. What is the lesson for today except another way of saying that to know your
Self is the salvation of the world? To free the world from every kind of pain
is but to change your mind about yourself. There is no world apart from your
ideas because ideas leave not their source, and you maintain the world within
your mind in thought.
11. Yet if you are as God created you, you cannot think apart from Him, nor
make what does not share His timelessness and love. Are these inherent in the
world you see? Does it create like Him? Unless it does, it is not real and
cannot be at all. If you are real the world you see is false, for God's
creation is unlike the world in every way. And as it was His Thought by
which [W335] you were created, so it is your thoughts which made it and must set
it free, that you may know the Thoughts you share with God.
12. Release the world! Your real creations wait for this release to give you
fatherhood, not of illusions, but as God in truth. God shares His Fatherhood
with you who are His Son, for He makes no distinctions in what is Himself and
what is still Himself. What He creates is not apart from Him, and nowhere does
the Father end, the Son begin as something separate from Him.
13. There is no world because it is a thought apart from God, and made to
separate the Father and the Son, and break away a part of God Himself and thus
destroy His wholeness. Can a world which comes from this idea be real? Can it
be anywhere? Deny illusions, but accept the truth. Deny you are a shadow
briefly laid upon a dying world. Release your mind, and you will look upon a
world released.
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14. Today our purpose is to free the world from all the idle thoughts we ever
held about it, and about all living things we see upon it. They can not be
there, no more then we. For we are in the home our Father set for us along with
them. And we who are as He created us would loose the world this day from every
one of our illusions, that we may be free.
15. Begin the fifteen minute periods in which we practice twice today with
this:
"I who remain as God created me
Would loose the world from all I thought it was.
For I am real because the world is not,
And I would know my own reality."
Then merely rest, alert but with no strain, and let your mind in quietness be
changed so that the world is freed along with you.
16. You need not realize that healing comes to many brothers far across the
world as well as to the ones you see near by, as you send out these thoughts to
bless the world. But you will sense your own release, although you may not
fully understand as yet that you could never be released alone.
17. Throughout the day, increase the freedom sent through your ideas to all the
world, and say whenever you are tempted to deny the power of your simple change
of mind:
"I loose the world from all I thought it was,
And choose my own reality instead."
W(277) January 22, 1970
Lesson 133. "I will not value what is valueless."
1. Sometimes in teaching there is benefit, particularly after you have gone
through what seems theoretical and quite remote [W336] from what the student has
already learned, to bring him back to practical concerns. This we will do
today. We will not speak of lofty, world-encompassing ideas, but dwell instead
on benefits to you.
2. You do not ask too much of life, but far too little. When you let your mind
be drawn to bodily concerns, to things you buy, to eminence as valued by the
world, you ask for sorrow, not for happiness. This course does not attempt to
take from you the little that you have. It does not try to substitute utopian
ideas for satisfactions which the world contains. There are no satisfactions in
the world.
3. Today we list the real criteria by which to test all things you think you
want. Unless they meet these sound requirements, they are not worth desiring at
all, for they can but replace what offers more. The laws which govern choice
you cannot make, no more than you can make alternatives from which to choose.
The choosing you can do; indeed you must. But it is wise to learn the laws you
set in motion when you choose, and what alternatives you choose between.
4. We have already stressed there are but two, however many there appear to be.
The range is set, and this we cannot change. It would be most ungenerous to
you to let alternatives be limitless, and thus delay your final choice until you
had considered all of them in time, and not been brought so clearly to the place
where there is but one choice which must be made.
W(278)
5. Another kindly and related law is that there is no compromise in what your
choice must bring. It cannot give you just a little, for there is no in
between. Each choice you make brings everything to you or nothing. Therefore,
if you learn the tests by which you can distinguish everything from nothing, you
will make the better choice.
6. First, if you choose a thing that will not last forever, what you chose is
valueless. A temporary value is without all value. Time can never take away a
value that is real. What fades and dies was never there, and makes no offering
to him who chooses it. He is deceived by nothing in a form he thinks he likes.
7. Next, if you choose to take a thing away from someone else, you will have
nothing left. This is because when you deny his right to everything, you have
denied your own. You therefore will not recognize the things you really have,
denying they are there. Who seeks to take away has been deceived by the
belief [W337] that loss can offer gain. Yet loss must offer loss and nothing
more.
8. Your next consideration is the one on which the others rest. Why is the
choice you make of value to you? What attracts your mind to it? What purpose
does it serve? Here it is easiest of all to be deceived, for what the ego wants
it fails to recognize. It does not even tell the truth as it perceives it, for
it needs to keep the halo which it uses to protect its goals from tarnish and
from rust, that you may see how "innocent" it is.
9. Yet is its camouflage a thin veneer which could deceive but those who are
content to be deceived. Its goals are obvious to anyone who cares to look for
them. Here is deception doubled, for the one who is deceived will not perceive
that he has merely failed to gain. He will believe that he has served the ego's
hidden goals.
10. And [W338] though he tries to keep its halo clear within his vision, yet must
he perceive its tarnished edges and its rusted core.
W(279)
His ineffectual mistakes appear as sins to him because he looks upon the tarnish
as his own, the rust a sign of deep unworthiness within himself. He who would
still preserve the ego's goals and serve them as his own makes no mistakes
according to the dictates of his guide. This guidance teaches it is error to
believe that sins are but mistakes, for who would suffer for his sins if this
were so?
11. And so we come to the criterion for choice which is the hardest to believe,
because its obviousness is overlaid with many levels of obscurity. If you feel
any guilt about your choice, you have allowed the ego's goals to come between
the real alternatives, and thus you do not realize there are but two. And the
alternative you think you chose seems fearful and too dangerous to be the
nothingness it actually is.
12. All things are valuable or valueless, worthy or not of being sought at all,
entirely desirable or not worth the slightest effort to obtain. Choosing is
easy just because of this. Complexity is nothing but a screen of smoke which
hides the very simple fact that no decision can be difficult. What is the gain
to you in learning this? It is far more than merely letting you make choices
easily and without pain.
13. Heaven Itself is reached by [W339] empty hands and open minds, which come
with nothing to find everything and claim it as their own. We will attempt to
reach this state today, with self-deception laid aside, and with an honest
willingness to value but the truly valuable and the real.
14. Our two extended practice periods of fifteen minutes will [W340] begin with
this:
"I will not value what is valueless,
And only what has value do I seek,
For only that do I desire to find."
And then receive what waits for everyone who reaches, unencumbered, to the gate
of Heaven, which swings open as he comes.
W(280)
Should you begin to let yourself collect some needless burdens, or believe you
see some difficult decisions facing you, be quick to answer with this simple
thought:
"I will not value what is valueless,
For what is valuable belongs to me."
W(281) January 30, 1970
Lesson 134. "Let me perceive forgiveness as it is."
1. Let us review the meaning of "forgive," for it is apt to be distorted and to
be perceived as something which entails an unfair sacrifice of righteous wrath,
a gift unjustified and undeserved, and a complete denial of the truth. In such
a view, forgiveness must be seen as mere eccentric folly, and this course
appears to rest salvation on a whim.
2. This twisted view of what forgiveness means is easily corrected when you can
accept the fact that pardon is not asked for what is true. It must be limited
to what is false. It is irrelevant to everything except illusions. Truth is
God's creation, and to pardon this [W341] is meaningless. All truth belongs to
Him, reflects His laws and radiates His Love. Does this need pardon? How can
you forgive the sinless and eternally benign?
3. The major difficulty that [W342] you find in genuine forgiveness on your part
is that you still believe you must forgive the truth and not illusions. You
conceive of pardon as a vain attempt to look past what is there; to overlook the
truth in an unfounded effort to deceive yourself by making an illusion true.
This twisted viewpoint but reflects the hold that the idea of sin retains as yet
upon your mind as [W343] you regard yourself.
4. Because you think your sins are real, you look on pardon as deception. For
it is impossible to think of sin as true and not believe forgiveness is a lie.
Thus is forgiveness really but a sin, like all the rest. It says the truth is
false, and smiles on the corrupt as if they were as blameless as the grass; as
white as snow. It is delusional in what it thinks it can accomplish. It would
see as right the plainly wrong; the loathsome as the good.
W(282)
5. Pardon is no escape in such a view. It merely is a further sign that sin is
unforgivable, at best to be concealed, denied, or called another name, for
pardon is a treachery to truth. Guilt can not be forgiven. If you sin, your
guilt is everlasting. Those who are forgiven from the view their sins are real
are pitifully mocked and twice condemned; first by themselves for what they
think they did, and once again by those who pardon them.
6. It is sin's unreality which makes forgiveness natural and wholly sane, a
deep relief to those who offer it; a quiet blessing where it is received. It
does not countenance illusions, but collects them lightly, with a little laugh,
and gently lays them at the feet of truth. And there they disappear entirely.
7. Forgiveness is the only thing that stands for truth in the illusions of the
world. It sees their nothingness, and looks right through the thousand forms in
which they may appear. It looks on lies but it is not deceived. It does not
heed the self-accusing shrieks of sinners mad with guilt. It looks on them with
quiet eyes, and merely says to them, "My brother, what you think is not the
truth."
8. The strength of pardon is its honesty, which is so uncorrupted that it sees
illusions as illusions, not as truth. It is because of this that it becomes the
undeceiver in the face of lies, the great restorer of the simple truth. By its
ability to overlook what is not there, it opens up the way to truth, which had
been blocked by dreams of guilt. Now are you free to follow in the way your
true forgiveness opens up to you. For if one brother has received this gift of
you, the door is open to yourself.
9. There is a very simple way to find the door to true forgiveness, and
perceive it open wide in welcome. When you feel that you are tempted to accuse
someone of sin in any form, do not allow your mind to dwell on what you think he
did, for this is self-deception. Ask instead, "Should I accuse myself of doing
this?"
W(283)
10. Thus will you see alternatives for choice in terms which render choosing
meaningful, and keep your mind as free of guilt and pain as God Himself intended
it to be, and as it is in truth. It is but lies which would condemn. In truth
is innocence the only thing there is. Forgiveness stands between illusions and
the truth, between the world you see and that which lies beyond, between the
hell of guilt and Heaven's gate.
11. Across this bridge, as powerful as Love Which laid Its blessing on it, are
all dreams of evil and of hatred and attack brought silently to truth. They are
not kept to swell and bluster and to terrify the foolish dreamer who believes in
them. He has been gently wakened from his dream by understanding what he
thought he saw was never there. And now he cannot feel that all escape has been
denied to him.
12. He does not have to fight to save himself. He does not have to kill the
dragons which he thought pursued him. Nor need he erect the heavy walls of
stone and iron doors he thought would make him safe. He can remove the
ponderous and useless armor made to chain his mind to fear and misery. His step
is light, and as he lifts his foot to stride ahead, a star is left behind to
point the way to those who follow him.
13. Forgiveness must be practiced for the world cannot perceive its meaning,
nor provide a guide to teach you its beneficence. There is no thought in all
the world which leads to any understanding of the laws it follows, nor the
Thought which it reflects. It is as alien to the world as is your own reality.
And yet it joins your mind with the reality in you.
14. Today we practice true forgiveness that the time of joining be no more
delayed. For we would meet with our Reality [W344] in freedom and in peace. Our
practicing becomes the footsteps lightening up the way for all our brothers, who
will follow us to the Reality [W345] we share with them.
W(284)
15. That this may be accomplished, let us give a quarter of an hour twice
today, and spend it with the Guide Who understands the meaning of forgiveness,
and was sent to us to teach it. Let us ask of Him:
"Let me perceive forgiveness as it is."
16. Then choose one brother as He will direct, and catalogue his "sins" as one
by one they cross your mind. Be certain not to dwell on any one of them, but
realize that you are using his "offenses" but to save the world from all ideas
of sin. Briefly consider all the evil things you thought of him, and each time
ask yourself "Would I condemn myself for doing this?"
17. Let him be freed from all the thoughts you had of sin in him. And now you
are prepared for freedom. If you have been practicing thus far in willingness
and honesty, you will begin to sense a lifting up, a lightening of weight across
your chest, a deep and certain feeling of relief. The time remaining should be
given to experiencing the escape from all the heavy chains you sought to lay
upon your brother, which were laid upon yourself.
18. Forgiveness should be practiced through the day, for there will [W346] be so
many times when you forget its meaning, and attack yourself. When this occurs,
allow your mind to see through this illusion as you tell yourself:
"Let me perceive forgiveness as it is.
Should I accuse myself of doing this?
I will not lay this chain upon myself."
In everything you do remember this:
No one is crucified alone, and yet,
No one can enter Heaven by himself.
W(285) February 2, 1970
Lesson 135. "If I defend myself I am attacked."
1. Who would defend himself unless he thought he was attacked, that the attack
is real, and that his own defense can save himself? And herein lies the folly
of defense; it gives illusions full reality, and then attempts to handle them as
real. It adds illusions to illusions, thus making correction doubly difficult.
And it is this you do when you attempt to plan the future, activate the past, or
organize the present as you wish.
2. You operate from the belief you must protect yourself from what is
happening, because it must contain what threatens you. A sense of threat is an
acknowledgment of an inherent weakness; a belief that there is danger which has
power to call on you to make appropriate defense.
3. The world is based on this insane belief. And all its structures, all its
thoughts and doubts, its penalties and heavy armaments, its legal definitions
and its codes, its ethics and its leaders and its gods, all serve but to
preserve its sense of threat. For no one walks the world in armature but must
have terror striking at his heart.
4. Defense is frightening. It stems from fear, increasing fear as each defense
is made. You think it offers safety. Yet it speaks of fear made real and
terror justified. Is it not strange you do not pause to ask, as you elaborate
your plans and make your armor thicker and your locks more tight, what you
defend, and how, and against what?
5. Let us consider first what you defend. It must be something that is very
weak and easily assaulted. It must be something made easy prey, unable to
protect itself, and needing your defense. What but the body has such frailty
that constant care and watchful, deep concern are needful to protect its little
life?
W(286)
What but the body falters and must fail to serve the Son of God as worthy host?
6. Yet it is not the body that can fear, nor be a thing to fear. It has no
needs but those which you assign to it. It needs no complicated structures of
defense, no health-inducing medicine, no care and no concern at all. Defend its
life, or give it gifts to make It beautiful or walls to make it safe, and you
but say your home is open to the thief of time, corruptible and crumbling, so
unsafe it must be guarded with your very life.
7. Is not this picture fearful? Can you be at peace with such a concept of
your home? Yet what endowed the body with the right to serve you thus except
your own belief? It is your mind which gave the body all the functions that you
see in it, and set its value far beyond a little pile of dust and water. Who
would make defense of something that he recognized as this?
8. The body is in need of no defense. This cannot be too often emphasized. It
will be strong and healthy if the mind does not abuse it by assigning it to
roles it cannot fill, to purposes beyond its scope, and to exalted aims which it
cannot accomplish. Such attempts, ridiculous yet deeply cherished, are the
sources for the many mad attacks you make upon it. For it seems to fail your
hopes, your needs, your values and your dreams.
9. The "self" that needs protection is not real. The body, valueless and
hardly worth the least defense, need merely be perceived as quite apart from
you, and it becomes a healthy, serviceable instrument through which the mind can
operate until its usefulness is over. Who would want to keep it when its
usefulness is done?
10. Defend the body and you have attacked your mind. For you have seen in it
the faults, the weaknesses, the limits and the lacks from which you think the
body must be saved. You will not see the mind as separate from bodily
conditions. And you will impose upon the body all the pain that comes from the
conception of the mind as limited and fragile, and apart from other minds
W(287)
and separate from its Source.
11. These are the thoughts in need of healing, and the body will respond with
health when they have been corrected and replaced with truth. This is the
body's only real defense. Yet is this where you look for its defense? You
offer it protection of a kind from which it gains no benefit at all, but merely
adds to your distress of mind. You do not heal, but merely take away the hope
of healing, for you fail to see where hope must lie if it be meaningful.
12. A healed mind does not plan. It carries out the plans which it receives
through listening to Wisdom that is not its own. It waits until it has been
taught what should be done, and then proceeds to do it. It does not depend upon
itself for anything except its adequacy to fulfill the plans assigned to it. It
is secure in certainty that obstacles can not impede its progress to
accomplishment of any goal which serves the greater plan established for the
good of everyone.
13. A healed mind is relieved from the belief that it must plan, although it
cannot know the outcome which is best, the means by which it is achieved, nor
how to recognize the problem that the plan is made to solve. It must misuse the
body in its plans until it recognizes this is so. But when it has accepted this
as true, then is it healed, and lets the body go.
14. Enslavement of the body to the plans the unhealed mind sets up to save
itself must make the body sick. It is not free to be a means of helping in a
plan which far exceeds its own protection and which needs its service for a
little while. In this capacity is health assured. For everything the mind
employs for this will function flawlessly, and with the strength that has been
given it and cannot fail.
W(288)
15. It is, perhaps, not easy to perceive that self-initiated plans are but
defenses, with the purpose all of them were made to realize. They are the means
by which a frightened mind would undertake its own protection at the cost of
truth. This is not difficult to realize in some forms which these
self-deceptions take, for [W347] the denial of reality is very obvious. Yet
planning is not often recognized as a defense.
16. The mind engaged in planning for itself is occupied in setting up control
of future happenings. It does not think that it will be provided for unless it
makes its own provisions. Time becomes a future emphasis, to be controlled by
learning and experience obtained from past events and previous beliefs. It [W348]
overlooks the present, for it rests on the idea the past has taught enough to
let the mind direct its future course.
17. The mind that plans is thus refusing to allow for change. What it has
learned before becomes the basis for its future goals. Its past experience
directs its choice of what will happen. And it does not see that here and now
is everything it needs to guarantee a future quite unlike the past, without a
continuity of any old ideas and sick beliefs. Anticipation plays no part at
all, for present confidence directs the way.
18. Defenses are the plans you undertake to make against the truth. Their aim
is to select what you approve, and disregard what you consider incompatible with
your beliefs of your reality. Yet what remains is meaningless indeed. For it
is your reality which is the "threat" that your defenses would attack, obscure,
and take apart and crucify.
W(289)
19. What could you not accept, if you but knew that everything which happens,
all events, past, present and to come, are gently planned by One Whose only
purpose is your good? Perhaps you have misunderstood His plan, for He would
never offer pain to you. But your defenses did not let you see His loving
blessing shine in every step you ever took. While you made plans for death, He
led you gently to Eternal Life.
20. Your present trust in Him is the defense which promises a future
undisturbed, without a trace of sorrow, and with joy which constantly increases
as this life becomes a holy instant, set in time, but heeding only immortality.
Let no defenses but your present trust direct the future, and this life becomes
a meaningful encounter with the truth that only your defenses would conceal.
21. Without defenses, you become a light which Heaven gratefully acknowledges
to be its own. And it will lead you on in ways appointed for your happiness
according to the ancient plan, begun when time was born. Your followers will
join their light with yours, and it will be increased until the world is lighted
up with joy. And gladly will our brothers lay aside their cumbersome defenses
which availed them nothing, and could only terrify.
22. We will anticipate that time today with present confidence, for this is
part of what was planned for us. We will be sure that everything we need is
given us for our accomplishment of this today. We make no plans for how it will
be done, but realize that our defenselessness is all that is required for the
truth to dawn upon our minds with certainty.
23. For fifteen minutes twice today we rest from senseless planning, and from
every thought which blocks the truth from entering our minds. Today we will
receive instead of plan, that we may give instead of organize. And we are given
truly, as we say:
"If I defend myself I am attacked.
But in defenselessness I will be strong,
And I will learn what my defenses hide."
W(290)
24. Nothing but that. If there are plans to make, you will be told of them.
They may not be the plans you thought were needed, nor indeed the answers to the
problems which you thought confronted you. But they are answers to another kind
of question, which remains unanswered, yet in need of answering until the Answer
comes to you at last.
25. All your defenses have been aimed at not receiving what you will receive
today. And in the light and joy of simple truth, you will but wonder why you
ever thought that you must be defended from release. Heaven asks nothing. It
is hell that makes extravagant demands for sacrifice. You give up nothing in
these times today when, undefended you present yourself to your Creator as you
really are.
26. He has remembered you. Today we will remember Him. For this is Easter
time in your salvation. And you rise again from what was seeming death and
hopelessness. Now is the light of hope reborn in you, for now you come without
defense to learn the part for you within the plan of God. What little plans or
magical beliefs can still have value, when you have received your function from
the Voice of God Himself?
27. Try not to shape this day as you believe would benefit you most. For you
can not conceive of all the happiness that comes to you without your planning.
Learn today. And all the world will take this giant stride, and celebrate your
Easter time with you. Throughout the day, as foolish little things appear to
raise defensiveness in you and tempt you to engage in weaving plans, remind
yourself this is a special day for learning, and acknowledge it with this:
"This is Easter time. And I would keep
It holy. I will not defend myself,
Because the Son of God needs no defense
Against the truth of his Reality."
W(291) February 9, 1970
Lesson 136. "Sickness is a defense against the truth."
1. No one can heal unless he understands what purpose sickness seems to serve.
For then he understands as well its purpose has no meaning. Being causeless and
without a meaningful intent of any kind, it cannot be at all. When this is
seen, healing is automatic. It dispels this meaningless illusion by the same
approach which carries all of them to truth, and merely leaves them there to
disappear.
2. Sickness is not an accident. Like all defenses, it is an insane device for
self deception. And like all the rest its purpose is to hide reality, attack
it, change it, render it inept, distort it, twist it, or reduce it to a little
pile of unassembled parts. The aim of all defenses is to keep the truth from
being whole. The parts are seen as if each one were whole within itself.
3. Defenses are not unintentional, nor are they made without awareness. They
are secret magic wands you wave when truth appears to threaten what you would
believe. They seem to be unconscious but because of the rapidity with which you
choose to use them. In that second, even less, in which the choice is made, you
recognize exactly what you would attempt to do, and then proceed to think that
it is done.
4. Who but yourself evaluates a threat, decides escape is necessary, and sets
up a series of defenses to reduce the threat that has been judged as real? All
this cannot be done unconsciously. But afterwards your plan requires that you
must forget you made it, so it seems to be external to your own intent; a
happening beyond your state of mind, an outcome with a real effect on you,
instead of one effected by your self.
W(292)
5. It is this quick forgetting of the part you play in making your "reality"
which makes defenses seem to be beyond your own control. But what you have
forgot can be remembered, given willingness to reconsider the decision which is
doubly shielded by oblivion. Your not remembering is but the sign that this
decision still remains in force, as far as your desires are concerned. Mistake
this not for fact. Defenses must make facts unrecognizable. They aim at doing
this, and this they seem to do.
6. Every defense takes fragments of the whole, assembles them without regard to
all their true relationships, and thus constructs illusions of a whole
which [W349] is not there. It is this process which imposes threat, and not
whatever outcome may result. When parts are wrested from the whole and seen as
separate and as wholes within themselves, they become symbols standing for
attack upon the whole, successful in effect, and never to be seen as whole
again. And yet you have forgotten that they stand but for your own decision of
what should be real, to take the place of what is real.
7. Sickness is a decision. It is not a thing that happens to you quite
unsought, which makes you weak and brings you suffering. It is a choice you
make, a plan you lay when, for an instant, truth arises in your own deluded
mind, and all your world appears to totter and prepare to fall. Now are you
sick, that truth may go away, and threaten your establishments no more. How do
you think that sickness can succeed in shielding you from truth? Because it
proves the body is not separate from you, and so you must be separate from the
truth.
8. You suffer pain because the body does, and in this pain are you made one
with it. Thus is your "true" identity preserved, and the strange, haunting
thought that you might be something beyond this little pile of dust silenced and
stilled. For see, this dust can make you suffer, twist your limbs and stop your
heart, commanding you to die and cease to be.
W(293)
9. Thus is the body stronger than the truth, which asks you live but cannot
overcome your choice to die. And so the body is more powerful than Everlasting
Life, Heaven more frail than hell, and God's design for the salvation of His Son
opposed by a decision stronger than His Will. His Son is dust, the Father
incomplete, and chaos sits in triumph on His throne.
10. Such is your planning for your own defense. And you believe that Heaven
quails before such mad attacks as these, with God made blind by your illusions,
truth turned into lies, and all the universe made slaves to laws which your
defenses would impose on it. Yet who believes illusions but the one who made
them up? Who else can see them and react to them as if they were the truth?
11. God knows not of your plans to change His Will. The universe remains
unheeding of the laws by which you thought to govern it. And Heaven has not
bowed to hell, nor life to death. You can but choose to think you die, or
suffer sickness or distort the truth in any way. What is created is apart from
all of this. Defenses are plans to defeat what cannot be attacked. What is
unalterable cannot change. And what is wholly sinless cannot sin.
12. Such is the simple truth. It does not make appeal to might nor triumph.
It does not command obedience, nor seek to prove how pitiful and futile your
attempts to plan defenses which would alter it. It [W350] merely wants to give
you happiness, for such its purpose is. Perhaps it sighs a little when you
throw away its gifts, and yet it knows with perfect certainty that what God
wills for you must be received.
13. It is this fact which demonstrates that time is an illusion. For it [W351]
lets you think what God has given you is not the truth right now, as it must be.
The Thoughts of God are quite apart from time. For time is but another
meaningless defense you made against the truth. Yet what God wills is here, and
you remain as He created you.
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14. Truth has a power far beyond defense, for no illusions can remain where it
has been allowed to enter. And it comes to any mind that would lay down its
arms and cease to play with folly. It is found at any time; today, if you will
choose to practice giving welcome to the truth.
15. This is our aim today. And we will give a quarter of an hour twice to ask
the truth to come to us and set us free. And truth will come, for it has never
been apart from us. It merely waits for just this invitation which we give
today. We introduce it with a healing prayer to help us rise above
defensiveness, and let the truth be as it has always been:
"Sickness is a defense against the truth.
I will accept the truth of what I am,
And let my mind be wholly healed today."
16. Healing will flash across your open mind as peace and truth arise to take
the place of war and vain imaginings. There will be no dark corners sickness
can conceal and keep defended from the light of truth. There will be no dim
figures from your dreams, nor their obscure and meaningless pursuits with double
purposes insanely sought, remaining in your mind. It will be healed of all the
sickly wishes that it tried to authorize the body to obey.
17. Now is the body healed because the source of sickness has been opened to
relief. And you will recognize you practiced well by this; the body should not
feel at all. If you have been successful, there will be no sense of feeling ill
or feeling well, of pain or pleasure. No response at all is in the mind to what
the body does. Its usefulness remains, and nothing more.
18. Perhaps you do not realize that this removes the limits you had placed upon
the body by the purposes you gave to it. As these are laid aside, the strength
the body has will always be enough to serve all truly useful purposes. The
body's health is fully guaranteed because it is not limited by time, by weather
or fatigue, by food and drink, or any laws you made it serve before. You need
do nothing now to make it well, for sickness has become impossible.
W(295)
19. Yet this protection needs to be preserved by careful watching. If you let
your mind harbor attack thoughts, yield to judgment or make plans against
uncertainties to come, you have again misplaced yourself, and made a bodily
identity which will attack the body, for the mind is sick. Give instant remedy,
should this occur, by not allowing your defensiveness to hurt you longer. Do
not be confused about what must be healed, but tell yourself:
"I have forgotten what I really am,
For I mistook my body for myself.
Sickness is a defense against the truth,
But I am not a body. And my mind
Cannot attack. So I can not be sick."
W(296) Feb. 17, 1970
Lesson 137. "When I am healed, I am not healed alone."
1. Today's idea remains the central thought on which salvation rests. For
healing is the opposite of all [W352] the world's ideas which dwell on sickness
and on separate states. Sickness is a retreat from others, and a shutting off
of joining. It becomes a door that closes on a separate self, and keeps it
isolated and alone.
2. Sickness is isolation. For it seems to keep one self apart from all the
rest, to suffer what the others do not feel. It gives the body final power to
make separation real and keep the mind in solitary prison, split apart and held
in pieces by a solid wall of sickened flesh which it can not surmount. The
world obeys the laws that sickness serves, but healing operates apart from them.
3. It is impossible that anyone be healed alone. In sickness must he be apart
and separate. But healing is his own decision to be one again, and to accept
his Self with all its parts intact and unassailed. In sickness does his Self
appear to be dismembered and without the unity which gives It life. But healing
is accomplished as he sees the body has no power to attack the universal Oneness
of God's Son. Sickness would prove that lies must be the truth. But healing
demonstrates that truth is true.
4. The separation sickness would impose has never really happened. To be
healed is merely to accept what always was the simple truth, and always will
remain exactly as it has forever been. Yet eyes accustomed to illusions must be
shown that what they look upon is false. So healing, never needed by the truth,
must demonstrate that sickness is not real.
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5. Healing might thus be called a counter-dream which cancels out the dream of
sickness in the name of truth, but not in truth itself. Just as forgiveness
overlooks all sins that never were accomplished, healing but removes illusions
that have not occurred. Just as the real world will arise to take the place of
what has never been at all, healing [W353] offers restitution for imagined states
and false ideas which dreams embroider into pictures of the truth.
6. Yet think not healing is unworthy of your function here. For anti-Christ
becomes more powerful than Christ to those who dream the world is real. The
body seems to be more solid and more stable than the mind. And love becomes a
dream, while fear remains the one reality which can be seen and justified and
fully understood.
7. Just as forgiveness shines away all sin, and the real world will occupy the
place of what you made, so healing must replace the fantasies of sickness which
you hold before the simple truth. When sickness has been seen to disappear in
spite of all the laws which hold it cannot but be real, then questions have been
answered. And the laws can be no longer cherished nor obeyed.
8. Healing is freedom, for it demonstrates that dreams will not prevail against
the truth. Healing is shared. And by this attribute it proves that laws unlike
the ones which hold that sickness is inevitable are more potent than their
sickly opposites. Healing is strength. For by its gentle hand is weakness
overcome. And minds which were walled off within a body free to join with other
minds, to be forever strong.
W(298)
9. Healing, forgiveness, and the glad exchange of all the world of sorrow for a
world where sadness cannot enter, are the means by which the Holy Spirit urges
you to follow Him. His gentle lessons teach how easily salvation can be yours;
how little practice you need undertake to let His laws replace the ones you
made, to hold yourself a prisoner to death. His life becomes your own as you
extend the little help He asks in freeing you from everything that ever caused
you pain.
10. And as you let yourself be healed, you see all those around you, or who
cross your mind, or whom you touch, or those who seem to have no contact with
you, healed along with you. Perhaps you will not recognize them all, nor
realize how great your offering to all the world, when you let healing come to
you. But you are never healed alone. And legions upon legions will receive the
gift which you receive when you are healed.
11. Those who are healed become the instruments of healing. Nor does time
elapse between the instant they are healed and all the grace of healing it is
given them to give. What is opposed to God does not exist, and [W354] who accepts
it not within his mind becomes a haven where the weary can remain to rest. For
here is truth bestowed, and here are all illusions brought to truth.
12. Would you not offer shelter to God's will? You but invite your Self to be
at home, and can this invitation be refused? Ask the inevitable to occur and
you will never fail. The other choice is but to ask what cannot be to be, and
this cannot succeed. Today we ask that only truth will occupy our minds; that
thoughts of healing will this day go forth from what is healed to what must yet
be healed, aware that they will both occur as one.
W(299)
13. We will remember, as the hour strikes, our function is to let our minds be
healed that we may carry healing to the world, exchanging curse for blessing,
pain for joy, and separation for the peace of God. Is not a minute of the hour
worth the giving to receive a gift like this? Is not a little time a small
expense to offer for the gift of everything?
14. Yet must we be prepared for such a gift. And so we will begin the day with
this, and give ten minutes to these thoughts with which we will conclude today
at night as well:
"When I am healed I am not healed alone.
And I would share my healing with the world,
That sickness may be banished from the mind
Of God's One Son, Who is my only Self."
15. Let healing be through you this very day. And as you rest in quiet be
prepared to give as you receive, to hold but what you give, and to receive the
Word of God to take the place of all the foolish thoughts that ever were
imagined. Now we come together to make well all that was sick, and offer
blessing where there was attack. Nor will we let this function be forgot as
every hour of the day slips by, remembering our function [W355] with this thought:
"When I am healed I am not healed alone.
And I would bless my brothers, for I would
Be healed with them as they are healed with me."
W(300) Feb. 27, 1970
Lesson 138. "Heaven is the decision I must make."
1. In this world Heaven is a choice, because here we believe there are
alternatives to choose between [W356]. We think that all things have an opposite,
and what we want we choose. If Heaven exists there must be hell as well, for
contradiction is the way we make what we perceive and what we think is real.
2. Creation knows no opposite. But here is opposition part of being "real."
It is this strange perception of the truth which [W357] makes the choice of Heaven
seen to be the same as the relinquishment of hell. It is not really thus. Yet
what is true in God's creation cannot enter here, until it is reflected in some
form the world can understand. Truth cannot come where it could only be
perceived with fear, for this would be the error truth can be brought to
illusions. Opposition makes the truth unwelcome, and it cannot come.
3. Choice is the obvious escape from what appears as opposites. Decision lets
one of conflicting goals become the aim of effort and expenditure of time.
Without decision time is but a waste and effort dissipated. It is spent for
nothing in return. And time goes by without results. There is no sense of
gain, for nothing is accomplished; nothing learned.
4. You need to be reminded that you think a thousand choices are confronting
you when there is really only one to make. And even this but seems to be a
choice. Do not confuse yourself with all the doubts that myriad decisions would
induce. You make but one. And when that one is made, you will perceive it was
no choice at all, for truth is true and nothing else is real. There is no
opposite to choose instead. There is no contradiction to the truth.
W(301)
5. Choosing depends on learning. But [W358] the truth cannot be learned but only
recognized. In recognition its acceptance lies, and as it is accepted it is
known. But knowledge is beyond the goals we seek to teach within the framework
of this course. Ours are teaching goals to be attained through learning how to
reach them, what they are, and what they offer you. Decisions are the outcome
of your learning, for they rest on what you have accepted as the truth of what
you are and what your needs must be.
6. In this insanely complicated world Heaven appears to take the form of
choice, rather than merely being what it is. Of all the choices you have tried
to make this is the simplest, most definitive, the prototype of all the rest,
the one which settles all decisions. If you could decide the rest, this one
remains unsolved. But when you solve this one the others are resolved with it,
for all decisions but conceal this one by taking different forms. Here is the
final and the only choice in which is truth accepted or denied.
7. So we begin today considering the choice that time was made to help us make.
Such is its holy purpose, now transformed from the intent you gave it; that it
be a means for demonstrating hell is real, hope changes to despair, and life
itself must in the and be overcome by death. In death alone are opposites
resolved, for ending opposition is to die. And thus salvation must be seen as
death, for life is seen as conflict. To resolve the conflict is to end your
life as well.
8. These mad beliefs can gain unconscious hold of great intensity, and grip the
mind with terror and anxiety so strong that it will not relinquish its ideas
about its own protection. It must be saved from salvation, threatened to be
safe, and magically armored against truth. And these decisions are made unaware
to keep them safely undisturbed, apart from question and from reason and from
doubt.
W(302)
9. Heaven is chosen consciously. The choice cannot be made until alternatives
are accurately seen and understood. All that is veiled in shadows must be
raised to understanding to be judged again, this time with Heaven's help, and
all mistakes in judgment which the mind had made before are open to correction
as the truth dismisses them as causeless. Now are they without effects. They
cannot be concealed because their nothingness is recognized.
10. The conscious choice of Heaven is as sure as is the ending of the fear of
hell, when it is raised from its protective shield of unawareness, and is
brought to light. Who can decide between the clearly seen and the unrecognized?
Yet who can fail to make a choice between alternatives when only one is seen as
valuable; the other as a wholly worthless thing, a but imagined source of guilt
and pain?
11. Who hesitates to make a choice like this? And shall we hesitate to choose
today? We make the choice for Heaven as we wake, and spend five minutes making
sure that we have made the one decision that is sane. We recognize we make a
conscious choice between what has existence and what has nothing but an
appearance of the truth. Its pseudo-being brought to what is real, is flimsy
and transparent in the light. It holds no terror now, for what was made
enormous, vengeful, pitiless with hate, demands obscurity for fear to be
invested there. Now it is recognized as but a foolish, trivial mistake.
W(303)
12. Before we close our eyes in sleep tonight we reaffirm the choice that we
have made each hour in between. And now we give the last five minutes of our
waking day to the decision with which we awoke. As every hour passed, we have
declared our choice again in a brief quiet time devoted to maintaining sanity.
And finally we close the day with this, acknowledging we chose but what we want:
"Heaven is the decision I must make.
I make it now and will not change my mind,
Because it is the only thing I want."
W(304) March 2, 1970
Lesson 139. "I will accept Atonement for myself."
1. Here is the end of choice. For here we come to a decision to accept
ourselves as God created us. And what is choice except uncertainty of what we
are? There is no doubt that is not rooted here. There is no question but
reflects this one. There is no conflict that does not entail the single simple
question, "What am I?"
2. Yet who could ask this question except one who has refused to recognize
himself? Only refusal to accept yourself could make the question seem to be
sincere. The only thing that can be surely known by any living thing is what it
is. From this one point of certainty it looks on other things as certain as
itself.
3. Uncertainty about what you must be is self-deception on a scale so vast its
magnitude can hardly be conceived. To be alive and not to know yourself is to
believe that you are really dead. For what is life except to be yourself, and
what but you can be alive instead? Who is the doubter? What is it he doubts?
Whom does he question? Who can answer him?
4. He merely states that he is not himself and therefore, being something else,
becomes a questioner of what that something is. Yet he could never be alive at
all unless he knew the answer. If he asks as if he did not know, it merely
shows he does not want to be the thing he is. He has accepted it because he
lives; has judged against it and denied its worth; and has decided that he does
not know the only certainty by which he lives.
5. Thus he becomes uncertain of his life, for what it is has been denied by
him.
W(305)
It is for this denial that you need Atonement. Your denial made no change in
what you are. But you have split your mind into what knows and does not know
the truth. You are yourself. There is no doubt of this, and yet you doubt it.
But you do not ask what part of you can really doubt yourself. It cannot really
be a part of you that asks this question, for it asks of one who knows the
answer. Were it part of you, uncertainty would be impossible.
6. Atonement remedies the strange idea that it is possible to doubt yourself
and be unsure of what you really are. This is the depth of madness. Yet it is
the universal question of the world. What does this prove except the world is
mad? Why share its madness in the sad belief that what is universal here is
true? Nothing the world believes is true. It is a place whose purpose is to be
a home where those who claim they do not know themselves can come to question
what it is they are.
7. And they will come again until the time Atonement is accepted, and they
learn it is impossible to doubt yourself and not to be aware of what you are.
Only acceptance can be asked of you, for what you are is certain. It is set
forever in the holy Mind of God and in your own. It is so far beyond all doubt
and question that to ask what it must be is all the proof you need to show that
you believe the contradiction that you know not what you cannot fail to know.
8. Is this a question or a statement which denies itself in statement? Let us
not allow our holy minds to occupy themselves with senseless musings such as
this. We have a mission here. We did not come to reinforce the madness which
we once believed in. Let us not forget the goal that we accepted. It is more
than just our happiness alone we came to gain.
9. What we accept as what we are proclaims what everyone must be along with us.
W(306)
Fail not your brothers, or you fail yourself. Look lovingly on them that they
may know that they are part of you and you of them. This does Atonement teach,
and demonstrates the oneness of God's Son is unassailed by his belief he knows
not what he is.
10. Today accept Atonement, not to change reality, but merely to accept the
truth about yourself, and go your way rejoicing in the endless Love of God. It
is but this that we are asked to do. It is but this that we will do today.
Five minutes in the morning and at night we will devote to dedicate our minds to
our assignment for today. We start with this review of what our mission is:
"I will accept Atonement for myself,
For I remain as God created me."
11. We have not lost the knowledge that God gave to us when He created us like
Him. We can remember it for everyone, for in creation are all minds as one, and
in our memory is the recall how dear our brothers are to us in truth, how much a
part of us is every mind, how faithful they have really been to us, and how our
Father's Love contains us all.
12. In thanks for all creation, in the Name of its Creator and His Oneness with
all aspects of creation, we repeat our dedication to our cause today each hour,
as we lay aside all thoughts which would distract us from our holy aim. For
several minutes let your mind be cleared of all the foolish cobwebs which the
world would weave around the holy Son of God [W359] and learn the fragile nature
of the chains which seem to keep the knowledge of yourself apart from your
awareness, as you say:
"I will accept Atonement for myself,
For I remain as God created me."
W(307) March 9, 1970
Lesson 140. "Only salvation can be said to cure."
1. Cure is a word which cannot be applied to any remedy the world accepts as
beneficial. What the world perceives as therapeutic is but what will make the
body "better." When it tries to heal the mind, it sees no separation from the
body where it thinks the mind exists. Its forms of healing thus must substitute
illusion for illusion. One belief in sickness takes another form, and so the
patient now perceives himself as well.
2. He is not healed. He merely had a dream that he was sick, and in the dream
he found a magic formula to make him well. Yet he has not awakened from the
dream, and so his mind remains exactly as it was before. He has not seen the
light that would awaken him and end the dream. What difference does the content
of a dream make in reality? One either sleeps or wakens. There is nothing in
between.
3. The happy dreams the Holy Spirit brings are different from the dreams [W360]
of the world, where one can merely dream he is awake. The dreams forgiveness
lets the mind perceive do not induce another form of sleep, so that the dreamer
dreams another dream. His happy dreams are heralds of the dawn of truth upon
the mind. They lead from sleep to gentle waking, so that dreams are gone. And
thus they cure for all eternity.
4. Atonement heals with certainty, and cures all sickness. For the mind which
understands that sickness can be nothing but a dream is not deceived by forms
the dream may take. Sickness where guilt is absent cannot come, for it is but
another form of guilt. Atonement does not heal the sick, for that is not a
cure. It takes away the guilt that makes the sickness possible. And that is
cure indeed. For sickness now is gone, with nothing left to which it can
return.
W(308)
5. Peace be to you who have been cured in God, and not in idle dreams. For
cure must come from holiness, and holiness can not be found where sin is
cherished. God abides in holy temples. He is barred where sin has entered.
Yet there is no place where He is not. And therefore sin can have no home in
which to hide from His beneficence.
6. There is no place where holiness is not, and nowhere sin and sickness can
abide. This is the thought that cures. It does not make distinctions among
unrealities. Nor does it seek to heal what is not sick, unmindful where the
need of for healing is. This is no magic. It is merely an appeal to truth,
which cannot fail to heal and heal forever. It is not a thought which judges an
illusion by its size, its seeming gravity, or anything that is related to the
form it takes. It merely focuses on what it is, and knows that no illusion can
be real.
7. Let us not try today to seek to cure what cannot suffer sickness. Healing
must be sought but where it is, and then applied to what is sick so that it can
be cured. There is no remedy the world provides that can effect a change in
anything. The mind that brings illusions to the truth is really changed. There
is no change but this. For how can one illusion differ from another but in
attributes which have no substance, no reality, no core, and nothing that is
truly different?
8. Today we seek to change our minds about the source of sickness, for we seek
a cure for all illusions, not another shift among them. We will try today to
find the source of healing, which is in our minds because our Father placed it
there for us. It is not further from us than ourselves. It is as near to us as
our own thoughts, so close it is impossible to lose. We need but seek it and it
must be found.
W(309)
9. We will not be misled today by what appears to us as sick. We go beyond
appearances today, and reach the source of healing from which nothing is exempt.
We will succeed to the extent to which we realize that there can never be a
meaningful distinction made between what is untrue and equally untrue. Here
there are no degrees, and no beliefs that what does not exist is truer in some
forms than others. All of them are false, and can be cured because they are not
true.
10. So do we lay aside our amulets, our charms and medicines, our chants and
bits of magic in whatever form they took [W361]. We will be still and listen for
the Voice of healing which will cure all ills as one, restoring saneness to the
Son of God. No voice but This can cure. Today we hear a single Voice Which
speaks to us of truth where all illusions end, and peace returns to the eternal
quiet home of God.
11. We waken hearing Him, and let Him speak to us five minutes as the day
begins, and end the day by listening again five minutes more before we go to
sleep. Our only preparation is to let our interfering thoughts be laid aside,
not separately, but all of them as one. They are the same. We have no need to
make them different, and thus delay the time when we can hear our Father speak
to us. We hear Him now. We come to Him today.
12. With nothing in our hands to which we cling, with lifted hearts and
listening minds we pray:
"Only salvation can be said to cure.
Speak to us, Father, that we may be healed."
And we will feel salvation cover us with soft protection, and with peace so deep
that no illusion can disturb our minds, nor offer proof to us that it is real.
This will we learn today. And we will say our prayer for healing hourly, and
take a minute as the hour strikes to hear the answer to our prayer be given us
as we attend in silence and in joy.
W(310)
This is the day when healing comes to us. This is the day when separation ends,
and we remember Who we really are.
W(311) March 20, 1970
REVIEW IV
1. Now a [W362] review again, this time aware we are preparing for the second
part of learning how the truth can be applied. Today we will begin to
concentrate on readiness for what will follow next. Such is our aim for this
review and for the lessons following. Thus we review the recent lessons and
their central thoughts in such a way as will facilitate the readiness which we
would now achieve.
2. There is a central theme that unifies each step in the review we undertake,
which can be simply stated in these words:
"My mind holds only what I think with God."
This is a fact [W363] and represents the truth of What you are and What your
Father is. It is this Thought by Which the Father gave creation to the Son,
establishing the Son as co-creator with Himself. It is this Thought Which fully
guarantees salvation to the Son, for in his mind no thoughts can dwell but those
his Father shares. Lack of forgiveness blocks this Thought from his awareness.
Yet It is forever true.
3. Let us begin our preparation with some understanding of the many forms in
which the lack of true forgiveness may be carefully concealed. Because they are
illusions, they are not perceived to be but what they are; defenses which
protect your unforgiving thoughts from being seen and recognized. Their purpose
is to show you something else, and hold correction off through self-deceptions
made to take its place.
4. And yet your mind holds only what you think with God. Your self-deceptions
cannot take the place of truth. No more than can a child who throws a stick
into the ocean change the coming and the going of the tides, the warming of the
water by the sun, the silver of the moon on it at night. So do we start each
practice period in this review with readying our minds to understand the lessons
that we read, and see the meaning which they offer us.
W(312)
5. Begin each day with time devoted to the preparation of your mind to learn
what each idea you will review that day can offer you in freedom and in peace.
Open your mind and clear it of all thoughts that would deceive, and let this
Thought alone engage it fully and remove the rest:
"My mind holds only what I think [W364] with God."
Five minutes with this Thought will be enough to set the day along the lines
which God appointed, and to place His Mind in charge of all the thoughts you
will receive that day. They will not come from you alone, for they will all be
shared with Him. And so each one will bring the message of His Love to you,
returning messages of yours to Him. So will communion with the Lord of Hosts be
yours, as He Himself has willed it be. And as His Own completion joins with
Him, so will He join with you who are complete as you unite with Him and He with
you.
6. After your preparation, merely read each of the two ideas assigned to you to
be reviewed that day. Then close your eyes and say them slowly to yourself.
There is no hurry now, for you are using time for its intended purpose. Let
each word shine with the meaning God has given it as it was given to you through
His Voice. Let each idea that you review that day give you the gift which He
has laid in it for you to have of Him. And we will use no format for our
practicing but this:
7. Each hour of the day bring to your mind the Thought with which the day
began, and spend a quiet moment with It. Then repeat the two ideas you practice
for the day unhurriedly, with time enough to see the gifts which they contain
for you, and let them be received where they were meant to be.
8. We add no other thoughts, but let them be the messages they are. We need no
more than that [W365] to give us happiness and rest and endless quiet, perfect
certainty, and all our Father wills that we receive as the inheritance we have
of Him.
W(313)
9. Each day of practicing, as we review, we close as we began, repeating first
the Thought that made the day a special time of blessing and of happiness for
us; and through our faithfulness restored the world from darkness to the light,
from grief to joy, from pain to peace, from sin to holiness. God offers thanks
to you who practice thus the keeping of His Word. And as you give your mind to
the ideas for the day again before you sleep, His gratitude surrounds you in the
peace wherein He wills you be forever, and are learning now to claim again as
your inheritance.
W(314)
Lesson 141. "My mind holds only what I think with God." (121-122)
1. 121) "Forgiveness is the key to happiness."
2. 122) "Forgiveness offers everything I want."
Lesson 142. "My mind holds only what I think with God." (123-124)
1. 123) "I thank my Father for His gifts to me."
2. 124) "Let me remember I am one with God."
Lesson 143. "My mind holds only what I think with God." (125-126)
1. 125) "In quiet I receive God's Word today."
2. 126) "All that I give is given to myself."
Lesson 144. "My mind holds only what I think with God." (127-128)
1. 127) "There is no love but God's."
2. 128) "The world I see has [W366] nothing that I want."
Lesson 145. "My mind holds only what I think with God." (129-130)
1. 129) "Beyond this world there is a world I want."
2. 130) "It is impossible to see two worlds."
Lesson 146. "My mind holds only what I think with God." (131-132)
1. 131) "No one can fail who asks to reach the truth."
2. 132) "I loose the world from all I thought it was."
W(315)
Lesson 147. "My mind holds only what I think with God." (133-134)
1. 133) "I will not value what is valueless."
2. 134) "Let me perceive forgiveness as it is."
Lesson 148. "My mind holds only what I think with God." (135-136)
1. 135) "If I defend myself I am attacked."
2. 136) "Sickness is a defense against the truth."
>
Lesson 149. "My mind holds only what I think with God." (137-138)
1. 137) "When I am healed I am not healed alone."
2. 138) "Heaven is the decision I must make."
Lesson 150. "My mind holds only what I think with God." (139-140)
1. 139) "I will accept Atonement for myself."
2. 140) "Only salvation can be said to cure."
W(316) March 26, 1970
Lesson 151. "All things are echoes of the Voice of God."
1. No one can judge on partial evidence. That is not judgment. It is merely
an opinion based on ignorance and doubt. Its seeming certainty is but a cloak
for the uncertainty it would conceal. It needs irrational defense because it is
irrational. And its defense seems strong, convincing, and without a doubt,
because of all the doubting underneath.
2. You do not seem to doubt the world you see. You do not really question what
is shown you through the body's eyes. Nor do you ask why you believe it, even
though you learned a long while since your senses do deceive. That you believe
them to the last detail which they report is even stranger when you pause to
recollect how frequently they have been faulty witnesses indeed! Why would you
trust them so implicitly? Why but because of underlying doubt which you would
hide with show of certainty?
3. How can you judge? Your judgment rests upon the witness that your senses
offer you. Yet witness never falser was than this. But how else do you judge
the world you see? You place pathetic faith in what your eyes and ears report.
You think your fingers touch reality and close upon the truth. This is
awareness which you understand, and think more real than what is witnessed to by
the eternal Voice of God Himself.
4. Can this be judgment? You have often been urged to refrain from judging,
not because it is a right to be withheld from you. You cannot judge. You
merely can believe the ego's judgments, all of which are false. It guides your
senses carefully, to prove how weak you are; how helpless and afraid, how
apprehensive of just punishment how black with sin, how wretched in your guilt.
W(317)
5. This thing it speaks of and would yet defend it tells you is yourself. And
you believe that this is so with stubborn certainty. Yet underneath remains
the hidden doubt that what it shows you as reality with such conviction it does
not believe. It is itself alone that it condemns. It is within itself it sees
the guilt. It is its own despair it sees in you.
6. Hear not its voice. The witnesses it sends to prove to you its evil is your
own are false, and speak with certainty of what they do not know. Your faith in
them is blind because you would not share the doubts their lord can not
completely vanquish. You believe to doubt his vassals is to doubt yourself.
7. Yet you must learn to doubt their evidence will clear the way to recognize
yourself, and let the Voice for God alone be Judge of what is worthy of your own
belief. He will not tell you that your brother should be judged by what your
eyes behold in him, nor what his body's mouth says to your ears, nor what your
fingers' touch reports of him. He passes by such idle witnesses, which merely
bear false witness to God's Son.
8. He recognizes only what God loves, and in the holy light of what He sees do
all the ego's dreams of what you are vanish before the splendor He beholds. Let
Him be Judge of what you are, for He has certainty in which there is no doubt
because it rests on Certainty so great that doubt is meaningless before Its
Face. Christ cannot doubt Himself. The Voice of God can only honor Him,
rejoicing in His perfect, everlasting sinlessness.
9. Whom He has judged can only laugh at guilt, unwilling now to play with toys
of sin, unheeding of the body's witnesses before the rapture of His [W367] holy
Face.
W(318)
And thus He judges you. Accept His word of what you are, for He bears witness
to your beautiful creation and the Mind Whose Thought created your reality.
10. What can the body mean to Him Who knows the glory of the Father and the
Son? What whispers of the ego can He hear? What could convince Him that your
sins are real? Let Him be Judge as well of everything that seems to happen to
you in this world. His lessons will enable you to bridge the gap between
illusions and the truth.
11. He will remove all faith that you have placed in pain, disaster, suffering
and loss. He gives you vision which can look beyond these grim appearances, and
can behold the gentle Face of Christ in all of them. You will no longer doubt
that only good can come to you who are beloved of God, for He will judge all
happenings and teach the single lesson which they all contain.
12. He will select the elements in them that represent the truth, and disregard
those aspects which reflect but idle dreams. And He will reinterpret all you
see, and all occurrences, each circumstance, and every happening which seems to
touch on you in any way from His one frame of reference, wholly unified and
sure. And you will see the love beyond the hate, the constancy in change, the
pure in sin, and only Heaven's blessing on the world.
13. Such is your resurrection, for your life is not a part of anything you see.
It stands beyond the body and the world, past every witness for unholiness,
within the Holy, holy as Itself. In everyone and everything His Voice would
speak to you of nothing but your Self and your Creator, Who is One with Him. So
will you see the holy Face of Christ in everything, and hear in everything no
sound except the echo of God's Voice.
W(319)
14. We practice wordlessly today, except at the beginning of the time you [W368]
spend with God. We introduce these times with but a single, slow repeating of
the thought with which the day begins. And then we watch our thoughts,
appealing silently to Him Who sees the elements of truth in them. Let Him
evaluate each thought that comes to mind, remove the elements of dreams, and
give them back to you [W369] as clean ideas which do not contradict the Will of
God.
15. Give Him your thoughts, and He will give them back as miracles which
joyously proclaim the wholeness and the happiness God wills His Son as proof of
His eternal Love. And as each thought is thus transformed, it takes on healing
power from the Mind Which saw the truth in it, and failed to be deceived by what
was falsely added. All the threads of fantasy are gone, and what remains is
unified into a perfect Thought that offers Its perfection everywhere.
16. Spend fifteen minutes thus when you awake, and gladly give another fifteen
more before you go to sleep. Your ministry begins as all your thoughts are
purified. So are you taught to teach the Son of God the holy lesson of his
sanctity. No one can fail to listen when you hear the Voice of God give honor
to God's Son. And everyone will share the thoughts with you which He has
retranslated in your mind.
17. Such is your Eastertide. And so you lay the gift of snow-white lilies on
the world, replacing witnesses to sin and death. Through your transfiguration
is the world redeemed and joyfully released from guilt. Now do we lift our
resurrected minds in gladness and in gratitude to Him Who has restored our
sanity to us.
W(320)
18. And we will hourly remember Him Who is salvation and deliverance. As we
give thanks, the world unites with us, and happily accepts our holy thoughts,
which Heaven has corrected and made pure. Now has our ministry begun at last,
to carry ‘round the world the joyous news that truth has no illusions, and the
peace of God, through us, belongs to everyone.
W(321) April 1, 1970
Lesson 152. "The power of decision is my own."
1. No one can suffer loss unless it be his own decision. No one suffers pain
except his choice elects this state for him. No one can grieve nor fear nor
think him sick unless these are the outcomes that he wants, and no one dies
without his own consent. Nothing occurs but represents your wish, and nothing
is omitted that you choose. Here is your world, complete in all details. Here
is its whole reality for you. And it is only here salvation is.
2. You may believe that this position is extreme, and too inclusive to be true.
Yet can truth have exceptions? If you have the gift of everything can loss be
real? Can pain be part of peace, or grief of joy? Can fear and sickness enter
in a mind where love and perfect holiness abide?
3. Truth must be all-inclusive if it be the truth at all. Accept no opposite
and no exceptions, for to do so is to contradict the truth entirely. Salvation
is the recognition that the truth is true and nothing else is true. This you
have heard before, but may not yet accept both parts of it. Without the first
the second has no meaning, but without the second is the first no longer true.
Truth cannot have an opposite. This can not be too often said and thought
about. For if what is not true is true as well as what is true, then part of
truth is false, and truth has lost its meaning. Nothing but the truth is true,
and what is false is false.
4. This is the simplest of distinctions, yet the most obscure. But not because
it is a difficult distinction to perceive. It is concealed behind a vast array
of choices which do not appear to be entirely your own. And thus the truth
appears to have some aspects which belie consistency, but do not seem to be but
contradictions introduced by you.
W(322)
5. As God created you, you must remain unchangeable with transitory states by
definition false. And that includes all shifts in feeling, alterations in
conditions of the body and the mind, in all awareness and in all response. This
is the all-inclusiveness which sets the truth apart from falsehood, and the
false kept separate from the truth as what it is.
6. Is it not strange that you believe to think you made the world you see is
arrogance? God made it not. Of this you can be sure. What can He know of the
ephemeral, the sinful and the guilty, the afraid, the suffering and lonely, and
the mind which lives within a body that must die? You but accuse Him of
insanity to think He made a world where such things seem to have reality. He is
not mad. Yet only madness makes a world like this.
7. To think that God made chaos, contradicts His Will, invented opposites to
truth, and suffers death to triumph over life, all this is arrogance. Humility
would see at once these things are not of Him. And can you see what God
created not? To think you can is merely to believe you can perceive what God
willed not to be. And what could be more arrogant than this?
8. [W370] Let us today be truly humble, and accept what we have made as what it
is. The power of decision is our own. Decide but to accept your rightful place
as co-creator of the universe, and all you think you made will disappear. What
rises to awareness then will be all that there ever was, eternally as it is now.
And it will take the place of self deceptions made but to usurp the altar to
the Father and the Son.
9. Today we practice true humility, abandoning the false pretense by which the
ego seeks to prove it arrogant. Only the ego can be arrogant. But truth is
humble in acknowledging its mightiness, its changelessness and its eternal
wholeness, all-encompassing, God's perfect gift to His beloved Son.
W(323)
We lay aside the arrogance which says that we are sinners, guilty and afraid,
ashamed of what we are. And lift our hearts in true humility instead to Him Who
has created us immaculate, like to Himself in power and in love.
10. The power of decision is our own. And we accept of Him that which we are,
and humbly recognize the Son of God. To recognize God's Son implies as well
that all self-concepts have been laid aside and recognized as false. Their
arrogance has been perceived, And in humility the radiance of God's Son, his
gentleness, his perfect sinlessness, his Father's love, his right to Heaven and
release from hell, are joyously accepted as our own.
11. Now do we join in glad acknowledgment that lies are false and only truth is
true. We think of truth alone as we arise, and spend five minutes practicing
its ways, encouraging our frightened minds with this:
"The power of decision is my own.
This day I will accept myself as what
My Father's Will created me to be."
Then will we wait in silence, giving up all self-deceptions as we humbly ask our
Self that He reveal Himself to us. And He Who never left will come again to our
awareness, grateful to restore His home to God as it was meant to be.
12. In patience wait for Him throughout the day, and hourly invite Him with the
words with which the day began, concluding it with this same invitation to your
Self. God's Voice will answer, for He speaks for you and for your Father. He
will substitute the peace of God for all your frantic thoughts, the truth of God
for self-deceptions, and God's Son for your illusions of yourself.
W(324) April 7, 1970
Lesson 153. "In my defenselessness my safety lies."
1. You who feel threatened by this changing world, its twists of fortune and
its bitter jests, its brief relationships and all the "gifts" it merely lends to
take away again, attend this lesson well. The world provides no safety. It is
rooted in attack, and all its "gifts" of seeming safety are illusory deceptions.
It attacks and then attacks again. No peace of mind is possible where danger
threatens thus.
2. The world gives rise but to defensiveness. For threat brings anger, anger
makes attack seem reasonable, honestly provoked, and righteous in the name of
self-defense. Yet is defensiveness a double threat. For it attests to
weakness, and sets up a system of defense which cannot work. Now are the weak
still further undermined, for there is treachery without and still a greater
treachery within. The mind is now confused, and knows not where to turn to find
escape from its imaginings.
3. It is as if a circle held it fast, wherein another circle bound it, and
another in that one, until escape no longer can be hoped for nor obtained.
Attack, defense; defense, attack, become the circles of the hours and the days
which bind the mind in heavy bands of steel with iron overlaid, returning but to
start again. There seems to be no break nor ending in the ever-tightening grip
of imprisonment upon the mind.
4. Defenses are the costliest of all the prices which the ego would exact. In
them lies madness in a form so grim that hope of sanity seems but to be an idle
dream, beyond the possible. The sense of threat the world encourages is so much
deeper and so far beyond the frenzy and intensity of which you can conceive that
you have no idea of all the devastation it has wrought. You are it’s slave.
You know not what you do in fear of it. You do not understand how much you have
been made to sacrifice who feel its iron grip upon your heart.
W(325)
5. You do not realize what you have done to sabotage the holy peace of God by
your defensiveness. For you behold the Son of God as but a victim to attack by
fantasies, by dreams, and by illusions he has made; yet helpless in their
presence, needful only of defense by still more fantasies and dreams, by which
illusions of his safety comfort him.
6. Defenselessness is strength. It testifies to recognition of the Christ in
you. Perhaps you will recall the course maintains that choice is always made
between His [W371] strength and your own weakness seen apart from Him.
Defenselessness can never be attacked because it recognizes strength so great
attack is folly, or a silly game a tired child might play when he becomes too
sleepy to remember what he wants.
7. Defensiveness is weakness. It proclaims you have denied the Christ and come
to fear His Father's anger. What can save you now from your delusion of an
angry god whose fearful image you believe you see at work in all the evils of
the world? What but illusions could defend you now, when it is but illusions
which you fight?
8. We will not play such childish games today, [W372] for our true purpose is to
save the world, and we would not exchange for foolishness the endless joy our
function offers us. We would not let our happiness slip by because a senseless
fragment of a [W373] dream happened to cross our minds, and we mistook the figures
in it for the Son of God; its tiny instant for eternity.
9. We look past dreams today, and recognize that we need no defense because we
are created unassailable, without all thought or wish or dream in which attack
has any meaning. Now we cannot fear, for we have left all fearful thoughts
behind. And in defenselessness [W374] we stand secure, serenely certain of our
safety now, sure of salvation; sure we will fulfill our chosen purpose as our
ministry extends its holy blessing through the world.
W(326)
10. Be still a moment, and in silence think how holy is your purpose, how
secure you rest, untouchable within its light. God's ministers have chosen that
the truth be with them. Who is holier than they? Who could be surer that his
happiness is fully guaranteed? And who could be more mightily protected? What
defense could possibly be needed by the ones [W375] who are among the chosen ones
of God by His election and their own as well?
11. It is the function of God's ministers to help their brothers choose as they
have done. God has elected all, but few have come to realize His Will is but
their own. And while you fail to teach what you have learned salvation waits,
and darkness holds the world in grim imprisonment. Nor will you learn that
light has come to you, and your escape has been accomplished. For you will not
see the light until you offer it to all your brothers. As they take it from
your hands, so will you recognize it as your own.
12. Salvation can be thought of as a game that happy children play. It was
designed by One Who loves His children, and Who would replace their fearful toys
with joyous games, which teach them that the game of fear is gone. His game
instructs in happiness because there is no loser. Everyone who plays must win,
and in his winning is the gain to everyone ensured. The game of fear is gladly
laid aside when children come to see the benefits salvation brings.
13. You who have played that you are lost to hope, abandoned by your Father,
left alone in terror in a fearful world made mad by sin and guilt, be happy now.
That game is over. Now a quiet time has come in which we put away the toys of
guilt, and lock our quaint and childish thoughts of sin forever from the pure
and holy minds of Heaven's children and the Son of God.
14. We pause but for a moment more, to play our final happy game upon this
earth. And then we go to take our rightful place where truth abides and games
are meaningless.
W(327)
So is the story ended. Let this day bring the last chapter closer to the
world, that everyone may learn the tale [W376] he reads of terrifying destiny,
defeat of all his hopes, his pitiful defense against a vengeance he can not
escape, was [W377] but his own deluded fantasy [W378]. God's ministers have come to
waken him from the dark dreams this story has evoked in his confused, bewildered
memory of this distorted tale. God's Son can smile at last, on learning that it
is not true.
15. Today we practice in a form we will maintain for quite a while. We will
begin each day by giving our attention to the daily thought as long as possible.
Five minutes now becomes the least we give to preparation for a day in which
salvation is the only goal we have. Ten would be better; fifteen better still.
And as distraction ceases to arise to turn us from our purpose, we will find
that half an hour is too short a time to spend with God. Nor will we willingly
give less at night in gratitude and joy.
16. Each hour adds to our increasing peace, as we remember to be faithful to
the Will we share with God. At times, perhaps, a minute, even less, will be the
most that we can offer as the hour strikes. Sometimes we will forget. At
other times the business of the world will close on us, and we will be unable to
withdraw a little while and turn our thoughts to God.
17. Yet when we can, we will observe our trust as ministers of God in hourly
remembrance of our mission and His Love. And we will quietly sit by and wait on
Him and listen to His Voice, and learn what He would have us do the hour that is
yet to come; while thanking Him for the gifts He gave us in the one gone by.
W(328)
18. In time, with practice, you will never cease to think of Him, and hear His
loving Voice guiding your footsteps into quiet ways, where you will walk in true
defenselessness, for you will know that Heaven goes with you. Nor would you
keep your mind away from Him a moment, even though your time is spent in
offering salvation to the world. Think you He will not make this possible for
you who chose to carry out His plan for the salvation of the world and yours?
19. Today our theme is our defenselessness. We clothe ourselves in it as we
prepare to meet the day. We rise up strong in Christ, and let our weakness
disappear, as we remember that His strength abides in us. We will remind
ourselves that He remains beside us through the day, and never leaves our
weakness unsupported by His strength. We call upon His strength each time we
feel the threat of our defenses undermine our certainty of purpose. We will
pause a moment, as He tells us "I am here."
20. Our [W379] practicing will now begin to take the earnestness of love to help
you keep your mind from wandering from its intent. Be not afraid nor timid.
There can be no doubt that you will reach your final goal. The ministers of God
can never fail, because the love and strength and peace that shine from them to
all their brothers come from Him. These are His gifts to you. Defenselessness
is all you need to give Him in return. You lay aside but what was never real,
to look on Christ and see His sinlessness.
W(329) April 8, 1970
Lesson 154. "I am among the ministers of God."
1. Let us today be neither arrogant nor falsely humble. We have gone beyond
such foolishness. We cannot judge ourselves, nor need we do so. These are but
attempts to hold decision off, and to delay commitment to our function. It is
not our part to judge our worth, nor can we know what role is best for us; what
we can do within a larger plan we cannot see in its entirety. Our part is cast
in Heaven, not in hell. And what we think is weakness can be strength; what we
believe to be our strength is often arrogance.
2. Whatever your appointed role may be it was selected by the Voice for God,
Whose function is to speak for you as well. Seeing your strengths exactly as
they are, and equally aware of where they can be best applied, for what, to whom
and when, He chooses and accepts your part for you. He does not work without
your own consent, but He is not deceived in what you are, and listens only to
His Voice in you.
3. It is through His ability to hear One [W380] Voice which is His Own [W381] that
you become aware at last there is One [W382] Voice in you. And that One [W383]
Voice appoints your function, and relays it to you, giving you the strength to
understand it, do what it entails, and to succeed in everything you do that is
related to it. God has joined His Son in this, and thus His Son becomes His
messenger of unity with Him.
4. It is this joining, through the Voice of God, of Father and of Son, that
sets apart salvation from the world. It is this Voice which speaks of laws the
world does not obey; Which promises salvation from all sin, with guilt abolished
in the mind which God created sinless. Now this mind becomes aware again of
Who created it, and of His lasting union with itself. So is its Self the one
Reality [W384] in Which its will and That of God are joined.
W(330)
5. A messenger does not elect to make the message he delivers. Nor does he
question the right of him who does, nor ask why he has chosen those who will
receive the message that he brings. It is enough that he accept it, bring [W385]
it to the ones for which [W386] it was appointed [W387], and fulfill his role in its
delivery. If he insists on judging [W388] what the messages should be, or what
their purpose is, or where they should be carried, he is failing to perform his
proper part as bringer of the Word.
6. There is one major difference in the role of Heaven's messengers, which sets
them off from those the world appoints. The messages which they deliver are
intended first for them. And it is only as they can accept them for themselves
that they become able to bring them further, and to give them everywhere that
they were meant to be. Like earthly messengers, they did not write the messages
they bear, but they become their first receivers in the truest sense, receiving
to prepare themselves to give.
7. An earthly messenger fulfills his role by giving all the messages away. The
messengers of God perform their part by their acceptance of His messages as for
themselves, and show they understand the messages by giving them away. They
choose no roles that are not given them by His authority. And so they gain by
every message which they give away.
8. Would you receive the messages of God? For thus do you become His
messengers. You are appointed now, [W389] and yet you wait to give the messages
you have received, and so you do not know that they are yours, and do not
recognize them. No one can receive and understand he has received until he
gives. For in the giving is his own acceptance of what he received.
W(331)
9. You who are now the messengers of God receive His messages, for that is part
of your appointed role. He [W390] has not failed to offer what you need, nor has
it been left unaccepted. Yet another part of your appointed task is yet to be
accomplished. He Who has received for you the messages of God would have them
be received by you as well. For thus do you identify with Him and claim your
own.
10. It is this joining that we undertake to recognize today. We will not seek
to keep our minds apart from Him Who speaks for us, for it is but our voice we
hear as we attend Him. He alone can speak to us and for us, joining in One
Voice the getting and the giving of God's Word; the giving and receiving of His
Will.
11. We practice giving Him what He would have, that we may recognize His gifts
to us. He needs our voice that He may speak through us. He needs our hands to
hold His messages, and carry them to those [W391] He appoints. He needs our feet
to bring us where He wills, that those who wait in misery may be at last
delivered. And He needs our will united with His Own, that we may be the true
receivers of the gifts He gives.
12. Let us but learn this lesson for today: we will not recognize what we
receive until we give it. You have heard this said a hundred ways, [W392] and yet
belief is lacking still. But this is sure; until belief is given it, you will
receive a thousand miracles and then receive a thousand more, but will not know
that God Himself has left no gift beyond what you already have; nor has denied
the tiniest of blessings to His Son. What can this mean to you, until you have
identified with him and with his own?
W(332)
Our lesson for today is stated thus:
"I am among the ministers of God,
And I am grateful that I have the means
By which to recognize that I am free."
The world recedes as we light up our minds, and realize these holy words are
true. They are the message sent to us today from our Creator. Now we
demonstrate how they have changed our minds about ourselves, and what our
function is. For as we prove that we accept no will we do not share, our many
gifts from our Creator will spring to our sight and leap into our hands, and
we [W393] recognize what we received.
W(333) April 15, 1970
Lesson 155. "I will step back and let Him lead the way."
1. There is a way of living in the world that is not here, although it seems to
be. You do not change appearance, though you smile more frequently, Your
forehead is serene; your eyes are quiet. And the ones who walk the world as you
do recognize their own. Yet those who have not yet perceived the way will
recognize you also, and believe that you are like them as you were before.
2. The world is an illusion. Those who choose to come to it are seeking for a
place where they can be illusions, and avoid their own Reality. Yet when they
find their own Reality [W394] is even here, then they step back and let It lead
the way. What other choice is really theirs to make? To let illusion walk
ahead of truth is madness, but to let illusion sink behind the truth, and let
the truth stand forth as what it is, is simple [W395] sanity.
3. This is the simple choice we make today. The mad illusion will remain
awhile in evidence, for those to look upon who chose to come, and have not yet
rejoiced to find they were mistaken in the choice. They cannot learn directly
from the truth, because they have denied that it is so. And so they need a
Teacher Who perceives their madness, but Who still can look beyond illusion to
the simple truth in them.
4. If truth demanded they give up the world, it would appear to them as if it
asked the sacrifice of something that is real. Many have chosen to renounce the
world while still believing its reality, and they have suffered from a sense of
loss and have not been released accordingly. Others have chosen nothing but the
world, and they have suffered from a sense of loss still deeper, which they did
not understand.
5. Between these paths there is another road which leads away from loss of
every kind, for sacrifice and deprivation both are quickly left behind. This is
the way appointed for you now. You walk this path as others walk, nor do you
seem to be distinct from them although you are indeed. Thus can you serve them
while you serve yourself, and set their footsteps on the way
W(334)
which God has opened up to you, and them through you.
6. Illusion still appears to cling to you, that you may reach them. Yet it
has stepped back, and it is not illusion that they hear you speak of, nor
illusion which you bring their eyes to look on and their minds to grasp. Now
can the truth, which walks ahead of you, speak to them through illusion, for the
road leads past illusion now, while on the way you call to them that they may
follow you.
7. All roads will lead to this one in the end. For sacrifice and deprivation
are paths which [W396] lead nowhere, choices for defeat, and aims which will
remain impossible. All this steps back as truth comes forth in you, to lead
your brothers from the ways of death, and set them on the way to happiness.
Their suffering is but illusion. Yet they need a guide to lead them out of it,
for they mistake illusion for the truth.
8. Such is salvation's call, and nothing more. It asks that you accept the
truth, and let It go before you, lighting up the path of ransom from illusion.
It is not a ransom with a price. There is no cost, but only gain. Illusion can
but seem to hold in chains the holy Son of God. It is but from illusions he is
saved. As they step back he finds himself again.
9. Walk safely now yet carefully, because this path is new to you. And you
may find that you are tempted still to walk ahead of truth, and let illusion be
your guide. Your holy brothers have been given you to follow in your footsteps,
as you walk with certainty of purpose to the truth. It goes before you now,
that they may see something with which they can identify; something they
understand to lead the way.
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10. Yet at the journey's ending there will be no gap, no distance between truth
and you. And all illusions walking in the way you traveled will be gone from
you as well, with nothing left to keep the truth apart from God's completion,
holy as Himself. Step back in faith, and let truth lead the way. You know not
where you go, but One Who knows goes with you. Let Him lead you with the rest.
11. When dreams are over, time has closed the door on all the things that pass
and miracles are purposeless, the holy Son of God will make no journeys. There
will be no wish to be illusion rather than the truth. And we step forth toward
this, as we progress along the way that truth points out to us. This is our
final journey, which we make for everyone. We must not lose our way. For as
truth goes before us so it goes before our brothers, who will follow us.
12. We walk to God. Pause and reflect on this. Could any way be holier, or
more deserving of your effort, of your love, and of your full intent? What way
could give you more than everything, or offer less and still content the holy
Son of God? We walk to God. The truth that walks before us now is One [W397]
with Him, and leads us to where He has always been. What way but this could be
a path which you would choose instead?
13. Your feet are safely set upon the road which [W398] leads the world to God.
Look not to ways that seem to lead you elsewhere. Dreams are not a worthy
guide for you who are God's Son. Forget not He has placed His hand in yours,
and given you your brothers [W399] in His Trust that you are worthy of His Trust
in you. He cannot be deceived. His Trust has made your pathway certain and
your goal secure. You will not fail your brothers nor your Self.
W(336)
14. And now He asks but that you think of Him a while each day, that He may
speak to you and tell you of His Love, reminding you how great His Trust; how
limitless His Love. In your name and His Own, which are the same, we practice
gladly with this thought today:
"I will step back and let Him lead the way,
For I would walk along the road to Him."
W(337) April 17, 1970
Lesson 156. "I walk with God in perfect holiness."
1. Today's idea but states the simple truth which makes the thought of sin
impossible. It promises there is no cause for guilt, and being causeless it
does not exist. It follows surely from the basic thought so often mentioned in
the text; ideas leave not their source. If this be true, how can you be apart
from God? How could you walk the world alone and separate from your Source?
2. We are not inconsistent in the thoughts that we present in our curriculum.
Truth must be true throughout if it be true. It cannot contradict itself, nor
be in parts uncertain and in others sure. You cannot walk the world apart from
God because you could not be without Him. He is what your life is. Where you
are He is. There is One [W400] life. That Life [W401] you share with Him. Nothing
can be apart from Him and live.
3. Yet where He is there must be holiness as well as life. No attribute of His
remains unshared by everything that lives. What lives is holy as Himself
because what shares His Life is part of Holiness, and could no more be sinful
than the sun could choose to be of ice; the sea elect to be apart from water, or
the grass to grow with roots suspended in the air.
4. There is a Light in you Which cannot die, Whose Presence is so holy that the
world is sanctified because of you. All things that live bring gifts to you,
and offer them in gratitude and gladness at your feet. The scent of flowers is
their gift to you. The waves bow down before you, and the trees extend their
arms to shield you from the heat and lay their leaves before you on the ground,
that you may walk in softness, while the wind sinks to a whisper around [W402]
your holy head.
W(338)
5. The Light in you is what the universe longs to behold. All living things
are still before you, for they recognize Who walks with you. The Light you
carry is their own, and thus they see in you their holiness, saluting you as
Savior and as God. Accept their reverence, for it is due to Holiness Itself
Which walks with you, transforming in its gentle Light all things into Its
likeness and Its purity.
6. This is the way salvation works. As you step back, the Light in you steps
forward and encompasses the world. It heralds not the end of sin in punishment
and death. In lightness and in laughter is it [W403] gone, because its quaint
absurdity is seen. It is a foolish thought, a silly dream, not frightening,
ridiculous perhaps, but who would waste an instant in approach to God Himself
for such a senseless whim?
7. Yet you have wasted many, many years on just this foolish thought. The past
is gone with all its fantasies. They keep you bound no longer. The approach to
God is near. And in the little interval of doubt which still remains, you may
perhaps lose sight of your Companion, and mistake Him for the senseless ancient
dream that now is past.
8. "Who walks with me?" This question should be asked a thousand times a day,
‘til certainty has ended doubting and established peace. Today let doubting
cease. God speaks for you in answering your question with these words:
"I walk with God in perfect holiness.
I light the world, I light my mind and all
The minds which God created one with me."
W(339) April 20, 1970
Lesson 157. "Into His Presence would I enter now."
1. This is a day of silence and of trust. It is a special time of promise in
your calendar of days. It is a time Heaven has set apart to shine upon, and
cast a timeless light upon this day when echoes of eternity are heard. This day
is holy, for it ushers in a new experience, a different kind of feeling and
awareness. You have spent long days and nights in celebrating death. Today you
learn to feel the joy of life.
2. This is another crucial turning point in the curriculum. We add a new
dimension now; a fresh experience which sheds a light on all that we have
learned already, and prepares us for what we have yet to learn. It brings us to
the door where learning ceases, and we catch a glimpse of what lies past the
highest reaches it can possibly attain. It leaves us there an instant and we go
beyond it, sure of our direction and our only goal.
3. Today it will be given you to feel a touch of Heaven, though you will return
to paths of learning, yet you have come far enough along the way to alter time
sufficiently to rise above its laws, and walk into eternity a while. This you
will learn to do increasingly, as every lesson, faithfully rehearsed, brings you
more swiftly to this holy place and leaves you, for a moment, to your Self.
4. He will direct your practicing today, for what you ask for now is what He
wills. And having joined your will with His this day, what you are asking must
be given you. Nothing is needed but today's idea to light your mind, and let it
rest in still anticipation and in quiet joy wherein you quickly leave the world
behind.
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5. From this day forth your ministry takes on a genuine devotion, and a glow
that travels from your fingertips to those you touch, and blesses those you look
upon. A vision reaches everyone you meet, and everyone you think of, or who
thinks of you. For your experience today will so transform your mind that it
becomes the touchstone for the holy Thoughts of God.
6. Your body will be sanctified today, its only purpose being now to bring the
vision of what you experience this day to light the world. We cannot give
experience like this directly. Yet it leaves a vision in our eyes which we can
offer everyone, that he may come the sooner to the same experience in which the
world is quietly forgot, and Heaven is remembered for a while.
7. As this experience increases and all goals but this become of little worth,
the world to which you will return becomes a little closer to the end of time; a
little more like Heaven in its ways; a little nearer its deliverance. And you
who bring it light will come to see the light more sure; the vision more
distinct. The time will come when you will not return in the same form in which
you now appear, for you will have no need of it. Yet now it has a purpose, and
will serve it well.
8. Today we will embark upon a course you have not dreamed of. But the Holy
One, the Giver of the happy dreams of life, Translator of perception into truth,
the holy Guide to Heaven given you, has dreamed for you this journey, which you
make and start today, with the experience, this day holds out to you to be your
own.
9. Into Christ's Presence will we enter now serenely unaware of everything
except His shining Face and perfect Love. The vision of His Face will stay with
you, but there will be an instant which transcends all vision, even this, the
holiest. This you will never teach, for you attained it not through learning.
Yet the vision speaks of your remembrance of what you knew that instant, and
will surely know again.
W(341) April 20, 1970
Lesson 158. "Today I learn to give as I receive."
1. What has been given you? The knowledge that you are a mind, in Mind and
purely mind, sinless forever, wholly unafraid because you were created out of
Love. Nor have you left your Source, remaining as you were created. This was
given you as knowledge which you cannot lose. It was given as well to every
living thing, for by that knowledge only does it live.
2. You have received all this. No one who walks the world but has received it.
It is not this knowledge which you give, for that is what creation gave. All
this cannot be learned. What, then, are you to learn to give today? Our
lesson yesterday evoked a theme found early in the text. Experience cannot be
shared directly in the way that vision can. The revelation that the Father and
the Son are One will come in time to every mind. Yet is that time determined by
the mind itself, not taught.
3. The time is set already. It appears to be quite arbitrary. Yet there is no
step along the road that anyone but takes [W404] by chance. It has already been
taken by him, although he has not yet embarked on it. For time but seems to go
in one direction. We but undertake a journey that is over. Yet it seems to
have a future still unknown to us.
4. Time is a trick; a sleight of hand, a vast illusion in which figures come
and go as if by magic. Yet there is a plan behind appearances which does not
change. The script is written. When experience will come to end your doubting
has been set. For we but see the journey from the point at which it ended,
looking back on it, imagining we make it once again; reviewing mentally what has
gone by.
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5. The [W405] teacher does not give experience, because he did not learn it. It
revealed itself to him at its appointed time. But vision is his gift. This he
can give directly, for Christ's knowledge is not lost because He has a vision He
can give to anyone who asks. The Father's Will and His are joined in
knowledge. Yet there is a vision which the Holy Spirit sees because the mind of
Christ beholds it too.
6. Here is the joining of the world of doubt and shadows made with the
intangible. Here is a quiet place within the world made holy by forgiveness and
by love. Here are all contradictions reconciled, for here the journey ends.
Experience, unlearned, untaught, unseen, is merely there. This is beyond our
goal, for it transcends what needs to be accomplished. Our concern is with
Christ's vision. This we can attain.
7. Christ's vision has one law. It does not look upon a body and mistake it
for the Son whom God created. It beholds a light beyond the body; an idea
beyond what can be touched, a purity undimmed by errors, pitiful mistakes, and
fearful thoughts of guilt from dreams of sin. It sees no separation. And it
looks on everyone, on every circumstance, all happenings and all events, without
the slightest fading of the light it sees.
8. This can be taught, and must be taught by all who would achieve it. It
requires but the recognition that the world can not give anything that faintly
can compare with this in value; nor set up a goal which does not merely
disappear when this has been perceived. And this you give today, see no one as
a body. Greet him as the Son of God he is, acknowledging that he is one with
you in holiness.
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9. Thus are his sins forgiven him, for Christ has vision which has power to
overlook them all. In His forgiveness they are gone. Unseen by One, they
merely disappear, because a vision of the holiness which lies beyond them comes
to take their place. It matters not what form they took, nor how enormous they
appeared to be, nor who seemed to be hurt by them. They are no more, and all
effects they seemed to have are gone with them, undone and never to be done.
10. Thus do you learn to give as you receive. And thus Christ's vision looks
on you as well. This lesson is not difficult to learn, if you remember in your
brother you but see yourself. If he be lost in sin so must you be; if you see
light in him your sins have been forgiven by yourself. Each brother whom you
meet today provides another chance to let Christ's vision shine on you, and
offer you the peace of God.
11. It matters not when revelation comes, for that is not of time. Yet time
has still one gift to give in which true knowledge is reflected in a way so
accurate its image shares its unseen holiness; its likeness shines with its
immortal Love [W406]. We practice seeing with the eyes of Christ today. And by
the holy gifts we give, Christ's vision looks upon ourselves as well.
W(344) April 21, 1970
Lesson 159. "I give the miracles I have received."
1. No one can give what he has not received. To give a thing requires first
you have it in your own possession. Here the laws of Heaven and the world
agree. But here they also separate. The world believes that to possess a thing
it must be kept. Salvation teaches otherwise. To give is how to recognize you
have received. It is the proof that what you have is yours.
2. You understand that you are healed when you give healing. You accept
forgiveness as accomplished in yourself when you forgive. You recognize your
brother as yourself, and thus do you perceive that you are whole. There is no
miracle you cannot give, for all are given you. Receive them now by opening
the storehouse of your mind where they are laid, and giving them away.
3. Christ's vision is a miracle. It comes from far beyond itself, for it
reflects Eternal Love and the rebirth of love which never dies, but has been
kept obscure. Christ's vision pictures Heaven, for it sees a world so like to
Heaven that what God created perfect can be mirrored there. The darkened glass
the world presents can show but twisted images in broken parts. The real world
pictures Heaven's innocence.
4. Christ's vision is the miracle in which all miracles are born. It is their
source, remaining with each miracle you give, and yet remaining yours. It is
the bond by which the giver and receiver are united in extension here on earth
as they are one in Heaven. Christ beholds no sin in anyone, and in His sight
the sinless are as one. Their holiness was given by His Father and Himself.
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5. Christ's vision is the bridge between the worlds, and in its power can you
safely trust to carry you from this world into one made holy by forgiveness.
Things which seem quite solid here are merely shadows there, transparent,
faintly seen, at times forgot, and never able to obscure the light that shines
beyond them. Holiness has been restored to vision, and the blind can see.
6. This is the Holy Spirit's single gift; the treasure house to which you can
appeal with perfect certainty for everything that can contribute to your
happiness. All are laid here already. All can be received but for the asking.
Here the door is never locked, and no one is denied his least request or his
most urgent need. There is no sickness not already healed. No lack
unsatisfied, no need unmet, within this golden treasury of Christ.
7. Here does the world remember what was lost when it was made. For here it
is repaired, made new again but in a different light. What was to be the home
of sin becomes the center of redemption and the hearth of mercy, where the
suffering are healed and welcome. No one will be turned away from this new
home, where his salvation waits. No one is stranger to him. No one asks for
anything of him except the gift of his acceptance of his welcoming
8. Christ's vision is the holy ground in which the lilies of forgiveness set
their roots. This is their home. They can be brought from here back to the
world, but they can never grow in its unnourishing and shallow soil. They need
the light and warmth and kindly care Christ's charity provides. They need the
love with which He looks on them. And they become His messengers which give as
they received.
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9. Take from His storehouse, that its treasures may increase. His lilies do
not leave their home when they are carried back into the world. Their roots
remain. They do not leave their source, but carry its beneficence with them,
and turn the world into a garden like the one they came from, and to which they
go again with added fragrance. Now are they twice blessed. The messages they
brought from Christ have been delivered and returned to them. And they return
them gladly unto Him.
10. Behold the store of miracles set out for you to give. Are you not worth
the gift, when God appointed it be given you? Judge not God's Son, but follow
in the way He has established. Christ has dreamed the dream of a forgiven
world. It is His gift whereby a sweet transition can be made from death to
life, from hopelessness to hope. Let us an instant dream with Him. His dream
awakens us to truth. His vision gives the means for a return to our unlost and
everlasting sanctity in God.
W(347) April 21, 1970
Lesson 160. "I am at home. Fear is the stranger here."
1. Fear is a stranger to the ways of love. Identify with fear, and you will be
a stranger to yourself. And thus you are unknown to you. What is your Self
remains an alien to the part of you which thinks that it is real but different
from yourself. Who could be sane in such a circumstance? Who but a madman
could believe he is what he is not, and judge against himself?
2. There is a stranger in our midst, who comes from an idea so foreign to the
truth he speaks a different language, looks upon a world truth does not know,
and understands what truth regards as senseless. Stranger yet, he does not
recognize to whom he comes, and yet maintains his home belongs to him while he
is alien now who is at home. And yet how easy it would be to say, "This is my
home. Here I belong, and will not leave because a madman says I must."
3. What reason is there for not saying this? What could the reason be except
that you had asked this stranger in to take your place, and let you be a
stranger to yourself? No one would let himself be dispossessed so needlessly
unless he thought there was another home more suited to his tastes.
4. Who is the stranger? Is it fear or you that is unsuited to the home which
God provided for His Son? Is fear His Own, created in His likeness? Is it fear
that love completes and is completed by? There is no home can shelter love and
fear. They cannot coexist. If you are real, then fear must be illusion. And
if fear is real, then you do not exist at all.
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5. How simply, then, the question is resolved. Who fears has but denied
himself and said, "I am the stranger here. And so I leave my home to one more
like me than myself, and give him all I thought belonged to me." Now is he
exiled of necessity, not knowing who he is, uncertain of all things but this;
that he is not himself, and that his home has been denied to him.
6. What does he search for now? What can he find? A stranger to himself can
find no home wherever he may look, for he has made return impossible. His way
is lost except a miracle will search him out, and show him that he is no
stranger now. The miracle will come. For in his home his Self remains. It
asked no stranger in, and took no alien thought to be Itself. And It will call
Its Own [W407] unto Itself, in recognition of what is Its Own.
7. Who is the stranger? Is he not the one your Self calls not? You are
unable now to recognize this stranger in your midst, for you have given him your
rightful place. Yet is your Self as certain of Its Own as God is of His Son.
He cannot be confused about creation. He is sure of what belongs to Him. No
stranger can be interposed between His knowledge and His Son's reality. He does
not know of strangers. He is certain of His Son.
8. His [W408] certainty suffices. Who he knows to be His Son belongs where He
has set His Son forever. He has answered you who ask, "Who is the stranger?"
Hear His Voice assure you, quietly and sure, that you are not a stranger to your
Father, nor is your Creator stranger made to you. Whom God has joined remains
forever one, at home in Him, no stranger to Himself.
9. Today we offer thanks that Christ has come to search the world for what
belongs to Him. His vision sees no strangers, but beholds His Own, and joyously
unites with them. They see Him as a stranger, for they do not recognize
themselves. Yet as they give Him welcome they remember. And He leads them
gently home again where they belong.
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10. Not one does He [W409] forget. Not one He fails to give you to remember,
that your home may be complete and perfect as it was established. He has not
forgotten you. But you will not remember Him until you look on all as He does.
Who denies his brother is denying Him, and thus refusing to accept the gift of
sight by which his Self is clearly recognized, his home remembered, and
salvation come.
W(350) April 23, 1970
Lesson 161. "Give me your blessing, holy Son of God."
1. Today we practice differently, and take a stand against our anger, that our
fears may disappear and offer room to love. Here is salvation in the simple
words in which we practice with today's idea. Here is the answer to temptation
which can never fail to welcome in the Christ where fear and anger had prevailed
before. Here is Atonement made complete, the world passed safely by and Heaven
now restored. Here is the Answer of the Voice of God.
2. Complete abstraction is the natural condition of the mind. But part of it
is now unnatural. It does not look on everything as one. It sees instead but
fragments of the whole, for only thus could it invent the partial world you see.
The purpose of all seeing is to show you what you wish to see. All hearing but
brings to your mind the sounds it wants to hear.
3. Thus were specifics made. And now it is specifics we must use in
practicing. We give them to the Holy Spirit that He may employ them for a
purpose which is different from the one we gave to them. Yet He can use but
what we made to teach us from a different point of view, so we can see a
different use in everything.
4. One brother is all brothers. Every mind contains all minds, for every mind
is one. Such is the truth. Yet do these thoughts make clear the meaning of
creation? Do these words bring perfect clarity with them to you? What can they
seem to be but empty sounds, pretty, perhaps; correct in sentiment, yet
fundamentally not understood nor understandable. The mind that taught itself to
think specifically can no longer grasp abstraction in the sense that it is
all-encompassing. We need to see a little that we learn a lot.
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5. It seems to be the body we [W410] feel limits our [W411] freedom, makes us [W412]
suffer and at last puts out our [W413] life. Yet bodies are but [W414] symbols of
a [W415] concrete form [W416] of fear. Fear without symbols calls for no response,
for symbols can stand for the meanings. Love needs no symbols, being true. But
fear attaches to specifics, being false.
6. Bodies attack, but minds do not. This thought is surely reminiscent of our
text, where it is often emphasized. This is the reason bodies easily become
fear's symbols. You have many times been urged to look beyond the body, for its
sight presents the symbol of love's "enemy" Christ's vision does not see. The
body is the target for attack, for no one thinks he hates a mind. Yet what but
mind directs the body to attack? What else could be the seat of fear except
what thinks of fear?
7. Hate is specific. There must be a thing to be attacked. An enemy must be
perceived in such a form he can be touched and seen and heard, and ultimately
killed. When hatred rests upon a thing, it calls for death as surely as God's
Voice proclaims there is no death. Fear is insatiable, consuming everything its
eyes behold; seeing itself in everything; compelled to turn upon itself and to
destroy.
8. Who sees a brother as a body sees him as fear's symbol. And he will attack
because what he beholds is his own fear external to himself, poised to attack,
and howling to unite with him again. Mistake not the intensity of rage
projected fear must spawn. It shrieks in wrath, and claws the air in frantic
hope it can reach to its maker and devour him.
9. This do the body's eyes behold in one whom Heaven cherishes, the angels
love, and God created perfect. This is his reality. And in Christ's vision is
his loveliness reflected in a form so holy and so beautiful that you could
scarce refrain from kneeling at his feet. Yet you will take his hand instead,
for you are like him in the sight which sees him thus.
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Attack on him is enemy to you, for you will not perceive that in his hands is
your salvation. Ask him but for this, and he will give it to you. Ask him not
to symbolize your fear. Would you request that love destroy itself? Or would
you have it be revealed to you and set you free?
10. Today we practice in a form we have attempted earlier. Your readiness is
closer now, and you will come today nearer Christ's vision. If you are intent
on reaching it, you will succeed today. And once you have succeeded, you will
not be willing to accept the witnesses your body's eyes call forth. What you
will see will sing to you of ancient melodies you will remember. You are not
forgot in Heaven. Would you not remember it?
11. Select one brother, symbol of the rest, and ask salvation of him. See him
first as clearly as you can, in that same form to which you are accustomed. See
his face, his hands and feet, his clothing. Watch him smile, and see familiar
gestures which he makes so frequently. Then think of this; what you are seeing
now conceals from you the sight of one who can forgive you all your sins; whose
sacred hands can take the nails which pierce your own away, and lift the crown
of thorns which you have placed upon your bleeding head. Ask this of him that
he may set you free:
"Give me your blessing, holy Son of God,
I would behold you with the eyes of Christ,
And see my perfect sinlessness in you."
12. And He will answer Whom you called upon, for He will hear the Voice of God
in you, and answer in your own. Behold him now whom you had seen as merely
flesh and bone, and recognize that Christ has come to you. Today's idea is your
safe escape from anger and from fear. Be sure you use it instantly, should you
be tempted to attack a brother and perceive in him the symbol of your fear. And
you will see him suddenly transformed from enemy to Savior; from the devil into
Christ.
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W(354) April 23, 1970
Lesson 162. "I am as God created me."
1. This single thought, held firmly in the mind, would save the world. From
time to time we will repeat it, as we reach another stage in learning. It will
mean far more to you as you advance. These words are sacred, for they are the
words God gave in answer to the world you made. By them it disappears, and all
things seen within its misty clouds and vaporous illusions vanish as these words
are spoken. For they come from God.
2. Here is the Word by which the Son became His Father's happiness, His Love,
and His completion. Here creation is proclaimed, and honored as it is. There
is no dream these words will not dispel; no thought of sin and no illusion that
the dream contains that [W417] will not fade away before their might. They are
the trumpet of awakening that sounds around the world. The dead awake in answer
to its call. And those who live and hear this sound will never look on death.
3. Holy indeed is he who makes these words his own; arising with them in his
mind, recalling them throughout the day, at night bringing them with him as he
goes to sleep. His dreams are happy and his rest secure; his safety certain
and his body healed, because he sleeps and wakens with the truth before him
always. He will save the world because he gives the world what he receives each
time he practices the words of truth.
4. Today we practice simply. For the words we use are mighty, and they need no
thoughts beyond themselves to change the mind of him who uses them. So wholly
is it changed that it is now the treasury in which God places all His gifts and
all His Love to be distributed to all the world, increased in giving; kept
complete because its sharing is unlimited. And thus you learn to think with
God. Christ's vision has restored your sight by salvaging your mind.
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5. We honor you today. Yours is the right to perfect holiness you now accept.
With this acceptance is salvation brought to everyone, for who could cherish sin
when holiness like this has blessed the world? Who could despair when perfect
joy is yours, available to all as remedy for grief and misery, all sense of
loss, and for complete escape from sin and guilt?
6. And who would not be brother to you now; you, his redeemer and his Savior?
Who could fail to welcome you into his heart with loving invitation, eager to
unite with one like him in holiness? You are as God created you. These words
dispel the night, and darkness is no more. The light is come today to bless the
world, for you have recognized the Son of God, and in your recognition is the
world's.
W(356) April 24, 1970
Lesson 163. "There is no death. The Son of God is free."
1. Death is a thought which takes on many forms, often unrecognized. It may
appear as sadness, fear, anxiety or doubt; as anger, faithlessness and lack of
trust; concern for bodies, envy, and all forms in which the wish to be as you
are not may come to tempt you. All such thoughts are but reflections of the
worshipping of death as Savior and as giver of release.
2. Embodiment of fear, the host of sin, god of the guilty and the lord of all
illusions and deceptions, does the thought of death seem mighty. For it seems
to hold all living things within its withered hand; all hopes and wishes in its
blighting grasp; all goals perceived but in its sightless eyes. The frail, the
helpless and the sick bow down before its image, thinking it alone is real,
inevitable, worthy of their trust. For it alone will surely come.
3. All things but death are seen to be unsure, too quickly lost however hard to
gain, uncertain in their outcome, apt to fail the hopes they once engendered,
and to leave the taste of dust and ashes in their wake in place of aspirations
and of dreams. But death is counted on. For it will come with certain
footsteps when the time has come for its arrival. It will never fail to take
all life as hostage to itself.
4. Would you bow down to idols such as this? Here is the strength and might of
God Himself perceived within an idol made of dust. Here is the opposite of God
proclaimed as lord of all creation, stronger than God's Will for life, the
endlessness of love and Heaven's perfect, changeless constancy. Here is the
Will of Father and of Son defeated finally, and laid to rest beneath the
headstone death has placed upon the body of the holy Son of God.
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5. Unholy in defeat, he has become what death would have him be. His epitaph,
which death itself has written, gives no name to him, for he has passed to dust.
It says but this: "Here lies a witness God is dead." And this it writes again
and still again, while all the while its worshippers agree, and kneeling down
with foreheads to the ground, they whisper fearfully that it is so.
6. It is impossible to worship death in any form, and still select a few you
would not cherish, and would yet avoid while still believing in the rest. For
death is total. Either all things die, or else they live and cannot die. No
compromise is possible. For here again we see an obvious position which we must
accept if we be sane; what contradicts one thought entirely can not be true
unless its opposite is proven false.
7. The idea of the death of God is so preposterous that even the insane have
difficulty in believing it. For it implies that God was once alive and somehow
perished, killed, apparently, by those who did not want him to survive. Their
stronger will could triumph over His, and so Eternal Life gave way to death.
And with the Father died the Son as well.
8. Death's worshippers may be afraid. And yet can thoughts like these be
fearful? If they saw that it is only this which they believed, they would be
instantly released. And you will show them this today. There is no death, and
we renounce it now in every form, for their salvation and our own as well. God
made not death. Whatever form it takes must therefore be illusion. This the
stand we take today. And it is given us to look past death and see the
light [W418] beyond.
9. "Our Father, bless our eyes today. We are Your messengers, and we would
look upon the glorious reflection of Your Love which shines in everything. We
live and breathe in You alone. We are not separate from Your Eternal Life.
There is no death, for death is not Your Will. And we abide where You have
placed us, in the Life we share with You and with all living things, to be
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like You and part of You forever. We accept Your Thoughts as ours, and our
will is One with Yours eternally. Amen."
W(359) April 28, 1970
Lesson 164. "Now are we One [W419] with Him Who is our Source."
1. What time but now can truth be recognized? The present is the only time
there is. And so today, this instant, now, we come to look upon what is forever
there; not in our sight but in the eyes of Christ. He looks past time and sees
eternity as represented there. He hears the sounds the senseless busy world
engenders, yet He hears them faintly, for beyond them all He hears the song of
Heaven and the Voice of God more clear, more meaningful, more near.
2. The world fades easily away before His sight. Its sounds grow dim. A
melody from far beyond the world increasingly is more and more distinct; an
ancient Call to Which He gives an ancient answer. You will recognize them both.
For they are but your answer to your Father's Call to you. Christ answers for
you, echoing your Self, using your voice to give His glad consent; accepting
your deliverance for you.
3. How holy is your practicing today, as He [W420] gives you His sight and hears
for you, and answers in your name the Call He hears. How quiet is the time you
give to spend with Him beyond the world. How easily are all your seeming sins
forgot and all your sorrows unremembered. On this day is grief laid by, for
sights and sounds which come from nearer than the world are [W421] clear to you
who will today accept the gifts He gives.
4. There is a silence into which the world can not intrude. There is an
ancient peace you carry in your heart and have not lost. There is a sense of
holiness in you the thought of sin has never touched. All this today you will
remember. Faithfulness in practicing today will bring rewards so great and so
completely different from all things you sought before, that you will know that
here your treasure is, and here your rest.
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5. This is the day when vain imaginings part like a curtain, to reveal what
lies beyond them. Here [W422] is what is really there made visible, while all the
shadows which appeared to hide it sink to obscurity [W423]. Now is the balance
righted, and the scales [W424] of judgment left to Him Who judges true. And in
His judgment will a world unfold in perfect innocence before your eyes. Now
will you see it with the eyes of Christ. Now is its transformation clear to
you.
6. Brothers, this day is sacred to the world. Your vision, given you from far
beyond all things within the world looks back on them in a new light. And what
you see becomes the healing and salvation of the world. The valuable and
valueless are both perceived and recognized for what they are. And what is
worthy of your love receives your love, while nothing to be feared remains.
7. We will not judge today. We will receive but what is given us from Judgment
made beyond the world. Our practicing today becomes our gift of thankfulness
for our release from blindness and from misery. All that we see will but
increase our joy, because its holiness reflects our own. We stand forgiven in
the sight of Christ, with all the world forgiven in our own. We bless the world
as we behold it in the light in which our Savior looks on us, and offer it the
freedom given us through His forgiving vision, now our own.
8. Open the curtain in your practicing by merely letting go all things you
think you want. Your trifling treasures put away, and leave a clean and open
space within your mind where Christ can come, and offer you the treasure of
salvation. He has need of your most holy mind to save the world. Is not this
purpose worthy to be yours? Is not Christ's vision [W425] to be sought above the
world's unsatisfying goals?
9. Let not today slip by without the gifts it holds for you receiving your
consent and your acceptance. We can change the world if you acknowledge them.
You may not see the value your acceptance gives the world. But this you surely
want; you can exchange all suffering for joy this very day.
W(361)
Practice in earnest and the gift is yours. Would God deceive you? Can His
promise fail? Can you withhold so little when His Hand holds out complete
salvation to His Son?
W(362) April 28, 1970
Lesson 165. "Let not my mind deny the Thought of God."
1. What makes this world seem real except your own denial of the truth which
lies beyond? What but your thoughts of misery and death obscure the perfect
happiness and the Eternal Life your Father wills for you? And what could hide
what cannot be concealed except illusion? What could keep from you what you
already have, except your choice to see it not, denying it is there?
2. The Thought of God created you. It left you not, nor have you ever been
apart from It an instant. It belongs to you. By It you live. It is your
Source of life, holding you one [W426] with It, and everything is one with you
because It left you not. The Thought of God protects you, cares for you, makes
soft your resting place and smooth your way, lighting your mind with happiness
and love. Eternity and Everlasting Life shine in your mind because the Thought
of God has left you not, and still abides with you.
3. Who would deny his safety and his peace, his joy, his healing and his peace
of mind, his quiet rest, his calm awakening, if he but recognized where they
abide? Would he not instantly prepare to go where they are found, abandoning
all else as worthless in comparison with them? And having found them, would he
not make sure they stay with him and he remains with them?
4. Deny not Heaven. It is yours today but for the asking. Nor need you
perceive how great the gift, how changed your mind will be, before it comes to
you. Ask to receive and it is given you. Conviction lies within it. ‘Til you
welcome it as yours uncertainty remains. Yet God is fair. Sureness is not
required to receive what only your acceptance can bestow.
W(363)
5. Ask with desire. You need not be sure that you request the only thing you
want. But when you have received, you will be sure you have the treasure you
have always sought. What would you then exchange it for? What would induce you
now to let it fade away from your ecstatic vision? For this sight proves that
you have exchanged your blindness for the seeing eyes of Christ; your mind has
come to lay aside denial and accept the Thought of God as its inheritance.
6. Now is all doubting past, the journey's end made certain and salvation given
you. Now is Christ's power in your mind to heal as you were healed. For now
you are among the Saviors of the world. Your destiny lies there and nowhere
else. Would God consent to let His Son remain forever starved by his denial of
the nourishment he needs to live? Abundance dwells in him, and deprivation
cannot cut him off from God's sustained [W427] Love and from his home.
7. Practice today in hope. For hope indeed is justified. Your doubts are
meaningless, for God is certain. And the Thought of Him is never absent.
Sureness must abide within you who are host to Him. This course removes all
doubts which you have interposed between Him and your certainty of Him. We
count on Him and not upon ourselves to give us certainty. And in His Name we
practice as His Word directs we do. His sureness lies beyond our every doubt.
His Love remains beyond our every fear. The Thought of Him is still beyond all
dreams, and in our minds according to His Will.
W(364) April 29, 1970
Lesson 166. "I am entrusted with the gifts of God."
1. All things are given you. God's trust in you is limitless. He knows His
Son. He gives without exception, holding nothing back that can contribute to
your happiness. And yet, unless your will is one with His, His gifts are not
received. But what would make you think there is another will than His?
2. Here is the paradox that underlies the making of the world. This world is
not the Will of God, and so it is not real. Yet those who think it real must
still believe there is another will, and one which leads to opposite effects
from those He wills. Impossible indeed; but every mind which looks upon the
world and judges it as certain, solid, trustworthy and trued believes in two
creators; or in one, himself alone. But never in One [W428] God.
3. The gifts of God are not acceptable to anyone who holds such strange
beliefs. He must believe that to accept God's gifts, however evident they may
become, however urgently he may be called to claim them as his own, is being
pressed to treachery against himself. He must deny their presence, contradict
the truth, and suffer to preserve the world he made.
4. Here is the only home he thinks he knows. Here is the only safety he
believes that he can find. Without the world he made is he an outcast, homeless
and afraid. He does not realize that it is here he is afraid indeed, and
homeless too; an outcast wandering so far from home, so long away, he does not
realize he has forgotten where he came from, where he goes, and even who he
really is.
5. Yet in his lonely, senseless wanderings God's gifts go with him, all unknown
to him. He cannot lose them. But he will not look at what is given him. He
wanders on, aware of the futility he sees about him everywhere, perceiving how
his little lot but dwindles as he goes ahead to nowhere. Still he wanders on in
misery and poverty, alone though God is with him, and a treasure his so great
that everything the world contains is valueless before its magnitude.
W(365)
6. He seems a sorry figure, weary, worn, in threadbare clothing, and with feet
that bleed a little from the rocky road he walks. No one but has identified
with him, for everyone who comes here has pursued the path he follows, and has
felt defeat and hopelessness as he is feeling them. Yet is he really tragic
when you see that he is following the way he chose, and need but realize Who
walks with him, and open up his treasures to be free?
7. This is your chosen self, the one you made as a replacement for reality.
This is the self you savagely defend against all reason, every evidence, and all
the witnesses with proof to show this is not you. You heed them not. You go on
your appointed way, with eyes cast down lest you might catch a glimpse of truth,
and be released from self deception and set free.
8. You cower fearfully lest you should feel Christ's touch upon your shoulder,
and perceive His gentle hand directing you to look upon your gifts. How could
you then proclaim your poverty in exile? He would make you laugh at this
perception of yourself. Where is self-pity then? And what becomes of all the
tragedy you sought to make for him whom God intended only joy?
9. Your ancient fear has come upon you now, and justice [W429] has caught up with
you at last. Christ's hand has touched your shoulder, and you feel that you are
not alone. You even think the miserable self you thought was you may not be
your identity. Perhaps God's Word is truer than your own. Perhaps His gifts to
you are real. Perhaps He has not wholly been outwitted by your plan to keep His
Son in deep oblivion, and go the way you chose without your Self.
W(366)
10. God's Will does not oppose. It merely is. It is not God you have
imprisoned in. your plan to lose your Self. He does not know about a plan so
alien to His Will. There was a need He did not understand, to which He gave an
Answer. That is all. And you who have this Answer given you have need no more
of anything but this.
11. Now do we live, for now we cannot die. The wish for death is answered, and
the sight that looked upon it now has been replaced by vision which perceives
that you are not what you pretend to be. One walks with you Who gently answers
all your fears with this one merciful reply, "It is not so." He points to all
the gifts you have each time the thought of poverty oppresses you, and speaks of
His Companionship when you perceive yourself as lonely and afraid.
12. Yet He reminds you still of one thing more you had forgotten. For His
touch on you has made you like Himself. The gifts you have are not for you
alone. What He has come to offer you, you now must learn to give. This is the
lesson that His giving holds, for He has saved you from the solitude you sought
to make, in which to hide from God. He has reminded you of all the gifts that
God has given you. He speaks as well of what becomes your will when you accept
these gifts, and recognize they are your own.
13. The gifts are yours, entrusted to your care, to give to all who chose the
lonely road you have escaped. They do not understand they but pursue their
wishes. It is you who teach them now. For you have learned of Christ there is
another way for them to walk. Teach them by showing them the happiness that
comes to those who feel the touch of Christ and recognize God's gifts. Let
sorrow not tempt you to be unfaithful to your trust.
W(367)
14. Your sighs will now betray the hopes of those who look to you for their
release. Your tears are theirs. If you are sick you but withhold their
healing. What you fear but teaches them their fears are justified. Your hand
becomes the giver of Christ's touch; your change of mind becomes the proof that
who accepts God's gifts can never suffer anything. You are entrusted with the
world's release from pain.
15. Betray it not. Become the living proof of what Christ's touch can offer
everyone. God has entrusted all His gifts to you. Be witness in your happiness
to how transformed the mind becomes which chooses to accept His gifts and feel
the touch of Christ. Such is your mission now. For God entrusts the giving of
His gifts to all who have received them. He has shared His joy with you. And
now you go to share it with the world.
W(368) May 4, 1970
Lesson 167. "There is one life, and that I share with God."
1. There are not different kinds of life, for life is like the truth. It does
not have degrees. It is the one condition in which all that God created share.
Like all His Thoughts, it has no opposite. There is no death because what God
created shares His Life. There is no death because an opposite to God does not
exist. There is no death because the Father and the Son are One [W430].
2. In this world there appears to be a state that is life's opposite. You [W431]
call it death. Yet we have learned that the idea of death takes many forms. It
is the one idea which underlies all feelings that are not supremely happy. It
is the alarm to which you give response of any kind that is not perfect joy.
All sorrow, loss, anxiety and suffering and pain, even a little sigh of
weariness, a slight discomfort or the merest frown, acknowledge death. And thus
deny you live.
3. You think that death is of the body. Yet it is but an idea, irrelevant to
what is seen as physical. A thought is in the mind. It can be then applied as
mind directs it. But its origin is where it must be changed, if change occurs.
Ideas leave not their source. The emphasis this course has placed on that idea
is due to its centrality in our attempts to change your mind about yourself. It
is the reason you can heal. It is the cause of healing. It is why you cannot
die. Its truth established you as one with God.
4. Death is the thought that you are separate from your Creator. It is the
belief conditions change, emotions alternate because of causes you cannot
control, you did not make, and you can never change. It is the fixed belief
ideas can leave their source, and take on qualities the source does not contain,
becoming different from their own origin, apart from it in kind as well as
distance, time, and form.
W(369)
5. Death cannot come from life. Ideas remain united to their source. They can
extend all that their source contains, [W432] in that they can go far beyond
themselves. But they can not give birth to what was never given them. As they
are made, so will their making be. As they were born, so will they then give
birth. And where they come from, there will they return.
6. The mind can think it sleeps, but that is all. It cannot change what is its
waking state. It cannot make a body, nor abide within a body. What is alien to
the mind does not exist, because it has no source. For mind creates all things
that are, and cannot give them attributes it lacks, nor change its own eternal,
mindful state. It cannot make the physical. What seems to die is but the sign
of mind asleep.
7. The opposite of life can only be another form of life. As such, it can be
reconciled with what created it, because it is not opposite in truth. Its form
may change; it may appear to be what it is not. Yet mind is mind awake or
sleeping. It is not its opposite in anything created, nor in what it seems to
make when it believes it sleeps.
8. God creates only mind awake. He does not sleep, and His creations cannot
share what He gives not, nor make conditions which He does not share with them.
The thought of death is not the opposite to thoughts of life. Forever unopposed
by opposites of any kind, the Thoughts of God remain forever changeless, with
the power to extend forever changelessly but yet within Themselves, for They are
everywhere.
9. What seems to be the opposite of life is merely sleeping. When the mind
elects to be what it is not, and to assume an alien power which it does not
have, a foreign state it cannot enter, or a false condition not within its
Source, it merely seems to go to sleep a while. It dreams of time; an interval
in which what seems to happen never has occurred, the changes wrought are
substanceless, and all events are nowhere. When the mind awakes, it but
continues as it always was.
W(370)
10. Let us today be children of the truth, and not deny our holy heritage. Our
life is not as we imagine it. Who changes life because he shuts his eyes, or
makes himself what he is not because he sleeps and sees in dreams an opposite to
what he is? We will not ask for death in any form today. Nor will we let
imagined opposites to life abide even an instant where the Thought of Life
Eternal has been set by God Himself.
11. His holy home we strive to keep today as He established it, and wills it be
forever and forever. He is Lord of what we think today. And in His Thoughts,
Which have no opposite, we understand there is one life, and that we share with
Him; with all creation, with their thoughts as well, whom He created in a Unity
of life which cannot separate in death and leave the Source of Life from where
It came.
12. We share our life because we have one Source, a Source from Which
perfection comes to us, remaining always in the holy minds which He created
perfect. As we were, so are we now and will forever be. A sleeping mind must
waken as it sees its own perfection mirroring the Lord of Life so perfectly it
fades into what is reflected there. And now it is no more a mere reflection.
It becomes the thing reflected, and the light which makes reflection possible.
No vision now is needed. For the wakened mind is one that knows its Source, its
Self, its Holiness.
W(371) May 4, 1970
Lesson 168. "Your grace is given me. I claim it now."
1. God speaks to us. Shall we not speak to Him? He is not distant. He makes
no attempt to hide from us. We try to hide from Him, and suffer from deception.
He remains entirely accessible. He loves His Son. There is no certainty but
this, yet this suffices. He will love His Son forever. When his mind remains
asleep, He loves him still. And when his mind awakes, He loves him with a
never-changing Love.
2. If you but knew the meaning of His Love, hope and despair would be
impossible, for hope would be forever satisfied; despair of any kind
unthinkable. His grace His answer is to all despair, for in it lies remembrance
of His Love. Would He not gladly give the means by which His Will is
recognized? His grace is yours by your acknowledgment. And memory of Him
awakens in the mind which asks the means of Him whereby its sleep is done.
3. Today we ask of God the gift He has most carefully preserved within our
hearts, waiting to be acknowledged. This the gift by which God leans to us and
lifts us up, taking salvation's final step Himself. All steps but this we
learn, instructed by His Voice. But finally He comes Himself and takes us in
His arms, and sweeps away the cobwebs of our sleep. His gift of grace is more
than just an answer. It restores all memories the sleeping mind forgot; all
certainty of what love's meaning is.
4. God loves His Son. Request Him now to give the means by which this world
will disappear, and vision first will come, with knowledge but an instant later.
For in grace you see a light that covers all the world in love, and watch fear
disappear from every face as hearts rise up and claim the light as theirs. What
now remains that Heaven be delayed an instant longer? What remains [W433] undone
when your forgiveness rests on everything?
W(372)
5. It is a new and holy day today, for we receive what has been given us. Our
faith lies in the Giver, not our own acceptance. We acknowledge our mistakes,
but He to Whom all error is unknown is yet the One Who answers our mistakes by
giving us the means to lay them down, and rise to Him in gratitude and love.
6. And He descends to meet us as we come to Him, [W434] for what he has prepared
for us He gives and we receive. Such is His Will because He loves His Son. To
Him we pray today, returning but the words He gave to us through His Own Voice,
His Word, His Love:
"Your grace is given me. I claim it now.
Father, I come to You. And You will come
To me who asks. I am the Son You love."
W(373) May 5, 1970
Lesson 169. "By grace I live. By grace I am released."
1. Grace is an aspect of the Love of God which is most like the state
prevailing in the Unity of truth. It is the world's most lofty aspiration, for
it leads beyond the world entirely. It is past learning yet the goal of
learning, for grace cannot come until the mind prepares itself for true
acceptance. Grace becomes inevitable instantly in those who have prepared a
table where it can be gently laid and willingly received; an altar clean and
holy for the gift.
2. Grace is acceptance of the Love of God within a world of seeming hate and
fear. By grace alone the hate and fear are gone, for grace presents a state so
opposite to everything the world contains that those whose minds are lighted by
the gift of grace can not believe the world of fear is real.
3. Grace is not learned. The final step must go beyond all learning. Grace is
not the goal this course aspires to attain. Yet we prepare for grace in that an
open mind can hear the Call to waken. It is not shut tight against God's Voice.
It has become aware that there are things it does not know, and thus is ready
to accept a state completely different from experience with which it is
familiarly at home.
4. We have perhaps appeared to contradict our statement that the revelation of
the Father and the Son as One [W435] has been already set. But we have also said
the mind determines when that time will be, and has determined it. And yet we
urge you to bear witness to the Word of God to hasten the experience of truth,
and speed its advent into every mind which recognizes its effects on you.
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5. Oneness is simply the idea God is. And in His Being He encompasses all
things. No mind holds anything but Him. We say "God is," and then we cease to
speak, for in that knowledge words are meaningless. There are no lips to speak
them, and no part of mind sufficiently distinct to feel that it is now aware of
something not itself. It has united with its Source, and like the Source
Itself, it merely is.
6. We cannot speak nor write nor even think of this at all. It comes to every
mind when total recognition that its will is God's has been completely given and
received completely. It returns the mind into the endless present, where the
past and future cannot be conceived. It lies beyond salvation; past all thought
of time, forgiveness, and the holy Face of Christ. The Son of God has merely
disappeared into His Father, as His Father has in Him. The world has never been
at all. Eternity remains a constant state.
7. This is beyond the [W436] experience we try to hasten. Yet forgiveness,
taught and learned, brings with it the experiences which bear witness that the
time the mind itself determined to abandon all but this is now at hand. We do
not hasten it, in that what you will offer was concealed from Him Who teaches
what forgiveness means.
8. All learning was already in His Mind, accomplished and complete. He
recognized all that time holds and gave it to all minds, that each one might
determine, from a point where time has ended, when it is released to revelation
and eternity. We have repeated several times before that you but make a journey
that is done.
9. For Oneness must be here. Whatever time the mind has set for revelation is
entirely irrelevant to what must be a constant state, forever as it always was;
forever to remain as it is now. We merely take the part assigned long since,
and fully recognized as perfectly fulfilled by Him Who wrote salvation's script
in His Creator's Name, and in the Name of His Creator's Son.
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10. There is no need to further clarify what no one in the world can
understand. When revelation of your Oneness comes, it will be known and fully
understood. Now we have work to do, for those in time can speak of things
beyond, and listen to words which explain what is to come is past already. Yet
what meaning can the words convey to those who count the hours still, and rise
and work and go to sleep by them?
11. Suffice it, then, that you have work to do to play your part. The ending
must remain obscure to you until your part is done. It does not matter. For
your part is still what all the rest depends on. As you take the role assigned
to you, salvation comes a little nearer each uncertain heart that does not beat
as yet in tune with God. Forgiveness is the central theme which runs throughout
salvation, holding all its parts in meaningful relationships, the course it runs
directed, and its outcome sure.
12. And now we ask for grace, the final gift salvation can bestow. Experience
that grace provides will end in time, for grace foreshadows Heaven yet does not
replace the thought of time but for a little while. The interval suffices. It
is here that miracles are laid; to be returned by you from holy instants you
receive, through grace, in your experience, to all who see the light that
lingers on your face.
13. What is the Face of Christ but his who went a moment into timelessness, and
brought a clear reflection of the Unity he felt an instant back to bless the
world? How could you finally attain to it forever, while a part of you remains
outside, unknowing, unawakened and in need of you as witness to the truth?
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14. Be grateful to return, as you were glad to go an instant and accept the
gifts which grace provided you. You carry them back to yourself. And
revelation stands not far behind. Its coming is ensured. We ask for grace and
for experience that comes from grace. We welcome the release it offers
everyone. We do not ask for the unaskable. We do not look beyond what grace
can give. For this we can give in the grace that has been given us.
15. Our learning goal today does not exceed this prayer, yet in the world what
could be more than what we ask this day of Him Who gives the grace we ask, as it
was given Him?
"By grace I live. By grace I am released.
By grace I give. By grace I will release."
W(377) May 6, 1970
Lesson 170. "There is no cruelty in God and none in me."
1. No one attacks without intent to hurt. This can have no exception. When
you think that you attack in self-defense, you mean that to be cruel is
protection; you are safe because of cruelty. You mean that you believe to hurt
another brings you freedom. And you mean that to attack is to exchange the
state in which you are for something better, safer, more secure from dangerous
invasion and from fear.
2. How thoroughly insane is the idea that to defend from fear is to attack!
For here is fear begot and fed with blood, to make it grow and swell and rage.
And thus is fear protected, not escaped. Today we learn a lesson which can save
you more delay and needless misery than you can possibly imagine. It is this:
You make what you defend against, and by
your own defense against it is it real
and inescapable. Lay down your arms,
and only then do you perceive it false.
3. It seems to be the enemy without that you attack. Yet your defense sets up
an enemy within; an alien thought at war with you, depriving you of peace,
splitting your mind into two camps which seem wholly irreconcilable. For love
now has an "enemy," an opposite; and fear, the alien, now needs your defense
against the threat of what you really are.
4. If you consider carefully the means by which your fancied self-defense
proceeds on its imagined way, you will perceive the premises on which the idea
stands. First, it is obvious ideas must leave their source. For it is you who
make attack, and must have first conceived of it. Yet you attack outside
yourself, and separate your mind from him who is to be attacked, with perfect
faith the split you made is real.
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5. Next are the attributes of love bestowed upon its "enemy." For fear becomes
your safety and protector of your peace, to which you turn for solace and escape
from doubts about your strength and hope of rest in dreamless quiet. And as
love is shorn of what belongs to it and it alone, love is endowed with
attributes of fear. For love would ask you lay down all defense as merely
foolish. And your arms indeed would crumble into dust. For such they are.
6. With love as enemy must cruelty become a god, and gods demand that those who
worship them obey their dictates, and refuse to question them. Harsh punishment
is meted out relentlessly to those who ask if the demands are sensible or even
sane. It is their enemies who are unreasonable and insane, while they are
always merciful and just.
7. Today we look upon this cruel god dispassionately. And we note that though
his lips are smeared with blood and fire seems to flame from him, he is but made
of stone. He can do nothing. We need not defy his power. He has none. And
those who see in him their safety have no guardian, no strength to call upon in
danger, and no mighty warrior to fight for them.
8. This moment can be terrible. But it can also be the time of your release
from abject slavery. You make a choice, standing before this idol, seeing him
exactly as he is. Will you restore to love what you have sought to wrest from
it, and lay before this mindless piece of stone? Or will you make another idol
to replace it? For the god of cruelty takes many forms. Another can be found.
9. Yet do not think that fear is the escape from fear. Let us remember what
the course has stressed about the obstacles to peace. The final one, the
hardest to believe is nothing, and a seeming obstacle with the appearance of a
solid block, impenetrable, fearful and beyond surmounting, is the fear
W(379)
Of God himself. Here is the basic premise which enthrones the thought of fear
as god. For fear is loved by those who worship it, and love appears to be
invested now with cruelty.
10. Where does the totally insane belief in gods of vengeance come from? Love
has not confused its attributes with those of fear. Yet must the worshippers of
fear perceive their own confusion in fear's "enemy"; its cruelty as now a part
of love. And what becomes more fearful than the Heart of Love Itself? The
blood appears to be upon His lips; the fire comes from Him. And He is terrible
above all else, cruel beyond conception, striking down all who acknowledge Him
to be their God.
11. The choice you make today is certain. For you look for the last time upon
this bit of carven stone you made, and call it god no longer. You have reached
this place before, but you have chosen that this cruel god remain with you in
still another form, and so the fear of God returned with you. This time you
leave it here. And you return to a new world unburdened by its weight; beheld
not in its sightless eyes, but in the vision that your choice restored to you.
12. Now do your eyes belong to Christ, and He looks through them. Now your
voice belongs to God, and echoes His. And now your heart remains at peace
forever. You have chosen Him in place of idols, and your attributes, given by
your Creator, are restored to you at last. The Call of God is heard and
answered. Now has fear made way for love, as God Himself replaces cruelty.
W(380)
13. "Father, we are like You. No cruelty abides in us for there is none in
You. Your peace is ours. And we bless the world with what we have received
from You alone. We choose again and make our choice for all our brothers,
knowing they are one with us. We bring them Your salvation as we have received
it now. And we give thanks for them who render us complete. In them we see
Your glory, and in them we find our peace. Holy are we because Your holiness
has set us free. And we give thanks. Amen. [W437] "
W(381) REVIEW V
May 11, 1970
1. We now review again. This time we are ready to give more effort and more
time to what we undertake. We recognize we are preparing for another phase of
understanding. We would take this step completely, that we may go on again more
certain, more sincere, with faith upheld more surely. Our footsteps have not
been unwavering, and doubts have made us walk uncertainly and slowly on the road
this course sets forth. But now we hasten on, for we approach a greater
certainty, a firmer purpose and a surer goal.
2. "Steady our feet, our Father; let our doubts be quiet and our holy minds be
still, and speak to us. We have no words to give to You. We would but listen
to Your Word and make it ours. Lead our practicing as does a father lead a
little child along a way he does not understand. Yet does he follow, sure that
he is safe because his father leads the way for him.
3. So do we bring our practicing to You. And if we stumble, You will raise us
up. If we forget the way, we count upon Your sure remembering. We wander off,
but You will not forget to call us back. Quicken our footsteps now, that we may
walk more certainly and quickly unto You. And we accept the Word You offer us
to unify our practicing, as we review the thoughts that You have given us."
4. This is the thought which should precede the thoughts that we review. Each
one but clarifies some aspect of this thought, or helps it be more meaningful,
more personal and true, and more descriptive of the holy Self we share and now
prepare to know again:
"God is but Love, and therefore so am I."
This Self alone knows love. This Self alone is perfectly consistent in Its
thoughts; knows Its Creator, understands Itself, is perfect in Its knowledge and
Its love, and never changes from Its constant state of union with Its Father and
Itself.
W(382)
5. And it is This that waits to meet us at the journey's ending. Every step we
take brings us a little nearer. This review will shorten time immeasurably if
we keep in mind that This remains our goal, and as we practice it is This to
which we are approaching. Let us raise our hearts from dust to life as we
remember This is promised us, and that this course was sent to open up the path
of light to us, and teach us, step by step, how to return to the Eternal Self we
thought we lost.
6. I take the journey with you. For I share your doubts and fears a little
while, that you may come to me who recognize the road by which all fears and
doubts are overcome. We walk together. I must understand uncertainty and pain,
although I know they have no meaning. Yet a Savior must remain with those he
teaches, seeing what they see, but still retaining in his mind the way which led
him out, and now will lead you out with him. God's Son is crucified until you
walk along the road with me.
7. My resurrection comes again each time I lead a brother safely to the place
at which the journey ends and is forgot. I am renewed each time a brother
learns there is a way from misery and pain. I am reborn each time a brother's
mind turns to the light in him and looks for me. I have forgotten no one. Help
me now to lead you back to where the journey was begun, to make another choice
with me.
8. Release me as you practice once again the thoughts I brought to you from Him
Who sees your bitter need, and knows the answer God has given Him. Together we
review these thoughts. Together we devote our time and effort to them. And
together we will, teach them to our brothers. God would not have Heaven
incomplete. It waits for you as I do. I am incomplete without your part in me.
And as I am made whole, we go together to our ancient home, prepared for us
before time was, and kept unchanged by time, immaculate and safe, as it will be
at last, when time is done.
W(383)
9. Let this review be then your gift to me. For this alone I need; that you
will hear the words I speak and give them to the world. You are my voice, my
eyes, my feet, my hands, through which I save the world. The Self from Which I
call to you is but your Own [W438]. To Him we go together. Take your brother's
hand, for this is not a way we walk alone. In him I walk with you and you with
me. Our Father wills His Son be One [W439] with Him. What lives but must not
then be one with you?
10. Let this review become a time in which we share a new experience for you,
yet one as old as time, and older still. Hallowed your name. Your glory
undefiled forever. And your wholeness now complete, as God established it. You
are His Son, completing His extension in your own. We practice but an ancient
truth we knew before illusion seemed to claim the world. And we remind the
world that it is free of all illusion every time we say,
"God is but Love, and therefore so am I."
11. With this we start each day of our review. With this we start and end each
period of practice time. And with this thought we sleep, to waken once again
with these same words upon our lips to greet another day. No thought that we
review but we surround with it, and use the thoughts to hold it up before our
minds, and keep it clear in our remembrance throughout the day. And thus when
we have finished this review, we will have recognized the words we speak are
true.
W(384)
12. Yet are the words but aids and to be used, except at the beginning and the
end of practice periods, but to recall the mind, as needed, to its purpose. We
place faith in the experience that comes from practice, not the means we use.
We wait for the experience, and recognize that it is only here conviction lies.
We use the words, and try and try again to go beyond them to their meaning,
which is far beyond their sound. The sound grows dim and disappears as we
approach the Source of meaning. It is here that we find rest.
W(385)
Lesson 171. "God is but Love, and therefore so am I."
1. 151) "All things are echoes of the Voice of God."
"God is but Love, and therefore so am I."
2. 152) "The power of decision is my own."
"God is but Love, and therefore so am I."
Lesson 172. "God is but Love, and therefore so am I."
1. 153) "In my defenselessness my safety lies."
"God is but Love, and therefore so am I."
2. 154) "I am among the ministers of God."
"God is but Love, and therefore so am I."
Lesson 173. "God is but Love, and therefore so am I."
1. 155) "I will step back and let Him lead the way."
"God is but Love, and therefore so am I."
2. 156) "I walk with God in perfect holiness."
"God is but Love, and therefore so am I."
Lesson 174. "God is but Love, and therefore so am I."
1. 157) "Into His Presence would I enter now."
"God is but Love, and therefore so am I."
2. 158) "Today I learn to give as I receive."
"God is but Love, and therefore so am I."
Lesson 175. "God is but Love, and therefore so am I."
1. 159) "I give the miracles I have received."
"God is but Love, and therefore so am I."
2. 160) "I am at home. Fear is the stranger here."
"God is but Love, and therefore so am I."
W(386)
Lesson 176. "God is but Love, and therefore so am I."
1. 161) "Give me your blessing, holy Son of God."
"God is but Love, and therefore so am I."
2. 162) "I am as God created me."
"God is but Love, and therefore so am I."
Lesson 177. "God is but Love, and therefore so am I."
1. 163) "There is no death. The Son of God is free."
"God is but Love, and therefore so am I."
2. 164) "Now are we One with Him Who is our Source."
"God is but Love, and therefore so am I."
Lesson 178. "God is but Love, and therefore so am I."
1. 165) "Let not my mind deny the Thought of God."
"God is but Love, and therefore so am I."
2. 166) "I am entrusted with the gifts of God."
"God is but Love, and therefore so am I."
Lesson 179. "God is but Love, and therefore so am I."
1. 167) "There is one life, and that I share with God."
"God is but Love, and therefore so am I."
2. 168) "Your grace is given me. I claim it now."
"God is but Love, and therefore so am I."
Lesson 180. "God is but Love, and therefore so am I."
1. 169) "By grace I live. By grace I am released."
"God is but Love, and therefore so am I."
2. 170) "There is no cruelty in God and none in me."
"God is but Love, and therefore so am I."
W(387) May 14, 1970.
1. Our next few lessons make a special point of firming up your willingness to
make your weak commitment strong; your scattered goals blend into one intent.
You are not asked for total dedication all the time, as yet. But you are asked
to practice now in order to attain the sense of peace such unified commitment
will bestow, if only intermittently. It is experiencing this which makes it
sure that you will give your total willingness to following the way the course
sets forth.
2. Our lessons now are geared specifically to widening horizons, and direct
approaches to the special blocks which keep your vision narrow, and too limited
to let you see the value of our goal. We are attempting now to lift these
blocks, however briefly. Words alone can not convey the sense of liberation
which their lifting brings. But the experience of freedom and of peace that
comes as you give up your tight control of what you see speaks for itself. Your
motivation will be so intensified that words become of little consequence. You
will be sure of what you want, and what is valueless.
3. And so we start our journey beyond words by concentrating first on what
impedes our progress still. Experience of what exists beyond defensiveness
remains beyond achievement while it is denied. It may be there, but you cannot
accept its presence. So we now attempt to go past all defenses for a little
while each day. No more than this is asked because no more than this is needed.
It will be enough to guarantee the rest will come.
W(388) May 14, 1970
Lesson 181. "I trust my brothers, who are one with me."
1. Trusting your brothers is essential to establishing and holding up your
faith in your ability to transcend doubt and lack of sure conviction in
yourself. When you attack a brother, you proclaim that he is limited by what
you have perceived in him. You do not look beyond his errors. Rather, they are
magnified, becoming blocks to your awareness of the Self that lies beyond your
own mistakes, and past his seeming sins as well as yours.
2. Perception has a focus. It is this which gives consistency to what you see.
Change but this focus, and what you behold will change accordingly. Your
vision now will shift to give support to the intent which has replaced the one
you held before. Remove your focus on your brother's sins, and you experience
the peace that comes from faith in sinlessness. This faith receives its only
sure support from what you see in others past their sins. For their mistakes,
if focussed on, are witnesses to sins in you. And you will not transcend their
sight and see the sinlessness that lies beyond.
3. Therefore, in practicing today, we first let all such little focuses give
way to our great need to let our sinlessness become apparent. We instruct our
minds that it is this we seek and only this, for just a little while. We do not
care about our future goals, and what we saw an instant previous has no concern
for us within this interval of time wherein we practice changing our intent. We
seek for innocence and nothing else. We seek for it with no concern but now.
W(389)
4. A major hazard to success has been involvement with your past and future
goals. You have been quite preoccupied with how extremely different the goals
this course is advocating are from those you held before. And you have also
been dismayed by the depressing and restricting thought that, even if you should
succeed, you will inevitably lose your way again.
5. How could this matter? For the past is gone; the future but imagined.
These concerns are but defenses against present change of focus in perception.
Nothing more. We lay these pointless limitations by a little while. We do not
look to past beliefs, and what we will believe will not intrude upon us now. We
enter in the time of practicing with one intent; to look upon the sinlessness
within.
6. We recognize that we have lost this goal if anger blocks our way in any
form. And if a brother's sins occur to us, our narrowed focus will restrict our
sight and turn our eyes upon our own mistakes, which we will magnify and call
our "sins". So, for a little while, without regard to past or future, should
such blocks arise, we will transcend them with instructions to our minds to
change their focus, as we say:
"It is not this that I would look upon.
I trust my brothers, who are one with me."
7. And we will also use these thoughts to keep us safe throughout the day. We
do not seek for long-range goals. As each obstruction seems to block the vision
of our sinlessness, we seek but for surcease an instant from the misery the
focus upon sin will bring, and uncorrected will remain.
W(390)
8. Nor do we ask for fantasies. For what we seek to look upon is really there.
And as our focus goes beyond mistakes, we will behold a wholly sinless world.
When seeing this is all we want to see, when this is all we seek for in the name
of true perception, are the eyes of Christ inevitably ours. And the love He
feels for us becomes our own as well. This will become the only thing we see
reflected in the world and in ourselves.
9. The world which once proclaimed our sins becomes the proof that we are
sinless. And our love for everyone we look upon attests to our remembrance of
the holy Self Which knows no sin, and never could conceive of anything without
Its sinlessness.
10. We seek for this remembrance as we turn our minds to practicing today. We
look neither ahead nor backwards. We look straight into the present. And we
give our trust to the experience we ask for now. Our sinlessness is but the
Will of God. This instant is our willing one with His.
W(391) May 15, 1970
Lesson 182. "I call upon God's Name and on my own."
1. God's Name is holy, but no holier than yours. To call upon His Name is but
to call upon your own. A father gives his son his name, and thus identifies the
son with him. His brothers share his name, and thus are they united in a bond
to which they turn for their identity. Your Father's Name reminds you who you
are, even within a world which does not know; even though you have not
remembered it.
2. God's Name can not be heard without response, nor said without an echo in
the mind which calls you to remember. Say His Name, and you invite the angels
to surround the ground on which you stand, and sing to you as they spread out
their wings to keep you safe, and shelter you from every worldly thought that
would intrude upon your holiness.
3. Repeat God's Name and all the world responds by laying down illusions.
Every dream the world holds dear has suddenly gone by, and where it seemed to
stand you find a star; a miracle of grace. The sick arise, healed of their
sickly thoughts. The blind can see; the deaf can hear. [W440] The sorrowful cast
off their mourning, and the tears of pain are dried as happy laughter comes to
bless the world.
P 4>
4. Repeat the Name of God and little names have lost their meaning. No
temptation but becomes a nameless and unwanted thing before God's Name. Repeat
His Name and see how easily you will forget the names of all the gods you
valued. They have lost the name of god you gave them. They become anonymous
and valueless to you, although before you let the Name of God replace their
little names, you stood before them worshipfully, naming them as gods.
W(392)
5. Repeat the Name of God and call upon your Self, Whose Name is His. Repeat
His Name and all the tiny, nameless things on earth slip into right perspective.
Those who call upon the Name of God can not mistake the nameless for the Name,
nor sin for grace nor bodies for the holy Son of God. And should you join a
brother as you sit with him in silence, and repeat God's Name along with him
within your quiet minds, you have established there an altar which reaches to
God Himself and to His Son.
6. Practice but this today; repeat God's Name slowly again and still again.
Become oblivious to every name but His. Hear nothing else. Let all your
thoughts become anchored on This. No other words we use except at the
beginning, when we say today's idea but once. And then God's Name becomes our
only thought, our only word, the only thing that occupies our minds, the only
wish we have, the only sound with any meaning, and the only Name of everything
that we desire to see; of everything that we would call our own.
7. Thus do we give an invitation which can never be refused. And God will come
and answer it Himself. Think not He hears the little prayers of those who call
on Him with names of idols cherished by the world. They cannot reach Him thus.
He cannot hear requests that He be not Himself, or that His Son receive another
name than His. Repeat His Name and you acknowledge Him as sole Creator of
Reality. And you acknowledge also that His Son is part of Him, creating in His
Name.
8. Sit silently and let His Name become the all-encompassing idea which holds
your mind completely. Let all thoughts be still except this one [W441]. And to
all other thoughts respond with This, and see God's Name replace the thousand
little names you gave your thoughts, not realizing that there is One [W442] Name
for all there is, and all that there will be.
W(393)
9. Today you can achieve a state in which you will experience the gifts of
grace. You can escape all bondage of the world, and give the world the same
release you found. You can remember what the world forgot, and offer it your
own remembering. You can accept today the part you play in its salvation and
your own as well, and both can be accomplished perfectly.
10. Turn to the Name of God for your release, and it is given you. No prayer
but this is necessary, for it holds them all within it. Words are insignificant
and all requests unneeded when God's Son calls on His Father's Name. His
Father's Thoughts become his own. He makes his claim to all his Father gave, is
giving still, and will forever give. He calls on Him to let all things he
thought he made be nameless now, and in their place the holy Name of God becomes
his judgment of their worthlessness.
11. All little things are silent. Little sounds are soundless now. The little
things of earth have disappeared. The universe consists of nothing but the Son
of God who calls upon his Father. And his Father's Voice gives answer in his
Father's holy Name. In this eternal, still relationship, in which communication
far transcends all words and yet exceeds in depth and height whatever words
could possibly convey, is peace eternal. In our Father's Name, we would
experience this peace today. And in His Name it shall be given us.
W(394) May 18, 1970
Lesson 183. "I will be still a moment and go home."
1. This world you seem to live in is not home to you. And somewhere in your
mind you know that this is true. A memory of home keeps haunting you, as if
there were a place which called you to return although you do not recognize the
Voice, nor what it is the Voice reminds you of. Yet still you feel an alien
here, from somewhere all unknown. Nothing so definite that you could say with
certainty you are an exile here. Just a persistent feeling, sometimes not more
than a tiny throb, at other times hardly remembered, actively dismissed, but
surely to return to mind again.
2. No one but knows whereof we speak. Yet some try to put by their suffering
in games they play to occupy their time, and keep their sadness from them.
Others will deny that they are sad, and do not recognize their tears at all.
Still others will maintain that what we speak of is illusion, not to be
considered more than but a dream. Yet who in simple honesty, without
defensiveness and self deception, would deny he understands the words we speak?
3. We speak today for everyone who walks this world, for he is not at home. He
goes uncertainly about in endless search, seeking in darkness what he cannot
find; not recognizing what it is he seeks. A thousand homes he makes, yet none
contents his restless mind. He does not understand he builds in vain. The home
he seeks can not be made by him. There is no substitute for Heaven. All he
ever made was hell.
4. Perhaps you think it is your childhood home that you would find again. The
childhood of your body and its place of shelter are a memory now so distorted
that you merely hold a picture of a past that never happened. Yet there is a
Child in you Who seeks His Father's house, and knows that He is alien here.
This Childhood is eternal, with an innocence that will endure forever. Where
this Child shall go is holy ground. It is His holiness that lights up Heaven,
and that brings to earth the pure reflection of the light above, wherein are
earth and Heaven joined as one.
W(395)
5. It is this Child in you your Father knows as His Own Son. It is this Child
Who knows His Father. He desires to go home so deeply, so unceasingly, His
Voice cries unto you to let Him rest a while. He does not ask for more than
just a few instants of respite; just an interval in which He can return to
breathe again the holy air that fills His Father's house. You are His home as
well. He will return. But give Him just a little time to be Himself, within
the peace that is His home, resting in silence and in peace and in love.
6. This Child needs your protection. He is far from home. He is so little
that He seems so easily shut out, His tiny Voice so readily obscured, His calls
for help almost unheard amid the grating sounds and harsh and rasping noises of
the world. Yet does He know that in you still abides His sure protection. You
Will fail Him not. He will go home, and you along with Him.
7. This Child is your defenselessness, your strength. He trusts in you. He
came because He knew you would not fail. He whispers of His home unceasingly to
you. For He would bring you back with Him, that He Himself might stay, and not
return again where He does not belong and where He lives an outcast in a world
of alien thoughts. His patience has no limits. He will wait until you hear His
gentle Voice within you, calling you to let Him go in peace, along with you, to
where He is at home, and you with Him.
8. When you are still an instant, when the world recedes from you, when
valueless ideas cease to have value in your restless mind, then will you hear
His Voice. So poignantly He calls to you that you will not resist Him longer.
In that instant, He will take you to His home, and you will stay with Him in
perfect stillness, silent and at peace, beyond all words, untouched by fear and
doubt, sublimely certain that you are at home.
W(396)
9. Rest with Him frequently today. For He was willing to become a little Child
that you might learn of Him how strong is he who comes without defenses,
offering only love's messages to those who think He is their enemy. He holds
the might of Heaven in His hand and calls them friend, and gives His strength to
them that they may see He would be Friend to them. He asks but [W443] they
protect Him, for His home is far away, and He will not return to it alone.
10. Christ is reborn as but a little Child each time a wanderer would leave his
home. For he must learn that what he would protect is but this Child, Who comes
defenseless and Who is protected by defenselessness. Go home with Him from time
to time today. You are as much an alien here as He.
11. Take time today to lay aside your shield which profits nothing, and lay
down the spear and sword you raised against an enemy without existence. Christ
has called you friend and brother. He has even come to you to ask your help in
letting Him go home completed and completely. He has come as does a little
child who must beseech his father for protection and for love. He rules the
universe, and yet He asks unceasingly that you return with Him, and take
illusions as your gods no more.
12. You have not lost your innocence. It is for this you yearn. This is your
heart's desire. This is the Voice you hear, and this the Call which cannot be
denied. The holy Child remains with you. His home is yours. Today He gives
you His defenselessness, and you accept it in exchange for all the toys of
battle you have made. And now the way is open, and the journey has an end in
sight at last. Be still a moment and go home with Him and be at peace awhile.
W(397)
W(398) May 22, 1970
Lesson 184. "The Name of God is my inheritance."
1. You live by symbols. You have made up names for everything you see. Each
one becomes a separate entity, identified by its own name. By this you carve it
out of unity. By this you designate its special attributes, and set it off from
other things by emphasizing space surrounding it. This space you lay between
all things to which you give a different name; all happenings in terms of place
and time; all bodies which are greeted with a name.
2. This space you see as setting off all things from one another is the means
by which the world's perception is achieved. You see something where nothing
is, and see as well nothing where there is unity; a space between all things,
between all things and you. Thus do you think that you have given life in
separation. By this split you think you are established as a unity which
functions with an independent will.
3. What are these names by which the world becomes a series of discrete events,
of things ununified, of bodies kept apart and holding bits of mind as separate
awarenesses? You gave these names to them, establishing perception as you
wished to have perception be. The nameless things were given names, and thus
reality was given them as well. For what is named is given meaning, and will
then be seen as meaningful, a cause of true effects, with consequence inherent
in itself.
4. This is the way reality is made by partial vision, purposefully set against
the given truth. Its enemy is wholeness. It conceives of little things, and
looks upon them. And a lack of space, a sense of unity or vision which sees
differently become the threats which it must overcome, conflict with and deny.
W(399)
5. Yet does this other vision still remain a natural direction for the mind to
channel its perception. It is hard to teach the mind a thousand alien names and
thousands more. Yet you believe this is what learning means; its one essential
goal by which communication is achieved and concepts can be meaningfully shared.
6. This is the sum of the inheritance the world bestows. And everyone who
learns to think that it is so accepts the signs and symbols which assert the
world is real. It is for this they stand. They leave no doubt that what is
named is there. It can be seen, as is anticipated. What denies that it is
true [W444] is but illusion, for it is the ultimate reality. To question it is
madness; to accept its presence is the proof of sanity.
7. Such is the teaching of the world. It is a phase of learning everyone who
comes must go through. But the sooner he perceives on what it rests, how
questionable are its premises, how doubtful its results, the sooner does he
question its effects. Learning which stops with what the world would teach
stops short of meaning. In its proper place, it serves but as a starting point
from which another kind of learning can begin, a new perception can be gained,
and all the arbitrary names the world bestows can be withdrawn as they are
raised to doubt.
8. Think not you made the world. Illusions, yes! But what is true in earth
and Heaven is beyond your naming. When you call upon a brother, it is to his
body that you make appeal. His true identity is hidden from you by what you
believe he really is. His body makes response to what you call him, for his
mind consents to take the name you give him as his own. And thus his unity is
twice denied, for you perceive him separate from you, and he accepts this
separate name as his.
W(400)
9. It would indeed be strange if you were asked to go beyond all symbols of the
world, forgetting them forever; yet were asked to take a teaching function. You
have need to use the symbols of the world a while. But be you not deceived by
them as well. They do not stand for anything at all, and in your practicing it
is this thought which will release you from them. They become but means by
which you can communicate in ways the world can understand, but which you
recognize is not the unity where true communication can be found.
10. Thus what you need are intervals each day in which the learning of the
world becomes a transitory phase; a prison house from which you go into the
sunlight and forget the darkness. Here you understand the Word, the Name Which
God has given you; the One [W445] Identity Which all things share; the one
acknowledgment of what is true. And then step back to darkness, not because you
think it real, but only to proclaim its unreality in terms which still have
meaning in the world which darkness rules.
11. Use all the little names and symbols which delineate the world of darkness.
Yet accept them not as your reality. The Holy Spirit uses all of them, but He
does not forget creation has One [W446] Name, One [W447] Meaning and a single Source
Which unifies all things within Itself. Use all the names the world bestows on
them but for convenience, yet do not forget they share the Name of God along
with you.
12. God has no name. And yet His Name becomes the final lesson that all things
are one, and at this lesson does all learning end. All names are unified; all
space is filled with truth's reflection. Every gap is closed, and separation
healed. The Name of God is the inheritance He gave to those who chose the
teaching of the world to take the place of Heaven. In our practicing, our
purpose is to let our minds accept what He has given as the answer to the
pitiful inheritance you made as fitting tribute to the Son He loves.
W(401)
13. No one can fail who seeks the meaning of the Name of God. Experience must
come to supplement the Word. But first you must accept One [W448] Name for all
reality, and realize the many names you gave its aspects have distorted what you
see but have not interfered with truth at all. One Name we bring into our
practicing. One Name we use to unify our sight.
14. And though we use a different name for each awareness of an aspect of God's
Son, we understand that they have but One [W449] Name Which He has given them. It
is this Name we use in practicing. And through Its use, all foolish separations
disappear which kept us blind. And we are given strength to see beyond them.
Now our sight is blessed with blessings we can give as we receive.
15. "Father, our Name is Yours. In It we are united with all living things,
and You Who are their One Creator. What we made and call by many different
names is but a shadow we have tried to cast across Your Own Reality. And we are
glad and thankful we were wrong. All our mistakes we give to you, that we may
be absolved of all effects our errors seemed to have. And we accept the truth
You give in place of every one of them. Your Name is our salvation and escape
from what we made. Your Name unites us in the Oneness which is our inheritance
and peace. Amen. [W450] "
W(402) May 26, 1970
Lesson 185. "I want the peace of God."
1. To say these words is nothing. But to mean these words is everything. If
you could but mean them for just an instant, there would be no further sorrow
possible for you in any form; in any place or time. Heaven would be completely
given back to full awareness, memory of God entirely restored, the resurrection
of all creation fully recognized.
2. No one can mean these words and not be healed. He cannot play with dreams,
nor think he is himself a dream. He cannot make a hell and think it real. He
wants the peace of God and it is given him. For that is all he wants, and that
is all he will receive. Many have said these words. But few indeed have meant
them. You have but to look upon the world you see around you to be sure how
very few they are. The world would be completely changed should any two agree
these words express the only thing they want.
3. Two minds with one intent become so strong that what they will becomes the
Will of God. For minds can only join in truth. In dreams, no two can share the
same intent. To each, the hero of the dream is different; the outcome wanted
not the same for both. Loser and gainer merely shift about in changing
patterns, as the ratio of gain to loss and loss to gain takes on a different
aspect or another form.
4. Yet compromise alone a dream can bring. Sometimes it takes the form of
union, but only the form. The meaning must escape the dream, for compromising
is the goal of dreaming. Minds cannot unite in dreams. They merely bargain.
And what bargain can give them the peace of God? Illusions come to take His
place. And what He means is lost to sleeping minds intent on compromise, each
to his gain and to another's loss.
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5. To mean you want the peace of God is to renounce all dreams. For no one
means these words who wants illusions, and who therefore seeks the means which
bring illusions. He has looked on them and found them wanting. Now he seeks to
go beyond them, recognizing that another dream would offer nothing more than all
the others. Dreams are one to him. And he has learned their only difference is
one of form, for one will bring the same despair and misery as do the rest.
6. The mind which means that all it wants is peace must join with other minds,
for that is how peace is obtained. And when the wish for peace is genuine, the
means for finding it is given in a form each mind which seeks for it in honesty
can understand. Whatever form the lesson takes is planned for him in such a way
that he can not mistake it if his asking is sincere. And [W451] if he asks
without sincerity, there is no form in which the lesson will meet with
acceptance and be truly learned.
7. Let us today devote our practicing to recognizing that we really mean the
words we say. We want the peace of God. This is no idle wish. These words do
not request another dream be given us. They do not ask for compromise, nor try
to make another bargain in the hope that there must yet be one which can succeed
where all the rest have failed. To mean these words acknowledges illusions are
in vain, requesting the eternal in the place of shifting dreams which seem to
change in what they offer, but are one in nothingness.
8. Today devote your practice periods to careful searching of your mind, to
find the dreams you cherish still. What do you ask for in your heart? Forget
the words you use in making your requests. Consider but what you believe will
comfort you and bring you happiness. But be you not dismayed by lingering
illusions, for their form is not what matters now. Let not some dreams be more
acceptable, reserving shame and secrecy for others. They are one.
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And being one, one question should be asked of all of them; "Is this what I
would have in place of Heaven and the peace of God?"
9. This is the choice you make. Be not deceived that it is otherwise. No
compromise is possible in this. You choose God's peace or you have asked for
dreams, and dreams will come as you requested them. Yet will God's peace come
just as certainly, and to remain with you forever. It will not be gone with
every twist and turning of the road, to reappear unrecognized in forms which
shift and change with every step you take.
10. You want the peace of God. And so do all who seem to seek for dreams. For
them as well as for yourself you ask but this when you make this request with
deep sincerity. For thus you reach to what they really want, and join your own
intent with what they seek above all things, perhaps unknown to them, but sure
to you. You have been weak at times, uncertain in your purpose, and unsure of
what you wanted, where to look for it, and where to turn for help in the
attempt. Help has been given you. And would you not avail yourself of it [W452]
by sharing it?
11. No one who truly seeks the peace of God can fail to find it. For he merely
asks that he deceive himself no longer by denying to himself what is God's Will.
Who can remain unsatisfied who asks for what he has already? Who could be
unanswered who requests an answer which is his to give? The peace of God is
yours.
12. For you it was [W453] created, given you by its Creator, and established as
His Own eternal gift. How can you fail when you but ask for what He wills for
you? And how could your request be limited to you alone? No gift of God can be
unshared. It is this attribute which sets the gifts of God apart from every
dream that ever seemed to take the place of truth.
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13. No one can lose and everyone must gain whenever any gift of God has been
requested and received by anyone. God gives but to unite. To take away is
meaningless to Him. And when it is as meaningless to you, you can be sure you
share One [W454] Will with Him and He with you. And you will also know you share
One [W455] Will with all your brothers, whose intent is yours.
14. It is this one intent we seek today, uniting our desires with the need of
every heart, the call of every mind, the hope that lies beyond despair, the love
attack would hide, the brotherhood that hate has sought to sever, but which
still remains as God created it. With Help like this beside us, can we fail
today as we request the peace of God be given us?
W(406) May 28, 1970
Lesson 186. "Salvation of the world depends on me."
1. Here is the statement that will one day take all arrogance away from every
mind. Here is the thought of true humility which holds no function as your own
but that which has been given you. It offers your acceptance of a part assigned
to you, without insisting on another role. It does not judge your proper role.
It but acknowledges the Will of God is done on earth as well as Heaven. It
unites all wills on earth in Heaven's plan to save the world, restoring it to
Heaven's peace.
2. Let us not fight our function. We did not establish it. It is not our
idea. The means are given us by which it will be perfectly accomplished. All
that we are asked to do is to accept our part in genuine humility, and not deny
with self-deceiving arrogance that we are worthy. What is given us to do we
have the strength to do. Our minds are suited perfectly to take the part
assigned to us by One Who knows us well.
3. Today's idea may seem quite sobering until you see its meaning. All it says
is that your Father still remembers you, and offers you the perfect trust He
holds in you who are His Son. It does not ask that you be different in any way
from what you are. What could humility request but this? And what could
arrogance deny but this? Today we will not shrink from our assignment on the
specious grounds that modesty is outraged. It is pride that would deny the Call
of God Himself.
4. All false humility we lay aside today, that we may listen to God's Voice
reveal to us what He would have us do. We do not doubt our adequacy for the
function He will offer us. We will be certain only that He knows our strengths,
our wisdom and our holiness. And if He deems us worthy, so we are. It is but
arrogance that judges otherwise.
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5. There is one way, and only one, to be released from the imprisonment your
plan to prove the false is true has brought to you. Accept the plan you did not
make instead. Judge not your value to it. If God's Voice assures you that
salvation needs your part, and that the whole depends on you, be sure that it is
so. The arrogant must cling to words, afraid to go beyond them to experience
which might affront their stance. Yet are the humble free to hear the Voice
Which tells them what they are and what to do.
6. Arrogance makes an image of yourself that is not real. It is this image
which quails and retreats in terror as the Voice for God assures you that you
have the strength, the wisdom and the holiness to go beyond all images. You are
not weak, as is the image of yourself. You are not ignorant and helpless. Sin
can not tarnish the truth in you, and misery can come not near the holy home of
God.
7. All this the Voice for God relates to you. And as He speaks, the image
trembles and seeks to attack the threat it does not know, sensing its basis
crumble. Let it go. Salvation of the world depends on you, and not upon this
little pile of dust. What can it tell the holy Son of God? Why need he be
concerned with it at all?
8. And so we find our peace. We will accept the function God has given us, for
all illusions rest upon the weird [W456] belief that we can make another for
ourselves. Our self-made roles are shifting, and they seem to change from
mourner to ecstatic bliss of love and loving. We can laugh or weep, and greet
the day with welcome or with tears. Our very being seems to change as we
experience a thousand shifts in mood, and our emotions raise us high indeed or
dash us to the ground in hopelessness.
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9. Is this the Son of God? Could He create such instability and call it Son?
He Who is changeless shares His attributes with His creation. All the images
His Son appears to make have no effect on what he is. They blow across his mind
like wind-swept leaves that form a patterning an instant, break apart to group
again, and scamper off. Or like mirages seen above a desert, rising from the
dust.
10. These unsubstantial images will go, and leave your mind unclouded and
serene when you accept the function given you. The images you make give rise to
but conflicting goals, impermanent and vague, uncertain and ambiguous. Who
could be constant in his efforts, or direct his energies and concentrated drive
toward goals like these? The functions which the world esteems are so uncertain
that they change ten times an hour at their most secure. What hope of gain can
rest on goals like this?
11. In lovely contrast, certain as the sun's return each morning to dispel the
night, your truly given function stands out clear and wholly unambiguous. There
is no doubt of its validity. It comes from One Who knows no error. And His
Voice is certain of Its messages. They will not change nor be in conflict. All
of them point to one goal, and one you can attain. Your plan may be impossible,
but God's can never fail because He is its Source.
12. Do as His [W457] Voice directs. And if It asks a thing of you that seems
impossible, remember Who it is that asks and who would make denial. Then
consider this; which is more likely to be right? The Voice that speaks for the
Creator of all things, Who knows all things exactly as they are, or a distorted
image of yourself, confused, bewildered, inconsistent and unsure of everything?
Let not its voice direct you. Hear instead a certain
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Voice Which tells you of a function given you by your Creator, Who remembers you
and urges that you now remember Him.
13. His gentle Voice is calling from the known to the unknowing. [W458] He would
comfort you although He knows no sorrow. He would make a restitution though He
is complete; a gift to you although He knows that you have everything already.
He has Thoughts which answer every need His Son perceives, although He sees them
not. For Love must give, and what is given in His Name takes on the form most
useful in a world of form.
14. These are the forms which never can deceive, although [W459] they come from
Formlessness Itself. Forgiveness is an earthly form of love which as it is in
Heaven has no form. Yet what is needed here is given here as it is needed. In
this form you can fulfill your function even here, although what love will mean
to you when formlessness has been restored to you is greater still. Salvation
of the world depends on you who can forgive. Such is your function here.
W(410) June 1, 1970
Lesson 187. "I bless the world because I bless myself."
1. No one can give unless he has. In fact, giving is proof of having. We have
made this point before. What seems to make it hard to credit is not this. No
one can doubt that you must first possess what you would give. It is the second
phase on which the world and true perception differ. Having had and given, then
the world asserts that you have lost what you possessed. The truth maintains
that giving will increase what you possess.
2. How is this possible? For it is sure that if you give a finite thing away,
your body's eyes will not perceive it yours. Yet we have learned that things
but represent the thoughts which make them. And you do not lack for proof that
when you give ideas away, you strengthen them in your own mind. Perhaps the
form in which the thought seems to appear is changed in giving. Yet it must
return to him who gives. Nor can the form it takes be less acceptable. It must
be more.
3. Ideas must first belong to you before you give them. If you are to save the
world, you first accept salvation for yourself. But you will not believe that
this is done until you see the miracles it brings to everyone you look upon.
Herein is the idea of giving clarified and given meaning. Now you can perceive
that by your giving is your store increased.
4. Protect all things you value by the act of giving them away, and you are
sure that you will never lose them. What you thought you did not have is
thereby proven yours. Yet value not its form. For this will change, and grow
unrecognizable in time, however much you try to keep it safe. No form endures.
It is the thought behind the form of things that lives unchangeable.
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5. Give gladly. You can only gain thereby. The thought remains and grows in
strength as it is reinforced by giving. Thoughts extend as they are shared, for
they can not be lost. There is no giver and receiver in the sense the world
conceives of them. There is a giver who retains; another who will give as well.
And both must gain in this exchange, for each will have the thought in form
most helpful to him. What he seems to lose is always something he will value
less than what will surely be returned to him.
6. Never forget you give but to yourself. Who understands what giving means
must laugh at the idea of sacrifice. Nor can he fail to recognize the many
forms which sacrifice may take. He laughs as well at pain and loss, at sickness
and at grief, at poverty, starvation and at death. He recognizes sacrifice
remains the one idea that stands behind them all, and in his gentle laughter are
they healed.
7. Illusion recognized must disappear. Accept not suffering, and you remove
the thought of suffering. Your blessing lies on everyone who suffers when you
choose to see all suffering as what it is. The thought of sacrifice gives rise
to all the forms that suffering appears to take. And sacrifice is an idea so
mad that sanity dismisses it at once.
8. Never believe that you can sacrifice. There is no place for sacrifice in
what has any value. If the thought occurs, its very presence proves that error
has arisen, and correction must be made. Your blessing will correct it. Given
first to you, it now is yours to give as well. No form of sacrifice and
suffering can long endure before the face of one who has forgiven and has
blessed himself.
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9. The lilies that your brother offers you are laid upon your altar, with the
ones you offer him beside them. Who could fear to look upon such lovely
holiness? The great illusion of the fear of God diminishes to nothingness
before the purity that you will look on here. Be not afraid to look. The
blessedness you will behold will take away all thought of form, and leave
instead the perfect gift forever there, forever to increase, forever yours,
forever given away.
10. Now are we one in thought, for fear has gone. And here, before the altar
to one God, one Father, one Creator and one Thought, we stand together as one
Son of God. Not separate from Him Who is our Source; not distant from one
brother who is part of our one Self Whose innocence has joined us all as one, we
stand in blessedness and give as we received. The Name of God is on our lips.
And as we look within, we see the purity of Heaven shine in our reflection of
our Father's Love.
11. Now are we blessed, and now we bless the world. What we have looked upon
we would extend, for we would see it everywhere. We would behold it shining
with the grace of God in everyone. We would not have it be withheld from
anything we look upon. And to ensure this holy sight is ours, we offer it to
everything we see. For where we see it, it will be returned to us in form of
lilies we can lay upon our altar, making it a home for Innocence Itself, Who
dwells in us and offers us His Holiness as ours.
W(413) June 3, 1970
Lesson 188. "The peace of God is shining in me now."
1. Why wait for Heaven? Those who seek the light are merely covering their
eyes. The light is in them now. Enlightenment is but a recognition, not a
change at all. Light is not of the world, yet you who bear the light in you are
alien here as well. The light came with you from your native home, and stayed
with you because it is your own. It is the only thing you bring with you from
Him Who is your Source. It shines in you because it lights your home, and leads
you back to where it came from and you are at home.
2. This light can not be lost. Why wait to find it in the future, or believe
it has been lost already or was never there? It can so easily be looked upon
that arguments which prove it is not there become ridiculous. Who can deny the
presence of what he beholds in him? It is not difficult to look within, for
there all vision starts. There is no sight, be it of dreams or from a truer
source, that is not but the shadow of the seen through inward vision. There
perception starts and there it ends. It has no source but this.
3. The peace of God is shining in you now, and from your heart extends around
the world. It pauses to caress each living thing, and leave a blessing with it
which remains forever and forever. What it gives must be eternal. It removes
all thoughts of the ephemeral and valueless. It brings renewal to all tired
hearts, and lights all vision as it passes by. All of its gifts are given
everyone, and everyone unites in giving thanks to you who give and you who have
received.
4. The shining in your mind reminds the world of what it has forgotten, and the
world restores the memory to you as well. From you salvation radiates with
gifts beyond all measure, given and returned. To you, the giver of the gift,
does God Himself give thanks. And in His blessing does the light in you shine
brighter, adding to the gifts you have to offer to the world.
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5. The peace of God can never be contained. Who recognizes it within himself
must give it. And the means for giving it are in his understanding. He
forgives because he recognized the truth in him. The peace of God is shining in
you now, and in all living things. In quietness is it acknowledged universally.
For what your inward vision looks upon is your perception of the universe.
6. Sit quietly and close your eyes. The light within you is sufficient. It
alone has power to give the gift of sight to you. Exclude the outer world, and
let your thoughts fly to the peace within. They know the way. For honest
thoughts, untainted by the dream of worldly things outside yourself, become the
holy messengers of God Himself. These thoughts you think with Him. They
recognize their home. And they point surely to their Source, where God the
Father and the Son are One.
7. God's peace is shining on them, but they must remain with you as well, for
they were born within your mind, as yours was born in God's. They lead you back
to peace, from where they came but to remind you how you must return. They heed
your Father's Voice when you refuse to listen. And they urge you gently to
accept His Word for what you are, instead of fantasies and shadows. They remind
you that you are the co-creator of all things that live. For as the peace of
God is shining in you, it must shine on them.
8. We practice coming nearer to the light in us today. We take our wandering
thoughts, and gently bring them back to where they fall in line with all the
thoughts we share with God. We will not let them stray. We let the light
within our minds direct them to come home. We have betrayed them, ordering that
they depart from us. But now we call them back, and
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wash them clean of strange desires and disordered wishes. We restore to them
the holiness of their inheritance.
9. Thus are our minds restored with them, and we acknowledge that the peace of
God still shines in us, and from us to all living things that share our life.
We will forgive them all, absolving all the world of what we thought it did to
us. For it is we who make the world as we would have it. Now we choose that it
be innocent, devoid of sin, and open to salvation. And we lay our saving
blessing on it as we say:
"The peace of God is shining in me now.
Let all things shine upon me in that peace,
And let me bless them with the light in me."
W(416) July 9, 1970
Lesson 189. "I feel the Love of God within me now."
1. There is a light in you the world can not perceive. And with its eyes you
will not see this light, for you are blinded by the world. Yet you have eyes to
see it. It is there for you to look upon. It was not placed in you to be kept
hidden from your sight. This light is a reflection of the thought we practice
now. To feel the Love of God within you is to see the world anew, shining in
innocence, alive with hope, and blessed with perfect charity and love.
2. Who could feel fear in such a world as this? It welcomes you, rejoices that
you came, and sings your praises as it keeps you safe from every form of danger
and of pain. It offers you a warm and gentle home in which to stay a while. It
blesses you throughout the day, and watches through the night as silent guardian
of your holy sleep. It sees salvation in you, and protects the light in you in
which it sees its own. It offers you its flowers and its snow in thankfulness
for your benevolence.
3. This is the world the Love of God reveals. It is so different from the
world you see through darkened eyes of malice and of fear that one belies the
other. Only one can be perceived at all. The other one is wholly meaningless.
A world in which forgiveness shines on everything and peace offers its gentle
light to everyone is inconceivable to those who see a world of hatred, rising
from attack, poised to avenge, to murder and destroy.
4. Yet is the world of hatred equally unseen and inconceivable to those who
feel God's Love in them. Their world reflects the quietness and peace that
shines in them; the gentleness and innocence they see surrounding them; the joy
with which they look out from the endless wells of joy within. What they have
felt in them they look upon, and see Its sure reflection everywhere.
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5. What would you see? The choice is given you. But learn and do not let your
mind forget this law of seeing: You will look upon that which you feel within.
If hatred finds a place within your heart, you will perceive a fearful world,
held cruelly in death's sharp-pointed, bony fingers. If you feel the Love of
God within you, you look out upon a world of mercy and of love.
6. Today we pass illusions as we seek to reach to what is true in us, and feel
Its all-embracing tenderness, Its Love Which knows us perfect as Itself, Its
sight which is the gift Its Love bestows on us. We learn the way today. It is
as sure as Love Itself, to Which it carries us. For its simplicity avoids the
snares the foolish convolutions of the world's apparent reasoning but serve to
hide.
7. Simply do this: Be still and lay aside all thoughts of what you are and what
God is; all concepts you have learned about the world; all images you hold about
yourself. Empty your mind of everything it thinks is either true or false or
good or bad; of every thought it judges worthy and all the ideas of which it is
ashamed. Hold onto nothing. Do not bring with you one thought the past has
taught, nor one belief you ever learned before from anything. Forget this
world, forget this course, and come with wholly empty hands unto your God.
8. Is it not He Who knows the way to you? You need not know the way to Him.
Your part is simply to allow all obstacles that [W460] you have interposed between
the Son and God the Father to be quietly removed forever. God will do His part
in joyful and immediate response. Ask and receive. But do not make demands,
nor point the road to God by which He should appear to you. The way to reach
Him is merely to let Him be. For in that way is your reality acclaimed as well.
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9. And so today we do not choose the way in which we go to Him. But we do
choose to let Him come, and [W461] with this choice we rest. And in our quiet
hearts and open minds His Love will blaze Its pathway of Itself. What has not
been denied is surely there, if it be true, and can be surely reached. God
knows His Son, and knows the way to him. He does not need His Son to show Him
how to find His way. Through every opened door His Love shines outward from Its
home within, and lightens up the world in innocence.
10. "Father, we do not know the way to You. But we have called and You have
answered us. We will not interfere. Salvation's ways are not our own for they
belong to You, and [W462] it is unto You we look for them. Our hands are open to
receive Your gifts. We have no thoughts we think apart from You, and cherish no
beliefs of what we are or who created us. Yours is the way that we would find
and follow. And we ask but that Your Will, Which is our own as well, be done in
us and in the world, that it becomes a part of Heaven now. Amen. [W463] "
W(419) July 15, 1970
Lesson 190. "I choose the joy of God instead of pain."
1. Pain is a wrong perspective. When it is experienced in any form, it is a
proof of self-deception. It is not a fact at all. There is no form it takes
which will not disappear if seen aright. For pain proclaims God cruel. How
could it be real in any form? It witnesses to God the Father's hatred of His
Son, the sinfulness He sees in him, and His insane desire for revenge and death.
2. Can such projections be attested to? Can they be anything but wholly false?
Pain is but witness to the Son's mistakes in what he thinks he is. It is a
dream of fierce retaliation for a crime that could not be committed; for attack
on what is wholly unassailable. It is a nightmare of abandonment by an Eternal
Love Which could not leave the Son whom It created out of love.
3. Pain is a sign illusions reign in place of truth. It demonstrates God is
denied, confused with fear, perceived as mad and seen as traitor to Himself. If
God is real there is no pain. If pain is real there is no God. For vengeance
is not part of love, [W464] and fear, denying love and using pain to prove that
God is dead, has shown that death is victor over life. The body is the Son of
God, corruptible in death, as mortal as the Father he has slain.
4. Peace to such foolishness! The time has come to laugh at such insane ideas.
There is no need to think of them as savage crimes or secret sins with weighty
consequence. Who but a madman could conceive of them as cause of anything?
Their witness, pain, is mad as they, and no more to be feared than the insane
illusions which it shields and tries to demonstrate must still be true.
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5. It is your thoughts alone that cause you pain. Nothing external to your
mind can hurt or injure you in any way. There is no cause beyond yourself that
can reach down and bring oppression. No one but yourself affects you. There is
nothing in the world which has the power to make you ill or sad, or weak or
frail. But it is you who have the power to dominate all things you see by
merely recognizing what you are. As you perceive the harmlessness in them, they
will accept your holy will as theirs. And what was seen as fearful now becomes
a source of innocence and holiness.
6. My holy brothers, think of this awhile; the world you see does nothing. It
has no effects at all. It merely represents your thoughts. And it will change
entirely as you elect to change your mind, and choose the joy of God as what you
really want. Your Self is radiant in this holy joy, unchanged, unchanging and
unchangeable forever and forever. And would you deny a little corner of your
mind its own inheritance, and keep it as a hospital for pain, a sickly place
where living things must come at last to die?
7. The world may seem to cause you pain. And yet the world, as causeless, has
no power to cause. As an effect it cannot make effects. As an illusion it is
what you will. Your idle wishes represent its pains. Your strange desires
bring it evil dreams. Your thoughts of death envelop it in fear, while in your
kind forgiveness does it live.
8. Pain is the thought of evil taking form, and working havoc in your holy
mind. Pain is the ransom you have gladly paid not to be free. In pain is God
denied the Son He loves. In pain does fear appear to triumph over love, and
time replace eternity and Heaven. And the world becomes a cruel and a bitter
place, where sorrow rules and little joys give way before the onslaught of the
savage pain that waits to end all joy in misery.
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9. Lay down your arms and come without defense into the quiet place where
Heaven's peace holds all things still at last. Lay down all thoughts of danger
and of fear. Let no attack enter with you. Lay down the cruel sword of
judgment that you hold against your throat, and put aside the withering assaults
with which you seek to hide your holiness.
10. Here will you understand there is no pain. Here does the joy of God belong
to you. This is the day when it is given you to realize the lesson which
contains all of salvation's power. It is this: Pain is illusion; joy reality.
Pain is but sleep; joy is awakening. Pain is deception; joy alone is truth.
11. And so again we make the only choice that ever can be made; we choose
between illusions and the truth, or pain and joy, or hell and Heaven. Let our
gratitude unto our Teacher fill our hearts as we are free to choose our joy
instead of pain, our holiness in place of sin, the peace of God instead of
conflict, and the light of Heaven for the darkness of the world.
W(422) July 17, 1970
Lesson 191. "I am the holy Son of God Himself"
1. Here is your declaration of release from bondage of the world. And here as
well is all the world released. You do not see what you have done by giving to
the world the role of jailor to the Son of God. What could it be but vicious
and afraid, fearful of shadows, punitive and wild, lacking all reason, blind,
insane and sad?
2. What have you done that this should be your world? What have you done that
this is what you see? Deny your own identity and this is what remains. You
look on chaos and proclaim it as yourself. There is no sight that fails to
witness this to you. There is no sound that does not speak of frailty within
you and without; no breath you draw that does not seem to bring you nearer
death; no hope you hold but will dissolve in tears.
3. Deny your own identity and you will not escape the madness which induced
this weird, unnatural and ghostly thought which [W465] mocks creation and
which [W466] laughs at God. Deny your own identity and you assail the universe
alone, without a friend, a tiny particle of dust against the legions of your
enemies. Deny your own identity and look on evil, sin and death, and [W467] watch
despair snatch from your fingers every scrap of hope, leaving you nothing but
the wish to die.
4. Yet what is it except a game you play in which identity can be denied? You
are as God created you. All else but this one thing is folly to believe. In
this one thought is everything [W468] set free. In this one truth are all
illusions gone. In this one fact is sinlessness proclaimed to be forever part
of everything; the central core of its existence and its guarantee of
immortality.
W(423)
5. But let today's idea find a place among your thoughts, and you have risen
far above the world and all the worldly thoughts that hold it prisoner. And
from this place of safety and escape you will return and set it free. For he
who can accept his true identity is truly saved. And his salvation is the gift
he gives to everyone in gratitude to Him Who pointed out the way to happiness
that changed his whole perception of the world.
6. One holy thought like this and you are free; you are the holy Son of God
Himself. And with this holy thought you learn as well that you have freed the
world. You have no need to use it cruelly and then perceive this savage need in
it. You set it free of your imprisonment. You will not see a devastating image
of yourself walking the world in terror, with the world twisting in agony
because your fears have laid the mark of death upon its heart.
7. Be glad today how very easily is hell undone. You need but tell yourself:
"I am the holy Son of God Himself.
I cannot suffer; cannot be in pain;
I cannot lose, nor can I fail to do
All that salvation asks."
And in that thought is everything you look on wholly changed.
8. A miracle has lighted up all dark and ancient caverns where the rites of
death echoed since time began. For time has lost its hold upon the world. The
Son of God has come in glory to redeem the lost, to save the helpless and to
give the world the gift of his forgiveness. Who could see the world as dark and
sinful when God's Son has come again at last to set it free?
W(424)
9. You who perceive yourself as weak and frail, with futile hopes and
devastated dreams, born but to die, to weep and suffer pain, hear this: All
power is given you in earth and Heaven. There is nothing that you cannot do.
You play the game of death, of being helpless, pitifully tied to dissolution in
a world which shows no mercy to you. Yet when you accord it mercy, will its
mercy shine on you.
10. Then let the Son of God awaken from his sleep, and opening his holy eyes
return again to bless the world he made. In error it began. But it will end in
the reflection of his holiness. And we will sleep no more and dream of death.
Then join with me today. Your glory is the light that saves the world. Do not
withhold salvation longer. Look about the world and see the suffering there.
Is not your heart willing to bring your weary brothers rest?
11. They must await your own release. They stay in chains ‘til you are free.
They cannot see the mercy of the world until you find it for [W469] yourself.
They suffer pain until you have denied its hold on you. They die ‘til you
accept your own Eternal Life. You are the holy Son of God Himself. Remember
this and all the world is free. Remember this and earth and Heaven are one.
W(425) July 21, 1970
Lesson 192. "I have a function God would have me fill."
1. It is your Father's holy Will that you complete Himself and that your Self
shall be His sacred Son, forever pure as He, of love created and in love
preserved, extending love, creating in its Name, forever one with God and with
your Self. Yet what can such a function mean within a world of envy, hatred and
attack?
2. Therefore you have a function in the world in its own terms. For who can
understand a language far beyond his simple grasp? Forgiveness represents your
function here. It is not God's creation, for it is the means by which untruth
can be undone. And who would pardon Heaven? Yet on earth you need the means to
let illusion go. Creation merely waits for your return to be acknowledged, not
to be complete.
3. Creation cannot even be conceived of in the world. It has no meaning here.
Forgiveness is the closest it can come to earth. For being Heaven-borne, it has
no form at all. Yet God created One Who has the power to translate into [W470]
form the wholly formless. What He makes are dreams, but of a kind so close to
waking that the light of day already shines in them, [W471] and eyes already
opening behold the joyful sights their offerings contain.
4. Forgiveness gently looks upon all things unknown in Heaven, sees them
disappear, and leaves the world a clean and unmarked slate on which the Word of
God can now replace the senseless symbols written there before. Forgiveness is
the means by which the fear of death is overcome because it holds no fierce
attraction now, and guilt is gone.
W(426)
Forgiveness lets the body be perceived as what it is; a simple teaching aid to
be laid by when learning is complete, but hardly changing him who learns at all.
5. The mind without the body cannot make mistakes. It cannot think that it
will die, nor be the prey of merciless attack. Anger becomes impossible, and
where is terror then? What fears could still assail those who have lost the
source of all attack; the core of anguish and the seat [W472] of fear? Only
forgiveness can relieve the mind of thinking that the body is its home. Only
forgiveness can restore the peace that God intended for His holy Son. Only
forgiveness can persuade the Son to look again upon his holiness.
6. With anger gone, you will indeed perceive that for Christ's vision and the
gift of sight no sacrifice was asked, and only pain was lifted from a sick and
tortured mind. Is this unwelcome? Is it to be feared? Or is it to be hoped
for, met with thanks and joyously accepted? We are one, and therefore give up
nothing, for [W473] we have indeed been given everything by God.
7. Yet do we need forgiveness to perceive that this is so. Without its kindly
light we grope in darkness, using reason but to justify our rage and our attack.
Our understanding is so limited that what we think we understand is but
confusion born of error. We are lost in mists of shifting dreams and fearful
thoughts, our eyes shut tight against the light; our minds engaged in
worshipping what is not there.
8. Who can be born again in Christ but him who has forgiven everyone he sees or
thinks of or imagines? Who could be set free while he imprisons anyone? A
jailor is not free, for he is bound together with his prisoner. He must be sure
that he does not escape, and so he spends his time in keeping watch on him. The
bars which limit him become the world in which the [W474] jailor lives, along with
him. And it is on his freedom that the way to liberty depends for both of them.
W(427)
9. Therefore hold no one prisoner. Release instead of bind, for thus are you
made free. The way is simple. Every time [W475] you feel a stab of anger,
realize you hold a sword above your head. And it will fall or be averted as you
choose to be condemned or free. Thus does each one who seems to tempt you to be
angry represent your Savior from the prison-house of death. And so you owe him
thanks instead of pain.
10. Be merciful today. The Son of God deserves your mercy. It is he who asks
that you accept the way to freedom now. Deny him not. His Father's Love for
him belongs to you. Your function here on earth is only to forgive him, that
you may accept him back as your identity. He is as God created him. And you
are what he is. Forgive him now his sins, and you will see that you are one
with him.
W(428) July 20, 1970
Lesson 193. "All things are lessons God would have me learn."
1. God does not know of learning. Yet His Will extends to what He does not
understand, in that He wills the happiness His Son inherited of Him be
undisturbed; eternal and forever gaining scope, eternally expanding in the joy
of full creation, and eternally open and wholly limitless in Him. This is His
Will. And thus His Will provides the means to guarantee that it is done.
2. God sees no contradictions. Yet His Son believes he sees them. Thus he has
a need for One Who can correct his erring sight, and give him vision that will
lead him back to where perception ceases. God does not perceive at all. Yet it
is He Who gives the means by which perception is made true and beautiful enough
to let the light of Heaven shine upon it. It is He Who answers what His Son
would contradict, and keeps his sinlessness forever safe.
3. These are the lessons God would have you learn. His Will reflects them all,
and they reflect His loving kindness to the Son He loves. Each
lesson has a central thought, the same in all of them. The form alone is
changed, with different circumstances and events; with different characters and
different themes apparent but not real. They are the same in fundamental
content. It is this: "Forgive and you will see this differently."
4. Certain it is that all distress does not appear to be but unforgiveness.
Yet that is the content underneath the form. It is this sameness which makes
learning sure, because the lesson is so simple that it cannot be rejected in the
end. No one can hide forever from a truth so very obvious that it appears in
countless forms, and yet is recognized as easily in all of them, if one but
wants to see the simple lesson there.
W(429)
5. "Forgive and you will see this differently." These are the words the Holy
Spirit speaks in all your tribulations, all your pain, all suffering regardless
of its forms. These are the words with which temptation ends and guilt,
abandoned, is revered no more. These are the words which end the dream of sin,
and rid the mind of fear. These are the words by which salvation comes to all
the world.
6. Shall we not learn to say these words when we are tempted to believe that
pain is real, and death becomes our choice instead of life? Shall we not learn
to say these words when we have understood their power to release all minds from
bondage? These are words which give you power over all events which [W476] seem
to have been given power over you. You see them rightly when you hold these
words in full awareness, and do not forget these words apply to everything you
see or any brother looks upon amiss.
7. How can you tell when you are seeing wrong, or someone else is failing to
perceive the lesson he should learn? Does pain seem real in the perception? If
it does, be sure the lesson is not learned. And there remains an unforgiveness
hiding in the mind which [W477] sees the pain through eyes the mind directs.
8. God would not have you suffer thus. He would help you forgive yourself.
His Son does not remember who he is. And God would have him not forget His
Love, and all the gifts His Love brings with It. Would you now renounce your
own salvation? Would you fail to learn the simple lessons Heaven's Teacher sets
before you that all pain may disappear, and God may be remembered by His Son?
9. All things are lessons God would have you learn. He would not leave an
unforgiving thought without correction, nor one thorn or nail to hurt His sacred
Son in any way. He would ensure his holy rest remain untroubled and serene,
without a care in an eternal home which cares for him. And He would have all
tears be wiped away, with none remaining yet unshed, and none but waiting their
appointed time to fall. For God has willed that laughter
W(430)
should replace each one, and that His Son be free again.
10. We will attempt today to overcome a thousand seeming obstacles to peace in
just one day. Let mercy come to you more quickly. Do not try to hold it off
another day, another minute, or another instant. Time was made for this. Use
it today for what its purpose is. Morning and night devote what time you can to
serve its proper aim, and do not let the time be less than meets your deepest
need. Give all you can and give a little more, for now we would arise in haste
and go unto our Father's house. We have been gone too long, and we would linger
here no more.
11. And as we practice, let us think about all things we saved to settle by
ourselves, and kept apart from healing. Let us give them all to Him Who knows
the way to look upon them so that they will disappear. Truth is His message;
truth His teaching is. His are the lessons God would have us learn.
12. Each hour spend a little time today, and in the days to come, in practicing
the lesson in forgiveness in the form established for the day. And try to give
it application to the happenings the hour brought, so that the next one is free
of the one before. The chains of time are easily unloosened in this way. Let
no one hour cast its shadow on the one that follows, and when that one goes let
everything that happened in its course go with it. Thus will you remain
unbound, in peace eternal in the world of time.
13. This is the lesson God would have you learn: There is a way to look on
everything that lets it be to you another step to Him and to salvation of the
world.
W(431)
To all that speaks of terror, answer thus:
"I will forgive and this will disappear."
To every apprehension, every care, and every form of suffering repeat these
selfsame words. And then you hold the key that opens Heaven's gate, and brings
the Love of God the Father down to earth at last, to raise it up to Heaven. God
will take this final step Himself. Do not deny the little steps He asks you
take to Him.
W(432) August 3, 1970
Lesson 194. "I place the future in the hands of God."
1. Today's idea takes another step toward quick salvation, and a giant stride
it is indeed! So great the distance is that it encompasses, it sets you down
just short of Heaven, with the goal in sight and obstacles behind. Your foot
has reached the lawns that welcome you to Heaven's gate; the quiet place of
peace where you await with certainty the final step of God. How far are we
progressing now from earth! How close are we approaching to our goal! How
short the journey still to be pursued!
2. Accept today's idea, and you have passed [W478] all anxiety, all pits of hell,
all blackness of depression, thoughts of sin, and devastation brought about by
guilt. Accept today's idea, and you have released the world from all
imprisonment by loosening the heavy chains that locked the door to freedom on
it. You are saved, and your salvation thus becomes the gift you give the world
because you have received.
3. In no one instant is depression felt, or pain experienced, or loss
perceived. In no one instant sorrow can be set upon a throne and worshipped
faithfully. In no one instant can one even die. And so each instant given unto
God in passing, with the next one given Him already, is a time of your release
from sadness, pain, and even death itself.
4. God holds your future as He holds your past and present. They are one to
Him, and so they should be one to you. Yet in this world the temporal
progression still seems real. And so you are not asked to understand the lack
of sequence really found in time. You are but asked to let the future go, and
place it in God's hands. And you will see by your experience that you have laid
the past and present in His hands as well, because the past will punish you no
more, and future dread will now be meaningless.
W(433)
5. Release the future. For the past is gone, and what is present, freed from
its bequest of grief and misery, of pain and loss, becomes the instant in which
time escapes the bondage of illusions where it runs its pitiless, inevitable
course. Then is each instant, which was slave to time, transformed into a holy
instant when the light that was kept hidden in God's Son is freed to bless the
world. Now is he free, and all his glory shines upon a world made free with
him, to share his holiness.
6. If you can see the lesson for today as the deliverance it really is, you
will not hesitate to give as much consistent effort as you can to make it be a
part of you. As it becomes a thought which [W479] rules your mind, a habit in
your problem-solving repertoire, a way of quick reaction to temptation, you
extend your learning to the world. And as you learn to see salvation in all
things, so will the world perceive that it is saved.
7. What worry can beset the one who gives his future to the loving hands of
God? What can he suffer? What can cause him pain, or bring experience of loss
to him? What can he fear? And what can he regard except with love? For he who
has escaped all fear of future pain has found his way to present peace, and
certainty of care the world can never threaten. He is sure that his perception
may be faulty, but will never lack correction. He is free to choose again when
he has been deceived; to change his mind when he has made mistakes.
8. Place, then, your future in the hands of God. For thus you call the memory
of Him to come again, replacing all your thoughts of sin and evil with the truth
of love. Think you the world could fail to gain thereby, and every living
creature not respond with healed perception? Who entrusts himself to God has
also placed the world within the Hands to which he has himself appealed for
comfort and security. He lays aside the sick illusions of the world along with
his, and offers peace to both.
W(434)
9. Now are we saved indeed. For in God's hands we rest untroubled, sure that
only good can come to us. If we forget, we will be gently reassured. If we
accept an unforgiving thought, it will be seen replaced by love's reflection.
And if we are tempted to attack, we will appeal to Him Who guards our rest to
make the choice for us that leaves temptation far behind. No longer is the
world our enemy, for we have chosen that we be its friends. [W480]
W(435) August 4, 1970
Lesson 195. "Love is the way I walk in gratitude."
1. Gratitude is a lesson hard to learn for those who look upon the world amiss.
The most [W481] they can do is see themselves as better off than others. And
they try to be content because another seems to suffer more than they. How
pitiful and deprecating are such thoughts! For who has cause for thanks while
others have less cause? And who could suffer less because he sees another
suffer more? Your gratitude is due to Him alone Who made all cause of sorrow
disappear throughout the world.
2. It is insane to offer thanks because of suffering. But it is equally insane
to fail in gratitude to One Who offers you the certain means whereby all pain is
healed, and suffering replaced with laughter and with happiness. Nor could the
even partly sane refuse to take the steps which He directs, and follow in the
way He sets before them to escape a prison which they thought contained no door
to the deliverance they now perceive.
3. Your brother is your "enemy" because you see in him the rival for your
peace; a plunderer who takes his joy from you, and leaves you nothing
but a black despair so bitter and relentless that there is no hope remaining.
Now is vengeance all there is to wish for. Now can you but try to bring him
down to lie in death with you, as useless as yourself; as little left within his
grasping fingers as in yours.
4. You do not offer God your gratitude because your brother is more slave than
you, nor could you sanely be enraged if he seems freer. Love makes no
comparisons. And gratitude can only be sincere if it is joined to love. We
offer thanks to God our Father that in us all things will find their freedom.
It will never be that some are loosed while others still are bound, for who can
bargain in the Name of love?
W(436)
5. Therefore give thanks, but in sincerity. And let your gratitude make room
for all who will escape with you; the sick, the weak, the needy and afraid, and
those who mourn a seeming loss or feel apparent pain, who suffer cold or hunger,
or who walk the way of hatred and the path of death. All these go with you.
Let us not compare ourselves with them, for thus we split them off in our
awareness from the Unity we share with them [W482], as they must share with us.
6. We thank our Father for one thing alone; that we are separate from no living
thing, and therefore one with Him. And we rejoice that no exceptions ever can
be made which would reduce our wholeness, nor impair or change our function to
complete the One Who is Himself completion. We give thanks for every living
thing, for otherwise we offer thanks for nothing, and we fail to recognize the
gifts of God to us.
7. Then let our brothers lean their tired heads against our shoulders as they
rest a while. We offer thanks for them. For if we can direct them to the peace
that we would find, the way is opening at last to us. An ancient door is
swinging free again; a long forgotten Word re-echoes in our memory, and gathers
clarity as we are willing once again to hear.
8. Walk, then, in gratitude the way of love. For hatred is forgotten when we
lay comparisons aside. What more remains as obstacles to peace? The fear of
God is now undone at last, and we forgive without comparing. Thus we cannot
choose to overlook some things, and yet retain some other things still locked
away as sins. When your forgiveness is complete you will have total gratitude,
for you will see that everything has earned the right to love by being loving,
even as your Self.
W(437)
9. Today we learn to think of gratitude in place of anger, malice and revenge.
We have been given everything. If we refuse to recognize it, we are not
entitled therefore to our bitterness, and to a self-perception which regards us
in a place of merciless pursuit, where we are badgered ceaselessly and pushed
about without a thought or care for us or for our future. Gratitude becomes the
single thought we substitute for these insane perceptions. God has cared for
us, and calls us Son. Can there be more than this?
10. Our gratitude will pave the way to Him, and shorten our learning time by
more than you could ever dream of. Gratitude goes hand in hand with love, and
where one is the other must be found. For gratitude is but an aspect of the
love which is the Source of all creation. God gives thanks to you, His Son, for
being what you are; His Own completion and the Source of love, along with Him.
Your gratitude to Him is one with His to you. For love can walk no road except
the way of gratitude, and thus we go who walk the way to God.
W(438) August 11, 1970
Lesson 196. "It can be but myself I crucify."
1. When this is firmly understood and kept in full awareness, you will not
attempt to harm yourself, nor make your body slave to vengeance. You will not
attack yourself, and you will realize that to attack another is but to attack
yourself. You will be free of the insane belief that to attack a brother saves
yourself. And you will understand his safety is your own, and in his healing
you are healed.
2. Perhaps at first you will not understand how mercy, limitless and with all
things held in its sure protection, can be found in the idea we practice for
today. It may, in fact, appear to be a sign that punishment can never be
escaped because the ego, under what it sees as threat, is quick to cite the
truth to save its lies. Yet must it fail to understand the truth it uses thus.
But you can learn to see these foolish applications, and deny the meaning they
appear to have.
3. Thus do you also teach your mind that you are not an ego. For the ways in
which the ego would distort the truth will not deceive you longer. You will not
believe you are a body to be crucified. And you will see within today's idea
the light of resurrection, looking past all thoughts of crucifixion and of death
to thoughts of liberation and of life.
4. Today's idea is one step we take in leading us from bondage to the state of
perfect freedom. Let us take this step today that we may quickly go the way
salvation shows us, taking every step in its appointed sequence as the mind
relinquishes its burdens one by one. It is not time we need for this. It is
but willingness. And [W483] what would seem to need a thousand years can easily
be done in just one instant by the grace of God.
W(439)
5. The dreary, hopeless thought that you can make attacks on others and escape
yourself has nailed you to the cross. Perhaps it seemed to be salvation. Yet
it merely stood for the belief the fear of God is real. And what is that but
hell? Who could believe his Father is his deadly enemy, separate from him, and
waiting to destroy his life and blot him from the universe, without the fear of
hell upon his heart?
6. Such is the form of madness you believe, if you accept the fearful thought
you can attack another and be free yourself. Until this form is changed, there
is no hope. Until you see that this, at least, must be entirely impossible, how
could there be escape? The fear of God is real to anyone who thinks this
thought is true. And he will not perceive its foolishness, nor even see that it
is there so that it would be possible to question it.
7. To question it at all, its form must first be changed at least as much as
will permit fear of retaliation to abate, and the responsibility returned to
some extent to you. From there you can at least consider if you want to go
along this painful path. Until this shift has been accomplished, you can not
perceive that it is but your thoughts which bring you fear, and your deliverance
depends on you.
8. Our next steps will be easy, if you take this one today. From there we go
ahead quite rapidly. For once you understand it is impossible that you be hurt
except by your own thoughts, the fear of God must disappear. You do not now
believe that fear is caused without. And God, Whom you had thought to banish,
can be welcomed back within the holy mind He never left.
W(440)
9. Salvation's song can certainly be heard in the idea we practice for today.
If it can but be you you crucify, you did not hurt the world and need not fear
its vengeance and pursuit. Nor need you hide in terror from the deadly fear of
God projection hides behind. The thing you dread the most is your salvation.
You are strong, and it is strength you want. And you are free, and glad of
freedom. You have sought to be both weak and bound, because you feared your
strength and freedom. Yet salvation lies in them.
10. There is an instant in which terror seems to grip your mind so wholly that
escape appears quite hopeless. When you realize, once and for all, that it is
you you fear, the mind perceives itself as split. And this had been concealed
while you believed attack could be directed outward, and returned from outside
to within. It seemed to be an enemy outside you had to fear. And thus a god
outside yourself became your mortal enemy; the source of fear.
11. Now, for an instant, is a murderer perceived within you, eager for your
death, intent on plotting punishment for you until the time when it can kill at
last. Yet in this instant is the time as well in which salvation comes. For
fear of God has disappeared. And you can call on Him to save you from illusions
in [W484] His Love, calling Him Father and yourself His Son. Pray that the
instant may be soon, - today. Step back from fear and make advance to love.
12. There is no Thought of God that does not go with you to help you reach that
instant, and to go beyond it quickly, surely and forever. When the fear of God
is gone, there are no obstacles which still remain between you and the holy
peace of God. How kind and merciful is the idea we practice! Give it welcome
as you should, for it is your release. It is indeed but you your mind can try
to crucify. Yet your redemption, too, will come from you.
W(441) August 12, 1970
Lesson 197. "It can be but my gratitude I earn."
1. Here is the second step we take to free your mind from the belief in outside
force pitted against your own. You make attempts at kindness and forgiveness.
Yet you turn them to attack again, unless you find external gratitude and lavish
thanks. Your gifts must be received with honor, lest they be withdrawn. And so
you think God's gifts are loans at best; at worst, deceptions which would cheat
you of defenses to ensure that when He strikes He will not fail to kill.
2. How easily are God and guilt confused by those who know not what their
thoughts can do. Deny your strength, and weakness must become salvation to you.
See yourself as bound, and bars become your home. Nor will you leave the
prison house or claim your strength until guilt and salvation are not seen as
one, and freedom and salvation are perceived as joined, with strength beside
them, to be sought and claimed and found and fully recognized.
3. The world must thank you when you offer it release from your illusions. Yet
your thanks belong to you as well, for its release can only mirror yours. Your
gratitude is all your gifts require, that they be a lasting offering of a
thankful heart released from hell forever. Is it this you would undo by taking
back your gifts because they were not honored? It is you who honor them and
give them fitting thanks, for it is you who have received the gifts.
4. It does not matter if another thinks your gifts unworthy. In his mind there
is a part which joins with yours in thanking you. It does not matter if your
gifts seem lost and ineffectual. They are received where they are given. In
your gratitude are they accepted universally, and thankfully acknowledged by the
Heart of God Himself. And would you take them back, when He has gratefully
accepted them?
W(442)
5. God blesses every gift you give to Him and every gift is given Him because
it can be given only to yourself, and what belongs to God must be His Own. Yet
you will never realize His gifts are sure, eternal, changeless, limitless,
forever giving out, extending love and adding to your never-ending joy, while
you forgive but to attack again.
6. Withdraw the gifts you give, and you will think that what is given you has
been withdrawn. But learn to let forgiveness take away the sins you think you
see outside yourself, and you can never think the gifts of God are lent but for
a little while, before He snatches them away again in death. For death will
have no meaning for you then. And with the end of this belief is fear forever
over. Thank your Self for this, for He is grateful only unto God, and He gives
thanks for you unto Himself.
7. To everyone who lives will Christ yet come, for everyone must live and
breathe in Him. His Being in His Father is secure because Their Will is One.
Their gratitude to all They have created has no end, for gratitude remains a
part of love. Thanks be to you, the holy Son of God, for as you were created
you contain all things within your Self. And you are still as God created you.
Nor can you dim the light of your perfection. In your heart the Heart of God is
laid. He holds you dear because you are Himself. All gratitude belongs to you
because of what you are.
8. Give thanks as you receive it. Be you free of all ingratitude to anyone who
makes your Self complete. And from this Self is no one left outside. Give
thanks for all the countless channels that extend this Self. All that you do is
given unto Him. All that you think can only be His Thoughts, sharing with Him
the holy Thoughts of God. Earn now the gratitude you have denied yourself when
you forgot the function God has given you. But never think that He has ever
ceased to offer thanks to you.
W(443) P 0> August 18, 1970
Lesson 198. "Only my condemnation injures me."
1. Injury is impossible. And yet illusion makes illusion. If you can condemn
you can be injured. For you have believed that you can injure, and the right
you have established for yourself can be now used against you, ‘til you lay it
down as valueless, unwanted and unreal. Then does illusion cease to have
effects, and all [W485] it seemed to have will be undone. Then are you free, for
freedom is your gift, and you can now receive the gift you gave.
2. Condemn and you are made a prisoner. Forgive and you are freed. Such is
the law that rules perception. It is not a law that knowledge understands, for
freedom is a part of knowledge. To condemn is thus impossible in truth. What
seems to be its influence and its effects have not occurred at all. Yet must we
deal with them a while as if they had. Illusion makes illusion. Except one.
Forgiveness is illusion that is answer to the rest.
3. Forgiveness sweeps all other dreams away, and though it is itself a dream,
it breeds no others. All illusions save this one must multiply a thousand fold.
But this is where illusions end. Forgiveness is the end of dreams because it
is a dream of waking. It is not itself the truth. Yet does it point to where
the truth must be, and gives direction with the certainty of God Himself. It is
a dream in which the Son of God awakens to his Self and to his Father knowing
They are One [W486].
4. Forgiveness is the only road that leads out of disaster, past all suffering,
and finally away from death. How could there be another way, when this one is
the plan of God Himself? And why should [W487] you oppose it, quarrel with it,
seek to find a thousand ways in which it must be wrong; a thousand other
possibilities?
W(444)
5. Is it not wiser to be glad you hold the answer to your problems in your
hand? Is it not more intelligent to thank the One Who gives salvation, and
accept His gift with gratitude? And is it not a kindness to yourself to hear
His Voice and learn the simple lessons He would teach, instead of trying to
dismiss His Words and substitute your own in place of His?
6. His Words [W488] will work. His Words will save. His Words contain all hope,
all blessing and all joy that ever can be found upon this earth. His Words are
born in God, and come to you with Heaven's love upon them. Those who hear His
Words have heard the song of Heaven, for these are the words in which all will
merge as one at last. And as this one will fade away, the Word of God will come
to take its place, for It will be remembered then and loved.
7. This world has many seeming separate haunts where mercy has no meaning, and
attack appears as justified. Yet all are one; a place where death is offered to
God's Son and to his Father. You may think They have accepted, but if you will
look again upon the place where you beheld Their blood you will perceive a
miracle instead. How foolish to believe that They could die! How foolish to
believe you can attack! How mad to think that you could be condemned, and that
the holy Son of God can die!
8. The stillness of your Self remains unmoved, untouched by thoughts like
these, and unaware of any condemnation which could need forgiveness. Dreams of
any kind are strange and alien to the truth. Yet [W489] what but Truth could have
a Thought Which builds a bridge to truth which [W490] brings illusions to the
other side?
W(445)
9. Today we practice letting freedom come to make its home with you. The truth
bestows these words upon your mind, that you may find the key to light and let
the darkness end:
"Only my condemnation injures me.
Only my own forgiveness sets me free."
Do not forget today that there can be no form of suffering that fails to hide an
unforgiving thought. Nor can there be a form of pain forgiveness cannot heal.
10. Accept the one illusion which proclaims there is no condemnation in God's
Son, and Heaven is remembered instantly; the world forgotten, all its weird
beliefs forgotten with it, as the Face of Christ appears unveiled at last in
this one dream. This is the gift the Holy Spirit holds for you from God your
Father. Let today be celebrated both on earth and in your holy home as well.
Be kind to both, as you forgive the trespasses you thought them guilty of, and
see your innocence shining upon you from the Face of Christ.
11. Now is there silence all around the world. Now is there stillness where
before there was a frantic rush of thoughts that made no sense. Now is there
tranquil light across the face of earth, made quiet in a dreamless sleep. And
now the Word of God alone remains upon it. Only That can be perceived an
instant longer. Then are symbols done, and everything you ever thought you made
completely vanished from the mind which God forever knows to be His only Son.
12. There is no condemnation in him. He is perfect in his holiness. He needs
no thoughts of mercy. Who could give him gifts when everything is his? And who
could dream of offering forgiveness to the Son of Sinlessness Itself, so like to
Him Whose Son he is, that to behold the Son is to perceive no more, and only
know the Father? In this vision of the Son, so brief that not an instant stands
between this single sight and timelessness itself, you see the vision of
yourself and then you disappear forever into God.
W(446)
13. Today we come still nearer to the end of everything that yet would stand
between this vision and our sight. And we are glad that we have come this far,
and recognize that He Who brought us here will not forsake us now. For He would
give to us the gift that God has given us through Him today. Now is it [W491]
time for [W492] your deliverance. The time has come. The time has come today.
W(447) August 20, 1970
Lesson 199. "I am not a body. I am free."
1. Freedom must be impossible as long as you perceive a body as yourself. The
body is a limit. Who would seek for freedom in a body looks for it where it can
not be found. The mind can be made free when it no longer sees itself as in a
body, firmly tied to it, and sheltered by its presence. If this were the truth,
the mind were vulnerable indeed!
2. The mind that serves the Holy Spirit is unlimited forever, in all ways,
beyond the laws of time and space, unbound by any preconceptions, and with
strength and power to do whatever it is asked. Attack thoughts cannot enter
such a mind, because it has been given to the Source of Love, and [W493] fear can
never enter in a mind which has attached itself to Love. It rests in God, and
who can be afraid who lives in Innocence and only loves?
3. It is essential for your progress in this course that you accept today's
idea, and hold it very dear. Be not concerned that to the ego it is quite
insane. The ego holds the body dear because it dwells in it, and lives united
with the home that it has made. It is a part of the illusion which has
sheltered it from being found illusory itself.
4. Here does it hide, and here it can be seen as what it is. Declare your
innocence, and you are free. The body disappears because you have no need of it
except the need the Holy Spirit sees. For this, the body will appear as useful
form for what the mind must do. It thus becomes a vehicle which helps
forgiveness be extended to the all-inclusive goal that it must reach, according
to God's plan.
W(448)
5. Cherish today's idea, and practice it today and every day. Make it a part
of every practice period you take. There is no thought that will not gain
thereby in power to help the world, nor none which will not gain in added gifts
to you as well. We sound the call of freedom ‘round the world with this idea.
And would you be exempt from the acceptance of the gifts you give?
6. The Holy Spirit is the home of minds that seek for freedom. In Him they
find [W494] what they have sought. The body's purpose now is unambiguous. And it
becomes perfect in the ability to serve an undivided goal. In conflict-free and
unequivocal response to mind with but the thought of freedom as its goal, the
body serves, and serves its purpose well. Without the power to enslave, it is a
worthy servant of the freedom which the mind within the Holy Spirit seeks.
7. Be free today, and carry freedom as your gift to those who still believe
they are enslaved within a body. Be you free, so that the Holy Spirit can make
use of your escape from bondage to set free the many who perceive themselves as
bound and helpless and afraid. Let love replace their fears through you.
Accept salvation now, and give your mind to Him Who calls to you to make this
gift to Him. For He would give you perfect freedom, perfect joy, and hope that
finds its full accomplishment in God.
8. You are God's Son. In immortality you live forever. Would you not return
your mind to this? Then practice well the thought the Holy Spirit gives you for
today. Your brothers stand released with you in it; the world is blessed along
with you, God's Son will weep no more, and Heaven offers thanks at [W495] the
increase of joy your practice brings even to it. And God Himself extends His
Love and happiness each time you say:
"I am not a body. I am free.
I hear the Voice that God has given me,
And it is only this my mind obeys."
W(449) August 26, 1970
Lesson 200. "There is no peace except the peace of God."
1. Seek you no further. You will not find peace except the peace of God.
Accept this fact, and save yourself the agony of yet more bitter
disappointments, bleak despair, and sense of icy hopelessness and doubt. Seek
you no further. There is nothing else for you to find except the peace of God,
unless you seek for misery and pain.
2. This is the final point to which each one must come at last, to lay aside
all hope of finding happiness where there is none; of being saved by what can
only hurt; of making peace of chaos, joy of pain and Heaven out of hell.
Attempt no more to win through losing, nor to die to live. You cannot but be
asking for defeat.
3. Yet you can ask as easily for love, for happiness, and for eternal life in
peace that has no ending. Ask for this, and you can only win. To ask for what
you have already must succeed. To ask that what is false be true can only fail.
Forgive yourself for vain imaginings, and seek no longer what you cannot find.
For what could be more foolish than to seek and seek and seek again for hell,
when you have but to look with open eyes to find that Heaven lies before you,
through a door which opens easily to welcome you?
4. Come home. You have not found your happiness in foreign places, and in
alien forms which have no meaning to you, though you sought to make them
meaningful. This world is not where you belong. You are a stranger here. But
it is given you to find the means whereby the world no longer seems to be a
prison house for you [W496] or anyone.
W(450)
5. Freedom is given you where you beheld but chains and iron doors. For [W497]
you must change your mind about the purpose of the world, if you would find
escape. You will be bound ‘til all the world is seen by you as blessed, and
everyone made free of your mistakes and honored as he is. You made him not; no
more yourself. And as you free the one, the other is accepted as he is.
6. What does forgiveness do? In truth it has no function and does nothing, for
it is unknown in Heaven. It is only hell where it is needed, and where it must
serve a mighty function. Is not the escape of God's beloved Son from evil
dreams which he imagines, yet believes are true, a worthy purpose? Who could
hope for more while there appears to be a choice to make between success and
failure; love and fear?
7. There is no peace except the peace of God because He has one Son, who cannot
make a world in opposition to God's Will and to his own, which is the same as
His. What could he hope to find in such a world? It cannot have reality
because it never was created. Is it here that he would seek for peace? Or must
he see that, as he looks on it, the world can but deceive? Yet can he learn to
look on it another way, and find the peace of God.
8. Peace is the bridge which everyone will cross to leave this world behind.
But it [W498] begins within the world perceived as different, and leading from
this fresh perception to the gate of Heaven and the way beyond. Peace is the
answer to conflicting goals, to senseless journeys, frantic vain pursuits and
meaningless endeavors. Now the way is easy, sloping gently toward the bridge
where freedom lies within the peace of God.
W(451)
9. Let us not lose our way again today. We go to Heaven, and the path is
straight. Only if you attempt to wander can there be delay, and needless wasted
time on thorny byways. God alone is sure, and He will guide your footsteps. He
will not desert His Son in need, nor let him stray forever from his home. The
Father calls; the Son will hear. And that is all there is to what appears to be
a world apart from God, where bodies have reality.
10. Now is there silence. Seek no further. You have come to where the road is
carpeted with leaves of false desires, fallen from the trees of hopelessness you
sought before. Now are they underfoot. And you look up and on toward Heaven,
with the body's eyes but serving for an instant longer now. Peace is already
recognized at last, and you can feel its soft embrace surround your heart and
mind with comfort and with love.
11. Today we seek no idols. Peace can not be found in them. The peace of God
is ours, and only this will we accept and want. Peace be to us today. For we
have found a simple, happy way to leave the world of ambiguity, and to replace
our shifting goals and solitary dreams with single purpose and companionship.
For peace is union if it be of God. We seek no further. We are close to home,
and draw still nearer every time we say:
"There is no peace except the peace of God,
And I am glad and thankful it is so."
W(452)
REVIEW VI
September 1, 1970
1. For this review, we take but one idea each day, and practice it as often as
is possible. Besides the time you give morning and evening, which should not be
less than fifteen minutes, and the hourly remembrances you make throughout the
day, use the idea as often as you can between them. Each of these ideas alone
would be sufficient for salvation, if it were learned truly. Each would be
enough to give release to you and to the world from every form of bondage, and
invite the memory of God to come again.
2. With this in mind, we start our practicing in which we carefully review the
thoughts the Holy Spirit has bestowed on us in our last twenty lessons. Each
contains the whole curriculum, if understood, practiced, accepted and applied to
all the seeming happenings throughout the day. One is enough. But for [W499]
that one, there must be no exceptions made. And so we need to use them all, and
let them blend as one as each contributes to the whole we learn.
3. These practice sessions, like our last review, are centered round a central
theme with which we start and end each lesson. It is this:
"I am not a body. I am free.
For I am still as God created me."
The day begins and ends with this. And we repeat it every time the hour
strikes, or we remember, in between, we have a function that transcends the
world we see. Beyond this, and a repetition of the special thought we practice
for the day, no form of exercise is urged, except a deep relinquishment of
everything that clutters up the mind, and makes it deaf to reason, sanity and
simple truth.
4. We will attempt to get beyond all words and special forms of practicing for
this review. For we attempt this time to reach a quickened pace along a shorter
path to the serenity and peace of God. We merely close our eyes, and then
forget all that we thought we knew and understood. For thus is freedom given us
from all we did not know and failed to understand.
W(453)
5. There is but one exception to this lack of structuring. Permit no idle
thought to go unchallenged. If you notice it [W500], deny its hold and hasten to
assure your mind that this is not what it would have. Then gently let the
thought which you denied be given up in sure and quick exchange for the idea
you [W501] practice for the day.
6. When you are tempted, hasten to proclaim your freedom from temptation, as
you say:
"This thought I do not want. I choose instead . . ."
And then repeat the idea for the day, and let it take the place of what you
thought. Beyond such special applications of each day's idea, we will add
but [W502] few formal sessions or specific thoughts to aid your [W503] practicing.
Instead we give these times of quiet to the Teacher Who instructs in quiet,
speaks of peace, and gives our thoughts whatever meaning they may have.
7. To Him I offer this review for you. I place you in His charge, and let Him
teach you what to do and say and think each time you turn to Him. He will not
fail to be available to you each time you call to Him to help you. Let us offer
Him the whole review we now begin, and let us also not forget to Whom it has
been given, as we practice, day by day, advancing toward the goal He set for us;
allowing Him to teach us how to go, and trusting Him completely for the way each
practice period can best become a loving gift of freedom to the world.
W(454)
Lesson 201 "I am not a body. I am free."
For I am still as God created me."
1. 181) "I trust my brothers, who are one with me."
No one but is my brother. I am blessed
with oneness with the universe and God,
my Father, One [W504] Creator of the Whole
that is my Self, forever One [W505] with me. [W506]
Lesson 202 "I am not a body. I am free."
For I am still as God created me."
1. 182) "I will be still a moment and go home."
Why would I choose to stay an instant more
where I do not belong, when God Himself
has given me His Voice to call me home?
Lesson 203 "I am not a body. I am free."
For I am still as God created me."
1. 183) "I call upon God's Name and on my own."
The Name of God is my deliverance
from every thought of evil and of sin,
because it is my own as well as His.
Lesson 204 "I am not a body. I am free."
For I am still as God created me."
1. 184) "The Name of God is my inheritance."
God's Name reminds me that I am His Son,
not slave to time, unbound by laws which rule
the world of sick illusions, free in God,
forever and forever one with Him.
W(455) September 3, 1970
Lesson 205 "I am not a body. I am free.".
For I am still as God created me."
1. 185) "I want the peace of God."
The peace of God is everything I want.
The peace of God is my one goal; the aim
of all my living here, the end I seek,
my purpose and my function and my life
while I abide where I am not at home.
Lesson 206 "I am not a body. I am free.".
For I am still as God created me."
1. 186) "Salvation of the world depends on me."
I am entrusted with the gifts of God,
because I am His Son. And I would give
His gifts where He intended them to be.
Lesson 207 "I am not a body. I am free.".
For I am still as God created me."
1. 187) "I bless the world because I bless myself."
God's blessing shines upon me from within
my heart, where He abides. I need but turn
to Him, and every sorrow melts away
as I accept His boundless love for me.
Lesson 208 "I am not a body. I am free.".
For I am still as God created me."
1. 188) "The peace of God is shining in me now."
I will be still, and let the earth be still
along with me. And in that stillness, we
will find the peace of God. It is within
my heart, which witnesses to God Himself.
W(456)
Lesson 209 "I am not a body. I am free.
For I am still as God created me."
1. 189) "I feel the Love of God within me now."
The Love of God is what created me.
The Love of God is everything I am.
The Love of God proclaimed me as His Son.
The Love of God within me sets me free.
Lesson 210 "I am not a body. I am free.
For I am still as God created me."
1. 190) "I choose the joy of God instead of pain."
Pain is my own idea. It is not
a thought of God, but one I thought apart
from Him and from His Will. His Will is joy
and only joy for His beloved Son.
And that I choose instead of what I made.
Lesson 211) "I am not a body. I am free.
For I am still as God created me."
1. 191) "I am the holy Son of God Himself."
In silence and in true humility
I seek God's glory, to behold it in
the Son whom He created as my Self.
Lesson 212 "I am not a body. I am free.
For I am still as God created me."
1. 192) "I have a function God would have me fill."
I seek the function that would set me free
from all the vain illusions of the world.
Only the function God has given me
can offer freedom. Only this I seek,
and only this will I accept as mine.
W(457)
Lesson 213 "I am not a body. I am free.
For I am still as God created me."
1. 193) "All things are lessons God would have me learn."
A lesson is a miracle which God
offers to me, in place of thoughts I made
that hurt me. What I learn of Him becomes
the way I am set free. And so I choose
to learn His lessons, and forget my own.
Lesson 214 "I am not a body. I am free.
For I am still as God created me."
194) "I place the future in the hands of God."
The past is gone; the future is not yet.
Now am I freed from both. For what God gives
can only be for good. And I accept
but what He gives as what belongs to me.
Lesson 215 "I am not a body. I am free.
For I am still as God created me."
195) "Love is the way I walk in gratitude."
The Holy Spirit is my only Guide.
He walks with me in love. And I give thanks
to Him for showing me the way to go.
Lesson 216 "I am not a body. I am free.
For I am still as God created me."
196) "It can be but myself I crucify."
All that I do I do unto myself.
If I attack, I suffer. But if I
forgive, salvation will be given me.
W(458)
Lesson 217 "I am not a body. I am free.
For I am still as God created me."
1. 197) "It can be but my gratitude I earn."
Who should give thanks for my salvation but
myself? And how but through salvation can
I find the Self to Whom my thanks are due?
Lesson 218 "I am not a body. I am free.
For I am still as God created me."
1. 198) "Only my condemnation injures me."
My condemnation keeps my vision dark,
and through my sightless eyes I cannot see
the vision of my glory. Yet today
I can behold this glory, and be glad.
Lesson 219 "I am not a body. I am free.
For I am still as God created me."
1. 199) "I am not a body. I am free."
I am God's Son. Be still, my mind, and think
a moment upon this. And then return
to earth without confusion as to what
my Father loves forever as His Son.
Lesson 220 "I am not a body. I am free.
For I am still as God created me."
1. 200) "There is no peace except the peace of God."
Let me not wander from the way of peace,
for I am lost on other roads than this.
But let me follow Him Who leads me home,
and peace is certain as the Love of God.
W(459) September 16, 1970
Introduction to Part II [W507]
1. Words will mean little now. We use them but as guides on which we do not
now depend. For now we seek direct experience of truth alone. The lessons
which remain are merely introductions to the times in which we leave the world
of pain, and go to enter into peace. Now we begin to reach the goal this course
has set, and find the end toward which our practicing is geared.
2. Now we attempt to let the exercise be merely a beginning. For we wait in
quiet expectation for our God and Father. He has promised He will take the
final step Himself. And we are sure His promises are kept. We have come far
along the road, and now we wait for Him.
3. We will continue spending time with Him each morning and at night, as long
as makes us happy. We will not consider time a matter of duration now. We use
as much as we will need for the result that we desire. Nor will we forget our
hourly remembrance, in between calling to God when we have need of Him as we are
tempted to forget our goal.
4. We will continue with a central thought for all the days to come. And we
will use that thought to introduce our times of rest, and calm our minds at
need. Yet we will not content ourselves with simple practicing in the remaining
holy instants which conclude the year that we have given God. We say some
simple words of welcome, and expect our Father to reveal Himself as He has
promised. We have called on Him, and He has promised that His Son will not
remain unanswered when he calls His Name.
W(460)
5. Now do we come to Him with but His Word upon our minds and hearts, [W508] and
wait for Him to take the step to us that He has told us, through His Voice, He
would not fail to take when we invited Him. He has not left His Son in all his
madness, nor betrayed His trust in him. Has not His faithfulness earned Him the
invitation that He seeks to make us happy? We will offer it, and it will be
accepted. So our times with Him will now be spent. We say the words of
invitation that His Voice suggests, [W509] then we wait for Him to come to us.
6. Now is the time of prophecy fulfilled. Now are all ancient promises upheld
and fully kept. No step remains for time to separate from its accomplishment.
For now we cannot fail. Sit silently and wait upon your Father. He has willed
to come to you when you have recognized it is your will He do so. And you could
have never come this far unless you saw, however dimly, that it is your will.
7. I am so close to you, we [W510] cannot fail. Father, we give these holy times
to You in gratitude to Him Who taught us how to leave the world of sorrow, in
exchange for its replacement given us by You. We look not backward now. We
look ahead, and fix our eyes upon the journey's end. Accept these little gifts
of thanks from us, as through Christ's vision we behold a world beyond the one
we made, and take that world to be the full replacement of our own.
8. And now we wait in silence, unafraid, and certain of Your coming. We have
sought to find our way by following the Guide You sent to us. We did not know
the way, but You did not forget us. And we know that You will not forget us
now. We ask but that Your ancient promises be kept which are Your Will to keep.
We will with You in asking this. The Father and the Son, Whose holy Will
created all that is, can fail in nothing. In this certainty, we undertake these
last few steps to You, and rest in confidence upon Your Love, Which will not
fail the Son who calls to You.
W(461)
9. And so we start upon the final part of this one holy year, which we have
spent together in the search for Truth and God, Who is Its one Creator. We have
found the way He chose for us, and made the choice to follow it as He would have
us go. His hand has held us up. His Thoughts have lit the darkness of our
minds. His Love has called to us unceasingly since time began.
10. We had a wish that God would fail to have the Son whom He created of
Himself. We wanted God to change Himself, and be what we would make of Him.
And we believed that our insane desires were the truth. Now we are glad that
this is all undone, and we no longer think illusions true. The memory of God is
shimmering across the wide horizons of our minds. A moment more, and It will
rise again. A moment more, and we who are God's Son are safely home, where He
would have us be.
11. Now is the need for practice almost done. For in this final section we
will come to understand that we need only call to God, and all temptations
disappear. Instead of words, we need but feel His Love. Instead of
prayer [W511], we need but call His Name. Instead of judging, we need but be
still and let all things be healed. We will accept the way God's plan will end,
as we received the way it started. Now is it complete. This year has brought
us to eternity.
September 21, 1970
12. One further use for words we still retain. From time to time, instructions
on a theme of special relevance will intersperse our daily lessons and the
periods of wordless, deep experience which should come afterwards. These
special thoughts should be reviewed each day, each one of them to be continued
‘til the next is given you. They should be slowly read and thought about a
little while, preceding one of the holy and blessed instants in the day. We
give the first of these instructions now.
W(462)
(1) What is forgiveness?
1. Forgiveness recognizes what you thought your brother did to you has not
occurred. It does not pardon sins and make them real. It sees there was no
sin. And in this view are all your sins forgiven. What is sin except a false
idea about God's Son? Forgiveness merely sees its falsity, and therefore lets
it go. What then is free to take its place is now the Will of God.
2. An unforgiving thought is one which makes a judgment that it will not raise
to doubt, although it is untrue. The mind is closed, and will not be released.
The thought protects projection, tightening its chains, so that distortions are
more veiled and more obscure; less easily accessible to doubt, and further kept
from reason. What can come between a fixed projection and the aim that it has
chosen as its needed [W512] goal?
3. An unforgiving thought does many things. In frantic action it pursues its
goal, twisting and overturning what it sees as interfering with its chosen path.
Distortion is its purpose and the means by which it would accomplish it as
well. It sets about its furious attempts to smash reality without concern for
anything that would appear to pose a contradiction to its point of view.
4. Forgiveness, on the other hand, is still, and quietly does nothing. It
offends no aspect of reality, nor seeks to twist it to appearance [W513] that it
likes. It merely looks and waits and judges not. He who would not forgive must
judge, for he must justify his failure to forgive. But he who would forgive
himself must learn to welcome truth exactly as it is.
5. Do nothing, then, and let forgiveness show you what to do through Him Who is
your Guide, your Savior and Defender [W514], strong in hope and certain of your
ultimate success. He has forgiven you already, for such is His function, given
Him by God. Now must you share His function, and forgive whom He has saved,
whose sinlessness He sees, and whom He honors as the Son of God.
W(463)
Lesson 221. "Peace to my mind. Let all my thoughts be still."
1. "Father, I come to You today to seek the peace that You alone can give. I
come in silence. In the quiet of my heart, the deep recesses of my mind, I wait
and listen for Your Voice. My Father, speak to me today. I come to hear Your
Voice in silence and in certainty and love, sure You will hear my call and
answer me."
2. Now do we wait in quiet. God is here because we wait together. I am sure
that He will speak to you, and you will hear. Accept my confidence, for it is
yours. Our minds are joined. We wait with one intent; to hear our Father's
answer to our call, to let our thoughts be still and find His peace, to hear Him
speak to us of what we are, and to reveal Himself unto His Son.
W(464) September 22, 1970
Lesson 222. "God is with me. I live and breathe in Him."
1. God is with me. He is my Source of life, the life within, the air I
breathe, the food by which I am sustained, the water which renews and cleanses
me. He is my home, wherein I live and move; the Spirit Which directs my
actions, offers me Its Thoughts, and guarantees my safety from all pain. He
covers me with kindness and with care, and holds in love the Son He shines upon,
who also shines on Him. How still is he who knows the truth of what He speaks
today!
2. "Father, we have no words except Your Name upon our lips and in our minds,
as we come quietly into Your Presence now, and ask to rest with You in peace a
while."
W(465) September 23, 1970
Lesson 223. "God is my life. I have no life but His."
1. I was mistaken when I thought I lived apart from God, a separate entity
which moved in isolation, unattached, and housed within a body. Now I know my
life is God's, I have no other home, and I do not exist apart from Him. He has
no Thoughts that are not part of me, and I have none but Those which are of Him.
2. "Our Father, let us see the face of Christ instead of our mistakes. For we
who are Your holy Sons [W515], are sinless. We would look upon our sinlessness,
for guilt proclaims that we are not Your Sons. And we would not forget You
longer. We are lonely here, and long for Heaven where we are at home. Today we
would return. Our name is Yours, and we acknowledge that we are Your Sons."
W(466) September 24, 1970
Lesson 224. "God is my Father, and He loves His Son."
1. My true identity is so secure, so lofty, sinless, glorious and great, wholly
beneficent and free from guilt, that Heaven looks to It to give it light. It
lights the world as well. It is the gift my Father gave me, and the one as well
I give the world. There is no gift but This that can be either given or
received. This is reality, and only This. This is illusion's end. It is the
Truth.
2. "My Name, oh Father, still is known to You. I have forgotten it, and do not
know where I am going, who I am, or what it is I do. Remind me, Father, now,
for I am weary of the world I see. Reveal what You would have me see instead."
W(467) September 24, 1970
Lesson 225. "God is my Father, and His Son loves Him."
1. "Father, I must return Your Love for me. For giving and receiving are the
same, and You have given all Your Love to me. I must return It, for I want It
mine in full awareness, blazing in my mind, and keeping it within Its kindly
light, inviolate, beloved, with fear behind and only peace ahead. How still the
way Your loving Son is led along to You!"
2. Brother, we find that stillness now. The way is open. Now we follow it in
peace together. You have reached your hand to me, and I will never leave you.
We are one, and it is but this oneness that we seek as we accomplish these few
final steps which end a journey that was not begun.
W(468)
Lesson 226. "My home awaits me. I will hasten there."
1. If I so choose, I can depart this world entirely. It is not death which
makes this possible, but it is change of mind about the purpose of the world.
If I believe it has a value as I see it now, so will it still remain for me.
But if I see no value in the world as I behold it, nothing that I want to keep
as mine or search for as a goal, it will depart from me. For I have not sought
for illusions to replace the truth.
2. "Father, my home awaits my glad return. Your arms are open, and I hear Your
Voice. What need have I to linger in a place of vain desires and of broken
dreams, when Heaven can so easily be mine?"
W(469)
Lesson 227. "This is my holy instant of release."
1. "Father, it is today that I am free, because my will is Yours. I thought to
make another will. Yet nothing that I thought apart from You exists. And I am
free because I was mistaken, and did not affect my own reality at all by my
illusions. Now I give them up, and lay them down before the feet of truth, to
be removed forever from my mind. This is my holy instant of release. Father, I
know my will is one with Yours."
2. And so today we find our glad return to Heaven, which we never really left.
The Son of God this day lays down his dreams. The Son of God this day comes
home again, released from sin and clad in holiness, with his right mind restored
to him at last.
W(470) September 28, 1970
Lesson 228. "God has condemned me not. No more do I."
1. My Father knows my holiness. Shall I deny His knowledge, and believe in
what His knowledge makes impossible? Shall I accept as true what He proclaims
as false? Or shall I take His Word for what I am since He is my Creator, and
the One Who knows the true condition of His Son?
2. "Father, I was mistaken in myself, because I failed to realize the Source
from which I came. I have not left that Source to enter in a body and to die.
My holiness remains a part of me, as I am part of You. And my mistakes about
myself are dreams. I let them go today. And I stand ready to receive Your Word
alone for what I really am."
W(471) September 29, 1970
Lesson 229. "Love, Which created me, is what I am."
1. I seek my own identity, and find it in these words: "Love, Which created me,
is what I am." Now need I seek no more. Love has prevailed. So still it
waited for my coming home, that I will turn away no longer from the holy face of
Christ. And what I look upon attests the truth of the identity I sought to
lose, but which my Father has kept safe for me.
2. "Father, my thanks to You for what I am; for keeping my identity untouched
and sinless in the midst of all the thoughts of sin my foolish mind made up.
And thanks to You for saving me from them. Amen."
W(472)
Lesson 230. "Now will I seek and find the peace of God."
1. In peace I was created. And in peace do I remain. It is not given me to
change my Self. How merciful is God my Father, that when He created me He gave
me peace forever. Now I ask but to be what I am. And can this be denied me
when it is forever so [W516]?
2. "Father, I seek the peace you gave as mine in my creation. What was given
then must be here now, for my creation was apart from time and still remains
beyond all change. The peace in which Your Son was born into Your Mind is
shining there unchanged. I am as You created me. I need but call on You to
find the peace You gave. It is Your Will that gave it to Your Son."
W(473) October 1, 1970
(2) What is salvation?
1. Salvation is a promise, made by God, that you would find your way to Him at
last. It cannot not [W517] be kept. It guarantees that time will have an end,
and all the thoughts that [W518] have been born in time will end as well. God's
Word is given every mind which thinks that it has separate thoughts, and will
replace these thoughts of conflict with the Thought of peace.
2. The Thought of peace was given to God's Son the instant that his mind had
thought of war. There was no need for such a Thought before, for peace was
given without opposite, and merely was. But when the mind is split, there is a
need of healing. So the Thought Which [W519] has the power to heal the split
became a part of every fragment of the mind which still was one, but failed to
recognize its oneness. Now it did not know itself, and thought its own identity
was lost.
3. Salvation is undoing in the sense that it does nothing, failing to support
the world of dreams and malice. Thus it lets illusions go. By not supporting
them, it merely lets them quietly go down to dust. And what they hid is now
revealed; an altar to the holy Name of God whereon His Word is written, with the
gifts of your forgiveness laid before It, and the memory of God not far behind.
4. Let us come daily to this holy place, and spend a while together. Here we
share our final dream. It is a dream in which there is no sorrow, for it holds
a hint of all the glory given us by God. The grass is pushing through the soil,
the trees are budding now, and birds have come to live within their branches.
Earth is being born again in new perception. Night has gone, and we have come
together in the light.
5. From here we give salvation to the world, for it is here salvation was
received. The song of our rejoicing is the call to all the world that freedom
is returned, that time is almost over, and God's Son has but an instant more to
wait until his Father is remembered, dreams are done, eternity has shined away
the world, and only Heaven now exists at all.
W(474)
Lesson 231. "Father, I will but to remember You."
1. "What can I seek for, Father, but Your Love? Perhaps I think I seek for
something else; a something I have called by many names. Yet is Your Love the
only thing I seek, or ever sought. For there is nothing else that I could ever
really want to find. Let me remember You. What else could I desire but the
truth about myself?"
2. This is your will, my brother. And you share this will with me, and with
the One as well Who is our Father. To remember Him is Heaven. This we seek.
And only this is what it will be given us to find.
W(475) Sept. [W520] 2, 1970
Lesson 232. "Be in my mind, my Father, through the day."
1. "Be in my mind, my Father, when I wake, and shine on me throughout the day
today. Let every minute be a time in which I dwell with You. And let me not
forget my hourly thanksgiving that You have remained with me, and always will be
there to hear my call to You and answer me. As evening comes, let all my
thoughts be still of You and of Your Love, and let me sleep sure of my safety,
certain of Your care, and happily aware I am Your Son."
2. This is as every day should be. Today practice the end of fear. Have faith
in Him Who is your Father. Trust all things to Him. Let Him reveal all things
to you, and be you undismayed because you are His Son.
W(476) October 5, 1970
Lesson 233. "I give my life to God to run [W521] today."
1. "Father, I give You all my thoughts today. I would have none of mine. In
place of them give me Your own. I give You all my acts as well, that I may do
Your Will instead of seeking goals which cannot be obtained, and wasting time in
vain imaginings. Today I come to You. I will step back and merely follow You.
Be You the Guide, and I the follower who questions not the wisdom of the
Infinite, nor Love Whose tenderness I cannot comprehend, but which is yet Your
perfect gift to me."
2. Today we have one Guide to lead us on. And as we walk together, we will
give this day to Him with no reserve at all. This is His day. And so it is a
day of countless gifts and mercies unto us.
W(477)
Lesson 234. "Father, today I am Your Son again."
1. Today we will anticipate the time when dreams of sin and guilt are gone, and
we have reached again [W522] the holy place we never left. Merely a tiny instant
has elapsed between eternity and timelessness. So brief the interval there was
no lapse in continuity, nor break in thoughts which are forever unified as one.
Nothing has ever happened to disturb the peace of God the Father and the Son.
This we accept as wholly true today.
2. "We thank you, Father, that we cannot lose the memory of You and of Your
Love. We recognize our safety, and give thanks for all the gifts You have
bestowed on us, for all the loving help we have received, for Your eternal
patience, and the Word Which You have given us that we are saved."
W(478) October 7, 1970
Lesson 235. "God in His mercy wills that I be saved."
1. I need but look upon all things that seem to hurt me, and with perfect
certainty assure myself, "God wills that I be saved from this," and merely watch
them disappear. I need but keep in mind my Father's Will for me is only
happiness, to find that only happiness has come to me. And I need but remember
that His [W523] Love surrounds His Son and keeps his sinlessness forever perfect,
to be sure that I am saved and safe forever in His arms. I am the Son He loves.
And I am saved because God in His mercy wills it so.
2. "Father, Your holiness is mine. Your Love created me, and made my
sinlessness forever part of You. I have no guilt nor sin in me, for there is
none in You."
W(479) October 9, 1970
Lesson 236. "I rule my mind, which I alone must rule."
1. I have a kingdom I must rule. At times, it does not seem I am its king at
all. It seems to triumph over me, and tell me what to think, and what to do and
feel. And yet it has been given me to serve whatever purpose I perceive in it.
My mind can only serve. Today I give its service to the Holy Spirit, to employ
as He sees fit. I thus direct my mind, which I alone can rule. And thus I set
it free, to do the Will of God.
2. "Father, my mind is open to Your Thoughts, and closed today to every thought
but Yours. I rule my mind, and offer it to You. Accept my gift, for it is
Yours to me."
W(480) October 10, 1970
Lesson 237. "Now would I be as God created me."
1. Today I will accept the truth about myself. I will arise in glory, and
allow the light in me to shine upon the world throughout the day. I bring the
world the tidings of salvation that [W524] I hear as God my Father speaks to me.
And I behold the world that Christ would have me see, aware it ends the bitter
dream of death; aware it is my Father's call to me.
2. "Christ is my eyes today, and His the ears which listen to the Voice of God
today. Father, I come to You through Him Who is Your Son and my true Self as
well. Amen."
W(481) October 13, 1970
Lesson 238. "On my decision all salvation rests."
1. "Father, Your trust in me has been so great I must be worthy. You created
me, and know me as I am. And yet You placed Your Son's salvation in my hands,
and let it rest on my decision. I must be beloved of You indeed. And I must be
steadfast in holiness as well, that You would give Your Son to me in certainty
that He is safe Who still is part of You, and yet is mine because He is my
Self."
2. And so again today we pause to think how much our Father loves us. And how
dear His Son, created by His Love, remains to Him Whose Love is made complete in
him.
W(482)
Lesson 239. "The glory of my Father is my own."
1. Let not the truth about ourselves today be hidden by a false humility. Let
us instead be thankful for the gifts our Father gave us. Can we see in those
with whom He shares His glory any trace of sin and guilt? And can it be that we
are not among them, when He loves His Son forever and with perfect constancy,
knowing he is as He created him?
2. "We thank you, Father, for the light that shines forever in us. And we
honor it, because You share it with us. We are one, united in this light and
one with You, at peace with all creation and ourselves."
W(483) October 16, 1970
Lesson 240. "Fear is not justified in any form."
1. Fear is deception. It attests that you have seen yourself as you could
never be, and therefore look upon a world which is impossible. Not one thing in
this world is true. It does not matter what the form in which it may appear.
It witnesses but to your own illusions of yourself. Let us not be deceived
today. We are the Son of God. There is no fear in us, for we are each a part
of Love Itself.
2. "How foolish are our fears! Would You allow Your Son to suffer? Give us
faith today to recognize Your Son and set him free. Let us forgive him in Your
Name, that we may understand his holiness, and feel the love for him that [W525]
is Your own as well."
W(484)
(3) What is the world?
1. The world is false perception. It is born of error, and it has not left its
source. It will remain no longer than the thought which gave it birth is
cherished. When the thought of separation has been changed to one of true
forgiveness, will the world be seen in quite another light; and one which leads
to truth, where all the world must disappear, and all its errors vanish. Now
its source has gone, and its effects are gone as well.
2. The world was made as an attack on God. It symbolizes fear. And what is
fear except love's absence? Thus the world was meant to be a place where God
could enter not, and where His Son could be apart from Him. Here was perception
born, for knowledge could not cause such insane thoughts. But eyes deceive, and
ears hear falsely. Now mistakes become quite possible, for certainty has gone.
3. The mechanisms of illusion have been born instead. And now they go to find
what has been given them to seek. Their aim is to fulfill the purpose which the
world was made to witness and make real. They see in its illusions but a solid
base where truth exists, upheld apart from lies. Yet everything which they
report is but illusion which is kept apart from truth.
4. As sight was made to lead away from truth, it can be redirected. Sounds
become the call of God, and [W526] all perception can be given a new purpose by
the One Whom God appointed Savior to the world. Follow His light and see the
world as He beholds it. Hear His Voice alone in all that speaks to you. And
let Him give you peace and certainty, which you have thrown away, but Heaven has
preserved for you in Him.
5. Let us not rest content until the world has joined our changed perception.
Let us not be satisfied until forgiveness has been made complete. And let us
not attempt to change our function. We must save the world. For we who made it
must behold it through the eyes of Christ, that what was made to die can be
restored to Everlasting Life.
W(485) October 17, 1970
Lesson 241. "This holy instant is salvation come."
1. What joy there is today! It is a time of special celebration. For today
hold [W527] out the instant to the darkened world where its release is set. The
day has come when sorrows pass away and pain is gone. The glory of salvation
dawns today upon a world set free. This is the time of hope for countless
millions. They will be united now, as you forgive them all. For I will be
forgiven by you today.
2. "We have forgiven one another now, and so we come at last to You again.
Father, Your Son, who never left, returns to Heaven and his home. How glad are
we to have our sanity restored to us, and to remember that we all are one."
W(486) October 19, 1970
Lesson 242. "This day is God's. It is my gift to Him."
1. I will not lead my life alone today. I do not understand the world. And so
to try to lead my life alone must be but foolishness. For [W528] there is One Who
knows all that is best for me. And He is glad to make no choices for me but the
ones that lead to God. This day I give [W529] to Him, for I would not delay my
coming home, and it is He Who knows the way to Him.
2. "And so we give today to You. We come with wholly open minds. We do not
ask for anything that we may think we want. Give us what You would have
received by us. You know all our desires and our needs [W530]. And You will give
us everything we want and that will help us [W531] find the way to You."
W(487)
Lesson 243. "Today I will judge nothing that occurs."
1. I will be honest with myself today. I will not think that I already know
what must remain beyond my present grasp. I will not think I understand the
whole from bits of my perception, which are all that I can see. Today I
recognize that this is so. And so I am relieved of judgment [W532] which I cannot
make. Thus do I free myself and what I look upon, to be in peace as God created
us.
2. "Father, today I leave creation free to be itself. I honor all the [W533]
parts, in which I am included. We are one because each part contains Your
memory, and truth must shine in all of us as one."
W(488)
Lesson 244. "I am in danger nowhere in the world."
1. "Your Son is safe wherever he may be, for You are there with him. He need
but call upon Your Name, and he will recollect his safety and Your Love, for
they are one. How can he fear or doubt or fail to know he cannot suffer, be
endangered, or experience unhappiness, when he belongs to You, beloved and
loving, in the safety of Your Fatherly embrace?"
2. And there we are in truth. No storms can come into the hallowed haven of
our home. In God are we secure. For what can come to threaten God Himself, or
make afraid what will forever be a part of Him?
W(489)
Lesson 245. "Your peace is with me, Father. I am safe."
1. "Your peace surrounds me, Father. Where I go, Your peace goes there with
me. It sheds its light on everyone I meet. I bring it to the desolate and
lonely and afraid. I give Your peace to those who suffer pain, or grieve for
loss, or think they are bereft of hope and happiness. Send them to me, my
Father. Let me bring Your peace with me. For I would save Your Son, as is Your
Will, that I may come to recognize my Self."
2. And so we go in peace. To all the world we give the message that we have
received. And thus we come to hear the Voice of God, Who speaks to us as we
relate His Word; Whose Love we recognize because we share the Word that He has
given unto us.
W(490)
Lesson 246. "To love my Father is to love His Son."
1. Let me not think that I can find the way to God if I have hatred in my
heart. Let me not try to hurt God's Son and think that I can know his Father or
my Self. Let me not fail to recognize myself, and still believe that my
awareness can contain my Father; or my mind conceive of all the love my Father
has for me, and all the love which I return to Him.
2. "I will accept the way You choose for me to come to You, my Father. For in
that will I succeed, because it is Your Will. And I would recognize that what
You will is what I will as well, and only that. And so I choose to love Your
Son. Amen."
W(491) October 23, 1970
Lesson 247. "Without forgiveness I will still be blind."
1. Sin is the symbol of attack. Behold it anywhere, and I will suffer. For
forgiveness is the only means whereby Christ's vision comes to me. Let me
accept what His sight shows me as the simple truth, and I am healed completely.
Brother, come and let me look on you. Your loveliness reflects my own. Your
sinlessness is mine. You stand forgiven, and I stand with you.
2. "So would I look on everyone today. My brothers are Your Sons. Your
Fatherhood created them, and gave them all to me as part of You and my own Self
as well. Today I honor You through them, and thus I hope this day to recognize
my Self."
W(492)
Lesson 248. "Whatever suffers is not part of me."
1. I have disowned the truth. Now let me be as faithful in disowning falsity.
Whatever suffers is not part of me. What grieves is not myself. What is in
pain is but illusion in my mind. What dies was never living in reality, and did
but mock the truth about myself. Now I disown self-concepts and deceits and
lies about the holy Son of God. Now am I ready to accept him back as God
created him, and as he is.
2. "Father, my ancient love for You returns, and lets me love Your Son again as
well. Father, I am as You created me. Now is Your Love remembered, and my own.
Now do I understand that they are one."
W(493) October 26, 1970
Lesson 249. "Forgiveness ends all suffering and loss."
1. Forgiveness paints a picture of a world where suffering is over, loss
becomes impossible and anger makes no sense. Attack is gone, and madness has an
end. What suffering is now conceivable? What loss can be sustained? The world
becomes a place of joy, abundance, charity and endless giving. It is now so
like to Heaven, that it quickly is transformed into the Light which it reflects.
And so the journey which the Son of God began has ended in the Light from Which
he came.
2. "Father, we would return our minds to you. We have betrayed them; held them
in a vise of bitterness, and frightened them with thoughts of violence and
death. Now would we rest again in You, as You created us."
W(494) October 27, 1970
Lesson 250. "Let me not see myself as limited."
1. Let me behold the Son of God today, and witness to his glory. Let me not
try to obscure the holy light in him, and see his strength diminished and
reduced to frailty; nor perceive the lacks in him with which I would attack his
sovereignty.
2. "He is Your Son, my Father. And today I would behold his gentleness instead
of my illusions. He is what I am, and as I see him so I see myself. Today I
would see truly, that this day I may at last identify with him."
W(495) October 28, 1970
(4) What is sin?
1. Sin is insanity. It is the means by which the mind is driven mad, and seeks
to let illusions take the place of truth. And being mad, it sees illusions
where [W534] truth should be, and where it really is. Sin gave the body eyes, for
what is there the sinless would behold? What need have they of sights or sounds
or touch? What would they hear or reach to grasp? What would they sense at
all? To sense is not to know. And truth can be but filled with knowledge, and
with nothing else.
2. The body is the instrument the mind made in its striving [W535] to deceive
itself. Its purpose is to strive. Yet can the goal of striving change. And
now the body serves a different aim for striving. What it seeks for now is
chosen by the aim the mind has taken as replacement for the goal of
self-deception. Truth can be its aim as well as lies. The senses then will
seek instead for witnesses to what is true.
3.
Sin is the home of all illusions, which but stand for things imagined, issuing
from thoughts which [W536] are untrue. They are the "proof" that what has no
reality is real. Sin "proves" God's Son is evil; timelessness must have an end;
eternal Life must die. And God Himself has lost the Son He loves, with but
corruption to complete Himself, His Will forever overcome by death, love slain
by hate, and peace to be no more.
4. A madman's dreams are frightening, and sin appears indeed to terrify. And
yet what sin perceives is but a childish game. The Son of God may play he has
become a body, prey to evil and to guilt, with but a little life that ends in
death. But all the while his Father shines on him, and loves him with an
everlasting Love Which his pretenses cannot change at all.
5. How long, oh Son of God, will you maintain the game of sin? Shall we not
put away these sharp-edged children's toys? How soon will you be ready to come
W(496)home? Perhaps today? There is no sin. Creation is unchanged. Would you
still hold return to Heaven back? How long, oh holy Son of God, how long?
Lesson 251. "I am in need of nothing but the truth."
1. I sought for many things, and found despair. Now do I seek but one, for in
that one is all I need, and only what I need. All that I sought before I needed
not, and did not even want. My only need I did not recognize. But now I see
that I need only truth. In that, all needs are satisfied, all cravings end, all
hopes are finally fulfilled and dreams are gone. Now have I everything that I
could need. Now have I everything that I could want. And now at last I find
myself at peace.
2. "And for that peace, our Father, we give thanks. What we denied ourselves
You have restored, and only that is what we really want."
W(497) Oct. 29, 1970
Lesson 252. "The Son of God is my Identity."
1. My Self is holy beyond all the thoughts of holiness of which I now conceive.
Its shimmering and perfect purity is far more brilliant than is any light that
I have ever looked upon. Its love is limitless, with an intensity which holds
all things within it in the calm of quiet certainty. Its strength comes not
from burning impulses which move the world, but from the boundless Love of God
Himself. How far beyond this world my Self must be, and yet how near to me and
close to God.
2. "Father, You know my true Identity. Reveal It now to me who am Your Son,
that I may waken to the truth in You, and know that Heaven is restored to me."
W(498) October 30, 1970
Lesson 253. "My Self is ruler of the universe."
1. It is impossible that anything should come to me unbidden by myself. Even
in this world, it is I who rule my destiny. What happens is what I desire.
What does not occur is what I do not want to happen. This must I accept. For
thus am I led past this world to my creations, children of my Will, in Heaven
where my holy Self abides with them, and Him Who has created me.
2. "You are the Self Whom You created Son, creating like Yourself and one with
You. My Self, Which rules the universe, is but Your Will in perfect union with
my own, Which can but offer glad assent to Yours, that It may be extended to
Itself."
W(499)
Lesson 254. "Let every voice but God's be still in me."
1. "Father, today I would but hear Your Voice. In deepest silence I would come
to You, to hear Your Voice and to receive Your Word. I have no prayer but this:
I come to You to ask You for the truth. And truth is but Your Will, Which I
would share with You today."
2. Today we let no evil [W537] thoughts direct our words or actions. When such
thoughts occur, we quietly step back and look at them, and then we let them go.
We do not want what they would bring with them. And so we do not choose to keep
them. They are silent now. And in the stillness, hallowed by His Love, God
speaks to us and tells us of our Will [W538], as we have chosen to remember Him.
W(500)
Lesson 255. "This day I choose to spend in perfect peace."
1. It does not seem to me that I can choose to have but peace today. And yet
my God assures me that His Son is like Himself. Let me this day have faith in
Him Who says I am God's Son. And let the peace I choose be mine today bear
witness to the truth of what He says. God's Son can have no cares, and must
remain forever in the peace of Heaven. In His Name I give today to finding what
my Father wills for me, accepting it as mine, and giving it to all my Father's
Sons, along with me.
2. "And so, my Father, would I pass this day with You. Your Son has not
forgotten You. The peace You gave him still is in his mind, and it is there I
choose to spend today."
W(501) November 2, 1970
Lesson 256. "God is the only goal I have today."
1. The way to God is through forgiveness here. There is no other way. If sin
had not been cherished by the mind, what need would there have been to find
a [W539] way to where you are? Who would still be uncertain? Who could be unsure
of who he is? And who would yet remain asleep in heavy clouds of doubt about
the holiness of him who God created sinless? Here we can but dream. But we can
dream we have forgiven him in whom all sin remains impossible, and it is this we
choose to dream today. God is our goal; forgiveness is the means by which our
minds return to Him at last.
2. "And so, our Father, would we come to You in Your appointed way. We have no
goal except to hear Your Voice, and find the way Your sacred Word has pointed
out to us."
W(502) November 3, 1970
Lesson 257. "Let me remember what my purpose is."
1. If I forget my goal, I can be but confused, unsure of what I am, and thus
conflicted in my actions. No one can serve contradicting goals and serve them
well. Nor can he function without deep distress and great depression. Let us
therefore be determined to remember what we want today, that we may unify our
thoughts and actions meaningfully, and achieve only what God would have us do
today [W540].
2. "Father, forgiveness is Your chosen means for our salvation. Let us not
forget [W541] that we can have no will but Yours today. And thus our purpose
must be Yours as well, if we would reach the peace You will for us."
W(503) November 4, 1970
Lesson 258. "Let me remember that my goal is God."
1. All that is needful is to train our minds to overlook all little, senseless
aims, and to remember that our goal is God. His memory is hidden in our minds,
obscured but by our pointless little goals which offer nothing and do not exist.
Shall we continue to allow God's grace to shine in unawareness, while the toys
and trinkets of the world are sought instead? God is our only goal, our only
Love. We have no aim but to remember Him.
2. "Our goal is but to follow in the way that leads to You. We have no goal
but this. What could we want but to remember You? What could we seek but our
Identity?"
W(504)
Lesson 259. "Let me remember that there is no sin."
1. Sin is the only thought that makes the goal of God seem unobtainable. What
else could blind us to the obvious, and make the strange and the distorted seem
more clear? What else but sin engenders our attacks? What else but sin could
be the source of guilt, demanding punishment and suffering? And what but this
could be the source of fear, obscuring God's creation; giving love the
attributes of fear and of attack?
2. "Father, I would not be insane today. I would not be afraid of love, nor
seek for refuge in its opposite. For love can have no opposite. You are the
Source of everything that is. And everything that is remains with You and You
with it."
W(505) November 6, 1970
Lesson 260. "Let me remember God created me."
1. "Father, I did not make myself, although in my insanity I thought I did.
Yet, as Your Thought, I have not left my Source, remaining part of What created
me. Your Son, my Father, calls on You today. Let me remember You created me.
Let me remember my Identity. And let my sinlessness arise again before Christ's
vision, through which I would look upon my brothers and myself today."
2. Now is our Source remembered, and Therein we find our true Identity at last.
Holy indeed are we, because our Source can know no sin. And we who are His
Sons are like each other, and alike to Him.
W(506)
(5) What is the body?
1. The body is a fence the Son of God imagines he has built to separate parts
of his Self from other parts. It is within this fence he thinks he lives, to
die as it decays and crumbles. For within this fence he thinks that he is safe
from love. Identifying with his safety, he regards himself as what his safety
is. How else could he be certain he remains within the body, keeping love
outside?
2. The body will not stay. Yet this he sees as double "safety". For the Son
of God's impermanence is "proof" his fences work, and do the task his mind
assigns to them. For if his oneness still remained untouched, who could attack
and who could be attacked? Who could be victor? Who could be his prey? Who
could be victim? Who the murderer? And if he did not die, what "proof" is
there that God's eternal Son has been [W542] destroyed?
3. The body is a dream. Like other dreams, it sometimes seems to picture
happiness, but can quite suddenly revert to fear, where every dream is born.
For only love creates in truth, and truth can never fear. Made to be fearful,
must the body serve the purpose given it. But we can change the purpose which
the body will obey by changing what we think that it is for.
4. The body is the means by which God's Son returns to sanity. Though it was
made to fence him into hell without escape, yet has the goal of Heaven been
exchanged for the pursuit of hell. The Son of God extends his hand to reach his
brother, and to help him walk along the road with him. Now is the body holy.
Now it serves to heal the mind that it was made to kill.
5. You will identify with what you think will make you safe. Whatever it may
be, you will believe that it is one with you. Your safety lies in truth and not
in lies. Love is your safety. Fear does not exist. Identify with love, and
you are safe. Identify with love, and you are home. Identify with love, and
find your Self.
W(507) November 9, 1970
Lesson 261. "God is my refuge and security."
1. I will identify with what I think is refuge and security. I will behold
myself where I perceive my strength, and think I live within the citadel where I
am safe, and cannot be attacked. Let me today seek not security in danger, nor
attempt to find my peace in murderous attack. I live in God. In Him I find my
refuge and my strength. In Him is my Identity. In Him is everlasting peace.
And only there will I remember Who I really am.
2. "Let me not seek [W543] for idols. I would come, my Father, home to You
today. I choose to be as You created me, and find the Son whom You created as
my Self."
W(508)
Lesson 262. "Let me perceive no differences today."
1. "Father, You have one Son. And it is he that I would look upon today. He
is Your one creation. Why should I perceive a thousand forms in what remains as
one? Why should I give this one a thousand names, when only one suffices? For
Your Son must bear Your Name, for You created him. Let me not see him as a
stranger to his Father, nor as stranger to myself. For he is part of me and I
of him, and we are part of You Who are our Source, eternally united in Your
Love; eternally the holy Son of God."
2. We who are one would recognize this day the truth about ourselves. We would
come home, and rest in unity. For there is peace, and nowhere else can peace be
sought and found.
W(509) November 13, 1970
Lesson 263. "My holy vision sees all things as pure."
1. "Father, Your Mind created all that is, Your Spirit entered into it; Your
Love gave life to it. And would I look upon what You created as if it could be
made sinful? I would not perceive such dark and fearful images. A madman's
dream is hardly fit to be my choice, instead of all the loveliness with which
You blessed creation; all its purity, its joy, and its eternal, quiet home in
You."
2. And while we still remain outside the gate of Heaven, let us look on all we
see through holy vision and the eyes of Christ. Let all appearances seem pure
to us, that we may pass them by in innocence, and walk together to our Father's
house as brothers and the holy Sons of God.
W(510)
Lesson 264. "I am surrounded by the Love of God."
1. "Father, You stand before me and behind, beside me, in the place I see
myself, and everywhere I go. You are in all the things I look upon, the sounds
I hear, and every hand that reaches for my own. In You time disappears, and
place becomes a meaningless belief. For what surrounds Your Son and keeps him
safe is Love Itself. There is no Source but This, and nothing is that does not
share Its holiness; that stands beyond Your one creation, or without the Love
Which holds all things within Itself. Father, Your Son is like Yourself. We
come to You in Your own Name today, to be at peace within Your everlasting
Love."
2. My brothers, join with me in this today. This is salvation's prayer. Must
we not join in what will save the world, along with us?
W(511)
Lesson 265. "Creation's gentleness is all I see."
1. I have indeed misunderstood the world, because I laid my "sins" on it, and
saw them looking back at me. How fierce they seemed! And how deceived was I to
think that what I feared was in the world, instead of in my mind alone. Today I
see the world in the celestial gentleness with which creation shines. There is
no fear in it. Let no appearance of my "sins" obscure the light of Heaven,
shining on the world. What is reflected here is in God's Mind. The images I
see reflect my thoughts. Yet is my mind at one with God's. And so I can
perceive creation's gentleness.
2. "In quiet would I look upon the world, which but reflects Your Thoughts and
mine as well. Let me remember that they are the same, and I will see creation's
gentleness."
W(512)
Lesson 266. "My holy Self abides in you, God's Son."
1. "Father, You gave me all Your Sons, to be my Saviors and my Counselors in
sight; the Bearers of Your holy Voice to me. In them are You reflected, and in
them does Christ look back upon me from my Self. Let not Your Son forget Your
holy Name. Let not Your Son forget his holy Source. Let not Your Son forget
his name is Yours."
2. This day we enter into paradise, calling upon God's Name and on our own,
acknowledging our Self in each of us; united in the holy Love of God. How many
Saviors God has given us! How can we lose the way to Him, when He has filled
the world with those who point to Him, and given us the sight to look on them?
W(513) November 16
Lesson 267. "My heart is beating in the peace of God."
1. Surrounding me is all the life that God created in His Love. It calls to me
in every heartbeat and in every breath; in every action and in every thought.
Peace stills [W544] my heart, and floods my body with the purpose of forgiveness.
Now my mind is healed, and all I need to save the world is given me. Each
heartbeat brings me peace; each breath infuses me with strength. I am a
messenger of God, directed by His Voice, sustained by Him in love, and held
forever quiet and at peace within His loving arms. Each heartbeat calls His
Name, and every one is answered by His Voice, assuring me I am at home in Him.
2. "Let me attend Your Answer, not my own. Father, my heart is beating in the
peace the Heart of Love created. It is there and only there that I can be at
home."
W(514) November 17, 1970
Lesson 268. "Let all things be exactly as they are."
1. "Let me not be Your critic, Lord, today, and judge against You. Let me not
attempt to interfere with Your creation, and distort it into sickly forms. Let
me be willing to withdraw my wishes from its unity, and thus to let it be as You
created it. For thus will I be able, too, to recognize my Self as You created
me. In Love was I created, and in Love will I remain forever. What can
frighten me when I let all things be exactly as they are?"
2. Let not our sight be blasphemous today, nor let our ears attend to lying
tongues. Only reality is free of pain. Only reality is free of loss. Only
reality is wholly safe. And it is only this we seek today.
W(515) Nov. 18, 1970
Lesson 269. "My sight goes forth to look upon Christ's face."
1. "I ask Your blessing on my sight today. It is the means which You have
chosen to become the way to show me my mistakes, and look beyond them. It is
given me to find a new perception through the Guide You gave to me. And through
His lessons to surpass perception and return to truth. I ask for the illusion
which transcends all those I made. Today I choose to see a world forgiven, in
which everyone shows me the face of Christ, and teaches me that what I look upon
belongs to me; that nothing is, except Your holy Son."
2. Today our sight is blessed indeed. We share one vision, as we look upon the
face of Him Whose Self is ours. We are one because of Him Who is the Son of
God; of Him Who is our own Identity.
W(516) November 21, 1970
Lesson 270. "I will not use the body's eyes today."
1. "Father, Christ's vision is Your gift to me, and it has power to translate
all that the body's eyes behold into the sight of a forgiven world. How
glorious and gracious is this world! Yet how much more will I perceive in it
than sight can give. The world forgiven signifies Your Son acknowledges his
Father, lets his dreams be brought to truth, and waits expectantly the one
remaining instant more of time, which ends forever as Your memory returns to
him. And now his will is one with Yours. His function now is but Your own, and
every thought except Your own is gone."
2. The quiet of today will bless our hearts, and through them peace will come
to everyone. Christ is our eyes today. And through His sight we offer healing
to the world through Him, the holy Son whom God created whole; the holy Son whom
God created one.
W(517)
(6) What is the Christ?
1. Christ is God's Son as He created him. He is the Self we share, uniting us
with one another, and with God as well. He is the Thought Which still abides
within the Mind That is His Source. He has not left His holy home, nor lost the
innocence in which He was created. He abides unchanged forever in the Mind of
God.
2. Christ is the link that keeps you one with God, and guarantees that
separation is no more than an illusion of despair. For hope forever will abide
in Him. Your mind is part of His, and His of yours. He is the part in Which
God's Answer lies; where all decisions are already made, and dreams are over.
He remains untouched by anything the body's eyes perceive. For though in Him
His Father placed the means for your salvation, yet does He remain the Self Who,
like His Father, knows no sin.
3. Home of the Holy Spirit, and at home in God alone, does Christ remain at
peace, within the Heaven of your holy mind. This is the only part of you that
has reality in truth. The rest is dreams. Yet will these dreams be given unto
Christ to fade before His glory, and reveal your holy Self, the Christ, to you
at last.
4. The Holy Spirit reaches from the Christ in you to all your dreams, and bids
them come to Him, to be translated into truth. He will exchange them for the
final dream which God appointed as the end of dreams. For when forgiveness
rests upon the world and peace has come to every Son of God, what could
remain [W545] to keep things separate, for what remains to see except Christ's
face?
5. And how long will this holy face be seen, when it is but the symbol that the
time for learning now is over, and the goal of the Atonement has been reached at
last? So therefore let us seek to find Christ's face, and look on nothing else.
As we behold His glory, will we know we have no need of learning or perception
or of time, or anything except the holy Self, the Christ Whom God created as His
Son.
W(518)
Lesson 271. "Christ's is the vision I will use today."
1. Each day, each hour, every instant, I am choosing what I want to look upon,
the sounds I want to hear, the witnesses to what I want to be the truth for me.
Today I choose to look upon what Christ would have me see, to listen to God's
Voice, and seek the witnesses to what is true in God's creation. In Christ's
sight, the world and God's creation meet, and as they come together all
perception disappears. His kindly sight redeems the world from death. For
nothing that He looks upon on but must live, remembering the Father and the Son;
Creator and Creation unified.
2. "Father, Christ's vision is the way to You. What He beholds invites Your
memory to be [W546] restored to me. And this I choose to be what I would look
upon today."
W(519)
Lesson 272. "How can illusions satisfy God's Son?"
1. "Father, the truth belongs to me. My home is set in Heaven by Your Will and
mine. Can dreams content me? Can illusions bring me happiness? What but Your
memory can satisfy Your Son? I will accept no less than You have given me. I
am surrounded by Your Love, forever still, forever gentle and forever safe.
God's Son must be as You created him."
2. Today we pass illusions by. And if we hear temptation call to us to stay
and linger in a dream, we turn aside and ask ourselves if we, the Sons of God,
could be content with dreams, when Heaven can be chosen just as easily as hell,
and love will happily replace all fear.
W(520) November 22, 1970
Lesson 273. "The stillness of the peace of God is mine."
1. Perhaps we are now ready for a day of undisturbed tranquility. If this is
not yet feasible, we are content and even more than satisfied to learn how such
a day can be achieved. If we give way to a disturbance, let us learn how to
dismiss it and return to peace. We need but tell our minds, with certainty,
"The stillness of the peace of God is mine," and nothing can intrude upon the
peace that God Himself has given to His Son.
2. "Father, Your peace is mine. What need have I to fear that anything can rob
me of what You would have me keep? I cannot lose Your gifts to me. And so the
peace You gave Your Son is with me still, in quietness and in my own eternal
love for You."
W(521)
Lesson 274. "Today belongs to Love. Let me not fear."
1. "Father, today I would let all things be as You created them, and give Your
Sons [W547] the honor due their [W548] sinlessness; the love of brother to his
brother and his friend. Through this I am redeemed. Through this as well the
truth will enter where illusions were, light will replace all darkness, and Your
Son will know he is as You created him."
2. A special blessing comes to us today from Him Who is our Father. Give this
day to Him and there will be no fear today, because the day is given unto Love.
W(522) November 23, 1970
Lesson 275. "God's healing Voice protects all things today."
1. Let us today attend the Voice of God, Which speaks an ancient
lesson, no more true today than any other day. Yet has this day been chosen as
the time when we will seek and hear and learn and understand. Join me in
hearing. For the Voice of God tells us of things we cannot understand alone,
nor learn apart. It is in this that all things are protected. And in this the
healing of the Voice of God is found.
2. "Your healing Voice protects all things today, and so I leave all things to
You. I need be anxious over nothing. For Your Voice will tell me what to do,
and where to go; to whom to speak, and what to say to him; what thoughts to
think; what words to give the world. The safety that I bring is given me.
Father, Your Voice protects all things through me."
W(523)
Lesson 276. "The Word of God is given me to speak."
1. What is the Word of God? "My Son is pure, and holy as Myself." And thus
did God become the Father of the Son He loves, for thus was he created. This
the Word His Son did not create with Him, because in this His Son was born. Let
us accept His Fatherhood, and all is given us. Deny we were created in His Love
and we deny our Self, to be unsure of who we are, of who our Father is, and for
what purpose we have come. And yet, we need but to acknowledge Him Who gave His
Word to us in our creation, to remember Him and so [W549] recall our Self.
2. "Father, Your Word is mine. And it is this that I would speak to all my
brothers, who are given me to cherish as my own, as I am loved and blessed and
saved by You."
W(524) November 27, 1970
Lesson 277. "Let me not bind Your Son with laws I made."
1. "Your Son is free, my Father. Let me not imagine I have bound him with the
laws I made to rule the body. He is not subject to any laws I made by which I
try to make the body more secure. He is not changed by what is changeable. He
is not slave to any laws of time. He is as You created him, because he knows no
laws except the Law of Love."
2. Let us not worship idols, nor believe in any laws idolatry would make to
hide the freedom of the Son of God. He is not bound except by his beliefs. Yet
what he is is far beyond his faith in slavery or freedom. He is free because he
is his Father's Son. And he can not be bound unless God's Truth can lie, and
God can will that He deceive Himself.
W(525)
Lesson 278. "If I am bound, my Father is not free."
1. If I accept that I am prisoner within a body, in a world in which all things
that seem to live appear to die, then is my Father prisoner with me. And this
do I believe, when I maintain the laws the world obeys must I obey; the
frailties and the sins which I perceive are real, and cannot be escaped. If I
am bound in any way, I do not know my Father or my Self. And I am lost to all
reality. For truth is free, and what is bound is not a part of truth.
2. "Father, I ask for nothing but the truth. I have had many foolish thoughts
about myself and my creation, and have brought a dream of fear into my mind.
Today I would not dream. I choose the way to You instead of madness and instead
of fear. For truth is safe and only love is sure."
W(526)
Lesson 279. "Creation's freedom promises my own."
1. The end of dreams is promised me, because God's Son is not abandoned by His
Love. Only in dreams is there a time when he appears to be in prison, and
awaits a future freedom if it be at all. Yet in reality his dreams are gone,
with truth established in their place. And now is freedom his already. Should
I wait in chains which have been severed for release, when God is offering me
freedom now?
2. "I will accept Your promises today, and give my faith to them. My Father
loves the Son Whom He created as His Own. Would You withhold the gifts You gave
to me?"
W(527) November 30, 1970
Lesson 280. "What limits can I lay upon God's Son?"
1. Whom God created limitless is free. I can invent imprisonment for him, but
only in illusions, not in truth. No Thought of God has left Its Father's Mind.
No Thought of God is limited at all. No Thought of God but is forever pure.
Can I lay limits on the Son of God, whose Father willed that he be limitless,
and like Himself in freedom and in love?
2. "Today let me give honor to Your Son, for thus alone I find the way to You.
Father, I lay no limits on the Son You love, and You created limitless. The
honor that I give to him is Yours, and what is Yours belongs to me as well."
W(528)
(7) What is the Holy Spirit?
1. The Holy Spirit mediates between illusions and the truth. As [W550] He must
bridge the gap between reality and dreams, perception leads to knowledge through
the grace that God has given Him, to be His gift to everyone who turns to Him
for truth. Across the bridge that He provides are dreams all carried to the
truth, to be dispelled before the light of knowledge. There are sights and
sounds forever laid aside. And where they were perceived before, forgiveness
has made possible perception's tranquil end.
2. The goal the Holy Spirit's teaching sets is just this end of dreams. For
sights and sounds must be translated from the witnesses of fear to those of
love. And when this is entirely accomplished, learning has achieved the only
goal it has in truth. For learning, as the Holy Spirit guides it to the outcome
He perceives for it, becomes the means to go beyond itself, to be replaced by
the Eternal Truth.
3. If you but knew how much your Father yearns to have you recognize your
sinlessness, you would not let His Voice appeal in vain, nor turn away from His
replacement for the fearful images and dreams you made. The Holy Spirit
understands the means you made, by which you would attain what is forever
unobtainable [W551]. And if you offer them to Him, He will employ the means you
made for exile, to restore your mind to where it truly is at home.
4. From knowledge, where He has been placed by God, the Holy Spirit calls to
you, to let forgiveness rest upon your dreams, and be restored to sanity and
peace of mind. Without forgiveness will your dreams remain to terrify you. And
the memory of all your Father's Love will not return to signify the end of
dreams has come.
5. Accept your Father's gift. It is a call from Love to Love, that It be but
Itself. The Holy Spirit is His gift, by Which the quietness of Heaven is
restored to God's beloved Son. Would you refuse to take the function of
completing God, when all He wills is that you be complete?
W(529) December 1, 1970
Lesson 281. "I can be hurt by nothing but my thoughts."
1. "Father, Your Son is perfect. When he [W552] thinks that he is hurt in any
way, it is because he has forgotten who he is, [W553] and that he is as You
created him. Your Thoughts can only bring me happiness. If ever I am sad or
hurt or ill, I have forgotten what You think, and put my little, meaningless
ideas in place of where Your Thoughts belong, and where They are. I can be hurt
by nothing but my thoughts. The Thoughts I think with You can only bless. The
Thoughts I think with You alone are true."
2. I will not hurt myself today. For I am far beyond all pain. My Father
placed me safe in Heaven, watching over me. And I would not attack the Son He
loves, for what He loves is [W554] mine to love as well.
W(530)
Lesson 282. "I will not be afraid of love today."
1. If I could realize but this today, salvation would be reached for all the
world. This the decision not to be insane, and to accept myself as God Himself,
my Father and my Source, created me. This the determination not to be asleep in
dreams of death, while truth remains forever living in the joy of love [W555].
And this the choice to recognize the Self Whom God created as the Son He loves,
and Who remains my one Reality.
2. "Father, Your Name is Love, and so is mine. Such is the truth. And can the
truth be changed by merely giving it another name? The name of fear is simply a
mistake. Let me not be afraid of truth today."
W(531) December 2, 1970
Lesson 283. "My true Identity abides in You."
1. "Father, I made an image of myself, and it is this I call the Son of God.
Yet is creation as it always was, for Your creation is unchangeable. Let me not
worship idols. I am he my Father loves. His holiness remains the light of
Heaven and the Love of God. Is not what is beloved of You secure? Is not the
light of Heaven infinite? Is not Your Son my true Identity, when You created
everything that is?"
2. Now are we one in shared Identity, with God our Father as our only Source,
and everything created part of us. And so we offer blessing to all things,
uniting lovingly with all the world, which our forgiveness has made one with us.
W(532) December 4, 1970
Lesson 284. "I can elect to change all thoughts that hurt."
1. Loss is not loss when properly perceived. Pain is impossible. There is no
grief with any cause at all [W556] and suffering of any kind is nothing but a
dream. Such [W557] is the truth, at first to be but said, and then repeated many
times, and next to be accepted as but partly true, with many reservations, [W558]
then to be considered seriously more and more, and finally accepted as the
truth. I can elect to change all thoughts that hurt. And I would go beyond
the [W559] words today, go [W560] past all reservations, and arrive at full
acceptance of the truth in them.
2. "Father, what You have given cannot hurt, and [W561] grief and pain must be
impossible. Let me not fail to trust in You today, accepting but the joyous as
Your gifts; accepting but the joyous as the truth."
W(533)
Lesson 285. "My holiness shines bright and clear today."
1. Today I wake with joy, expecting but the happy things of God to come to me.
I ask but them to come and realize my invitations [W562] will be answered by the
thoughts to which they [W563] have been sent by me. And I will ask for only
joyous things, the instant I accept my holiness. For what would be the use of
pain to me; what purpose would my suffering fulfill; and how would grief and
loss avail me, if insanity departs from me today, and I accept my holiness
instead?
2. "Father, my holiness is Yours. Let me rejoice in it, and through
forgiveness be restored to sanity. Your Son is still as You created him. My
holiness is part of me and also part of You. And what can alter Holiness
Itself?"
W(534)
Lesson 286. "The hush of Heaven holds my heart today."
1. "Father, how still today! How quietly do all things fall in place! This is
the day that has been chosen as the time in which I come to understand the
lesson that there is no need that I do anything. In You is every choice already
made. In You has every conflict been resolved. In You is everything I hope to
find already given me. Your peace is mine. My heart is quiet, and my mind at
rest. Your Love is Heaven, and Your Love is mine."
2. The stillness of today will give us hope that we have found the way, and
travelled far along it, to a wholly certain goal. Today we will not doubt the
end which God Himself has promised us. We trust in Him, and in our Self, Who
still is one with Him.
W(535) December 8, 1970
Lesson 287. "You are my goal, my Father. Only You."
1. Where would I go but Heaven? What could be a substitute for happiness?
What gift could I prefer before the peace of God? What treasure would I seek
and find and keep that can compare with my Identity? And would I rather live
with fear than love?
2. "You are my goal, my Father. What but You could I desire to have? What way
but that which leads to You could I desire to walk? And what except the memory
of You could signify to me the end of dreams and futile substitutions for the
truth? You are my only goal. Your Son would be as You created Him. What way
but this could I expect to recognize my Self, and be at one with my Identity?"
W(536)
Lesson 288. "Let me forget my brother's past today."
1. "This is the thought that leads the way to You, and brings me to my goal. I
cannot come to You without my brother. And to know my Source, I first must
recognize what You created one with me. My brother's is the hand that leads me
on the way to You. His sins are in the past along with mine, [W564] and I am
saved because the past is gone. Let me not cherish it within my heart, or I
will lose the way to walk to You. My brother is my Savior. Let me not attack
the Savior You have given me. But let me honor him who bears Your Name, and so
remember that It is my own."
2. Forgive me, then, today. And you will know you have forgiven me if you
behold your brother in the light of holiness. He cannot be less holy than
can [W565] I, and you can not be holier than he.
W(537)
Lesson 289. "The past is over. It can touch me not."
1. Unless the past is over in my mind, the real world must escape my sight.
For I am really looking nowhere; seeing but what is not there. How can I then
perceive the world forgiveness offers? This the past was made to hide, for this
the world that can be looked on only now. It has no past. For what can be
forgiven but the past, and if it is forgiven it is gone.
2. "Father, let me not look upon a past that is not there. For You have
offered me Your own replacement, in a present world the past has left untouched
and free of sin. Here is the end of guilt. And here am I made ready for Your
final step. Shall I demand that You wait longer for Your Son to find the
loveliness You planned to be the end of all his dreams and all his pain?"
W(538)
Lesson 290. "My present happiness is all I see."
1. Unless I look upon what is not there, my present happiness is all I see.
Eyes that begin to open see at last. And I would have Christ's vision come to
me this very day. What I perceive without God's own correction for the sight I
made is frightening and painful to behold. Yet I would not allow my mind to be
deceived by the belief the dream I made is real an instant longer. This the day
I seek my present happiness, and look on nothing else except the thing I seek.
2. "With this resolve I come to You, and ask Your strength to hold me up today,
while I but [W566] do Your Will. You cannot fail to hear me, Father. What I ask
have You already given me, and I am sure that I will see my happiness today."
W(539)
(8) What is the real world?
1. The real world is a symbol, like the rest of what perception offers. Yet it
stands for what is opposite to what you made. Your world is seen through eyes
of fear, and brings the witnesses of terror to your mind. The real world cannot
be perceived except through eyes forgiveness blesses, so they see a world where
terror is impossible, and witnesses to fear can not be found.
2. The real world holds a counterpart for each unhappy thought reflected in
your world; a sure correction for the sights of fear and sounds of battle which
your world contains. The real world shows a world seen differently, through
quiet eyes and with a mind at peace. Nothing but rest is here. There are no
cries of pain and sorrow heard, for nothing here remains outside forgiveness.
And the sights are gentle. Only happy sights and sounds can reach the mind that
has forgiven itself.
3. What need has such a mind for thoughts of death, attack and murder? What
can it perceive surrounding it but safety, love and joy? What is there it would
choose to be condemned, and what is there that it would judge against? The
world it sees arises from a mind at peace within itself. No danger lurks in
anything it sees, for it is kind and only kindness does it look upon.
4. The real world is the symbol that the dream of sin and guilt is over, and
God's Son no longer sleeps. His waking eyes perceive the sure reflection of his
Father's Love; the certain promise that he is redeemed. The real world
signifies the end of time, for its perception makes time purposeless.
5. The Holy Spirit has no need of time when it has served His purpose. Now He
waits but that one instant more for God to take His final step, and time has
disappeared, taking perception with it as it goes, and leaving but the Truth to
be Itself. That instant is our goal, for it contains the memory of God. And as
we look upon a world forgiven, it is He Who calls to us and comes to take us
home, reminding us of our Identity Which our forgiveness has restored to us.
W(540) December 9, l970
Lesson 291. "This is a day of stillness and of peace."
1. Christ's vision looks through me today. His sight shows me all things
forgiven and at peace, and offers this same vision to the world. And I accept
this vision in its name, both for myself and for the world as well. What
loveliness we look upon today! What holiness we see surrounding us! And it is
given us to recognize it is a holiness in which we share; it is the Holiness of
God Himself.
2. "This day my mind is quiet, to receive the Thoughts You offer me. And I
accept what comes from You instead of from myself. I do not know the way to
You. But You are wholly certain. Father, lead [W567] Your Son along the quiet
path that ends in [W568] You. Let my forgiveness be complete, and let the memory
of You return to me."
W(541)
Lesson 292. "A happy outcome to all things is sure."
1. God's promises make no exceptions. And He guarantees that only joy can be
the final outcome found for everything. Yet it is up to us when this is
reached; how long we let an alien will appear to be opposing His. And while we
think this will is real, we will not find the end He has appointed, as the
outcome of all problems we perceive, all trials we see, and every situation that
we meet. Yet is the ending certain. For God's Will is done in earth and
Heaven. We will seek and we will find according to His Will, Which guarantees
that our will is done.
2. "We thank you, Father, for Your guarantee of only happy outcomes in the end.
Help us not interfere, and so delay the happy endings You have promised us for
every problem that we can perceive; for every trial we think we still must
meet."
W(542) December 11, 1970
Lesson 293. "All fear is past and only love is here."
1. All fear is past because its source is gone, and all its thoughts gone with
it. Love remains the only present state, whose Source is here forever and
forever. Can the world seem bright and clear and safe and welcoming, with all
my past mistakes oppressing it, and showing me distorted forms of pain [W569]?
Yet in the present love is obvious, and its effects apparent. All the world
shines in reflection of its holy light, and I perceive a world forgiven at last.
2. "Father, let not Your holy world escape my sight today. Nor let my ears be
deaf to all the hymns of gratitude the world is singing underneath the sounds of
fear. There is a real world which the present holds safe from all past
mistakes. And I would see only this world before my eyes today."
W(543) December 14, 1970
Lesson 294. "My body is a wholly neutral thing."
1. I am a Son of God. And can I be another thing as well? Did God create the
mortal and corruptible? What use has God's beloved Son for what must die? And
yet a neutral thing does not see death, for thoughts of fear are not invested
there, nor is a mockery of love bestowed upon it. Its neutrality protects it
while it has a use. And afterwards, without a purpose, it is laid aside. It is
not sick or old or hurt. It is but functionless, unneeded and cast off. Let me
not see it more than this today; of service for a while and fit to serve, to
keep its usefulness while it can serve, and then to be replaced for greater
good.
2. "My body, Father, cannot be Your Son. And what is not created cannot be
sinful or sinless; neither good nor bad. Let me, then, use this dream to help
Your plan that we awaken from all dreams we made."
W(544) December 15, 1970
Lesson 295. "The Holy Spirit looks through me today."
1. Christ asks that He may use my eyes today, and thus redeem the world. He
asks this gift that He may offer peace of mind to me, and take away all terror
and all pain. And as they are removed from me, the dreams that seemed to settle
on the world are gone. Redemption must be one. As I am saved, the world is
saved with me. For all of us must be redeemed together. Fear appears in many
different forms, but love is one.
2. "My Father, Christ has asked a gift of me, and one I give that it be given
me. Help me to use the eyes of Christ today, and thus allow the Holy Spirit's
Love to bless all things that [W570] I may look upon, that His forgiving Love may
rest on me."
W(545)
Lesson 296. "The Holy Spirit speaks through me today."
1. "The Holy Spirit needs my voice today, that all the world may listen to Your
Voice, and hear Your Word through me. I am resolved to let You speak through
me, for I would use no words but Yours, and have no thoughts which are apart
from Yours, for only Yours are true. I would be Savior to the world I made.
For having damned it, I would set it free that I may find escape, and hear the
Word Your holy Voice will speak to me today."
2. We teach today what we would learn, and that alone. And so our learning
goal becomes an unconflicted one, and possible of easy reach and quick
accomplishment. How gladly does the Holy Spirit come to rescue us from hell,
when we allow His teaching to persuade the world, through us, to seek and find
the easy path to God!
W(546) Dec. 18, 1970
Lesson 297. "Forgiveness is the only gift I give."
1. Forgiveness is the only gift I give because it is the only gift I want, and
everything I give I give myself. This is salvation's simple formula. And I,
who would be saved, would make it mine, to be the way I live within a world that
needs salvation, and that will be saved as I accept Atonement for myself.
2. "Father, how certain are Your ways; how sure their [W571] outcome, and how
truly faithfully is every step in my salvation set already, and accomplished by
Your grace. Thanks be to You for Your eternal gifts, and thanks to You for my
Identity."
W(547)
Lesson 298. "I love You, Father, and I love Your Son."
1. My gratitude permits my love to be accepted without fear. And thus am I
restored to my Reality at last. All that intruded on my holy sight forgiveness
takes away. And I draw near the end of senseless journeys, mad careers, and
artificial values. I accept instead what God establishes as mine, sure that in
that alone I will be saved; sure that I go through fear to meet my Love.
2. "Father, I come to You today, because I would not follow any way but Yours.
You are beside me. Certain is Your way. And I am grateful for Your holy gifts
of certain sanctuary, and escape from everything that would obscure my love for
God my Father and His holy Son."
W(548)
Lesson 299. "Eternal holiness abides in me."
1. My holiness is far beyond my own ability to understand or know. Yet God my
Father, Who created it, acknowledges my holiness as His. Our Will, together,
understands it. And our Will, together, knows that it is so.
2. "Father, my holiness is not of me. It is not mine to be destroyed by sin.
It is not mine to suffer from attack. Illusions can obscure it, but can not put
out its radiance nor dim its light. It stands forever perfect and untouched.
In it are all things healed, for they remain as You created them. And I can
know my holiness. For Holiness Itself created me and I can know my Source
because it is Your Will that You be known."
W(549)
Lesson 300. "Only an instant does this world endure."
1. This is the [W572] thought that [W573] can be used to say that death and sorrow
are the certain lot of all who come here, [W574] for their joys are gone before
they are possessed, or even grasped. Yet this is also the idea that [W575] lets
no false perception keep us in its hold, nor represents more than a passing
cloud upon a sky eternally serene. And it is this serenity we seek, unclouded,
obvious and sure, today.
2. "We seek Your holy world today. For we, Your loving Sons, have lost our way
a while. But we have listened to Your Voice, and learned exactly what to do to
be restored to Heaven and our true Identity. And we give thanks today the world
endures but for an instant. We would go beyond that tiny instant to eternity."
W(550)
(9) What is the Second Coming?
1. Christ's Second Coming, which is sure as God, is merely the correction of
mistakes and the return of sanity. It is a part of the condition which restores
the never-lost, and re-establishes what is forever and forever true. It is the
invitation to God's Word to take illusion's place; the willingness to let
forgiveness rest upon all things without exception and without reserve.
2. It is the all-inclusive nature of Christ's Second Coming that permits it to
embrace the world, and hold you safe within its gentle advent which encompasses
all living things with you. There is no end to the release the Second Coming
brings, as God's creation must be limitless. Forgiveness lights the Second
Coming's way because it shines on everyone [W576] as one. [W577]
3. The Second Coming ends the lessons which the Holy Spirit teaches, making way
for the Last Judgment, in which learning ends in one last summary that will
extend beyond itself, and reaches [W578] up to God. The Second Coming is the time
in which all minds are given to the hands of Christ, to be returned to Spirit in
the Name [W579] of true creation and the Will of God.
4. The Second Coming is the one event in time which time itself can not affect.
For every one who ever came to die, or yet will come or who is present now, is
equally released from what he made. In this equality is Christ restored as one
Identity, in Which all [W580] Sons of God acknowledge that they all are one. And
God the Father smiles upon His Son, His one creation and His only joy.
5. Pray that this [W581] Second Coming will be soon, but do not rest with that.
It needs your eyes and ears and hands and feet. It needs your voice. And most
of all it needs your willingness. Let us rejoice that we can do God's Will, and
join together in Its holy light. Behold, the Son of God is one in us, and we
can reach our Father's Love through him.
W(551) December 22, 1970
Lesson 301. "And God Himself shall wipe away all tears."
1. "Father, unless I judge I cannot weep. Nor can I suffer pain, or feel I am
abandoned and [W582] unneeded in the world. This is my home, because I judge it
not, [W583] and therefore is it only what You will. Let me today behold it
uncondemned, through happy eyes forgiveness has released from all distortion.
Let me see Your world instead of mine. And all the tears I shed will be
forgotten, for their source is gone. Father, I will not judge Your world
today."
2. God's world is happy. Those who look on it can only add their joy to it,
and bless it as a cause of further joy in them. We wept because we did not
understand. But we have learned the world we saw was false, and we will look
upon God's world today.
W(552)
Lesson 302. "Where darkness was I look upon the light."
1. "Father, our eyes are opening at last. Your holy world awaits us, as our
sight is finally restored and we can see. We thought we suffered. But we had
forgot the Son whom You created. Now we see that darkness is our own imagining,
and light is there for us to look upon. Christ's vision changes darkness into
light, for fear must disappear when love has come. Let me forgive Your holy
world today that I may look upon its holiness, and understand it but reflects my
own."
2. Our Love awaits us as we go to Him, and walks beside us, showing us the way.
He fails in nothing. He the end we seek, and He the means by which we come to
Him.
W(553)
Lesson 303. "The holy Christ is born in me today."
1. Watch with me, angels, watch with me today. Let all God's holy Thoughts
surround me, and be still with me while Heaven's Son is born. Let earthly
sounds be quiet, and the sights to which I am accustomed disappear. Let Christ
be welcomed where He is at home, and let Him hear the sounds He understands, and
see but sights which show His Father's Love. Let Him no longer be a stranger
here, for He is born again in me today.
2. "Your Son is welcome, Father. He has come to save me from the evil self I
made. He is the Self that You have given me. He is but what I really am in
truth. He is the Son You love above all things. He is my Self as You created
me. It is not Christ that can be crucified. Safe in Your arms let me receive
Your Son."
W(554) December 24, 1970
Lesson 304. "Let not my world obscure the sight of Christ."
1. I can obscure my holy sight, if I intrude my world upon it. Nor can I
behold the holy sights Christ looks upon unless it is His vision that I use.
Perception is a mirror, not a fact. And what I look on is my state of mind
reflected outward. I would bless the world by looking on it through the eyes of
Christ. And I will look upon the certain signs that all my sins have been
forgiven me.
2. "You lead me from the darkness to the light; from sin to holiness. Let me
forgive, and thus receive salvation for the world. It is Your gift, my Father,
given me to offer to Your holy Son, that he may find again the memory of You,
and of Your Son as You created him."
W(555)
Lesson 305. "There is a peace that Christ bestows on us."
1. Who uses but Christ's vision finds a peace so deep and quiet, undisturbable
and wholly changeless, that the world contains no counterpart. Comparisons are
still before this peace. And all the world departs in silence, as this peace
envelops it, and gently carries it to truth, no more to be the home of fear.
For Love has come, and healed the world by giving it Christ's peace.
2. "Father, the peace of Christ is given us, because it is Your Will that we be
saved. Help us today but to accept Your gift, and judge it not. For it has
come to us to save us from our judgment on ourselves."
W(556)
Lesson 306. "The gift of Christ is all I seek today."
1. What but Christ's vision would I use today, when it can offer me a day in
which I see a world so like to Heaven that an ancient memory returns to me?
Today I can forget the world I made. Today I can go past all fear, and be
restored to love and holiness and peace. Today I am redeemed, and born anew
into a world of mercy and of care; of loving kindness and the peace of God.
2. "And so, our Father, we return to You, remembering we never went away;
remembering Your holy gifts to us. In gratitude and thankfulness we come, with
empty hands and open hearts and minds, asking but what You give. We cannot make
an offering sufficient for Your Son. But in Your Love the gift of Christ is
his."
W(557) December 28, 1970
Lesson 307. "Conflicting wishes cannot be my will."
1. "Father, Your Will is mine, and only That. There is no other will for me to
have. Let me not try to make another will, for it is senseless and will cause
me pain. Your Will alone can bring me happiness, and only Yours exists. If I
would have what only You can give. I must accept Your will for me, and enter
into peace where conflict is impossible. [W584] Your Son is one with You in being
and in will, and nothing contradicts the holy truth that I remain as You created
me."
2. And with this prayer, we enter silently into a state where conflict cannot
come, because we join our holy will with God's in recognition that they are but
one [W585].
W(558)
Lesson 308. "This instant is the only time there is."
1. I have conceived of time in such a way that I defeat my aim. If I elect to
reach past time to timelessness, I must change my perception of what time is
for. Time's purpose cannot be to keep the past and future one. The only
interval in which I can be saved from time is now. For in this instant has
forgiveness come to set me free. The birth of Christ is now, without a past or
future. He has come to give His present blessing to the world, restoring it to
timelessness and love. And love is ever present, here and now.
2. "Thanks for this instant, Father. It is now I am redeemed. This instant is
the time You have appointed for Your Son's release, and for salvation of the
world in him."
W(559) December 29, 1970
Lesson 309. "I will not fear to look within today."
1. Within me is Eternal Innocence, because it is God's Will that It be there
forever and forever. I, His Son, whose will is limitless as is His own, can
will no change in this. For to deny my Father's Will is to deny my own. To
look within is but to find my will as God created it, and as it is. I fear to
look within because I think I made another will which is not true, and made it
real. Yet it has no effects. Within me is the holiness of God. Within me is
the memory of Him.
2. "The step I take today, my Father, is my sure release from idle dreams of
sin. Your altar stands serene and undefiled. It is the holy altar to my Self,
and there I find my true Identity."
W(560) December 30, 1970
Lesson 310. "In fearlessness and love I spend today."
1. "This day, my Father, would I spend with You, as You have chosen all my days
should be. And what I will experience is not of time at all. The joy that
comes to me is not of days nor hours, for it comes from Heaven to Your Son.
This day will be your sweet reminder to remember You, Your gracious calling to
Your holy Son, the sign Your grace has come to me, and that it is Your Will that
I be free today."
2. We spend this day together, you and I, and all the world joins with us in
our song of thankfulness and joy to Him Who gave salvation to us, and Who set us
free. We are restored to peace and holiness. There is no room in us for fear
today, for we have welcomed love into our hearts.
W(561)
(10) What is the Last Judgment?
1. Christ's Second Coming gives the Son of God the gift to hear the Voice for
God proclaim that what is false is false, and what is true has never changed.
And this the judgment is in which perception ends. At first you see a world
which has accepted this as true, projected from a now corrected mind. And with
this holy sight, perception gives a silent blessing and then disappears, its
goal accomplished and its mission done.
2. The final judgment [W586] on the world contains no condemnation. For it sees
the world as totally forgiven, without sin, and wholly purposeless. Without a
cause, and now without a function in Christ's sight, it merely slips away to
nothingness. There it was born, and there it ends as well. And all the figures
in the dream in which the world began go with it. Bodies now are useless, and
will therefore fade away, because the Son of God is limitless.
3. You who believed that Gods Last Judgment would condemn the world to hell
along with you, accept this holy truth: God's Judgment is the gift of the
Correction He bestowed on all your errors, freeing you from them, and all
effects they ever seemed to have. To fear God's saving grace is but to fear
complete release from suffering, return to peace, security and happiness, and
union with your own Identity.
4. God's Final Judgment is as merciful as every step in His appointed plan to
bless His Son, and call Him to return to the eternal peace He shares with him.
Be not afraid of Love. For It alone can heal all sorrow, wipe away all tears,
and gently waken from his dreams of pain the Son whom God acknowledges as His.
Be not afraid of this. Salvation asks you give it welcome. And the world
awaits your glad acceptance, which will set it free.
5. This is God's Final Judgment: "You are still My holy Son, forever innocent,
forever loving and forever loved, as limitless as Your Creator, and completely
changeless and forever pure. Therefore awaken and return to Me. I am Your
Father and you are My Son."
W(562) December 30, 1970
Lesson 311. "I judge all things as I would have them be."
1. Judgment was made to be a weapon used against the truth. It separates
what it is being used against, and sets it off as if it were a thing apart. And
then it makes of it what you [W587] would have it be. It judges what it cannot
understand, because it cannot see totality and therefore judges falsely. Let us
not use it today, but make a gift of it to Him Who has a different use for it.
He will relieve you [W588] of the agony of all the judgments you [W589] have made
against yourself [W590], and re-establish peace of mind by giving you [W591] God's
Judgment of His Son.
2. "Father, we wait with open mind today, to hear Your Judgment of the Son You
love. We do not know him, and we cannot judge. And so we let Your Love decide
what he whom You created as Your Son must be."
W(563)
Lesson 312. "I see all things as I would have them be."
1. Perception follows judgment. Having judged, you [W592] therefore see what you
would look upon. For vision merely serves to offer you what you would have. It
is impossible to overlook what you would see, and fail to see what you have
chosen to behold. How surely, therefore, must the real world come to greet the
holy sight of anyone who takes the Holy Spirit's purpose as his goal for seeing.
And he cannot fail to look upon what Christ would have him see, and share
Christ's love for what he looks upon.
2. "I have no purpose for today except to look upon a liberated world, set free
from all the judgments I have made. Father, this is Your Will for me today, and
therefore it must be my goal as well."
W(564) Jan. 4, 1971
Lesson 313. "Now let a new perception come to me."
1. "Father, there is a vision which beholds all things as sinless, so that fear
has gone, and where it was is Love invited in. And Love will come wherever it
is asked. This vision is Your gift. The eyes of Christ look on a world
forgiven. In His sight are all its sins forgiven, for He sees no sin in
anything He looks upon. Now let His true perception come to me, that I may
waken from the dream of guilt and look within upon my sinlessness, which You
have kept completely undefiled upon the altar to Your holy Son, the Self with
Which I would identify."
2. Let us today behold each other in the sight of Christ. How beautiful we
are! How holy and how loving! Brother, come and join with me today. We save
the world when we are [W593] joined. For in our vision it becomes as holy as the
Light in us.
W(565) January 5, 1971
Lesson 314. "I seek a future different from the past."
1. From new perception of the world there comes a future very different from
the past. The future now is recognized as but extensions [W594] of the present.
Past mistakes can cast no shadows on it, so that fear has lost its idols and its
images, and being formless, it has no effects. Death will not claim the future
now, for life is now its goal, and all the needed means are happily provided.
Who can grieve or suffer, when the present has been freed, extending its
security and peace into a quiet future filled with hope?
2. "Father, we were mistaken in the past, and choose to use the present to be
free. Now do we leave the future in Your hands, leaving behind our past
mistakes, and sure that You will keep Your present Promises, and guide the
future in their holy light."
W(566) January 6, 1971
Lesson 315. "All gifts my brothers give belong to me."
1. Each day a thousand treasures come to me with every passing moment. I am
blessed with gifts throughout the day, in value far beyond all things of which I
can conceive. A brother smiles upon another, and my heart is gladdened.
Someone speaks a word of gratitude or mercy, and my mind receives [W595] this gift
and takes it as its own. And everyone who finds the way to God becomes my
Savior, pointing out the way to me, and giving me his certainty that what he
learned is surely mine as well.
2. "I thank You, Father, for the many gifts that come to me today and every day
from every Son of God. My brothers are unlimited in all their gifts to me. Now
may I offer them my thankfulness, that gratitude to them may lead me on to my
Creator and His memory."
W(567)
Lesson 316. "All gifts I give my brothers are my own."
1. As every gift my brothers give is mine, so every gift I give belongs to me.
Each one allows a past mistake to go, and leave no shadow on the holy mind my
Father loves. His grace is given me in every gift a brother has received
throughout all time, and past all time as well. My treasure-house is full, and
angels watch its open doors, that not one gift is lost and only more are added.
Let me come to where my treasures are, and enter in where I am truly welcome and
at home among the gifts that God has given me.
2. "Father, I would accept Your gifts today. I do not recognize them. Yet I
trust that You Who gave them will provide the means by which I can behold them,
see their worth, and cherish only them as what I want."
W(568)
Lesson 317. "I follow in the way appointed me."
1. I have a special place to fill; a role for me alone. Salvation waits until
I take this part as what I choose to do. Until I make this choice, I am the
slave of time and human destiny. But when I willingly and gladly go the way my
Father's plan appointed me to go, then will I recognize salvation is already
here, already given all my brothers and already mine as well.
2. "Father, Your way is what I choose today. Where it would lead me do I
choose to go; what it would have me do I choose to do. Your way is certain, and
the end secure. The memory of You awaits me there, and all my sorrows end in
Your embrace, which You have promised to Your Son, who thought mistakenly that
he had wandered from the sure protection of Your loving arms."
W(569)
Lesson 318. "In me salvation's means and end are one."
1. In me, God's holy Son, are reconciled all parts of Heaven's plan to save the
world. What could conflict, when all the parts have but one purpose and one
aim? How could there be a single part that stands aside, or one of more or less
importance than the rest? I am the means by which God's Son is saved, because
salvation's purpose is to find the sinlessness which God has placed in me. I
was created as the thing I seek. I am the goal the world is searching for. I
am God's Son, His one Eternal Love. I am salvation's means and end as well.
2. "Let me today, my Father, take the role You offer me in Your request that I
accept Atonement for myself. For thus does what is thereby reconciled in me
become as surely reconciled to You."
W(570)
Lesson 319. "I came for the salvation of the world."
1. Here is a thought from which all arrogance has been removed, and only truth
is left. For arrogance opposes truth. But where [W596] there is no arrogance,
the truth will come immediately, and fill up the space the ego left unoccupied
by lies. Only the ego can be limited, and therefore it must seek for aims which
are curtailed and limiting. The ego thinks that what one gains totality must
lose. And yet it is the Will of God I learn that what one gains is given unto
all.
2. "Father, Your Will is total, and the goal that [W597] stems from It shares Its
totality. What aim but the salvation of the world could You have given me? And
what but this could be the Will my Self has shared with You?"
W(571)
Lesson 320. "My Father gives all power unto me."
1. The Son of God is limitless. There are no limits on his strength, his
peace, his joy, nor [W598] any attributes his Father gave in his creation. What
he wills with his Creator and Redeemer must be done. His holy will can never be
denied, because his Father shines upon his mind, and lays before it all the
strength and love in earth and Heaven. I am he to whom all this is given. I am
he in whom the power of my Father's Will abides.
2. "Your Will can do all things in me, and then extend to all the world as well
through me. There is no limit on Your will. And so all power has been given to
Your Son."
W(572) January 12, 1971
(11) What is Creation?
1. Creation is the sum of all God's Thoughts, in number infinite, and
everywhere without all limit. Only Love creates, and only like Itself. There
was no time when all that It created was not there. Nor will there be a time
when anything that It created suffers any pain [W599]. Forever and forever are
God's Thoughts exactly as They [W600] were and as They [W601] are, unchanged through
time and after time is done.
2. God's Thoughts are given all the power that Their own Creator has. For He
would add to Love by Its extension. Thus His Son shares in creation, and must
therefore share in power to create. What God has willed to be forever one will
still be one when time is over; and will not be changed throughout the course of
time, remaining as it was before the thought of time began.
3. Creation is the opposite of all illusions, for Creation [W602] is the truth.
Creation is the holy Son of God, for in Creation [W603] is His Will complete in
every aspect, making every part container of the whole. Its oneness is forever
guaranteed inviolate; forever held within His holy Will, beyond all possibility
of harm, of separation, imperfection and of any spot upon its sinlessness.
4. We are Creation; [W604] we the Sons of God. We seem to be discrete and
unaware of our eternal unity with Him. Yet back of all our doubts, past all our
fears, there still is certainty. For Love remains with all Its Thought, Its
sureness being Theirs. God's memory is in our holy minds, which know their
oneness and their unity with their Creator. Let our function be only to let
this memory return, only to let God's Will be done on earth, only to be restored
to sanity, and to be but as God created us.
5. Our Father calls to us. We hear His Voice, and we forgive creation in the
Name of its Creator, Holiness Itself, Whose holiness His own creation shares;
Whose holiness is still a part of us.
W(573)
Lesson 321. "Father, my freedom is in You alone."
1. "I did not understand what made me free, nor what my freedom is, nor where
to look to find it. Father, I have searched in vain until I heard Your Voice
directing me. Now I would guide myself no more. For I have neither made nor
understood the way to find my freedom. But I trust in You. You Who endowed me
with my freedom as Your holy Son will not be lost to me. Your Voice directs me.
And the way to You is opening and clear to me at last. Father, my freedom is
in You alone. Father, it is my will that I return."
2. Today we answer for the world, which will be freed along with us. How glad
are we to find our freedom through the certain way our Father has established.
And how sure is all the world's salvation, when we learn our freedom can be
found in God alone.
W(574)
Lesson 322. "I can give up but what was never real."
1. I sacrifice illusions; nothing more. And as illusions go I find the gifts
illusions tried to hide, awaiting me in shining welcome, and in readiness to
give God's ancient messages to me. His memory abides in every gift that I
receive of Him. And every dream serves only to conceal the Self Which is God's
only Son, the likeness of Himself, the Holy One Who still abides in Him forever,
as He still abides in me.
2. "Father, to You all sacrifice remains forever inconceivable. And so I
cannot sacrifice except in dreams. As You created me, I can give up nothing You
gave me. What You did not give has no reality. What loss can I anticipate
except the loss of fear, and the return of Love into my mind?"
W(575)
Lesson 323. "I gladly make the 'sacrifice' of fear."
1. "Here is the only 'sacrifice' You ask of Your beloved Son; You ask him to
give up all suffering, all sense of loss and sadness, all anxiety and doubt, and
freely let Your Love come streaming in to his awareness, healing him of pain,
and giving him Your own eternal joy. Such is the 'sacrifice' You ask of me, and
one I gladly make; the only 'cost' of restoration of Your memory to me, for the
salvation of the world."
2. And as we pay the debt we owe to truth - a debt which merely is the letting
go of self-deceptions and of images we worshipped falsely - truth returns to us
in wholeness and in joy. We are deceived no longer. Love has now returned to
our awareness. And we are at peace again, for fear has gone, and only Love
remains.
W(576)
Lesson 324. "I merely follow, for I would not lead."
1. "Father, You are the One Who gave the plan for my salvation to me. You have
set the way I am to go, the role to take, and every step in my appointed path.
I cannot lose the way. I can but choose to wander off a while, and then return.
Your loving Voice will always call me back, and guide my feet aright. My
brothers all can follow in the way I lead them. Yet I merely follow in the way
to You, as You direct me and would have me go."
2. So let us follow One Who knows the way. We need not tarry, and we cannot
stray except an instant from His loving hand. We walk together, for we follow
Him. And it is He Who makes the ending sure, and guarantees a safe returning
home.
W(577)
Lesson 325. "All things I think I see reflect ideas."
1. This is salvation's keynote. What I see reflects a process in my mind,
which starts with my idea of what I want. From there, the mind makes up an
image of the thing the mind desires, judges valuable, and therefore seeks to
find. These images are then projected outward, looked upon, esteemed as real,
and guarded as one's own. From insane wishes comes an insane world. From
judgment comes a world condemned. And from forgiving thoughts a gentle world
comes forth, with mercy for the holy Son of God, to offer him a kindly home
where he can rest a while before he journeys on, and help his brothers walk
ahead with him and find the way to Heaven and to God.
2. "Our Father, Your Ideas reflect the truth, and mine apart from Yours but
makes up dreams. Let me behold what only Yours reflect, for Yours and Yours
alone establish truth."
W(578)
Lesson 326. "I am forever an Effect of God."
1. "Father, I was created in Your Mind, a holy Thought that never left its
home. I am forever Your Effect, and You forever and forever are my Cause. As
You created me I have remained. Where You established me I still abide, [W605]
and all Your attributes abide in me because it is Your Will to have a Son so
like his Cause that Cause and Its Effect are indistinguishable. Let me know
that I am an Effect of God, and so I have the power to create like You. And as
it is in Heaven, so on earth. Your plan I follow here, and at the end I know
that You will gather Your Effects into the tranquil Heaven of Your Love, where
earth will disappear, and separate things unite in glory as the Son of God."
2. Let us today behold earth disappear, at first transformed, and then,
forgiven, fade entirely into God's holy Will.
W(579) Feb. 19, 1971
Lesson 327. "I need but call and You will answer me."
1. I am not asked to take salvation on the basis of an unsupported faith. For
God has promised He will hear my call, and answer me Himself. Let me but learn
from my experience that this is true, and faith in Him must surely come to me.
This is the faith that will endure, and take me farther and still farther on the
road that leads to Him. For thus I will be sure that He has not abandoned me,
and loves me still, awaiting but my call to give me all the help I need to come
to Him.
2. "Father, I thank You that Your promises will never fail in my experience, if
I but test them out. Let me attempt therefore to try them, and to judge them
not. Your Word is one with You. You give the means whereby conviction comes,
and surety of Your abiding Love is gained at last."
W(580) February 20, 1971
Lesson 328. "I choose the second place to gain the first."
1. What seems to be the second place is first, for all things we perceive are
upside down until we listen to the Voice of God. It seems that we will gain
autonomy but by our striving to be separate, and that our independence from the
rest of God's creation is the way in which salvation is obtained. Yet all we
find is sickness, suffering, and loss and death. This is not what our Father
wills for us, nor is there any second to His Will. To join with His is but to
find our own. And since our will is His, it is to Him that we must go to
recognize our will.
2. "There is no will but Yours. And I am glad that nothing I imagine
contradicts what You would have me do [W606]. It is Your Will that I be wholly
safe, eternally at peace. And happily I share that Will which You, my Father,
gave as part of me."
W(581)
Lesson 329. "I have already chosen what You will."
1. "Father, I [W607] wandered from Your Will, defied It, broke Its laws, and
interposed a second will more powerful than Yours. Yet what I am in truth is
but Your Will, extended and extending. This am I. And This will never change.
As You are One, so am I one with You. And This I chose in my creation, where my
will became forever one with Yours. That choice was made for all eternity. It
cannot change, and be in opposition to Itself. Father, my will is Yours. And I
am safe, untroubled and serene, in endless joy, because it is Your Will that it
be so."
2. Today we will accept our union with each other and our Source. We have no
will apart from His, and all of us are one because His Will is shared by all of
us. Through It we recognize that we are one. Through It we find our way at
last to God.
W(582)
Lesson 330. "I will not hurt myself again today."
1. Let us this day accept forgiveness as our only function. Why should we
attack our minds, and give them images of pain? Why should we teach them they
are powerless, when God holds out His power and His Love, and bids them take
what is already theirs? The mind that is made willing to accept God's gifts has
been restored to Spirit, and extends its freedom and its joy, as is the Will of
God united with its own. The Self Which God created cannot sin, and therefore
cannot suffer. Let us choose today that He be our Identity, and thus escape
forever from all things the dream of fear appears to offer us.
2. "Father, Your Son can not be hurt. And if we think we suffer, we but fail
to know our one Identity we share with You. We would return to It today, to be
made free forever from all our mistakes, and to be saved from what we thought we
were."
W(583)
(12) What is the Ego?
1. The ego is idolatry; the sign of limited and separated self, born in a body,
doomed to suffer and to end its life in death. It is the will that sees the
Will of God as enemy, and takes a form in which It is denied. The ego is the
"proof" that strength is weak and love is fearful, life is really death, and
what opposes God alone is true.
2. The ego is insane. In fear it stands beyond the Everywhere, apart from All,
in separation from the Infinite. In its insanity it thinks it has become a
victor over God Himself, and in its terrible autonomy it "sees" the Will of God
has been destroyed. It dreams of punishment, and trembles at the figures in its
dreams, its enemies who seek to murder it before it can ensure its safety by
attacking them.
3. The Son of God is egoless. What can he know of madness and the death of
God, when he abides in Him? What can he know of sorrow and of suffering, when
he lives in eternal joy? What can he know of fear and punishment, of sin and
guilt, of hatred and attack, when all there is surrounding him is everlasting
peace, forever conflict-free and undisturbed, in deepest silence and
tranquility?
4. To know Reality is not to know the ego and its thoughts, its works, its
acts, its laws and its beliefs, its dreams, its hopes, its plans for its
salvation, and the cost belief in it entails. In suffering, the price for faith
in it is so immense that crucifixion of the Son of God is offered daily at its
darkened shrine, and blood must flow before the altar where its sickly followers
prepare its feast of death [W608].
5. Yet will one lily of forgiveness change the darkness into light; the altar
to illusions to the shrine of Life Itself. And peace will be restored forever
to the holy minds which God created as His Son, His dwelling-place, His joy, His
love, completely His, completely one with Him.
W(584)
Lesson 331. "There is no conflict, for my will is Yours."
1. "How foolish, Father, to believe Your Son could cause himself to suffer!
Could he make a plan for his damnation, and be left without a certain way to his
release? You love me, Father. You could never leave me desolate, to die within
a world of pain and cruelty. How could I think that Love has left Itself?
There is no will except the Will of Love. Fear is a dream, and has no will that
can conflict with Yours. Conflict is sleep, and peace awakening. Death is
illusion; life, Eternal Truth. There is no opposition to Your Will. There is
no conflict, for my will is Yours."
2. Forgiveness shows us that God's Will is one, and that we share It. Let us
look upon the holy sights forgiveness shows today, that we may find the peace of
God. Amen.
W(585)
Lesson 332. "Fear binds the world. Forgiveness sets it free."
1. The ego makes illusions. Truth undoes its evil dreams by shining them away.
Truth never makes attack. It merely is. And by its Presence is the mind
recalled from fantasies, awaking to the Real. Forgiveness bids this Presence
enter in, and take its rightful place within the mind. Without forgiveness is
the mind in chains, believing in its own futility. Yet with forgiveness does
the light shine through the dream of darkness, offering it hope, and giving it
the means to realize the freedom that is its inheritance.
2. "We would not bind the world again today. Fear holds it prisoner. And yet
Your Love has given us the means to set it free. Father, we would release it
now. For as we offer freedom it is given us. And we would not remain as
prisoners, while You hold out our [W609] freedom unto [W610] us."
W(586)
Lesson 333. "Forgiveness ends the dream of conflict here."
1. Conflict must be resolved. It cannot be evaded, set aside, denied,
disguised, seen somewhere else, called by another name, nor hidden by deceit of
any kind, if it would be escaped. It must be seen exactly as it is, where it is
thought to be, in the reality which has been given it, and with the purpose that
the mind accorded it. For only then are its defenses lifted, and the truth can
shine upon it as it disappears.
2. "Father, forgiveness is the light You chose to shine away all conflict and
all doubt, and light the way for our return to You. No light but this can end
our evil dreams. No light but this can save the world. For this alone will
never fail in anything, being Your gift to Your beloved Son."
W(587)
Lesson 334. "Today I claim the gifts forgiveness gives."
1. I will not wait another day to find the treasures which my Father offers me.
Illusions must be [W611] vain, and dreams are gone even while they are woven out
of thoughts that rest on false perception. Let me not accept such meager gifts
again today. God's Voice is offering the peace of God to all who hear and
choose to follow Him. This is my choice today. And so I go to find the
treasures God has given me.
2. "I seek but the eternal. For Your Son can be content with nothing less than
this. What, then, can be his solace but what You are offering to his bewildered
mind and frightened heart, to give him certainty and bring him peace? Today I
would behold my brother sinless. This Your Will for me, for thus [W612] will I
behold my sinlessness."
W(588) January 25, 1971
Lesson 335. "I choose to see my brother's sinlessness."
1. Forgiveness is a choice. I never see my brother as he is, for that is far
beyond perception. What I see in him is merely what I wish to see, because it
stands for what I want to be the truth. It is to this alone that I respond,
however much I seem to be impelled by outside happenings. I choose to see what
I would look upon, and this I see, and only this. My brother's sinlessness
shows me that I would look upon my own. And I will see it, having chosen to
behold my brother in its holy light.
2. "What could restore Your memory to me except to see my brother's
sinlessness? His holiness reminds me that he was created one with me and like
myself. In him I find my Self, and in Your Son I find the memory of You as
well."
W(589)
Lesson 336. "Forgiveness lets me know that minds are joined."
1. Forgiveness is the means appointed for perception's ending. Knowledge is
restored after perception first is changed, and then gives way entirely to what
remains forever past its highest reach. For sights and sounds, at best, can
serve but to recall the memory that lies beyond them all. Forgiveness sweeps
away distortions, and opens the hidden altar to the truth. Its lilies shine
into the mind, and call it to return and look within, to find what it has vainly
sought without. For here, and only here, is peace of mind restored, for this
the dwelling-place of God Himself.
2. "In quiet may forgiveness wipe away my dreams of separation and of sin.
Then let me, Father, look within and find Your promise of my sinlessness is
kept; Your Word remains unchanged within my mind, Your Love is still abiding in
my heart."
W(590) January 27, 1971
Lesson 337. "My sinlessness protects me from all harm."
1. My sinlessness ensures me perfect peace, eternal safety, everlasting love,
freedom forever from all thought of loss; complete deliverance from suffering.
And only happiness can be my state, for only happiness is given me. What must I
do to know all this is mine? I must accept Atonement for myself, and nothing
more. God has already done all things that need be done. And I must learn I
need do nothing of myself, for I need but accept my Self, my sinlessness,
created for me, now already mine, to feel God's Love protecting me from harm, to
understand my Father loves His Son; to know I am the Son my Father loves.
2. "You who created me in sinlessness are not mistaken about what I am. I was
mistaken when I thought I sinned, but I accept Atonement for myself. Father, my
dream is ended now. Amen."
W(591) January 28, 1971
Lesson 338. "I am affected only by my thoughts."
1. It needs but this to let salvation come to all the world. For in this
single thought is everyone released at last from fear. Now he has learned that
no one frightens him, and nothing can endanger him. He has no enemies, and he
is safe from all external things. His thoughts can frighten him, but since
these thoughts belong to him alone, he has the power to change them, and
exchange each fear thought for a happy thought of love. He crucified himself.
Yet God has planned that His beloved Son will be redeemed.
2. "Your plan is sure, my Father, - only Yours. All other plans will fail.
And I will have thoughts that will frighten me until I learn that You have given
me the only Thought Which leads me to salvation. Mine alone will fail and lead
me nowhere. But the Thought You gave me promises to lead me home, because it
holds Your promise to Your Son."
W(592)
Lesson 339. "I will receive whatever I request."
1. No one desires pain. But he can think that pain is pleasure. No one would
avoid his happiness. But he can think that joy is painful, threatening and
dangerous. Everyone will receive what he requests. But he can be confused
indeed about the things he wants; the state he would attain. What can he then
request that he would want when he receives it? He has asked for what will
frighten him, and bring him suffering. Let us resolve today to ask for what we
really want, and only this, that we may spend this day in fearlessness, without
confusing pain with joy, or fear with love.
2. "Father, this is Your day. It is a day in which I would do nothing by
myself, but hear Your Voice in everything I do; requesting only what You offer
me, accepting only Thoughts You share with me."
W(593)
Lesson 340. "I can be free of suffering today."
1. "Father, I thank You for today, and for the freedom I am certain it will
bring. This day is holy, for today Your Son will be redeemed. His suffering is
done [W613] for he will hear Your Voice directing him to find Christ's vision
through forgiveness, and be free forever from all suffering. Thanks for today,
my Father. I was born into this world but to achieve this day, and what it
holds in joy and freedom for Your holy Son, and for the world he made, which is
released along with him today."
2. Be glad today! Be glad! There is no room for anything but joy and thanks
today. Our Father has redeemed His Son this day. Not one of us but will be
saved today. Not one who will remain in fear, and none the Father will not
gather to Himself, awake in Heaven in the Heart of Love.
W(594)
(13) What is a Miracle?
1. A miracle is a correction. It does not create, nor really change at all.
It merely looks on devastation, and reminds the mind that what it sees is false.
It undoes error, but does not attempt to go beyond perception, nor exceed the
function of forgiveness. Thus it stays within time's limits. Yet it paves the
way for the return of timelessness and love's awakening, for fear must slip away
under the gentle remedy it gives.
2. A miracle contains the gift of grace, for it is given and received as one.
And thus it illustrates the law of truth the world does not obey, because it
fails entirely to understand its ways. A miracle inverts perception which was
upside-down before, and thus it ends the strange distortions that were manifest.
Now is perception open to the truth. Now is forgiveness seen as justified.
3. Forgiveness is the home of miracles. The eyes of Christ deliver [W614] them
to all they look upon in mercy and in love. Perception stands corrected in His
sight, and what was meant to curse has come to bless. Each lily of forgiveness
offers all the world the silent miracle of love. And each is laid before the
Word of God upon the universal altar to Creator and creation, in the Light of
perfect purity and endless joy.
4. The miracle is taken first on faith, because to ask for it implies the mind
has been made ready to conceive of what it cannot see and does not understand.
Yet faith will bring its witnesses to show that what it rested on is really
there. And thus the miracle will justify your faith in it, and show it rested
on a world more real than what you saw before; a world redeemed from what you
thought you saw.
5. Miracles fall like drops of healing rain from Heaven on a dry and dusty
world, where starved and thirsty creatures came to die. Now they have water.
Now the world is green. And everywhere the signs of life spring up, to show
that what is born can never die, for what has life has immortality.
W(595) Feb. 1, 1971
Lesson 341. "I can attack but my own sinlessness,
And it is only that which keeps me safe."
1. "Father, Your Son is holy. I am he on whom You smile in love and tenderness
so deep and dear and still the universe smiles back on You, and shares Your
holiness. How pure, how safe, how sacred, then, are we, abiding in Your smile,
with all Your love bestowed upon us, living one with You, in brotherhood and
Fatherhood complete; in sinlessness so perfect that the Lord of Sinlessness
conceives us as His Son, a universe of Thought completing Him."
2. Let us not, then, attack our sinlessness [W615]. For it contains the Word of
God to us, and in its kind reflection we are saved.
W(596) Feb. 2, 1971
Lesson 342. "I let forgiveness rest upon all things,
For thus forgiveness will be given me."
1. "I thank You, Father, for Your plan to save me from the hell I made. It is
not real. And You have given me the means to prove its unreality to me. The
key is in my hand, and I have reached the door beyond which lies the end of
dreams. I stand before the gate of Heaven, wondering if I should enter in and
be at home. Let me not wait again today. Let me forgive all things, and let
creation be as You would have it be, and as it is. Let me remember that I am
Your Son, and opening the door at last, forget illusions in the blazing light of
truth, as memory of You returns to me."
2. Brother, forgive me now. I come to you to take you home with me. And as we
go, the world goes with us on the way to God.
W(597)
Lesson 343. "I am not asked to make a sacrifice
To find the mercy and the peace of God."
1. "The end of suffering can not be loss. The gift of everything can but be
gain [W616]. You only give. You never take away. And You created me to be like
You, so sacrifice becomes impossible for me as well as You. I, too, must give,
and so all things are given unto me forever and forever. As I was created, I
remain. Your Son can make no sacrifice, for he must be complete, having the
function of completing You. I am complete because I am Your Son. I cannot
lose, for I can only give. And everything is mine eternally."
2. The mercy and the peace of God are free. Salvation has no cost. It is a
gift that must be freely given and received, and it is this that we would learn
today.
W(598) Feb. 3, 1971
Lesson 344. "Today I learn the law of love; that what
I give my brother is my gift to me."
1. "This is Your law, my Father, not my own. I did not understand [W617] what
giving means, and thought to save what I desired for myself alone. And as I
looked upon the treasure which I thought I had, I found an empty place where
nothing ever was, or is or will be. Who can share a dream? And what can an
illusion offer me? Yet he whom I forgive will give me gifts beyond the worth of
anything on earth. Let my forgiven brothers fill my store with Heaven's
treasures, which alone are real. Thus is the law of love fulfilled. And thus
Your Son arises and returns to You."
2. How near we are to one another, as we go to God. How near is He to us. How
close the ending of the dream of sin, and the redemption of the Son of God.
W(599)
Lesson 345. "I offer only miracles today,
For I would have them be returned to me."
1. "Father, a miracle reflects Your gifts to me, Your Son. And every one I
give returns to me, reminding me the law of love is universal. Even here it
takes a form which can be recognized, and seen to work. The miracles I give are
given back in just the form I need to help me with the problems I perceive.
Father, in Heaven it is different, for there, there are no needs. But here on
earth the miracle is closer to Your gifts than any other gift which I can give.
Then let me give this gift alone today, which, born of true forgiveness, lights
the way that I must travel to remember You."
2. Peace to all seeking hearts today. The light has come, to offer miracles to
bless the tired world. It will find rest today, for we will offer what we have
received.
W(600) February 5, 1971
Lesson 346. "Today the peace of God envelops me,
And I forget all things except His Love."
1. "Father, I wake today with miracles correcting my perception of all things.
And so begins a day I share with You as I will share eternity, for time has
stepped aside today. I do not seek the things of time, and so I will not look
upon them. What I seek today transcends all laws of time and things perceived
in time. I would forget all things except Your Love. I would abide in You, and
know no laws except Your law of Love. And I would find the peace which You
created for Your Son, forgetting all the foolish toys I made as I behold Your
glory and my own."
2. And when the evening comes today, we will remember nothing but the peace of
God. For we will learn today what peace is ours when we forget all things
except God's Love.
W(601)
Lesson 347. "Anger must come from judgment. Judgment is
The weapon I would use against myself
To keep all [W618] miracles away from me."
1. "Father, I want what goes against my will, and do not want what is my will
to have. Straighten my mind, my Father. It is sick. But You have offered
freedom, and I choose to claim Your gift today. And so I give all judgment to
the One You gave to me to judge for me. He sees what I behold, and yet He knows
the truth. He looks on pain, and yet He understands it is not real, and in His
understanding it is healed. He gives the miracles my dreams would hide from my
awareness. Let Him judge today. I do not know my will, but He is sure it is
Your own. And He will speak for me, and call Your miracle to come to me."
2. Listen today. Be very still, and hear the gentle Voice for God assuring you
that He has judged you as the Son He loves.
W(602) February 8, 1971
Lesson 348. "I have no cause for anger or for fear,
For You surround me. And in every need
That I perceive Your grace suffices me."
1. "Father, let me remember You are here, and I am not alone. Surrounding me
is everlasting Love. I have no cause for anything except the perfect peace and
joy I share with You. What need have I for anger or for fear? Surrounding me
is perfect safety. Can I be afraid, when Your eternal promise goes with me?
Surrounding me is perfect sinlessness. What can I fear, when You created me in
holiness as perfect as Your own?"
2. God's grace suffices us in everything that He would have us do. And only
that we choose to be our will as well as His.
W(603) February 9, 1971
Lesson 349. "Today I let Christ's vision look upon
All things for me and judge them not, but give
Each one a miracle of love instead."
1. "So would I liberate all things I see, and give to them the freedom that I
seek. For thus do I obey the law of love, and give what I would find and make
my own. It will be given me because I have chosen it as the gift I want to
give. Father, Your gifts are mine. Each one that I accept gives me a miracle
to give. And giving as I would receive, I learn Your healing miracles belong to
me."
2. Our Father knows our needs. He gives us grace to meet them all. And so we
trust in Him to send us miracles to bless the world and heal our minds as we
return to Him.
W(604)
Lesson 350. "Miracles mirror God's eternal Love.
To offer them is to remember Him,
And through His memory to save the world."
1. "What we forgive becomes a part of us, as we perceive ourselves. The Son of
God incorporates all things within himself as You created him. Your memory
depends on his forgiveness. What he is, is unaffected by his thoughts. But
what he looks upon is their direct result. Therefore, my Father, I would turn
to You. Only Your memory will set me free. And only my forgiveness teaches me
to let Your memory return to me, and give it to the world in thankfulness."
2. And as we gather miracles from Him, we will indeed be grateful. For as we
remember Him, His Son will be restored to us in the Reality of Love.
W(605) Feb. 10, 1971
(14) What am I?
1. "I am God's Son, complete and healed and whole, shining in the reflection of
His Love. In me is His creation sanctified and guaranteed eternal life. In me
is love perfected, fear impossible, and joy established without opposite. I am
the holy home of God Himself. I am the Heaven where His Love resides. I am His
holy Sinlessness Itself, for in my purity abides His own."
2. Our use for words is almost over now. Yet in the final days of this one
year we gave to God together, you and I, we found a single purpose that we
shared. And thus you joined with me, [W619] so what I am are you as well. The
truth of what we are is not for words to speak of or [W620] describe. Yet we can
realize our function here, and words can speak of this and teach it, too, if we
exemplify the words in us.
3. We are the bringers of salvation. We accept our part as Saviors of the
world, which through our joint forgiveness is redeemed. And this, our gift, is
therefore given us. We look on everyone as brothers, and perceive all things as
kindly and as good. We do not seek a function that is past the gates of Heaven.
Knowledge will return when we have done our part. We are concerned only with
giving welcome to the truth.
4. Ours [W621] are the eyes through which Christ's vision sees a world redeemed
from every thought of sin. Ours are the ears which hear the Voice of God
proclaim the world as sinless [W622]. Ours the minds which join together as we
bless the world. And from the oneness that we have attained we call to all our
brothers, asking them to share our peace and consummate our joy.
5. We are the holy messengers of God who speak for Him, and carrying His Word
to everyone whom He has sent to us, we learn that It is written on our hearts.
And thus our minds are changed about the aim for which we came and which we seek
to serve. We bring glad tidings to the Son of God, who thought he suffered.
Now is he redeemed. And as he sees the gate of Heaven stand open before him, he
will enter in and disappear into the Heart of God.
W(606) February 11, 1971
Lesson 351. "My sinless brother is my guide to peace.
My sinful brother is my guide to pain.
And which I choose to see I will behold."
1. "Who is my brother but Your holy Son? And if I see him sinful, I proclaim
myself a sinner; not a Son of God; alone and friendless in a fearful world. Yet
this perception is a choice I make, and can relinquish. I can also see my
brother sinless, as Your holy Son. And with this choice I see my sinlessness,
my everlasting Comforter and Friend beside me, and my way secure and clear.
Choose, then, for me, my Father, through Your Voice. For He alone gives
judgment in Your Name."
W(607)
Lesson 352. "Judgment and love are opposites. From one
Come all the sorrows of the world. But from
The Other comes the peace of God Himself."
1. "Forgiveness looks on sinlessness alone, and judges not. Through this I
come to You. Judgment will bind my eyes and make me blind. Yet love, reflected
in forgiveness here, reminds me You have given me a way to find Your peace
again. I am redeemed when I elect to follow in this way. You have not left me
comfortless. I have within me both the memory of You, and One Who leads me to
It. Father, I would hear Your Voice, and find Your peace today. For I would
love my own Identity, and find in Him the memory of You."
W(608)
Lesson 353. "My eyes, my tongue, my hands, my feet today
Have but one purpose; to be given Christ
To use to bless the world with miracles."
1. "Father, I give all that is mine today to Christ, to use in any way that
best will serve the purpose which I share with Him. Nothing is mine alone, for
He and I have joined in purpose. Thus has learning come almost to its appointed
end. A while I work with Him to serve His purpose. Then I lose myself in my
Identity, and recognize that Christ is but my Self."
W(609)
Lesson 354. "We stand together, Christ and I, in peace
And certainty of purpose. And in Him
Is His Creator, as He is in me."
1. "My oneness with the Christ establishes me as Your Son, beyond the reach of
time, and wholly free of every law but Yours. I have no self except the Christ
in me. I have no purpose but His own. And He is like His Father. Thus must I
be one with You as well as Him. For who is Christ except Your Son as You
created Him? And what am I except the Christ in me?"
W(610) Feb. 12, 1971
Lesson 355. "There is no end to all the peace and joy
And all the miracles that I will give
When I accept God's Word. Why not today?"
1. "Why should I wait, my Father, for the joy You promised me? For You will
keep Your Word You gave Your Son in exile. I am sure my treasure waits for me,
and I need but reach out my hand to find it. Even now my fingers touch it. It
is very close. I need not wait an instant more, to be at peace forever. It is
You I choose, and my Identity along with You. Your Son would be Himself, and
know You as his Father and Creator and his Love."
W(611)
Lesson 356. "Sickness is but another name for sin.
Healing is but another Name for God.
The miracle is thus a call to Him."
1. "Father, You promised You would never fail to answer any call Your Son might
make to You. It does not matter where he is, what seems to be his problem, nor
what he believes he has become. He is Your Son, and You will answer him. The
miracle reflects Your Love, and thus it answers him. Your Name replaces every
thought of sin, and who is sinless cannot suffer pain. Your Name gives answer
to Your Son, because to call Your Name is but to call his own."
W(612) Feb. 16, 1971
Lesson 357. "Truth answers every call we make to God,
Responding first with miracles, and then
Returning unto us to be Itself."
1. "Forgiveness, truth's reflection, tells me how to offer miracles, and thus
escape the prison house in which I think I live. Your holy Son is pointed out
to me, first in my brother; then in me. Your Voice instructs me patiently to
hear Your Word and give as I receive. And as I look upon Your Son today, I hear
Your Voice instructing me to find the way to You as You appointed that the way
shall be: 'Behold his sinlessness and be you healed'."
W(613)
Lesson 358. "No call to God can be unheard or left
Unanswered. And of this I can be sure;
His answer is the one I really want."
1. "You Who remember what I really am alone remember what I really want. You
speak for God, and so You speak for me [W623], and what You give me comes from God
Himself. Your Voice, my Father, then is mine as well, and all I want is what
You offer me, in just the form You chose that it be mine. Let me remember all I
do not know, and let my voice be still, remembering. But let me not forget Your
Love and care, keeping Your promise to Your Son in my awareness always. Let me
not forget myself is nothing, but my Self is All."
W(614) February 18, 1971
Lesson 359. "God's answer is some form of peace. All pain
Is healed; all misery replaced with joy.
All prison doors are opened. And all sin
Is understood as merely a mistake."
1. "Father, today we will forgive Your world, and let creation be Your own. We
have misunderstood all things. But we have not made sinners of the holy Sons of
God. What You created sinless so abides forever and forever. Such are we. And
we rejoice to learn that we have made mistakes which have no real effects on us.
Sin is impossible, and on this fact forgiveness rests upon a certain base more
solid than the shadow world we see. Help us forgive, for we would be redeemed.
Help us forgive, for we would be at peace."
W(615)
Lesson 360. "Peace be to me, the holy Son of God.
Peace to my brother, who is one with me.
Let all the world be blessed with peace through us."
1. "Father, it is Your peace that I would give, receiving it of You. I am Your
Son, forever just as You created me, for the Great Rays remain forever still and
undisturbed within me. I would reach to them in silence and in certainty, for
nowhere else can certainty be found. Peace be to me, and peace to all the
world. In holiness were we created, and in holiness do we remain. Your Son is
like to You in perfect sinlessness, and with this thought we gladly say 'Amen'."
W(616)
1. Our final lessons will be left as free of words as possible. We use them
but at the beginning of our practicing, and only to remind us that we seek to go
beyond them. Let us turn to Him Who leads the way and makes our footsteps sure.
To Him we leave these lessons, as to Him we give our lives henceforth. For we
would not return again to the belief in sin, which made the world seem ugly and
unsafe, attacking and destroying, dangerous in all its ways and treacherous
beyond the hope of trust and the escape from pain.
2. His is the only way to find the peace that God has given us. It is His way
that everyone must travel in the end, because it is this ending God Himself
appointed. In the dream of time it seems to be far off. And yet, in truth, it
is already here; already serving us as gracious guidance in the way to go. Let
us together follow in this way that truth points out to us. And let us be the
leaders of our many brothers who are seeking for the way but find it not.
5. And to this purpose let us dedicate our minds, directing all our thoughts to
serve the function of salvation. Unto us the aim is given to forgive the world.
It is the goal that God has given us. It is His ending to the dream we seek,
and not our own. For all that we forgive we will not fail to recognize as part
of God Himself. And thus His memory is given back completely and complete.
4. It is our function to remember Him on earth, as it is given us to be His own
completion in reality. So let us not forget our goal is shared. For it is that
remembrance which contains the memory of God, and points the way to Him and to
the Heaven of His peace. And shall we not forgive our brother, who can offer
this to us? He is the way, the truth and life that show the way to us. In him
resides salvation, offered us through our forgiveness given unto him.
W(617)
5. We will not end this year without the gift our Father promised to His holy
Son. We are forgiven now, [W624] and we are saved from all the wrath we thought
belonged to God, and found it was a dream. We are restored to sanity, in which
we understand that anger is insane, attack is mad, and vengeance merely foolish
fantasy. We have been saved from wrath because we learned we were mistaken.
Nothing more than that. And is a Father [W625] angry at His [W626] Son [W627] because
he failed to understand the truth?
6. We come in honesty to Him [W628] and say we did not understand, and ask Him to
help us to learn His lessons through the Voice of His own Teacher. Would He
hurt His Son? Or would He rush to answer him, and say, "This is my Son, and all
I have is his?" Be certain He will answer thus, for these are His own Words to
you. And more than that can no one ever have, for in these Words is all there
is, and all that there will be throughout all time and in eternity.
W(618)
Lesson 361-365. [W629] "This holy instant would I give to You.
Be You in charge. For I would follow You,
Certain that Your direction gives me peace."
1. [W630] If I need a word to help me, He will give it to me. If I need a
thought, that will He also give. And if I need but stillness and a tranquil,
open mind, these are the gifts I will receive of Him. He is in charge by my
request. And He will hear and answer me, because He speaks for God my Father
and His holy Son.
W(619)
1. This course is a beginning, not an end. Your Friend goes with you. You are
not alone. No one who calls on Him can call in vain. Whatever troubles you, be
certain that He has the answer, and will gladly give it to you if you simply
turn to Him and ask it of Him. He will not withhold all answers that you need
for anything that seems to trouble you. He knows the way to solve all problems
and resolve all doubts. His certainty is yours. You need but ask it of him,
and it will be given you.
2. You are as certain of arriving home as is the pathway of the sun laid down
before it rises, after it has set, and in the half-lit hours in between.
Indeed, your pathway is more certain still, for it can not be possible to change
the course of those whom God has called to Him. Therefore obey your will, and
follow Him Whom you accepted as your voice, to speak of what you really want and
really need. His is the Voice of God, and also yours. And thus He speaks of
freedom and of truth.
3. No more specific lessons are assigned, for there is no more need of them.
Henceforth, hear but the Voice for God and for your Self when you retire from
the world, to seek reality instead. He will direct your efforts, telling you
exactly what to do, how to direct your mind, and when to come to Him in silence,
asking for His sure direction and His certain Word. His is the Word that God
has given you. His is the Word you chose to be your own.
4. And now I place you in His hands, to be His faithful followers, with Him as
Guide through every difficulty and all pain that you may think is real. Nor
will He give you pleasures that will pass away, for He gives only the eternal
and the good. Let Him prepare you further. He has earned your trust by
speaking daily to you of your Father and your brother and your Self. He will
continue; now you walk with Him as certain as is He of where you go; as sure as
He of how you should proceed, as confident as He is of the
W(620)
goal, and of your safe arrival in the end.
5. The end is certain, and the means as well. To this we say "Amen." We [W631]
will be told exactly what God wills for us [W632] each time there is a choice to
make. And He will speak for God and for your Self, thus making sure that hell
will claim you not, and that each choice you make brings Heaven nearer to your
reach. And so we walk with Him from this time on, and turn to Him for guidance
and for peace and right [W633] direction. Joy attends our way. For we go
homeward to an open door which God has held unclosed to welcome us.
6. We trust our ways to Him and say "Amen." In peace we will continue in His
way, and trust all things to Him. In confidence we wait His answers, as we ask
His will in everything we do. He loves Gods Son as we would love him, and He
teaches us how to behold him through His eyes, and love him as He does. You do
not walk alone. God's angels hover close, and all about. His Love surrounds
you, and of this be sure: that I will never leave you comfortless.
W(621)-- end –
{
1. Christ passes no one by. Through this you know He is God's Son. You
recognize His touch In universal gentleness. His love Extends to everyone. His
eyes behold The Love of God in everything He sees. No words but those His
Father's Voice dictates Can reach His ears. His hands forever hold His
brothers', and His arms remain outstretched In holy welcome. Would you look on
Him And hear Him calling you this Christmas day?
2. Behold, He offers you His eyes to see, His ears to listen to His Father's
Voice, His hands to hold His brothers', and His arms To reach to Him as He would
reach to you. You are as like to Him as He to God, And You to God because you
are like Him. All that He offers you is but your own. Accept His gifts to you
this Christmas day, That you who are as God created you May come to recognize
the Christ in you.
3. Christmas, 1969
W(622)
W(623)
Volume II: Urtext Workbook. 1
Lesson 1. "Nothing I see in this room (on this street, from this window, in
this place) means anything.". 2
Lesson 2. "I have given everything I see in this room (on this street, from
this window, in this place) all the meaning that it has for me.". 4
Lesson 3. "I do not understand anything I see in this room (on this street,
from this window, in this place)." 5
Lesson 4. "These thoughts do not mean anything. They are like the things I see
in this room (on this street, from this window, in this place).". 6
Lesson 5. "I am never upset for the reason I think.". 8
Lesson 6. "I am upset because I see something that is not there.". 10
Lesson 7. "I see only the past.". 11
Lesson 8. "My mind is preoccupied with past thoughts.". 13
Lesson 9. "I see nothing as it is now.". 15
Lesson 10. "My thoughts do not mean anything.". 17
Lesson 11. "My meaningless thoughts are showing me a meaningless world.". 19
Lesson 12. "I am upset because I see a meaningless world.". 20
Lesson 13. "A meaningless world engenders fear.". 22
Lesson 14. "God did not create a meaningless world.". 24
Lesson 15. "My thoughts are images which I have made.". 26
Lesson 16. "I have no neutral thoughts.". 28
Lesson 17. "I see no neutral things.". 30
Lesson 18. "I am not alone in experiencing the effects of my seeing.". 31
Lesson 19. "I am not alone in experiencing the effects of my thoughts.". 32
Lesson 20. "I am determined to see.". 34
Lesson 21. "I am determined to see things differently.". 36
Lesson 22. "What I see is a form of vengeance.". 37
Lesson 23. "I can escape from the world I see by giving up attack thoughts.".
38
Lesson 24. "I do not perceive my own best interests.". 40
Lesson 25. "I do not know what anything is for.". 42
Lesson 26. "My attack thoughts are attacking my invulnerability.". 44
Lesson 27. "Above all else I want to see.". 46
Lesson 28. "Above all else I want to see things differently.". 47
Lesson 29. "God is in everything I see.". 49
Lesson 30. "God is in everything I see because God is in my mind.". 51
Lesson 31. "I am not the victim of the world I see.". 52
Lesson 32. "I have invented the world I see.". 53
Lesson 33. "There is another way of looking at the world.". 54
Lesson 34. "I could see peace instead of this.". 55
Lesson 35. "My mind is part of God's. I am very holy.". 57
Lesson 36. "My holiness envelops everything I see.". 59
Lesson 37. "My holiness blesses the world.". 60
Lesson 38. "There is nothing my holiness cannot do.". 62
Lesson 39. "My holiness is my salvation.". 64
Lesson 40. "I am blessed as a Son of God.". 67
Lesson 41. "God goes with me wherever I go.". 68
Lesson 42. "God is my strength. Vision is His gift.". 70
Lesson 43. "God is my Source. I cannot see apart from Him.". 72
Lesson 44. "God is the Light in which I see.". 75
Lesson 45. "God is the Mind with which I think.". 78
Lesson 46. "God is the Love in which I forgive.". 81
Lesson 47. "God is the Strength in which I trust.". 83
Lesson 48. "There is nothing to fear.". 85
Lesson 49. "God's Voice speaks to me all through the day.". 86
Lesson 50. "I am sustained by the Love of God.". 88
Review I 90
Lesson 51. The review for today covers the following ideas: (1-5) 92
Lesson 52. Today's review covers these ideas: (6-10) 94
Lesson 53. Today we will review the following: (11-15) 96
Lesson 54. These are the review ideas for today: (16-20) 98
Lesson 55. Today's review includes the following: (21-25) 100
Lesson 56. Our review for today covers the following: (26-30) 102
Lesson 57. Today let us review these ideas: (31-35) 104
Lesson 58. These ideas are for review today: (36-40) 106
Lesson 59. The following ideas are for review today: (41-45) 108
Lesson 60. These ideas are for today's review. (46-50) 110
Lesson 61. "I am the light of the world.". 112
Lesson 62. "Forgiveness is my function as the light of the world.". 114
Lesson 63. "The light of the world brings peace to every mind through my
forgiveness.". 116
Lesson 64. "Let me not forget my function.". 117
Lesson 65. "My only function is the one God gave me.". 119
Lesson 66. "My happiness and my function are one.". 121
Lesson 67. "Love created me like Itself.". 124
Lesson 68. "Love holds no grievances.". 126
Lesson 69. "My grievances hide the light of the world in me.". 128
Lesson 70. "My salvation comes from me.". 131
Lesson 71. "Only God's plan for salvation will work.". 134
Lesson 72. "Holding grievances is an attack on God's plan for salvation.". 137
Lesson 73. "I will there be light.". 141
Lesson 74. "There is no will but God's.". 144
Lesson 75. "The light has come.". 146
Lesson 76. "I am under no laws but God's". 149
Lesson 77. "I am entitled to miracles.". 152
Lesson 78. "Let miracles replace all grievances.". 154
Lesson 79. "Let me recognize the problem so it can be solved.". 157
Lesson 80. "Let me recognize my problems have been solved.". 160
Review II 162
Lesson 81. Our ideas for review today are: (61-62) 164
Lesson 82. We will review these ideas today: (63-64) 165
Lesson 83. Today let us review these ideas: (65-66) 166
Lesson 84. These are the ideas for today's review: (67-68) 167
Lesson 85. Today's review will cover these ideas: (69-70) 168
Lesson 86. These ideas are for review today: (71-72) 169
Lesson 87. Our review today will cover these ideas: (73-74) 170
Lesson 88. Today we will review these ideas: (75-76) 171
Lesson 89. These are our review ideas for today: (77-78) 172
Lesson 90. For this review we will use these ideas: (79-80) 173
Lesson 91. "Miracles are seen in light.". 174
Lesson 92. "Miracles are seen in light, and light and strength are one.". 177
Lesson 93. "Light and joy and peace abide in me.". 180
Lesson 94. "I am as God created me.". 183
Lesson 95. "I am One Self, united with My Creator.". 185
Lesson 96. "Salvation comes from my One Self.". 189
Lesson 97. "I am a Spirit.". 192
Lesson 98. "I will accept my part in God's plan for salvation.". 194
Lesson 99. "Salvation is my only function here.". 197
Lesson 100. "My part is essential to God's plan for salvation.". 200
Lesson 101. "God's will for me is perfect happiness.". 203
Lesson 102. "I share God's Will for happiness for me.". 205
Lesson 103. "God, being Love, is also happiness.". 207
Lesson 104. "I seek but what belongs to me in truth.". 208
Lesson 105. "God's peace and joy are mine.". 210
Lesson 106. "Let me be still and listen to the truth.". 213
Lesson 107. "Truth will correct the errors in my mind.". 216
Lesson 108. "To give and to receive are one in truth.". 219
Lesson 109. "I rest in God.". 222
Lesson 110. "I am as God created me.". 225
REVIEW III 228
Lesson 111. For morning and evening review: (91-92) 231
Lesson 112. For morning and evening review: (93-94) 232
Lesson 113. For morning and evening review: (95-96) 233
Lesson 114. For morning and evening review: (97-98) 234
Lesson 115. For morning and evening review: (99-100) 235
Lesson 116. For morning and evening review: (101-102) 236
Lesson 117. For morning and evening review: (103-104) 237
Lesson 118. For morning and evening review: (105-106) 238
Lesson 119. For morning and evening review: (107-108) 239
Lesson 120. For morning and evening review: (109-110) 240
Lesson 121. "Forgiveness is the key to happiness.". 241
Lesson 122. "Forgiveness offers everything I want.". 244
Lesson 123. "I thank my Father for His gifts to me.". 248
Lesson 124. "Let me remember I am one with God.". 250
Lesson 125. "In quiet I receive God's Word today.". 253
Lesson 126. "All that I give is given to myself.". 255
Lesson 127. "There is no love but God's.". 258
Lesson 128. "The world I see has nothing that I want.". 261
Lesson 129. "Beyond this world there is a world I want.". 263
Lesson 130. "It is impossible to see two worlds.". 266
Lesson 132. "I loose the world from all I thought it was.". 273
Lesson 133. "I will not value what is valueless.". 277
Lesson 134. "Let me perceive forgiveness as it is.". 281
Lesson 135. "If I defend myself I am attacked.". 285
Lesson 136. "Sickness is a defense against the truth.". 291
Lesson 137. "When I am healed, I am not healed alone.". 296
Lesson 138. "Heaven is the decision I must make.". 300
Lesson 139. "I will accept Atonement for myself.". 304
Lesson 140. "Only salvation can be said to cure.". 307
REVIEW IV.. 311
Lesson 141. "My mind holds only what I think with God." (121-122) 314
Lesson 142. "My mind holds only what I think with God." (123-124) 314
Lesson 143. "My mind holds only what I think with God." (125-126) 314
Lesson 144. "My mind holds only what I think with God." (127-128) 314
Lesson 145. "My mind holds only what I think with God." (129-130) 314
Lesson 146. "My mind holds only what I think with God." (131-132) 314
Lesson 147. "My mind holds only what I think with God." (133-134) 315
Lesson 148. "My mind holds only what I think with God." (135-136) 315
Lesson 149. "My mind holds only what I think with God." (137-138) 315
Lesson 150. "My mind holds only what I think with God." (139-140) 315
Lesson 151. "All things are echoes of the Voice of God.". 316
Lesson 152. "The power of decision is my own.". 321
Lesson 153. "In my defenselessness my safety lies.". 324
Lesson 154. "I am among the ministers of God.". 329
Lesson 155. "I will step back and let Him lead the way.". 333
Lesson 156. "I walk with God in perfect holiness.". 337
Lesson 157. "Into His Presence would I enter now.". 339
Lesson 158. "Today I learn to give as I receive.". 341
Lesson 159. "I give the miracles I have received.". 344
Lesson 160. "I am at home. Fear is the stranger here.". 347
Lesson 162. "I am as God created me.". 354
Lesson 163. "There is no death. The Son of God is free.". 356
Lesson 164. "Now are we One with Him Who is our Source.". 359
Lesson 165. "Let not my mind deny the Thought of God.". 362
Lesson 166. "I am entrusted with the gifts of God.". 364
Lesson 167. "There is one life, and that I share with God.". 368
Lesson 168. "Your grace is given me. I claim it now.". 371
Lesson 169. "By grace I live. By grace I am released.". 373
Lesson 170. "There is no cruelty in God and none in me.". 377
Lesson 171. "God is but Love, and therefore so am I.". 385
Lesson 172. "God is but Love, and therefore so am I.". 385
Lesson 173. "God is but Love, and therefore so am I.". 385
Lesson 174. "God is but Love, and therefore so am I.". 385
Lesson 175. "God is but Love, and therefore so am I.". 385
Lesson 176. "God is but Love, and therefore so am I.". 386
Lesson 177. "God is but Love, and therefore so am I.". 386
Lesson 178. "God is but Love, and therefore so am I.". 386
Lesson 179. "God is but Love, and therefore so am I.". 386
Lesson 180. "God is but Love, and therefore so am I.". 386
Lesson 181. "I trust my brothers, who are one with me.". 388
Lesson 182. "I call upon God's Name and on my own.". 391
Lesson 183. "I will be still a moment and go home.". 394
Lesson 184. "The Name of God is my inheritance.". 398
Lesson 185. "I want the peace of God.". 402
Lesson 186. "Salvation of the world depends on me.". 406
Lesson 187. "I bless the world because I bless myself.". 410
Lesson 188. "The peace of God is shining in me now.". 413
Lesson 189. "I feel the Love of God within me now.". 416
Lesson 190. "I choose the joy of God instead of pain.". 419
Lesson 191. "I am the holy Son of God Himself". 422
Lesson 192. "I have a function God would have me fill.". 425
Lesson 193. "All things are lessons God would have me learn.". 428
Lesson 194. "I place the future in the hands of God.". 432
Lesson 195. "Love is the way I walk in gratitude.". 435
Lesson 196. "It can be but myself I crucify.". 438
Lesson 197. "It can be but my gratitude I earn.". 441
Lesson 198. "Only my condemnation injures me.". 443
Lesson 199. "I am not a body. I am free.". 447
Lesson 200. "There is no peace except the peace of God.". 449
Lesson 201 "I am not a body. I am free.". 454
Lesson 202 "I am not a body. I am free.". 454
Lesson 203 "I am not a body. I am free.". 454
Lesson 204 "I am not a body. I am free.". 454
Lesson 205 "I am not a body. I am free.". 455
Lesson 206 "I am not a body. I am free.". 455
Lesson 207 "I am not a body. I am free.". 455
Lesson 208 "I am not a body. I am free.". 455
Lesson 209 "I am not a body. I am free. 456
Lesson 210 "I am not a body. I am free. 456
Lesson 211) "I am not a body. I am free. 456
Lesson 212 "I am not a body. I am free. 456
Lesson 213 "I am not a body. I am free. 457
Lesson 214 "I am not a body. I am free. 457
Lesson 215 "I am not a body. I am free. 457
Lesson 216 "I am not a body. I am free. 457
Lesson 217 "I am not a body. I am free. 458
Lesson 218 "I am not a body. I am free. 458
Lesson 219 "I am not a body. I am free. 458
Lesson 220 "I am not a body. I am free. 458
Introduction to Part II 459
(1) What is forgiveness?. 462
Lesson 221. "Peace to my mind. Let all my thoughts be still.". 463
Lesson 222. "God is with me. I live and breathe in Him.". 464
Lesson 223. "God is my life. I have no life but His.". 465
Lesson 224. "God is my Father, and He loves His Son.". 466
Lesson 225. "God is my Father, and His Son loves Him.". 467
Lesson 226. "My home awaits me. I will hasten there.". 468
Lesson 227. "This is my holy instant of release.". 469
Lesson 228. "God has condemned me not. No more do I.". 470
Lesson 229. "Love, Which created me, is what I am.". 471
Lesson 230. "Now will I seek and find the peace of God.". 472
(2) What is salvation?. 473
Lesson 231. "Father, I will but to remember You.". 474
Lesson 232. "Be in my mind, my Father, through the day.". 475
Lesson 233. "I give my life to God to run today.". 476
Lesson 234. "Father, today I am Your Son again.". 477
Lesson 235. "God in His mercy wills that I be saved.". 478
Lesson 236. "I rule my mind, which I alone must rule.". 479
Lesson 237. "Now would I be as God created me.". 480
Lesson 238. "On my decision all salvation rests.". 481
Lesson 239. "The glory of my Father is my own.". 482
Lesson 240. "Fear is not justified in any form.". 483
(3) What is the world?. 484
Lesson 241. "This holy instant is salvation come.". 485
Lesson 242. "This day is God's. It is my gift to Him.". 486
Lesson 243. "Today I will judge nothing that occurs.". 487
Lesson 244. "I am in danger nowhere in the world.". 488
Lesson 245. "Your peace is with me, Father. I am safe.". 489
Lesson 246. "To love my Father is to love His Son.". 490
Lesson 247. "Without forgiveness I will still be blind.". 491
Lesson 248. "Whatever suffers is not part of me.". 492
Lesson 249. "Forgiveness ends all suffering and loss.". 493
Lesson 250. "Let me not see myself as limited.". 494
(4) What is sin?. 495
Lesson 251. "I am in need of nothing but the truth.". 496
Lesson 252. "The Son of God is my Identity.". 497
Lesson 253. "My Self is ruler of the universe.". 498
Lesson 254. "Let every voice but God's be still in me.". 499
Lesson 255. "This day I choose to spend in perfect peace.". 500
Lesson 256. "God is the only goal I have today.". 501
Lesson 257. "Let me remember what my purpose is.". 502
Lesson 258. "Let me remember that my goal is God.". 503
Lesson 259. "Let me remember that there is no sin.". 504
Lesson 260. "Let me remember God created me.". 505
(5) What is the body?. 506
Lesson 261. "God is my refuge and security.". 507
Lesson 262. "Let me perceive no differences today.". 508
Lesson 263. "My holy vision sees all things as pure.". 509
Lesson 264. "I am surrounded by the Love of God.". 510
Lesson 265. "Creation's gentleness is all I see." . 511
Lesson 266. "My holy Self abides in you, God's Son.". 512
Lesson 267. "My heart is beating in the peace of God.". 513
Lesson 268. "Let all things be exactly as they are.". 514
Lesson 269. "My sight goes forth to look upon Christ's face.". 515
Lesson 270. "I will not use the body's eyes today.". 516
(6) What is the Christ?. 517
Lesson 271. "Christ's is the vision I will use today.". 518
Lesson 272. "How can illusions satisfy God's Son?". 519
Lesson 273. "The stillness of the peace of God is mine.". 520
Lesson 274. "Today belongs to Love. Let me not fear.". 521
Lesson 275. "God's healing Voice protects all things today.". 522
Lesson 276. "The Word of God is given me to speak.". 523
Lesson 277. "Let me not bind Your Son with laws I made.". 524
Lesson 278. "If I am bound, my Father is not free.". 525
Lesson 279. "Creation's freedom promises my own.". 526
Lesson 280. "What limits can I lay upon God's Son?". 527
(7) What is the Holy Spirit?. 528
Lesson 281. "I can be hurt by nothing but my thoughts.". 529
Lesson 282. "I will not be afraid of love today.". 530
Lesson 283. "My true Identity abides in You.". 531
Lesson 284. "I can elect to change all thoughts that hurt.". 532
Lesson 285. "My holiness shines bright and clear today.". 533
Lesson 286. "The hush of Heaven holds my heart today.". 534
Lesson 287. "You are my goal, my Father. Only You.". 535
Lesson 288. "Let me forget my brother's past today.". 536
Lesson 289. "The past is over. It can touch me not.". 537
Lesson 290. "My present happiness is all I see.". 538
(8) What is the real world?. 539
Lesson 291. "This is a day of stillness and of peace.". 540
Lesson 292. "A happy outcome to all things is sure.". 541
Lesson 293. "All fear is past and only love is here.". 542
Lesson 294. "My body is a wholly neutral thing.". 543
Lesson 295. "The Holy Spirit looks through me today.". 544
Lesson 296. "The Holy Spirit speaks through me today.". 545
Lesson 297. "Forgiveness is the only gift I give.". 546
Lesson 298. "I love You, Father, and I love Your Son.". 547
Lesson 299. "Eternal holiness abides in me.". 548
Lesson 300. "Only an instant does this world endure.". 549
(9) What is the Second Coming?. 550
Lesson 301. "And God Himself shall wipe away all tears.". 551
Lesson 302. "Where darkness was I look upon the light.". 552
Lesson 303. "The holy Christ is born in me today.". 553
Lesson 304. "Let not my world obscure the sight of Christ.". 554
Lesson 305. "There is a peace that Christ bestows on us.". 555
Lesson 306. "The gift of Christ is all I seek today.". 556
Lesson 307. "Conflicting wishes cannot be my will.". 557
Lesson 308. "This instant is the only time there is.". 558
Lesson 309. "I will not fear to look within today.". 559
Lesson 310. "In fearlessness and love I spend today.". 560
(10) What is the Last Judgment?. 561
Lesson 311. "I judge all things as I would have them be.". 562
Lesson 312. "I see all things as I would have them be.". 563
Lesson 313. "Now let a new perception come to me.". 564
Lesson 314. "I seek a future different from the past.". 565
Lesson 315. "All gifts my brothers give belong to me.". 566
Lesson 316. "All gifts I give my brothers are my own.". 567
Lesson 317. "I follow in the way appointed me.". 568
Lesson 318. "In me salvation's means and end are one.". 569
Lesson 319. "I came for the salvation of the world.". 570
Lesson 320. "My Father gives all power unto me.". 571
(11) What is Creation?. 572
Lesson 321. "Father, my freedom is in You alone.". 573
Lesson 322. "I can give up but what was never real.". 574
Lesson 323. "I gladly make the 'sacrifice' of fear.". 575
Lesson 324. "I merely follow, for I would not lead.". 576
Lesson 325. "All things I think I see reflect ideas.". 577
Lesson 326. "I am forever an Effect of God.". 578
Lesson 327. "I need but call and You will answer me.". 579
Lesson 328. "I choose the second place to gain the first.". 580
Lesson 329. "I have already chosen what You will.". 581
Lesson 330. "I will not hurt myself again today.". 582
(12) What is the Ego?. 583
Lesson 331. "There is no conflict, for my will is Yours.". 584
Lesson 332. "Fear binds the world. Forgiveness sets it free.". 585
Lesson 333. "Forgiveness ends the dream of conflict here.". 586
Lesson 334. "Today I claim the gifts forgiveness gives.". 587
Lesson 335. "I choose to see my brother's sinlessness.". 588
Lesson 336. "Forgiveness lets me know that minds are joined.". 589
Lesson 337. "My sinlessness protects me from all harm.". 590
Lesson 338. "I am affected only by my thoughts.". 591
Lesson 339. "I will receive whatever I request.". 592
Lesson 340. "I can be free of suffering today.". 593
(13) What is a Miracle?. 594
Lesson 341. "I can attack but my own sinlessness, 595
Lesson 342. "I let forgiveness rest upon all things, 596
Lesson 343. "I am not asked to make a sacrifice. 597
Lesson 344. "Today I learn the law of love; that what 598
Lesson 345. "I offer only miracles today, 599
Lesson 346. "Today the peace of God envelops me, 600
Lesson 347. "Anger must come from judgment. Judgment is. 601
Lesson 348. "I have no cause for anger or for fear, 602
Lesson 349. "Today I let Christ's vision look upon. 603
Lesson 350. "Miracles mirror God's eternal Love. 604
Lesson 351. "My sinless brother is my guide to peace. 606
Lesson 352. "Judgment and love are opposites. From one. 607
Lesson 353. "My eyes, my tongue, my hands, my feet today. 608
Lesson 354. "We stand together, Christ and I, in peace. 609
Lesson 355. "There is no end to all the peace and joy. 610
Lesson 356. "Sickness is but another name for sin. 611
Lesson 357. "Truth answers every call we make to God, 612
Lesson 358. "No call to God can be unheard or left 613
Lesson 359. "God's answer is some form of peace. All pain. 614
Lesson 360. "Peace be to me, the holy Son of God. 615
Lesson 361-365. "This holy instant would I give to You. 618
[W1] Handwriting suggests (aim).
[W2] This line is typed twice, once on the bottom of page one, and crossed out and
again on the top of page 2. "The exercises is" is changed to (the exercises
will always be) .
[W3] Typescript has semicolon here. We changed it to a colon because that is
more appropriate and is generally used in the typescript for this sort of
structure. We thus consider the semi-colon an inadvertent error here.
[W4] The typescript shows a comma here, but capitalizes the next word "Glance"
suggesting a new sentence. FIP puts a sentence break here too.
[W5] Handwriting suggests (illusions).
[W6] The typescript shows "that" x’d out.
[W7] Handwriting suggests (for today).
[W8] The typescript has "little" crossed out. FIP has "small" here.
[W9] Handwriting suggests (that).
[W10] The typescript shows "that" x’d out.
[W11] Handwriting suggests (insert below on next page.) FIP does so.
[W12] Handwriting suggests (this).
[W13] FIP adds (It is emphasized again that while complete inclusion should not
be attempted, specific exclusion must be avoided. Be sure you are honest in
making this distinction. You may be tempted to obscure it.)
[W14] Handwriting suggests (think you).
[W15] Handwriting suggests (so).
[W16] Handwriting suggests (saying):.
[W17] Handwriting suggests (However, the idea can be applied as needed
throughout the day.).
[W18] The typescript has (, however) x’d out.
[W19] Typescript says "are" but agreement in number requires "is", so this has
been changed.
[W20] Handwriting adds (What I see is not real.).
[W21] Handwriting suggests (ever).
[W22] Typescript has a struck-out alternate reading: (one in mind)
[W23] Handwriting suggests (result).
[W24] Neither the typescript nor any other version recognizes the possessive of
"minutes’" here and adds the apostrophe.
[W25] The word "either" is not present in the typescript. FIP changes the phrase
to "one of these questions."
[W26] The typescript does not have the word "differently" although FIP does. We
agree with FIP that it should be there and deem its omission to be inadvertent.
[W27] Manuscript has "separate" in this spot. It’s being assessed as a typo.
FIP changes it as we do.
[W28] Handwriting suggests (this environment).
[W29] Handwriting suggests (This).
[W30] Handwriting suggests (the idea).
[W31] Handwriting suggests (in anyone).
[W32] Handwriting suggests (my).
[W33] Handwriting suggests (required).
[W34] Handwriting suggests (and).
[W35] Handwriting suggests (urged).
[W36] Handwriting suggests (practice periods).
[W37] Handwriting suggests (them).
[W38] Handwriting suggests (practice).
[W39] Handwriting suggests (explanation is the fact).
[W40] Originally the word "insert" was typed, handwriting suggests (assert),
which appears to be a genuine correction.
[W41] Originally "a" is typed. Handwriting suggests (this) which appears to be
correct.
[W42] Handwriting suggests (the).
[W43] Originally there is a sentence break here. Handwriting suggests comma
instead of period, and that is better.
[W44] Originally two sentences, the comma is handwritten in, and appears to be an
improvement.
[W45] The word (longer) is handwritten and appears to be a suitable correction.
[W46] Handwriting suggests (Any).
[W47] Handwriting suggests (for relevant thoughts).
[W48] Handwriting suggests (eyes).
[W49] Handwriting suggests (eyes).
[W50] Handwriting suggests (use).
[W51] Handwriting suggests (one as early and one as late as possible).
[W52] Handwriting suggests (these).
[W53] Handwriting suggests (s).
[W54] Handwriting suggests (for today).
[W55] Handwriting suggests (as it is to those you think are closer to you).
[W56] Handwriting suggests (Today's).
[W57] Handwriting suggests (at the time).
[W58] Handwriting suggests (you).
[W59] Handwriting suggests (this).
[W60] Handwriting suggests (and) in place of "because it"
[W61] Handwriting suggests (period).
[W62] Handwriting suggests (way).
[W63] Handwriting suggests (by).
[W64] Handwritten editing deletes "and" and begins new sentence with "We will not
…"
[W65] Handwriting inserts (Yet).
[W66] Handwriting suggests (ones).
[W67] Handwriting inserts (longer).
[W68] Handwriting inserts (them).
[W69] Handwriting inserts (periods).
[W70] Handwriting replaces "the best" with "a better" and then crosses out
"better."
[W71] Handwriting replaces "offering" with "adding".
[W72] Handwriting inserts (as you prefer).
[W73] Handwriting inserts (Be sure, however, to make).
[W74] Handwriting inserts (they are).
[W75] Handwriting suggests (for).
[W76] Handwriting suggests (could).
[W77] Handwriting suggests (be).
[W78] Handwriting suggests (sense of).
[W79] Handwriting suggests (it).
[W80] Handwriting suggest (your weakness) for "yours."
[W81] Handwriting suggests (through the).
[W82] Handwriting suggests (God's).
[W83] Handwriting suggests (Him).
[W84] Handwriting suggests (sights and sounds).
[W85] Handwriting suggests (here)
[W86] Handwriting suggests (to) for "that you"
[W87] Handwriting crosses out the word "slowly"
[W88] Handwriting suggests (will confront).
[W89] Handwriting suggests (where).
[W90] Handwriting suggests (a few).
[W91] Typescript reads "comment" with the "s" handwritten in. Originally this
might have been "a short comment" mistyped by leaving the word "a" out, or
simply "short comments" or possibly even, as corrected by hand. The original
reading is not known at this time but there are at least three possibilities
suggested by the typescript as corrected.
[W92] Handwriting suggests (after reading).
[W93] Handwriting suggests (After you have read the idea and the related
comments, the).
[W94] Handwriting suggests (some of).
[W95] Handwriting suggests removing the words "of statement".
[W96] Handwriting suggests replacing "God" with (love).
[W97] The typescript has "mind" while the handwritten suggestion "mine" appears
rather clearly to be a correction of a spelling error. We’ve thus incorporated
this suggested change as a spelling correction.
[W98] Handwriting suggests (I see).
[W99] Handwriting suggests (the world's).
[W100] Handwriting suggests (which).
[W101] Handwriting suggests (One).
[W102] Handwriting suggests (my).
[W103] Handwriting suggests (is).
[W104] The typesctipt has "life" crossed out by hand, with "light" written above
it. This appears to be the correction of a typo, and is retained.
[W105] Handwriting suggests (salvation from fear)’ in place of "understanding"
[W106] Handwriting suggests (eternal).
[W107] The typescript is missing the word "by" which is handwritten in. This is
an apparent correction of a typing mistake.
[W108] Handwriting suggests (today).
[W109] Handwriting suggests (others).
[W110] Handwriting suggests (each).
[W111] Handwriting suggests "release (that) it will bring you"
[W112] Handwriting suggests (If you close your eyes,) at the beginning of the
sentence, and crosses out "if you can close your eyes." at the end.
[W113] Handwriting replaces the word "by" with (through).
[W114] Handwriting suggests replacing "the" with (these).
[W115] Handwriting switches word order (function other).
[W116] Handwriting suggests (the idea for today) in place of "today’s idea".
[W117] Handwriting suggests (Today's idea).
[W118] Handwriting suggests (the longer) for "this".
[W119] Handwriting suggests (today's idea).
[W120] Handwriting suggests (thought).
[W121] Handwriting suggests (which would).
[W122] Handwriting suggests (these).
[W123] Handwriting suggests (they).
[W124] Handwriting suggests (each one).
[W125] Handwriting suggests (yet).
[W126] Handwriting suggests (tried).
[W127] Handwriting suggests (while).
[W128] Handwriting suggestsThe handwriting says (holy).
[W129] The original typescript reads (thought-lessness).
[W130] Handwriting suggests (the day).
[W131] Handwriting suggests (To hold a grievance is).
[W132] Handwriting suggests (mind).
[W133] Handwriting suggests (Which).
[W134] Handwriting suggests (Its).
[W135] Handwriting suggests (Its).
[W136] Handwriting suggests (dream).
[W137] Overstrike typing suggests (will be).
[W138] Handwriting suggests (to).
[W139] Handwriting suggests (that this is so).
[W140] Handwriting suggests (with).
[W141] Handwriting suggests (go of).
[W142] Handwriting suggests (circle).
[W143] Handwriting suggests (circle).
[W144] Handwriting suggests (down).
[W145] Manuscript has a sentence break here. Handwriting suggests a comma
instead, which we feel is preferable.
[W146] Handwriting suggests (In).
[W147] Manuscript has a sentence break here. Handwriting suggests a comma
instead, which we feel is preferable
[W148] Handwriting suggests (s).
[W149] Handwriting suggests (is).
[W150] Handwriting removes period and inserts (and).
[W151] The word "in" is not present in the typescript, but is handwritten in. It
appears to be a correction of a typing error.
[W152] Handwriting suggests (which).
[W153] Handwriting moves (persists) from end of sentence to this location.
[W154] Handwriting suggests (always).
[W155] The original typescript has "is" here, but agreement in number requires
"are".
[W156] Handwriting suggests (for salvation).
[W157] Manuscript has a sentence break here. Handwriting suggests a comma
instead, which we feel is preferable
[W158] Handwriting suggests (today's) instead of "the".
[W159] Handwriting suggests (that).
[W160] Handwriting suggests (that).
[W161] Handwriting suggests (you).
[W162] Handwriting suggests (you).
[W163] Handwriting suggests (You).
[W164] Handwriting suggests (you).
[W165] Handwriting suggests (You).
[W166] Handwriting suggests (the body's).
[W167] Handwriting suggests (You).
[W168] Handwriting suggests (Your).
[W169] Handwriting suggests (your).
[W170] Handwriting suggests (You).
[W171] Handwriting suggests (yourself).
[W172] Handwriting suggests (you).
[W173] Handwriting suggests (your).
[W174] Handwriting suggests (His plan).
[W175] Handwriting suggests(These exercises should begin with this).
[W176] Handwriting suggests (These figures).
[W177] Handwriting suggests (They) and the removal of "and" and the start of a
new sentence..
[W178] Handwriting suggests (brothers').
[W179] Handwriting suggests (or).
[W180] Handwriting suggests (Will).
[W181] Handwriting suggests (Both).
[W182] Strikeout and re-typing suggests (which).
[W183] Typescript has "do" overstruck and "can" replacing it.
[W184] Handwriting suggests (longer).
[W185] Handwriting suggests(And).
[W186] Handwriting suggests (you).
[W187] Handwriting suggests (And).
[W188] Handwriting suggests (salvation).
[W189] Handwriting suggests (just in order).
[W190] Typescript has "not" which is clearly inappropriate. Handwriting strikes
the word, as does FIP, but we think it was probably supposed to be "now" instead
of "not" as this is one of the most common "typos" in English.
[W191] The typescript has the singular "period", with the "s" handwritten in.
[W192] Handwriting suggests (And since), beginning a new sentence here.
[W193] Handwriting suggests(the miracles).
[W194] Handwriting suggests (it).
[W195] Handwriting suggests (you).
[W196] Handwriting suggests (you).
[W197] Handwriting suggests (You).
[W198] Handwriting suggests (your).
[W199] Handwriting suggests (You).
[W200] Handwriting suggests (You).
[W201] Handwriting suggests (and).
[W202] Handwriting suggests (you).
[W203] Handwriting suggests (him).
[W204] Handwriting suggests (will not).
[W205] Handwriting suggests(Yet).
[W206] Handwriting suggests(is).
[W207] Handwriting suggests (today).
[W208] Handwriting suggests (The).
[W209] Handwriting suggests (you).
[W210] Handwriting suggests (you).
[W211] Handwriting suggests (your).
[W212] Handwriting suggests (your).
[W213] Handwriting suggests (your).
[W214] Handwriting suggests (You).
[W215] Handwriting suggests (you)
[W216] Handwriting suggests (you)
[W217] Handwriting suggests (thus).
[W218] Handwriting suggests (s).
[W219] Handwriting suggests (some three or four).
[W220] Handwriting suggests (time).
[W221] Handwriting suggests(such thoughts may).
[W222] Handwriting suggests (if I forget it).
[W223] Handwriting suggests (as). The handwriting appears different. This could
be a correction.
[W224] Handwriting suggests (s).
[W225] Handwriting suggests (them).
[W226] Handwriting suggests (them).
[W227] Possibly this should be "how great is this strength"
[W228] Handwriting suggests (this).
[W229] Handwriting suggests (ten).
[W230] Handwriting suggests (with).
[W231] The second part of the word "whatever" is crossed out by hand.
[W232] Handwriting suggests (that).
[W233] Handwriting suggests (putting).
[W234] Handwriting suggests (This is). It would seem that the antecedent to the
pronoun is singular, making the handwritten suggestion a valid correction.
[W235] Handwriting offers an alternative: (or that you held the world within your
hand, securely bound …)
[W236] Handwriting suggests (think?).
[W237] Handwriting suggests (know).
[W238] Handwriting suggests (unites) (present tense instead of past is probably
correct)
[W239] Handwriting suggests (twenty).
[W240] Handwriting suggests (Morning and evening we will practice thus.)
[W241] The manuscript has a spelling error here "wierd"
[W242] Handwriting suggests (your).
[W243] The capitalization of "Love" and "Which" is written in by hand in the
manuscript.
[W244] Handwriting suggests (one) as in "someone". Originally typed "some".
[W245] Handwriting suggests (accepting).
[W246] Handwriting suggests (God's Son).
[W247] Handwriting suggests (asked).
[W248] Originally typed "parody on" we think it was meant to be "parody of"
[W249] Handwriting suggests (oneness).
[W250] Handwriting suggests (five).
[W251] Handwriting suggests (practicing).
[W252] Handwriting suggests (the idea).
[W253] Handwriting suggests (mistake).
[W254] Handwriting suggests (offered?).
[W255] Originally typed "winds" the d is changed to a g by hand. This appears to
be a spelling correction.
[W256] Handwriting suggests (an endless list).
[W257] Handwriting suggests (thought, whose).
[W258] Handwriting crosses out the "a".
[W259] Handwriting suggests (limit).
[W260] Handwriting suggests (that).
[W261] Handwriting suggests (each gift) instead of "your gifts".
[W262] Typescript has "very" which appears to be a mistake.
[W263] Handwriting suggests (goes).
[W264] Handwriting suggests (that).
[W265] Handwriting suggests (the thought of the impossible).
[W266] Handwriting suggests (now).
[W267] Handwriting suggests (Salvation thus becomes a borderland which stands
between the truth and fantasies.).
[W268] Handwriting suggests (now).
[W269] Handwriting suggests (here?).
[W270] Handwriting suggests (which).
[W271] The typescript ends the sentence here and starts a new one, making the
next clause a sentence with no verb unless the next period, after appeased, is
removed. FIP changes it as we do. The other option would see the three
sentences in the typescript changed to two thus: "Salvation must be feared, for
it will kill, but slowly, taking everything away before it grants the welcome
boon of death. To victims who are little more than bones before salvation is
appeased its wrath is boundless, merciless, but wholly just."
[W272] Typescript begins new sentence here, corrected in handwriting to a comma
instead of period.
[W273] Handwriting suggests (practice periods).
[W274] Handwriting suggests (His).
[W275] Handwriting suggests (His).
[W276] Handwriting suggests (His).
[W277] Handwriting suggests (Such).
[W278] Handwriting suggests (that).
[W279] Handwriting suggests (dreamed).
[W280] Handwriting suggests (that).
[W281] Handwriting suggests (chose)
[W282] Handwriting suggests (Each hour's).
[W283] The manuscript originally has a sentence break here rather than a comma.
The shift to a comma is written in by hand, obviously correct, and thus
retained.
[W284] Handwriting suggests (this).
[W285] Handwriting suggests (all).
[W286] Originally typed "flow" the handwritten correction (blow) appears
obviously correct.
[W287] Omitted in the typescript, the word "may" is handwritten in.
[W288] FIP changes "is" to "are" because the subject appears to be the plural
"footsteps." The subject can also be considered to be the phrase "the shaky and
unsteady footsteps of illusion" which can be (and originally was) considered
singular.
[W289] Originally typed "light" the word (life) is handwritten in and probably
correct.
[W290] Handwriting suggests (that).
[W291] In the typescript this is a comma rather than a colon.
[W292] Handwriting suggests (that).
[W293] Handwriting suggests (The).
[W294] Handwriting suggests (next).
[W295] Handwriting suggests (two recent lessons every day for ten successive days
of practicing.)
[W296] Handwriting suggests (a).
[W297] Handwriting suggests (just).
[W298] Handwriting suggests (practicing can).
[W299] Handwriting suggests (everything to you).
[W300] This sentence is re-written by hand as (And so accept its offering, and be
at peace.)
[W301] This paragraph is extensively marked up to read as follows: (The format
you should use for these reviews is this: Devote five minutes twice a day, or
longer if you would prefer it, to considering the thoughts that are assigned.
Read over the ideas and comments that are written down for each day's exercise.
And then begin to think about them, while letting your mind relate them to your
needs, your seeming problems and all your concerns.)
[W302] This sentence is extensively re-written as follows: (Give directions at
the outset; then lean back in quiet faith, and let the mind employ the thoughts
you gave as they were given you for it to use.)
[W303] Handwriting suggests (see).
[W304] This sentence is re-written as follows: (Since it has His trust, it surely
merits having yours as well.)
[W305] Handwriting suggests (s).
[W306] Handwriting suggests (them).
[W307] This paragraph is extensively rewritten: (The exercises to be done
throughout the day are equally important, and
perhaps of even greater value. You have been inclined to practice only at
appointed times, and then go on your way to other things, without applying what
you learned to them. As a result, you have gained little reinforcement, and have
not given your learning a fair chance to prove how great are its potential gifts
to you.)
[W308] Handwriting suggests (as well).
[W309] Handwriting suggests (the thought).
[W310] Handwriting suggests(we will continue).
[W311] Handwriting suggests (more).
[W312] Handwriting suggests (the).
[W313] Handwriting suggests(yourself).
[W314] Handwriting suggests (yours).
[W315] Handwriting suggests (‘til) or in the spelling conventions used in this
edition, (‘til).
[W316] Handwriting suggests (you).
[W317] Handwriting suggests (your).
[W318] Handwriting suggests(you).
[W319] Handwriting suggests (God's).
[W320] Handwriting suggests (the).
[W321] Handwriting suggests (the).
[W322] Handwriting suggests a period and a new sentence.
[W323] Handwriting suggests (a).
[W324] Handwriting suggests (other).
[W325] Handwriting suggests (Love's).
[W326] Handwriting suggests (your).
[W327] Handwriting suggests (dawns).
[W328] Handwriting suggests (health and strength).
[W329] Handwriting suggests (that).
[W330] The typescript has "thus" . This appears to be a typo, and FIP agrees it
should be "this".
[W331] Handwriting suggests (them).
[W332] Handwriting suggests (God's).
[W333] Handwriting suggests (your).
[W334] Typescript has "that" struck out and (which) typed above the line.
[W335] Handwriting suggests (Which).
[W336] Handwriting suggests (far).
[W337] The word "belief" is overstruck and the word "illusion" typed after it.
The word "that" immediately following is also overstruck out.
[W338] Handwriting suggests (Yet).
[W339] Handwriting suggests (with).
[W340] Handwriting suggests (each).
[W341] Handwriting suggests (that).
[W342] Handwriting suggests (which).
[W343] Originally typed (when), the word is overstruck and replaced with "as"
[W344] Handwriting suggests (reality).
[W345] Handwriting suggests (reality).
[W346] Handwriting suggests (still).
[W347] Handwriting suggests (where?).
[W348] Handwriting suggests (This?).
[W349] Handwriting suggests (that).
[W350] Handwriting suggests (Truth).
[W351] Handwritging suggests (time?).
[W352] The typescript reads "the all the" which is clearly an error. We’ve
removed the first "the".
[W353] Handwriting suggests (but).
[W354] The typescript has a full stop here, beginning a new sentence but the
handwriting changes that to a comma, which change we agree with.
[W355] Handwriting suggests (purpose?).
[W356] Original typescript has "from" overstruck and replaced with "between".
[W357] Handwriting suggests (that).
[W358] Handwriting suggests (And).
[W359] For some reason the typescript has a sentence break here.
[W360] Handwriting suggests (dreaming).
[W361] Handwriting suggests (take).
[W362] Handwriting suggests (we).
[W363] The typescript has a sentence break here for some reason.
[W364] Handwriting suggests (think), which is probably correct. Typing has
"hold".
[W365] Handwriting suggests (this).
[W366] Handwriting suggests (holds).
[W367] Handwriting suggests (Christ's?).
[W368] Handwriting suggests (we).
[W369] Handwriting suggests (again).
[W370] Handwriting suggests (Today).
[W371] Handwriting suggests (Christ's(?)).
[W372] iThe typescript has a sentence break here, corrected by the handwriting to
a comma. We agree with the correction.
[W373] Handwriting moves (senseless) here.
[W374] Typescript has the word "defenceless" here. We agree with FIP and correct
it to "defenselessness".
[W375] Handwriting suggests (now by those).
[W376] Handwriting suggests (s).
[W377] Handwriting suggests (are).
[W378] Handwriting suggests (fantasies).
[W379] Handwriting suggests (Your).
[W380] Handwriting suggests (one).
[W381] Handwriting suggests (own).
[W382] Handwriting suggests (one).
[W383] Handwriting suggests (one).
[W384] Handwriting suggests (reality).
[W385] Handwriting suggests (give).
[W386] Handwriting suggests (whom).
[W387] Handwriting suggests (is intended)
[W388] Handwriting suggests (determines).
[W389] The typescript has a full sentence break, with handwriting changing it to
a comma. We agree there should be no sentence break here.
[W390] Handwriting suggests (God)
[W391] Handwriting suggests (whom).
[W392] Handwriting suggests (a hundred times).
[W393] Handwriting suggests (will).
[W394] Handwriting suggests (reality).
[W395] Handwriting suggests (merely).
[W396] Handwriting suggests (that).
[W397] Handwriting suggests (one).
[W398] Handwriting suggests (that).
[W399] Arguably this should be the possessive form, as it may imply "brother’s
hand" but then again maybe it is "your brothers" whom He has given to you. Here
we very much need to check the Notes.
[W400] Handwriting suggests (one).
[W401] Handwriting suggests (life).
[W402] Handwriting suggests (round) or in the spelling conventions used here,
(‘round)
[W403] Handwriting suggests (sin).
[W404] Handwriting suggests (but) should go here.
[W405] Handwriting suggests (A).
[W406] Handwriting suggests(love).
[W407] Three instances of "Own" on this page, and one on the previous page are
rendered lower case "own" by handwritten strokes.
[W408] Handwriting suggests (God's).
[W409] Handwriting suggests (Christ).
[W410] Handwriting suggests (you).
[W411] Handwriting suggests (your).
[W412] Handwriting suggests (you).
[W413] Handwriting suggests (your).
[W414] Handwriting suggests (concrete).
[W415] Handwriting suggests (the).
[W416] Handwriting suggests (s).
[W417] Handwriting suggests (which).
[W418] Handwriting suggests (life).
[W419] Handwriting suggests (one).
[W420] Handwriting suggests (Christ).
[W421] Handwriting suggests(are) but original typescript has "made". The
handwritten option is the grammatically correct so has been chosen. However,
"are made" may have been the underlying original.
[W422] Handwriting suggests (Now).
[W423] Handwriting suggests (merely sink away).
[W424] Handwriting suggests (scale).
[W425] Handwriting suggests (worthy).
[W426] Originally typed (One), handwriting suggests lower case which we think is
correct since "One" is not a reference to the deity.
[W427] Handwriting suggests (sustaining).
[W428] Handwriting suggests (one).
[W429] Handwriting suggests (Justice).
[W430] Handwriting suggests (one).
[W431] Originally typed "We" it is overstruck and replaced with (You).
[W432] Originally there is a sentence break instead of a comma here. FIP keeps
it, putting a comma after "In that". Given that the expression "in that" is
quite commonly used by the Author, we think there should be no sentence break,
and possibly not even a comma is necessary.
[W433] Handwriting suggests (is still) in place of "remains".
[W434] Handwriting suggests a sentence break at this point.
[W435] Handwriting suggests (one).
[W436] We have added the word "the" in order to make the sentence make sense. It
is not present in any other version we consulted.
[W437] The quotation marks are not in the typescript, but are in all subsequent
versions.
[W438] Handwriting suggests (own).
[W439] Handwriting suggests (one).
[W440] Originally there is just a comma here, no sentence break. Handwriting
suggests the break and we agree it is better.
[W441] Originally capitalized as "One", handwriting suggests (one). We agree it
should not be capitalized.
[W442] Handwriting suggests (one).
[W443] Handwriting suggests (that) in place of "but".
[W444] Original typing shows "false" but handwritten in is (true). The
handwritten correction appears to work better here, so has been adopted.
[W445] Handwriting suggests (one).
[W446] Handwriting suggests (one)
[W447] Handwriting suggests (one).
[W448] Handwriting suggests (one).
[W449] Handwriting suggests (one).
[W450] The quotation marks are not in the typescript. We include them because
all other editions do.
[W451] Handwriting suggests (But).
[W452] Handwriting suggests(help).
[W453] Handwriting suggests (was peace) in place of "it was".
[W454] Handwriting suggests (one).
[W455] Handwriting suggests (one).
[W456] Handwriting suggests (strange).
[W457] Handwriting suggests (God's).
[W458] Handwriting suggests (For).
[W459] Handwriting suggests (because).
[W460] Handwriting suggests (which).
[W461] The typescript originally has a new sentence starting with "And" while
handwritten editing changes that to a comma, which we think is preferable.
[W462] As with the preceding note, he typescript originally has a new sentence
starting with "And" here while handwritten editing changes that to a comma,
which we think is preferable
[W463] Quotation marks are not in the original typescript. We include them
because all subsequent editions do.
[W464] Typescript has over striking indicating a sentence break … but one is not
required.
[W465] Handwriting suggests (that).
[W466] Handwriting suggests (that).
[W467] The typescript has a sentence break here, but the handwriting changes it
to a comma which we agree is preferable.
[W468] Handwriting suggests (everyone).
[W469] Handwriting suggests (in) in place of "for".
[W470] Handwriting suggests (in) in place of "into".
[W471] The typescript has a sentence break here, but the handwriting changes it
to a comma which we agree is preferable.
[W472] In the typescript "deceit" appears here, with (the seat) handwritten in.
We’ve adopted the handwritten correction because in the context it appears more
likely to be the intended meaning.
[W473] The typescript has a sentence break, and "But" instead of "for". This
appears to be the correction of a typing error.
[W474] Handwriting suggests (his).
[W475] Originally typed as two words, "every time".
[W476] Handwriting suggests (that).
[W477] Handwriting suggests (that).
[W478] Typescript has "past", obviously a spelling error.
[W479] Handwriting suggests (that).
[W480] Handwriting suggests (Friend) instead of "friends".
[W481] Handwriting suggests (that).
[W482] Handwriting edits this to: "for thus we split them off from our awareness
of the unity we share with them,"
[W483] Handwriting suggests (For).
[W484] Handwriting suggests (by) in place of "in".
[W485] Handwriting suggests (those) in place of "all".
[W486] Handwriting suggests (one).
[W487] Handwriting suggests (would).
[W488] Handwriting suggests that "Words" be set in lower case as (words) in each
instance in this paragraph, but we’re only footnoting it once.
[W489] Handwriting suggests (And).
[W490] Handwriting suggests (it that) in place of "truth which".
[W491] Handwriting suggests (the) in place of "it".
[W492] Handwriting suggests (of) in place of "for".
[W493] The typescript has a sentence break here, with handwriting suggesting a
comma instead. We agree with the handwriting on this one.
[W494] Handwriting suggests (have found).
[W495] Handwriting suggests (for) in place of "at".
[W496] Handwriting suggests (your prison house, the jail for anyone).
[W497] Handwriting suggests (But).
[W498] Handwriting suggests (peace).
[W499] Handwriting suggests (from).
[W500] Handwriting suggests (one).
[W501] Handwriting suggests (we).
[W502] Handwriting suggests (a).
[W503] Handwriting suggests (in) in place of "your".
[W504] Handwriting suggests (one).
[W505] Handwriting suggests (one).
[W506] Handwriting suggests (Repeat theme.)
[W507] The Typescript just says "(PART II)". We added the words "Introduction
to" and lowered the case.
[W508] The typescript, curiously, puts a sentence break in this spot, but the
handwriting corrects it as shown here.
[W509] Handwriting suggests (and).
[W510] Handwriting suggests (you).
[W511] Handwriting suggests pluralizing "prayer" to become (prayers).
[W512] Handwriting suggests (wanted).
[W513] Handwriting suggests (appearances it likes.)
[W514] Handwriting suggests (Protector) in place of "Defender".
[W515] The original typescript has "Son" in the singular, while the handwritten
editing adds the "s" in each instance in this paragraph. The plural form is
grammatically more appropriate and so is preserved. Throughout the Course the
plural and singular forms of words for relatives are both used with great
frequency, e.g. child and children, son and sons, brother and brothers. There
seems little significance to the choice of singular or plural since "God has
only ONE Son" (T II E 16 (43))
The entire paragraph from Chapter II is probably worth quoting in the context of
the singular/plural consideration:
"If all the Souls God created ARE His Sons, then every Soul MUST be an integral
part of the whole Sonship. You do not find the concept that the whole is greater
than its parts difficult to understand. You should, therefore, not have too
much trouble in understanding this. The Sonship in its Oneness DOES transcend
the sum of its parts. However, this is obscured as long as any of its parts are
missing. That is why the conflict cannot ultimately be resolved until ALL the
parts of the Sonship have returned. Only then can the meaning of wholeness, in
the true sense, be fully understood.
[W516] Handwriting suggests (true).
[W517] Handwriting suggests (but) in place of "and".
[W518] Handwriting suggests (which).
[W519] Handwriting suggests (That).
[W520] The previous date was October 1, 1970 and the subsequent date is October
5, 1970 so it seems almost certain that this should be October 2, 1970 rather
than September 2, 1970.
[W521] Handwriting suggests (guide).
[W522] The word "again" is overstruck out in the typescript.
[W523] Handwriting suggests (God's).
[W524] Handwriting suggests (which).
[W525] Handwriting suggests (which).
[W526] The typescript has a sentence break here which handwritten editing changes
to a comma. We agree with the handwriting.
[W527] Handwriting suggests (holds) so the statement changes from an injunction
to "hold out the instant" to a statement that "today holds out the instant",
which doesn’t make much sense logically or stylistically. We’re guessing this
was originally meant to be an injunction to the reader to hold out the Holy
Instant to the darkened world to see and that the editing, as is so often the
case, inadvertently introduces a misreading.
[W528] Handwriting suggests (But).
[W529] Handwriting suggests changing "This day I give" to (I give this day).
[W530] Handwriting suggests (wants).
[W531] Handwriting suggests(we need in helping us to) in place of "we want and
that will help us".
[W532] Handwriting suggests making "judgment" plural (judgments).
[W533] Handwriting suggests (its) instead of "the"
[W534] Handwriting suggests (the).
[W535] Handwriting suggests (efforts) in place of "striving".
[W536] Handwriting suggests (that).
[W537] Handwriting suggests (ego) in place of "evil".
[W538] Handwriting suggests (will).
[W539] Handwriting suggests (the).
[W540] Handwriting suggests (this day).
[W541] Handwriting suggests inserting (today).
[W542] Handwriting suggests (can be).
[W543] The typescript says "speak" but handwriting (this appears not to be
Helen’s hand) crosses it out and puts (seek) which does seem to make more sense.
[W544] Handwriting suggests (fills) instead of "stills".
[W545] Handwriting suggests (there be) in place of "remain".
[W546] The word "be" is not in the typescript which has a grammatically
impossible sentence here. FIP inserts "be" as do we, guessing this what was
intended.
[W547] Handwriting suggests (Son) in place of "Sons" making the following pronoun
"their" singular (his) as well.
[W548] Handwriting suggests (his).
[W549] Handwriting suggests (thus) in place of "so".
[W550] Handwriting suggests (Since) in place of "As".
[W551] Handwriting suggests (unattainable) in place of ""unobtainable".
[W552] This entire sentence is shifted in the markup to the First person: (When I
think that I am hurt in any way, it is because I have forgotten who I am, and
that I am as You created me.)
[W553] In the typescript, this comma is a period, a new sentence beginning with
"And that he is …"
[W554] Handwriting suggests (also) here and deletes "as well" at the end of the
sentence.
[W555] They typescript shows "life" here, with (love) handwritten in. The
handwritten correction appears to be the better reading, so is kept.
[W556] The typescript has a sentence break here for some odd reason.
[W557] Handwriting suggests (This).
[W558] The typescript has a sentence break here which doesn’t seem like a good
idea.
[W559] Handwriting suggests (these) instead of "the".
[W560] Handwriting suggests (and) instead of "go".
[W561] Handwriting suggests (so) instead of "and".
[W562] Handwriting suggests (invitation).
[W563] Handwriting suggests (it).
[W564] The typescript has a period and sentence break here. Handwriting suggests
a comma only, which we feel is correct.
[W565] Handwriting suggests (am) in place of "can".
[W566] Handwriting suggests (seek to).
[W567] Handwriting suggests (guide).
[W568] Handwriting suggests (leads to).
[W569] Handwriting suggests (fear).
[W570] Handwriting suggests (which).
[W571] Handwriting suggests (final).
[W572] Handwriting suggests (a).
[W573] Handwriting suggests (which).
[W574] The original typescript has a full sentence break here, with handwriting
suggesting only a comma instead. We accept the handwriting as a correction.
[W575] Handwriting suggests (which).
[W576] Handwriting suggests (everything).
[W577] Handwriting suggests (And thus is oneness recognized at last.)
[W578] Typescript has "reaching" and handwriting suggests (reaches) which we
think is correct.
[W579] Handwriting suggests(name).
[W580] Handwriting suggests (the).
[W581] Handwriting suggests (the).
[W582] Handwriting suggests (or) in place of "and".
[W583] Typescript has period and new sentence beginning here. Handwriting
suggests a comma only, which we feel is correct.
[W584] The typescript and FIP both have a comma here, but rather clearly a
sentence break is required
[W585] Handwriting suggests(the same) in place of "the same".
[W586] Handwriting suggests (Final Judgment).
[W587] Handwriting suggests (we).
[W588] Handwriting suggests (us).
[W589] Handwriting suggests (we).
[W590] Handwriting suggests(ourselves).
[W591] Handwriting suggests (us).
[W592] Handwriting suggests this whole paragraph be shifted from the second
person plural (you) to the first person plural (we).
[W593] Handwriting suggests (have) in place of "are".
[W594] Handwriting suggests (extension).
[W595] The typescript has "perceives" here, but we feel the handwritten
suggestion (receives) is likely correct.
[W596] Handwriting suggests (when) instead of "where".
[W597] Handwriting suggests (which).
[W598] Handwriting suggests (nor) instead of the originally typed "or". This is
probably correct.
[W599] Handwriting suggests (loss) instead of "pain".
[W600] Handwriting suggests (they).
[W601] Handwriting suggests (they).
[W602] Handwriting suggests (creation).
[W603] Handwriting suggests (creation).
[W604] In the typescript this word is not capitalized, but we feel that it should
be, consistent with the previous paragraph, and the fact that it is a proper
noun in this usage.
[W605] Handwriting suggests a period here, beginning a new sentence with "And all
…"
[W606] Handwriting suggests (be) instead of "do".
[W607] Handwriting suggests (thought I).
[W608] The words "its feast of" are xxxed out and overtyped with "for".
[W609] Handwriting suggests (are holding).
[W610] Handwriting suggests (out to).
[W611] Handwriting suggests (all are).
[W612] Handwriting suggests (so) instead of "thus".
[W613] The original typescript has a sentence break here. The result is
exceedingly bad grammar and an incomplete (non) sentence beginning with ""For".
We see no reason for a sentence break, and many reasons not to have any
punctuation at all in this point.
[W614] The typescript reads "The eyes of Christ delivers" presenting a grammar
problem of agreement in number. FIP replaces "delivers" with (deliver). So do
we.
[W615] The typescript has "ourselves" rather than (our sinlessness) here, which
presents problems in the next sentence, to what then would "it" refer? We find
the word (sinlessness) hardwritten in here and deem it to be a valid correction.
[W616] Handwriting suggests(be but gain).
[W617] Handwriting suggests (have not understood).
[W618] Handwriting suggests (the miracle) in place of "all miracles".
[W619] Handwriting suggests the comma where the typescript has a period and new
sentence. We agree with the handwriting here, it should be a comma.
[W620] Handwriting suggests (nor).
[W621] Typescript has "Our" and it clearly needs to be "Ours". FIP agrees.
[W622] Handwriting suggests ((holy)).
[W623] Typescript has period and sentence break here. Handwriting suggests the
comma only, with which suggestion we agree.
[W624] Typescript has period and new sentence here. Handwriting suggests only a
comma, with which suggestion we agree.
[W625] Handwriting suggests (father).
[W626] Handwriting suggests (his).
[W627] Handwriting suggests (son).
[W628] Handwriting suggests (God) instead of "Him".
[W629] The typescript says "3 60-365" but there is already a Lesson 360, so this
needs to be "361-365".
[W630] Handwriting suggests (And).
[W631] Handwriting suggests (You) (it does this in shorthand).
[W632] Handwriting suggests (you) (it does this in shorthand).
[W633] Handwriting suggests (sure)
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}
2005 05 30Volume III: Sub-Urtext Manual for Teachers
v 4.0
{ proof reader’s V 4.0 © 2005-2006 Doug Thompson
Updated October 23 2006
Concordance Tags Edition
-
2006-08-14 2006-10-10 2006-10-18
}
M(1)
Volume III: Manual for Teachers v 4.0
APRIL12, 1972
I Introduction
1. The role of teaching and learning is actually reversed in the thinking of
the world. The reversal is characteristic. It seems as if the teacher and the
learner are separated, the teacher giving something to the learner rather than
to himself. Further, the act of teaching is regarded as a special activity in
which one engages only a relatively small proportion of one's time. The course,
on the other hand, emphasizes that to teach is to learn, so that teacher and
learner are the same. It also emphasizes that teaching is a constant process;
it goes on every moment of the day and continues into sleeping thoughts as well.
2. To teach is to demonstrate. There are only two thought systems, and you
demonstrate that you believe one or the other is true all the time. From your
demonstration others learn and so do you. The question is not whether you will
teach, for in that there is no choice. The purpose of the course might be said
to provide you with a means of choosing what you want to teach on the basis of
what you want to learn. You cannot give to someone else [M1], and this you learn
through teaching. Teaching is but a call to witnesses to attest to what you
believe. It is a method of conversion. This is not done by words alone. Any
situation must be to you a chance to teach others what you are and what they are
to you. No more than that, but also never less.
3. The curriculum that [M2] you set up is therefore determined exclusively by
what you think you are, and what you believe the relationship of others is to
you. In the formal teaching situation, these questions may be totally unrelated
to what you think you are teaching. Yet it is impossible not to use the content
of any situation on behalf of what you really teach and therefore [M3] learn. To
this the verbal content of your teaching is quite irrelevant. It may coincide
with it or it may not. It is the teaching underlying what you say that teaches
you. Teaching but reinforces what you believe about yourself. Its fundamental
M(2)
purpose is to diminish self-doubt. This does not mean that the self you are
trying to protect is real. But it does mean that the self you think is real is
what you teach.
4. This is inevitable. There is no escape from it. How could it be
otherwise? Everyone who follows the world's curriculum, and everyone here does
follow it until he changes his mind, teaches solely to convince himself that he
is what he is not. Herein is the purpose of the world. What else, then, would
its curriculum be? Into this hopeless and closed learning situation, which
teaches nothing but despair and death, God sends His teachers. And as they
teach His lessons of joy and hope, their learning finally becomes complete.
5. Except for God's teachers there would be no [M4] hope of salvation, for the
world of sin would be forever real. The self-deceiving must deceive, for they
must teach deception. And what else is hell? This is a manual for the teachers
of God. They are not perfect or they would not be here. Yet it is their
mission to become perfect here, and so they teach perfection over and over, in
many, many ways, until they have learned it. And then they are seen no more,
although their thoughts remain a source of strength and truth forever. Who are
they? How are they chosen? What do they do? How can they work out their own
salvation and the salvation of the world? This manual attempts to answer these
questions.
M(3)
II Who are God’s Teachers?
1. A teacher of God is anyone who chooses to be one. His qualifications
consist solely in this; somehow, somewhere he has made a deliberate choice in
which he did not see his interests as apart from someone else's. Once he has
done that his road is established and his direction is sure. A light has
entered the darkness [M5]. It may be a single light, but that is enough. He has
entered an agreement with God, even if he does not yet believe in Him. He has
become a bringer of salvation [M6]. He has become a teacher of God.
2. They come from all over the world. They come from all religions and from
no religion. They are the ones who have answered. The Call is universal. It
goes on all the time everywhere. It calls for teachers to speak for it and
redeem the world. Many hear it but few will answer [M7]. But [M8] it is all a
matter of time. Everyone will answer in the end, but the end can be a long,
long way off. It is because of this that the plan of the teachers was
established. Their function is to save time. Each one begins as a single
light, but with the Call at its center it is a light that cannot be limited.
And each one saves a thousand years of time as the world judges it. To the Call
itself time has no meaning.
3. There is a course for every teacher of God. The form of the course varies
greatly. So do the particular teaching aids involved. But the content of the
course never changes. Its central theme is always, "God's Son is guiltless, and
in his innocence is his salvation." It can be taught by actions or thoughts; in
words or soundlessly; in any language or in no language; in any place or time or
manner. It does not matter who the teacher was before he heard the Call. He
has become a savior by his answering. He has seen someone else as himself. He
has therefore found his own salvation and the salvation of the world. In his
rebirth is the world reborn.
M(4)
(April 27 1972)
4. This is a manual for a special curriculum, intended for teachers of a
special form of the universal course. There are many thousands of other forms,
all with the same outcome. They merely save time. Yet it is time alone that
winds on wearily, and the world is very tired now. It is old and worn and
without hope. There was never a question of outcome, for what can change the
Will of God? But time, with its illusions of change and death, wears out the
world and all things in it. Yet time has an ending, and it is this that the
teachers of God are appointed to bring about. For time is in their hands. Such
was their choice, and it is given them.
III Who are Their Pupils?
1. Certain pupils have been assigned to each of God's teachers, and they will
begin to look for him as soon as he has answered the Call. They were chosen for
him because the form of the universal curriculum that he will teach is best for
them in view of their level of understanding. His pupils have [M9] been waiting
for him, for his coming is certain. Again, it is only a matter of time. Once
he has chosen to fulfill his role, they are ready to fulfill theirs. Time waits
on his choice, but not on [M10] whom he will serve. When he is ready to learn,
the opportunities to teach will be provided for him.
2. In order to understand the teaching-learning plan of salvation, it is
necessary to grasp the concept of time which [M11] the course sets forth.
Atonement corrects illusions, not truth. Therefore, it corrects what never was.
Further, the plan for this correction was established and completed
simultaneously, for the Will of God is entirely apart from time. So is all
reality, being of Him. The instant the idea of separation entered the mind of
God's Son, in that same instant was God's Answer given. In time this happened
very long ago. In reality it never happened at all.
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3. The world of time is the world of illusion. What happened long ago seems
to be happening now. Choices made long since appear to be open; yet to be made.
What has been learned and understood and long ago passed by is looked upon as a
new thought, a fresh idea, a different approach. Because your will is free you
can accept what has already happened at any time you choose, and only then will
you realize that it was always there. As the course emphasizes, you are not
free to choose the curriculum, or even the form in which you will learn it. You
are free, however, to decide when you want to learn it. And as you accept it,
it is already learned.
4. Time really, then, goes backward to an instant so ancient that it is
beyond all memory and past even the possibility of remembering. Yet because it
is an instant that is relived again and again and still again, it seems to be
now. And thus it is that pupil and teacher seem to come together in the
present, finding each other as if they had not met before. The pupil comes at
the right time to the right place. This is inevitable, because he made the
right choice in that ancient instant which he now relives. So has the teacher,
too, made an inevitable choice out of an ancient past. God's Will in everything
but seems to take time in the working-out. What could delay the power of
eternity?
5. When pupil and teacher come together, a teaching-learning situation
begins [M12] for the teacher is not really the one who does the teaching. God's
Teacher speaks to any two who join together for learning purposes [M13]. The
relationship is holy because of that purpose, and God has promised to send His
Spirit into any holy relationship. In the teaching-learning situation, each one
learns that giving and receiving are the same. The demarcations they have drawn
between their roles, their minds, their bodies, their needs, their interests,
and all the differences they thought separated them from one another, fade and
grow dim and disappear. Those who would learn the same course share one
interest and one goal. And thus he who was the learner becomes a teacher
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of God Himself, for he has made the one decision that gave his teacher to him.
He has seen in another person the same interests as his own.
IV What are the Levels of Teaching?
May 2, 1972
1. The teachers of God have no set teaching level. Each teaching-learning
situation involves a different relationship at the beginning, although the
ultimate goal is always the same; to make of the relationship a holy
relationship, in which both can look upon the Son of God as sinless. There is
no one from whom a teacher of God cannot learn, so there is no one whom he
cannot teach. However, from a practical point of view he cannot meet everyone,
nor can everyone find him. Therefore, the plan includes very specific contacts
to be made for each teacher of God. There are no accidents in salvation. Those
who are to meet will meet, because together they have the potential for a holy
relationship. They are ready for each other.
2. The simplest level of teaching appears to be quite superficial. It
consists of what seem to be very casual encounters; a chance meeting of two
apparent strangers in an elevator, a child who is not looking where he is going
running into an adult "by accident," [M14] two students who happen [M15] to walk
home together. These are not chance encounters. Each of them has a [M16]
potential for becoming [M17] teaching-learning situations [M18]. Perhaps the
seeming strangers in the elevator will smile to one another, perhaps the man [M19]
will not scold the child for bumping into him; perhaps the students will become
friends. Even at the level of the most casual encounter, it is possible for two
people to lose sight of separate interests, if only for a moment. That moment
will be enough. Salvation has come.
M(7)
3. It is difficult to understand that levels of teaching the universal course
is a concept as meaningless in reality as is time. The illusion of one permits
the illusion of the other. In time, the teacher of God seems to begin to change
his mind about the world with the [M20] single decision, and then learns more and
more about the new direction as he teaches it. We have covered the illusion of
time already, but the illusion of levels of teaching seems to be something
different. Perhaps the best way to demonstrate that these levels cannot exist
is simply to say that any level of the teaching-learning situation is part of
God's plan for Atonement, and His plan can have no levels, being a reflection of
His Will. Salvation is always ready and always there. God's teachers work at
different levels, but the result is always the same.
4. Each teaching-learning situation is maximal in the sense that each person
involved will learn the most that he can from the other person at that time. In
this sense, and in this sense only, we can speak of levels of teaching. Using
the term in this way, the second level of teaching is a more sustained
relationship, in which, for a time, two people enter into a fairly intense
teaching-learning situation and then appear to separate. As with the first
level, these meetings are not accidental, nor is what appears to be the end of
the relationship a real end. Again, each has learned the most he can at the
time. Yet all who meet will someday meet again, for it is the destiny of all
relationships to become holy. God is not mistaken in His Son.
5. The third level of teaching occurs in relationships which, once they are
formed, are lifelong. These are teaching-learning situations
in which each person is given a chosen learning partner who presents him with
unlimited opportunities for learning. These relationships are generally few,
because their existence implies that those involved have reached a stage
simultaneously in which the teaching-learning balance is actually perfect. This
does not mean that
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they necessarily recognize this; in fact, they generally do not. They may even
be quite hostile to each other for some time, and perhaps for life. Yet should
they decide to learn it, the perfect lesson is before them and can be learned.
And if they decide to learn that lesson, they become the saviors of the teachers
who falter and may even seem to fail. No teacher of God can fail to find the
Help he needs.
May 26, 1972
V What are the Characteristics of God’s Teachers?
A. Introduction
1. The surface traits of God's teachers are not at all alike. They do not
look alike to the body's eyes, they come from vastly different backgrounds,
their experiences of the world vary greatly, and their superficial
"personalities" are quite distinct. Nor at the beginning stages of their
functioning as teachers of God, have they [M21] yet acquired the deeper
characteristics that will establish them as what they are. God gives special
gifts to His teachers because they have a special role in His plan for
Atonement. Their specialness is, of course, only temporary; set in time as a
means of leading out of time. These special gifts, born in the holy
relationship toward which the teaching-learning situation is geared, become
characteristic of all teachers of God who have advanced in their own learning.
In this respect they are all alike.
2. All differences among the Sons of God are temporary. Nevertheless, in
time it can be said that the advanced teachers of God have the following
characteristics:
B. Trust
1. This is the foundation on which their ability to fulfill their function
rests. Perception is [M22] a [M23] result of learning. In fact, perception is
learning, because cause and effect are never separated. The teachers of God
have trust in the world, because they have learned it is not governed by the
laws the
M(9)
world made up. It is governed by a Power which is in them but not of them [M24].
It is this Power that keeps all things safe. It is through this Power that the
teachers of God look on a forgiven world.
2. When this Power has once been experienced, it is impossible to trust one's
own petty strength again. Who would attempt to fly with the tiny wings of a
sparrow when the mighty power of an eagle has been given him? And who would
place his faith in the shabby offerings of the ego when the gifts of God are
laid before him? What is it that induces them to make the shift?
3. First, they must go through what might be called "a period of undoing."
This need not be painful, but it usually is so experienced. It seems as if
things are being taken away, and it is rarely understood initially that their
lack of value is merely being recognized. How can lack of value be perceived
unless the perceiver is in a position where he must see things in a different
light? He is not yet at a point at which he can make the shift entirely
internally. And so the plan will sometimes call for changes in what seem to be
external circumstances. These changes are always helpful. When the teacher of
God has learned that much, he goes on to the second stage.
4. Next, the teacher of God must go through "a period of sorting-out." This
is always somewhat difficult because, having learned that the changes in his
life are always helpful, he must now decide all things on the basis of whether
they increase the helpfulness or hamper it. He will find that many, if not most
of the things he valued before will merely hinder his ability to transfer what
he has learned to new situations as they arise. Because he has valued what is
really valueless, he will not generalize the lesson for fear of loss and
sacrifice.
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It takes great learning to understand that all things, events, encounters and
circumstances are helpful. It is only to the extent to which they are helpful
that any degree of reality should be accorded them in this world of illusion.
The word "value" can apply to nothing else.
5. The third stage through [M25] which the teacher of God must go can be called
a "period of relinquishment." If this is interpreted as giving up the desirable
it will engender enormous conflict. Few teachers of God escape this distress
entirely. There is, however, no point in sorting out the valuable from the
valueless unless the next obvious step is taken. The third step is rarely if
ever begun until the second is complete. [M26] Therefore, the period of overlap
is apt to be one in which the teacher of God feels called upon to sacrifice his
own best interests on behalf of truth. He has not realized as yet how wholly
impossible such a demand would be. He can learn this only as he actually does
give up the valueless. Through this, he learns that where he anticipated grief,
he finds a happy light- heartedness instead; where he thought something was
asked of him he finds a gift bestowed upon [M27] him.
6. Now comes "a period of settling down." This is a quiet time, in which the
teacher of God rests a while in reasonable peace. Now he consolidates his
learning. Now he begins to see the transfer value of what he has learned. Its
potential is literally staggering, and the teacher of God is now at the point in
his progress at which he sees in it his whole way out. "Give up what you do not
want, and keep what you do." How simple is the obvious. And how easy to do.
The teacher of God needs this period of respite. He has not yet come as far as
he thinks. Yet when he is ready to go on, he goes with mighty companions beside
him. Now he rests a while, and gathers them before going on. He will not go
on from here alone.
M(11)
7. The next stage is indeed "a period of unsettling." Now must the teacher of
God understand that he did not really know what was valuable and what was
valueless. All that he really learned so far was that he did not want the
valueless and that he did want the valuable. Yet his own sorting out was
meaningless in teaching him the difference. The idea of sacrifice, so central
to his own thought system, had made it impossible for him to judge. He thought
he had [M28] learned willingness, but now he sees that he does not know what the
willingness is for. And now he must attain a state that may remain
impossible [M29] for a long, long time. He must learn to lay all judgment aside
and ask only what he really wants in every circumstance. Were not each step in
this direction so heavily reinforced, it would be hard indeed.
8. And finally, there is "a period of achievement." It is here that learning
is consolidated. Now what was seen as merely shadows before becomes [M30] solid
gains, to be counted on in all "emergencies" as well as tranquil times. Indeed,
the tranquillity is their result; the outcome of honest learning, consistency of
thought and full transfer. This is the stage of real peace, for here is
Heaven's state fully reflected. From here, the way to Heaven is open and easy.
In fact, it is here. Who would "go" anywhere, if peace of mind is already
complete? And who would seek to change tranquillity for something more
desirable? What could be more desirable than this?
M(12) (May 30, 1972)
C. Honesty
1. All other traits of God's teachers rest on trust. Once that has been
achieved the others cannot fail to follow. Only the trusting can afford
honesty, for only they can see its value. Honesty does not apply to only [M31]
what you say. The term actually means consistency. There is nothing you say
that contradicts what you think or do; no thought opposes any other thought; no
act belies your word; and no word lacks agreement with another. Such are the
truly honest. At no level are they in conflict with themselves. Therefore it
is impossible for them to be in conflict with anyone or anything.
2. The peace of mind which the advanced teachers of God experience is largely
due to their perfect honesty. It is only the wish to deceive that makes for
war. No one at one with himself can even conceive of conflict. Conflict is the
inevitable result of self-deception, and self-deception is dishonesty. There is
no challenge to a teacher of God. Challenge implies doubt, and the trust on
which God's teachers rest secure makes doubt impossible. Therefore they can
only succeed. In this as in all things they are honest. They can only succeed,
because they never do their will alone. They choose for all mankind; for all
the world and all things in it; for the unchanging and unchangeable beyond
appearances; and for the Son of God and his Creator. How could they not
succeed? They choose in perfect honesty, sure of their choice of themselves.
D. Tolerance
1. God's teachers do not judge. To judge is to be dishonest, for to judge is
to assume a position you do not have. Judgment without self-deception is
impossible. Judgment implies that you have been deceived in your brothers. How
then could you not have been deceived in yourself? Judgment implies a lack of
trust, and trust remains the bedrock of the teacher of God's whole thought
system.
M(13)
Let this be lost and all his learning goes. Without judgment are all things
equally acceptable, for who could judge otherwise? Without judgment are all men
brothers, for who is there who stands apart? Judgment destroys honesty and
shatters trust. No teacher of God can judge and hope to learn.
E. Gentleness
1. Harm is impossible for God's teachers. They can neither harm nor be
harmed. Harm is the outcome of judgment. It is the dishonest act that follows
the [M32] dishonest thought. It is a verdict of guilt upon a brother and
therefore on oneself. It is the end of peace and the denial of learning. It
demonstrates the absence of God's curriculum and its replacement by insanity.
No teacher of God but must learn,-- and fairly early in his training,-- that
harmfulness completely obliterates his function from his awareness. It will
make him confused, fearful, angry and suspicious. It will make the Holy
Spirit's lessons impossible to learn. Nor can God's Teacher be heard at all
except by those who realize that harm can actually achieve nothing. No gain can
come from [M33] it.
2. Therefore God's teachers are wholly gentle. They need the strength of
gentleness, for it is in this that the function of salvation becomes easy. To
those who would do harm it is impossible. To those to whom harm has no meaning
it is merely natural. What choice but this has meaning to the sane? Who
chooses hell when he perceives a way to Heaven? And who would choose the
weakness that must come from harm in place of the unfailing, all-encompassing
and limitless strength of gentleness? The might of God's teachers lies in their
gentleness, for they have understood their evil thoughts came neither from God's
Son nor his Creator. Thus did they join their thoughts with Him Who is their
Source. And so their will, which always was His Own, is free to be itself.
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F. Joy
1. Joy is the inevitable result of gentleness. Gentleness means that fear is
now impossible, and what could come to interfere with joy? The open hands of
gentleness are always filled. The gentle have no pain. They cannot suffer.
Why would they not be joyous? They are sure they are beloved and must be safe.
Joy goes with gentleness as surely as grief attends attack. God's teachers
trust in Him. And they are sure His Teacher goes before them, making sure no
harm can come to them. They hold His gifts and follow in His way, because God's
Voice directs them in all things. Joy is their song of thanks. And Christ
looks down on them in thanks as well. His need of them is just as great as
theirs of Him. How joyous it is to share the purpose of salvation.
G. Defenselessness
1. God's teachers have learned how to be simple. They have no dreams that
need defense against the truth [M34]. They do not try to make themselves. Their
joy comes from their understanding Who created them. And does what God created
need defense? No one can become an advanced teacher of God until he fully
understands that defenses are but the [M35] foolish guardians of mad illusions.
The more grotesque the dream, the fiercer and more powerful its defenses seem to
be. Yet when the teacher of God finally agrees to look past them, he finds [M36]
nothing was there. Slowly at first he lets himself be undeceived. But he
learns faster as his trust increases. It is not danger that comes when defenses
are laid down. It is safety. It is peace. It is joy. And it is God.
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H. Generosity
1. The term generosity has special meaning to the teacher of God. It is not
the usual meaning of the word; in fact, it is a meaning that must be learned and
learned very carefully. Like all the other attributes of God's teachers this
one rests ultimately on trust, for without trust no one can be generous in the
true sense. To the world, generosity means "giving away" in the sense of
"giving up." To the teachers of God, it means "giving away" in order to keep.
This has been emphasized throughout the text and the workbook, but it is perhaps
more alien to the thinking of the world than many other ideas in our curriculum.
Its greater strangeness lies merely in the obviousness of its reversal of the
world's thinking. In the clearest way possible and at the simplest of levels,
the word means the exact opposite to the teachers of God and to the world.
2. The teacher of God is generous out of Self-interest [M37]. This does not
refer, however, to the self the world speaks of. [M38] The teacher of God does
not want anything he cannot give away, because he realizes it would be valueless
to him by definition. What would he want it for? He could only lose because of
it. He could not gain. Therefore he does not seek what only he could keep,
because that is a guarantee of loss. He does not want to suffer. Why should he
ensure himself pain? But he does want to keep for himself all things that are
of God, and therefore for His Son. These are the things that belong to him.
These he can give away in true generosity, protecting them forever for himself.
M(16) (June 2, 1972)
I. Patience
1. Those who are certain of the outcome can afford to wait, and wait without
anxiety. Patience is natural to the teacher of God. All he sees is certain
outcome, at a time perhaps unknown [M39] as yet, but not in doubt. The time will
be as right as is the answer. And this is true for everything that happens now
or in the future. The past as well held no mistakes; nothing that did not serve
to benefit the world as well as him to whom it seemed to happen. Perhaps it was
not understood at the time. Even so, the teacher of God is willing to
reconsider all his past decisions, if they are causing pain to anyone. Patience
is natural to those who trust. Sure of the ultimate interpretation of all
things in time, no outcome already seen or yet to come can cause them fear.
J. Faithfulness
1. The extent of the teacher of God's faithfulness is the measure of his
advancement in the curriculum. Does he still select some aspects of his life to
bring to his learning, while keeping others apart? If so, his advancement is
limited and his trust not yet firmly established. Faithfulness is the teacher
of God's trust in the Word of God to set all things right; not some, but all.
Generally, his faithfulness begins by resting on just some problems, remaining
carefully limited for a time. To give up all problems to one Answer is to
reverse the thinking of the world entirely. And that alone is faithfulness.
Nothing but that really deserves the name. Yet each degree, however small, is
worth achieving. Readiness, as the text notes, is not mastery.
2. True faithfulness, however, does not deviate. Being consistent it is
wholly honest. Being unswerving it is full of trust. Being based on
fearlessness it is gentle. Being certain it is joyous, and being confident it
is tolerant. Defenselessness attends it naturally, and joy is its
condition. [M40] Faithfulness, then, combines in itself the other attributes of
God’s teachers. It implies acceptance of the Word of God and His definition of
His Son. It is to Them
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that faithfulness in the true sense is always directed. Toward Them it looks,
seeking until it finds [M41]. And having found, it rests in quiet certainty on
That alone to which all faithfulness is due.
K. Open-Mindedness
1. The centrality of open-mindedness, perhaps the last of the attributes the
teacher of God acquires, is easily understood when its relation to forgiveness
is recognized. Open-mindedness comes with lack of judgment. As judgment shuts
the mind against God’s Teacher, so open-mindedness invites Him to come in. As
condemnation judges the Son of God as evil, so open-mindedness permits him to be
judged by the Voice for God on His behalf. As the projection of guilt upon him
would send him to hell, so open-mindedness lets Christ’s image be projected
on [M42] him. Only the open-minded can be at peace, for they alone see reason for
it.
2. How do the open-minded forgive? They have let go all things that would
prevent forgiveness. They have in truth abandoned the world, and let it be
restored to them in newness and in joy so glorious they never could [M43] have
conceived of such a change. Nothing is now as it was formerly. Nothing but
sparkles now which seemed so dull and lifeless before. And above all are all
things welcoming, for threat has [M44] gone. No clouds remain to hide the Face of
Christ. Now is the goal achieved. Forgiveness is the final goal of the
curriculum. It paves the way for what goes far beyond all learning. The
curriculum makes no effort to exceed its legitimate goal. Forgiveness is its
single aim, at which all learning ultimately converges. It is indeed enough.
3. You may have noticed that the list of attributes of God's teachers does
not include those things which are the Son of God's inheritance. Terms like
love, sinlessness, perfection, knowledge, and eternal truth do not appear in
this context. They would be most inappropriate here. What God has given is so
far
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beyond our curriculum that learning but disappears in its presence. Yet while
its presence is obscured, the focus properly belongs on the curriculum. It is
the function of God's teachers to bring true learning to the world. Properly
speaking, it is unlearning that they bring, for that is "true learning" in the
world. It is given to the teachers of God to bring the glad tidings [M45] of
complete forgiveness to the world. Blessed indeed are they, for they are the
Bringers of salvation [M46].
VI How is Healing Accomplished?
A. Introduction
Healing involves an understanding of what the illusion of sickness is for.
Healing is impossible without this.
B. The perceived purpose of sickness
1. Healing is accomplished the instant the sufferer no longer sees any value
in pain. Who would choose suffering unless he thought it brought him something,
and something of value to him? He must think it is a small price to pay for
something of greater worth. For sickness is an election; a decision. It is the
choice of weakness, in the mistaken conviction that it is strength. When this
occurs, real strength is seen as threat and health as danger. Sickness is a
method, conceived in madness, for placing God's Son on his Father's throne. God
is seen as outside, fierce and powerful, eager to keep all power for Himself.
Only by his death can He be conquered by His Son.
2. And what, in this insane conviction, does healing stand for? It
symbolizes the defeat of God's Son and the triumph of his Father over him. It
represents the ultimate defiance in a direct form which the Son of God is forced
to recognize. It stands for all that he would hide from himself to protect his
life. If he is healed, he is responsible for his thoughts. And if he is
responsible for his thoughts he will be killed, to prove to him how weak and
pitiful he is. But if he chooses death himself, his weakness is his strength.
Now has he given himself what God would give to him, and thus entirely usurped
the throne of his Creator.
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(June 7, 1972)
C. The shift in perception
1. Healing must occur in exact proportion to [M47] which the valuelessness of
sickness is recognized. One need but say, "There is no gain at all to me in
this," and he is healed. But to say this one must first recognize certain
facts. First, it is obvious that decisions are of the mind, not of the body.
If sickness is but a faulty problem-solving approach, it is a decision. And if
it is a decision, it is the mind and not the body that makes it. The resistance
to recognizing this is enormous, because the existence of the world as we [M48]
perceive it depends on the body being the decision-maker. Terms like
"instincts," "reflexes" and the like represent attempts to endow the body with
non-mental motivators. Actually, such terms merely state or describe the
problem. They do not answer it.
2. The acceptance of sickness as a decision of the mind, for a purpose for
which it would use the body, is the basis of healing. And this is so for
healing in all forms. A patient decides that this is so, and he recovers. If
he decides against recovery he will not be healed. Who is the physician? Only
the mind of the patient himself. The outcome is what he decides that it is.
Special agents seem to be ministering to him, yet they but give form to his own
choice. He chooses them [M49] to bring tangible form to his desires. And it is
this they do, and nothing else. They are not actually needed at all. The
patient could merely rise up without their aid and say, "I have no use for
this." There is no form of sickness that would not be cured at once.
3. What is the single requisite for this shift in perception? It is simply
this; the recognition that sickness is of the mind, and has nothing to do with
the body. What does this recognition "cost"? It costs the world [M50] we see,
for the world will never again appear to rule the mind. For with this
recognition is responsibility placed where it belongs; not with the world, but
on him who looks on the world and sees it as it is not. He looks on what he
chooses to see. No more and no less. The world does nothing to him.
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He only thought it did. Nor does he do anything to the world, because he was
mistaken about what it was [M51]. Herein is the release from guilt and sickness
both, for they are one. Yet to accept this release, the insignificance of the
body must be an acceptable idea.
4. With this idea is pain forever gone. But with this idea goes also all
confusion about creation. Does not this follow of necessity? Place cause and
effect in their true sequence in one respect, and the learning will generalize
and transform the world. The transfer value of one true idea has no end nor [M52]
limit. The final outcome of this lesson is the remembrance of God. What do
guilt and sickness, pain, disaster and all suffering mean now. Having no
purpose, they are gone. And with them also go [M53] all the effects they seemed
to cause. Cause and effect but replicate creation. Seen in their proper
perspective, without distortion and without fear, they re-establish Heaven.
D. The function of the Teacher of God
1. If the patient must change his mind in order to be healed, what does the
teacher of God do. Can he change the patient's mind for him. Certainly not.
For those already willing to change their mind he has no function except to
rejoice with them, for they have become teachers of God with him. He has,
however, a more specific function for those who do not understand what healing
is. These patients do not realize they have chosen sickness. On the contrary,
they believe that sickness has chosen them. Nor are they open-minded on this
point. The body tells them what to do and they obey. They have no idea how
insane this concept is. If they even suspected it they would be healed. Yet
they suspect nothing. To them the separation is quite real.
M(21)
2. To them God’s teachers come to represent another choice which they had
forgotten. The simple presence of a teacher of God [M54] is a reminder. His [M55]
thoughts ask for the right to question what the patient has accepted is true.
As God’s messengers, His teachers [M56] are the symbols of salvation. They ask
the patient for forgiveness for God’s Son in his own Name. They stand for the
Alternative. With God’s Word in their minds they come in benediction, not to
heal the sick but to remind them of the remedy God has already given them. It
is not their hands that heal. It is not their voice that speaks the Word of
God. They merely give what has been given them. Very gently they call to their
brothers to turn away from death. Behold, you Son of God, what life can offer
you. Would you choose sickness in place of this?
3. Not once do the advanced teachers of God consider the forms of sickness in
which their brother believes. To do this is to forget that all of them have the
same purpose and therefore are not really different. They seek for God’s Voice
in this brother who would so deceive himself as to believe God’s Son can suffer.
And they remind him that he has not made [M57] himself, and must remain as God
created him. They recognize illusions can have no effect. The truth in their
minds reaches out to the truth in the minds of their brothers, so that illusions
are not reinforced. They are thus brought to truth, and truth is not brought to
them. So are they dispelled, not by the will of another, but by the union of
the One Will with Itself. And this is the function of God’s teachers; to see no
will as separate from their own, nor theirs as separate from God’s.
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VII Is Healing Certain?
1. Healing is always certain. It is impossible to let illusions be brought
to truth and keep the illusions. Truth demonstrates illusions have no value.
The teacher of God has seen the correction of his errors in the mind of the
patient, recognizing it for what it is. Having accepted the Atonement for
himself, he has also accepted it for the patient. Yet what if the patient uses
sickness as a way of life, believing healing is the way to death? When this is
so, a sudden healing may [M58] precipitate intense depression, and a sense of loss
so deep that the patient may even try to destroy himself. Having nothing to
live for, he may ask for death. Healing must wait, for his protection.
2. Healing will always stand aside when [M59] it would be seen as threat. The
instant it is welcome it is there. Where healing has been given it will be
received. And what is time before the gifts of God? We have referred many
times in the text to the storehouse of treasures laid up equally for the giver
and the receiver of God’s gifts. Not one is lost, for they can but increase.
No teacher of God should feel disappointed if he has offered healing and it does
not appear to have been received. It is not up to him to judge when his gift
should be accepted. Let him be certain it has been received, and trust that it
will be accepted when it is recognized as a blessing and not a curse.
3. It is not the function of God's teachers to evaluate the outcome of their
gifts. It is merely their function to give them. Once they have done that,
they have also given the outcome, for that is part of the gift. No one can give
if he is concerned with the result of the [M60] giving. That is a limitation on
the giving itself, and neither the giver nor the receiver would have the gift.
Trust is an essential part of giving; in fact, it is the part that makes sharing
possible, the part that guarantees the giver will not lose, but only gain. Who
gives a gift, and then remains with it, to be sure it is used as the giver deems
appropriate? Such is not giving but imprisoning.
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4. It is the relinquishing of all concern about the gift that makes it truly
given. And it is trust that makes true giving possible. Healing is the change
of mind that the Holy Spirit in the patient's mind is seeking for him. And it
is the Holy Spirit in the mind of the giver Who gives the gift to him. How can
it be lost? How can it be ineffectual? How can it be wasted? God's treasure
house can never be empty. And if one gift were [M61] missing it would not be
full. Yet is its fullness guaranteed by God. What concern, then, can a teacher
of God have about what becomes of his gifts? Given by God to God, who in this
holy exchange can receive less than everything?
VIII Should Healing Be Repeated?
1. This question really answers itself. Healing cannot be repeated. If the
patient is healed, what remains to heal him from? And if the healing is
certain, as we have already said it is, what is there to repeat? For a teacher
of God to remain concerned about the result of healing is to limit the healing.
It is now the teacher of God himself whose mind needs to be healed. And it is
this he must facilitate. He is now the patient, and he must so regard himself.
He has made a mistake, and must be willing to change his mind about it. He
lacked the trust that makes for giving truly, and so he has not received the
benefit of his gift.
2. Whenever a teacher of God has tried to be a channel for healing he has
succeeded. Should he be tempted to doubt this, he should not repeat his
previous effort. That was already maximal, because the Holy Spirit so accepted
it and so used it. Now the teacher of God has only one course to follow. He
must use his reason to tell himself that he has given the problem to One Who
cannot fail, and [M62] recognize that his own uncertainty is not love but fear,
and therefore hate. His position has thus become untenable, for he is offering
M(24)
hate to one to whom he offered love. This is impossible. Having offered love,
only love can be received.
3. It is in this that the teacher of God must trust. This is what is really
meant by the statement that the one responsibility of the miracle worker is to
accept the Atonement for himself. The teacher of God is a miracle worker
because he gives the gifts he has received. Yet he must first accept them. He
need do no more, nor is there more that he could do. By accepting healing he
can give it. If he doubts this, let him remember Who gave the gift and Who
received it. Thus is his doubt corrected. He thought the gifts of God could be
withdrawn. That was a mistake, but hardly one to stay with. And so the teacher
of God can only recognize it for what it is, and let it be corrected for him.
4. One of the more [M63] difficult temptations to recognize is that to doubt a
healing because of the appearance of continuing symptoms is a mistake in the
form of lack of trust. As such, it is an attack. Usually it seems to be just
the opposite. It does appear unreasonable at first to be told that continued
concern is attack. It has all the appearance [M64] of love. Yet love without
trust is impossible, and doubt and trust cannot coexist. And hate must be the
opposite of love, regardless of the form it takes. Doubt not the gift, and it
is impossible to doubt its result. This is the certainty that gives God’s
teachers the power to be miracle workers, for they have put their trust in Him.
5. The real basis for doubt about the outcome of any problem that has been
given to God's Teacher for resolution is always self-doubt. And that
necessarily implies that trust has been placed in an illusory self, for only
such a self can be doubted. This illusion can take many forms. Perhaps there
is a fear of weakness and vulnerability. Perhaps there is [M65] fear of failure
and shame associated with a sense of inadequacy. Perhaps there is a guilty
M(25)
embarrassment stemming from false humility. The form of the mistake is not
important. What is important is only the recognition of a mistake as a mistake.
6. The mistake is always some form of concern with the self to the exclusion
of the patient. It is a failure to recognize him as part of the self, and thus
represents a confusion in identity. Conflict about what you are has entered
your mind, and you have become deceived about yourself. And you are deceived
about yourself because you have denied the Source of your creation. If you are
offering only healing, you cannot doubt. If you really want the problem solved,
you cannot doubt. If you are certain what the problem is, you cannot doubt.
Doubt is the result of conflicting wishes. Be sure of what you want, and doubt
becomes impossible.
IX How Can the Perception of Order of Difficulties Be Avoided?
1. The belief in order of difficulties is the basis for the world's
perception. It rests on differences; on uneven background and shifting
foreground, on unequal heights and diverse sizes, on varying degrees of darkness
and light, and thousands of contrasts in which each thing seen competes with
every other in order to be recognized. A larger object overshadows a smaller
one. A brighter thing draws the attention from another with less intensity of
appeal. And a more threatening idea, or one conceived of as more desirable by
the world's standards, completely upsets the mental balance. What the body's
eyes behold is only conflict. Look not to them for peace and understanding.
2. Illusions are always illusions of differences. How could it be otherwise?
By definition, an illusion is an attempt to make something real that is
regarded as of major importance, but is recognized as being untrue. The mind
therefore seeks to make it true out of its intensity of desire to have it for
itself.
M(26)
Illusions are travesties of creation; attempts to bring truth to lies. Finding
truth unacceptable, the mind revolts against truth and gives itself an illusion
of victory. Finding health a burden, it retreats into feverish dreams. And in
these dreams the mind is separate, different from other minds, with different
interests of its own, and able to gratify its needs at the expense of others.
3. Where do all these differences come from? Certainly they seem to be in
the world outside. Yet it is surely the mind that judges what the eyes behold.
It is the mind that interprets the eyes' messages and gives them "meaning." And
this meaning does not exist in the world outside at all. What is seen as
"reality" is simply what the mind prefers. Its hierarchy of values is projected
outward, and it sends the body's eyes to find it. The body's eyes will never
see except through differences. Yet it is not the messages they bring on which
perception rests. Only the mind evaluates their messages, so [M66] only the mind
is responsible for seeing. It alone decides whether what is seen is real or
illusory, desirable or undesirable, pleasurable or painful.
4. It is in the sorting out and categorizing activities of the mind that
errors in perception enter. And it is here correction must be made. The mind
classifies what the body's eyes bring to it according to its preconceived
values, judging where each sense datum fits best. What basis could be faultier
than this? Unrecognized by itself, it has itself asked to be given what will
fit into these categories. And having done so, it concludes that the categories
must be true. On this the judgment of all differences rests, because it is on
this that judgments of the world depend. Can this confused and senseless
"reasoning" be depended on for anything?
5. There can be no order of difficulty in healing merely because all sickness
is illusion. Is it harder to dispel the belief of the insane in a larger
hallucination as opposed to a smaller one? Will he agree more quickly to the
unreality of a louder voice he hears than to that of a softer one? Will he
dismiss more easily a whispered demand to kill than a shout? And do the number
of pitchforks the devils he sees carrying affect their credibility in his
perception? His mind has categorized
M(27)
them [M67] as real, and so they are [M68] real to him. When he realizes they are
all illusions they will disappear. And so it is with healing. The properties
of illusions which seem to make them different are really irrelevant, for their
properties are as illusory as they are.
6. The body’s eyes will continue to see differences, [M69] but the mind
which [M70] has let itself be healed will no longer acknowledge them. There will
be those who seem to be "sicker" than others, and the body’s eyes will report
their changed appearances as before. But the [M71] mind will put them all in one
category; [M72] they are unreal. This is the gift of its Teacher; the
understanding that only two categories are meaningful in sorting out the
messages the mind receives from what appears to be the outside world. And of
these two but one is real. Just as reality is wholly real, apart from size and
shape and time and place, for differences cannot exist within it, so too are
illusions without distinctions [M73]. The one answer to sickness of any kind is
healing. The one answer to all illusions is truth.
X Are Changes Required in the Life Situations of God’s Teachers?
1. Changes are required in the minds of God's teachers. This may or may not
involve changes in the external situation. Remember that no one is where he is
by accident, and chance plays no part in God's plan. It is most unlikely that
changes in his attitudes would not be the first step in the newly-made teacher
of God's training. There is, however, no set pattern, since training is always
highly individualized. There are those who are called upon to change their life
situation almost immediately, but these are generally special cases. By far the
majority are given a slowly-evolving training program, in which as many previous
mistakes as possible are corrected. Relationships in particular must be
properly perceived, and all dark cornerstones of unforgiveness removed.
Otherwise the old thought-system still has a basis for return.
M(28)
2. As the teacher of God advances in his training, he learns one lesson with
increasing thoroughness. He does not make his own decisions; he asks his
Teacher for His answer, and it is this he follows as his guide for action. This
becomes easier and easier, as the teacher of God learns to give up his own
judgment. The giving up of judgment, the obvious prerequisite for hearing God's
Voice, is usually a fairly slow process, not because it is difficult, but
because it is apt to be perceived as personally insulting. The world's training
is directed toward achieving a goal in direct opposition to that of our
curriculum. The world trains for reliance on one's judgment as the criterion
for maturity and strength. Our curriculum trains for the relinquishment of
judgment as the necessary condition of salvation.
XI How Is Judgment Relinquished?
1. Judgment, like other devices by which the world of illusions is
maintained, is totally misunderstood by the world. It is actually confused with
wisdom, and substitutes for truth. As the world uses the term, an individual is
capable of "good" and "bad" judgment, and his education aims at strengthening
the former and minimizing the latter. There is, however, considerable confusion
about what these categories mean. What is "good" judgment to one is "bad"
judgment to another. Further, even the same person classifies the same action
as showing "good" judgment at one time and "bad" judgment at another time. Nor
can any consistent criteria for determining what these categories are be really
taught. At any time the student may disagree with what his would-be teacher
says about it, and the teacher himself is inconsistent in what he believes they
are. [M74]
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2. "Good judgment" in these terms, does not mean anything. No more does
"bad." It is necessary for the teacher of God to realize not that he should not
judge, but that he cannot. In giving up judgment he merely gives up what he did
not have. He gives up an illusion; or better, he has an illusion of giving up.
He has actually merely become more honest. Recognizing that judgment was always
impossible for him, he no longer attempts it. This is no sacrifice. On the
contrary, he puts himself in a position where judgment through him rather than
by him can occur. And this Judgment is neither "good" nor "bad." It is the only
Judgment there is, and it is only one: "God's Son is guiltless, and sin does not
exist."
3. The aim of our curriculum, unlike the goal of the world's learning, is the
recognition that judgment in the usual sense is impossible. This is not an
opinion but a fact. In order to judge anything rightly [M75], one would have to
be fully aware of an inconceivably wide range of things; past, present and to
come. One would have to recognize in advance all the effects of his judgments
on everyone and everything involved in them in any way. And one would have to
be certain there is no distortion in his perception, so that his judgment would
be wholly fair to everyone on whom it rests now and in the future. Who is in a
position to do this? Who except in grandiose fantasies would claim this for
himself?
4. Remember how many times you thought you knew all the "facts" you needed
for judgment, and how wrong you were! Is there anyone who has not had this
experience? Would you know how many times you merely thought you were right,
without ever realizing you were wrong? Why would you choose such an arbitrary
basis for decision-making? Wisdom is not judgment; it is the relinquishment of
judgment. Make then but one more judgment. It is this; there is Someone with
you Whose judgment is perfect. He does know all the facts, past, present and to
come. He does know all the effects of His judgment on everyone and everything
involved in any way. And He is wholly fair to everyone, for there is no
distortion in His perception.
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5. Therefore lay judgment down, not with regret but with a sigh of gratitude.
Now are you free of a burden so great that you could merely stagger and fall
down beneath it. And it was all illusion. Nothing more. Now can the teacher
of God rise up unburdened, and walk lightly on. Yet it is not only this that is
his benefit. His sense of care is gone, for he has none. He has given it away,
along with judgment. He gave himself to Him Whose judgment he has chosen now to
trust instead of his own. Now he makes no mistakes. His Guide is sure. And
where he came to judge he comes to bless. Where now he laughs he used to come
to weep.
6. It is not difficult to relinquish judgment. But it is difficult indeed to
try to keep it. The teacher of God lays it down happily the instant he
recognizes its cost. All of the ugliness he sees [M76] about him is its outcome.
All of the pain he looks upon is its result. All of the loneliness and sense of
loss; of passing time and growing hopelessness; of sickening despair and fear of
death; all these have come of it. And now he knows that these things need not
be. Not one is true. For he has given up their cause, and they, which never
were but the effects of his mistaken choice, have fallen from him. Teacher of
God, this step will bring you peace. Can it be difficult to want but this?
XII How is Peace Possible in this World?
1. This is a question everyone must ask. Certainly peace seems to be
impossible [M77]. Yet the Word of God promises other things that seem impossible,
as well as this. His Word has promised peace. It has also promised that there
is no death; that resurrection must occur, and that rebirth is man's
inheritance. The world you see cannot be the world God loves, and yet His Word
assures us that He loves the world. God's Word has promised us [M78] that peace is
possible here, and what He promises can hardly be impossible. But it is true
that the world must be looked at differently, if His promises are to be
accepted. What the world is, is but a fact. You cannot choose what this should
be. But you can choose how you would see it. Indeed, you must choose this.
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2. Again we come to the question of judgment. This time, ask yourself
whether your judgment or the Word of God is more likely to be true. For they
say different things about the world, and things so opposite that it is
pointless to [M79] reconcile them. God offers the world salvation; your judgment
would condemn it. God says there is no death; your judgment sees but death as
the inevitable end of life. God's Word assures you that He loves the world;
your judgment says it is unlovable. Who is right? For one of you is wrong. It
must be so.
3. The text explains that the Holy Spirit is the Answer to all problems you
have made. These problems are not true [M80], but that is meaningless to those
who believe in them. And everyone believes in what he made, for it was made by
his believing it. Into this strange and paradoxical situation,-- one without
meaning and devoid of sense, yet out of which no way seems possible,-- God has
sent His Judgment to answer yours. Gently His Judgment substitutes for yours.
And through this substitution is the ununderstandable made understandable. How
is peace possible in this world? In your judgment it is not possible, and can
never be possible. But in the Judgment of God what is reflected here is only
peace.
4. Peace is impossible to those who look on war. Peace is inevitable to
those who offer peace. How easily, then, is your judgment of the world escaped.
It is not the world which makes peace seem impossible. It is the world you see
that is impossible. Yet has God's Judgment on this distorted world redeemed it
and made it fit to welcome peace. And peace descends on it in joyous answer.
Peace now belongs here, because a Thought of God has entered. What else but a
Thought of God turns hell to Heaven merely by being what It is? The earth bows
down before Its gracious Presence, and It leans down in answer to raise it up
again. Now is the question different. It is no longer, "Can peace be possible
in this world?" but instead, "Is it not impossible that peace be absent here?"
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(June 14, 1972)
XIII How Many Teachers of God Are Needed to Save the World?
1. The answer to this question is "one". One wholly perfect teacher, whose
learning is complete, suffices. This One, sanctified and redeemed, becomes the
Self Who is the Son of God. He Who was always wholly spirit now no longer sees
Himself as a body, or even as in a body. Therefore He is limitless. And being
limitless, His Thoughts are joined with God's forever and ever. His perception
of Himself is based upon God's Judgment, not His Own. Thus does He share God's
Will, and bring His Thoughts to still deluded minds. He is forever One, because
He is as God created Him. He has accepted Christ and He is safe [M81].
2. Thus does the son of man [M82] become the Son of God. It is not really a
change; it is a change of mind. Nothing external alters, but everything
internal now reflects only the Love of God. God can no longer be feared, for
the mind sees no cause for punishment. God's teachers appear to be many, for
that is the world's need. Yet being joined in one purpose, and one they share
with God, how could they be separate from each other? What does it matter if
they then appear in many forms? Their minds are one; their joining is complete.
And God works through them now as One, for that is what they are.
3. Why is the illusion of many necessary? Only because reality is not
understandable to the deluded. Only a very few can hear God’s Voice at all, and
even they cannot communicate His messages directly through the Spirit Which gave
them. They need a medium through which communication becomes possible to those
who do not realize that they are Spirit. A body they can see. A voice they
understand and listen to without the fear that truth would encounter [M83] in
them. Do not forget that truth can come only where it is welcomed without fear.
So do God’s teachers need a body, for their Unity could not be recognized
directly.
M(33) (June 23, 1972)
4. Yet what makes them [M84] God’s teachers is their recognition of the proper
purpose of the body. As they advance in their profession, they become more and
more certain that the body’s function is but to let God’s Voice speak through it
to human ears. And these ears will carry to the mind of the hearer messages
which [M85] are not of this world, and the mind will understand because of their
Source. From this understanding will come the recognition, in this new teacher
of God, of what the body’s purpose really is; the only use there really is for
it. This lesson is enough to let the Thought of Unity come in, and what is One
is recognized as One. The teachers of God appear to share the illusion of
separation, but because of what they use the body for, they do not believe in
the illusion despite appearances.
5. The central lesson is always this; that what you use the body for, it will
become to you. Use it for sin or for attack, which is the same as sin, and you
will see it as sinful. Because it is sinful it is weak, and being weak it
suffers and it dies. Use it to bring the Word of God to those who have It [M86]
not, and the body becomes holy. Because it is holy it cannot be sick, nor can
it die. When its usefulness is done it is laid by, and that is all. The mind
makes this decision, as it makes all decisions which [M87] are responsible for the
body’s condition. Yet the teacher of God does not make this decision alone. To
do that would be to give the body another purpose from the one that keeps it
holy. God’s Voice will tell him when he has fulfilled his role, just as It
tells him what his function is. He does not suffer either in going or
remaining. Sickness is now impossible to him.
6. Oneness and sickness cannot co-exist. God's teachers choose to look on
dreams a while. It is a conscious choice. For they have learned that all
choices are made consciously, with full awareness of their consequences. The
dream says otherwise, but who would put his faith in dreams, once they are
recognized for what they are? Awareness of dreaming is the real function of
God's teachers. They watch the dream figures come and go, shift and change,
suffer and die. Yet they are not deceived by what they see. They recognize
that to behold a dream figure as sick and separate is no more real than to
regard it as healthy and beautiful.
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Unity alone is not a thing of dreams. And it is this God's teachers acknowledge
as behind the dream, beyond all seeing and yet surely theirs.
XIV What Is the Real Meaning of Sacrifice?
1. Although in truth the term sacrifice is altogether meaningless, it does
have meaning in the world. Like all things in the world its meaning is
temporary, and will ultimately fade into the nothingness from which it came when
there is no more use for it. Now its real meaning is a lesson. Like all
lessons it is an illusion, for in reality there is nothing to learn. Yet this
illusion must be replaced by a corrective device; another illusion that replaces
the first, so both can finally disappear. The first illusion, which must be
displaced before another thought system can take hold, is that it is a sacrifice
to give up the things of this world. What could this be but an illusion, since
this world itself is nothing more than that?
2. It takes great learning both to realize and to accept the fact that the
world has nothing to give. What can the sacrifice of nothing mean? It cannot
mean that you have less because of it. There is no sacrifice in the world's
terms that does not involve the body. Think a while about what the world calls
sacrifice. Power, fame, money, physical pleasure; who is the hero to whom all
these things belong? Could they mean anything except to a body? Yet a body
cannot evaluate. By seeking after such things the mind associates itself with
the body, obscuring its identity and losing sight of what it really is.
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3. Once this confusion has occurred, it becomes impossible for the mind to
understand that all the "pleasures" of the world are nothing. But what a
sacrifice,- and it is sacrifice indeed [M88] - all this entails! Now has the mind
condemned itself to seek without finding [M89]; to be forever dissatisfied and
discontented; to know not what it really wants to find. Who can escape this
self-condemnation? Only through God’s Word could this be possible. For
self-condemnation is a decision about identity, and no one doubts what he
believes he is. He can doubt all things, but never this.
4. God’s teachers can have no regret on giving up the pleasures of the world.
Is it a sacrifice to give up pain? Does an adult resent the giving up of
children’s toys? Does one whose vision has already glimpsed the Face of Christ
look back with longing on a slaughter house? No one who has escaped the world
and all its ills looks back on it with condemnation. Yet he must rejoice that
he is free of all the sacrifice which [M90] its values [M91] would demand of him.
To them he sacrifices all his freedom [M92]. To them he sacrifices all his
peace [M93]. And to possess them must he sacrifice his hope of Heaven and
remembrance of his Father’s Love. Who in his sane mind chooses nothing as a
substitute for everything?
5. What is the real meaning of sacrifice? It is the cost of believing in
illusions. It is the price that must be paid for the denial of truth. There is
no pleasure of the world that does not demand this, for otherwise the pleasure
would be seen as pain. And no one asks for pain if he recognizes it. It is the
idea of sacrifice that makes him blind. He does not see what he is asking for.
And so he seeks it in a thousand ways and in a thousand places, each time
believing it is there and each time disappointed in the end. "Seek but do not
find [M94] " remains this world’s stern decree, and no one who pursues the world’s
goals can do otherwise.
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6. You may believe this course requires sacrifice of all you really hold
dear. In one sense that [M95] is true, for you hold dear the things that crucify
God’s Son. And it is the course’s aim to set him free. But do not be mistaken
about what sacrifice means. It always means the giving up of what you want.
And what, oh teacher of God, is it that you want? You have been called by God,
and you have answered. Would you now sacrifice that Call? Few have heard it as
yet, and they can but turn to you. There is no other hope in all the world that
they can trust. There is no other voice in all the world that echoes God’s. If
you would sacrifice the truth, they stay in hell. And if they stay, you will
remain with them.
7. Do not forget that sacrifice is total. There are no "half sacrifices."
You cannot give up Heaven partially. You cannot be a little bit in hell. The
Word of God has no exceptions. It is this that makes It holy and beyond the
world. It is Its holiness that points to God. It is Its holiness that makes
you safe. It is denied if you attack any brother for anything. For it is here
the split with God occurs. A split that is impossible. A split that cannot
happen. Yet a split in which you surely will believe, because you have set up a
situation that is impossible. And in this situation the impossible can seem to
happen. It seems to happen at the "sacrifice" of truth.
8. Teacher of God, do not forget the meaning of sacrifice, and remember what
each decision you make must mean in terms of cost. Decide for God, and
everything is given you at no cost at all. Decide against Him and you choose
nothing at the expense of the awareness of everything. What would you teach?
Remember only what you would learn. For it is here that your concern should be.
Atonement is for you. Your learning claims it and your learning gives it. The
world contains it not, but learn this course and it is yours. God holds out His
Word to you, for He has need of teachers. What other way is there to save His
Son?
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XV How Will the World End?
1. Can what has no beginning really end? The world will end in an illusion,
as it began. Yet will its ending be an illusion of mercy. The illusion of
forgiveness, complete, excluding no one, limitless in gentleness, will cover it,
hiding all evil, concealing all sin and ending guilt forever. So ends the world
that guilt had made, for now it has no purpose and is gone. The father of
illusions is the belief that they have a purpose; that they serve a need or
gratify a want. Perceived as purposeless, they are no longer seen. Their
uselessness is recognized and they are gone. How but in this way are all
illusions ended? They have been brought to truth, and truth saw them not. It
merely overlooked the meaningless.
2. Until forgiveness is complete, the world does have a purpose. It becomes
the home in which forgiveness is born, and where it grows and becomes stronger
and more all embracing. Here is it nourished, for here it is needed. A gentle
Savior, born where sin was made and guilt seemed real. Here is His home, for
here there is need of Him indeed. He brings the ending of the world with Him.
It is His Call God's teachers answer, turning to Him in silence to receive His
Word. The world will end when all things in it have been rightly judged by His
judgment. The world will end with the benediction of holiness upon it. When
not one thought of sin remains, the world is over. It will not be destroyed nor
attacked nor even touched. It will merely cease to seem to be.
3. Certainly this seems to be a long, long while away. "When not one thought
of sin remains" appears to be a long-range goal indeed. But time stands still,
and waits on the goals [M96] of God's teachers. Not one thought of sin will
remain the instant any one of them accepts the [M97] Atonement for himself. It is
not easier to forgive one sin than to forgive all of them. The illusion of
orders of difficulty is an obstacle the teacher of God must learn to pass by and
leave behind. One sin perfectly forgiven by one teacher of God can make
salvation complete. Can you understand this? No; it is meaningless to anyone
here. Yet it is the final lesson
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in which Unity is restored. It goes against all the thinking of the world,
so [M98] does Heaven.
4. The world will end when its thought system has been completely reversed.
Until then, bits and pieces of its thinking will still seem sensible. The final
lesson which brings the ending of the world cannot be grasped by those not yet
prepared to leave the world and go beyond its tiny reach. What, then, is the
function of the teacher of God in this concluding lesson? He need merely learn
how to approach it; to be willing to go in its direction. He need merely trust
that, if God’s Voice tells him it is a lesson he can learn, he can learn it. He
does not judge it either as hard or easy. His Teacher points to it, and he
trusts that He will show him how to learn it.
5. The world will end in joy because it is a place of sorrow. When joy has
come the purpose of the world has gone. The world will end in peace because it
is a place of war. When peace has come, what is the purpose of the world? The
world will end in laughter because it is a place of tears. Where there is
laughter, who can [M99] longer weep? And only complete forgiveness brings all
this to bless the world. In blessing it departs, for it will not end as it
began. To turn hell into Heaven is the function of God’s teachers, for what
they teach are lessons in which Heaven is reflected. And now sit down in true
humility, and realize that all God would have you do you can do. Do not be
arrogant and say you cannot learn His Own curriculum. His Word says otherwise.
His Will be done. It cannot be otherwise. And be you thankful it is so.
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(June 26, 1972)
XVI Is Each One to be Judged in the End?
1. Indeed, yes! No one can escape God’s final judgment. Who could flee
forever from the truth? But the final judgment will not come until it is no
longer associated with fear. One day each one will welcome it, and on that very
day it will be given him. He will hear his sinlessness proclaimed around and
around the world, setting it free as God’s final judgment on him is received.
This is the judgment in which salvation lies. This is the judgment that will
set him free. This is the judgment in which all things are freed with him.
Time pauses as eternity comes near, and silence lies across the world that
everyone may hear this judgment of the Son of God:
"Holy are you, eternal, free and whole, At peace forever in the Heart of God.
Where is the world, and where is sorrow now?"
2. Is this your judgment on yourself, teacher of God? Do you believe that
this is wholly true? No, not yet, not yet. But this is still your goal; why
you are here. It is your function to prepare yourself to hear this judgment and
to recognize that it is true. One instant of complete belief in this, and you
will go beyond belief to Certainty. One instant out of time can bring time’s
end. Judge not, for you but judge yourself [M100] and thus delay this final
judgment. What is your judgment on [M101] the world, teacher of God? Have you
yet learned to stand aside and hear the Voice of Judgment in yourself? Or do
you still attempt to take His role from Him? Learn to be quiet, for His Voice
is heard in stillness. And His Judgment comes to all who stand aside in quiet
listening, and wait for Him.
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3. You who are sometimes sad and sometimes angry; who sometimes feel your
just due is not given you, and your best efforts meet with lack of appreciation
and even with [M102] contempt; give up these foolish thoughts. [M103] They are too
small and meaningless to occupy your holy minds [M104] an instant longer. God’s
Judgment waits for you to set you free. What can the world hold out to you,
regardless of your judgments on its gifts, that you would rather have? You will
be judged, and judged in fairness and in honesty. There is no deceit in God.
His promises are sure. Only remember that. His promises have guaranteed His
judgment, and His alone, will be accepted in the end. It is your function to
make that end be soon. It is your function to hold it in [M105] your heart, and
offer it to all the world to keep it safe.
XVII How Should the Teacher of God Spend His Day?
1. To the advanced teacher of God this question is meaningless. There is no
program, for the lessons in the curriculum [M106] change each day. Yet he [M107] is
sure of but one thing; they do not change at random. Seeing this, and
understanding it is true, he rests content. He will be told all that his role
should be, this day and every day. And those who share that role with him will
find him, so they can learn the lessons for the day together. Not one is absent
whom he needs; not one is sent without a learning goal already set, and one
which can be met [M108] that very day. For the advanced teacher of God, then,
this question is superfluous. It has been asked and answered, and he keeps in
constant contact with the Answer. He is set, and [M109] sees the road on which he
walks stretch surely and smoothly before him.
2. But what about those who have not reached his certainty? They are not yet
ready for such lack of structuring on their own part. What must they do to
learn to give the day to God? There are some general rules which do apply,
although each one must use them as best he can in his own way. Routines as such
are dangerous, because they easily become gods in their own right, threatening
the very goals for which they were set up. Broadly speaking, then, it can be
said
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that it is well to start the day right. It is always possible to begin again,
should the day begin with error. Yet there are obvious advantages in terms of
saving time if the need for this can be avoided [M110].
3. At the beginning it is wise to think in terms of time. This is by no
means the ultimate criterion, but at the outset it is probably the simplest to
observe. The saving of time [M111] is an essential early emphasis which, although
it remains important throughout the learning process, becomes less and less
emphasized. At the outset, we can safely say that time devoted to starting the
day right does indeed save time. How much time should be so spent? This must
depend on the teacher of God himself. He cannot claim that title until he has
gone through the Workbook, since we are learning within the framework of our
course. After completion of the more structured practice periods which the
Workbook contains, individual need becomes the chief consideration.
4. This course is always practical. It may be that the teacher of God is not
in a situation which [M112] fosters quiet thought as he awakes. If this is so,
let him but remember that he chooses to spend time with God as soon as possible,
and let him do so. Duration is not the major concern. One can easily sit still
an hour with closed eyes, and accomplish nothing. One can as easily give God
only an instant, and in that instant join with Him completely. Perhaps the one
generalization that can be made is this; as soon as possible after waking take
your quiet time, continuing a minute or two after you begin to find it
difficult. You may find that the difficulty will diminish and drop away. If
not, that is the time to stop.
5. The same procedures should be followed at night. Perhaps your quiet time
should be fairly early in the evening, if it is not feasible for you to take it
just before going to sleep. It is not wise to lie down for it. It is better to
sit up, in whatever position you prefer. Having gone through the Workbook you
must have come to some conclusions in this respect. If possible,
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however, just before sleeping [M113] is a desirable time to devote to God. It
sets your mind into a pattern of rest, and orients you away from fear. If it is
expedient to spend this time earlier, at least be sure that you do not forget a
brief period,- not more than a moment will do,- in which you close your eyes and
think of God.
6. There is one thought in particular that should be remembered throughout
the day. It is a thought of pure joy; a thought of peace, a thought of
limitless release, - limitless because all things are freed within it. You
think you made a place of safety for yourself. You think you made a power that
can save you from all the fearful things you see in dreams. It is not so. Your
safety lies not there. What you give up is merely the illusion of protecting
illusions. And it is this you fear, and only this. How foolish to be so afraid
of nothing! Nothing at all! Your defenses will not work, but you are not in
danger. You have no need of them. Recognize this and they will disappear. And
only then will you accept your real protection.
7. How simply and how easily does time [M114] slip by for the teacher of God
who has accepted His protection! All that he did before in the name of safety
no longer interests him. For he is safe, and knows it is [M115] so. He has a
Guide Who will not fail. He need make no distinctions among the problems he
perceives, for He to Whom he turns with all of them recognizes no order of
difficulty in resolving them. He is as safe in the present as he was before
illusions were accepted into his mind, and as he will be when he has let them
go. There is no difference in his state at different times and different
places, because they are all one to God. This is his safety. And he has no
need for more than this.
8. Yet there will be temptations along the way the teacher of God has yet to
travel, and he has need of reminding himself throughout the day of his
protection. How can he do this, particularly during the time when his mind is
occupied with external things? He can but try, and his success depends on his
conviction that he will succeed. He must be sure success is not of him, but
will be given him at any
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time, in any place and circumstance he calls for it. There are times his
certainty will waver, and the instant this occurs he will return to earlier
attempts to place reliance on himself alone. Forget not this is magic, and
that [M116] magic is a sorry substitute for true assistance. It is not good
enough for God’s teacher because it is not good [M117] enough for God’s Son.
9. The avoidance of magic is the avoidance of temptation. For all temptation
is nothing more than the attempt to substitute another will for God’s. These
attempts may indeed seem frightening, yet [M118] they are merely pathetic. They
can have no effects; neither good nor bad, neither rewarding nor demanding
sacrifice, healing nor destructive, quieting nor fearful. When all magic is
recognized as merely nothing, the teacher of God has reached the most advanced
state. All intermediate lessons will but lead to this, and bring this goal
nearer to recognition. For magic of any kind, in any form [M119], simply does
nothing. Its powerlessness is the reason it can be so easily escaped. What has
no effects can hardly terrify.
10. There is no substitute for the Will of God. In simple statement, it is to
this simple [M120] fact that the teacher of God devotes his day. Each substitute
he may accept as real can but deceive him. But he is safe from all deception if
he so decides. Perhaps he needs to remember "God is with me. I cannot be
deceived." Perhaps he prefers other words, or only one or none at all. Yet each
temptation to accept magic as true must be abandoned through his recognition not
that it is fearful, not that it is sinful, not that it is dangerous, but merely
that it is meaningless. Rooted in sacrifice and separation, two aspects of one
error and no more, he merely chooses to give up all that he never had. And for
this "sacrifice" is Heaven restored to his awareness.
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11. Is not this an exchange that you would want? The world would gladly make
it, if it knew it could be made. It is God's teachers who must teach it that it
can. And so it is their function to make sure that they have learned it. No
risk is possible throughout the day except to put your trust in magic, for it is
only this that leads to pain. "There is no will but God's." His teachers know
that this is so, and have learned that everything but this is magic. All belief
in magic is maintained by just one simple-minded illusion; -- that it works.
All through his training, every day and hour, and even every minute and second,
must God's teachers learn to recognize the forms of magic and perceive their
meaninglessness. Fear is withdrawn from them and so they go. And thus the Gate
of Heaven is reopened, and its light can shine again on an untroubled mind.
XVIII How Do God’s Teachers Deal With Their Pupils’ Thoughts Of Magic?
1. This is a crucial question both for teacher and pupil [M121]. If this issue
is mishandled, the teacher of God has hurt himself and has also attacked his
pupil. This strengthens fear and makes the magic seem quite real to both of
them. How to deal with magic thus becomes a major lesson for the teacher of God
to master. His first responsibility in this is not to attack it. If a magic
thought arouses anger in any form, God's teacher [M122] can be sure that he is
strengthening his own belief in sin and has condemned himself. He can be sure
as well that he has asked for depression, pain, fear and disaster to come to
him. Let him remember, then, it is not this that he would teach because it is
not this that he would learn.
2. There is, however, a temptation to respond to magic in a way that
reinforces it. Nor is this always obvious. It can, in fact, be easily
concealed beneath a wish to help. It is this double wish that makes the help of
little value, and must lead to undesired outcomes. Nor should it be forgotten
that the outcome which [M123] results will always come to teacher and to
pupil [M124]. How many times has it been emphasized that you give but to
yourself? And where could this be better shown than in the kinds of help the
teacher gives to those who need his aid? Here is his gift
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most clearly given him. For he will give only what he has chosen for himself.
And in this gift is his judgment upon the holy Son of God.
3. It is easiest to let error be corrected where it is most apparent, and
errors can be recognized by their results. A lesson truly taught can lead to
nothing but release for teacher and pupil, who have shared in one intent.
Attack can enter only if perception of separate goals has entered. And this
must indeed have been the case if the result is anything but joy. The single
aim of the teacher turns the divided goal of the pupil into one direction, with
the call for help becoming his one appeal. This then is easily responded to
with just one answer, and this answer will enter the teacher’s mind unfailingly.
From there it shines into his pupil’s mind, making it one with his.
4. Perhaps it will be helpful to remember that no one can be angry at a fact.
It is always an interpretation that gives rise to negative emotions, regardless
of their seeming justification by what appears as fact [M125], regardless, too, of
the intensity of the anger which [M126] is aroused. It may be merely slight
irritation, perhaps too mild to be even clearly recognized. Or it may also take
the form of intense rage, accompanied by thoughts of violence, fantasized [M127]
or apparently acted out. It does not matter. All of these reactions are the
same. They obscure the truth, and this can never be a matter of degree. Either
truth is apparent or it is not. It cannot be partially recognized. Who is
unaware of truth must see [M128] illusions.
5. Anger in response to perceived magic thoughts is the [M129] basic cause of
fear. Consider what this reaction means, and its centrality in the world’s
thought system becomes apparent. A magic thought, by its mere presence,
acknowledges a separation from God. It states, in the clearest form possible,
that the mind which thinks it [M130] believes it has a separate will that can
oppose the Will of God and succeed. That this can hardly be a fact is obvious.
Yet that it can be believed as fact is surely so [M131]. And herein lies the
birthplace of guilt. Who usurps the place of God and takes it for himself now
has a deadly "enemy." And he must stand alone in his protection, and make
himself a shield to keep him safe from fury that can never be abated and
vengeance that can never be satisfied.
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6. How can this unfair battle be resolved? Its ending is inevitable, for its
outcome must be death. How then can one believe in one's defenses? Magic again
must help. Forget the battle. Accept it as a fact and then forget it. Do not
remember the impossible odds against you. Do not remember the immensity of the
"enemy," and do not think about your frailty in comparison. Accept your
separation, but do not remember how it came about. Believe that you have won
it, but do not retain the slightest memory of Who your great "opponent" really
is. Projecting your "forgetting" onto Him, it seems to you He has forgotten,
too.
7. But what will now be your reaction to all magic thoughts? They can but
reawaken sleeping guilt, which you have hidden but have not let go. Each one
says clearly to your frightened mind, "You have usurped the place of God. Think
not He has forgotten." Here we have the fear of God most starkly represented.
For in that thought has guilt already raised madness to the throne of God
Himself. And now there is no hope except [M132] to kill. Here is salvation now.
An angry Father pursues His guilty Son. Kill or be killed, for here alone is
choice. Beyond this there is none, for what was done cannot be done without.
The stain of blood can never be removed, and anyone who bears this stain on him
must meet with death.
8. Into this hopeless situation God sends His teachers. They bring the
light of hope from God Himself. There is a Way in which escape is possible. It
can be learned and taught, but it requires patience and abundant willingness.
Given that, the lesson’s manifest simplicity stands out like an intense white
light against a black horizon, for such it is. If anger comes from an
interpretation and not a fact, it is never justified. Once this is even dimly
grasped, the Way is open. Now it is possible to take the next step. The
interpretation can be changed at last. Magic thoughts need not lead to
condemnation, for they do not really have the power to give rise to guilt. And
so they can be overlooked, and thus forgiven [M133] in the truest sense.
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9. Madness but seems terrible. In truth it has no power to make anything.
Like the magic which becomes its servant, it neither attacks nor protects. To
see it and to recognize its thought system is to look on nothing. Can nothing
give rise to anger? Hardly so. Remember then, teacher of God, that anger
recognizes a reality that is not there; yet is the anger certain witness that
you do believe in it as fact. Now is escape impossible until you see you have
responded to your own interpretation, which you have projected on an outside
world. Let this grim sword be taken from you now. There is no death [M134].
This sword does not exist. The fear of God is causeless. But His Love is Cause
of everything beyond all fear, and thus forever real and always true.
XIX How Is Correction Made?
Correction of a lasting nature,-- and only this is true correction,--
cannot be made until the teacher of God has ceased to confuse interpretation
with fact, or illusion with truth. If he argues with his pupil about a magic
thought, attacks it, tries to establish its error or demonstrate its falsity, he
is but witnessing to its reality. Depression is then inevitable, for he has
"proved" both to his pupil and himself that it is their task to escape from what
is real. And this can only be impossible. Reality is changeless. Magic
thoughts are but illusions. Otherwise salvation would be only the same age old
impossible dream in but another form. Yet the dream of salvation has new
content. It is not the form alone in which the difference lies.
2. God's teachers' major lesson is to learn how to react to magic thoughts
wholly without anger. Only in this way can they proclaim the truth about
themselves. Through them, the Holy Spirit can now speak of the reality of the
Son of God. Now He can remind the world of sinlessness, the one unchanged,
unchangeable condition of all that God created. Now He can speak the Word of
God to listening ears, and bring Christ's vision to eyes that see. Now is He
free to teach all minds the truth of what they are, so they will gladly be
returned to Him. And now is guilt forgiven, overlooked completely in His sight
and in God's Word.
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3. Anger but screeches, "Guilt is real!" Reality is blotted [M135] out as this
insane belief is taken as replacement for God's Word. The body's eyes now
"see"; its ears alone are thought to [M136] hear. Its little space and tiny
breath become the measure of reality. And truth becomes diminutive and
meaningless. Correction has one answer to all this, and to the world that rests
on this:
"You but mistake interpretation for the truth. And you are wrong.
But a mistake is not a sin, nor has reality been taken from its throne by
your mistakes. God reigns forever, and His laws alone prevail upon you and
upon the world. His Love
remains the only thing there is. Fear is illusion, for you are like Him."
4. In order to heal, it thus becomes essential for the teacher of God to let
all his own mistakes be corrected. If he senses even the faintest hint of
irritation in himself as he responds to anyone, let him instantly realize that
he has made an interpretation which is not true. Then let him turn within to
his Internal [M137] Guide, and let Him Judge what the response should be. So is
he healed, and in his healing is his pupil healed with him. The sole
responsibility of God's teacher is to accept the Atonement for himself.
Atonement means correction, or the undoing of errors. When this has been
accomplished, the teacher of God becomes a miracle worker by definition. His
sins have been forgiven him, and he no longer condemns himself. How can he then
condemn anyone? And who is there whom his forgiveness can fail to heal?"
XX What Is Justice?
1. Justice is the divine correction for injustice. Injustice is the basis
for all the judgments of the world. Justice corrects the interpretations to
which injustice gives rise, and cancels them out. Neither justice nor
injustice exists in Heaven, for error is impossible and correction meaningless.
In this world, however, forgiveness depends on justice, since all attack can
only be unjust. Justice is the Holy Spirit's verdict upon the world. Except in
His judgment justice is
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impossible, for no one in the world is capable of making only just
interpretations and laying all injustices aside. If God’s Son were fairly
judged, there would be no need for salvation. The thought of separation would
have been forever inconceivable.
2. Justice, like its opposite, is an interpretation. It is, however, the one
interpretation that leads to truth. This becomes possible because, while it is
not true in itself, justice includes nothing that opposes truth. There is no
inherent conflict between justice and truth; one is but the first small step in
the direction of the other. The path becomes quite different as one goes along.
Nor could all the magnificence, the grandeur of the scene and the enormous
opening vistas that rise to meet one as he travels on [M138], be foretold from the
outset. Yet even these, whose splendor reaches indescribable heights as one
proceeds, fall short indeed of all that ’waits [M139] when the pathway ceases and
time ends with it. But somewhere one must start. Justice is the beginning.
3. All concepts of your brothers and yourself; all fears of future states and
all concern [M140] about the past stem from injustice. Here is the lens which,
held before the body’s eyes, distorts perception and brings witness of the
distorted world back to the mind that made the lens and holds it very dear.
Selectively and arbitrarily is every concept of the world built up [M141] just
this way. "Sins" are perceived and justified by this [M142] careful selectivity
in which all thought of wholeness must be lost. Forgiveness has no place in
such a scheme, for not one "sin" but seems forever true.
4. Salvation is God’s justice. It restores to your awareness the wholeness
of the fragments you perceive as broken off and separate. And it is this that
overcomes the fear of death, [M143] for separate fragments must decay and die, but
wholeness is immortal. It remains forever and forever like its Creator, being
one with Him. God’s Judgment is His justice. Onto this,-- a judgment wholly
lacking in condemnation; an evaluation based entirely on love,-- you have
projected your injustice, attributing to [M144] God the lens of warped perception
through which you look. Now it belongs to Him and not to you. You are afraid
of Him, and do not see you hate and fear your Self as enemy.
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5. Pray for God's justice, and do not confuse His mercy with your own
insanity. Perception can make whatever picture the mind desires to see.
Remember this. In this lies either Heaven or hell, as you elect. God's justice
points to Heaven just because it is entirely impartial. It accepts all evidence
that is brought before it, omitting nothing and assessing nothing as separate
and apart from all the rest. From this one standpoint does it judge, and this
alone. Here all attack and condemnation become [M145] meaningless and
indefensible. Perception rests, the mind is still, and light returns again.
Vision is now restored. What had been lost has now been found [M146]. The peace
of God descends on all the world, and we can see. And we can see!
XXI What is the Peace of God [M147]?
1. It has been said that there is a kind of peace that is not of this
world [M148]. How is it recognized? How is it found? And being found, how can
it be retained? Let us consider each of these questions separately, for each
reflects a different step along the way.
2. First, how can the peace of God be recognized? God's peace is recognized
at first by just one thing; in every way it is totally unlike all previous
experiences. It calls to mind nothing that went before. It brings with it no
past associations. It is a new thing entirely. There is a contrast, yes,
between this thing and all the past. But strangely, it is not a contrast of
true differences. The past just slips away, and in its place is everlasting
quiet. Only that. The contrast first perceived is [M149] merely gone. Quiet has
reached to cover everything.
3. How is this quiet found? No one can fail to find it who but seeks out its
conditions. God’s peace can never come where anger is, for anger must deny that
peace exists [M150]. Who sees anger as justified in any way or any circumstance
proclaims that peace is meaningless, and must believe that it cannot exist. In
this condition, peace cannot be found. Therefore, forgiveness is the necessary
condition for finding the peace of God. More than this, given forgiveness there
must be peace. For what except attack will lead to war? And what but peace is
opposite to war? Here the initial contrast stands out clear and apparent. Yet
when peace is found, the war
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is meaningless. And it is conflict now that is perceived as non-existent and
unreal.
4. How is the peace of God retained, once it is found? Returning anger, in
whatever form, will drop the heavy curtain once again, and the belief that peace
cannot exist will certainly return. War is again accepted as the one reality.
Now must you once again lay down your sword, although you will [M151] not
recognize that you have picked it up again. But you will learn, as you remember
even faintly now what happiness was yours without it, that you must have taken
it again as your defense. Stop for a moment now and think of this: Is conflict
what you want, or is God’s peace the better choice? Which gives you more? A
tranquil mind is not a little gift. Would you not rather live than choose to
die?
5. Living is joy, but death can only weep. You see in death escape from what
you made. But this you do not see; that you made death, and it is but illusion
of an end. Death cannot be escape, because it is not life in which the problem
lies. Life has no opposite, for it is God. Life and death seem to be opposites
because you have decided [M152] death ends life. Forgive the world, and you will
understand that everything which [M153] God created cannot have an end, and
nothing He did not create is real. In this one sentence is our course
explained. In this one sentence is our practicing given its one direction. And
in this [M154] the Holy Spirit’s whole curriculum is specified exactly as it is.
6. What is the peace of God? No more than this; the simple understanding
that His Will is wholly without opposite. There is no thought that contradicts
His Will, yet can be true. The contrast between His Will and yours but seemed
to be reality. In truth there is [M155] no conflict, because His Will is yours.
Now is the mighty Will of God Himself His gift to you. He does not seek to keep
it for Himself. Why would you seek to keep your tiny, frail imaginings apart
from Him? The Will of God is One and all there is. This is your heritage. The
universe beyond the sun and stars, and all the thoughts of which you can
conceive, belong to you. God’s peace is the condition for His Will. Attain His
peace, and you remember Him.
M(52) (August 30, 1972)
XXII What is the Role of Words in Healing?
1. Strictly speaking, words play no part at all in healing. The motivating
factor is prayer, or asking. What you ask for you receive [M156]. But this
refers to the prayer of the heart, not to the words you use in praying.
Sometimes the words and the prayer are contradictory; sometimes they agree. It
does not matter. God does not understand words, for they were made by separated
minds to keep them in the illusion of separation. Words can be helpful,
particularly for the beginner, in helping concentration and facilitating the
exclusion or at least the control of extraneous thoughts. Let us not forget,
however, that words are but symbols of symbols. They are thus twice removed
from reality.
2. As symbols, words have quite specific references. Even when they seem
most abstract, the picture which [M157] comes to mind is apt to be very concrete.
Unless a specific referent does occur to the mind in conjunction with the word,
the word has little or no practical meaning and thus cannot help the healing
process. The prayer of the heart does not really ask for concrete things. It
always requests some kind of experience, the specific things asked for being the
bringers of the desired experience in the judgment [M158] of the asker. The
words, then, are symbols for the thing [M159] asked for, but the things themselves
but stand for the experiences which [M160] are hoped for.
3. The prayer for things of this world will bring experiences of this world.
If the prayer of the heart asks for this, this will be given because this will
be received. It is impossible that the prayer of the heart remain unanswered in
the perception of the one who asks. If he asks for the impossible, if he wants
what does not exist or seeks for illusions in his heart, all this becomes his
own. The power of his decision offers it to him as he requests. Herein lie
hell and Heaven. The sleeping Son of God has but this power left to him. It is
enough. His words do not matter. Only the Word of God has any meaning, because
it symbolizes that which has no human symbols at all. The Holy Spirit alone
understands what this Word stands for. And this, too, is enough.
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4. Is the teacher of God then to avoid the use of words in his teaching? No,
indeed. There are many who must be reached through words, being as yet unable
to hear in silence. The teacher of God must, however, learn to use words in a
new way. Gradually, he learns how to let his words be chosen for him by ceasing
to decide for himself what he will say. This process is merely a special case
of the Workbook lesson [M161] "I will step back and let Him lead the way." The
teacher of God accepts the words which are offered him and gives as he receives.
He does not control the direction of his speaking. He listens and hears and
speaks.
5. A major hindrance in this aspect of his learning is the teacher of God’s
fear about the validity of what he hears. And what he hears may indeed be quite
startling. It may also seem to be [M162] irrelevant to the presented problem as
he perceives it, and may, in fact, confront him [M163] with a situation that
appears to be very embarrassing [M164]. All these are judgments which have no
value. They are his own, coming from the shabby self-perception that [M165] he
would leave behind. Judge not the words that come to you, but offer them in
confidence. They are far wiser than your own. God’s teachers have God’s Word
behind their symbols. And He Himself gives to the words they use the power of
His Spirit, raising them from meaningless symbols to the call of Heaven itself.
XXIII How are Healing and Atonement Related?
1. Healing and Atonement are not related; they are identical. There is no
order of difficulty in miracles because there are no degrees of Atonement. It
is the one complete concept possible in this world, because it is the source of
a wholly unified perception. Partial Atonement is a meaningless idea, just as
special areas of hell in Heaven is [M166] inconceivable. Accept Atonement and you
are healed. Atonement is the Word of God. Accept His Word and what remains to
make sickness possible? Accept His Word and every miracle has been
accomplished. To forgive is to heal. The teacher of God has taken accepting
the Atonement for himself as his only function. What is there then he cannot
heal? What miracle can be withheld from him?
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2. The progress of the teacher of God may be slow or rapid, depending on
whether he recognizes the Atonement’s inclusiveness or for a time excludes some
problem areas from it. In some cases, there is a sudden and complete awareness
of the perfect applicability of the lesson of [M167] Atonement to all situations.
This [M168], however, is comparatively rare. The teacher of God may have accepted
the function God has given him long before he has learned all that his
acceptance holds out to him. It is only the end that is certain. Anywhere
along the way [M169], the necessary realization of inclusiveness may reach him.
If the way seems long, let him be content. He has decided on the direction he
will [M170] take. What more is [M171] asked of him? And having done what was
required, would God withhold the rest?
3. That forgiveness is healing needs to be understood, if the teacher of God
is to make progress. The idea that a body can be sick is a central concept in
the ego’s thought system. This thought gives the body autonomy, separates it
from the mind, and keeps the idea of attack inviolate. If the body could be
sick Atonement would be impossible. A body that can order a mind to do as it
sees fit would [M172] merely take the place of God and prove salvation is
impossible. What then is left to heal? The body has become lord of the mind.
How could the mind be returned to the Holy Spirit unless the body is killed?
And who would want salvation at such a price?
4. Certainly sickness does not appear to be a decision. Nor would anyone
actually believe he wants to be sick. Perhaps he can accept the idea in theory,
but it is rarely if ever consistently applied to all specific forms of sickness,
both in the individual’s perception of himself and of all others as well. Nor
is it at this level that the teacher of God calls forth the miracle of healing.
He overlooks the mind and body, seeing only the Face of Christ shining in front
of him, correcting all mistakes and healing all perception. Healing is the
result of the recognition, by God’s teacher, of Who it is that is in need of
healing. This recognition has no special reference. It is true of all things
that God created. In it are all illusions healed.
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5. When a teacher of God fails to heal, it is because he has forgotten Who he
is. Another’s sickness thus becomes his own. In allowing this to happen, he
has identified with another’s ego, and has thus confused him with a body. In so
doing, he has refused to accept [M173] Atonement for himself, and can hardly offer
it to his brother in Christ’s Name. He will, in fact, be unable to recognize
his brother at all, for his Father did not create bodies, and so he is seeing in
a [M174] brother only the unreal. Mistakes do not correct mistakes, and distorted
perception does not heal. Step back now, teacher of God. You have been wrong.
Lead not the way, for you have lost it. Turn quickly to your Teacher, and let
yourself be healed.
6. The offer of Atonement is universal. It is equally applicable to all
individuals in all circumstances. And in it is the power to heal all
individuals of all forms of sickness. Not to believe this is to be unfair to
God, and thus unfaithful to Him. A sick person perceives himself as separate
from God. Would you see him as separate from you? It is your task to heal the
sense of separation that has made him sick. It is your function to recognize
for him that what he believes about himself is not the truth. [M175] It is your
forgiveness that must show him this. Healing is very simple. Atonement is
received and offered. Having been received, it must be accepted. It is in the
receiving, then, that healing lies. All else must follow from this single
purpose.
7. Who can limit the power of God Himself? Who then can say who [M176] can be
healed of what, and what must [M177] remain beyond God’s power to forgive? This
is insanity indeed. It is not up to God’s teachers to set limits upon Him,
because it is not up to them to judge His Son. And to judge His Son is to limit
his Father. Both are equally meaningless. Yet this will not be understood
until God’s teacher recognizes that they are the same mistake. Herein does he
receive Atonement, for he withdraws his judgment from the Son of God, accepting
him as God created him. No longer does he stand apart from God, determining
where healing should be given and where it should be withheld. Now can he say
with God, "This is my beloved Son [M178], created perfect and forever so."
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XXIV Does Jesus Have a Special Place In Healing?
1. God’s gifts can rarely be received directly. Even the most advanced of
God’s teachers will give way to temptation in this world. Would it be fair if
their pupils were denied healing because of this? The Bible says "Ask in the
name of Jesus Christ [M179]." Is this merely an appeal to magic? A name does not
heal, nor does an invocation call forth any special power. What does it mean to
call on Jesus Christ? What does calling on his Name confer? Why is the appeal
to him part of healing?
2. We have repeatedly stated [M180] that one who has perfectly accepted the
Atonement for himself can heal the world. Indeed, he has already done so.
Temptation may recur to others, but never to this One. He has become the risen
Son of God. He has overcome death because he has accepted Life. He has
recognized himself as God created him, and in so doing he has recognized all
living things as part of him. There is now no limit on his power, because it is
the Power of God. So has his name become the Name of God, for he no longer sees
himself as separate from Him.
3. What does this mean to you? It means that in remembering Jesus you are
remembering God. The whole relationship of the Son to the Father lies in him.
His part in the Sonship is also yours, and his completed learning guarantees
your own success. Is he still available for help? What did he say about this?
Remember his promises [M181], and ask yourself honestly whether it is likely [M182]
he will fail to keep them. Can God fail His Son? And can one who is one with
God be unlike Him? Who transcends the body has transcended limitation. Would
the greatest teacher be unavailable to those who follow him?
4. The name of Jesus Christ as such is but a symbol. But it stands for love
that is not of this world. It is a symbol that can safely be used [M183] as a
replacement for the many names of all the gods you pray to [M184]. It becomes the
shining symbol for the Word of God, so close to What it stands for that the
little space between the two is lost the moment that the Name is called to mind.
Remembering His name is to
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give thanks for all the gifts that God has given you. And gratitude to God
becomes the way in which He is remembered, for love cannot be far behind a
grateful heart and thankful mind. God enters easily, for these are the true
conditions for your coming home. [M185]
5. Jesus has led the way. Why would you not be grateful to him? He has
asked for love, but only that he might give it to you. You do not love
yourself. But in his eyes your loveliness is so complete and flawless that he
sees in it an image of his Father. You become the symbol of his Father here on
earth. To you he looks for hope, because in you he sees no limit and no stain
to mar your beautiful perfection. In his eyes Christ’s vision shines in perfect
constancy. He has remained with you. Would you not learn the lesson of
salvation through his learning? Why would you choose to start again, when he
has made the journey for you?
6. No one on earth can grasp what Heaven is, or what its One Creator really
means. Yet we have witnesses. It is to them that wisdom would [M186] appeal.
There have been those whose learning far exceeds what you [M187] can learn. Nor
would we teach the limitations we have laid on us. No one who has become a true
and dedicated teacher of God forgets his brothers. Yet what he can offer them
is limited by what he learns himself. Then turn to one who laid all limits by,
and went beyond the farthest reach of learning. He will take you with him, for
he did not go alone. And you were with him then, as you are now.
7. This course has come from him because his words have reached you in a
language you can love and understand. Are other teachers possible, to lead the
way to those who speak in different tongues and appeal to different symbols?
Certainly there are. Would God leave anyone without a very present help in time
of trouble; a Savior who can symbolize Himself? Yet do we need a many-faceted
curriculum, not because of content differences but because symbols must shift
and change to suit the need. Jesus has come to answer yours. In him you find
God’s Answer. Do you then teach with him [M188], for he is with you; he is always
here.
M(58) (Sept. 7)
XXV Is Reincarnation True?
1. In the ultimate sense, reincarnation is impossible. There is no past nor
future, and the idea of birth into a body has no meaning either once or many
times. Reincarnation cannot, then, be true in any real sense. Our only
question should be, "Is the concept helpful?" And that depends, of course, on
what it is used for. If it is used to strengthen the recognition of the eternal
nature of life it is helpful indeed. Is any other question about it really
useful in lighting up the way? Like many other beliefs, it can be bitterly
misused. At least, such misuse offers preoccupation and perhaps pride in the
past. At worst, it induces inertia in the present. In between, many kinds of
folly are possible.
2. Reincarnation would not, under any circumstances, be the problem to be
dealt with now. If it were responsible for some of the difficulties the
individual faces now, his task would still be only to escape from them now. If
he is laying the groundwork for a future life, he can still work out his
salvation only now. To some there may be comfort in the concept, and if it
heartens them its value is self-evident. It is certain, however, that the way
to salvation can be found by those who believe in reincarnation and by those who
do not. The idea cannot, therefore, be regarded as essential to the curriculum.
There is always some risk in seeing the present in terms of the past. There is
always some good in any thought which strengthens the idea that life and the
body are not the same.
3. For our purposes, it would not be helpful to take any definite stand on
reincarnation. A teacher of God should be as helpful to those who believe in it
as to those who do not. If a definite stand on it [M189] were required of him, it
would merely limit his usefulness as well as his own decision-making. Our
course is not concerned with any concept that is not acceptable to anyone,
regardless of his formal beliefs. His ego will be enough for him to cope with,
and it is not [M190] part of wisdom to add sectarian controversies to his burdens.
Nor would there be an advantage in his premature acceptance of the course
merely because it advocates a long-held belief of his own.
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4. It cannot be too strongly emphasized that this course aims at a complete
reversal of thought. When this is finally accomplished issues such as the
validity of reincarnation become meaningless. Until then they are likely to be
merely controversial. The teacher of God is therefore wise to step away from
all such questions, for he has much to teach and learn apart from them. He
should both learn and teach that theoretical issues but waste time, draining it
away from its appointed purpose. If there are aspects to any concept or belief
that will be helpful, he will be told about it. He will also be told how to use
it. What more need he know.
5. Does this mean that the teacher of God should not believe in reincarnation
himself, or discuss it with others who do? The answer
is, certainly not. If he does believe in reincarnation, it would be a mistake
for him to renounce the belief unless his Internal Teacher so advised. And this
is most unlikely. He might be advised that he is misusing the belief in some
way which [M191] is detrimental to his pupil's advance or his own.
Reinterpretation would then be recommended because it would be necessary. All
that must be recognized, however, is [M192] that birth was not the beginning and
death is not the end. Yet even this much is not required of the beginner. He
need merely accept the idea that what he knows is not necessarily all there is
to learn. His journey has begun.
6. The emphasis of this course always remains the same; -- it is at this
moment that complete salvation is offered you, and it is at this moment that you
can accept it. This is still your one responsibility. Atonement might be
equated with total escape from the past and total lack of interest in the
future. Heaven is here. There is nowhere else. Heaven is now. There is no
other time. No teaching that does not lead to this is of concern to God's
teachers. All beliefs will point to this if properly interpreted. In this
sense it can be said that their truth lies in their usefulness. All beliefs
that lead to progress should be honored. This is the sole criterion this course
requires. No more than this is necessary.
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XXVI Are "Psychic" Powers Desirable?
1. The answer to this question is much like the preceding one. There are, of
course, no "unnatural" powers, and it is obviously merely an appeal to magic to
make up a power that does not exist. It is equally obvious, however, that each
individual has many abilities of which he is unaware. As his awareness
increases, he may well develop abilities that seem quite startling to him. Yet
nothing that [M193] he can do can compare even in the slightest with the glorious
surprise of remembering Who he is. Let all his learning and all his effort [M194]
be directed toward this one great final surprise, and he will not be content to
be delayed by the little ones that may come to him on the way.
2. Certainly there are many "psychic" powers that are clearly in line with
this course. Communication is not limited to the small range of channels the
world recognizes. If it were there would be little point in trying to teach
salvation. It would be impossible to do so. The limits the world places on
communication is [M195] the chief barrier to direct experience of the Holy Spirit,
Whose Presence is always there and Whose Voice is available but for the hearing.
These limits are placed out of fear, for without them the walls that surround
all the separate places of the world would fall at the holy sound of His
Voice [M196]. Who transcends these limits in any way is merely becoming more
natural. He is doing nothing special, and there is no magic in his
accomplishments.
3. The seemingly new abilities that may be gathered on the way can be very
helpful. Given to the Holy Spirit, and used under His direction, they are
very [M197] valuable teaching aids. To this, the question of how they arise is
irrelevant. The only important consideration is how they are used. Taking
them [M198] as ends in themselves, no matter how this is done, will delay
progress. Nor does their value lie in proving anything; achievements from the
past, unusual attunement with the "unseen," or special favors from God. God
gives no special favors, and no one has any powers that are not available to
everyone. Only by tricks of magic are special powers "demonstrated."
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4. Nothing that is genuine is used to deceive. The Holy Spirit is incapable
of deception, and He can use only genuine abilities. What is used for magic is
useless to Him, but what He uses cannot be used for magic. There is, however, a
particular appeal in unusual abilities which [M199] can be curiously tempting.
Here are strengths which the Holy Spirit wants and needs. Yet the ego sees in
these same strengths an opportunity to glorify itself. Strengths turned to
weakness are tragedy indeed. Yet what is not given to the Holy Spirit must be
given to weakness, for what is withheld from love is given to fear, and will be
fearful in consequence [M200].
5. Even those who no longer value the material things of the world may still
be deceived by "psychic" powers. As investment has been withdrawn from the
world’s material gifts the ego has been seriously threatened. It may still be
strong enough to rally under this new temptation to win back strength by guile.
Many have not seen through the ego’s defenses here, although they are not
particularly subtle. Yet, given a remaining wish to be deceived, deception is
made easy. Now the "power" is no longer a genuine ability, and cannot be used
dependably. It is almost inevitable that, unless the individual changes his
mind about its purpose, he will bolster [M201] its uncertainties with increasing
deception.
6. Any ability that anyone develops has the potentiality for good. To this
there is no exception. And the more unusual and unexpected the power, the
greater its [M202] potential usefulness. Salvation has need of all abilities, for
what the world would destroy the Holy Spirit would restore. "Psychic" abilities
have been used to call upon the devil, which merely means to strengthen the ego.
Yet here is also a great channel of hope and healing in the Holy Spirit’s
service. Those who have developed "psychic" powers have merely [M203] let some of
the limitations they laid upon their minds be lifted. It can be but
greater [M204] limitations they lay upon themselves if they utilize their
increased freedom for further [M205] imprisonment. The Holy Spirit needs these
gifts, and those who offer them to Him and Him alone go with Christ’s gratitude
upon their hearts, and His holy sight not far behind.
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XXVII Can God Be Reached Directly?
1. God indeed can be reached directly, for there is no distance between Him
and His Son. His awareness is in everyone’s memory and His Word is written on
everyone’s heart [M206]. Yet this awareness and this memory can arise across the
threshold of the unconscious [M207] only where all barriers to truth have been
removed. In how many is this the case? Here then is the role of God’s
teachers. They too have not attained the necessary understanding as yet, but
they have joined with others. This is what sets them apart from the world. And
it is this that enables others to leave the world with them. Alone they are
nothing. But in their joining is the Power of God.
2. There are those who have reached God directly, retaining no trace of
worldly limits and remembering their own Identity perfectly. These might be
called the Teachers of teachers because, although they are no longer visible,
their image can yet be called upon. And they will appear when and where it is
helpful for them to do so. To those to whom such appearances would be
frightening, they give their ideas. No one can call on them in vain. Nor is
there anyone of whom they are unaware. All needs are known to them, and all
mistakes are recognized and overlooked by them. The time will come when this is
understood. And meanwhile, they give all their gifts to the teachers of God who
look to them for help, asking all things in Their Name and in no other.
3. Sometimes a teacher of God may have a brief experience of direct union
with God. In this world, it is almost impossible that this endure. It can,
perhaps, be won after much devotion and dedication, and then be maintained for
most [M208] of the time on earth. But this is so rare that it cannot be
considered a realistic goal. If it happens, so be it. If it does not happen,
so be it as well. All worldly states must be illusory. If God were reached
directly in sustained awareness, the body would not be long maintained. Those
who have laid the body down merely to extend their helpfulness to those
remaining behind are few indeed. And they need helpers who are still in bondage
and still asleep, so that by their awakening can God’s Voice be heard.
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4. Do not despair, then, because of limitations. It is your function to
escape from them, but not to be without them. If you would be heard by those
who suffer, you must speak their language. If you would be Saviors, you must
understand what needs to be escaped. Salvation is not theoretical. Behold the
problem, ask for the answer, and then accept the answer [M209] when it comes. Nor
will its coming be long delayed. All the help you can accept will be provided,
and not one need you have will not be met. Let us not, then, be too concerned
with goals for which you are not ready. God takes you where you are and
welcomes you. What more could you desire, when this is all you need?
XXVIII What Is Death?
1. Death is the central dream from which all illusions stem. Is it not
madness to think of life as being born, aging, losing vitality, and dying in the
end? We have asked this question before, but now we need to consider it
still [M210] more carefully. It is the one fixed, unchangeable belief of the
world that all things in it are born only to die. This is regarded as "the way
of nature," not to be raised to question, but to be accepted as the "natural"
law of life. The cyclical, the changing and unsure; the undependable and the
unsteady, waxing and waning in a certain way upon a certain path,-- all this is
taken as the Will of God. And no one asks if a benign Creator could will this.
2. In this perception of the universe as God created it, it would not be
possible [M211] to think of Him as loving. For who decreed that all things pass
away, ending in dust and disappointment and despair, can [M212] but be feared. He
holds your little life in his hand but by a thread, ready to break it off
without regret or care, perhaps today. Or if he waits, yet is the ending
certain. Who loves such a god knows not of love, because he has denied that
life is real. Death has become life’s symbol. His world is now a battleground,
where contradiction reigns and opposites make endless war. Where there is death
is peace impossible.
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3. Death is the symbol of the fear of God. His Love is blotted out in the
idea, which holds It from awareness like a shield held [M213] to obscure the sun.
The grimness of the symbol is enough to show it cannot co- exist with God. It
holds an image of the Son of God in which he is "laid to rest" in devastation’s
arms, where worms await [M214] to greet him and to last a little while by his
destruction. Yet the worms as well are doomed to be destroyed as certainly.
And so do all things live because of death. Devouring is nature’s "law of
life." God is insane, and fear alone is real.
4. The curious belief that there is part of dying things that may go on apart
from what will die does not proclaim a loving God, nor re-establish any grounds
for trust. If death is real for anything there is no life. Death denies life.
But if there is reality in life, death is denied. No compromise in this is
possible. There is either a god of fear or One of Love. The world attempts a
thousand compromises, and will attempt a thousand more. Not one can be
acceptable to God’s teachers, because not one could be acceptable to God. He
did not make death because He did not make fear. Both are equally meaningless
to Him.
5. The "reality" of death is firmly rooted in the belief that God’s Son is a
body. And if God created bodies, death would indeed be real. But God would not
be loving. There is no point at which the contrast between the perception of
the real world and that of the world of illusions becomes more sharply evident.
Death is indeed the death of God, if He is Love. And now His Own creation must
stand in fear of Him. He is not Father but destroyer. He is not Creator but
avenger. Terrible His Thoughts and fearful His image. To look on His creations
is to die.
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6. "And the last to be overcome will be death [M215]." Of course! Without the
idea of death there is no world. All dreams will end with this one. This is
salvation’s final goal; the end of all illusions. And in death are all
illusions born. What can be born of death and still have life? But what is
born of God and still can die? The inconsistencies, the compromises and the
rituals the world fosters in its vain attempts to cling to death and yet to
think love real are mindless magic, ineffectual and meaningless. God is, and in
Him all created things must be eternal. Do you not see that otherwise He has an
opposite, and fear would be as real as love?
7. Teacher of God, your one assignment could be stated thus: Accept no
compromise in which death plays a part. Do not believe in cruelty, nor let
attack conceal the truth from you. What seems to die has [M216] been misperceived
and carried [M217] to illusion. Now it becomes your task to let the illusion be
carried [M218] to the truth. Be steadfast but in this; be not deceived by the
"reality" of any changing form. Truth neither moves nor wavers nor sinks down
to death and dissolution. And what is the end of death? Nothing but this; the
realization that the Son of God is guiltless now and forever. Nothing but this.
But do not let yourself forget it is not less than this.
M(66)
XXIX What Is the Resurrection?
1. Very simply, the resurrection is the overcoming or surmounting of death.
It is a reawakening or a rebirth; a change of mind about the meaning of the
world. It is the acceptance of the Holy Spirit’s interpretation of the world’s
purpose; the acceptance of the Atonement for oneself. It is the end of dreams
of misery and the glad awareness of the Holy Spirit’s final dream. It is the
recognition of the gifts of God. It is the dream in which the body functions
perfectly, having no function except communication. It is the lesson in which
learning ends, for it is consummated and surpassed with this. It is the
invitation to God to take His final step. It is the relinquishment of all other
purposes, all other interests, all other wishes and all other concerns. It is
the single desire of the Son for the Father.
2. The resurrection is the denial of death, being the assertion of life.
Thus is all the thinking of the world reversed entirely. Life is now recognized
as salvation, and pain and misery of any kind perceived as hell. Love is no
longer feared but gladly welcomed. Idols have disappeared, and the remembrance
of God shines unimpeded across the world. Christ’s face is seen in every living
thing, and nothing is held in darkness apart from the light of forgiveness.
There is no sorrow still upon the earth. The joy of Heaven has come upon it.
3. Here the curriculum ends. From here on no directions are needed. Vision
is wholly corrected and all mistakes undone. Attack is meaningless and peace
has come. The goal of the curriculum has been achieved. Thoughts turn to
Heaven and away from hell. All longings are satisfied, for what remains
unanswered or incomplete? The last illusion spreads over [M219] the world,
forgiving all things and replacing all attack. The whole reversal is
accomplished. Nothing is left to contradict the Word of God. There is no
opposition to the truth. And now the truth can come at last. How quickly will
it come as it is asked to enter and envelop such a world!
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4. All living hearts are tranquil, with a stir of deep anticipation, for the
time of everlasting things is now at hand. There is no death. The Son of God
is free. And in His freedom is the end of fear. No hidden places now remain on
earth to shelter sick illusions, dreams of fear and misperceptions of the
universe. All things are seen in light, and in the light their purpose is
transformed and understood. And we, God’s children, rise up from the dust and
look upon our perfect sinlessness. The song of Heaven sounds around the world,
as it is lifted up and brought to truth.
5. Now there are no distinctions. Differences have disappeared and Love
looks on Itself. What further sight is needed? What remains that vision could
accomplish? We have seen the face of Christ, His sinlessness, His Love behind
all forms, beyond all purposes. Holy are we because His Holiness has set us
free indeed! And we accept His Holiness as ours; as it is. As God created us
so will we be forever and forever, and we wish for nothing but His Will to be
our own. Illusions of another will are [M220] lost, for unity of purpose has been
found.
6. These things await us all, but we are not prepared as yet to welcome them
with joy. As long as any mind remains possessed of evil dreams the thought of
hell is real. God’s teachers have the goal of wakening the minds of those
asleep, and seeing there the vision of Christ’s face to take the place of what
they dream [M221]. The thought of murder is replaced with blessing. Judgment is
laid by, and given Him Whose function judgment is. And in His final judgment is
restored the truth about the holy Son of God. He is redeemed, for he has heard
God’s Word and understood Its meaning. He is free because he let God’s Voice
proclaim the truth. And all he sought before to crucify are resurrected with
him, by his side as he prepares with them to meet his God.
M(68)
XXX As For the Rest
1. This manual is not intended to answer all questions which both teacher and
pupil may raise. In fact, it covers only a few of the more obvious ones, in
terms of a brief summary of some of the major concepts in the text and workbook.
It is not a substitute for either, but merely a supplement. While it is called
a manual for teachers, it must be remembered that only time divides teacher and
pupil, so that the difference is temporary by definition. In some cases, it may
be helpful for the pupil to read the manual first. Others might do better to
begin with the workbook. Still others may need to start at the more abstract
level of the text.
2. Which is for whom? [M222] Who would profit more from prayers alone? Who
needs but a smile, being as yet unready for more? No one should attempt to
answer these questions alone. Surely no teacher of God has come this far
without realizing that. The curriculum is highly individualized. And all
aspects are under the Holy Spirit’s particular care and guidance. Ask and He
will answer. The responsibility is His, and He alone is fit to assume it. To
do so is His function. To refer the questions to Him is yours. Would you want
to be responsible for decisions about which you understand so little? Be glad
you have a Teacher Who cannot make a mistake. His answers are always right.
Would you say that of yours?
3. There is another advantage,-- and a very important one,-- in referring
decisions to the Holy Spirit with increasing frequency. Perhaps you have not
thought of this aspect, but its centrality is obvious. To follow the Holy
Spirit’s guidance is to let yourself be absolved of guilt. It is the essence of
the Atonement. It is the core of the curriculum. The imagined usurping of
functions not your own is the basis of fear. The whole world you see reflects
the illusion you have done so, making fear inevitable. To return the function
to the One To Whom it belongs is thus the escape from fear. And it is this that
lets the memory of love return to
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You. Do not, then, think that following the Holy Spirit’s guidance is necessary
merely because of your own inadequacies. It is the way out of hell for you.
4. Here again is the paradox often referred to in the course. To say, "Of
myself I can do nothing [M223] " is to gain all power. And yet it is but a seeming
paradox. As God created you, you have all power. The image you made of
yourself has none. The Holy Spirit knows the truth about you. The image you
made does not. Yet, despite its obvious and complete ignorance, this image
assumes it knows all things because you have given that belief to it. Such is
your teaching and the teaching of the world which was made to uphold it. But
the Teacher Who knows the truth has not forgotten it. His decisions bring
benefit to all, being wholly devoid of attack and [M224] therefore incapable of
arousing guilt.
5. Who assumes a power that he does not have [M225] is deceiving himself. Yet
to accept the power given him by God is but to acknowledge his Creator and
accept His gifts. And His gifts have no limit. To ask the Holy Spirit to
decide for you is merely [M226] to accept your true inheritance. Does this mean
that you cannot say anything without consulting Him? No, indeed! That would
hardly be practical, and it is the practical with which this course is most
concerned. If you have made it a habit to ask for help when and where you can,
you can be confident that wisdom will be given you when you need it. Prepare
for this each morning, remember God when you can throughout the day, ask the
Holy Spirit’s help when it is feasible to do so, and thank Him for His guidance
at night. And your confidence will be well founded indeed.
M(70)
6. Never forget that the Holy Spirit does not depend on your words. He
understands the requests of your heart and answers them. Does this mean that,
while attack remains attractive to you He will respond with evil? Hardly! For
God has given Him the power to translate your prayers of the heart into His
language [M227]. He understands that an attack is a call for help. And He
responds with help accordingly. God would be cruel if He let your words replace
His Own. A loving father does not let his child harm himself or choose his own
destruction. He may ask for injury, but his father will protect him still. And
how much more than this does your Father love His Son?
7. Remember you are His completion and His Love. Remember your weakness is
His strength [M228]. But do [M229] not read this hastily or wrongly. If His
strength is in you, what you perceive as your weakness is but illusion. And He
has given you the means to prove it so. Ask all things of His Teacher, and all
things are given you. Not in the future but immediately; now. God does not
wait, for waiting implies time and He is timeless. Forget your foolish images,
your sense of frailty and your fear of harm, your dreams of danger and selected
"wrongs." God knows but His Son, and as he was created so he is. In confidence
I place you in His Hands, and I give thanks for you that this is so.
And now in all your doings be you blessed.
God turns to you for help to save the world.
Teacher of God, His thanks He offers you,
And all the world stands silent in the grace
You bring from Him. You are the Son He loves,
And it is given you to be the means
Through which His Voice is heard around the world
To close all things of time, to end the sight
Of all things visible; and to undo
All things that change. Through you is ushered in
A world unseen, unheard, yet truly there.
Holy are you, and in your light the world
M(71)
Reflects your holiness, for you are not
Alone and friendless. I give thanks for you,
And join your efforts on behalf of God,
Knowing they are on my behalf as well
And for all those who walk to God with me.
FINIS [M230]
{
M(72)
Volume III: Manual for Teachers v 3.6. 1
I Introduction.. 1
II Who are God’s Teachers?. 3
III Who are Their Pupils?. 4
IV WHAT ARE THE LEVELS OF TEACHING?. 6
V WHAT ARE THE CHARACTERISTICS OF GOD’S TEACHERS?. 8
A. Introduction. 8
B. Trust 8
C. Honesty. 12
D. Tolerance. 12
E. Gentleness. 13
F. Joy. 14
G. Defenselessness. 14
H. Generosity. 15
I. Patience. 16
J. Faithfulness. 16
K. Open-Mindedness. 17
VI HOW IS HEALING ACCOMPLISHED?. 18
A. Introduction. 18
B. The perceived purpose of sickness. 18
C. The shift in perception. 19
D. The function of the Teacher of God. 20
VII IS HEALING CERTAIN?. 22
VIII SHOULD HEALING BE REPEATED?. 23
IX HOW CAN THE PERCEPTION OF ORDER OF DIFFICULTIES BE AVOIDED?. 25
X ARE CHANGES REQUIRED IN THE LIFE SITUATIONS OF GOD’S TEACHERS?. 27
XI HOW IS JUDGMENT RELINQUISHED?. 28
XII HOW IS PEACE POSSIBLE IN THIS WORLD?. 30
XIII HOW MANY TEACHERS OF GOD ARE NEEDED TO SAVE THE WORLD?. 32
XIV WHAT IS THE REAL MEANING OF SACRIFICE?. 34
XV HOW WILL THE WORLD END?. 37
XVI IS EACH ONE TO BE JUDGED IN THE END?. 39
XVII HOW SHOULD THE TEACHER OF GOD SPEND HIS DAY?. 40
XVIII HOW DO GOD’S TEACHERS DEAL WITH THEIR PUPILS’ THOUGHTS OF MAGIC? 44
XIX HOW IS CORRECTION MADE?. 47
XX WHAT IS JUSTICE?. 48
XXI WHAT IS THE PEACE OF GOD?. 50
XXII WHAT IS THE ROLE OF WORDS IN HEALING?. 52
XXIII HOW ARE HEALING AND ATONEMENT RELATED?. 53
XXIV DOES JESUS HAVE A SPECIAL PLACE IN HEALING?. 56
XXV IS REINCARNATION TRUE?. 58
XXVI ARE "PSYCHIC" POWERS DESIRABLE?. 60
XXVII CAN GOD BE REACHED DIRECTLY?. 62
XXVIII WHAT IS DEATH?. 63
XXIX WHAT IS THE RESURRECTION?. 66
XXX AS FOR THE REST. 68
[M1] FIP inserts "but only to yourself"
[M2] FIP omits "that"
[M3] FIP inserts "really"
[M4] FIP changes "no" to "little"
[M5] Luke 1:79 "To give light to those who sit in darkness and the shadow of
death, To guide our feet into the way of peace."
[M6] Luke 1:77 "To give knowledge of salvation to His people by the remission of
their sins,"
[M7] Matthew 20:16 "So the last will be first, and the first last. For many are
called, but few chosen."
[M8] FIP changes "But" to "Yet"
[M9] Handwriting suggests the insertion of "actually"
[M10] The word "on" here is not present in the typescript. FIP inserts it, and
we agree it smoothes out the sentence.
[M11] FIP changes "which" to "that"
[M12] Typescript and FIP have a sentence break here, it’s not needed and makes
the second part an incomplete sentence.
[M13] Matthew 18:20 "For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I
am there in the midst of them."
[M14] FIP changes "accident" to "chance"
[M15] FIP changes "who happen" to "happening"
[M16] FIP changes "a" to "the"
[M17] Handwriting and FIP inserts "a"
[M18] Handwriting and FIP make this singular due to the insertion of the previous
definite article.
[M19] FIP changes "man" to "adult"
[M20] Handwriting and FIP change "the" to "a"
[M21] FIP inserts "as" after "they"
[M22] FIP adds emphasis
[M23] Handwriting and FIP suggest "the" instead of "a"
[M24] John 15:19 "If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet
because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore
the world hates you." 1 John 4:4 "Ye are of God, my little children, and have
overcome them: because greater is he that is in you than he that is in the
world."
[M25] Typescript has "to", handwriting inserts "through"
[M26] This sentence omitted by FIP, all versions
[M27] FIP changes "upon" to "on"
[M28] FIP omits the word "had"
[M29] FIP inserts "to reach"
[M30] FIP makes this "become" introducing an agreement in number grammar error.
It has to be "what were (…) become" or "what was (…) becomes"
[M31] Handwriting and FIP change this to "to only"
[M32] Handwriting and FIP change "the" to "a"
[M33] FIP changes "from" to "of"
[M34] Typescript has "trust" crossed out and "truth" penciled in.
[M35] FIP omits "the"
[M36] FIP adds "that"
[M37] Typescript does not capitalize "Self" here, but FIP does and we agree it
should be capitalized.
[M38] FIP changes this to "to the self of which the world speaks" which
eliminates the dangling
[M39] FIP inserts "to him"
[M40] FIP moves this whole sentence forward by four sentences, beginning after
"finds." and before "And having"
[M41] Matthew 7:7-8 "Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find;
knock, and it will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives, and he
who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened."
[M42] FIP changes "projected on" to "extended to"
[M43] FIP changes "never could" to "could never"
[M44] FIP changes "has gone" to "is gone"
[M45] Luke 1:19 "And the angel answered and said to him, "I am Gabriel, who
stands in the presence of God, and was sent to speak to you and bring you these
glad tidings."" Luke 8:1 "Now it came to pass, afterward, that He went through
every city and village, preaching and bringing the glad tidings of the kingdom
of God."
[M46] Isaiah 45:8 Drop down, ye heavens, from above, and let the skies pour down
righteousness: let the earth open, that they may bring forth salvation, and let
her cause righteousness to spring up together; I the LORD have created it.
[M47] FIP replaces the manuscript "in" with "to", which change we’ve preserved
because we like it better
[M48] FIP changes "we" to "you"
[M49] FIN inserts "in order"
[M50] FIP changes "world we see" to "whole world you see"
[M51] FIP changes "was" to "is"
[M52] FIP changes "nor" to "or"
[M53] Typescript has "goes" which appears to be a grammar error, disagreement in
number.
[M54] Both FIP and the Manuscript have this as "a teacher of God" but in the
manuscript that is crossed out and replaced with "God’s Teachers." The
subsequent pronoun (His vs. Their) is treated likewise.
[M55] Typescript has "Their" in brackets just before "His"
[M56] Both FIP and the Manuscript have "His Teachers" but again, that is crossed
out in the manuscript and replaced with "they".
[M57] FIP changes "has not made" to "did not make"
[M58] FIP changes this to "might"
[M59] Both FIP and the Manuscript have "when" instead of "where" but it is
crossed out in the manuscript and "where" is written in.
[M60] Handwriting and FIP omit "the"
[M61] FIP changes "were" to "is"
[M62] FIP inserts "must" before "recognize"
[M63] FIP changes "more" to "most"
[M64] FIP changes "appearance" to "appearances"
[M65] FIP inserts "a" before "fear"
[M66] Handwriting and FIP add "and" before "so"
[M67] Handwriting and FIP add "all"
[M68] ibid
[M69] Originally a sentence break here, which FIP restores, handwriting corrects
this to a comma.
[M70] FIP changes "which" to "that"
[M71] FIP changes "the mind" to "the healed mind"
[M72] The typescript has ", -" here, and we feel that a semicolon is better, FIP
agrees.
[M73] Typescript is singular, "distinction," Handwriting and FIP pluralize this.
[M74] This sentence is heavily marked-up in the typescript. The last words
"they are" are handwritten in. FIP modifies this sentence to: "At any time the
student may disagree with what his would-be teacher says about them, and the
teacher himself may well be inconsistent in what he believes."
[M75] John 7:24 "Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous
judgment." "
[M76] Mark-up shifts the next two sentences to past tense. FIP does not
preserve that, nor do we.
[M77] Handwriting and FIP insert "here"
[M78] Handwriting and FIP omit "us"
[M79] Handwriting and FIP insert "try to"
[M80] Handwriting and FIP replace "true" with "real"
[M81] Handwriting and FIP change "safe" to "saved"
[M82] Matthew 8:20 "Jesus said to him, "Foxes have holes and birds of the air
have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head."" The "Son of Man"
is the term Jesus usually uses to refer to himself and people in general in the
Gospels, and this phrase in the Course appears to harken to the Gospels.
[M83] Typescript has "find" in brackets and "encounter" scratched out.
[M84] FIP omits "them"
[M85] FIP changes "which" to "that"
[M86] FIP removes the capital I from "It"
[M87] FIP replaces "which" with "that"
[M88] FIP puts exclamation point here.
[M89] Matthew 7:7-8 "Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find;
knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who
seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened."
[M90] FIP omits "which"
[M91] FIP changes the Manuscript "sacrifice its value" to "sacrifice its values"
which appears to be a correction of error and so we changed it too.
[M92] FIP has "peace" instead of "freedom"
[M93] FIP has "freedom" instead of "peace"
[M94] Matthew 7:7-8 op. cit.
[M95] Handwriting and FIP change "that" to "this"
[M96] FIP changes "goals" to "goal"
[M97] FIP omits "the"
[M98] Handwritingand FIP add "but" before "so"
[M99] "who can any longer weep" sounds much better than "who can longer weep."
Possibly there is an Iambic Pentameter issue here
[M100] Matthew 7:1 "Judge not, that you be not judged."
[M101] FIP changes "on" to "of"
[M102] FIP omits "with"
[M103] FIP adds "!" (exclamation point)
[M104] FIP has "mind" instead of "minds"
[M105] FIP changes "hold it in your heart" to ‘hold it to your heart"
[M106] FIP omits "in the curriculum" and the Manuscript places it in parentheses
[M107] FIP replaces "he" with "the teacher of God"
[M108] FIP replaces "met" with "learned"
[M109] Typescript doesn’t have "and", it is handwritten in. FIP preserves it.
[M110] FIP omits the phrase "if the need for this can be avoided."
[M111] The Manuscript says "the saving of the mind" and FIP changes that to "the
saving of time" which we agree is probably the correct reading, and so we
changed it also
[M112] FIP changes "which" to "that"
[M113] FIP changes "sleeping" to "going to sleep"
[M114] The Manuscript has the words "the day" typed in above "time" indicating a
correction, but "time" is not crossed out
[M115] Handwriting and FIP change "is" to "to be"
[M116] FIM omits "that"
[M117] FIP omits "good"
[M118] FIP changes "yet" to "but"
[M119] The Manuscript types above "in any form" the words "in all its forms".
FIP uses that reading.
[M120] Handwriting crosses out "simple", FIP omits it.
[M121] Typescript has "student" crossed out, and "pupil" penciled in. Because
the word "pupil" rather than "student" is used throughout the Manual, we’re
leaving it that way for consistency.
[M122] Typescript has the plural, "teachers" here.
[M123] Handwriting and FIP change "which" to ‘that"
[M124] FIP inserts here "alike."
[M125] Typescript has "appears as facts," FIP has "appears as facts." Agreement
in number problem, it must be "appear as facts" or "appears as fact." We’ve
fixed this. Manuscript and FIP also make a sentence break before "regardless"
which renders the final clause into an ungrammatical sentence fragment
needlessly. We replaced the period with a comma.
[M126] FIP changes "which" to "that"
[M127] FIP and the Manuscript both have the spelling error "fantasied" rather
than the obvious "fantasized." We corrected it.
[M128] Handwriting and FIP change "see" to "look upon"
[M129] The Manuscript has the word "the" typed in above "a" in "a basic cause."
There might well be considerable debate on "causes of fear" but being unable to
think of any cause of fear that does not involve anger in response to perceived
magic thoughts, we are going with "the" as the correct reading here. FIP makes
it "a basic cause."
1. [M130] FIP omits "thinks it" so the sentence becomes "the mind which
believes"
2. [M131] FIP replaces "so" with "obvious"
[M132] FIP puts a period and new sentence here, so does the typescript. The
typescript also has "accept" instead of "except" … clearly there is no need for
a sentence break here.
[M133] FIP replaces "forgiven" with "forgotten"!!
[M134] 2 Timothy 1:10 "But has now been revealed by the appearing of our Savior
Jesus Christ, who has abolished death and brought life and immortality to light
through the gospel"
[M135] Handwriting and FIP have "blotted" while the typescript has "blocked."
[M136] FIP replaces "are thought to" with "can"
[M137] All versions have "Eternal Guide" but we think this is an oral error and
should be "Internal Guide", which term, in the form of "Internal Teacher" is
used elsewhere (M XXV 0 5 (59)). This is one of several instances where words
which sound similar appear to have been substituted by mistake.
[M138] FIP replaces "he travels on" with "the journey continues"
[M139] Typescript has "waits", handwriting suggests "awaits one", although it is
possible that the handwriting indicates "’waits" (contraction of "awaits").
This is our preference. FIP changes "waits" to "wait" viewing "all" as plural,
(possibly) which it can be, but isn’t necessarily. One can have "all is well"
as well as "all are well."
[M140] FIP pluralizes "concern" making it "concerns". It’s not grammatically
necessary to do so.
[M141] Handwriting and FIP insert "in"
[M142] FIP omits "this"
[M143] Typescript and FIP put a sentence break here needlessly, rendering the
following clause into an incomplete sentence.
[M144] The Manuscript has "attributing to" typed above "giving" and it seems to
us the better reading. FIP goes with "giving"
[M145] FIP changes "become" to "becomes"
[M146] Luke 15:24 "For this my son was dead and is alive again; he was lost and
is found.' And they began to be merry."
[M147] Philippians 4:7 "And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding,
shall guard your hearts and your thoughts in Christ Jesus."
[M148] John 14:27 "Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the
world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be
afraid."
[M149] Handwriting and FIP change "is" to "has"
[M150] Deuteronomy 4:29 "But from there you will seek the LORD your God, and you
will find Him if you seek Him with all your heart and with all your soul."
[M151] Handwriting suggests "may", FIP changes "will" to "do"
[M152] Handwriting suggests inserting "that"
[M153] FIP changes "which" to "that"
[M154] FIP adds the words "one sentence"
[M155] FIP changes "is" to "was"
[M156] Matthew 21:22 "And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer,
believing, ye shall receive."
[M157] FIP changes "which" to "that"
[M158] FIP changes "judgment" to "opinion"
[M159] FIP changes "thing" to "things"
[M160] FIP changes "which" to "that"
[M161] FIP changes "Workbook lesson" to "lesson in the workbook that says"
[M162] FIP adds "quite"
[M163] FIP changes "him" to "the teacher"
[M164] FIP adds "to him"
[M165] FIP changes "that" to "which"
[M166] FIP changes "is" to "are" viewing the subject as the plural "special
areas." In fact the subject is the implied "(the idea of) special areas"
[M167] FIP inserts "the"
[M168] FIP replaces the period with a comma and then adds "but"
[M169] Illegible handwriting suggests something in place of "way"
[M170] FIP changes "will" to "wants to"
[M171] FIP replaces "is" with "was"
[M172] The Manuscript shows "could" handwritten above "would." In our view,
"would" is the correct word. FIP chooses "could."
[M173] FIP inserts "the" before "Atonement"
[M174] FIP replaces "a" with "the"
[M175] Handwriting suggests "true", FIP keeps "the truth."
[M176] FIP replaces "who" with "which one"
[M177] Handwriting suggests "must still"
[M178] Matthew 17:5 "While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud
overshadowed them; and suddenly a voice came out of the cloud, saying, "This is
My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear Him!""
[M179] John 14:13-14 "And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the
Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask anything in My name, I will do
it."
[M180] FIP replaces "stated" with "said"
[M181] There are so many specific and general "promises" Jesus made in the Bible,
to begin to cite them would require a separate book! Matthew 28:20 is apt
however: "lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world."
[M182] Handwriting and FIP insert "that"
[M183] FIP changes "that can safely be used" to "that is safely used"
[M184] FIP changes "you pray to" to "to which you pray" avoiding the dangling
participle again
[M185] FIP replaces "coming home" with "homecoming"
[M186] FIP replaces "would" with "should"
[M187] FIP changes "you" to "we"
[M188] Mathew 28:20 "lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world."
[M189] FIP omits "on it"
[M190] FIP inserts "the"
[M191] FIP changes "which" to "that"
[M192] Typescript has "if" here … an obvious typo.
[M193] FIP omits "that"
[M194] FIP changes "effort" to "efforts"
[M195] FIP changes "is" to "are" reading "the limits" as a plural subject.
However, "limits" can be a single body of limitations which IS a singular
subject. We’re leaving it singular.
[M196] Joshua 6:20 "So the people shouted when the priests blew the trumpets. And
it happened when the people heard the sound of the trumpet, and the people
shouted with a great shout, that the wall fell down flat. Then the people went
up into the city, every man straight before him, and they took the city."
[M197] FIP omits "very"
[M198] Typescript just has "Taken" here, which introduces grammatical problems.
FIP solves those problems by adding "them" here and we feel that is a perfectly
reasonable solution.
[M199] FIP replaces "which" with "that"
[M200] 1 John 4:18 "There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear,
because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in
love."
[M201] FIP add " "his "power’s" "
[M202] Typescript has "is", but it should obviously be "its". FIP agrees.
[M203] FIP replaces "merely" with "simply"
[M204] FIP replaces "greater" with "further"
[M205] FIP replaces "further" with "greater"
[M206] Jeremiah 31:33 "But this is the covenant that I will make with the house
of Israel after those days, saith the LORD; I will put my law in their inward
parts, and in their heart will I write it; and I will be their God, and they
shall be my people:"
Romans 2:15 "Who show the work of the law written in their hearts, their
conscience also bearing witness, and between themselves their thoughts accusing
or else excusing them."
[M207] FIP replaces "the unconscious" with "recognition"
[M208] Handwriting suggests and FIP replaces "most" with "much"
[M209] FIP replaces "the answer" with "it"
[M210] FIP omits "still"
[M211] FIP replaces "wound not be possible" with "would be impossible"
[M212] Handwriting suggests "could" in place of "can"
[M213] FIP changes "shield held" to "shield held up"
[M214] FIP changes "await" to "wait"
[M215] 1 Corinthians 15:26 "The last enemy that shall be abolished is death."
(ASV)
[M216] Handwriting and FIP insert "but" here
[M217] Handwriting offers "brought" as a substitute for "carried"
[M218] ibid
[M219] FIP replaces "over" with "across"
[M220] Typescript has "is", FIP corrects the agreement in number problem as we
have with "are"
[M221] Typescript has "dreamed" but Handwriting and FIP replace that with
"dream." Given that the rest of the paragraph is in the present tense, this
seems to be an appropriate correction.
[M222] FIP replaces "whom" with "which"
[M223] John 5:19 "Then Jesus answered and said to them, "Most assuredly, I say to
you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for
whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner."
[M224] Typescript and FIP begin new sentence here, which is an obvious error.
[M225] FIP replaces "have" with "possess
[M226] FIP replaces "merely" with "simply"
[M227] Romans 8:26 "Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do
not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes
intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered."
[M228] 2 Corinthians 12:9 "And He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you,
for My strength is made perfect in weakness." Therefore most gladly I will
rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me."
[M229] The word "do" is not present in the typescript, nor is it handwritten in.
FIP includes it and it appears to be a necessary correction.
[M230] FIP replaces "FINIS" with "AMEN"-
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U(1) December 3, 1975
Volume IV - The Use of Terms
{proof reader’s V 4.0 © 20/11/2005 Doug Thompson
Updated October 24, 2006
Concordance Tags Edition}
I) Introduction
1. This is not a course in theoretical philosophy, nor is it concerned with
precise terminology in connection with origins. It is concerned only with
Atonement, or the correction of perception. The means of the Atonement is
forgiveness. The structure of "individual consciousness" is essentially
irrelevant, because it is a concept representing the "original error" or the
"original sin." To study the error itself does not lead to correction, if you
are indeed to succeed in overlooking the error. And it is just this process of
overlooking at which the course aims.
2. All terms are potentially controversial, and those who seek controversy
will find it. Yet those who seek clarification will find it as well. They
must, however, be willing to overlook controversy, recognizing that it is a
defense against truth in the form of a delaying maneuver. Theological
considerations as such are necessarily controversial, since they depend on
belief and can therefore be accepted or rejected. A universal theology is
impossible, but a universal experience is not only possible but necessary. It
is this experience toward which the course is directed. Here alone consistency
becomes possible because here alone uncertainty ends.
3. This course remains within the ego framework, where it is needed. It is
not concerned with what is beyond all error because it is planned only to set
the direction towards it. Therefore it uses words, which are symbolic, and
cannot express what lies beyond symbols. It is always the ego that questions
because it is only the ego that doubts. The course merely gives another Answer,
once a question has been raised. However, this Answer does not attempt to
resort to inventiveness or ingenuity. These are attributes of the ego. THE
COURSE IS SIMPLE. It has one function and one goal. Only in that does it
remain wholly consistent because only that can be consistent.
4. The ego will demand many answers this course does not give. It does not
recognize as questions the mere form of a question to which an answer is
impossible. The ego may ask, "How did the impossible occur?", "To what did the
impossible happen?", and may ask in many forms. Yet there is no answer; only an
experience. Seek only this, and do not let theology delay you.
U(2)
5. You will notice that the emphasis on structural issues in the course is
brief and early. Afterwards and soon, it drops away to make way for the central
teaching. Since you have asked for clarification, however, these are some of
the terms that are used [U1].
II) Mind-Spirit
1. The term "mind" is used to represent the activating agent of Spirit,
supplying its creative energy. When the term is capitalized it refers to God or
Christ (i.e., the Mind of God or the Mind of Christ). Spirit is the Thought of
God which He created like Himself. The unified Spirit is God's one Son, or
Christ.
2. In this world, because the mind is split, the Sons of God appear to be
separate. Nor do their minds seem to be joined. In this illusory state, the
concept of an "individual mind" seems to be meaningful. It is therefore
described in the course AS IF it has two parts; spirit and ego.
3. Spirit is the part that is still in contact with God through the Holy
Spirit, Who abides in this part but sees the other part as well. The term
"soul" is not used except in direct Biblical quotations because of its highly
controversial nature. It would, however, be an equivalent of "spirit," with the
understanding that, being of God, it is eternal and was never born.
4. The other part of the mind is entirely illusory and makes only illusions.
Spirit retains the potential for creating, but its Will which is God's, seems to
be imprisoned while the mind is not unified. Creation continues unabated
because that is the Will of God. This Will is always unified, and therefore has
no meaning in this world. It has no opposite and no degrees.
5. The mind can be right or wrong, depending on the voice to which it
listens. RIGHT-MINDEDNESS listens to the Holy Spirit, forgives the world, and
through Christ's vision sees the real world in its place. This is the final
vision, the last perception, the condition in which God takes the final step
Himself. Here time and illusions end together. WRONG-MINDEDNESS listens to the
ego and makes illusions; perceiving sin and justifying anger, and seeing guilt,
disease and death as real. Both this world and the real world are illusions
because right-mindedness merely overlooks, or forgives, what never happened.
U(3)
Therefore it is not the ONE-MINDEDNESS of the Christ Mind, Whose Will is One
with God's.
6. In this world the only remaining freedom is the freedom of choice; this
choice is always between two choices or two voices. Will is not involved in
perception at any level, and has nothing to do with choice. CONSCIOUSNESS is
the receptive mechanism, receiving messages from above or below; from the Holy
Spirit or the ego. Consciousness has levels and awareness can shift quite
dramatically, but it cannot transcend the perceptual realm. At its highest it
becomes aware of the real world, and can be trained to do so increasingly. Yet
the very fact that it has levels and can be trained demonstrates that
consciousness cannot reach knowledge.
U(4)
III) The Ego- The Miracle
1. Illusions will not last. Their death is sure and this alone is certain in
their world. It is the ego's world because of this. What is the ego? But a
dream of what you really are. A thought you are apart from your Creator and a
wish to be what He created not. It is a thing of madness, not reality at all.
A name for namelessness is all it is. A symbol of impossibility; a choice for
options that do not exist. We call it that to help us understand that it is
nothing but an ancient thought that what is made has immortality. But what
could come of this except a dream which, like all dreams, could only die?
2. What is the ego? Nothingness, but in a form that seems like something. In
a world of form the ego cannot be denied for it alone seems real. How could
God's Son as He created him abide in form or in a world of form? Who asks you
to define the ego and explain how it arose can be but he who thinks it real, and
seeks by definition to ensure that its illusive nature is concealed behind the
words that seem to make it so.
3. There is no definition for a lie that serves to make it true. Nor can
there be a truth that lies conceal effectively. The ego's unreality is not
denied by words nor is its meaning clear because its nature seems to have a
form. Who can define the undefinable? And yet there is an answer even here.
4. We cannot really make a definition for what the ego is, but we CAN say
what it is not. And this is shown to us with perfect clarity. It is from this
that we deduce all that the ego is. Look at its opposite and you can see the
only answer that is meaningful.
5. The ego's opposite in every way, -- in origin, effect and consequence --
we call a miracle. And here we find all that is not the ego in the world. Here
is the ego's opposite and here alone we look on what the ego was. For here we
see all that it seemed to do, and cause and its effects must still be one.
6. Where there was darkness now we see the light. What was the ego? What the
darkness was. Where was the ego? Where the darkness was. What is it now and
where can it be found? Nothing and nowhere. Now the light has come: Its
opposite has gone without a trace. Where evil was there
U(5)
now is holiness. What is the ego? What the evil was. Where is the ego? In an
evil dream that but seemed real while you were dreaming it. Where there was
crucifixion stands God's Son. What is the ego? Who has need to ask? Where is
the ego? Who has need to seek for an illusion now that dreams are gone?
7. What is a MIRACLE? A dream as well. But look at all the aspects of THIS
dream, and you will never question any more. Look at the kindly world you see
stretched forth before you as you walk in gentleness. Look at the helpers all
along the way you travel, happy in the hope of Heaven and the certainty of
peace. And look an instant, too, on what you left behind at last and finally
passed by.
8. This was the ego -- all the cruel hate, the need for vengeance and the
cries of pain, the fear of dying and the urge to kill, the brotherless illusion
and the self that seemed alone in all the universe. This terrible mistake about
yourself the miracle corrects as gently as a loving mother sings her child to
rest. Is not a song like this what you would hear? Would it not answer all you
thought to ask, and even make the question meaningless?
9. Your questions have no answer, being made to still God's Voice, which asks
of everyone one question only:
"Are you ready yet to help Me save the world?"
Ask this instead of what the ego is, and you will see a sudden brightness cover
up the world the ego made. No miracle is now withheld from anyone. The world
is saved from what you thought it was. And what it is, is wholly uncondemned
and wholly pure.
10. The miracle forgives; the ego damns. Neither need be defined except by
this. Yet could a definition be more sure, or more in line with what salvation
asks? Problem and answer lie together here, and having met at last the choice is
clear. Who chooses hell when it is recognized? And who would not go on a little
while when it is given him to understand the way is short and Heaven is his
goal?
U(6)
IV) Forgiveness – The Face of Christ
1. Forgiveness is for God and toward God but not of Him. It is impossible to
think of anything He created that could need forgiveness. Forgiveness, then, is
an illusion, but because of its purpose, which is the Holy Spirit's, it has one
difference. Unlike all other illusions it leads away from error and not towards
it.
2. Forgiveness might be called a kind of happy fiction; a way in which the
unknowing can bridge the gap between their perception and the truth. They
cannot go directly from perception to knowledge because they do not think it is
their will to do so. This makes God appear to be an enemy instead of what He
really is. And it is just this insane perception that makes them unwilling
merely to rise up and to return to Him in peace.
3. And so they need an illusion of Help because they are helpless; a Thought
of peace because they are in conflict. God knows what His Son needs before he
asks [U2]. He is not at all concerned with form, but having given the content it
is His Will that it be understood. And that suffices. The form adapts itself
to need; the content is unchanging, as eternal as its Creator.
4. THE FACE OF CHRIST has to be seen before the memory of God can return.
The reason is obvious. Seeing the Face of Christ is perception. No one can
look on knowledge. But the Face of Christ is [U3] the great symbol of
forgiveness. It is salvation. It is the symbol of the real world. Whoever
looks on this no longer sees the world. He is as near to Heaven as is possible
outside the gate [U4]. Yet from this gate it is no more than just a step inside.
It is the final step. And this we leave to God.
5. It [U5] is a symbol, too, but as the symbol of His Will alone it cannot be
divided. And so the Unity that it reflects becomes His Will. It is the only
thing still in the world in part, and yet the bridge to Heaven.
U(7)
6. God's Will is all there is. We can but go from nothingness to everything;
from hell to Heaven. Is this a journey? No, not in truth, for truth goes
nowhere. But illusions shift from place to place; from time to time. The final
step is also but a shift. As a perception it is partly unreal. And yet this
part will vanish. What remains is peace eternal and the Will of God.
7. There are no wishes now for wishes change. Even the wished-for can become
unwelcome. That must be so because the ego cannot be at peace. But Will is
constant, as the gift of God. And what He gives is always like Himself. This
is the purpose of the Face of Christ. It is the gift of God to save His Son.
But look on this and you have been forgiven.
8. How lovely does the world become in just that single instant when you see
the truth about yourself reflected there. Now you are sinless and behold your
sinlessness. Now you are holy and perceive it so. And now the mind returns to
its Creator; the joining of the Father and the Son, the Unity of unities that
stands behind all joining but still beyond them all. God IS NOT SEEN BUT ONLY
UNDERSTOOD. His Son is not attacked but recognized.
V) Perception - Knowledge
1. The world you see is an illusion of a world. God did not create it, for
what He creates must be eternal as Himself. Yet there is nothing in the world
you see that will endure forever. Some things will last in time a little while
longer than others. But the time will come when all things visible will have an
end.
2. The body's eyes are therefore not the means by which the real world can be
seen, for the illusions that they look upon must lead to more illusions [U6]. And
so they do. For everything they see not only will not last, but lends itself to
thoughts of sin and guilt. While everything that God created is forever without
sin and therefore is forever without guilt.
3. Knowledge is not the remedy for false perception since, being another
level, they can never meet. The one correction possible for false perception
must be true perception.
U(8)
It will not endure. But for the time it lasts it comes to heal. For true
perception is a remedy with many names. Forgiveness, salvation, Atonement, true
perception, all are one. They are one beginning with the end to lead to Oneness
far beyond themselves. True perception is the means by which the world is saved
from sin, for sin does not exist. And it is this that true perception sees.
4. The world stands like a block before Christ's face. But true perception
looks on it as nothing more than just a fragile veil, so easily dispelled that
it can last no longer than an instant. It is seen at last for only what it is.
And now it cannot fail to disappear, for now there is an empty place made clean
and ready. Where destruction was perceived the face of Christ appears, and in
that instant is the world forgot, with time forever ended as the world spins
into nothingness from where it came.
5. A world forgiven cannot last. It was the home of bodies. But forgiveness
looks past bodies. This is its holiness; this is how it heals. The world of
bodies is the world of sin, for only if there is a body is sin possible. From
sin comes guilt as surely as forgiveness takes all guilt away. And once all
guilt is gone what more remains to keep a separated world in place? For place
has gone as well, along with time. Only the body makes the world seem real, for
being separate it could not remain where separation is impossible. Forgiveness
proves it is impossible because it sees it not. And what you then will overlook
will not be understandable to you, just as its [U7] presence once had been your
certainty.
6. This is the shift that true perception brings: What was projected out is
seen within, and there forgiveness lets it disappear. For there the altar to
the Son is set, and there his Father is remembered. Here are all illusions
brought to truth and laid upon the altar. What is seen outside must lie beyond
forgiveness, for it seems to be forever sinful. Where is hope while sin is seen
as outside? What remedy can guilt expect? But seen within your mind, guilt and
forgiveness for an instant lie together, side by side, upon one altar. There at
last are sickness and its single remedy joined in one healing brightness. God
has come to claim His Own. Forgiveness is complete.
U(9)
7. And now God's KNOWLEDGE, changeless, certain, pure and wholly
understandable, enters its Kingdom. Gone is perception, false and true alike.
Gone is forgiveness, for its task is done. And gone are bodies in the blazing
light upon the altar to the Son of God. God knows it is His Own, as it is his.
And here They join, for here the face of Christ has shone away time's final
instant, and now is the last perception of the world without a purpose and
without a cause. For where God's memory has come at last there is no journey,
no belief in sin, no walls, no bodies, and the grim appeal of guilt and death is
there snuffed out forever.
8. Oh my brothers, if you only knew the peace that will envelop you and hold
you safe and pure and lovely in the Mind of God, you could but rush to meet Him
where His altar is. Hallowed your Name and His [U8], for they are joined here in
this holy place. Here He leans down to lift you back to Him, out of illusions
into holiness; out of the world and into timelessness [U9]; out of all fear and
given back to Love.
VI) Jesus - Christ
1. There is no need for help to enter Heaven for you never left. But there
is need for help beyond yourself as you are circumscribed by false beliefs about
your Identity, Which God alone established in reality. Helpers are given you in
many forms, although upon the altar They are one. Beyond each one there is a
Thought of God, and this will never change. But they have names which differ
for a time, for time needs symbols, being itself unreal. Their names are
legion [U10], but we will not go beyond the names the course itself employs. God
does not help because He knows no need. But He creates all Helpers of His Son
while he believes his fantasies are true. Thank God for them for they will lead
you home.
U(10)
2. The Name of Jesus is the Name of one who was a man but saw the face of
Christ in all his brothers and remembered God. So he became identified with
Christ, a man no longer, but at one with God. The man was an illusion, for he
seemed to be a separate being, walking by himself, within a body that appeared
to hold his self from Self, as all illusions do. Yet who can save unless he
sees illusions and then identifies them as what they are? Jesus remains a Savior
because he saw the false without accepting it as true. And Christ needed his
form that He might appear to men and save them from their own illusions.
3. In his complete identification with the Christ -- the perfect Son of God,
His one creation and His happiness, forever like Himself and One with Him --
Jesus became what all of us must be. He led the way for us to follow him. He
leads us back to God because he saw the road before him, and he followed it. He
made a clear distinction, still obscure to us, between the false and true. He
offered us all a final demonstration that it is impossible to kill God's Son;
nor can his life in any way be changed by sin and evil, malice, fear or death.
4. And therefore all your sins have been forgiven because they carried no
effects at all. And so they were but dreams. Arise with him who showed you
this because you owe him this who shared your dreams that they might be
dispelled. And shares them still, to be at one with you.
5. Is he the Christ? Oh yes, along with you. His little life on earth was
not enough to teach the mighty lesson that he learned for all of us. He will
remain with you to lead you from the hell you made to God. And when you join
your will with his, your sight will be his vision, for the eyes of Christ are
shared. Walking with him is just as natural as walking with a brother whom you
knew since you were born, for such indeed he is. Some bitter idols have been
made of him who would be only brother to the world. Forgive him your illusions,
and behold how dear a brother he would be to you. For he will set your mind at
rest at last and carry it with you unto your God.
U(11)
6. Is he God's only Helper? No, indeed. For Christ takes many forms with
different names until their oneness can be recognized. But Jesus is for you the
bearer of Christ's single message of the Love of God. You need no other. It is
possible to read his words and benefit from them without accepting him into your
life. Yet he would help you yet a little more if you will share your pains and
joys with him, and leave them both to find the peace of God. Yet still it is
his lesson most of all that he would have you learn, and it is this:
"There is no death [U11] because the Son of God is like his Father. Nothing you
can do can change Eternal Love. Forget your dreams of sin and guilt, and come
with me instead to share the resurrection of God's Son. And bring with you all
those whom He has sent to you to care for as I care for you."
VII) The Holy Spirit
1. Jesus is the manifestation of the Holy Spirit, Whom he called down upon
the earth after he ascended into Heaven [U12], or became completely identified
with the Christ, the Son of God as He created Him. The Holy Spirit, being a
creation of the one Creator, creating with Him and in His likeness or Spirit, is
eternal and has never changed. He was "called down upon the earth [U13] " in the
sense that it was now possible to accept Him and to hear His Voice. His is the
Voice for God, and has therefore taken form. This form is not His reality,
which God alone knows along with Christ, His real Son, Who is part of Him.
2. The Holy Spirit is described throughout the course as giving us the answer
to the separation and bringing the plan of the Atonement to us, establishing our
particular part in it and showing us exactly what it is. He has established
Jesus as the leader in carrying out this plan since he was the first to complete
his own part perfectly. All power in Heaven and earth [U14] is therefore given
him and he will share it with you when you have completed yours. The Atonement
principle was given to the Holy Spirit long before Jesus set it in motion.
3. The Holy Spirit is described as the remaining communication link between
God and His separated sons. In order to fulfill this special function the Holy
Spirit has assumed a dual function. He knows because He is part of God; He
perceives because He
U(12)
was sent to save humanity. He is the great correction principle; the bringer of
true perception, the inherent power of the vision of Christ. He is the light in
which the forgiven world is perceived; in which the face of Christ alone is
seen. He never forgets the Creator or His Creation. He never forgets the Son
of God. He never forgets you. And He brings the Love of your Father to you in
an eternal shining that will never be obliterated because God has put it there.
4. The Holy Spirit abides in the part of your mind that is part of the Christ
Mind. He represents your Self and your Creator, Who are One. He speaks for God
and also for you, being joined with both. And therefore it is He Who proves
them One. He seems to be a Voice, for in that form He speaks God's Word to you.
He seems to be a Guide through a far country, for you need that form of help.
He seems to be whatever meets the needs you think you have. But He is not
deceived when you perceive your self entrapped in needs you do not have. It is
from these He would deliver you. It is from these that He would make you safe.
5. You are His manifestation in this world. Your brother calls to you to be
His Voice along with him. Alone he cannot be the Helper of God's Son for he
alone is functionless. But joined with you he is the shining Savior of the
world, Whose part in its redemption you have made complete. He offers thanks to
you as well as him for you arose with him when he began to save the world. And
you will be with him when time is over, and no trace remains of dreams of spite
in which you dance to death's thin melody. For in its place the hymn to God is
heard a little while. And then the Voice is gone, no longer to take form but to
return to the eternal Formlessness of God.
U(13)
VIII) Epilogue
1. Forget not once this journey is begun the end is certain. Doubt along the
way will come and go and go to come again. Yet is the ending sure. No one can
fail to do what God appointed him to do. When you forget, remember that you
walk with Him and with His Word upon your heart. Who could despair when hope
like this is his? Illusions of despair may seem to come, but learn how not to be
deceived by them. Behind each one there is reality and there is God. Why would
you wait for this and trade it for illusions, when His Love is but an instant
farther on the road where all illusions end? The end IS sure and guaranteed by
God. Who stands before a lifeless image when a step away the Holy of the
Holies [U15] opens up an ancient door that leads beyond the world?
2. You ARE a stranger here, but you belong to Him Who loves you as He loves
Himself. Ask but my help to roll the stone away [U16], and it is done according
to His Will.
3. We HAVE begun the journey. Long ago the end was written in the stars and
set into the Heavens with a shining Ray that held it safe within eternity and
through all time as well. And holds it still; unchanged, unchanging and
unchangeable.
4. Be not afraid [U17]. We only start again an ancient journey long ago begun
that but seems new. We have begun again upon a road we traveled [U18] on before
and lost our way a little while. And now we try again. Our new beginning has
the certainty the journey lacked ‘til now. Look up and see His Word among the
stars, where He has set your Name along with His. Look up and find your certain
destiny the world would hide but God would have you see.
5. Let us wait here in silence, and kneel down an instant in our gratitude to
Him Who called to us and helped us hear His Call. And then let us arise and go
in faith along the way to Him. Now we are sure we do not walk alone. For God
is here, and with Him all our brothers. Now we know that we will never lose the
way again. The song begins again which had been stopped [U19] only an instant,
though it seems to be unsung forever. What is here begun will grow in life and
strength and hope, until the world is still
U(14)
an instant and forgets all that the dream of sin had made of it.
6. Let us go out and meet the newborn world, knowing that Christ has been
reborn in it, and that the holiness of this rebirth will last forever. We had
lost our way, but He has found it for us. Let us come and bid Him welcome Who
returns to us to celebrate salvation and the end of all we thought we made. The
morning [U20] star of this new day looks on a different world where God is
welcomed and His Son with Him. We who complete Him offer thanks to Him, as He
gives thanks to us. The Son is still, and in the peace [U21] that God has given
him enters his home and is at peace at last [U22].
{
Table of Contents
Volume IV - The Use of Terms. 1
1) Introduction. 1
2) Mind-Spirit 2
3) The Ego- The Miracle. 4
4) Forgiveness – The Face of Christ 6
5) Perception - Knowledge. 7
6) Jesus - Christ 9
7) The Holy Spirit 11
8) Epilogue. 13
[U1] Originally a colon appears here
[U2] Matthew 6:8 "Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the
things you have need of before you ask Him."
[U3] Handwriting suggests "involves"
[U4] Genesis 28:17 "And he was afraid and said, ‘How awesome is this place! This
is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven!’"
[U5] FIP changes "it" to "forgiveness"
[U6] Typescript has, in brackets "of illusions" here. FIP omits the brackets.
[U7] The Typescript has "just as its opposite was once your certainty" which,
since "its" refers to "sin" appears to be an error. Immediately after this is
typed "presence once had been your certainty" which appears to make more sense.
FIP retains only the second reading.
[U8] Matthew 6:9 "In this manner, therefore, pray: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed
be Your name."
[U9] In the manuscript "into timelessness" is crossed our and "to eternity" is
typed in above it.
[U10] Mark 5:9 "Then He asked him, ‘What is your name?’ And he answered, saying,
‘My name is Legion; for we are many.’"
[U11] 2 Timothy 1:10 "But has now been revealed by the appearing of our Savior
Jesus Christ, who has abolished death and brought life and immortality to light
through the gospel,"
[U12] Acts 1:8-9 "But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon
you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and
Samaria, and to the end of the earth. Now when He had spoken these things, while
they watched, He was taken up, and a cloud received Him out of their sight."
[U13] ibid
[U14] Matthew 28:18 "And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, ‘All authority has
been given to Me in heaven and on earth.’"
[U15] Exodus 26:33 "And you shall hang the veil from the clasps. Then you shall
bring the ark of the Testimony in there, behind the veil. The veil shall be a
divider for you between the holy place and the Most Holy."
[U16] Matthew 28:2 "And behold, there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the
Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door,
and sat on it."
[U17] John 6:20 "But He said to them, "It is I; do not be afraid.’" (and many
others)
[U18] Typescript has "travelled"
[U19] Typescript has (stilled) typed in brackets, then crossed out by hand.
[U20] Typescript has "(rising)" typed in above "morning" and then crossed out.
[U21] Typescript has "peace that" crossed out and "(quiet)" typed in.
[U22] The typescript includes three lines crossed out at the end, "and there is
still at last"; "enters the stillness of his home at last"; "enters his home in
stillness and in peace."
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PSYCHOTHERAPY:Volume V: PSYCHOTHERAPY: purpose, process and practice.
{
proof reader’s V 4.1 © 20/11/2005 Doug Thompson
Updated October 28, 2006
Concordance Tags Edition}
P(1)
Volume V: PSYCHOTHERAPY: purpose, process and practice.
I. An Introduction to Psychotherapy
1. Psychotherapy is the only form of therapy there is. Since only the mind
can be sick, only the mind can be healed. Only the mind is in need of healing.
This does not appear to be the case, for the manifestations of this world seem
real indeed. Psychotherapy is necessary so that an individual can begin to
question his [P1] reality. Sometimes he is able to start to open his mind without
formal help, but even then it is always some change in his perception of
interpersonal relationships that enables him to do so. Sometimes he needs a
more structured, extended relationship with an "official" therapist. Either
way, the task is the same; the patient must be helped to change his mind about
the "reality" of illusions.
Ii. The Purpose Of Psychotherapy
A. Introduction
1 Very simply, the purpose of psychotherapy is to remove the blocks to truth.
Its aim is to aid the patient in abandoning his fixed delusional system, and to
begin to reconsider the spurious cause and effect relationships on which it
rests. No one in this world escapes fear, but everyone can reconsider its
causes and learn to evaluate them correctly. God has given everyone a Teacher
Whose wisdom and help far exceed whatever contributions an earthly therapist can
provide. Yet there are times and situations in which the [P2] patient-therapist
relationship becomes the means through which He offers His greater gifts to
both.
2. What better purpose could any relationship have than to invite the Holy
Spirit to enter into it and give it His Own great gift of rejoicing? What
higher goal could there be for anyone than to learn to call upon God and hear
His Answer? And what more transcendent aim can there be than to recall the Way,
the Truth and the Life [P3], and to remember God? To help in this is the proper
purpose of psychotherapy. Could anything be holier? For psychotherapy,
correctly understood, teaches forgiveness and helps the patient to recognize and
accept it. And in his healing is the therapist forgiven with him.
P(2)
3. Everyone who needs help, regardless of the form of his distress, is
attacking himself, and his peace of mind is suffering in consequence. These
tendencies are often described as "self-destructive," and the patient often
regards them in that way himself. What he does not realize and needs to learn
is that this "self," which can attack and be attacked as well, is a concept he
made up. Further, he cherishes it, defends it, and is sometimes even willing to
"sacrifice" his "life" on its behalf. For he regards it as himself. This self
he sees as being acted on, reacting to external forces as they demand, and
helpless in [P4] the power of the world.
4. Psychotherapy, then, must restore to his awareness the ability to make his
own decisions. He must become willing to reverse his thinking, and to
understand that what he thought projected its effects on him was [P5] made by his
projections on the world. The world he sees does therefore not exist.
Until this is at least in part accepted, the patient cannot see himself as
really capable of making decisions. And he will fight against his freedom
because he thinks that it is slavery.
5. The patient need not think of truth as God in order to make progress in
salvation. But he must begin to separate truth from illusion, recognizing that
they are not the same, and becoming increasingly willing to see illusions as
illusions [P6] and to accept the truth as true. His Teacher will take him on from
there, as far as he is ready to go. Psychotherapy can only save him time. The
Holy Spirit uses time as He thinks best, and He is never wrong. Psychotherapy
under His direction is one of the means He uses to save time, and to prepare
additional teachers for His work. There is no end to the help that He begins
and He directs. By whatever routes He chooses, all psychotherapy leads to God
in the end. But that is up to Him. We are all His psychotherapists, for He
would have us all be healed in Him.
P(3)
III. The Process Of Psychotherapy
A. Introduction
1. Psychotherapy is a process that changes the view of the self. At best
this "new" self is a more beneficent self-concept, but psychotherapy can hardly
be expected to establish reality. That is not its function. If it can make way
for reality, it has achieved its ultimate success. Its whole function, in the
end, is to help the patient deal with one fundamental error; the belief that
anger brings him something he really wants, and that by justifying attack he is
protecting himself. To whatever extent he comes to realize that this is
mistaken [P7], to that extent is he truly saved.
2. Patients do not enter the therapeutic relationship with this goal in mind.
On the contrary, such concepts mean little to them, or they would not need
help. Their aim is to be able to retain their self-concept exactly as it is,
but without the suffering that it entails. Their whole equilibrium rests on the
insane belief that this is possible. And because to the sane mind it is so
clearly impossible, what they seek is magic. In illusions the impossible is
easily accomplished, but only at the cost of making illusions true. The patient
has already paid this price. Now he wants a "better" illusion.
3. At the beginning, then, the patient's goal and the therapist's are at
variance. The therapist as well as the patient may cherish false self-concepts,
but their respective perceptions of "improvement" still must differ. The
patient hopes to learn how to get the changes he wants without changing his
self-concept to any significant extent. He hopes, in fact, to stabilize it
sufficiently to include within it the magical powers he seeks in psychotherapy.
He wants to make the vulnerable invulnerable and the finite limitless. The self
he sees is his god, and he seeks only to serve it better.
4. Regardless of how advanced [P8] the therapist himself may be, he must want
to change the patient's self-concept in some way that he believes is real. The
task of therapy is one of reconciling these differences. Hopefully, both will
learn to give up their original goals, for it is only in relationships that
salvation can be found. At the beginning, it is inevitable that patients
and therapists alike accept unrealistic goals not completely free of magical
overtones.
P(4)
They are finally given up in the minds of both.
B. The Limits on Psychotherapy
1. Yet the ideal outcome is rarely achieved. But psychotherapy [P9] begins
with the realization that healing is of the mind, and in psychotherapy those
have come together who [P10] believe this. It may be they will not get much
further, for no one learns beyond his own readiness. Yet levels of readiness
change, and when therapist or patient has reached the next one, there will be a
relationship held out to them that meets the changing need. Perhaps they will
come together again and advance in the same relationship, making it holier. Or
perhaps each of them will enter into another commitment. Be assured of this;
each will progress. Retrogression is temporary. The overall direction is one
of progress toward the truth.
2. Psychotherapy itself cannot be creative [P11]. This is one of the errors
which the ego fosters; that it is capable of true change, and therefore of true
creativity. When we speak of "the saving illusion" or "the final dream," this
is not what we mean, but here is the ego's last defense. "Resistance" is its
way of looking at things; its interpretation of "progress" [P12] and "growth" [P13].
These interpretations will be wrong of necessity, because they are delusional.
The "changes" [P14] the ego seeks to make are not really changes. They are but
deeper shadows, or perhaps different cloud patterns. Yet what is made of
nothingness cannot be called new or different. Illusions are illusions; truth
is truth.
3. Resistance as defined here [P15] can be characteristic of a therapist as
well as of a patient. Either way, it sets a limit on psychotherapy because it
restricts its aims. Nor can the Holy Spirit fight against the intrusions of the
ego on the therapeutic process. But He will wait, and His patience is infinite.
His goal is wholly undivided always. Whatever resolutions patient and
therapist reach in connection with their own divergent goals, they cannot become
completely reconciled as one until they join with His. Only then is all
conflict over, for only then can there be certainty.
P(5)
4. Ideally, psychotherapy is a series of holy encounters in which brothers
meet to bless each other and to receive the peace of God. And this will one day
come to pass for every "patient" on the face of this earth, for who except a
patient could possibly have come here? The therapist is only a somewhat [P16]
specialized Teacher of God. He learns through teaching, and the more advanced
he is the more he teaches and the more he learns. But whatever stage he is in,
there are patients who need him just that way. They cannot take more than he
can give for now. Yet they [P17] both will find sanity at last.
C. The Place of Religion in Psychotherapy [P18]
1. To be a Teacher of God, it is not necessary to be religious or even to
believe in God to any recognizable extent. It is necessary, however, to teach
forgiveness rather than condemnation. Even in this, complete consistency is not
required, for one who has [P19] achieved that point can [P20] teach salvation
completely, within an instant and without a word. Yet he who has learned all
things does not need a teacher, and the healed have no need for a therapist.
Relationships are still the Temple [P21] of the Holy Spirit [P22], and they will be
made perfect in time and restored to Eternity [P23].
2. Formal religion has no place in psychotherapy, but it also has no real
place in religion. In this world, there is an astonishing tendency to join
contradictory words into one term without perceiving the contradiction at all.
The attempt to formalize religion is so obviously an ego attempt to reconcile
the irreconcilable that it hardly requires elaboration here. Religion is
experience; psychotherapy is experience. At the highest levels they become one.
Neither is truth itself, but both can lead to truth. What can be necessary to
find truth, which remains perfectly obvious, but to remove the seeming obstacles
to true awareness?
P(6)
3. No one who learns to forgive can fail to remember God. Forgiveness, then,
is all that need be taught, because it is all that need be learned. All blocks
to the remembrance of God are forms of unforgiveness, and nothing else. This is
never apparent to the patient, and only rarely so to the therapist. The world
has marshaled [P24] all its forces against this one awareness, for in it
lies the ending of the world and all it stands for.
4. Yet it is not the awareness of God that constitutes a reasonable goal for
psychotherapy. This will come when psychotherapy is complete, for where there
is forgiveness truth must come. It would be unfair indeed if belief in God were
necessary to psychotherapeutic success. Nor is belief in God a really
meaningful concept, for God can be but known. Belief implies that unbelief is
possible, but knowledge of God has no true opposite. Not to know God is to have
no knowledge, and it is to this that all unforgiveness leads. And without
knowledge one can have only belief.
5. Different teaching aids appeal to different people. Some forms of
religion have nothing to do with God, and some forms of psychotherapy have
nothing to do with healing. Yet if pupil and teacher join in sharing one goal,
God will enter into their relationship because He has been invited to come in.
In the same way, a union of purpose between patient and therapist restores the
place of God to ascendance, first through Christ's vision and then through the
memory of God Himself. The process of psychotherapy is the return to sanity.
Teacher and pupil, therapist and patient, are all insane or they would not be
here. Together they can find a pathway out, for no one will find sanity alone.
P(7)
6. If healing is an invitation to God to enter into His Kingdom, what
difference does it make how the invitation is written? Does the paper matter,
or the ink, or the pen? Or is it he who writes that gives the invitation? God
comes to those who would restore His world, for they have found the way to call
to Him. If any two are joined, He must be there [P25]. It does not matter what
their purpose is, but they must share it wholly to succeed. It is impossible to
share a goal not blessed by Christ, for what is unseen through His eyes is too
fragmented to be meaningful.
7. As true religion heals, so must true psychotherapy be religious. But both
have many forms, because no true [P26] teacher uses one approach to every pupil.
On the contrary, he listens patiently to each one, and lets him formulate his
own curriculum; not the curriculum's goal, but how he can best reach the aim it
sets for him. Perhaps the teacher does not think of God as part of teaching.
Perhaps the psychotherapist does not understand that healing comes from
God. They can succeed where many who believe they have found God will fail.
8. What must the teacher do to ensure learning? What must the therapist do
to bring healing about? Only one thing; the same requirement salvation asks of
everyone. Each one must share one goal with someone else, and in so doing, lose
all sense of separate interests. Only by doing this is it possible to transcend
the narrow boundaries the ego would impose upon the self. Only by doing this
can teacher and pupil, therapist and patient, you and I, accept Atonement and
learn to give it as it was received.
9. Communion is impossible alone. No one who stands apart can receive
Christ's vision. It is held out to him, but he cannot hold out his hand to
receive it. Let him be still and recognize his brother's need is his own [P27].
And let him then meet his brother's need as his and see that they are met as
one, for such they are. What is religion but an aid in helping him to see that
this is so? And what is psychotherapy except a help in just this same
direction? It is the goal that makes these processes the same, for they are one
in purpose and must thus be one in means.
P(8)
D. The Role of the Psychotherapist
1. The psychotherapist is a leader in the sense that he walks slightly ahead
of the patient, and helps him to avoid a few of the pitfalls along the road by
seeing them first. Ideally, he is also a follower, for One should walk ahead of
him to give him light to see. Without this One, both will merely stumble
blindly on to nowhere. It is, however, impossible that this One be wholly
absent if the goal is healing. He may, however, not be recognized. And so the
little light that can be then accepted is all there is to light the way to
truth.
2. Healing is limited by the limitations of the psychotherapist, as it is
limited by those of the patient. The aim of the process, therefore, is to
transcend these limits. Neither can do this alone, but when they join, the
potentiality for transcending all limitations has been given them. Now the
extent of their success depends on how much of this potentiality they are
willing to use. The willingness may come from either one at the
beginning, and as the other shares it, it will grow. Progress becomes a matter
of decision; it can reach almost to Heaven or go no further than a step or two
from hell.
3. It is quite possible for the psychotherapist [P28] to seem to fail. It is
even possible for the result to look like retrogression. But in the end there
must be some success. One asks for help; another hears and tries to answer in
the form of help. This is the formula for salvation, and must heal. Divided
goals alone can interfere with perfect healing. One wholly egoless therapist
could heal the world without a word, merely by being there. No one need see him
or talk to him or even know of his existence. His simple Presence is enough to
heal.
4. The ideal therapist is one with Christ. But healing is a process, not a
fact. The therapist cannot progress without the patient, and the patient cannot
be ready to receive the Christ or he could not be sick. In a sense, the egoless
psychotherapist is an abstraction that stands at the end of the process of
healing, too advanced to believe in sickness and too near to God to keep his
feet on earth. Now he can help through those in need of help, for thus he
carries out the plan established for salvation.
P(9)
The psychotherapist becomes his patient, working through other patients to
express his thoughts as he receives them from the Mind of Christ.
E. The Process of Illness
1. As all therapy is psychotherapy, so all illness is mental illness. It is
a judgment on the Son of God, and judgment is a mental activity. Judgment is a
decision, made again and again, against creation and its Creator. It is a
decision to perceive the universe as you would have created it. It is a
decision that truth can lie and must be lies. What, then, can illness be except
an expression of sorrow and of guilt? And who could weep but for his innocence?
2. Once God's Son is seen as guilty, illness becomes inevitable. It has been
asked for and will be received [P29]. And all who ask for illness have now
condemned themselves to seek for remedies that cannot help, because their faith
is in the illness and not in salvation. There can be nothing that a
change of mind cannot effect, for all external things are only shadows of a
decision already made. Change the decision, and how can its shadow be
unchanged? Illness can be but guilt's shadow, grotesque and ugly since it
mimics deformity. If a deformity is seen as real, what could its shadow be
except deformed [P30]?
3. The descent into hell follows step by step in an inevitable course, once
the decision that guilt is real has been made. Sickness and death and misery
now stalk the earth in unrelenting waves, sometimes together and sometimes in
grim succession. Yet all these things, however real they seem, are but
illusions. Who could have faith in them once this is realized? And who could
not have faith in them until he realizes this? Healing is therapy or
correction, and we have said already and will say again, all therapy is
psychotherapy. To heal the sick is but to bring this realization to them.
4. The word "cure" has come into disrepute among the more "respectable"
therapists of the world, and justly so. For not one of them can cure, and not
one of them understands healing. At worst [P31], they but make the body real in
their own minds, and having done so, seek for magic by which to heal the ills
with which their minds endow it.
P(10)
How could such a process cure? It is ridiculous from start to finish. Yet
having started, it must finish thus. It is as if God were the devil and must be
found in evil. How could love be there? And how could sickness cure? Are not
these both one question?
5. At best, and the word is perhaps questionable here, the "healers" of the
world may recognize the mind as the source of illness. But their error lies in
the belief that it can cure itself. This has some merit in a world where
"degrees of error" is a meaningful concept. Yet must their cures remain
temporary, or another illness rise [P32] instead, for death has not been overcome
until the meaning of love is understood. And who can understand this without
the Word of God, given by Him to the Holy Spirit as His gift to you?
6. Illness of any kind may be defined as the result of a view of the self as
weak, vulnerable, evil and endangered, and thus in need of constant defense.
Yet if such were really the self, defense would be impossible. Therefore, the
defenses sought for must be magical. They must overcome all limits
perceived in the self, at the same time making a new self-concept into which
they [P33] cannot return. In a word, error is accepted as real and dealt with by
illusions. Truth being brought to illusions, reality now becomes a threat and
is perceived as evil. Love becomes feared because reality is love. Thus is the
circle closed against the "inroads" of salvation.
7. Illness is therefore a mistake and needs correction. And as we have
already emphasized before [P34], correction cannot be achieved by first
establishing the "rightness" of the mistake and then overlooking it. If illness
is real it cannot be overlooked in truth, but [P35] to overlook reality is
insanity. Yet that is magic's purpose; to make illusions true through false
perception. This cannot heal, for it opposes truth. Perhaps an illusion of
health is substituted for a little while, but not for long. Fear cannot long be
hidden by illusions, for it is part of them. It will escape and take another
form, being the source of all illusions.
P(11)
8. Sickness is insanity because all sickness is mental illness, and in it
there are no degrees. One of the illusions by which sickness is perceived as
real is the belief that illness varies in intensity; that the degree of threat
differs according to the form it takes. Herein lies the basis of all
errors [P36], for all of them are but attempts to compromise by seeing just a
little bit of hell. This is a mockery so alien to God that it must be forever
inconceivable. But the insane believe it because they are insane.
9. A madman will defend his own illusions because in them he sees his own
salvation. Thus, he will attack the one who tries to save him from them,
believing that he is attacking him. This curious circle of attack-defense is
one of the most difficult problems with which the psychotherapist must deal. In
fact, this is his central task; the core of psychotherapy. The therapist is
seen as one who is attacking the patient's most cherished possession; his
picture of himself. And since this picture has become the patient's security as
he perceives it, the therapist cannot but be seen as a real source of danger, to
be attacked and even killed.
10. The psychotherapist, then, has a tremendous responsibility. He must meet
attack without attack, and therefore without defense. It is his task to
demonstrate that defenses are not necessary, and that defenselessness is
strength. This must be his teaching, if his lesson is to be that
sanity is safe. It cannot be too strongly emphasized that the insane believe
that sanity is threat. This is the corollary of the "original sin"; the belief
that guilt is real and fully justified. It is therefore the psychotherapist’s
function to teach that guilt, being unreal, cannot be justified. But neither is
it safe. And thus it must remain unwanted as well as unreal.
11. Salvation’s single doctrine is the goal of all therapy. Relieve the mind
of the insane burden of guilt it carries so wearily, and healing is
accomplished. The body is not cured. It is merely recognized as what it is.
Seen rightly, its purpose can be understood. What is the need for sickness
then? Given this single shift, all else will follow. There is no need for
complicated change. There is no need for long analyses and wearying discussions
and pursuits. The truth is simple, being one for all.
P(12)
F. The Process of Healing
1. While truth is simple, it must still be taught to those who have already
lost their way in endless mazes of complexity. This is the great illusion. In
its wake comes the inevitable belief that, to be safe, one must control the
unknown. This strange belief relies on certain steps which never reach to
consciousness. First, it is ushered in by the belief that there are forces to
be overcome to be alive at all. And next, it seems as if these forces can be
held at bay only by an inflated sense of self that holds in darkness what is
truly felt, and seeks to raise illusions to the light.
2. Let us remember that the ones who come to us for help are bitterly afraid.
What they believe will help can only harm; what they believe will harm alone
can help. Progress becomes impossible until the patient is persuaded to reverse
his twisted way of looking at the world; his twisted way of looking at himself.
The truth is simple. Yet it must be taught to those who think it will endanger
them. It must be taught to those who will attack because they feel endangered,
and to those who need the lesson of defenselessness above all else, to show them
what is strength.
3. If this world were ideal, there could perhaps be ideal therapy. And yet
it would be useless in an ideal state. We speak of ideal teaching in a
world in which the perfect teacher could not long remain; the perfect
psychotherapist is but a glimmer of a thought not yet conceived. But still we
speak of what can yet be done in helping the insane within the bounds of the
attainable. While they are sick, they can and must be helped. No more than
that is asked of psychotherapy; no less than all he has to give is worthy of the
therapist. For God Himself holds out his brother as his Savior [P37] from the
world.
4. Healing is holy. Nothing in the world is holier than helping one who asks
for help. And two come very close to God in this attempt, however limited,
however lacking in sincerity. Where two have joined for healing, God is there.
And He has guaranteed that He will hear and answer them in truth. They can be
sure that healing is a process He directs, because it is according to His Will.
We have His Word to guide us, as we try to help our brothers. Let us not forget
that we are helpless of ourselves, and lean upon a strength beyond our little
scope for what to teach as well as what to learn [P38].
P(13)
5. A brother seeking aid can bring us gifts beyond the heights perceived in
any dream. He offers us salvation, for he comes to us as Christ and Savior.
What he asks is asked by God through him. And what we do for him becomes the
gift we give [P39] God. The sacred calling of God's holy Son for help in his
perceived distress can be but answered by his Father. Yet He needs a voice
through which to speak His holy Word; a hand to reach His Son and touch his
heart. In such a process, who could not be healed? This holy interaction is
the plan of God Himself, by which His Son is saved.
6. For two have joined. And now God's promises are kept by Him. The limits
laid on both the patient and the therapist will count as nothing, for the
healing has begun. What man [P40] must start his [P41] Father will complete. For
He has never asked for more than just the smallest willingness, the least
advance, the tiniest of whispers of His Name. To ask for help, whatever form it
takes, is but to call on Him. And He will send His Answer through the therapist
who best can serve His Son in all his present needs. Perhaps the answer does
not seem to be a gift from Heaven. It may even seem to be a worsening and not a
help. Yet let the outcome not be judged by us.
7. Somewhere all gifts of God must be received. In time no effort can be
made in vain. It is not our perfection that is asked in our attempts to heal.
We are deceived already, if we think there is a need of healing. And the truth
will come to us only through one who seems to share our dream of sickness. Let
us help him to forgive himself for all the trespasses with which he would
condemn himself without a cause [P42]. His healing is our own. And as we see the
sinless [P43] in him come shining through the veil of guilt that shrouds the Son
of God, we will behold in him the Face [P44] of Christ, and understand that it is
but our own.
8. Let us stand silently before God's Will, and do what It [P45] has chosen
that we do. There is one way alone by which we come to where all dreams began.
And it is there that we will lay them down, to come away in peace forever. Hear
a brother call for help and answer him. It will be God to Whom you answer, for
you called on Him. There is no other way to hear His Voice. There is no other
way to find [P46] His Son. There is no other way to seek [P47] your Self. Holy is
healing, for the Son of God returns to Heaven through its kind embrace. For
healing tells him, in the Voice of [P48] God, that all [P49] his sins have been
forgiven him [P50].
P(14)
G. The Definition of Healing
1. The process of psychotherapy, then, can be defined simply as forgiveness,
for no healing can be anything else. The unforgiving are sick, believing they
are unforgiven. The hanging-on to guilt, its hugging-close and sheltering, its
loving protection and alert defense, -- all this is but the grim refusal to
forgive. "God may not enter here" the sick repeat, over and over, while they
mourn their loss and yet rejoice in it. Healing occurs as a patient begins to
hear the dirge he sings, and questions its validity. Until he hears it, he
cannot understand that it is he who sings it to himself. To hear it is the
first step in recovery. To question it must then become his choice.
2. There is a tendency, and it is very strong, to hear this song of death [P51]
an instant, and then dismiss it uncorrected. These fleeting awarenesses
represent the many opportunities given us literally "to change our tune." The
sound of healing can be heard instead. But first the willingness to
question the "truth" of the song of condemnation must arise. The strange
distortions woven inextricably into the self-concept, itself but a
"pseudo-creation [P52]," make this ugly sound seem truly beautiful. "The rhythm
of the universe," "the herald angel's song, [P53] " all these and more are heard
instead of loud discordant shrieks.
3. The ear translates; it does not hear. The eye reproduces; it does not
see. Their task is to make agreeable whatever is called on, however
disagreeable it may be. They answer the decisions of the mind, reproducing its
desires and translating them into acceptable and pleasant forms. Sometimes the
thought behind the form breaks through, but only very briefly, and the mind
grows fearful and begins to doubt its sanity. Yet it will not permit its slaves
to change the forms they look upon; the sounds they hear. These are its
"remedies"; its "safeguards" from insanity.
4. These testimonies which the senses bring have but one purpose; to justify
attack and thus keep unforgiveness unrecognized for what it is. Seen
undisguised it is intolerable. Without protection it could not endure. Here is
all sickness cherished, but without the recognition that this is so. For when
an unforgiveness is not recognized, the form it takes seems to be something
else. And now it is the "something else" that seems to terrify. But it is not
the "something else" that can be healed. It is not sick, and
P(15)
needs no remedy. To concentrate your healing efforts here is but futility. Who
can cure what cannot be sick and make it well?
5. Sickness takes many forms, and so does unforgiveness. The forms of one
but reproduce the forms of the other, for they are the same illusion. So
closely is one translated into the other, that a careful study of the form a
sickness takes will point quite clearly to the form of unforgiveness that it
represents. Yet seeing this will not effect a cure. That is achieved by only
one recognition; that only forgiveness heals an unforgiveness, and only an
unforgiveness can possibly give rise to sickness of any kind.
6. This realization is the final goal of psychotherapy. How is it reached?
The therapist sees in the patient all that he has not forgiven in himself, and
is thus given another chance to look at it, open it to re-evaluation and forgive
it. When this occurs, he sees his sins as gone into a past that is no longer
here. Until he does this, he must think of evil as besetting him here
and now. The patient is his screen for the projection of his sins, enabling him
to let them go. Let him retain one spot of sin in what he looks upon, and his
release is partial and will not be sure.
7. No one is healed alone. This is the joyous song salvation sings to all
who hear its Voice. This statement cannot be too often remembered by all who
see themselves as therapists. Their patients can but be seen as the bringers of
forgiveness, for it is they who come to demonstrate their sinlessness to eyes
that still believe that sin is there to look upon. Yet will the proof of
sinlessness, seen in the patient and accepted in the therapist, offer the mind
of both a covenant in which they meet and join and are as one.
P(16)
H. The Ideal Patient-Therapist Relationship
1. Who, then, is the therapist, and who is the patient? In the end, everyone
is both. He who needs healing must heal. "Physician, heal thyself [P54]." Who
else is there to heal? And who else is in need of healing? Each patient who
comes to a therapist offers him a chance to heal himself. He is therefore his
therapist. And every therapist must learn to heal from each patient who comes
to him. He thus becomes his patient. God does not know of separation. What He
knows is only that He has one Son. His knowledge is reflected in the ideal
patient-therapist relationship. God comes to him who calls, and in Him he [P55]
recognizes Himself.
2. Think carefully, teacher and therapist, for whom you pray, and who is in
need of healing. For therapy is prayer, and healing is its aim and its result.
What is prayer except the joining of minds in a relationship which Christ can
enter? This is His home, into which psychotherapy invites Him. What is symptom
cure, when another is always there to choose? But once Christ enters in, what
choice is there except to have Him stay? There is no need for more than this,
for it is everything. Healing is here, and happiness and peace. These are the
"symptoms" of the ideal patient-therapist relationship, replacing those with
which the patient came to ask for help.
3. The process that takes place in this relationship is actually one in which
the therapist in his heart tells the patient that all his sins have been
forgiven him, along with his own. What could be the difference between healing
and forgiveness? Only Christ forgives, knowing His sinlessness. His vision
heals perception and sickness disappears. Nor will it return again, once its
cause has been removed. This, however, needs the help of a very advanced
therapist, capable of joining with the patient in a holy relationship in which
all sense of separation finally is overcome.
4. For this, one thing and one thing only is required: The therapist in no
way confuses himself with God. All "unhealed healers" make this fundamental
confusion in one form or another, because they must regard themselves as
self-created rather than God-created. This confusion is rarely if ever in
awareness, or the unhealed
P(17)
healer would instantly become a Teacher of God, devoting his life to the
function of true healing. Before he reached this point, he thought he was in
charge of the therapeutic process and was therefore responsible for its outcome.
His patient's failures [P56] thus became his own mistakes [P57], and guilt became
the cover, dark and strong, for what should be the Holiness of Christ. Guilt is
inevitable in those who use their judgment in making their decisions. Guilt is
impossible in those through whom the Holy Spirit speaks.
5. The passing of guilt is the true aim of therapy and the obvious aim of
forgiveness. In this their oneness can be clearly seen. Yet who could
experience the end of guilt who feels responsible for his brother in the role of
guide for him? Such a function presupposes a knowledge that no one here can
have; a certainty of past, present and future, and of all the effects that may
occur in them. Only from this omniscient point of view would such a role be
possible. Yet no perception is omniscient, nor is the tiny self of one alone
against the universe able to assume he has such wisdom except in madness. That
many therapists are mad is obvious. No unhealed healer can be wholly sane.
6. Yet it is as insane not to accept a function God has given you as to
invent one He has not. The advanced therapist in no way can ever doubt the
power that is in him. Nor does he doubt its Source. He understands all power
in earth and Heaven belongs to him because of who he is [P58]. And he is this
because of his Creator, Whose Love is in him and Who cannot fail.
Think what this means; he has the gifts of God Himself to give away. His
patients are God's saints [P59], who call upon his sanctity to make it theirs.
And as he gives it to them, they behold Christ's shining face [P60] as it looks
back at them.
7. The insane, thinking they are God, are not afraid to offer weakness to the
Son of God [P61]. But what they see in him because of this they fear indeed. The
unhealed healer cannot but be fearful of his patients, and suspect them of the
treachery he sees in him. He tries to heal, and thus at times he may. But he
will not succeed except to some extent and for a little while. He does not see
the Christ in him who calls.
P(18)
What answer can he give to one who seems to be a stranger; alien to the truth
and poor in wisdom, without the god who must be given him? Behold your God in
him, for what you see will be your Answer.
8. Think what the joining of two brothers really means. And then forget the
world and all its little triumphs and its dreams of death. The same are one,
and nothing now can be remembered of the world of guilt. The room becomes a
temple, and the street a stream of stardust brushing [P62] lightly past all sickly
dreams. Healing is done, for what is perfect needs no healing, and what remains
to be forgiven where there is no sin?
9. Be thankful, therapist, that you can see such things as this, if you but
understand your proper role. But if you fail in that [P63], you have denied that
God created you, and so you will not know you are His Son [P64]. Who is your
brother [P65] now? What saint [P66] can come to take you home with him? You lost
the way. And can you now expect to see in him an answer that you have refused
to give? Heal and be healed. There is no other choice of pathways that can
ever lead to peace. Oh let your patient in, for he has come to you from God.
Is not his holiness enough to wake your memory of Him?
P(19)
IV. The Practice Of Psychotherapy
A. The Selection of Patients
1. Everyone who is sent to you is a patient of yours. This does not mean
that you select him, nor that you choose the kind of "treatment" that is
suitable. But it does mean that no one comes to you by mistake. There are no
errors in God's plan. It would be an error, however, to assume that you know
what to offer everyone who comes. This is not up to you to decide. There is a
tendency to assume that you are being called on constantly to make sacrifices of
yourself for those who come. This could hardly be true. To demand sacrifice of
yourself is to demand a sacrifice of God, and He knows nothing of sacrifice.
Who could ask of Perfection that He be imperfect?
2. Who, then, decides what each brother needs? Surely not you, who do not
yet recognize who he is who asks. There is Something in him that will tell you,
if you listen. And that is the answer; listen. Do not demand, do not decide,
do not sacrifice. Listen. What you hear is true. Would God send His Son to
you and not be sure you recognize his needs? Think what God is telling you; He
needs your voice to speak for Him. Could anything be holier? Or a greater gift
to you? Would you rather choose who would be god, or hear the Voice of Him Who
is God in you?
3. Your patients need not be physically present for you to serve them in the
Name of God. This may be hard to remember, but God will not have His gifts to
you limited to the few you actually see. You can see others as well, but [P67]
seeing is not limited to the body's eyes. Some do not need your physical
presence. They need you as much, and perhaps even more, at the instant they are
sent. You will recognize them in whatever way can be most helpful to both of
you. It does not matter how they come. They will be sent in whatever form is
most helpful; a name, a thought, a picture, an idea, or perhaps just a feeling
of reaching out to someone somewhere. The joining is in the hands of the Holy
Spirit. It cannot fail to be accomplished.
P(20)
4. A holy therapist, an advanced Teacher of God, never forgets
one thing; he did not make the curriculum of salvation, nor did he establish his
part in it. He understands that his part is necessary to the whole, and that
through it he will recognize the whole when his part is complete. Meanwhile he
must learn, and his patients are the means sent to him for his learning. What
could he be but grateful for them and to them? They come bearing God. Would he
refuse this Gift for a pebble, or would he close the door on the savior of the
world to let in a ghost? Let him not betray the Son of God. Who calls on him
is far beyond his understanding. Yet would he not rejoice that he can answer,
when only thus will he be able to hear the call and understand that it is his?
P(21)
B. Is Psychotherapy a Profession?
1. Strictly speaking the answer is no. How could a separate profession be
one in which everyone is engaged? And how could any limits be laid on an [P68]
interaction in which everyone is both patient and therapist in every
relationship in which he enters? Yet practically speaking, it can still be said
that there are those who devote themselves primarily to healing of one sort or
another as their chief function. And it is to them that a large number of
others [P69] turn for help. That, in effect, is the practice of therapy.
These [P70] are therefore "officially" helpers. They are devoted to certain kinds
of needs in their professional activities, although they may be far more able
teachers outside of them. These people need no special rules, of course, but
they may be called upon to use [P71] special applications of the general
principles of healing.
2. First, the professional therapist is in an excellent position to
demonstrate that there is no order of difficulty in healing. For this, however,
he needs special training, because the curriculum by which he became a therapist
probably taught him little or nothing about the real principles of healing. In
fact, it probably tried to teach [P72] him how to make healing impossible. Most
of the world's training programs follow [P73] a curriculum in judgment, with the
aim of making the therapist a judge.
3. Even this the Holy Spirit can use, and will use, given the
slightest invitation. The unhealed healer may be arrogant, selfish,
unconcerned, and actually dishonest. He may be disinterested and unconcerned
with [P74] healing as his major goal. Yet something happened to him, however
slight it may have been, when he chose to be a healer, however misguided the
direction he may have chosen. That "something" is enough. Sooner or later that
something will rise in awareness [P75] and grow; a patient will touch his heart,
and the therapist [P76] will silently ask him for help. He has himself found a
therapist. He has asked the Holy Spirit to enter the relationship and heal it.
He has accepted the Atonement for himself.
P(22)
4. God is said to have looked on all He created and pronounced it good [P77].
No, He declared it perfect, and so it was. And since His creations do not
change and last forever, so it is now. Yet neither a perfect therapist nor a
perfect patient can possibly exist. Both must have denied their perfection, for
their very need for each other implies a sense of lack. A one-to-one
relationship is not one Relationship. Yet it is the means of return; the way
God chose for the return of His Son. In that strange dream a strange correction
must enter, for only that is the call to awake. And what else should therapy
be? Awake and be glad, for all your sins have been forgiven you. This is the
only message that any two should ever give each other.
5. Something good must come from every meeting of patient and therapist. And
that good is saved for both, against the day when they can recognize that only
that was real in their relationship. At that moment the good [P78] is returned to
them, blessed by the Holy Spirit as a gift from their Creator as a sign of His
Love. For the therapeutic relationship must become like the relationship of the
Father and the Son. There is no other, for there is nothing else. The
therapists of this world do not expect this outcome, and many of their patients
would not [P79] be able to accept help from them if they did. Yet no therapist
really sets the goal for the relationships of which he is a part. His
understanding begins with recognizing this, and then goes on from there.
6. It is in the instant that the therapist forgets to judge the patient that
healing occurs. In some relationships this point is never reached, although
both patient and therapist may arrive at different [P80] dreams in the process.
Yet it will not be the same dream for both of them, and so it is not the dream
of forgiveness in which both will someday wake. The good is saved;
indeed is cherished. But only little time is saved and [P81] the new dreams will
lose their temporary appeal and turn to dreams of fear, which is the content of
all dreams. Yet no patient can accept more than he is ready to receive, and no
therapist can offer more than he believes he has. And so there is a place for
all relationships in this world, and they will bring as much good as each can
accept and use.
P(23)
7. Yet it is when judgment ceases that healing occurs, because only then it
can be understood that there is no order of difficulty in healing. This is a
necessary understanding for the healed healer. He has learned that it is no
harder to wake a brother from one dream than from another. No professional
therapist can hold this understanding consistently in his mind, offering it to
all who come to him. There are some in this world who have come very close, but
they have not accepted the gift entirely in order to stay and let their
understanding remain on earth until the closing of time. They could hardly be
called professional therapists. They are the Saints [P82] of God. They are the
Saviors of the world. Their image remains, because they have chosen that it be
so. They take the place of other images, and help with kindly dreams.
8. Once the professional therapist has realized that minds are joined, he can
also recognize that order of difficulty in healing is meaningless. Yet well
before he reaches this in time he can go towards it. Many holy instants can be
his along the way. A goal marks the end of a journey, not the beginning, and as
each goal is reached another can be dimly seen ahead. Most professional
therapists are still at the very start of the beginning stage of the first
journey. Even those who have begun to understand what they must do may still
oppose the setting-out. Yet all the laws of healing can be theirs in just an
instant. The journey is not long except in dreams.
9. The professional therapist has one advantage that can save enormous time
if it is properly used. He has chosen a road on [P83] which there is great
temptation to misuse his role. This enables him to pass by many obstacles to
peace quite quickly, if he escapes the temptation to assume a function that has
not been given him. To understand there is no order of difficulty in healing,
he must also recognize the equality of himself and the patient. There
is no halfway point in this. Either they are equal or not. The attempts of
therapists to compromise in this respect are strange indeed. Some utilize the
relationship merely to collect bodies to worship at their shrine, and this they
regard as healing.
P(24)
Many patients, too, consider this strange procedure as salvation. Yet at each
meeting there is One Who says, "My brother, choose again."
10. Do not forget that any form of specialness must be defended, and will be.
The defenseless therapist has the strength of God with him, but the defensive
therapist has lost sight of the Source of his salvation. He does not see and he
does not hear. How, then, can he teach? Because it is the Will of God that he
take his place in the plan for salvation. Because it is the Will of God that
his patients be helped to join with him there. Because his inability to see and
hear does not limit the Holy Spirit in any way, except [P84] in time. In time
there can be a great lag between the offering and the acceptance of healing.
This is the veil across the Face of Christ. Yet it can be but an illusion,
because time does not exist and the Will of God has always been exactly as it
is.
P(25)
C. The Question of Payment
1. No one can pay for therapy, for healing is of God and He asks for nothing.
It is, however, part of His plan that everything in this world be used by the
Holy Spirit to help in carrying out the plan. Even an advanced therapist has
some earthly needs while he is here. Should he need money it will be given him,
not in payment, but to help him better serve the plan. Money is not evil. It
is nothing. But no one here can live with no illusions, for he must yet strive
to have the last illusion be accepted by everyone everywhere. He has a mighty
part in this one purpose, for which he came. He stays here but for this. And
while he stays he will be given what he needs to stay.
2. Only an unhealed healer could [P85] try to heal for money, and he will not
succeed to the extent to which he values it. Nor will he find his healing in
the process. There will be those of whom the Holy Spirit asks some payment for
His purpose. There will be those from whom He does not ask. It should not be
the therapist who makes these decisions. There is a difference between
payment and cost. To give money where God's plan allots it has no cost. To
withhold it from where it rightfully belongs has enormous cost. The therapist
who would do this loses the name of healer, for he could never understand what
healing is. He cannot give it, and so he does not have it.
3. The therapists of this world are indeed useless to the world's salvation.
They make demands, and so they cannot give. Patients can pay only for the
exchange of illusions. This, indeed, must demand payment, and the cost is
great. A "bought" relationship cannot offer the only gift whereby all healing
is accomplished. Forgiveness, the Holy Spirit's only dream, must have no cost.
For if it does, it merely crucifies God's Son again. Can this be how he is
forgiven? Can this be how the dream of sin will end?
4. The "right to live" [P86] is something no one need fight for. It is
promised him, and guaranteed by God. Therefore it is a right the therapist and
patient share alike.
P(26)
If their relationship is to be holy, whatever one needs is given by the other;
whatever one lacks the other supplies. Herein is the relationship made holy,
for herein both are healed. The therapist repays the patient in gratitude, as
does the patient repay him. There is no cost to either. But thanks are due to
both, for the release from long imprisonment and doubt. Who would not be
grateful for such a gift? Yet who could possibly imagine that it could be
bought?
5. It has well been [P87] said that to him who hath shall be given [P88].
Because he has, he can give. And because he gives, he shall be given. This is
the law of God [P89], and not of the world. So it is with God's healers. They
give because they have heard His Word and understood it. All that they need
will thus be given them [P90]. But they will lose this understanding unless they
remember that all they have comes only from God. If they believe they need
anything from a brother, they will recognize him as a brother no longer. And if
they do this, a light goes out even in Heaven. Where God's Son turns against
himself, he can look only upon darkness. He has himself denied the light, and
cannot see.
6. One rule should always be observed: No one should be turned away because
he cannot pay. No one is sent by accident to anyone. Relationships are always
purposeful. Whatever their purpose may have been before the Holy
Spirit entered them, they are always His potential temple [P91]; the resting place
of Christ and home of God Himself. Whoever comes has been sent. Perhaps he was
sent to give his brother the money he needed. Both will be blessed thereby.
Perhaps he was sent to teach the therapist how much he needs forgiveness, and
how valueless is money in comparison. Again will both be blessed. Only in
terms of cost could one have more. In sharing, everyone must gain a blessing
without cost.
7. This view of payment may well seem impractical, and in the eyes of the
world it would be so. Yet not one worldly thought is really practical. How
much is gained by striving for illusions? How much is lost by throwing God
away? And is it possible to do so? Surely it is impractical to strive for
nothing, and to attempt to do what is impossible. Then stop a while, long
enough to think of this:
P(27)
You have perhaps been seeking for salvation without recognizing where to look.
Whoever asks your help can show you where. What greater gift than this could
you be given? What greater gift is there that you would give?
8. Physician, healer, therapist, teacher, heal thyself [P92]. Many will come
to you carrying the gift of healing, if you so choose [P93]. The Holy Spirit
never refuses an invitation to enter and abide with you. He will give you
endless opportunities to open the door to your salvation, for such is His
function. He will also tell you exactly what your function is in every
circumstance and at all times. Whoever He sends you will reach you, holding out
his hand to his Friend. Let the Christ in you bid him welcome, for that same
Christ is in him as well. Deny him entrance, and you have denied the Christ in
you. Remember the sorrowful story of the world, and the glad tidings [P94] of
salvation. Remember the plan of God for the restoration of joy and peace. And
do not forget how very simple are the ways of God:
You were lost in the darkness of the world until you asked for light. And then
God sent His Son to give it to you [P95].
{
Volume V: PSYCHOTHERAPY: purpose, process and practice... 1
I. An Introduction to Psychotherapy. 1
Ii. The Purpose Of Psychotherapy. 1
A Introduction.. 1
III. The Process Of Psychotherapy. 3
A. Introduction.. 3
B. The Limits on Psychotherapy.. 4
C. The Place of Religion in Psychotherapy.. 5
D. The Role of the Psychotherapist.. 8
E. The Process of Illness.. 9
F. The Process of Healing.. 12
G. The Definition of Healing.. 14
H. The Ideal Patient-Therapist Relationship.. 16
IV. The Practice Of Psychotherapy. 19
A. The Selection of Patients.. 19
B. Is Psychotherapy a Profession?.. 21
C. The Question of Payment.. 25
[P1] The typescript has "their", presenting an agreement in number problem: "an
individual" can only question "his" reality, (singular) while "individuals" can
question "their" reality (plural). Since the next sentence proceeds to deal with
"he" and "him" rather they "they" we correct this grammar error by replacing
"their" with "his".
[P2] Handwriting and FIP change "the" to "an earthly"
[P3] Typescript has "Light", handwriting corrects this Biblical quote to "Life".
John 14:6 "Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one
comes to the Father except through Me."
[P4] FIP replaces "in" with "midst"
[P5] Typescript and FIP have "were" here, but there is an agreement in number
problem. The subject is "what" and is singular here. If its plural, then the
following "its" needs to be "their." The grammar can also be fixed with this
change: "What projected their effects on him were made" but that doesn’t sound
at all right.
[P6] Handwriting and FIP replace "illusions" with "false"
[P7] Handwriting and FIP change "mistaken" to "error"
[P8] Handwriting and FIP change "advanced" to "sincere"
[P9] Handwriting and FIP replace "But psychotherapy" with "Therapy"
[P10] Handwriting and FIP insert "already"
[P11] Typescript has "created" with handwriting correcting it to "creative." FIP
preserves this correction.
[P12] Handwriting and FIP delete the quotation marks
[P13] Handwriting and FIP delete the quotation marks
[P14] Handwriting and FIP delete the quotation marks
[P15] Handwriting adds the word "here" which is not in the typescript.
[P16] FIP inserts "more"
[P17] Handwriting and FIP delete "they"
[P18] This heading is originally typed at the end of the paragraph; mark-up
suggests moving it, as we have done
[P19] Handwriting and FIP replace "has" with "had", making the sentence shift
from present to past tense half way through, a most curious alteration.
[P20] Handwriting and FIP replace "can" with "could"
[P21] Handwriting and FIP change this to lower case
[P22] 1 Corinthians 6:19 "Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the
Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?" 1
Corinthians 3:16 "Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the
Spirit of God dwells in you?"
[P23] Handwriting and FIP change this to lower case
[P24] Typescript spells it "martialed", FIP spells it "marshaled"
[P25] Matthew 18:20 "For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I
am there in the midst of them.
[P26] Handwriting and FIP replace "true" with "good"
[P27] Psalm 46:10 "Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the
nations, I will be exalted in the earth!"
[P28] Handwriting and FIP replace "the psychotherapist" with "psychotherapy"
[P29] Matthew 7:7 "Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find;
knock, and it will be opened to you."
[P30] The Typescript originally has "the form" here, handwriting and FIP correct
this to "deformed"
[P31] Typescript has "worse", FIP corrects it to "worst" as we do.
[P32] Typescript has "lies", Handwriting and FIP correct this to "rise"
[P33] Handwriting and FIP replace "they" with "the old one"
[P34] FIP and handwriting delete "before"
[P35] Handwriting and FIP replace "but" with "for"
[P36] Handwriting and FIP correct the typescript which has the singular "error"
[P37] FIP removes the capital
[P38] John 5:19 "Then Jesus answered and said to them, "Most assuredly, I say to
you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for
whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner." John 5:30 "I can of
Myself do nothing. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is righteous, because I
do not seek My own will but the will of the Father who sent Me."
[P39] Handwriting and FIP insert "to" here.
[P40] Handwriting and FIP replace "man" with "they"
[P41] Handwriting and FIP replace "his" with "their"
[P42] Matthew 6:12-15 "And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our
debtors.
And bring us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.
For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive
you.
But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive
your trespasses."
[P43] Handwriting and FIP replace "sinless" with "sinlessness"
[P44] Handwriting and FIP make this lower case.
[P45] Handwriting and FIP make this lower case.
[P46] Handwriting and FIP replace "find" with "seek"
[P47] Handwriting and FIP replace "seek" with "find"
[P48] Handwriting and FIP replace "of" with "for"
[P49] Handwriting and FIP insert "all"
[P50] Our copy of the typescript is missing the last word, "him".
[P51] Handwriting and FIP insert "only"
[P52] Handwriting and FIP delete quotation marks
[P53] Luke 2:13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the
heavenly host praising God, and saying,
Luke 2:14 Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace among men in whom he
is well pleased.
[P54] Handwriting and FIP delete quotation marks; Biblical quote Luke 4:23 "And
he said unto them, Doubtless ye will say unto me this parable, Physician, heal
thyself: whatsoever we have heard done at Capernaum, do also here in thine own
country."
[P55] The capitals on Him and He are reversed in the typescript.
[P56] Handwriting and FIP have "errors" in place of "failures"
[P57] Handwriting and FIP have "failures" in place of "mistakes"
[P58] Matthew 28:18 "And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has
been given to Me in heaven and on earth."
[P59] The word "saints" is used in the New Testament frequently to include, it
would seem, the entire Church membership. For example Paul writes of his
persecution of the early Church: "Acts 26:10 And this I also did in Jerusalem:
and I both shut up many of the saints in prisons, having received authority from
the chief priests, and when they were put to death, I gave my vote against
them." Later the Roman Church narrowed the definition massively. We suspect
the meaning here is the broad and inclusive New Testament usage. Also see: P IV
B 7 (23) and P III H 9 (18) and P III H 6 (17).
[P60] Matthew 17:2 "and he was transfigured before them: and his face did shine
as the sun, and his garments became white as the light." The word "shine" as in
"shine on" and "shine through" and "shine with" along with "shines" and "shined"
and "shining" occurs frequently (256 times in this compilation) and in the New
Testament generally refers to the divine manifest in a human. This metaphorical
use of "shine" is continued in ACIM and appears connected in this sentence to
the literary image "the face of Christ" which is also often used in ACIM.
[P61] Handwriting and FIP change "Son of God" to "God’s Son"
[P62] Handwriting and FIP replace "stardust brushing" with "stars that brush"
[P63] Handwriting and FIP change "that" to "this"
[P64] "Son" is not capitalized originally.
[P65] Originally typed "bother" … this is a typo Thetford reports frequently
making in his autobiographical speech
[P66] The word "saints" is used in the New Testament frequently to include, it
would seem, the entire Church membership. For example Paul writes of his
persecution of the early Church: "Acts 26:10 And this I also did in Jerusalem:
and I both shut up many of the saints in prisons, having received authority from
the chief priests, and when they were put to death, I gave my vote against
them." Later the Roman Church narrowed the definition massively. We suspect
the meaning here is the broad and inclusive New Testament usage. Also see: P IV
B 7 (23) and P III H 9 (18) and P III H 6 (17).
[P67] Handwriting and FIP change "but" to "for"
[P68] Typescript has "a kind of" typed above the line, and crossed out by hand
[P69] Typescript has "people" typed above the line, and crossed out by hand
[P70] Typescript has "people" typed above the line, and crossed out by hand
[P71] Originally "give", typescript offers "offer" and finally "use" here.
[P72] Handwriting and FIP have "taught" instead of "tried to teach"
[P73] Handwriting and FIP replace "training programs follow" with "training
follows"
[P74] Handwriting and FIP have "may be uninterested in"
[P75] Handwriting crosses out "in awareness"; FIP omits it
[P76] Typescript has "he", handwriting and FIP substitute "therapist"
[P77] Gen 1:31 "Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very
good. So the evening and the morning were the sixth day."
[P78] Typescript has "it is"
[P79] The word "not" is handwritten, it’s not in the original typescript.
[P80] The typescript has "arrive at different", handwriting replaces that with
"change their"
[P81] Handwriting and FIP delete "and" and begin a new sentence with "The"
[P82] The word "saints" is used in the New Testament frequently to include, it
would seem, the entire Church membership. For example Paul writes of his
persecution of the early Church: "Acts 26:10 And this I also did in Jerusalem:
and I both shut up many of the saints in prisons, having received authority from
the chief priests, and when they were put to death, I gave my vote against
them." Later the Roman Church narrowed the definition massively. We suspect
the meaning here is the broad and inclusive New Testament usage. Also see: P IV
B 7 (23) and P III H 9 (18) and P III H 6 (17).
[P83] Typescript has "chosen a role on which", handwriting changes that to
"chosen a road on which", and then changes it again, with FIP to "chosen a road
in which." Temptations aren’t "in" roads, but rather are "on" them, so we’re
going with the second option. Otherwise, perhaps the original "role in which"
is correct. It has probably been rejected because the word role occurs later in
the sentence.
[P84] Manuscript and FIP both have "Except in time" as a separate sentence.
There is no need for a sentence break here, and introducing one makes "except in
time" an orphaned sentence fragment.
[P85] Handwriting and FIP suggest "would"
[P86] Handwriting and FIP delete quotation marks.
[P87] Typescript has "be said", handwriting corrects this to "been said"
[P88] Matthew 13:12 "For whoever has, to him more will be given, and he will
have abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away
from him."
[P89] Romans 8:6-8 "For the mind of the flesh is death; but the mind of the
spirit is life and peace: because the mind of the flesh is enmity against God;
for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can it be: and they
that are in the flesh cannot please God. "
[P90] Matthew 6:31-33 "Be not therefore anxious, saying, What shall we eat? or,
What shall drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? For after all these
things do the Gentiles seek; for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need
of all these things. But seek ye first his kingdom, and his righteousness; and
all these things shall be added unto you."
[P91] 1 Corinthians 3:16 "Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that
the Spirit of God dwells in you?"
[P92] Luke 4:23 "He said to them, "You will surely say this proverb to Me,
"Physician, heal yourself! Whatever we have heard done in Capernaum, do also
here in Your country.""
[P93] Handwriting and FIP change "choose" to "elect"
[P94] Luke 1:19 "And the angel answered and said to him, "I am Gabriel, who
stands in the presence of God, and was sent to speak to you and bring you these
glad tidings.""
[P95] Romans 8:3 "For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the
flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on
account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh,"-
-
}
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Volume VI: SONG OF PRAYER
{proof reader’s V 4.1 © 2005-2006 Doug Thompson
October 28, 2006
Concordance Tags Edition
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Volume VI: SONG OF PRAYER
I. Prayer
A. Introduction:
1. Prayer is the greatest gift with which God blessed His Son at his creation.
It was then what it is to become; the single voice Creator and creation share;
the song the Son sings to the Father, Who returns the thanks it offers Him unto
the Son. Endless the harmony, and endless, too, the joyous concord of the Love
They give forever to each other. And in this, creation is extended. God gives
thanks to His extension in His Son. His Son gives thanks for his creation, in
the song of his creating in his Father's Name. The Love They share is what all
prayer will be throughout eternity, when time is done. For such it was before
time seemed to be.
2. To you who are in time a little while, prayer takes the form that best will
suit your need. You have but one. What God created one must recognize its
oneness, and rejoice that what illusions seemed to separate is one forever in
the Mind of God. Prayer now must be the means by which God's Son leaves
separate goals and separate interests by, and turns in holy gladness to the
truth of union in his Father and himself.
3. Lay down your dreams, you holy Son of God, and rising up as God created you,
dispense with idols and remember Him. Prayer will sustain you now, and bless
you as you lift your heart [S1] to Him in rising song that reaches higher and then
higher still, until both high and low have disappeared. Faith in your goal will
grow and hold you up as you ascend the shining stairway to the lawns of Heaven
and the gate of peace. For this is prayer, and here salvation is. This is the
way. It is God's gift to you [S2].
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4. Asking is holy, and it is holy because it is a way of reaching God. He is
the Answerer because you are in need of an Answer. No one can [S3] ask for
another and receive the answer for him. But you can, and indeed you must, help
him by offering your love and support that his answer [S4] be holy and his true
need recognized. That is prayer; it is the same for yourself or for another.
There is no difference; if you received the answers for another, there would be
a difference.
5. This does not mean you cannot get messages for another, if it is God Who
chooses this way of reaching him. This will usually happen unexpectedly,
generally in the form of a sudden feeling that you have something to tell him; a
message to deliver. You have not been wrong in the past about how you have
asked, but you are ready for a step ahead now. There are joint decisions in
which unanimity of response is a good indication of authenticity [S5]; this should
not be abandoned. But asking is a lesson in trust, and no one can trust for
another. He can only strengthen another’s trust by offering it to him and
having faith in his ability to hear for himself.
6. Asking is the way to God because it offers us [S6] his will as he would have
us [S7] hear it. We will have a series of lessons on asking because you have not
understood it. But do not think because of that that you have been mistaken in
your attempts; you have done well and will do better.
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7. Any specific question involves a large number of assumptions which
inevitably [S8] limit the answer. A specific question is actually a decision
about the kind of answer that is [S9] acceptable. The purpose of words is to
limit, and by limiting to make a vast area of experience [S10] more manageable.
But that means manageable by YOU. For many aspects of living in this world that
is necessary, but not for asking. God does not use words and does not answer in
words. He can only "speak" [S11] to the Christ in you, who translates His
Answer [S12] into whatever language you can understand and accept. Sometimes
words will limit fear; sometimes not. That is why some people hear words,
some [S13] receive feelings of inner conviction, and some do not become aware of
anything. Yet God has answered, and his answer will reach you when you are
ready.
8. Answers are not up to you. Any limit you place on [S14] them interferes with
hearing. God’s Voice is silent and speaks in silence. [S15] That means that you
do not phrase the question and you do not restrict the answer.
9. Asking is [S16] prayer. It is not a demand. It is not questioning. It is
not limitation. The only real request is for God’s answer. It [S17] needs the
humility of trust, not the arrogance of false certainty. Trust cannot lie in
idols, for that is merely faith in magic. Trust requires faith that God
understands, knows, and will answer. It means a state of peace. For this you
can [S18] safely ask. In fact, if you do not feel that you [S19] have it, asking is
the only real request [S20] you can make.
B. True Prayer
1. Prayer is a [S21] way offered by the Holy Spirit to reach God. It is not
merely a question or an entreaty. It cannot succeed until you realize that it
asks for nothing. How else could it serve its purpose? It is impossible to
pray for idols and hope to reach God. True prayer must avoid the pitfall of
asking to entreat. Ask, rather, to receive what is already given [S22]; to accept
what is already there.
2. You have been told to ask the Holy Spirit for the answer to any
specific
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problem, and that you will receive a specific answer if such is your need. You
have also been told that there is only one problem and one answer. In prayer
this is not contradictory. There are decisions to make here, and they must be
made whether they be illusions or not. You cannot be asked to accept answers
which are beyond the level of need that [S23] you [S24] recognize. Therefore, it is
not the form of the question that matters, nor how it is asked. The form of the
answer, if given by God through His Voice [S25], will suit your need as you see
it. This is merely an echo of the reply of His Voice. The real sound is always
a song of thanksgiving and love [S26].
3. We [S27] cannot, then, ask for the echo. It is the song that is the gift.
Along with it come the overtones, the harmonics, the echoes, but these are
secondary. In true prayer you hear only the song. All the rest is merely
added. You have sought first the Kingdom of Heaven, and all else has indeed
been given you [S28].
4. The secret of true prayer is to forget the things you think you need. To
ask for the specific is much the same as to look on sin and then forgive it.
Also in the same way, in prayer you overlook your specific needs as you see
them, and let them go into His [S29] Hands. There they become your gifts to Him,
for they tell Him that you would have no gods before Him [S30]; no Love [S31] but
His. What could His answer be but your remembrance of Him? Can this be traded
for a bit of trifling advice about a problem of an instant's duration? God
answers only for eternity. But still all little answers are contained in this.
5. Prayer is a stepping aside; a letting go, a quiet time of listening and
loving. It should not be confused with supplication of any kind, because it is
a way of remembering your holiness. Why should holiness entreat, being fully
entitled to everything Love has to offer? And it is to Love one goes [S32] in
prayer. Prayer is an offering; a giving up of oneself [S33] to be at one with
Love. There is nothing to ask because there is nothing left to want. That
nothingness becomes the altar of God. It disappears in Him.
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6. This is not a level of prayer that everyone can attain as yet. Those who
have not [S34] need your help in prayer because their asking is not yet based upon
acceptance. Help in prayer does not mean that another mediates between you and
God. But it does mean that another can stand [S35] beside you and help [S36] to
raise you up to Him. One who has realized the goodness of God prays
without fear. And one who prays without fear cannot but reach Him. He can
therefore also reach His Son, wherever he may be and whatever form he may seem
to take.
7. Praying to Christ in anyone is true prayer because it is a gift of thanks to
His Father. To ask that Christ be but Himself is not an entreaty but it IS [S37]
a song of thanksgiving for what you are. Herein lies the power of prayer. It
asks nothing and receives everything. This prayer can be shared because it
receives for everyone. To pray with one who knows that this is true is to be
answered. Perhaps the specific form of solution [S38] for a specific problem will
occur to either of you; it does not matter which. Perhaps it will reach both,
if you are genuinely attuned to one another. It will come because you have
realized that it does not matter. Therein lies its only truth [S39].
C. The Ladder of Prayer
1. Prayer has no beginning and no end. It is a part of life. But it does
change in form, and grows with learning until it reaches to its formless state,
and fuses into total communication with God. In its asking form it need not,
and often does not, make appeal to God, or even involve belief in Him. At that
level [S40] prayer is merely wanting, out of a sense of scarcity and lack.
2. That prayer, or asking-out-of-need [S41], always involves feelings of weakness
and inadequacy, and could never be made by a Son of God who knows Who he is. No
one, then, who is sure of his Identity could pray in this form [S42]. Yet it is
also true that no one who is uncertain of his Identity could [S43] avoid praying
in this way. And prayer is as continual as life. Everyone prays without
ceasing [S44]. Ask and you have received [S45], for you have established what it is
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you want.
3. It is also possible to reach a higher form of asking-out-of-need, for in
this world prayer must be used for reparation [S46], and so it must entail levels
of learning. Here, the asking may be addressed to God in honest belief, though
not yet with understanding. A vague and usually unstable sense of
identification has generally been reached, but it [S47] tends to be blurred by a
deep-rooted sense of sin. It is possible at this level to continue to ask for
things of this world in various forms, but [S48] it is also possible to ask for
qualities [S49] such as honesty or goodness, and particularly for forgiveness for
the many sources of guilt that inevitably underlie any prayer of need.
Without guilt there is no scarcity. The sinless have no needs.
4. At this level also comes [S50] that curious contradiction in terms known as
"praying for one's enemies." The contradiction lies not in the actual words,
but [S51] in the way in which they are usually interpreted. While you believe you
have enemies, you have limited prayer to the laws of this world, and [S52] limited
your ability to receive and [S53] accept to the same narrow margins. And yet, if
you have enemies you have need of prayer, and great need, too. What does the
phrase really mean? Pray for yourself, that you may not seek to imprison Christ
and thereby lose the recognition of your own Identity. Be traitor to no one, or
you will be treacherous to yourself.
5. An enemy is the symbol for [S54] an imprisoned Christ. And who could He be
except yourself? The prayer for enemies thus becomes a prayer for your own
freedom. Now it is no longer a contradiction in terms. Rather it is [S55] a
statement of the unity of Christ and a recognition of His sinlessness. And now
it has become holy, for it acknowledges the Son of God as he was created.
6. Let it never be forgotten that prayer at any level is always for yourself.
If you unite with anyone in prayer, you make him part of you. The "enemy" [S56]
is you, as is the Christ. Before it can become holy, then, prayer becomes a
choice. You do not choose for another. You can but choose for yourself. Pray
truly for your enemies,
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then, for herein lies your own salvation. Forgive them for your sins, and you
will be forgiven indeed.
7. Prayer is a ladder reaching up to Heaven. [S57] At the top there is a
transformation much like your own, for prayer is part of you. The things of
earth are left behind, all unremembered. There is no asking, for there is no
lack. Identity in Christ is fully recognized as set forever, beyond all change
and incorruptible. The light no longer flickers, and will never go out.
8. Now, without needs of any kind, and clad forever in the pure sinlessness
which [S58] is the gift of God to you, His Son, prayer can again become what it
was meant to be. For now it rises as a song of thanks to your Creator, sung
without words, or thoughts, or vain desires, unneedful now of anything at all.
So it extends, as it was meant to do. And for this giving God Himself gives
thanks.
9. God is the goal of every prayer, giving it timelessness instead of
end. Nor has it a [S59] beginning, because the goal has never changed. Prayer in
its earlier forms is an illusion, because there is no need for a ladder to reach
what one has never left. Yet prayer is part of forgiveness as long as
forgiveness, itself an illusion, remains unattained. Prayer is tied up with
learning until the goal of learning has been reached. And then all things will
be transformed together, and returned unblemished into the Mind of God.
10. Being beyond learning, this state cannot be described. The stages
necessary to its attainment, however, need to be understood, if peace is to be
restored to the Son of God [S60], who lives now with the illusion of death and the
fear of God.
D. Praying for Others
1. We said that prayer is always for yourself, and this is true [S61]. Why,
then, should you pray for others at all? And if you should, how should you do
it? Praying for others, if rightly understood, becomes a means for lifting your
projections of guilt from your brother, and enabling you to recognize it is not
he who is hurting you. The poisonous thought that he IS your enemy, your evil
counterpart, your nemesis, must be relinquished before YOU can be saved from
guilt. For this the means is prayer, of rising power and with ascending
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goals, until it reaches even up to God.
2. The earlier forms of prayer, at the bottom of the ladder, will not be free
from envy and even [S62] malice. They call for vengeance, not for love. Nor do
they come from one who understands that they are calls for death, made out of
fear by those who cherish guilt. They call upon a vengeful god, and it is he
who seems to answer them. Hell cannot be asked for another, and then escaped by
him who asks for this [S63]. Only those who are in hell can ask for hell. Those
who have been forgiven, and who have [S64] accepted their forgiveness, could never
make a prayer like this [S65].
3. At this level [S66], then, the learning goal must be to recognize that prayer
will bring an answer only in the form in which the prayer was made. This is
enough. From here it will be an easy step to the next level [S67]. It [S68] begins
with this:
"What I have asked for for my brother is not what I would have. Thus have I
made of him my enemy [S69]."
4. It is apparent that this step cannot be reached by anyone who sees no value
nor [S70] advantage to himself in setting others free. This may be long delayed,
because this step [S71] may seem to be dangerous instead of merciful. To the
guilty there seems indeed to be a real advantage in having enemies, and this
imagined gain [S72] must go, if enemies are to be set free. Guilt must be given
up, and not concealed. Nor can it be [S73] without some pain, and a glimpse of
the merciful nature of this step may for some time be followed by a deep retreat
into fear. For fear's defenses are fearful in themselves, and when they are
recognized they bring their fear with them.
5. Yet what advantage has an illusion of escape ever brought a prisoner? His
real escape from guilt can lie only in the recognition that the guilt has gone.
And how can this be recognized as long as he hides it in another, and does not
see it as his own? Fear of escape makes it difficult to welcome freedom, and to
make a jailer of an enemy seems to be safety. How, then, can he be released
without an insane fear for yourself? You have made of him your salvation and
your
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escape from guilt. Your investment in this escape is heavy, and your fear of
letting [S74] go is strong.
6. Stand still an instant, now, and think what you have done. Do not forget
that it is you who did it, and who can therefore let it go. Hold out your hand.
This enemy has come to bless you. Take his blessing, and feel how your heart
is lifted and your fear released. Do not hold on to it, nor onto him. He is a
Son of God, along with you. He is no jailer, but a messenger of Christ. Be
this to him, that you may see him thus.
7. It is not easy to realize that prayers for things, for status [S75], for
external "gifts" of any kind, are always made to set up jailers and to hide from
guilt. Yet these things, too, [S76] are used for goals that substitute for God,
and therefore distort the purpose of prayer. The desire for them IS the prayer.
One need not ask explicitly. The goal of God is lost in the quest for lesser
goals of any kind, and prayer becomes requests for enemies. The power of prayer
can be quite clearly recognized even in this. No one who wants an enemy will
fail to find one. But just as surely will he lose the only true goal that is
given him. Think of the cost, and understand it well. All other goals are at
the cost of God.
E. Praying with Others
1. Until the second step [S77] at least begins, one cannot share in prayer, [S78]
for until that point, each one must ask for different things. But once the need
to hold the other as an enemy has been questioned, and the reason [S79] has been
recognized if only for an instant, it becomes [S80] possible to join in prayer.
Enemies do not share a goal and it is here [S81] their enmity is kept. Their
separate wishes are their arsenals; their fortresses in hate. The key to rising
further still in prayer lies in this simple thought; this change of mind:
We go together, you and I.
2. Now it is possible to help in prayer, and so reach up yourself. This step
begins the quicker ascent, but there are still many lessons [S82] to learn. The
way is open, and hope is justified. Yet it is likely at first that what is
asked for even by those who join [S83] in prayer is not the goal that prayer
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should truly seek. Even together they [S84] may ask for things, and thus set up
but an illusion of a goal they [S85] share. They [S86] may ask together for
specifics, and not realize that they [S87] are asking for effects without the
cause. And this they [S88] cannot have. For no one can receive effects alone,
and choose [S89] a cause from which they do not come to offer them to him. Even
the joining, then, is not enough, if those who pray together do not ask, before
all else, what is the Will of God. From this Cause only can the Answer [S90] come
in which are all specifics satisfied; all separate wishes unified in one.
3. Prayers [S91] for specifics always ask [S92] to have the past repeated in some
way. What was enjoyed before, or seemed to be, -- what was [S93] another's and he
seemed to like [S94], -- all these are but illusions from the past. The aim of
prayer is to release the present from its chains of past illusions; to let it be
a freely chosen remedy from every choice that stood for a mistake. What prayer
can offer now so far exceeds all that you asked before that it is pitiful to be
content with less.
4. You have [S95] a newborn-chance each time you pray. And would you stifle and
imprison it in ancient prisons, when the chance has come to free yourself from
all of them at once? Do not restrict your asking. Prayer can bring the peace
of God. What time-bound thing can give you more than this, in just the little
space that lasts until it crumbles into dust?
F. The Ladder Ends
1. Prayer is a way to true humility. But [S96] here again it rises [S97] up,
slowly at first [S98], and grows in strength and love and holiness. Let it but
leave the ground where it begins to rise to God, and true humility will come at
last to grace the mind that thought it was alone and stood against the world.
Humility brings peace because it does not claim that you must rule the universe,
nor [S99] judge all things as you would have them be. All little gods it gladly
lays aside, not in resentment, but in honesty and recognition that they did [S100]
not serve.
2. Illusions and humility have goals so far apart they cannot coexist,
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nor share a dwelling place [S101]. Where one has come the other disappears. The
truly humble have no goal but God because they need no idols, and defense no
longer has [S102] a purpose. Enemies are useless now, because humility does not
oppose. It does not hide in shame because it is content with what it is,
knowing creation is the Will of God. Its selflessness is Self, and this it sees
in every meeting, where it gladly joins with every Son of God, whose purity it
recognizes that it shares with him. Now prayer is lifted from the world of
things, of bodies, and of gods of every kind, and you can rest in holiness at
last. Humility has taught [S103] you how to understand your glory as God's Son,
and recognize the arrogance of sin. A dream has veiled the face of Christ from
you. Now can you look upon His sinlessness.
3. High has the ladder risen. You have come almost to Heaven. There is little
more to learn before the journey is complete. Now [S104] you say to everyone
who [S105] joins in prayer with you:
"I cannot go without you,
for you are a part of me."
And so he is in truth. Now must [S106] you pray only for what you truly share
with him. For you have understood he never left, and you, who seemed alone, are
one with him.
4. The ladder ends with this, for learning is no longer needed. Now you stand
before the gate of Heaven, and your brother stands beside you there. The lawns
are deep and still, for here the place appointed for the time when you should
come has waited long for you. Here will time end forever. At this gate
eternity itself will join with you. Prayer has become what it was meant to be,
for you have recognized the Christ in you.
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II. Forgiveness
A. Introduction
1. Forgiveness offers wings to prayer, to make its rising easy and its progress
swift. Without its strong support it would be vain to try to rise above
the [S107] bottom step, or even to attempt to climb at all. Forgiveness is
prayer's ally; sister in the plan for your salvation. Both must come to hold
you up and keep your feet secure; your purpose steadfast and unchangeable.
Behold the greatest help that God ordained to be with you until you reach to
Him. Illusion's end will come with this. Unlike the timeless nature of its
sister prayer, forgiveness has an end, for it becomes unneeded when the rising
up is done. Yet now it has a purpose beyond which you cannot go, nor have you
need to go. Accomplish this and you have been redeemed. Accomplish this and
you have been transformed. Accomplish this and you will save the world.
B. Forgiveness of Yourself
1. No gift of Heaven has been more misunderstood than has forgiveness. It has,
in fact, become a scourge; a curse where it was meant to bless, a cruel mockery
of grace, a parody upon the holy peace of God. Yet those who have not yet
elected [S108] to begin the steps of prayer cannot but use it thus.
Forgiveness's [S109] kindness is obscure at first, because salvation is not
understood, NOR TRULY SOUGHT FOR . What was meant to heal is used to hurt
because forgiveness is not wanted. Guilt becomes salvation, and the remedy
appears to be a terrible alternative to life.
2. Forgiveness-to-destroy will therefore suit the purpose of the world far
better than its true objective, and the honest means by which this goal is
reached. Forgiveness-to-destroy will overlook no sin, no crime, no guilt that
it can [S110] find and "love." Dear to its heart is error, and mistakes loom
large and grow and swell within its sight. It carefully picks out all evil
things, and overlooks the loving as a plague; a hateful thing of danger and of
death. Forgiveness-to-destroy IS death [S111], and this it sees in
everything [S112]
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it looks upon and hates. God's mercy has become a twisted knife that would
destroy the holy Son He loves.
3. Would you forgive yourself for doing this? Then learn that
God has given you a [S113] means by which you can return to Him in peace. DO NOT
SEE ERROR. Do not make it real. Select the loving and forgive the sin by
choosing in its place the face of Christ. How otherwise can prayer return to
God? He loves His Son. Can you remember Him and hate what He created? You
will hate his Father if you hate the Son He loves. For as you see the Son you
see yourself, and as you see yourself is God to you [S114].
4. As prayer is always for yourself, so is forgiveness [S115] given you. It is
impossible to forgive another, for it is only your sins you see in him. You
want to see them there, and not in you. That is why forgiveness of another is
an illusion. Yet it is the only happy dream in all the world; the only one that
does not lead to death. Only in someone else can you forgive yourself, for you
have called him guilty of your sins, and in him must your innocence [S116] be
found. Who but the sinful need to be forgiven? And do not ever think you can
see sin in anyone except yourself.
5. This is the great deception of the world, and you the great deceiver of
yourself. It always seems to be another who is evil, and in his sin you are the
injured one. How could freedom be possible if this were true [S117]? You would
be slave to everyone, for what he does entails your fate, your feelings, your
despair or hope, your misery or joy. You have no freedom unless he gives it to
you. And being evil, he can only give of what he is. You cannot see his sins
and not your own. But you can free him and yourself as well.
6. Forgiveness, truly given, is the only way in which your [S118] hope of freedom
lies. Others will make mistakes and so will you, as long as this illusion of a
world appears to be your home. God [S119] has given all His Sons a remedy for all
illusions that they think they see. Christ's vision does not use your eyes, but
you can look through His and learn to see like Him. Mistakes are tiny shadows,
quickly gone, which [S120] for an instant only seem
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to hide the face of Christ, which still remains unchanged behind them all. His
constancy remains in tranquil silence and in perfect peace. He does not know of
shadows. His the eyes that look past error to the Christ in you.
7. Ask then His help, and ask Him how to learn forgiveness as His vision lets
it be. You are in need of what He gives, and your salvation rests on learning
this of Him. Prayer cannot be released to Heaven while
forgiveness-to-destroy remains with you. God's mercy would remove this
withering and poisoned thinking from your holy mind. Christ has forgiven you,
and in His sight the world is [S121] holy as Himself. Who sees no evil in it sees
like Him. For what He has forgiven has not sinned, and guilt can be no more.
Salvation's plan is made complete, and sanity has come.
8. Forgiveness is the call to sanity, for who but the insane would look on sin
when he could see the face of Christ instead? This is the choice you make; the
simplest one, and yet the only one that you can make. God calls on you to save
His Son from death by offering the love of Christ [S122] to him. This is your
need, and God Himself [S123] holds out this gift to you. As He would give, so
must you give as well. And thus is prayer restored to formlessness, beyond all
limits into timelessness, with nothing of the past to hold it back from
re-uniting with the ceaseless song that all creation sings unto its God.
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9. But to achieve this end you first must learn, before you reach where
learning cannot go. Forgiveness is the key, but who can use a key when he has
lost the door for which the key was made, and where alone it fits? Therefore we
make distinctions, so that prayer can be released from darkness into light.
Forgiveness's [S124] role must be reversed, and cleansed from evil usages and
hateful goals. Forgiveness-to-destroy must be unveiled in all its treachery,
and then let go forever and forever. There can be no trace of it remaining, if
the plan that God established for returning be achieved at last, and learning be
complete.
10. This is the world of opposites. And you must choose between them every
instant while this world retains reality for you. Yet you must learn
alternatives for choice, or you will not be able to attain your freedom. Let it
then be clear to you exactly what forgiveness means to you, and learn what it
should be to set you free. The level of your prayers [S125] depends on this, for
here it waits its freedom to ascend above the world of chaos into peace..
C. Forgiveness-to-destroy
1. Forgiveness-to-destroy has many forms, being a weapon of the world of form.
Not all of them are obvious, and some are carefully concealed beneath what seems
like charity. Yet all the forms that it may [S126] take have but one [S127] goal;
their purpose is to separate and make what God created equal,
different. The difference is clear in several forms where the designed
comparison cannot be missed, nor is it [S128] meant to be.
2. In this group, first, there are the forms in which a "better" person deigns
to stoop to save a baser [S129] one from what he [S130] is. Forgiveness here rests
solely on the base [S131] of gracious lordliness so far from love that arrogance
could never be dislodged. Who can forgive and yet despise? And who can tell
another he is steeped in sin, and yet perceive him as the Son of God? Who makes
a slave to teach what freedom is? There is no union here, but only grief. This
is not [S132] mercy. This is death.
3. Another form, still very like the first if it is understood, does not appear
in quite such blatant arrogance. The one who would forgive the
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other does not claim to be the better. Now he merely [S133] says [S134] that here
is one whose sinfulness he shares, since both have been unworthy and deserve the
retribution of the wrath of God. This can appear to be a humble act [S135], and
can [S136] indeed become [S137] a rivalry in baseness [S138] and in guilt. It is not
love for God's creation and the holiness that is His gift forever. Can His Son
condemn himself and still remember Him?
4. Here the goal is to separate from God the Son He loves, and keep him from
his Source. This goal is also sought by those who seek the role of martyr at
another's hand. Here must the aim be clearly seen, for this may pass as
meekness and as charity instead of cruelty. Is it not kind to be accepting of
another's spite, and not respond except with silence and a gentle smile?
Behold, how good are you who bear with patience and with saintliness the anger
and the hurt another gives, and do not show the bitter pain you feel.
5. Forgiveness-to-destroy will often hide behind a cloak like this. It shows
the face of suffering and pain, in silent proof of guilt and of the ravages of
sin. Such is the witness that it offers one who could be savior, not an enemy.
But having made him [S139] enemy, he must accept the guilt and heavy-laid reproach
that thus is put upon him. Is this love? Or is it rather treachery to one who
needs salvation from the pain of guilt? What is it for [S140], except to keep the
witnesses of guilt away from love?
6. Forgiveness-to-destroy can also take the form of bargaining and compromise.
"I will forgive you if you meet my needs, for in your slavery is my release."
Say this to anyone and you are slave. And you will seek to rid
yourself of guilt in further bargains which can give no hope, but only greater
pain and misery. How fearful has forgiveness now become, and how distorted is
the end it seeks. Have mercy on yourself who bargained [S141] thus. God gives
and does not ask for recompense. There is no giving but to give like Him. All
else is mockery. For who would try to strike a bargain with the Son of God, and
thank his Father for his holiness?
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7. What would you show your brother? Would you try to reinforce his guilt and
thus your own? Forgiveness is the means for your escape. How pitiful it is to
make of it a [S142] means for further slavery and pain. Within the world of
opposites there is a way to use forgiveness for the goal of God, and find the
peace He offers you. Take nothing else, or you have sought your death, and
prayed for separation from your Self. Christ is for all because He is in
all [S143]. It is His face forgiveness lets you see. It is His face in which you
see [S144] your own.
8. All forms forgiveness takes that do not lead away from anger, condemnation
and comparisons of every kind are death. For that is what their purposes have
set. Be not deceived by them, but lay them by as worthless in their tragic
offerings. You do not want to stay in slavery. You do not want to be afraid of
God. You want to see the sunlight and the glow of Heaven shining on the face of
earth, redeemed from sin and in the Love of God. From here is prayer released,
along with you. Your wings are free, and prayer will lift you up and bring you
home where God would have you be.
D. Forgiveness-for-Salvation
1. Forgiveness-for-Salvation has one form, and only one. It does not ask for
proof of innocence, nor pay of any kind. It does not argue, nor evaluate the
errors that it wants to overlook. It does not offer gifts in treachery, nor
promise freedom while it asks for death. Would God deceive you? He but asks
for trust and willingness to learn how to be free. He gives His Teacher to
whoever asks, and seeks to understand the Will of God. His readiness to give
lies far beyond your understanding and your simple grasp. Yet He has willed you
learn the way to Him, and in His willing there is certainty.
2. You child of God, the gifts of God are yours, not by your plans but by His
holy Will. His Voice will teach you what forgiveness is, and how to give it as
He wills it be. Do not, then, seek to understand what is beyond you yet, but
let it be a way to draw you up to where the sight [S145] of Christ becomes the
eyes [S146] you choose. Give up all else, for there IS nothing else. When
someone
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calls for help in any form, He is the One to answer for you. All that you need
do is to step back and not to interfere. Forgiveness-for-Salvation is His task,
and it is He Who will respond for you.
3. Do not establish what the form should be that His [S147] forgiveness takes.
He knows the way to make of every call a help to you, as you arise in haste to
go at last unto your Father's house [S148]. He will direct [S149] your footsteps
surely [S150], and [S151] your words sincere; not with your own sincerity, but with
His Own. Let Him take charge of how you would forgive, and each occasion then
will be to you another step to Heaven and to peace.
4. Are you not weary of imprisonment? God did not choose this sorry path for
you. What you have chosen still can be undone, for prayer is merciful and God
is just. His is a justice He can understand, but you cannot as yet. Yet [S152]
will He give the means to you to learn of Him, and know at last that
condemnation is not real and makes illusions in its evil name. And yet it
matters not the form that dreams may seem to take. Illusions are untrue. God's
Will is truth, and you are one with Him in Will and purpose. Here all dreams
are done.
5. "What should I do for this [S153], Your holy Son?" should be the only thing
you ever ask when help is needed and forgiveness sought. The form the seeking
takes you need not judge. But [S154] let it not be you who sets the form in which
forgiveness comes to save God's Son. The light of Christ in him is his release,
and it is this that answers to his call. Forgive him as the Christ decides you
should, and be His eyes through which you look on him, and speak for Him as
well. He knows the need; the question and the answer. He will say exactly what
to do, in words that you can understand [S155] and you can also use. Do not
confuse His function with your own. He is the Answer; you the one who hears.
6. And what is it He speaks to you about? About salvation and the gift of
peace. About the end of sin and guilt and death. About the role forgiveness
has in Him. Do you but listen. For He will be heard by anyone who calls upon
His Name, and
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places his forgiveness in His hands. Forgiveness has been given Him to teach,
to save it from destruction and to make the means for separation, sin and death
become again the holy gift of love [S156]. Prayer is His Own right Hand, made
free to save as true forgiveness is allowed to come from His eternal vigilance
and Love.
7. Listen and learn, and do [S157] not judge. It is to God you turn to hear what
you should do. His answer will be clear as morning, nor is His forgiveness what
you think it is. Still does He know, and that should be enough. Forgiveness
has a Teacher Who will fail in nothing. Rest a while in this; do not attempt to
judge forgiveness, nor to set it in an earthly frame. Let it arise to Christ,
Who welcomes it as gift to Him. He will not leave you comfortless [S158], nor
fail to send His angels down to answer you in His Own Name. He stands beside
the door to which forgiveness is the only key. Give it to Him to use instead of
you, and you will see the door swing silently open upon the shining face of
Christ. Behold your brother there beyond the door; the Son of God as He created
him.
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III. Healing
A. Introduction
1. Prayer has both aids and witnesses which make the steep ascent more gentle
and more sure, easing the pain of fear and offering the comfort and the promises
of hope. Forgiveness's [S159] witness and an aid to prayer, a giver of assurance
of success in ultimate attainment of the goal, is healing. Its importance
should not be too strongly emphasized, for healing is a sign or symbol of
forgiveness's [S160] strength, and only an effect or shadow of a change of mind
about the goal of prayer.
B. The Cause of Sickness
1. Do not mistake effect for cause, nor think that sickness is apart and
separate from what its cause must be. It is a sign, a shadow of an evil thought
that seems to have reality and to be just, according to the usage of the world.
It is external proof of inner "sin [S161]," and witnesses to unforgiving thoughts
that injure and would hurt the Son of God. Healing the body is impossible, and
this is shown by the brief nature of the "cure." The body yet must die, and
healing it is but a brief delay in its return [S162] to dust [S163], where it was
born and will go back [S164].
2. The body's source [S165] is unforgiveness of the Son of God. It has not left
its source, and in its pain and aging and the mark of death upon it [S166] this is
clearly shown. Fearful and frail it seems to be to those who think their life
is tied to its command and linked to its unstable, tiny breath. Death stares at
them as every moment goes irrevocably past their grasping hands, which cannot
hold them back. And they feel fear as bodies change and sicken. For they sense
the heavy scent of death upon their hearts.
3. The body can be healed as an effect of true forgiveness. Only that can give
remembrance [S167] of immortality, which is the gift of holiness and love.
Forgiveness must be given by a mind which understands that it must overlook all
shadows on the holy face of Christ, among which sickness should be seen as one.
Nothing but that; the sign of judgment made by brother upon brother, and the Son
of God upon himself. For he has damned his body as his prison,
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and forgot that it is he who gave this role to it.
4. What he has done now must God's Son undo. But not alone. For he
has thrown away the prison's key; his holy sinlessness and the remembrance of
his Father's Love. Yet help is given to him in the Voice his Father placed in
him. The power to heal is now his Father's gift, for through His Voice He still
can reach His Son, reminding him the body may become his chosen home, but it
will never be his home in truth.
C. False versus True Healing [S168]
1. Distinctions therefore must be made between true healing and its faulty
counterpart. The world of opposites is healing's place, for what in Heaven
could there be to heal? As prayer within the world can ask amiss and seeming
charity forgive to kill, so healing can be false as well as true; a witness to
the power of the world or to the everlasting Love of God.
2. False healing merely makes a poor exchange [S169] of one illusion for a
"nicer" one; a dream of sickness for a dream of health. This can occur at lower
forms of prayer, combining with forgiveness kindly meant but not completely
understood as yet. Only false healing can give way to fear, so sickness will be
apt [S170] to strike again. False healing can indeed remove a form of pain and
sickness. But the cause remains, and will not lack effects. The cause is still
the wish to die and overcome the Christ. And with this wish is death a
certainty, for prayer IS answered. Yet there is a kind of seeming death that
has a different source. It does not come because of hurtful thoughts and raging
anger at the universe. It merely signifies the end has come for usefulness of
body functioning. And so it is discarded as a choice, as one lays [S171] by a
garment now outworn.
3. This is what death should be; a quiet choice, made joyfully and with a sense
of peace, because the body has been kindly used to help the Son of God along the
way he goes to God. We thank the body, then, for all the service it has given
us. But we are thankful, too, the need is done to walk the world of limits, and
to reach the Christ in hidden forms and clearly seen at most in lovely flashes.
Now we can behold Him without blinders [S172], in the light that we
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have learned [S173] to look upon again.
4. We call it death, but it is liberty. It does not come in forms that seem to
be thrust down in pain upon unwilling flesh, but as a gentle welcome to release.
If there has been true healing, this can be the form in which death
comes when it is time to rest a while from labor gladly done and gladly ended.
Now we go in peace to freer air and gentler climate, where it is not hard to see
the gifts we gave were saved for us. For Christ is clearer now; His vision more
sustained in us; His Voice, the Word of God [S174], more certainly our own.
5. This gentle passage to a higher prayer, a kind forgiveness of the ways of
earth, can only be received with thankfulness. Yet first true healing must have
come to bless the mind with loving pardon for the sins it dreamed about and laid
upon the world. Now are its dreams dispelled in quiet rest. Now its
forgiveness comes to heal the world and it is ready to depart in peace, [S175] the
journey over and the lessons learned.
6. This is not death according to the world, for death is cruel in its
frightened eyes and takes the form of punishment for sin. How could it be a
blessing, then? And how could it be welcome when it must be feared? What
healing has occurred in such a view of what is merely opening the gate to higher
prayer and kindly justice done? Death is reward and not a punishment. But such
a viewpoint must be fostered by the healing that the world cannot conceive.
There is no partial healing. What but shifts illusions has done nothing. What
is false cannot be partly true. If you are healed your healing is complete.
Forgiveness is the only gift you give and would receive.
7. False healing rests upon the body's cure, leaving the cause of illness still
unchanged, ready to strike again until it brings a cruel death in seeming
victory. It can be held at bay a little while, and there can be brief respite
as it waits to take its vengeance on the Son of God. Yet it cannot be overcome
until all faith in it has been laid by, and placed upon God's
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substitute for evil dreams; a world in which there is no veil of sin to keep it
dark and comfortless. At last the gate of Heaven opens and God's Son is free to
enter in the home that stands ready to welcome him, and was prepared before time
was and still but [S176] waits for him.
D. Separation versus Union
1. False healing heals the body in a part, but never as a whole. Its separate
goals become quite clear in this, for it has not removed the curse of sin that
lies on it. Therefore it still deceives. Nor is it made by one who
understands the other is exactly like himself. For it is this that makes true
healing possible. When false, there is some power that another has, not equally
bestowed on both as one. Here is the separation shown. And here the meaning of
true healing has been lost, and idols have arisen to obscure the unity that is
the Son of God.
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2. Healing-to-separate may seem to be a strange idea. Yet [S177] it can be said
of any form of healing that is based on inequality of any kind. These forms may
heal the body, and indeed are generally limited to this. Someone knows better,
has been better trained, or is perhaps more talented and wise. Therefore, he
can give healing to the one who stands beneath him in his patronage. The
healing of the body can be done by this because, in dreams, equality cannot be
permanent. The shifts and change are what the dream is made of. To be healed
appears to be to find a wiser one who, by his arts and learning, will succeed.
3. Someone knows better; this the magic phrase by which the body seems to be
the aim of healing as the world conceives of it. And to this wiser one another
goes to profit by his learning and his skill; to find in him the remedy for
pain. How can that be? True healing cannot come from inequality assumed and
then accepted as the truth, and used to help restore the wounded and to calm the
mind that suffers from the agony of doubt.
4. Is there a role for healing, then, that one can use to offer help for
someone else? In arrogance the answer must be "no." Yet [S178] in humility there
is indeed a place for helpers. It is like the role that helps in prayer, and
lets forgiveness be what it is meant to be. You do not make yourself the bearer
of the special gift that brings the healing. You but recognize your oneness
with the one who calls for help. For in this oneness is his separate sense
dispelled, and it is this that made him sick. There is no point in giving
remedy apart from where the source of sickness is, for never thus can it be
truly healed.
5. Healers there are, for they are Sons of God who recognize their Source, and
understand that all their Source creates is one with them. This is the remedy
that brings relief which cannot fail. It will remain to bless for all eternity.
It heals no part, but wholly and forever. Now the cause of every malady has
been revealed exactly as it is. And in that place is written now the holy Word
of
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God. Sickness and separation must be healed by love and union.
Nothing else can heal as God established healing. Without Him there is no
healing, for there is no love.
6. God's Voice alone can tell you how to heal. Listen, and you will never fail
to bring His kindly remedy to those He sends to you, to let Him heal them, and
to bless all those who serve with Him in healing's name. The body's healing
will occur because its cause has gone. And now without a cause, it cannot come
again in different form. Nor will death any more be feared because it has been
understood. There is no fear in one who has been truly healed, for love has
entered now where idols used to stand, and fear has given way at last to
God [S179].
E. The Holiness of Healing
1. How holy are the healed! For in their sight their brothers share their
healing and their love. Bringers of peace - the Holy Spirit's Voice [S180],
through whom He speaks for God, Whose Voice He is - such are God's healers.
They but speak for Him and never for themselves. They have no gifts but those
they have from God. And these they share because they know that this is what He
wills. They are not special. They are holy. They have chosen holiness, and
given up all separate dreams of special attributes through which they can bestow
unequal gifts on those less fortunate. Their healing has restored their
wholeness so they can forgive, and join the song of prayer in which the healed
sing of their union and their thanks to God.
2. As witness to forgiveness, aid to prayer, and the effect of mercy truly
taught, healing is blessing. And the world responds in quickened chorus through
the voice of prayer. Forgiveness shines its merciful reprieve upon each blade
of grass and feathered wing and all the living things upon the earth. Fear has
no haven here, for love has come in all its holy oneness. Time remains only to
let the last embrace of prayer rest on the earth an instant, as the world is
shined away. This instant is the goal of all true healers, whom the Christ has
taught to see His likeness and to teach like Him [S181].
3. Think what it means to help the Christ to heal! Can anything be holier
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than this? God thanks His healers, for He knows the Cause of healing is
Himself, His Love, His Son, restored as His completion and returned to share
with Him creation's holy joy. Do not ask partial healing, nor accept an
idol for remembrance [S182] of Him Whose Love has never changed and never will.
You are as dear to Him as is the whole of His creation, for it is [S183] in you as
His eternal gift. What need have you for shifting dreams within a sorry world?
Do not forget the gratitude of God. Do not forget the holy grace of prayer. Do
not forget forgiveness of God's Son.
4. You first forgive, then pray, and you are healed. Your prayer has risen up
and called to God, Who hears and answers. You have understood that you forgive
yourself and pray for you [S184] and [S185] in this understanding you are healed.
In prayer you have united with your Source, and understood that you have never
left. This level cannot be attained until there is no hatred in your heart, and
no desire to attack the Son of God.
5. Never forget this; it is you who are God's Son, and as you choose to be to
him so are you to yourself, and God to you [S186]. Nor will your judgment fail to
reach to God, for you will give the role to Him you see in His creation. Thus
have you become "creator" [S187] in His place, and He becomes [S188] no longer Cause
but only an effect. Now healing is impossible, for on Him lies the blame [S189]
for your deception and your guilt. He Who is Love is now [S190] the source of
fear, and [S191] only fear can now be justified. Vengeance is His [S192]. His
great destroyer, death. And sickness, suffering and grievous loss become the
lot of everyone on earth, which He abandoned to the devil's care, swearing He
will deliver it no more.
6. Come unto Me, My children, once again, without such twisted thoughts upon
your hearts [S193]. You still are holy with the Holiness which fathered you in
perfect sinlessness, and still surrounds you in [S194] the arms of peace. Dream
now of healing. Then arise and lay all dreaming down forever. You are he your
S(27)
Father loves, who never left his home, nor wandered in a savage world with feet
that bleed, and with a heavy heart made hard against the Love that is the truth
in you. Give all your dreams to Christ and let Him be your Guide to healing,
leading you in prayer beyond the sorry reaches of the world.
7. He comes for Me and speaks My Word to you. I would recall My weary Son to
Me from dreams of malice to the sweet embrace of everlasting Love and perfect
peace. My arms [S195] are open to the Son I love, who does not understand that he
is healed, and that his prayer has [S196] never ceased to sing his joyful
thanks in unison with all creation, in the holiness of God [S197]. Be still an
instant [S198]. Underneath the sounds of harsh and bitter striving and defeat
there is a Voice that speaks to you of Me. Hear this an instant and you will be
healed. Hear this an instant and you have been saved.
8. Help Me to wake My children from the dream of retribution and a little life
beset with fear, that ends so soon it might as well have never been. Let Me
instead remind you of eternity, in which your joy grows greater as your love
extends along with Mine beyond infinity, where time and distance have no
meaning. While you wait in sorrow Heaven's melody is incomplete, because your
song is part of the eternal harmony of love. Without you is creation
incomplete [S199]. Return to Me Who never left His [S200] Son.
9. Listen, My child, your Father calls to you. Do not refuse to hear the Call
of [S201] Love. Do not deny to Christ what is His Own. Heaven is here and Heaven
is your home. Creation leans across the bars of time to lift the heavy burden
from the world. Lift up your hearts to greet its advent. See the shadows fade
away in gentleness; the thorns fall softly from the bleeding brow of him who is
the holy Son of God [S202]. How lovely are you, child of Holiness! How like to
Me! How lovingly I hold you in My Heart and in My Arms. How dear is every gift
that you have given Me [S203], who healed My Son and took him from the cross.
Arise and let My thanks be given you. And with My gratitude will come the gift
first of forgiveness, then eternal peace.
10. So now return your holy
S(28)
voice to Me. The song of prayer is silent without you. The universe is waiting
your release because it is its own. Be kind to it and to yourself, and then be
kind to Me. I ask but this; that you be comforted and live no more in terror
and in pain. Do not abandon Love. Remember this; whatever you may think about
yourself, whatever you may think about the world, your Father needs you and will
call [S204] to you until you come to Him in peace at last.
{
Volume VI: SONG OF PRAYER.. 1
I. Prayer.. 1
A. Introduction: 1
B. True Prayer 3
C. The Ladder of Prayer 5
D. Praying for Others. 7
E. Praying with Others. 9
F. The Ladder Ends. 10
II. Forgiveness. 12
A. Introduction. 12
B. Forgiveness of Yourself 12
C. Forgiveness-to-destroy. 15
D. Forgiveness-for-Salvation. 17
III. Healing.. 20
A. Introduction. 20
B. The Cause of Sickness. 20
C. False versus True Healing. 21
D. Separation versus Union. 23
E. The Holiness of Healing. 25
[S1] Typescript has "hearts," handwriting crosses out the "s"; Lam. 3:41
[S2] FIP omits the next six paragraphs
[S3] Handwriting suggests "You cannot"
[S4] Handwriting suggests "asking"
[S5] Typescript has a sentence break here, this section is not included in FIP at
all.
[S6] Typed in brackets (you)
[S7] Typed in brackets (you)
[S8] FIP changes this to invariably
[S9] "G" replaces "the kind of answer that is" with "what kind of answer would
be"
[S10] "G" omits "of experience"
[S11] FIP omits quotation marks
[S12] "G" doesn’t capitalize "His Answer"
[S13] FIP adds "people"
[S14] "G" has "upon" instead of "on"
[S15] 1 Kings 19:12, Ps. 46:10
[S16] Handwriting suggests "a form of"
[S17] Handwriting suggests "Thus it"
[S18] FIP has "may"
[S19] "G:" omits "feel that you"
[S20] Handwriting suggests "that"
[S21] Typescript does not have the "a" here, it is a handwritten correction
[S22] Matthew 7:7 "Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find;
knock, and it will be opened to you."
[S23] Handwriting crosses out "that"
[S24] FIP inserts "can" here
[S25] Handwriting crosses out "through His Voice"
[S26] FIP has "of Love"
[S27] "We" is crossed out and "You" is penciled in.
[S28] Mat. 6:33 "But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all
these things shall be added to you."
[S29] Handwriting and FIP change this to "God’s"
[S30] Exodus 20:3 "You shall have no other gods before Me."
[S31] Typescript is in lower case, handwriting corrects it to upper case.
[S32] Handwriting and FIP suggest "you go"
[S33] Crossed out with "yourself" penciled in.
[S34] FIP adds "reached it still", handwriting adds "still"
[S35] Handwriting crosses out "can" and pluralizes "stand" to "stands"
[S36] Handwriting and FIP have this as "helps" instead of "help"
[S37] Handwriting crosses out "but it is" , FIP inserts sentence break after
"entreaty" and leaves out "but"
[S38] FIP changes "solution" to "resolution"
[S39] Handwriting suggests "Christ is in both of you. That is its only truth."
[S40] Handwriting suggests "these levels"
[S41] Handwriting replaces "for" with "or". FIP rewrites this as "These forms of
prayer, or asking… involve" We think it was probably supposed to be "That
prayer, or asking out of need, always involves" as this requires the fewest
alterations of the text to achieve grammatical and logical sense. Typescript
has "The prayer for asking-out-of-need"
[S42] FIP changes "this form" to "these forms"
[S43] Handwriting suggests "can"
[S44] 1 Thessalonians. 5:17 "Pray without ceasing,"
[S45] Matthew. 7:7-8; "Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find;
knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who
seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened." Also see Luke. 11:19;John
17:7;16:23
[S46] FIP has "is reparative" instead of "must be used for reparation"
[S47] Handwriting crosses out "it"
[S48] FIP replaces "but" with "and"
[S49] Handwriting replaces "qualities" with "gifts"
[S50] Handwriting crosses out "comes" and adds "begins" at the end of this
sentence. FIP retains original reading.
[S51] Handwriting inserts "rather"
[S52] Handwriting inserts "have also"
[S53] FIP adds "to"
[S54] FIP changes "for" to "of"
[S55] Handwriting crosses out "Rather" and changes "it is" to "It has become".
[S56] The quotation marks are added by handwritten mark-up to the typescript
[S57] Gen. 28:12 "And he dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth, and
the top of it reached to heaven: and behold the angels of God ascending and
descending on it. "
[S58] FIP replaces "which" with "that"
[S59] Handwriting suggests "a beginning", typescript omits "a"
[S60] Handwriting suggests "God’s Son"
[S61] FIP replaces "true" with "so"
[S62] FIP omits "even"
[S63] Handwriting, FIP suggests "it"
[S64] FIP omits "have"
[S65] FIP replaces "this" with "that"
[S66] Handwriting and FIP have "these levels"
[S67] Handwriting and FIP change "level" to "levels"
[S68] Handwriting and FIP replace "it" with "The next ascent"
[S69] FIP omits quotes
[S70] FIP has "or" instead of "nor"
[S71] Handwriting and FIP replace "this step" with "it"
[S72] Typescript has "game" corrected by handwriting and FIP to "gain"
[S73] FIP and handwriting suggest "this be done"
[S74] FIP has "letting it go"
[S75] The word "attributes" is typed and struck out, the word "status" being put
in its place. Handwriting and FIP suggest adding "for human love," here.
[S76] Handwriting and FIP change "Yet these things, too, to "These things are"
[S77] Handwriting and FIP replace "step" with "level" and omit "at least"
[S78] FIP inserts sentence break here.
[S79] FIP inserts "for doing so"
[S80] Handwriting suggests "at least"
[S81] Handwriting and FIP remove "and", beginning a new sentence with "It is in
this their enmity"
[S82] The word "yet" is overstruck out in the typescript here.
[S83] Handwriting suggests "sometimes"
[S84] FIP changes "they" to "you"
[S85] FIP changes "they" to "you"
[S86] FIP changes "they" to "you"
[S87] FIP changes "they" to "you"
[S88] FIP changes "they" to "you"
[S89] Handwriting suggests "ask", FIP uses "asking"
[S90] Handwriting and FIP change "Answer" to "answer"
[S91] FIP has the singular "Prayer"
[S92] FIP has "asks"
[S93] Typescript has "is", handwriting and FIP correct this to "was"
[S94] FIP has "love"
[S95] FIP inserts "chosen"
[S96] Handwriting and FIP change "But" to "And"
[S97] Handwriting and FIP insert "slowly"
[S98] Handwriting and FIP delete "slowly at first"
[S99] Typescript has "or" corrected to "nor" by handwriting
[S100] FIP has "do"
[S101] Handwriting and FIP insert "where they can meet" "G" notes that insertion
creates IP
[S102] FIP changes "has" to "serves"
[S103] Handwriting, FIP suggest "has come to teach"
[S104] Handwriting, FIP suggest "can"
[S105] Handwriting, FIP suggest "comes to join"
[S106] Handwriting, FIP suggest "can" instead of "must"
[S107] FIP replaces "the" with "Prayer’s"
[S108] FIP has "chosen"
[S109] FIP and the typescript both have "Forgiveness’", or "s apostrophe" which
would be correct if "forgiveness" were a plural possessive case, but it is a
singular possessive case, so it should be "apostrophe s" -- From "A Manual of
Style" (12th ed., University of Chicago Press, 1969):
[S110] Handwriting, FIP add "seek and"
[S111] Romans 6:23 "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal
life in Christ Jesus our Lord."
[S112] Handwriting and FIP change "everything" to "all"
[S113] FIP changes "a" to "the"
[S114] Matthew 25:40 "And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say
to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did
it to Me.'"
[S115] Handwriting and FIP suggest "always"
[S116] FIP suggests "now"
[S117] FIP suggests "so"
[S118] Handwriting and FIP insert "only" here, removing the immediately previous
instance of "only"
[S119] Handwriting and FIP suggest "Yet God Himself"
[S120] FIP changes "which" to "that"
[S121] Handwriting and FIP suggest "becomes as"
[S122] Handwriting and FIP suggest "Christ’s Love"
[S123] Handwriting and FIP delete "Himself"
[S124] FIP and the typescript both have "Forgiveness’", or "s apostrophe" which
would be correct if "forgiveness" were a plural possessive case, but it is a
singular possessive case, so it should be "apostrophe s" -- From "A Manual of
Style" (12th ed., University of Chicago Press, 1969):
[S125] Originally plural, the typist overstruck the "s" making it singular. FIP
keeps it singular.
[S126] Handwriting and FIP suggest "seem to"
[S127] Handwriting and FIP suggest "this single"
[S128] Handwriting and FIP insert "really"
[S129] FIP adds quotes around "baser"
[S130] Handwriting suggests really, crossed out and replaces with "truly" which
FIP keeps.
[S131] Handwriting and FIP replaces "solely on the base" with "on an attitude"
[S132] Handwriting and FIP insert "really"
[S133] Handwriting and FIP delete "merely"
[S134] Handwriting and FIP insert "instead"
[S135] FIP changes "act" to "thought"
[S136] FIP changes "can" to "may"
[S137] FIP changes "become" to "induce"
[S138] Handwriting and FIP change "baseness and in" to "sinfulness and guilt"
[S139] Handwriting and FIP change "made him" to "been made"
[S140] Handwriting and FIP change "is it for" to "could the purpose be"
[S141] FIP changes this to the present tense, "bargains"
[S142] FIP changes "a" to "the"
[S143] 1 Corinthians 15:28 "Now when all things are made subject to Him, then the
Son Himself will also be subject to Him who put all things under Him, that God
may be all in all."
[S144] Typescript does not contain "you see", but this correction is handwritten
in.
[S145] Handwriting and FIL change "sight" to "eyes" and the verb "becomes" is
changed to "become"
[S146] Handwriting and FIP change "eyes" to "sight"
[S147] Handwriting and FIP change "His" to "Christ’s"
[S148] Luk. 15:18
[S149] Handwriting and FIP change "He will direct" to "Now can he make"
[S150] Handwriting and FIP change "surely" to "sure"
[S151] Handwriting and FIP omit "and"
[S152] Handwriting and FIP replace "Yet" with "still"
[S153] Handwriting and FIP change "this" to "him"
[S154] Handwriting and FIP change "But" to "And"
[S155] The original typescript inserts, apparently in error "that you can use as
well and that you can also use."
[S156] Handwriting and FIP replace "love" with "God"
[S157] T I B 26b (4)
[S158] John 14:18 "I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you."
[S159] FIP and the typescript both have "Forgiveness’", or "s apostrophe" which
would be correct if "forgiveness" were a plural possessive case, but it is a
singular possessive case, so it should be "apostrophe s" -- From "A Manual of
Style" (12th ed., University of Chicago Press, 1969):
[S160] Ibid.
[S161] FIP chances "sin" to "sins"
[S162] Handwriting and FIP change this line to "and so its healing but delays its
turning back"
[S163] Gen. 2:7 "And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and
breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being."
[S164] Handwriting and FIP change "go back" to "return"
[S165] Handwriting and FIP change "source" to "cause"
[S166] Typescript has sentence break here, it’s crossed out by handwriting and
clearly not necessary.
[S167] Typescript spells this "rememberance"
[S168] FIP moves this section heading one paragraph forward.
[S169] Typescript initially has "substitution" which is overstruck, "poor
exchange" being typed above. The latter is better IP.
[S170] Handwriting and FIP change "apt" to "free"
[S171] Typescript has "lies" and handwriting and FIP correct this to "lays"
[S172] 1 Cor. 13:12
[S173] Original is "earned"
[S174] John. 1:1-5 "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and
the Word was God.
The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him; and
without him was not anything made that hath been made. In him was life; and the
life was the light of men. And the light shineth in the darkness; and the
darkness apprehended it not.
[S175] Luke. 2:29 "Lord, now You are letting Your servant depart in peace,
According to Your word;"
[S176] Typewritten alternative to "but" is "must"
[S177] FIP adds "And" before "Yet"
[S178] FIP changes "Yet" to "But"
[S179] 1 John 4:18 "There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear,
because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in
love."
[S180] Typescript has this in lower case.
[S181] Gen 1:26 "And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness:
and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the
heavens, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping
thing that creepeth upon the earth. And God created man in his own image, in
the image of God created he him; male and female created he them."
[S182] Typescript has "rememberance"
[S183] Handwriting and FIP replace "is" with "lies"
[S184] Handwriting and FIP replace "pray for you" with "pray but for yourself."
[S185] FIP starts a new sentence here.
[S186] Matthew 25:40 "And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I
say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you
did it to Me.'"
[S187] Handwriting and FIP replace "Thus have you become" with "Do not choose
amiss or you will think that it is you who are"
[S188] Handwriting and FIP replace "becomes" with "is then"
[S189] Handwriting and FIP replace "on Him lies the blame" with "He is blamed"
[S190] Handwriting and FIP replace "is now" with "becomes"
[S191] Handwriting and FIP replace "and" with "for"
[S192] Romans 12:19 "Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to
wrath; for it is written, "Vengeance is Mine, I will repay," says the Lord."
[S193] Typescript has "heart" singular, FIP corrects to plural "hearts"
[S194] FIP replaces "in" with "with"
[S195] FIP capitalizes "Arms"
[S196] FIP changes this to "prayers have"
[S197] FIP changes "God" to "Love"
[S198] Psalm 46:10 "Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the
nations, I will be exalted in the earth!"
[S199] Handwriting and FIP replace "incomplete" with "unfulfilled"
[S200] FIP changes "His" to "My"
[S201] FIP has "for" instead of "of"
[S202] Matthew 27:29 "When they had twisted a crown of thorns, they put it on
His head, and a reed in His right hand. And they bowed the knee before Him and
mocked Him, saying, ‘Hail, King of the Jews!’"
[S203] Handwriting and FIP change "that you have given Me" to "to Me that you
have made,"
[S204] Matthew 22:14 "For many are called, but few chosen."}