Reflections 254 to 267

 

254/ The Relationship Between Healing and Atonement 

9th October 2021

A Course in Miracles tells us that healing and Atonement are not related. They are identical.

Partial Atonement is a meaningless idea, just as special areas of hell in Heaven are 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. (ACIM, M-22.1:4-8)

What then is Atonement? Atonement, according to A Course in Miracles, is the complete acceptance that nothing has happened. We have never separated from God, and never will. Atonement therefore is the correction of this wrong perception. It is a correction to our thinking. It is the undoing of the ego, whose thinking it is.

What is healing? A Course in Miracles tells us that to forgive is to heal (ACIM, M-22.1:9). Healing happens through forgiveness. We are fully healed when our forgiveness practice is complete. We are healed when the ego has been dismantled.

What are the exceptions? A Course in Miracles tells us there are no exceptions. Healing and Atonement are our birthright: 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 (ACIM, M-22.6:1-3). 

Healing is therefore very simple. It is in the receiving of Atonement that healing gives. This is the only thing that matters in this life. It is our single purpose.

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255/ The Message of the Crucifixion

10th October 2021

You are free to perceive yourself as persecuted if you choose. When you do choose to react that way, however, you might remember 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. (ACIM, T-6.I.5:2-4)

***

A Course in Miracles tells us we cannot be attacked. It tells us there is no justification in attack. It tells us quite simply that we are responsible for what we believe.

A Course in Miracles says that the crucifixion was the result of two clearly opposed thought systems. These were the ego and the Holy Spirit – fear and love – which was as true 2,000 years ago as it is true today. We only have to look at the news to know that this is so.

A Course in Miracles would never ask us to be crucified in order for us to understand that it is impossible to suffer death. We are simply being asked to perceive differently in any number of much less extreme circumstances. God created only the formless. There is nothing that can happen to us that can cause us pain. The pain can only happen in our minds, and what is painful in our minds is just an illusion.

A Course in Miracles tells us it is always our choice how we react to any situation.  It is always our choice whether to respond with anger or peace. ACIM tells us there is nothing out there. It is all within us.

A Course in Miracles says the message of the crucifixion is simply this. 

Teach only love, for that is what you are.

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256/ The Emphasis of the Course

11th October 2021

“It is not in the stars to hold our destiny but in ourselves.” William Shakespeare.

***

A Course in Miracles comes from another dimension of time and space.  It has no author. It merely has a Voice that has narrated the Text, the Workbook, and the whole of the Manual for Teachers which is included at the end. The passage below is from the Manual for Teachers, and puts some context into the origin of the Voice.

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 is safely used as a replacement for the many names of all the gods to which you pray. 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. (ACIM, M-23.4:1-4)

The passage then continues by saying that to remember the name of Jesus Christ is to give thanks for all the gifts that God has given us. It doesn’t say that to not remember the name of Jesus Christ is to forget all the gifts that God has given us, but this is implied. The gifts are all within us, just waiting to be enjoyed. 

A Course in Miracles has been given to us in such a way that it can easily be learnt and understood. If it doesn’t resonate with us, ACIM tells us there are other teachers that are available.  As it says in the preface, there are literally thousands of different paths to the same goal. We just have to find the one that is right for us.

The whole emphasis of A Course in Miracles is to forget our old associations with Jesus Christ, religion and/or the Christian faith, and to simply keep an entirely open mind. We need to forget everything that the world has taught us. The emphasis of the Course is on learning what is being taught right now. It tells us that it is only in the present moment that we can find salvation, and it is only in the present moment that we can accept it. 

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257/ One Mind, One Perception

12th October 2021

“There is a voice that doesn’t use words. Listen.” Rumi.

***

Any split in mind 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 that recognizes the Wholeness of God's creation. (ACIM, T-6.II.1:1-2)

A Course in Miracles is reminding us that, because we have a split mind, we are projecting all our pain and suffering onto others. We project it onto the world, and it is this projection that hurts us. It reinforces our belief in our separate self. So it gives us the solution by telling us that God made us part of Him.

A Course in Miracles teaches complete non-duality. When it says that God made us part of Him, it means it. It says that this is what we are. It is unalterable. It can’t be changed now or ever.  

A Course in Miracles teaches that the way to remember this is to think with the Holy Spirit. It's a process of learning that there is only one mind and one perception.  The ego’s perception has no counterpart in God, while the Holy Spirit’s perception has. In the end, we are told that everything ends where it began. The resting point is in God. 

Cate Grieves, mentioned earlier on the 24th September, has a short video on YouTube that highlights what it means to have a healed mind. It begins with Cate saying: "There is no you. There is no you to awaken, there is no you to get anything. The 'you' you think you are doesn't exist. It is just a whole lot of beliefs that are untrue. Who you are is life, as it is, happening right now..." In other words, she is telling us our separate self is a fiction. It doesn't exist.

The video lasts for about 10 minutes. It can be found under: Cate Grieves: Simply this - non-dual pointer video. The link is below.

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258/ Transcending Our Limits

13th October 2021

“Sometimes consciousness devises an obstacle in order to have the experience of transcending it.” Mooji.

***

A Course in Miracles says that whoever transcends the limits of the world is simply becoming more natural. Nothing special is occurring. Nothing magical is happening. We are simply dropping all self-imposed barriers.

The message of A Course in Miracles is always the same. The awareness of God is in everyone. There is no distance between us and this awareness. Only illusions block this awareness from our minds, just as the ego drowns out the Voice of the Holy Spirit. To hear the Voice of the Holy Spirit means undoing the limitations of the ego.

The ego is limited because it has no connection with God. The ego loves to attack. It enjoys finding fault. Criticism is part of the ego's vocabulary, and relinquishing our desire to attack is the only way to be truly at peace. Peace is not the language of the ego, but it is the language of the Holy Spirit.

To understand this fully, we have to listen to the Holy Spirit fully. We have to allow our minds to become harmless. We have to let go of all attack thoughts and reach out only for peace thoughts. This means letting go of the ego, and reaching out for the Holy Spirit. This is transcending our limits.

The perfectly safe are wholly benign. They bless because they know that they are blessed. Without anxiety the mind is wholly kind, and because it extends beneficence it is beneficent. 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 this learning is not immortal, and you can unlearn it by not teaching it. (ACIM, T-6.III.3:4-10)

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259/ What Is Death?

14th October 2021

"There is no death, only a change of worlds." Chief Seattle.

"The trouble with quotes about death is that 99.9% of them are made by people who are still alive." Joshua Burns.

"There is no death! Death is very much like sunset. It is only an appearance. For, when the sun sets here, it rises elsewhere. In reality, the sun never sets. Likewise, death  is only an illusion, an appearance. For, what is death here is birth elsewhere. For life is endless." Dada Vaswani.

"I'm not afraid to die, I just don't want to be there when it happens." Woody Allen.

Buddha was asked, "What have you gained from meditation?" He replied, "Nothing! However, let me tell you what I have lost: Anger, Anxiety, Depression, Insecurity, Fear of Old Age and Death."

What is death? A Course in Miracles says just this. There is no death. It tells us that we are free. Death is the big illusion of the mind. Within the mind, there is only freedom. Freedom is all we really know.

A Course in Miracles has this to say on death.

Death is the central dream from which all illusions stem. (ACIM, M-27.1:1)

Death is the symbol of the fear of God. (ACIM, M-27.3:1)

 Death is a thought that takes on many forms, often unrecognised. It may appear as sadness, fear, anxiety or doubt; as anger, faithlessness and lack of trust. (ACIM, W-163.1:1-2)

No one can die unless he chooses death. What seems to be the fear of death is really its attraction. (ACIM, T-19.IV-C.1:4-5)

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260/ Looking at the Resurrection

15th October 2021

A Course in Miracles pays no interest to the body. It says that paying attention to the body in relation to the crucifixion is our last needless act. It pays no attention to what the crucifixion means to Christians. It says that the only thing of importance is the resurrection.

A Course in Miracles says this: The resurrection is the denial of death, being the assertion of life. Thus is all the thinking of the world reversed entirely. (ACIM, M-28.2:1-2)

The resurrection simply means that not one of us dies. The resurrection simply proves that we are all the Son of God. The resurrection simply indicates that we are all free because we are all one. 

Below are some key points that A Course in Miracles tell us arise out of knowing this.

Love is no longer feared, but gladly welcomed. (ACIM, M-28.2:4)

Vision is wholly corrected and all mistakes undone. (ACIM, M-28.3:3)

All longings are satisfied, for what remains unanswered or incomplete? (ACIM, M-28.3:7)

There is no opposition to the truth. (ACIM, M-28.3:11)

All things are seen in light, and in the light their purpose is transformed and understood. (ACIM, M-28.4:6)

Differences have disappeared and Love looks on Itself.  (ACIM, M-28.5:2)

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261/ Asleep to the Truth

16th October 2021

A Course in Miracles teaches us that we are sleeping. We are asleep to the truth of who we are. Heaven is with us here and now and it is only the mind that projects this dream of separation.

The ego - our separate self - is illusory but seems real. The Holy Spirit is real but feels abstract. A Course in Miracles teaches us that healing comes through putting our trust in the Holy Spirit. Below are three key pointers that ACIM teaches us.

To follow the Holy Spirit's guidance is to let yourself be absolved of guilt. (ACIM, M-29.3:3)

To ask the Holy Spirit to decide for you is simply to accept your true inheritance. (ACIM, M-29.5:4)

Never forget that the Holy Spirit does not depend on your words. He understands the requests of your heart, and answers them. (ACIM, M-29.6:1-2)

We have everything within us. What is within us is bigger than we can ever imagine. It is the truth of who we are.

We are also asleep to that truth. We are oblivious to all the riches that we own. Instead we tend to dream of soil and dirt.

A Course in Miracles is here to wake us up. We’ve slept enough. The purpose of ACIM is to bring us back to life.

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262/ A New Experience

17th October 2021

A Course in Miracles tells us the following: 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. (ACIM, C-in.2:5-6)

This course remains within the ego framework, where it is needed. (ACIM, C-in.3:1)

A Course in Miracles declares that the world is a projection of the ego. It declares the world is projected from our minds. This might mean that many minds are going to declare that anyone studying ACIM is insane. ACIM merely reverses this by saying that insanity lies with the beholder. It teaches that both the world and the ego are illusions, and therefore do not exist.

We should never look to the ego to be our teacher. The ego has taught us in many ways, both in this life and many lives, and now this has to stop. This might be the reason we feel drawn to A Course in Miracles. It offers us an alternative and tells us how to claim it.

A Course in Miracles merely tells us we need to let go of everything we think we know. We need to become aware of what we think we don't know. We need to look at familiar patterns, see how they have hurt, and understand that there is always a solution just by letting them go.

Errors are of the ego, and correction of errors lies in the relinquishment of the ego. (ACIM, T-9.III.2:3)

The ego loves to teach us old patterns that keep us in the past. The Holy Spirit loves to teach us new patterns that keep us in the present. Life therefore becomes a new experience, and it’s for this new experience that we are here.

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263/ Undoing the Ego

18th October 2021

A Course in Miracles tells us the ego is simply a dream of what we really are: 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. (ACIM, C-2.1:7-9)

A Course in Miracles tells us there is absolutely zero reality in the ego. 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. (ACIM, C-2.2:1-3)

A Course in Miracles tells us the ego denies the miracle because it is the opposite of the miracle in every way.

The ego is our reality in the dream. It is the narrative that goes on in our minds about who we are, what we are, and where we are going to go. None of it is true because the ego is not true.

 

If we want to undo the ego, it's worth listening to someone who has. In her most recent teaching, Cate Grieves looks at lesson 26 of the Workbook. She goes through the lesson line by line to show us what really is real, and how badly we hurt ourselves when we think with the ego.

Her talk can be found on YouTube, and was posted today, October 18th 2021. It can be found under: Satsang with Cate Grieves: My attack thoughts are attacking my invulnerability. The link is below.

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264/ Seeing the True Reflection

19th October 2021

“Do you want to meet the love of your life? Look in the mirror.” Byron Katie.

***

Forgiveness is the practice of A Course in Miracles.

A Course in Miracles tells us forgiveness is still an illusion. What forgiveness does, though, is lead us away from error and not towards it.

Seeing the face of Christ is the goal of A Course in Miracles. 

A Course in Miracles tells us that the face of Christ is merely a symbol of forgiveness. What happens when we see the face of Christ, though, is that we see the symbol of the real world. This is really our ticket to Heaven.

Learning about the face of Christ involves timelessness. It is within each one of us is. It is our Self. It is the Thought that still abides within the Mind that is Its Source.

A Course in Miracles tells us that truth goes nowhere. It is just a simple shift from illusions to the truth. When we see our true Self, we see our true reflection. The final shift involves no time. The final shift is peace eternal and the Will of God.

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 beyond them all. God is not seen but only understood. His Son is not attacked but recognized. (ACIM, C-3.8:1-6)

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265/ Perfect Equality

20th October 2021

“The greatest illusion of this world is the illusion of separation.” Unknown.

***

A Course in Miracles wants us to look at the centre of our thought system. It tells us we can only share our thinking with the Holy Spirit or with the ego. It has to be one or the other because both are diametrically opposed. When the centre of our thought system is truth, then only truth extends from it. When the centre of our thought system is fear, then everything that manifests arises out of fear.

The Holy Spirit believes in equality, the ego only believes in inequality. The Holy Spirit communicates freely to all, the ego communicates only to those it wants to. The Holy Spirit can only give, the ego gives but also has to take.

Learning that we are all perfectly equal is a new way of thinking. Seeing our interconnection is a new way of looking. Letting go of all judgment is a new way to being. This will never happen if we listen to the ego. Studying A Course in Miracles is about gaining peace and teaching peace. It is about undoing all the fear we ever had. It is about getting rid of the illusion that we are separate.

Ultimately, it all comes down to this. Thinking with the ego creates conflict. Peace of mind is impossible. Look at the world and we look at the thought system of the ego. Thinking with the Holy Spirit creates peace. There is no conflict in the thought system of the Holy Spirit.  Look at the world with the thought system of the Holy Spirit and we see the real world. In the real world, we see that we are all perfectly equal.

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. (ACIM, T-6.V-B.6:1-3)

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266/ There Is Nothing Else

21st October 2021

It's hard to believe that everything we look at is not what it seems. The key message of A Course in Miracles could be condensed into just one sentence. Nothing exists outside of God and His Kingdom.

This literally mean that everything our eyes can see does not exist. The sun, the moon, the planets, the stars, the table, the chair, the bodies, the grass, the pavement - everything we see simply arises from the mind. It is all a big smokescreen that keeps us from knowing who we are.

The first lesson in the Workbook teaches us not to give anything we see any meaning. The Text begins with Nothing real can be threatened (ACIM, T-in.2:2). Everything that doesn't have God at its centre is not real and has no value.

To the ego, this is clearly outrageous. It smacks of delusion. We are never going to give it the slightest credence unless we do the work. Doing the work means putting in the hours. It means using time. It means using the illusion of time to uncover what is eternal.

The ego will not go down without a fight. It might just give us a few unsettling thoughts to dismiss the above. It might throw everything at us if we begin to get close. Before Buddha's Enlightenment, Mara tried many things to stop His awakening. Jesus ended up being nailed to a cross. Neither worked, because nothing can work when faced with the truth

A Course in Miracles is not about delusion. It is not about changing our circumstances. Its whole purpose is to release us from pain and suffering. It is all about changing our mind.

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. (ACIM, T-6.V-C.10:5-10)

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267/ The Different Levels

22nd October 2021

A Course in Miracles tells us there is knowledge, true perception and false perception. From the top down, these make up the different levels.

False perception means seeing a world that is not real. No matter how much horror, no matter how much pain, we are seeing a world that does not exist.

True perception is a different way of seeing. We perceive what is real. It is a shift. We go from blaming the world that is external to us to forgiving the world within us.

Knowledge is the end of false and true perception. It is the essence of what we are. The world disappears because the Source of who we are did not create form. It did not create the world. It just created the formless.

It is all just different levels. Our journey starts by going within. We have to look at the fuel of the ego, which is simply our unconscious guilt. We have to undo this unconscious guilt through the practice of forgiveness. Forgiveness really means looking past the ego so that judgement becomes redundant.

A Course in Miracles wants us to rise up through the levels. It wants us to see truly and wholly. It does not ask us to pretend the world does not exist. It asks us to simply do the work and find out for ourselves. It tells us that the truth is right here now, and only illusion obscures it.

O 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, for they are joined here in this holy place. Here He leans down to lift you up to Him, out of illusions into holiness; out of the world and to eternity; out of all fear and given back to love. (ACIM, C-4.8:1-3)