Sin is a perception seen most often in the "other," yet acknowledged in myself as well. Each brother seems to make a different and more grievous error, an error incomprehensible to all others. Yet, all error is the same. Despite the different forms of "sin," there is only one error, made over and over by the same Son: the belief that I am separated from God.
Waking to Heaven instantly, with thoughts of sin, guilt and death still heavy in my mind, is not possible. It would be like someone jolting me awake during a terrifying nightmare. My mind would attack and resist because illusions are foremost in my mind. It is impossible for God to go against my will. He Gently waits for my welcome, then introduces Happy, Quiet thoughts and ideas. Just like a parent lovingly soothing a child after a nightmare, baby steps are required. In the lesson of forgiveness, for instance, I first forgive what is before me, then I begin to forgive each and every situation or person that confronts me with annoyance, sadness, impatience, grief, hatred, etc. I do this often and consistently until I learn that each situation is the same; what I am forgiving is my seeming separation from God. In each person I forgive, I see the One Son of God. Another step, is allowing Love to turn all my relationships (which are unholy in the dream-world) into Holy Relationships.
Unholy relationships are based on differences, where each one thinks the "other" has something he does not have. I come together with my brothers to "complete" myself, robbing a brother of what I think I lack. I stay in a relationship until I think there is nothing left to steal and then move on. I wander through a world of strangers. Living with other bodies, sometimes under the same roof, yet a roof that shelters no one; in the same room, yet a world apart.
Holy Relationships look within and see no lack. They are Whole, Complete, United. No differences are seen, nothing is desired or found wanting. It is possible to have a Holy Relationship in "time." In fact, all relationships entered into with Truth become Holy Relationships. How far from Home can a Relationship so similar to Heaven be? And anything like God must extend and reach out beyond itself. This sameness perceived, extends and removes all sense of differences. In this Holy Place, I recognize God's Son.
Take pity, I have enslaved myself far too long.
The Message of the Holy Relationship. Do I wonder where my strange uneasiness, my sense of disconnect and haunting fear of meaninglessness comes from? It is as though I wandered in this world without a plan of any kind except to wander. This strange idea I have of me as a body, I think is my "self." I failed to realize that it is impossible to understand the dream-world and any of its messages. It was created to worship death, not Life. I call upon the brain and the body's eyes, ears and other senses to explain the world it sees. I do not suspect that what it tells me is not True.
Reason would tell me anything created to be "apart from" God can make no sense to me. Sight is wholly independent of eyes that look upon the world. God keeps no secrets. He does not lead me into temptation in a world of misery, waiting to offer explanation at the journey's end.
Do not attack and hate whom God Loves. Guilt, fear and any emotion other than Love, lead to the perception of differences and separation. They keep me blind and dependent on a self I think I made, leading me through a world that does not exist. I think I have private thoughts and secret emotions all contained in a separate body from my brother. A body is what I think I am..and I will see only what I believe in.
With God, I will obtain Vision. I will have no difficulty understanding what Vision shows me. Vision reaches me directly, with no need for interpretation. Vision can only Bless.
ACIM is written in my language and is open to my understanding. I may not yet understand it, only because my Communication now is like a baby's. A baby does not understand what he sees and hears at first, but what he sees and hears will be his native language through which he Communicates with those around him. The strange shifting ones he senses around him, will become his comforters, and he will recognize his home and those he loves.
In each Holy Relationship is the ability to Communicate, yet so recently reborn from unholy relationships, It is like a baby now in its birth. Still, in this infant is Vision returned to me, and my brother and I will speak the language we both understand. Vision sees us as One. I come, as a newborn, to the Vision of Heaven; reborn into my Home so seemingly new, yet Ancient; a tiny newcomer, dependent on the Holiness of my Holy Relationship to meet Christ (the Sonship healed and Whole).
With God, my brother and I will see in each other a perfect shelter where the Self can be reborn in Safety and Peace. I recognize that the "self" I thought was me is an illusion. Heaven now comes to what is like Itself.
My Brother's Sinlessness. Every illusion carries misery, pain and suffering in the dark folds of the heavy garments in which it hides its nothingness, hidden from the Joy of Truth. To "change" illusions is to make no change. To leave one kind of misery and seek another is hardly an escape. The search for Joy in misery is senseless. All that is possible in the dark world of misery is to select some aspects of it, see them as different and define the difference as "joy." Yet there is no difference among illusions, they are all the same. Illusions carry only guilt, suffering, sickness and death. No illusion can give me Joy. Any happiness that does not last is only fear. Joy cannot turn to sorrow, for the Eternal cannot change. However, sorrow can be turned to Joy, for the world of "time" gives way to the Eternal. Everything in the world of time changes with time. Only the Eternal remains Unchanged.
Reason will tell me that the only way to escape from misery is to recognize it and go the other way. If I want Real change, I must allow illusions to give way to Truth, not to other dreams that are equally untrue.
One illusion held onto, makes all Truth "meaningless" and all illusion "real." Such is the Power of belief. Ego will tell me that it is impossible not to see sin or guilt in anyone. Yet Reason looks for the source of the idea, knowing the source (ego or Son of God) will make it True or false. The separation of myself and ego must be made complete. I choose between my Self or an illusion of myself. I choose only one. The decision must be made. I will not decide for myself alone, but for my brother as well. I give my brother Life or death; either I am savior or judge; offering sanctuary or condemnation. This Course will be believed entirely or not at all. I will escape from misery entirely or not at all. Reason will tell me there is no middle ground where I can pause uncertainly, waiting to choose between the Joy of Heaven or the misery of hell. Until I choose Heaven, I am in hell and misery.
There is no part of Heaven I can bring to illusions. Nor is there even one illusion that I can bring to Heaven. God's function is to save.....and He will save. How He will do it is beyond my need to understand, but when must be my choice. I made "time" and I can command time. I am a slave neither to time nor to the dream-world.
Behold the great projection I made. Do not look on it with fear, but with the decision that it must be healed. Nothing I made has any power over me, unless I choose it to. All misery has been my own. Be glad to learn it is not True. The thoughts I think in the world of illusions are not even my Real Thoughts.
Beyond the bodies I placed between my brother and I, shining in Golden Light is the Holy Relationship we share, Beloved of God Himself. It rests Quiet and Still, in time yet beyond time, Immortal yet on earth. How Great Its Power.
Quickly and gladly is the Christ-Vision given to anyone who is willing to see his brother sinless. I do not reach Heaven while a single "sin" still tempts me to remain in misery or while a sparkling illusion bids me to a dark death.
Heaven is the Home of Perfect Purity and God created It for me. Look on my Holy brother, sinless as myself and let him lead me Home.
Forms of Error and Reason. Introducing Reason into ego's thought system is the beginning of ego's end. Reason and ego-thought are contradictory and cannot coexist in my Awareness. Reason's goal is to make plain and obvious. Reason sees through errors. Reason can see the difference between "sin" and mistakes. Reason tells me what I thought was hopeless can be corrected. Reason is not salvation, but it makes way for Peace, bringing me to a state of mind in which salvation can easily be given. Here is the beginning of Vision that has meaning. Vision is sense, quite literally, being unambiguous and understandable.
"Sin" is a block in vision, set like a heavy gate, locked and without a key. The body's eyes see "sin" as solid granite, so thick it would be insane to try to pass by its heavy gate. Yet Reason sees through it easily, looking on it as error, not sin.
Only form of error attracts ego ~ a beautiful face or body, a shiny trinket, a pile of money. Ego does not recognize the meaning behind form. Everything the body's eyes see......is a mistake, an error in perception, a distorted fragment of the whole. But take heart! Mistakes, regardless of their form, can be corrected. "Sin" is only error in the special form that ego admires. In fact, ego would preserve all errors and make them "sins" because sin is necessary for ego to exist. Ego was created as a witness ~ "proof" ~ of my separation from God, and "sin" is ego's anchor.
The body's eyes were guaranteed to see only form (illusions); they are unable to see beyond form. Yet how can "sight" that stops at nothingness as if it were a solid wall, see Truly? The body's vision/perception is restricted to form. Eyes that were made not to See, will never See. The body's eyes are unable to go beyond form to meaning. There is nothing so blinding as the perception of form. The sight of any form means that understanding has been blocked.
Error has different forms, and it can change form because it is not True. It is not Reality precisely because it can be changed. Reality never changes and Reason will tell me that form is not Reality, so it must be illusion.
Do not let the "form" of my brother's mistakes keep me from him. Do not trust the body's eyes to tell me of Truth. My brother's Holiness is my own. Do not allow my Awareness of this Holiness to be blocked by perception of his "sins" and his body. Beyond his "errors" is his Holiness and my salvation.
God will make all my relationships Holy Relationships, and a Holy Relationship must value Holiness (Reality, Peace, Love, forgiveness) above all else. Unholy values will produce confusion. In the unholy relationship (which all relationships are until given to God) I value my brother and he values me for the "sin" or weaknesses we see in each other. I give him my weakness in exchange for his strength, and he gives me his weakness to get my strength, both seemingly incomplete on our own.
Reason sees a Holy Relationship as a common state of mind, where both give errors/mistakes/sin/weakness to correction, so that both may be healed as One.
The Fork in the Road. There is no part of the journey that seems more hopeless and futile than standing where the road branches waiting to decide which way to go. Now I must go one way or the other. The whole purpose of coming this far was to decide now which road to take. Do not look back. The way I came no longer matters. I have come this far and cannot make the wrong decision, though I can delay.
It is only the first few steps that seem hard. I have made my choice, and although I may still think I can go back and make another choice, this is not so. A choice made with the Power of Heaven to uphold it, cannot be undone. My way is now decided. Salvation is guaranteed.
I come to the fork in the road with my brother, for no one comes alone. Here I stand in this Holy Place before the veil of "sin" that hangs between my brother and I. Let the veil be lifted. By myself, I will see it as a solid block, but with my brother in hand I will see how thin is the drapery that separates us. Peace has reached me even here in the dream-world before the veil is lifted. Think what will happen after! Separation is almost over in my Awareness. The Love of God will Light my face and Shine from it into a darkened world that needs Light.
Think of the Loveliness I will see; think how beautiful my brother will look to me. How happy we will be together after such a long and lonely journey where we walked alone. The Gates of Heaven will be opened to the sorrowful. I saw the Beautiful Sight beyond the veil and I offer Its Light to the tired eyes of those as weary now, as I once was.
Every "mistake" I make, my brother gently corrects. Each of us will be the other's strong protector, for in each is the other's salvation. Only illusion stands between me and the Holy Self I share with my brother. Let illusions be lifted from my mind. I walk with my Redeemer, carrying a message of Hope, Freedom and Release from suffering to all. It is not a message forced on anyone, for it permeates my being that I become the message in thought, word and deed. How easy it is to offer this miracle to everyone! No one who has received the miracle for himself could find it difficult to give; for in receiving, I learn that it was not given me alone. This is the function of the Holy Relationship: to receive together and to give as I have received. Standing before the veil which separates my brother and I, it still seems difficult; but hold out our joined hands and touch this heavy-seeming block, and we will learn how easily our fingers slip through its nothingness.
Weakness and Defensiveness. How do I overcome illusion? Surely not by force, anger or opposition. Merely let Reason show me how illusion contradicts Reality. Illusions go against Truth. Truth and Reality oppose nothing; what merely Is, needs no defense and offers none. Only illusions need defense because of their weakness. The Son of God needs no defense.
Ego needs defense to justify what goes against Truth. This is an invitation to insanity. Belief in sin needs great defense, for it is untrue. Yet evil dreams are nothing. In Truth my brother and I stand together; God Himself holds our hands. What can separate whom God has joined as One? God rests with me in Quiet Peace. No weakness, attack or illusion can enter. Love rests in Certainty. Only uncertainty requires defense. All uncertainty is doubt about Reality.
Fear is weak, little and meaningless. It is insignificant before the Quiet Strength of God. Fear (sin, illusions) is a frightened mouse that think it attacks the universe! How likely will that succeed? Is it difficult to disregard the feeble squeaks that tell of its sovereignty? Which is stronger, the tiny mouse or Everything that God Created?
Very little stands between my brother and I, and between myself and Reality. Do not be deceived by the size, thickness, weight, firmness of foundation or seeming solidity of illusions. Yes, to the body's eyes they are solid and as immovable as a mountain, but within me is a Force no illusion can withstand. Can I long defend illusions when they are quietly passed through and gone beyond?
When I feel the need to be defensive about anything, I can recognize that I have identified with illusions and therefore I will feel weak and alone, for this is the cost of illusion. Every single illusion rests on the belief that I am separate and that the Sonship exists in separate bodies. Illusions are nothing and when I forgive my brother for what he did not do, I will understand this.
The Light of the Holy Relationship. The body or the mind: Which do I value? One must serve the other. If the body is my goal, the mind will serve as the means to make the body important and valuable. If my mind is my goal, then the body will be used as the means to reach the mind's Freedom.
Only one choice is Real. If I choose the unreal, I make it "real" for me. Freedom of the body has no meaning, so the mind is dedicated to serving illusions. This situation is so contradictory and impossible, that it causes profound confusion. Yet even in this confusion, God waits in Gentle Patience, as Certain of the outcome as He is sure of His Love for His Son. He knows this mad decision was made by one dear to Himself.
Eventually the body will serve the mind, leading to salvation. To serve this goal, the body must be perceived as sinless, for the goal is Sinlessness. The body is nothing and does not exist, but while I believe it does, I learn to see it as sinless first. Baby steps. My brother will be a Light for me and I will be a Light for him. No matter what his body seems to say or do, there is a part of him which is the Son of God and has not forgotten. Trust in God Who changes time and space in response to my choice for Reality. I do not have to understand how He does this, I only have to do my part by giving Him my small willingness.
The Holy Relationship (the relationship between my brother and I guided by Truth): lovely in its Innocence, mighty in its Strength and blazing with a Light far brighter than the sun, is the means chosen by the Father for salvation. In my healing is the Sonship healed, because the Sonship is One.
In the Holy Relationship, Reason joined with Love looks Quietly on all confusion and merely observes that "it was all a mistake." Forgiveness corrects all error and lays a part of Heaven in its place.
Child of Peace, the Light has come. I do not yet recognize It, but I will remember. Who can deny Vision? The gentle service I give God is service to myself. No trace of "time" can long remain in a mind that serve the Timeless. No illusion can disturb the Peace of a Relationship that has become the means of Peace.
When I look on my brother with complete forgiveness, what mistake cannot be overlooked? What illusion could there be that I will not recognize as a mistake? My will and belief were given to illusions, but when I give them to God, nothing can interfere with His Goals.
I will see my value through my brother's eyes. Each brother is released to Freedom as he sees a savior in place of the attacker he thought was there. Through this releasing is the world released. Forgiveness is my part in bringing Peace. I have asked what my purpose is here and I have been answered. Give God my small willingness and do not interfere. He will do the rest.
Each gift of forgiveness that I offer my brother Lights the world. Do not be concerned with any seeming darkness; look away from it and toward each other. Let the darkness be dispersed by Heaven.
On my learning depends the salvation of the world and there is no way I can mess up. Does this sound like arrogance that I am the savior of the world? Would I rather think I am powerless? Is it humility to believe I am vulnerable, frail, easily destroyed and at the mercy of countless attackers more powerful than me? I am the Son of God; and the Father and Son are One. Who can attack the Son and not attack His Father? If the Son is weak, frail and easily destroyed, then the Father would also be. But this is insanity.
Every "sin," every condemnation of myself or a brother is an attack upon my Father. Yet the Father and Son can be attacked only in dreams. In the dream-world I think the Father and Son are separate, and it seems safer to attack "another" or myself rather than attack the Great Creator, Whose Power I know.
If I remembered my Oneness with the Father, I would know His Power is mine, but I will not remember this while I believe attack/sin/judgment of any kind means anything. Attack/sin/judgment is not justified in any form, because it has no meaning. It cannot happen and does not exist. Attack is neither dangerous, nor a guarantee of safety....it is just plain impossible.
Only the separated can attack, and because I seemingly can attack, I believe I am separated. But I am not separated. While I believe in attack, I will seem to see results. This can go on "forever"......until I decide otherwise. Do I want to live in a world of suffering, pain and attack? If so, I can. But eventually it will become too painful for me. At this point many in the world of illusions will choose "death." But I will return to my dreams until I choose differently, and I will choose differently because I want Peace and Joy, not pain and suffering. The world of illusions can only bring pain and suffering.
In the relationship with my brother is my salvation. With Truth it becomes a Holy Relationship. What one thinks, the other will experience with him. What can this mean except that our minds are One? Is it shocking or worrisome that private thoughts are not private? Any thoughts which are not thoughts of Love, are not even my Real Thoughts. My only Real Thoughts are Ones I think with God, and they are all Thoughts of Love. Do not fear this, but look on it with gladness and realize that I am not separated in a mad world of illusion, but I am Whole, Perfect, Joyful, Happy and One with my Father. Every Real Thought brings gladness because all Real Thoughts are Shared and Joyful. This Joy is Unlimited because each Shining Thought of Love extends Its Being and creates more of Itself.
Truth denies ego and teaches me that I cannot be separate. Let Truth teach me what is True.
All will eventually choose Atonement, each in his own time.
No comments:
Post a Comment