Many times in this Course, we are told it is arrogant to oppose the truth and accept the limited self as who we are. The truth is, we are unlimited. Therefore, what is offered to the world, through who we really are as the Christ Self, is unlimited. It is in fact the salvation of the world. This does not come from the self we think we are, but from who we truly are. Thus, it is not about what we do, but who we are.

"Only the ego can be limited, and therefore it must seek for aims which are curtailed and limiting." (W.319.1.4) Because we think we are curtailed and limited when we identify with our ego, we set goals that are limited and  self-serving. They are always won at the expense of our brothers, as they are based on taking rather than giving. To the ego, it is a game of competition based on the principle of 'one or the other.' You must lose for me to win. It is based on our belief, we won our individuality at God's expense. He had to lose for us to gain our separate self. Thus, we seemed to steal our individual self by seemingly destroying the totality of the Whole. We think God's Love, which is total and One, had to be destroyed for us to exist as separate individuals. Thus, instead of Oneness, we now have duality. Of course, this could not happen except in dreams, but as long as we identify with our separate self and believe that is who we are, we can't know our reality.
 
Our identification with the ego is all about the limited self, which can never bring salvation to the world. Salvation can only come from the truth of who I am as the unified Self. Thus, salvation of the world comes from the healing of the mind when we ask for help in seeing differently from how we see now. It is about undoing our mistaken identity, and that identity has come at the expense of our totality as one Son. To gain our unique and individual self seemingly separate from God, we had to hold the mistaken notion that we killed perfect wholeness and perfect love. In other words, we had to kill God. He can't exist as the only reality while we hold the belief that we exist as a separate self. Thus, our gain as a separate self came at the expense of totality. To gain this world of separation and duality, we had to destroy oneness. This is what seemed to happen in the original instant, when the choice was made for the ego thought system. Of course, we are told this never happened because the Atonement Principle assures us it could not happen even if we believe in our individual existence.

In the thought system of the ego mind that we have bought into, there is the belief that totality must lose for us to gain. Now it is one or the other, but with the healing of our minds comes the realization that this was all a mistake. No one loses and everyone gains. Salvation must rest on the truth that we all go together, if we are to know the Self that we are. In the recognition that we are the same is the reflection of the Oneness of Heaven.

God is the Author of reality, and as such, His Will embraces all there is. Thus, "the goal which stems from it shares its totality." (W.319.2.2) In other words, a separate self cannot exist. We are part of that totality, dreaming we are instead these separate selves. "What aim but the salvation of the world could You have given me?" (W.319.2.3) What else is there to learn from our experience in this world except to realize our belief in separation is a mistake? We learn this when we keep remembering our purpose and our function, which is to awaken from this dream through forgiveness. Now all of our experiences here serve that purpose. We have one aim, which is to bring salvation to the world by seeing the Christ in our brother and accepting the truth about ourselves. We share a single purpose of forgiveness, and as we are saved, the world is saved along with us. It is not a statement of arrogance because it is not what we do, but who we are.
   
We read the same thing in Lesson 186: "Salvation of the world depends on me." (W.186) "Here is the statement 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." (W.186.1.1-3) With this, and other references such as this, we start to get the idea that insisting we know better than God about what He says is true is the real definition of arrogance. To accept God's word as to who we really are is to be truly humble. We release the "I know" ego mind and admit that we have been wrong in thinking our separate identity and unique self is the truth of who we are. We give up our beliefs and the values and concepts we hold about our unworthiness, littleness, and lacks. We accept the truth about ourselves as limitless by recognizing we can never gain at the expense of our brother. We recognize, when we make comparisons, find fault with others, or see ourselves as superior, we are maintaining our arrogant belief we have killed off God and thus gained this separate self in competition with everyone else.
 
To accept the truth of our Being means we have to look at the beliefs that block that truth from our awareness. Today we are asked to look at the thoughts we hold that are blocks to the truth. Yesterday I was upset about a situation where I felt set up and abused. I immediately felt this upset was because of something that happened, but that was just my story. Anything that follows "because" is actually a lie. The truth is I was upset because that is what I wanted. So, one may wonder, why would any of us want to be upset? Jesus explains to us, we choose to be upset because we want to be right about the way we see our world. I want to be right about my reasons for the upset and I tell my story because I want others to agree with me. To drop the story and to admit I am wrong in the way I see this situation seems like an affront, and, indeed to the ego, it is exactly that.

This is why it is so challenging for us to admit we are always wrong in our perceptions. Now we are called to turn to the Holy Spirit and to ask for His interpretation. I have given meaning to an event that has no meaning. It is neutral. Everything in the world is neutral. However, we give it meaning and then we say we can't choose happiness, which is our birthright, because we would rather be right. We prefer our way and defend these thoughts, because that truth threatens our individuality and our specialness. Now we are called to see how mistaken we are about who we think we are.

When we experience any irritation or feeling of impatience or superiority, or compare ourselves with anyone, it is because we want to be separate. We want to be right about who we think we are, but it is important not to judge ourselves for noticing the ego. We are cautioned not to condemn ourselves for not being more spiritual. That simply can never work, because whether we judge ourselves or others, it is all the same. It keeps us at the mercy of the judgmental ego. All we need do is to look, without condemnation, at our beliefs and judgments and be willing to see we are wrong and to give them over for healing. We can't heal them. All we can do is bring them to awareness. Our willingness is what makes the power of the Holy Spirit possible in bringing a new interpretation to every situation we encounter.

Some blocks are so subtle, we seem to not even notice them, but these seemingly small irritations build up during the day until we feel depressed or angry and we wonder why. We need to be paying attention to what is going on inside of us, yet we spend a lot of time on what is going on outside of us. We judge and criticize others to no avail. This will never be helpful to our awakening, but when we look at the judgments we make and bring them to the truth then ultimately there is a recognition that we all share the same purpose. This requires a level of alertness to our thoughts we are not used to. Jesus reminds us that when we forget why we came, "will the world remind you gently of what you have taught." (T.27.V.7.2)(ACIM OE T.27.VI.49) There will be many witnesses to what is going on in our minds, and they are called forth as reflections of our own thoughts, as the world is just a mirror of those thoughts.
 
In one of the Miracles Magazines, Jon Mundy writes, what  brings us sorrow is trying to force things to happen the way we think we want them to happen. For the mystic, nothing has to happen. "Recognize what does not matter, and if your brothers ask you for something 'outrageous,' do it because it does not matter. " (T.12.III.4.1) (ACIM OE T.11.IV.27) I notice how much suffering I bring into my life when I make something matter. Jon reminded me in his article, we truly can discover new freedom when we let our rules go of how we think things should be and simply accept what is. In fact, he reminded me that when we say "whatever," it simply means it does not matter. It means it is truly not important. When we get this, we can let go of our being offended, disappointed or upset by what someone has done.

Again, what is it to be the savior of the world? What are we being asked to do? Quite simply we are to be the light of the world. We are to be happy. Happiness is our function. We bring joy by our very Being when we make space for truth. "But when there is no arrogance the truth will come immediately, and fill up the space the ego left unoccupied by lies." (W.319.1.3) As we willingly bring our darkness to the light and look to the truth beyond, we experience the trust and confidence that grow in power and freedom. It is a matter of reclaiming our projections and recognizing what does not matter.
 
"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." (W.61.1.1)
 
We have agreed to wake up to who we are. We have made a commitment to the healing of our minds. It is what we came here to do. It is what we came here to be. Let's recommit today to affirm this aim for ourselves, so we can strengthen our resolve and our motivation. It does flag from time to time, but we are not asked to force ourselves. In fact, this is not helpful. When discouragement and resistance are high, it may be time to relax and take a break. When we are ready to recommit, we are renewed and strengthened and our confidence in Him grows.