Lesson 265

Creation's gentleness is all I see.

 

When gentleness is all I see, then I will recognize that gentleness is all that I am. This is a new kind of projection or, more appropriately, an extension of the gentleness in the mind. Everything we see in the world is simply a reflection of our own minds. This is why the Course constantly reminds us that "projection makes perception." (T.13.V.3.5) (ACIM OE T.12.V.35) In other words, all we look at in the world is our own guilt, or our innocence, reflected back at us. In Chapter 21 Intro., Jesus quite clearly says that the world we see is just an outward reflection of our inner condition. We only see our own sins in another and fool ourselves into thinking that they are not in our own minds but, in fact in others. So we think we need to forgive someone else, when in fact, forgiveness is about releasing our own judgments that we have laid on the world and "saw them looking back at us." (W.265.1.1)
  
In the Song of Prayer, Jesus tells us: "It is impossible to forgive another, for it is only your own sins you see in him. You want to see them there, and not in you. That is why the 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 now be found. Who but the sinful need to be forgiven? And do not ever think you can see sin in anyone except yourself." (S.2.B.4)

So when we are seeing sin in our brothers, we need to bring it back to our own minds and release the judgments there, so that we can know our brother as innocent and thus accept this innocence for ourselves.

All meaning we give to any situation comes from our own minds. It is clear that others, at times, act in ways that are attacking or appear to create situations or events that seem difficult for us to overlook. But the problem is that we determine they are unworthy of love and deserving of punishment. We are called instead to see that we are all the same. We all make mistakes. Yet we are all still the innocent Son of God, worthy of love. When we don't want to take responsibility for our own guilt, we project it onto someone we think is more deserving of it. Thus we believe we have gotten rid of it. Now we see them as guilty and we believe we are off the hook. What this attempts to do is to buy our own innocence at the expense of our brothers, the guilty ones. And our hope is that God is watching and will see their guilt and punish them rather than us. But, of course, this does not work. It is not true innocence that is bought at the expense of our brothers.

We prefer to see the guilt outside of ourselves, because then we don't have to take responsibility for our own guilt. But what the ego has kept from our awareness is that, rather than getting rid of our guilt by seeing it in others, it is just another way of keeping it. And with all our attack thoughts, we expect to be attacked back. We expect punishment, and so the cycle of sin, guilt and fear continues. Now it is up to us to stop it, look at it and release it to the Holy Spirit. Thus we remember who we are and who our brother is in truth. The beauty of the shift that happens in our minds, as a result of our forgiveness, is such a gift. We are all worth this effort.

The many opportunities we have to watch our own minds and take responsibility for our projections can all be welcomed because now we can see that everything 'out there' is only a reflection of our own thoughts. (1.8) So much of our own guilt is buried that we need this outward picture of our inward condition in order to uncover the guilt from which we have become disassociated.

There are many situations and people in our lives that offer us opportunities for healing our minds. Through this healing we can come to a place where only Creation's gentleness is seen everywhere. When we are seeing through true perception, then no matter what the situation looks like, we can see beyond the appearances to the innocence that is behind everything that the eyes report. We then look on everyone with 'holy eyes' with the help of the Holy Spirit.

I love the word gentleness. It comes up very often in the Course with nearly 200 references. Most of the references are about the gentleness of the Holy Spirit working with us. We need the experience of His gentleness because of our terror about where He is leading us. Our fear is that He will take us to our own destruction, but Jesus teaches us otherwise. The truth is that we will be taken to the truth of who we really are as immortal beings of love and light.

We shy away from the idea of gentleness, because it seems ineffectual in the face of attack. We may think of it as weakness. Yet we are told, in the Manual for Teachers, that true might lies in gentleness. In the Manual, gentleness is described as a characteristic of all teachers of God. Harm is considered a weakness and a way that keeps us in hell, whereas gentleness is called "limitless strength." (M.4.IV.2.7) It is where our might comes from, because it comes from joining our will with our Source. It is a recognition, "Harm is impossible for God's teachers." (M.4.IV.1.1) It is a feeling of total safety. From a place of safety, there is nothing to defend. So while gentleness may be seen as weakness in the world, true gentleness is total strength. The harmless are mighty not wimpy, because they fear nothing. They know their reality is not the body but the eternal Self.
 
What makes the gentle so strong is the realization that attacking, harmful, intolerant and hurtful thoughts do not come from the Source, from God, and therefore they have no power. Only by joining our thoughts with Him Who is our Source does our true will, which has always been one with God's, have unlimited power. So today we have the opportunity to "see the world in the celestial gentleness with which creation shines." (W.265.1.4) To do that, we look past the forms, and past the dream figures (other bodies) to see the truth of who our brother is. But this is not possible, if we have blocked the "light of Heaven shining on the world" from our awareness. (W.265.1.6) Because our minds are one with God, (W.265.1.10) we have the capacity to see everyone as God does. "And so I can perceive creation's gentleness." (W.265.1.10) If I don't, it is only because I am holding thoughts of judgment and condemnation.
  
Today, simply be willing to look at those judgments about anyone and acknowledge that you are only seeing your own sins projected outward. Open yourself to be shown another way to see by being willing to question your judgments and release your stories about the situation. They are all false. Now the Holy Spirit can show you another way. All you have to do is  surrender your thoughts willingly to Him. Do not try to do what only He can do. In other words, this is not about trying to fix yourself, or trying to undo your own perspectives. It is about realizing that guilt is a mistake and  we can smile at our misperceptions and ask to see truly. He will show you your brother's reality shining with celestial gentleness, and you will receive this truth about yourself as well.

Today I looked at expectations I had on my partner, who has been very involved in activities where I felt ignored and neglected. What was that about? As I reflected on what I was feeling and thus demanding, I saw that I was projecting guilt onto my brother and expecting love to come from outside of my own mind. I forgot that I am the love, and if I am not feeling it then I am blocking it with my judgments and expectations. It is not his responsibility to meet my needs, nor requirements and expectations that I set up for how I should be treated in order to feel loved. Love cannot be extracted from outside of our own minds. Remembering that we are love, and that we are 100% responsible for our happiness, helps us look at our own blocks to remembering the truth. The truth is that we are not lacking in love. The truth is that we are the love that we are seeking in the world.