Lesson 268

Let all things be exactly as they are.

 

"Let all things be exactly as they are" seems like a lesson in a kind of acceptance of everything as it is. So that would imply that if someone attacks us we might just accept that that is just the way they are. Or we might believe that nothing can be changed so let's just accept what is and experience some peace. But this lesson is not about acceptance of the forms of this world. On the contrary, we accept that an event or situation is not right, but we don't have to be upset about it because it is not the truth. If you attack me, it is not right and I don't need to accept it, but I don't need to become distressed and disturbed by it because it is not anything real. Who you are as the Son of God, divine and perfect, is what is real, not the person I see in front of me in the attacking body. So letting things be exactly as they are, is to accept that truth is true and only truth is true. It is to see the truth about our brother as one with us, rather than what our body's eyes show us about him. The ego has tried to make illusion true and reality illusion.

Of course, when someone attacks us or there are situations in our lives that are difficult, we probably will get upset, but that is not something to feel guilty about. In fact, on the contrary, it is another opportunity to look at our own conscious guilt that has now been brought to awareness so it can be healed. This is what everything that shows up in our lives is for. And the sooner we withdraw our own wishes from the unity that is behind all form, the sooner we give up our suffering. Our wish is for others to suffer for what they have seemingly done to us, but that is how we distort the unity that is behind all form. It is the unity of God's love that does not recognize anything but innocence.

When the 'tiny mad idea' crept into the mind of the Son of God there was then a thought that there was something better than Oneness. We wanted to be God, and thus the world of form was made. God did not create these earthly forms. The forms come about because, in our choice for the ego thought system, reality became distorted. A part of our Christ mind had to fall asleep in order to experience this dream. Now time and space entered into this construct and the world of form became a place where we could play out our desires, and hide from God. So now we took the role of God ourselves, where we could choose whatever we thought would bring us happiness. We believe that we actually succeeded in breaking away from Him and hiding in this dream. Of course, we don't think of it as a dream. Our sleeping mind has now fooled itself into believing that this is our reality. That is how we judge against God, by trying to prove Him wrong, which is what it is to be His critic. Every time we criticize our brother for his wrongdoings, we are judging against God who affirms the perfection of our brother and ourselves.

Of course, we could never be successful in shattering reality. If we really could change what God created as eternal, then we truly would be lost, and sin, and the sickly forms of this world, would indeed be real. So while we feel guilt over what we believe we have done to reality, Jesus assures us over and over that we have done nothing. We can't change what God created, but we will not know that until we awaken from the dream. Through the teaching of this Course, Jesus is helping us to do just that by reminding us that when we are willing to withdraw our wishes from the world, and thus "let it be as You created it," (W.268.1.3) then we will be able recognize and know our Self as we are and have always been in creation. Until then, we have drawn a veil over reality because of our wish to see something other than unity. We are simply refusing to accept what is.
 
When we know the truth about our Self as only Love as we were created, without all of the constructs and images of separate bodies seeming to be in competition with each other then, "What can frighten me, when I let all things be exactly as they are?" (W.268.1.6) In other words, what can assail truth? What can hurt love? What can damage the eternal? What can interfere with Oneness? If we are created in love and remain in love forever, what can frighten us when we let all things be exactly as they are? All of our fear comes from our belief that we have changed creation and are have separated from God's Love. There is no fear in oneness. Fear comes from the denial of our oneness. We do this every time we choose to see a brother guilty, every time we attack anyone, or even when we are sad or distressed. We are, in effect, using these situations to prove that we are right in our perceptions and God is wrong. This is the time to ask for help of the Holy Spirit. "Holy Spirit, help me to forgive myself for using (this brother, this event, or this situation) as a way to keep myself separate from Your Love."
 
If you feel attacked by anyone today, remind yourself that you don't need to accept the attack as real. "Be willing to forgive the Son of God for what he did not do." (T.17.III. 1.5)(ACIM OE T.17.IV.14) So to let things be exactly as they are is to see the truth of who our brother is as the Son of God. We remind ourselves that overcoming illusions is to accept the world of form as not really there at all. We are not acquiescing to things that are not right, because that is not real peace. It is only a kind of resignation. Real peace comes from seeing that sickly forms have no impact. They are not real. There is nothing about them that we need to accept. But if we are to see beyond them to the truth, then we must first see how we are misperceiving what we see and bring our misperceptions to the Holy Spirit so He can reinterpret them for us.

"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." (T.22.V.1.1-3) "Reality opposes nothing. What merely is, needs no defense, and offers none." (T.22.V.1.6-7) "You are the strong one in this seeming conflict. And you need no defense." (T.22.V.1.10-11)(ACIM OE T.22.VI.45)
 Again, as we watch our minds, we can see that there are many ways that we want things to be different. We all have hopes and wishes of how things should be, and in doing so we are listening to the ego. We follow the ego's dictates, which is "I want it thus!" Yet when we experience difficulties in our lives, how can we not want things to be different? How can those who are sick and suffering not want things to be different than they are? Are we really being asked to accept all of this? Jesus teaches that truly none of this is real. All of the suffering we see around us is not real. It is all about sickly forms that reflect our unhealed minds and which show us projections of our own unconscious guilt, but it is not helpful to deny what we see. If our misperceptions based on our unconscious guilt are to be healed, they need to be brought to light. In other words, we need to acknowledge what we are misperceiving and bring them to the Holy Spirit. He can't heal what we don't give Him.

While we still believe in the reality of the world and of our bodies, we are not asked to ignore our safety and well being as we experience it. This Course does not ask us to change our behavior, but only to change our minds and then the behavior will follow. It is all about the healing of our guilt. It is an increasing recognition that what we thought we knew about everything is in fact wrong. Increasingly we see the world as a classroom where we take small daily steps in forgiveness recognizing that our awakening is a process. It is not about doing anything to try to change ourselves. Our part is only to bring to the Holy Spirit our misperceptions with a willingness to release them to Him. To do more is to try to add the ego to the truth. The ego will never undo itself. "Do not attempt to give the Holy Spirit what He does not ask, or you will add the ego to Him and confuse the two." (T.18.IV.1.6)(ACIM OE T.18.V.32) In other words, we do not forgive ourselves. Our part is only to bring awareness to our misperceptions and the Holy Spirit will do His part.
 
So, today we let events, situations and people be exactly as they are, not as they appear. Specifically, we are accepting the truth about them behind their behaviors and we remind ourselves of the divine that is behind the forms. We seek peace today by accepting the truth, which is formless, perfect and holy. It is a reality free of all pain, free of loss and wholly safe. Affirm this truth today in every situation and event and everyone you meet or think about.

We are asked not to attend to the voices of the world that tell us that all of this is real. "Let not our sight be blasphemous today, nor let our ears attend to lying tongues." (W.268.2.1) We are hearing so much today about the epidemic of disease for example. While it is something to address in this relative world, in the absolute truth of God's reality, it is not real. We are asked not to attend to it. It only brings up fear. When fear arises in you today, ask for help in releasing it so you can know the peace behind these blasphemous sights and lying tongues. So today, rather than resign ourselves to accepting the things of this world as what is, we commit instead to accepting the truth of the divine behind the forms. It is a different kind of acceptance.

I was recently at a bankruptcy hearing for someone that I had invested money with. It was all lost, squandered, misappropriated for which this person spent two years in jail. There were about 200 people at the hearing and a lot of anger was expressed toward this person. He was sitting at the front of the room, flanked by the bankruptcy officials. It reminded me of Jesus on the cross with the crowd calling for his crucifixion, flanked by the two thieves. All in all, it was a magnificent opportunity to look at my own thoughts with twinges of the experience of loss, and yet an even stronger desire to see the innocence in my brother, all the time asking for Help to do so. At the end of the hearing there was a big space between the stage and the audience and the question in my mind was whether to approach or simply to leave the room. I was nudged to approach and open-heartedly embraced this brother. As a result, I left with a gift of lilies, instead of the gift of thorns---a beautiful gift to myself. Did this release all of my anger and feelings of betrayal that I felt about this loss? No. But I recognize that forgiveness is a process and when thoughts like this creep back into my mind, I choose not to show interest in them. They are indeed meaningless.

In each moment, we are asked which will we choose? And the choice brings to us whatever it is that we give. Let all things be exactly as they are. We are given many opportunities in this classroom to release our brothers and thus ourselves. Which will we choose? It is not about spiritualizing the experience. I find that rage, judgments, disappointments, frustrations, must be seen for what they are, so that in the process of forgiveness, it is about being willing to release the blocks so that they can be dissolved in the light of truth.