We are approaching the end of our year of lessons either for the first time or, for some, several times. This section introduces the idea of the Last Judgment. An important aspect of the discussion here of the Last Judgment is that it undoes the association we have made of the Last Judgment with death. On the contrary, the Last Judgment is the recognition that there is only life. Nothing is accomplished or achieved through death. Heaven is simply, "When the Will of the Sonship and the Father are one, their perfect accord is Heaven." (T.3.II.4.6)(ACIM OE T.2.II.21) There is no condemnation in the Last Judgment and thus there is nothing fearful in it. Yet Jesus says that, "The Last Judgment is one of the most threatening ideas in your thinking." (T.2. VIII.2.1)(ACIM OE T.2.VI.106) He also says, "It is a final healing rather than a meting out of punishment, however much you think that punishment is deserved." (T.2. VIII.3.3)(ACIM OE T.2.VI.108)
  
The Last Judgment signifies the end of false perception. It is the final proclamation that you are, and have always been, "forever innocent, forever loving and forever loved," (W.PII.Q10.5.1) pure, and changeless. We have been misguided in who we think we are. And with the Last Judgment comes the recognition that we have never changed ourselves. Our concepts of ourselves and others are all false. When we come to this realization, through the process of undoing all that we once believed, we come to see that "what is false is false, and what is true has never changed."(W.PII.Q10.1.1) This is the end of perception and the final realization that it is impossible to have ever changed ourselves from the magnificence of our creation. Here is the end of learning. It is our return to the beginning. "All your difficulties stem from the fact that you do not recognize yourself, your brother or God. To recognize means to 'know again,' implying that you knew before." (T.3.III.2.1-2)(ACIM OE T.3.V.31) This is the end of conflict when there are no longer the "vacillations between free and imprisoned will." (T.2.VIII.3.8)(ACIM OE T.2.VI.109) We are now guided only by the Voice of the Holy Spirit. All of our former inner conflict has dissipated. This is what is meant by accepting the Atonement for ourselves for this is the correction that ends the separation.
 
In the sorting out that we are doing of what is false and what is true, Jesus says, "It simply means that everyone will finally come to understand what is worthy and what is not." (T.2.VIII.3.6)(ACIM OE T.2.VI.109) It is a process of letting go all of our false perceptions, recognizing that we have been wrong about everything. What we have called our life, has actually been a dream. As Jesus says, "No one who lives in fear is really alive." (T.2.VIII.5.4)(ACIM OE T.2.VI.111) Life is eternal and is not defined by the body, but while we appear to be in the body and the world, it gives us this seeming experience of time to achieve this judgment where we come to know the truth of our being. "When everything you retain is lovable, there is no reason for fear to remain with you. This is your part in the Atonement." (T.2.VIII.5.10-11)(ACIM OE T.2.VI.111) Then we can look on everything with love because all that is in the mind is love, extending out to all of the world.
  
When the mind is healed, the world has no cause. "Without a cause, and now without a function in Christ's sight, it merely slips away to nothingness." (W.PII.Q10.2.3) That is because the world is a reflection of the guilt that is in our mind, projected out. When guilt is gone, there is no more need for the world as a classroom for the undoing of guilt.
 
Lesson 311 says, "I judge all things as I would have them be." In other words, I project my state of mind on everything I see, making everything over in my image. What I am seeing is a hallucination of what is in my mind. "There are no strange images in the Mind of God, and what is not in His Mind cannot be in yours, because you are of one mind and that mind belongs to Him." (T.10.IV.6.2) (ACIM OE T.9.X.90) But in our minds there are many images. Jesus tells us, "It is because the thoughts you think you think appear as images that you do not recognize them as nothing." (W.PI.15.1.1) As thoughts show up in our minds, we start to run a movie. It may be a movie of disaster based on a fear thought we are holding, or a fantasy movie based on hopes and wishes, or a variety of themes. I notice that I may be watching a program on TV and before I know it, I am watching my own inner movie based on some random thoughts. My mind is the cause of everything I see. It is all internal. As Lesson 304 reminded us, all we see is our state of mind reflected outward. It is a way of keeping truth away from us because all we do is make of everything what we would have it be. (1.3) As I am thinking of a disturbance in my life today, I am reminded to turn away from the idea that something or someone in my life is the cause of this disturbance. I am the only one that is the source of my experience. Jesus urges us to, "Come without all thought of what you ever learned before, and put aside all images you made." (T.31.II.8.2)(ACIM OE T.31.II.22)
 
Whenever we like or dislike what is happening, have opinions about anything, have differing views with someone, or judge a situation as good or bad, we are assuming that we know what it is all for. Yet to know what is good or bad about anything, we would have to be aware of an inconceivably wide range of things, past, present and yet to come. Clearly this is an impossibility. We would also have to be certain that there is no distortion in our perception-also an impossibility. How many times have we experienced how wrong we have been about our judgments? How many times have we changed our minds when new information was provided or when time passes and we actually saw things differently? How can we trust that we know anything of what is good or bad, right or wrong?

As a parent, I felt that I could protect my child from all kinds of unforeseen events. When I could not, and the situation seemed not to be in my control, I would worry about his well being. I learned that my worry could never protect him. If anything my fear thoughts were teaching him that the world is a place of extreme danger and that he is vulnerable. In trying to maintain undue diligence for the safety of our children we are actually projecting our own extreme sense of vulnerability on them. The guilt and fear that we hold in our minds makes for poor parenting.

With guilt, we project all of our fears on those we are trying to protect and instead are teaching them this world is an unsafe place. In saying this, I am not speaking of ordinary cautions and supportive behaviors we exhibit toward our children when they are young. But I am speaking of the kind of overbearing concern that came from a mind (mine) that imagined all kinds of negative possibilities. It was my fear projected outward. Yes, we must teach our children, but teaching is more effective when taught from a place of peace and accompanied by trust. It is teaching by example by choosing this for ourselves. The only one to heal is our own mind.

I increasingly learned to put my faith and trust in the Holy Spirit. Whatever was to happen to him happened for reasons that are helpful for his soul purpose here and I certainly don't know what that is. We are urged not to take anyone's classroom away from them. We can't have the perspective to judge what is in anyone's best interests including our own. I could not prevent him from experiencing whatever was in his script. None of us are victims of the world we perceive. Therefore, my judgment was of no value. The only thing our judgments do is create a burden on our minds, which keep us from the truth of who we are. And, of course, that is precisely the ego's agenda.

When I look back at my own life, the things that seemed to happen that at the time felt hurtful, that I judged to be bad, now in retrospect I can see why they were there for me and why I chose them at the level of the mind, for my soul purpose. They took me deeper into my mind and brought out a yearning to understand my purpose here. They took me on this journey. Would I change anything? No. All of the things that I thought should be different at the time, I now trust they were perfect for my spiritual awakening.

The book, "Eyes of an Angel", reminded me of the perfection of the people that show up in our lives for our learning. Paul Elder, the author, is a Canadian, previously mayor of Swift Current, Saskatchewan, and a businessman who, through several near death and out-of-body experiences, developed an understanding of why we have incarnated with the people who are in our lives. It was another example of perspective gained through the experiences of others. Even in dire examples of abuse and neglect, as described by Jeannette Walls in her book, "The Glass Castle," we can see the lessons that God would have us learn. His lessons are always that God's Son is innocent and everything is unfolding perfectly for that lesson to be finally accepted. We cannot judge. We cannot because we cannot see the totality. We can't see the beginning from the end. We can't change the past. It is already done. But what we can do is look at our state of mind as the outward picture of our inner condition.

Our judgments hurt us. When we see that this is the case, we will be motivated to give them up. When we judge anyone, or think we know how to correct them, we are putting ourselves above them and making ourselves special. We make them guilty or wrong in the belief that we can look innocent by comparison, but at their expense. This hurts us because in our condemnation of them, while we think we have elevated ourselves, in fact we have condemned ourselves because whatever we give we receive. Now we have taken on more guilt and with guilt comes our belief that we deserve punishment. That is how, "It separates what is being used against it, and sets it off as if it were a thing apart," (W.311.2) because it takes a small part of totality and sees it as truth. In other words we make our brother separate from us, believe that he is different than us, and think that what we are seeing in him is the truth. Until we let go of our judgment, we can't know the truth that we are all the same and thus we can't know ourselves when we separate from our brothers.
 
Today we are called to ask for help. "He will relieve us of the agony of all the judgments we have made against ourselves, and re-establish peace of mind by giving us God's Judgment of His Son." (W.311.1.6) His judgment of us all is that we are the Christ Self, pure and innocent. The agony of judgments is that we keep ourselves prisoner to this world, in a state of guilt and fear of punishment.
 
We can only know ourselves when we see with vision that excludes all judgment. With vision we see no past in anyone. "And thus it serves a wholly open mind, unclouded by old concepts, and prepared to look on only what the present holds. It cannot judge because it does not know. And recognizing this, it merely asks, 'What is the meaning of what I behold?' Then is the answer given. And the door held open for the face of Christ to shine upon the one who asks, in innocence, to see beyond the veil of old ideas and ancient concepts held so long and dear against the vision of the Christ in you." (T.31. VII.13.3-7)(ACIM OE T.31.VII.80)
We need to be vigilant and choose against the temptation to judge because it creates a burden and agony for us and keeps us mired in guilt. There is no peace with judgment. Today instead of concluding that we know, let us ask for the meaning of what we behold from Someone Who does know and let Him look at everything through us. It means that we must surrender our knowing mind so that the Holy Spirit can reveal to us the innocence and the love in everything. It is only then that we can know peace.

Apply this lesson specifically to someone in your life you are holding judgments against. Look at how you see yourself elevated in light of your judgments and how you are making yourself feel better about yourself as a result. That is the reason for the judgments in the first place, to make ourselves better by comparison. This is where we need the courage and honesty to look at the darkness of the ego thought system, but then to recognize that it has no effect and is not the truth. We willingly release these judgmental thoughts to the Holy Spirit. Judgment is a weapon we are using against ourselves. This lesson is about asking to be relieved of this weapon and asking for help to see our brother as he truly is so we can know our Self as we truly are.