MANUAL FOR TEACHERS
#2. WHO ARE THEIR PUPILS?
1 Certain pupils have been assigned to each of God's teachers, and they will begin to look for him as soon as he has answered the Call. They were chosen for him because the form of the universal curriculum that he will teach is best for them in view of their level of understanding. His pupils have been waiting for him, for his coming is certain. Again, it is only a matter of time. Once he has chosen to fulfill his role, they are ready to fulfill theirs. Time waits on his choice but not whom he will serve. When he is ready to learn, the opportunities to teach will be provided for him.
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A COURSE IN MIRACLES
WORKBOOK for STUDENTS
Voice and Music by CIMS SonShip Radio
The ego is idolatry; the sign
of limited and separated self,
born in a body, doomed to suffer and
to end its life in death. It is the will
that sees the Will of God as enemy,
and takes a form in which It is denied.
The ego is the "proof" that strength is weak
and love is fearful, life is really death,
and what opposes God alone is true.
The ego is insane. In fear it stands
beyond the Everywhere, apart from All,
in separation from the Infinite.
In its insanity, it thinks it has
become a victor over God Himself,
and in its terrible autonomy
it "sees" the Will of God has been destroyed.
It dreams of punishment, and trembles at
the figures in its dreams, its "enemies"
who seek to murder it before it can
ensure its safety by attacking them.
The Son of God is egoless. What can
he know of madness and the death of God,
when he abides in Him? What can he know
of sorrow and of suffering, when he
lives in eternal joy? What can he know
of fear and punishment, of sin and guilt,
of hatred and attack, when all there is
surrounding him is everlasting peace,
forever conflict-free and undisturbed,
in deepest silence and tranquility?
To know Reality is not to know
the ego and its thoughts, its works, its acts,
its laws and its beliefs, its dreams, its hopes,
its plans for its salvation, and the cost
belief in it entails. In suffering,
the price for faith in it is so immense
that crucifixion of the Son of God
is offered daily at its darkened shrine,
and blood must flow before the altar where
its sickly followers prepare to die.
Yet will one lily of forgiveness change
the darkness into light; the altar to
illusions to the shrine of Life Itself.
And peace will be restored forever to
the holy minds which God created as
His Son, His dwelling-place, His joy, His love,
completely His, completely one with Him.
~ Original Hand Script
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A COURSE IN MIRACLES
DAILY LESSONS
L e s s o n 337
My sinlessness protects me from all harm.
<AUDIO><VIDEO>
Voice and Music by CIMS SonShip Radio
My sinlessness ensures me perfect peace,
eternal safety, everlasting love,
freedom forever from all thought of loss;
complete deliverance from suffering.
And only happiness can be my state,
for only happiness is given me.
What must I do to know all this is mine?
I must accept Atonement for myself,
and nothing more. God has already done
all things that need be done. I need but learn
I need do nothing of myself, for I
can but accept my Self, my sinlessness,
created for me, now already mine,
to feel God's Love protecting me from harm,
to understand my Father loves His Son;
to know I am the Son my Father loves.
You who created me in sinlessness
are not mistaken about what I am.
I was mistaken when I thought I sinned,
but I accept Atonement for myself.
Father, my dream is ended now. Amen.
~ Original Handscript of ACIM
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ACIM Edmonton - Sarah's Reflections
LESSON 337
My sinlessness protects me from all harm
.
Sarah's Commentary:
When Jesus talks about accepting the Atonement, he is talking about accepting our innocence, which is accepting the Self as the Christ. To do so requires that we accept the Correction for our mistaken perceptions and be willing to accept healing so we can know we have never changed ourselves. God created us as perfect eternal beings of light and love. To accept this for ourselves, we need to be willing to look at the way we block the truth. Forgiveness is about bringing to the light these blocks and defenses that we hold against the truth. This takes willingness and it takes great vigilance in watching our thoughts. To "Be vigilant only for God and His Kingdom" (T.6.C.2.8) (ACIM OE T.6.c.85) is a ". . . major step toward fundamental change." (T.6.C.3.1) (ACIM OE T.6.c.86)
We spend a lot of our lives looking for love, looking for happiness, and trying to find peace and contentment. Jesus says, "And only happiness can be my state, for only happiness is given to me." (W.337.1.2) Yet the reality is that we don't feel happy all the time. Why? "What must I do to know all this is mine?" (W.337.1.3) Jesus tells us in this Lesson that there is nothing to be done. "I must accept Atonement for myself, and nothing more." (W.337.1.4) "God has already done all things that need be done."(W.337.1.5) Therefore, with the help of the Holy Spirit, our job is the undoing of all that is not true. It is about looking past appearances, recognizing that anything not of love and joy has no power to hurt us or anyone else.
In "The Greater Joining", Jesus says, "Accepting the Atonement for yourself means not to give support to someone's dream of sickness and of death. It means that you share not his wish to separate, and let him turn illusions on himself. Nor do you wish that they be turned, instead, on you. Thus have they no effects. And you are free of dreams of pain because you let him be [free of dreams of pain]. Unless you help him, you will suffer pain with him because that is your wish. And you become a figure in his dream of pain, as he is yours. So do you and your brother both become illusions, and without identity." (T.28.IV.1.1-8) (ACIM OE T.28.V.37)
He is saying that acknowledging our Oneness with our brother sets us both free, and we do that by recognizing we are the same. It is not about suffering with him or joining with him in his pain, but recognizing his innocence, which is to recognize our own. We do not see ourselves as a dream figure in his story of pain, sickness, or suffering, and join him there. Instead, it is about knowing who we are; it is to know our brother's reality so we can know our own as we were created. The way we know the truth is to bring all the darkness of our judgments, comparisons, and specialness, to the light of truth.
The big questions are, "Why, then, don't I feel happy all the time if happiness is already given me, and I need do nothing? Since there is nothing to seek but only to accept my reality as Love, how is this accomplished?" The answer is---acceptance of who we are in truth. What keeps us from the truth is our own denial and defenses, our belief that we are what we have made of ourselves, and ultimately, our fear of God. We hold onto the image, the self-concept, we have made of ourselves. We don't trust God because we have made an image of a Him that equates Him with death. We hold the belief that He wants to wrest from us our will and demand sacrifice of us, but it is an image of God made by the ego.
What must be undone before we can know ourselves as God created us? How did we get so mistaken about ourselves that we think we have become something we are not? How have we become so insecure that we experience life as suffering and turmoil? Why does it seem we must spend our lives seeking for happiness that always seems to elude us? Jesus tells us that there is nothing to seek. What we need to see is how we are actively denying, defending, and negating our happiness and actually protecting ourselves from our reality as Beings of light and love. We are pure joy, but we are defending against it. How do we do that? We distract ourselves, seek things in the world we think will make us happy, make plans for our own salvation, and keep our minds actively pursuing, actively judging, attacking, feeling guilty, fearful, angry---all those things that keep us defended against the love we are. Because of our fear of our one Self, we cling to the image of ourselves that we have made.
That is why forgiveness is so central to the Course's teachings because through forgiveness we recognize the other person is as sinless as ourselves and we join---Love to Love. We see beyond the behaviors and respond to the call for love with love. We do not respond to the demands and manipulations of another as if it were something to fix or solve, but we respond to the real problem, which is a cry from our brothers to be seen and understood as innocent as we are despite what their behavior might look like. This is how we come to know who we are.
Accepting Atonement for ourselves is important because it is the acceptance of right-mindedness, which is a moment of sanity, even if only briefly. This leads directly and automatically to extending healing to others. "Accepting healing is the precondition for extending healing, for you must have before you can give." (Course glossary). "The only way to heal is to be healed. The miracle extends without your help, but you are needed that it can begin. Accept the miracle of healing, and it will go forth because of what it is. It is its nature to extend itself the instant it is born. And it is born the instant it is offered and received." (T.27.V.1.1-5) (ACIM OE T.27.VI.44) This is why the contemplation of the Lessons and the taking time for meditation practice is important to our healing. We must take responsibility for all the judgments and attacks we project onto others. Only by taking responsibility for our attacks and bringing them to the light can healing take place.
The miracle is the expression of the Atonement. "The miracle does nothing. All it does is to undo. And thus it cancels out the interference to what has been done. It does not add, but merely takes away." (T.28.I.1) (ACIM OE T.In.28.I.1) While we might think of the miracle as something amazing and dramatic, all the miracle does is bring our mind back to the truth by helping us to recognize that the way we see things now is not the truth. Therefore, the miracle simply restores what always was. It brings the problem to the Answer and solves the problem where it really is, which is in the mind. Our only problem is that we cling to an ancient memory of sin and guilt. The miracle clears away these old memories. It helps clear this link to the past. It does not mean we don't address problems that show up in our lives, but we must recognize that they will never be solved in the world, never to return. The only real solution is in the mind. When I am sick, the first thing I want to do is run to the medicine cabinet to find a solution; but the problem is the guilt in the mind and running to the medicine cabinet cannot solve the real problem. It does not make taking medicine wrong, but to address the real problem, we are encouraged to go to Spirit first. When we do, we become willing to go to the source of the problem that is in the mind, which is the only place real healing can happen.
The focus of this whole Course is on miracles. The focus is on attainment of peace and not on what the Course calls Knowledge or a sustained experience of the mystical. We may be tempted to put all our focus on wanting such experiences. Yet Jesus is clearly putting the focus on doing the work of reversing the way we currently think by reversing cause and effect. Knowledge is beyond the goal of the Course. While mystical experiences are motivating, they are not our focus. Our focus is on moving up the ladder of separation to the truth by undoing all that stands in the way.
As we come to recognize ourselves by accepting the Atonement, we recognize our purity and our invulnerability. If we think we can be harmed in any way, we have forgotten who we are. We have forgotten our identity as eternal beings, and we are dreaming that we are something else. Through forgiveness and joining with another, rather than building up defenses, we let go of the dream of separation.
Today is a day to commit to healing our minds, bringing anything that stands between us and our brothers and sisters to the Holy Spirit, and asking for His help so that we may know the truth.
"You Who created me in sinlessness are not mistaken about what I am. I was mistaken when I thought I sinned, but I accept Atonement for myself. Father, my dream is ended now. Amen."
(W.337.2.1-3)
In our identification with the image of ourselves, we don't understand anything at all because we have been perceiving everything incorrectly. Now it is up to us to recognize, we have been mistaken. With the recognition that we have been wrong about everything we think, we humbly accept this teaching and participate fully in it, so our errors can be undone. Thankfully, we have been given a foolproof process for this to be accomplished.
Love and blessings, Sarah
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PAUSED FOR WEEKEND
#2. Who Are Their Pupils?
1 Certain pupils have been assigned to each of God's teachers, and they will begin to look for him as soon as he has answered the Call. They were chosen for him because the form of the universal curriculum that he will teach is best for them in view of their level of understanding. His pupils have been waiting for him, for his coming is certain. Again, it is only a matter of time. Once he has chosen to fulfill his role, they are ready to fulfill theirs. Time waits on his choice but not whom he will serve. When he is ready to learn, the opportunities to teach will be provided for him.
2 In order to understand the teaching-learning plan of salvation, it is necessary to grasp the concept of time which the course sets forth. Atonement corrects illusions, not the truth. Therefore it corrects what never was. Further, the plan for this correction was established and completed simultaneously, for the Will of God is entirely apart from time. So is all reality, being of Him. The instant the idea of separation entered the mind of God's Son, in that same instant was God's Answer given. In time this happened very long ago. In reality it never happened at all.
3 The world of time is the world of illusion. What happened long ago seems to be happening now. Choices made long since appear to be open, yet to be made. What has been learned and understood and long ago passed by is looked upon as a new thought, a fresh idea, a different approach. Because your will is free, you can accept what has already happened at any time you choose, and only then will you realize that it was always there. As the course emphasizes, you are not free to choose the curriculum or even the form in which you will learn it. You are free, however, to decide when you want to learn it. And as you accept it, it is already learned.
4 Time really, then, goes backward to an instant so ancient that it is beyond all memory and past even the possibility of remembering. Yet because it is an instant that is relived again and again and still again, it seems to be now. And thus it is that pupil and teacher seem to come together in the present, finding each other as if they had not met before. The pupil comes at the right time to the right place. This is inevitable because he made the right choice in that ancient instant which he now relives. So has the teacher, too, made an inevitable choice out of an ancient past. God's Will in everything but seems to take time in the working-out. What could delay the Power of eternity?
5 When pupil and teacher come together, a teaching-learning situation begins. For the teacher is not really the one who does the teaching. God's Teacher speaks to any two who join together for learning purposes. The relationship is holy because of that purpose, and God has promised to send His Spirit into any holy relationship. In the teaching-learning situation, each one learns that giving and receiving are the same. The demarcations they have drawn between their roles, their minds, their bodies, their needs, their interests, and all the differences they thought separated them from one another fade and grow dim and disappear. Those who would learn the same course share one interest and one goal. And thus he who was the learner becomes a teacher of God Himself, for he has made the one decision that gave his teacher to him. He has seen in another person the same interests as his own.
#3. What Are the Levels of Teaching?
1 The teachers of God have no set teaching level. Each teaching-learning situation involves a different relationship at the beginning, although the ultimate goal is always the same---to make of the relationship a holy relationship in which both can look upon the Son of God as sinless. There is no one from whom a teacher of God cannot learn, so there is no one whom he cannot teach. However, from a practical point of view, he cannot meet everyone, nor can everyone find him. Therefore, the plan includes very specific contacts to be made for each teacher of God. There are no accidents in salvation. Those who are to meet will meet because together they have the potential for a holy relationship. They are ready for each other.
2 The simplest level of teaching appears to be quite superficial. It consists of what seem to be very casual encounters---a chance meeting of two apparent strangers in an elevator, a child who is not looking where he is going running into an adult "by accident," two students who happen to walk home together. These are not chance encounters. Each of them has the potential for becoming a teaching-learning situation. Perhaps the seeming strangers in the elevator will smile to one another; perhaps the man will not scold the child for bumping into him; perhaps the students will become friends. Even at the level of the most casual encounter, it is possible for two people to lose sight of separate interests, if only for a moment. That moment will be enough. Salvation has come.
3 It is difficult to understand that levels of teaching the universal course is a concept as meaningless in reality as is time. The illusion of one permits the illusion of the other. In time, the teacher of God seems to begin to change his mind about the world with the single decision, and then learns more and more about the new direction as he teaches it. We have covered the illusion of time already, but the illusion of levels of teaching seems to be something different. Perhaps the best way to demonstrate that these levels cannot exist is simply to say that any level of the teaching-learning situation is part of God's plan for Atonement, and His plan can have no levels, being a reflection of His Will. Salvation is always ready and always there. God's teachers work at different levels, but the result is always the same.
4 Each teaching-learning situation is maximal in the sense that each person involved will learn the most that he can from the other person at that time. In this sense, and in this sense only, we can speak of levels of teaching. Using the term in this way, the second level of teaching is a more sustained relationship in which for a time two people enter into a fairly intense teaching-learning situation and then appear to separate. As with the first level, these meetings are not accidental, nor is what appears to be the end of the relationship a real end. Again, each has learned the most he can at the time. Yet all who meet will someday meet again, for it is the destiny of all relationships to become holy. God is not mistaken in His Son.
5 The third level of teaching occurs in relationships which, once they are formed, are lifelong. These are teaching-learning situations in which each person is given a chosen learning partner who presents him with unlimited opportunities for learning. These relationships are generally few because their existence implies that those involved have reached a stage simultaneously in which the teaching-learning balance is actually perfect. This does not mean that they necessarily recognize this; in fact, they generally do not. They may even be quite hostile to each other for some time, and perhaps for life. Yet should they decide to learn it, the perfect lesson is before them and can be learned. And if they decide to learn that lesson, they become the saviors of the teachers who falter and may even seem to fail. No teacher of God can fail to find the Help he needs.
ON LINE SEARCHABLE Original Edition
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