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4 Apart from the Father and the Son, the Holy Spirit has no function. He is not separate from either, being in the mind of both and knowing that Mind is one. He is a Thought of God, and God has given Him to you because He has no Thoughts He does not share. His message speaks of timelessness in time, and that is why Christ's vision looks on everything with love. Yet even Christ's vision is not His reality. The golden aspects of reality which spring to light under His loving gaze are partial glimpses of the Heaven that lies
beyond them.
ACIM OE T13 II
"The Role of Healing"
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Workbook for Students
Review IV
Introduction
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1 Now we review again, this time aware we are preparing for the second part of learning how the truth can be applied. Today we will begin to concentrate on readiness for what will follow next. Such is our aim for this review and for the lessons following. Thus we review the recent lessons and their central thoughts in such a way as will facilitate the readiness which we would now achieve.
2 There is a central theme that unifies each step in the review we undertake, which can be simply stated in these words:
3
My mind holds only what I think with God.
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Workbook for Students
Lesson 145
My mind holds only what I think with God.
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[129] Beyond this world there is a world I want.
[130] It is impossible to see two worlds.
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Lesson ARCHIVE
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Course in Miracles
Original Edition
Text
Chapter 13
From Perception to Knowledge
I. Introduction
par 1-2
[PAUSED FOR WEEKEND]
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1 All therapy is release from the past. That is why the Holy Spirit is the only therapist. He teaches that the past does not exist, a fact which belongs to the sphere of knowledge and which therefore no one in the world knows. It would indeed be impossible to
be in the world with this knowledge. For the mind that knows this unequivocally knows also that it dwells in eternity and utilizes no perception at all. It therefore does not consider where it is because the concept "where" does not mean anything to it. It knows that it is
everywhere, just as it
has
everything, and
forever.
2 The very real difference between perception and knowledge becomes quite apparent if you consider this: There is nothing partial about knowledge. Every aspect is whole, and therefore no aspect is separate.
You are an aspect of knowledge, being in the Mind of God, Who
knows you. All knowledge must be yours, for in you
is all knowledge. Perception at its loftiest is never complete. Even the perception of the Holy Spirit, as perfect as perception can be, is without meaning in Heaven. Perception can reach everywhere under His guidance, for the vision of Christ beholds everything in light. Yet no perception, however holy, will last forever.
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by CIMS SonShip Radio
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Course in Miracles
Original Edition
Text
Chapter 13
From Perception to Knowledge
II. The Role of Healing
par 3-10
[PAUSED FOR WEEKEND]
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3 Perfect perception, then, has many elements in common with knowledge, making transfer to it possible. Yet the last step must be taken by God because the last step in your redemption, which seems to be in the future, was accomplished by God in your creation. The separation has not interrupted it. Creation cannot
be interrupted. The separation is merely a faulty formulation of reality with no effect at all. The miracle, without a function in Heaven,
is needful here. Aspects of reality can still be seen, and they will replace aspects of
unreality. Aspects of reality can be seen in everything and everywhere. Yet only God can gather them together by crowning them as one with the final gift of eternity.
4 Apart from the Father and the Son, the Holy Spirit has no function. He is not separate from either, being in the mind of both and knowing that Mind is one. He is a Thought of God, and God has given Him to you because He has no Thoughts He does not share. His message speaks of timelessness in time, and that is why Christ's vision looks on everything with love. Yet even Christ's vision is not His reality. The golden aspects of reality which spring to light under His loving gaze are partial glimpses of the Heaven that lies
beyond them.
5 This is the miracle of creation;
that
it is one forever. Every miracle you offer to the Son of God is but the true perception of one aspect of the whole. Though every aspect
is the whole, you cannot know this until you see that every aspect is the
same, perceived in the
same
light and
therefore one. Everyone seen
without the past thus brings you nearer to the end of time by bringing healed and healing sight into the darkness and enabling the world to see. For light must come into the darkened world to make Christ's vision possible even here. Help Him to give His gift of light to all who think they wander in the darkness, and let Him gather them into His quiet sight that makes them one.
6 They are all the same; all beautiful and equal in their holiness. And He will offer them unto His Father as they were offered unto Him. There is
one miracle, as there is
one reality. And every miracle you do contains them all, as every aspect of reality you see blends quietly into the One Reality of God. The only miracle that ever was is God's most holy Son, created in the One Reality that is his Father. Christ's vision is His gift to you. His Being is His Father's gift to Him.
7 Be you content with healing, for Christ's gift you
can bestow, and your Father's gift you
cannot lose. Offer Christ's gift to everyone and everywhere, for miracles offered the Son of God through the Holy Spirit attune you to reality. The Holy Spirit knows your part in the redemption and who are seeking you and where to find them. Knowledge is far beyond your individual concern. You, who are part of it and all of it, need only realize that it is of the Father,
not of you. Your role in the redemption leads you to it by reestablishing its oneness in your minds.
8 When you have seen your brothers as yourself, you will be
released to knowledge, having learned to free yourself of Him Who knows of freedom. Unite with me under the holy banner of His teaching, and as we grow in strength, the power of God's Son will move in us, and we will leave no one untouched and no one left alone. And suddenly time will be over, and we will all unite in the eternity of God the Father. The holy light you saw outside yourself in every miracle you offered to your brothers will be
returned to you. And
knowing that the light is
in you, your creations will be there with you, as you are in your Father.
9 As miracles in this world join you to your brothers, so do your creations establish your fatherhood in Heaven.
You are the witnesses to the Fatherhood of God, and He has given you the power to create the witnesses to your fatherhood in Heaven. The miracle which God created is perfect, as are the miracles which
you created in His name. They need no healing, nor do you when you know
them.
10 Yet in this world, your perfection is unwitnessed. God knows it, but
you do not, and so you do not share His witness to it. Nor do you witness unto Him, for reality is witnessed to as one. God waits your witness to His Son and to Himself. The miracles you do on earth are lifted up to Heaven and to Him. They witness to what you do not know, and as they reach the gates of Heaven, God will open them. For never would He leave His own beloved Son outside them and beyond Himself.
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ACIM Edmonton
Sarah's Reflections
Lesson 145 ~ Review IV
[Review Lessons 129-130]
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Today, we look at the question of how much we really want the real world that is beyond this world we made? How strong is our intent? How much earnestness do we devote to the practice?
Rumi says, “Come, come, whoever you are, wanderer, worshipper, lover of leaving, it doesn’t matter. Ours is not a caravan of despair. Come, even if you have broken your vow a hundred times. Come, come again, come.” What a reassuring message. Today is a new day. It doesn't matter what has happened in the past. No need to despair. Start this day as a new day and everything is before you and nothing is behind you. Isn’t that reassuring? We can recommit to be more vigilant in our practice every day. We need not get discouraged if our practice has been inconsistent. We can just start again today.
In each moment, we are choosing. Every choice reflects the answer to these questions. We can't choose two worlds at once.
"
You cannot see both worlds
, for each of them involves a different kind of seeing, and depends on what you cherish. The sight of one is possible because you have denied the other. Both are not true, yet either one will seem as real to you as the amount to which you hold it dear."
(T.13.VII.2.2-4) (ACIM OE T.12.VII.60)
When you get focused on the things you think you want in this world, or when you hold grievances and react with anger instead of choosing forgiveness, you will see that
"You do not really want the world you see, for it has disappointed you since time began."
(T.13.VII.3.1) (ACIM OE T.12.VII.61) When you choose the ego, you recognize
". . . although you turn in sadness from it, you cannot find in it the road that leads away from it into another world."
(T.13.VII.3.7)(ACIM OE T.12.VII.61) Each choice we make is for Heaven or for hell. Separation and unity are mutually exclusive states. When we choose one, the other is not in our awareness. Yet in choosing forgiveness, we experience the beauty of joining and of connection and receive a glimmer of the truth of our true magnificence as the Self we are.
The only way we can know ourselves as we were created, beautiful and holy, is through forgiveness. How willing are you to forgive in the face of seeming attack, anger, disagreement, perceived problems, and distress? That is where the mind training comes in. When we choose to hold onto grievances and attachments to the world, we block the love that we are from our awareness. In other words, we don’t know ourselves. Our joy and happiness are covered over with our dark thoughts. In every moment, the Holy Spirit is there, shining His radiance on us, but we are actively choosing against it by holding attack thoughts. To do so is an act of self-hatred. It is a clear case of not knowing our own best interests. Although we are very familiar with this concept by now, our constant vigilance is still called for. It is still a challenge for us because of our attachment to the separate self. This is where the resistance comes in, but
"Love always answers, being unable to deny a call for help, or not to hear the cries of pain that rise to it from every part of this strange world you made but do not want."
(T.13.VII.4.3) (ACIM OE T.12.VII.62) It simply waits on our welcome. Our only need is to wake up to who we really are.
The things of this world seem so real, and the experiences we have seem so painful. We have all experienced sadness, sorrow, loss, disappointment and yes, exhilaration and pleasure. None of it lasts. Everything passes. There is no lasting love in this world of time because, by the very nature of time, all things will end, as nothing here endures forever, including our bodies. It is a world of instability and loss. A very good movie, which takes us on a journey of all things ending in loss and finally death, is called
The Stone Angel
. It demonstrates how there is nothing we can hold onto in this world, even though we still cling to the possibility that there is something of value here. We hold out hope that there is something we might still gain.
To be free of the experience of suffering, we must constantly maintain vigilance and remove the blocks to the light, so we can glimpse love's presence in our minds, more and more consistently.
"Under His guidance you will travel light and journey lightly, for His sight is ever on the journey's end, which is His goal. God's Son is not a traveller through outer worlds. However holy his perception may become, no world outside himself holds his inheritance. Within himself he has no needs, for light needs nothing but to shine in peace, and from itself to let the rays extend in quiet to infinity."
(T.13.VII.13.4‑7) (ACIM OE T.12.VII.71) Thus, we come to know a love that endures forever and a world where hate and vengeance have no meaning.
This world we strive to experience is the real world. In Chapter 30, Section V, the real world is described as a state of mind we experience when we release the guilt in our minds through forgiveness. The real world takes the place of all the idols of this world. There is no more holding dear our special wants and perceived needs. It is important to ask in everything, "What is it for?" Is it for keeping us invested in the illusion or for healing the mind and awakening from the dream? It is important to question our purpose in everything we do. When the real world is experienced, there will be no desire to leave this state of mind. Chapter 17 offers us a beautiful picture of the real world, which is bright and clean and new, with everything sparkling under the open sun.
"Nothing is hidden here, for everything has been forgiven and there are no fantasies to hide the truth."
(T.17.II.2.3) (ACIM OE T.17.III.8) This is what is experienced in the mind when our attachment to this illusory world is released.
While we continue to believe that there is still something of value in this world of illusion, we will not connect with the place in us where there is this wonderful, open, and loving heart, full of kindness, totally pure, and innocent, shining in acceptance of all. When we connect with the beauty within, we radiate purity and joy, which is compelling, soft, yielding, and welcoming. Yet it is impossible to see two worlds. Until we make a total commitment to truth, we stay divided, hoping to get the best of both our illusory world and the world of spiritual gifts. In other words, we are seeking for the real world while still looking for the perceived benefits of the illusory world. We try to bring spirituality into the illusion so we can hold onto both our illusory dream and God's peace, but this is clearly impossible. We must let go of the ego, if only for an instant, in order to experience a glimpse of the truth. It is an inner shift. It is a change of mind.
Truth and illusion are mutually exclusive. The world is made by fear, and everything we see in it is a projection of the guilt in our minds. Jesus says that we cherish guilt, hug it close, shelter it, and look to it for
". . . its loving protection and alert defense."
(Psychotherapy Pamphlet.2.VI.1.3)
"Healing occurs as a patient begins to hear the dirge he sings, and questions its validity."
(P.VI.1.5) We don't shun guilt but embrace it. The first obstacle to peace is the attraction to guilt:
"The attraction of guilt produces fear of love, for love would never look on guilt at all."
(T.19.IV.A.i.10.1) (ACIM OE T.19.V.a.49) We may wonder why we would be attracted to guilt. This attraction is our investment in our body, our personality, and our individuality. As long as we want this separate self, we will be attracted to guilt, but healing occurs as we start to listen to our thoughts, notice our judgments and our attachments, and question their validity. As Jon Marc Hammer (Jayem), author of The
Way of Mastery
, says in his blog, "It is a journey of reclaiming all the territory once made to keep light out, now given over completely to serving the incarnation of light. This light must be brought to every nook and cranny of life." The light is our awareness. Our part is to identify the cause of our distress, and once it is seen, we need to be willing to let it go. It will be replaced by the Holy Spirit. Jesus says,
"The first two steps in this process require your cooperation. The final one does not. Your images have been replaced. By taking the first two steps, you will see that this is so."
(W.23.5.3-6)
Our part is actually very small. The Holy Spirit in our minds does all the heavy lifting.
As we learned early in the Course,
"Nothing I see in this room means anything."
(W.1) Then we go on to recognize,
"I have given everything I see all in this room [on this street, from this window, in this place] the meaning that it has for me."
(W.2) Now we must question the meaning we have put onto everything we see. All our interpretations and understandings are false. It is a time of sorting out the false from the true and the ephemeral from the eternal. God's strength is what will help us make this choice. Our fantasy is that there is still something that the sensory world has to offer us on behalf of our happiness. This is what we need help with in order to loose the world from all we thought it was. Thus, it is our task to seek and find within ourselves the obstacles to the love we are. They are all the fearful and self-attacking thoughts. We all hold a definition of ourselves that includes our preferences and judgments, our values and beliefs, and all the concepts we hold that define us in this dream. Yet Jesus is telling us that none of these concepts define us. All they do is tell us who we are not. They constitute our false self. Thus, we are called to release them so who we truly are can shine through. It is a process of loosening ourselves from our rigid investment in the beliefs that we currently hold.
Love and blessings, Sarah
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Allen Watson's
Workbook Commentaries
Allen joined Robert Perry in forming the Circle of Atonement in 1993 in Sedona, Arizona where Allen led retreats and workshops and authored many books based on “A Course in Miracles.” One of his most popular books is “
A Workbook Companion: Vol I and II
.”
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