"Nothing real can be threatened. Nothing unreal exists.
Herein Lies the peace of God."
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A
Course in Miracles
TEXT
CHAPTER 16
The Forgiveness of Illusions
I. Introduction
1
To empathize does not mean to join in
suffering
, for that is what you must
refuse
to understand. That is the
ego's
interpretation of empathy and is always used to form a special relationship in which the suffering is shared. The capacity to empathize is very useful to the Holy Spirit, provided you let Him use it in His way. [His way is very different.] He does not understand suffering and would have you teach it is not
understandable.
When He relates through you, He does not relate through the ego to another ego. He does not join in pain, knowing that healing pain is not accomplished by delusional attempts to enter into it and lighten it by sharing the delusion.
2
The clearest proof that empathy as the ego uses it is destructive lies in the fact that it is applied only to certain types of problems and in certain people. These it selects
out
and joins
with
. And it never joins except to strengthen
itself.
[Having identified with what it
thinks
it understands, it sees
itself
and would
increase
itself by sharing what is
like
itself.] Make no mistake about this maneuver; the ego always empathizes to
weaken
, and to weaken is
always
to attack. You do not know what empathizing means. Yet of this you may be sure—if you will merely sit quietly by and let the Holy Spirit relate through you, you will empathize with
strength
and
both
of you will gain in strength, and not in weakness.
3
Your part is only to remember this—you do not want anything
you
value to come of the relationship. You will neither to hurt it nor to heal it in your own way. You do not know what healing is. All you have learned of empathy is from the
past.
And there is nothing from the past that you would share, for there is nothing there that you would
keep
. Do not use empathy to make the past real and so perpetuate it. Step gently aside and let the healing be done
for
you. Keep but one thought in mind and do not lose sight of it, however tempted you may be to judge any situation and to determine your response
by
judging it. Focus your mind only on this:
4
I am not alone, and I would not intrude the past upon my Guest. I have invited Him, and He is here. I need do nothing except not to interfere.
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A
Course in Miracles
TEXT
CHAPTER 16
The Forgiveness of Illusions
II. True Empathy
5
True empathy is of Him Who knows what it
is
. You will learn His interpretation of it if you let Him use your capacity for
strength
and
not
for weakness. He will not desert you, but be sure that
you
desert not
him.
Humility is strength in this sense only—to recognize and accept the fact that you do
not
know is to recognize and accept the fact that He
does
know. You are not sure that He will do His part because you have never yet done
yours
completely. You will not know how to respond to what you do not understand. Be tempted not in this, and yield not to the ego's triumphant use of empathy for
its
glory.
6
The triumph of weakness is not what you would offer to a brother. And yet you know no triumph
but
this. This is not knowledge, and the form of empathy that would bring this about is so distorted that it would imprison what it would release. The unredeemed cannot redeem, yet they
have
a Redeemer. Attempt to teach Him not.
You
are the learner; He the Teacher. Do not confuse your role with His, for this will never bring peace to anyone. Offer your empathy to Him, for it is
His
perception and
His
strength that you would share. And let Him offer you His strength and His perception to be shared through you.
7
The meaning of love is lost in any relationship which looks to weakness and hopes to find love there. The power of love, which
is
its meaning, lies in the strength of God, which hovers over it and blesses it silently by enveloping it in healing wings.
Let
this be, and do not try to substitute
your
"miracle" for this. We once said that if a brother asks a foolish thing of you, to do it. But be certain that this does not mean to do a foolish thing that would hurt either him
or
you, for what would hurt one
will
hurt the other. Foolish requests are foolish for the simple reason that they conflict because they contain an element of specialness. Only the Holy Spirit recognizes foolish needs as well as real ones. And He will teach you how to meet both without losing either.
8
You
will attempt to do this only in secrecy. And you will think that, by meeting the needs of one, you do not jeopardize another because you keep them separate and secret from each other. That is not the way, for it leads not to light and truth. No needs will long be left unmet if you leave them all to Him Whose
function
is to meet them. That is
His
function and
not
yours. He will not meet them secretly, for He would share everything you give through Him. And that is
why
He gives it.
9
What you give through Him is for the whole Sonship,
not
for part of it. Leave Him His function, for He will fulfill it if you but ask Him to enter your relationships and bless them
for
you.
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A Course in Miracles
WORKBOOK
Part I
Review V
1
We now review again. This time we are ready to give more effort and more time to what we undertake. We recognize we are preparing for another phase of understanding. We would take this step completely, that we may go on again more certain, more sincere, with faith upheld more surely. Our footsteps have not been unwavering, and doubts have made us walk uncertainly and slowly on the road this course sets forth. But now we hasten on, for we approach a greater certainty, a firmer purpose and a surer goal.
2
Steady our feet, our Father; let our doubts be quiet and our holy minds be still, and speak to us. We have no words to give to You. We would but listen to Your Word and make it ours. Lead our practicing as does a father lead a little child along a way he does not understand. Yet does he follow, sure that he is safe because his father leads the way for him.
3
So do we bring our practicing to You. And if we stumble, You will raise us up. If we forget the way, we count upon Your sure remembering. We wander off, but You will not forget to call us back. Quicken our footsteps now, that we may walk more certainly and quickly unto You. And we accept the Word You offer us to unify our practicing, as we review the thoughts that You have given us.
4
This is the thought which should precede the thoughts that we review. Each one but clarifies some aspect of this thought or helps it be more meaningful, more personal and true, and more descriptive of the holy Self we share and now prepare to know again:
5
God is but Love, and therefore so am I.
6
This Self alone knows love. This Self alone is perfectly consistent in Its thoughts, knows Its Creator, understands Itself, is perfect in Its knowledge and Its love, and never changes from Its constant state of union with Its Father and Itself.
7
And it is This that waits to meet us at the journey's ending. Every step we take brings us a little nearer. This review will shorten time immeasurably if we keep in mind that This remains our goal, and as we practice, it is This to which we are approaching. Let us raise our hearts from dust to life as we remember This is promised us, and that this course was sent to open up the path of light to us, and teach us, step by step, how to return to the eternal Self we thought we lost.
8
I take the journey with you. For I share your doubts and fears a little while, that you may come to me who recognize the road by which all fears and doubts are overcome. We walk together. I must understand uncertainty and pain, although I know they have no meaning. Yet a savior must remain with those he teaches, seeing what they see, but still retaining in his mind the way that led him out and now will lead you out with him. God's Son is crucified until you walk along the road with me.
9
My resurrection comes again each time I lead a brother safely to the place at which the journey ends and is forgot. I am renewed each time a brother learns there is a way from misery and pain. I am reborn each time a brother's mind turns to the light in him and looks for me. I have forgotten no one. Help me now to lead you back to where the journey was begun, to make another choice with me.
10
Release me as you practice once again the thoughts I brought to you from Him Who sees your bitter need and knows the answer God has given Him. Together we review these thoughts. Together we devote our time and effort to them. And together we will teach them to our brothers. God would not have Heaven incomplete. It waits for you as I do. I am incomplete without your part in me. And as I am made whole, we go together to our ancient home, prepared for us before time was and kept unchanged by time, immaculate and safe, as it will be at last, when time is done.
11
Let this review be then your gift to me. For this alone I need—that you will hear the words I speak and give them to the world. You are my voice, my eyes, my feet, my hands, through which I save the world. The Self from Which I call to you is but your own. To Him we go together. Take your brother's hand, for this is not a way we walk alone. In him I walk with you and you with me. Our Father wills His Son be one with Him. What lives but must not then be one with you?
12
Let this review become a time in which we share a new experience for you, yet one as old as time, and older still. Hallowed your name. Your glory undefiled forever. And your wholeness now complete, as God established it. You are His Son, completing His extension in your own. We practice but an ancient truth we knew before illusion seemed to claim the world. And we remind the world that it is free of all illusions every time we say,
13
God is but Love, and therefore so am I.
14
With this we start each day of our review. With this we start and end each period of practice time. And with this thought we sleep, to waken once again with these same words upon our lips to greet another day. No thought that we review but we surround with it and use the thoughts to hold it up before our minds and keep it clear in our remembrance throughout the day. And thus when we have finished this review, we will have recognized the words we speak are true.
15
Yet are the words but aids and to be used, except at the beginning and the end of practice periods, but to recall the mind as needed to its purpose. We place faith in the experience that comes from practice, not the means we use. We wait for the experience and recognize that it is only here conviction lies. We use the words, and try and try again to go beyond them to their meaning, which is far beyond their sound. The sound grows dim and disappears as we approach the Source of meaning. It is here that we find rest.
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A Course in Miracles
WORKBOOK
Lesson 178
God is but Love,
and therefore so am I.
[165] Let not my mind deny the Thought of God.
God is but Love, and therefore so am I.
[166] I am entrusted with the gifts of God.
God is but Love, and therefore so am I.
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ACIM Edmonton
Sarah's Reflections
Lesson 178
Review V ~ Lesson 165 and Lesson 166
Sarah's Commentary:
God is but Love, and therefore so am I.
[165] Let not my mind deny the Thought of God.
[166] I am entrusted with the gifts of God.
What is the Self? The Self is our holiness as an extension of God, which is the only truth of what we are. When we experience this Self through the holy instant, our purpose in the world changes, and our lives take on a new meaning.
"This Self alone knows love. This Self alone is perfectly consistent in Its thoughts; knows Its Creator, understands Itself, is perfect in Its knowledge and Its love, and never changes from Its constant state of union with Its Father and Itself."
(W.RV.4.4-5) This is not the way we know ourselves now, as personalities with beliefs and concepts always in a state of change. This Self is in a state of perfect peace, bliss, happiness, and joy. This Self is our protection. It is our soft resting place. It is where we go for respite, connecting with the truth of what we are where all is well.
We have everything and are everything because we were given it all in our creation.
"You are the work of God, and His work is wholly loveable and wholly loving."
(T.1.III.2.3) (ACIM OE T.1.I.34) If we do not experience the quiet rest and the deep peace and happiness available to us, it is only because we deny it. It is always there in us. If that is the case, why do we deny it? We deny it because we are invested in our own story, in our specialness, in our own opinions, and in our own thoughts. We want to be the ones in control of our decisions, and thus we fear to surrender what is familiar to us. Yet we are promised the beautiful state of mind of the Christ Self that is available to be experienced when we release our dark thoughts and put them on the altar to be healed. It requires trust and open-mindedness, as described in the Manual for Teachers. It is to live fully in this moment. To do so means we must become completely disinterested in our personal goals. It is to recognize our dependency on God. It is to rest in God. When we believe we are our own source, we become imprisoned by our own thoughts.
Today, we are called to let go of our planning, our thinking, and our trying to control everything, including how to achieve enlightenment. Be willing to be shown what you are. The Holy Spirit has all the answers for us. We are not the healers of our own minds. Today, we stand together in the recognition that the truth of what we are is the only thing we truly want.
"To think like God is to share His certainty of what you are, and to create like Him is to share the perfect Love He shares with you."
(T.7.I.6.1) (ACIM OE T.7.II.6) This is, ultimately, practical when we use everything coming up in our day to support a shift in the mind. We give everything over to the Holy Spirit without putting any limit or parameter on what can or cannot be achieved. Let everything that is not of the Spirit simply be washed away, moment by moment.
"Let our doubts be quiet and our holy minds be still, and speak to us."
(W.RV.2.2)
Nothing is ever forced on us in this process. Time is used for our healing if we choose to use it in that way. We go as quickly as our fear will allow us.
"The ego will not be destroyed because it is part of your thought, but because it is uncreative and therefore unsharing, it will be reinterpreted to release you from fear."
(T.5.VI.9.4) (ACIM OE T.5.VIII.78) We are the commanders who make the decisions as to how much fear we are ready to release. We are not being hurled into Heaven. Jesus is our guide, and when we turn to him, he assures us of his trust in us.
Jesus reminds us,
"Whenever you are afraid, it is a sure sign that you have allowed your mind to miscreate and have not allowed me to guide it."
(T.2.VI.2.10) (ACIM OE T.2.IV.74) Jesus has taken this same road that we are taking back to God, and
"He will remain with you to lead you from the hell you made to God."
(Clarification of Terms.5.5.4) We cannot know the plan. Our part is to listen within and to follow the guidance. The guidance is not a choice among illusions but a decision to overlook them all. It is to recognize that the Holy Spirit always hears the prayer of the heart. To receive the prayer of the heart is not necessarily joyful to the ego, but it is always joyful to the Spirit.
Jesus tells us he is the Christ, but so are we. He came to know his magnitude, as we have come to know ours. It is who we really are---the same Self as the Christ Jesus. Our false self is released more and more as we accept our magnitude and listen only to the Voice of the Holy Spirit. Every fearful thought and every doubting thought must be given over to the Holy Spirit to be reinterpreted.
There is only one Self; although, when we tune into the ego thoughts, we identify with the body and the world as our reality. Our focus on this little ego self is like focusing all our attention on a small TV screen and thinking it is all of reality, when the truth of who we are is the whole of the field. As David Hawkins says, "If the witnessed data are neither desired, resisted, nor given value as 'mine,' they begin to subside and eventually fall away." There is nothing we need do but only allow. Our awareness of the truth of what we are will all come about as a result of focus and willingness, rather than effort.
In the introduction to this Review, we read that our name is Hallowed and our glory undefiled. This is a switch from the traditional Lord's Prayer, where God's Name is Hallowed. Here, Jesus is speaking of the honor bestowed on us as equal to him and the One Christ Self.
"The children of God are holy and the miracle honors their holiness, which can be hidden but never lost."
(T.1.I.31.3) (ACIM OE T.1.I.42)
Jesus offers to share our pain and be available to help us, as he understands what we are going through. He has been this way himself and is able to see what we see and is aware of our illusions. He is the symbol of truth and awakening in our right minds and tells us he is holding our hand as we go through the clouds. He assures us that his presence is no idle thought. As I connect with him in my mind, I find his presence is both helpful and comforting to me. If it is not helpful for you, use another symbol in which you find great comfort.
The Holy Spirit sees our bitter need, even though in actuality, we have no needs. Our needs are what we imagine them to be. They are based on a concept of ourselves as lacking. When we feel lacking, we look for whatever will fill those lacks. When we come to accept that we are whole and complete, we know that we can never lack anything. The world of pain and loss is only an illusion, but to us, it is real and our issues seem serious in the illusion. Outside the dream, when we look with Jesus from above this battleground, we look at it all and see that, indeed, nothing here is serious. It is all a dream that we are dreaming with no real consequences.
In Mathew 6 in the Bible, Jesus tells us that we need not worry about anything: "Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature? For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you."
It is by extending love to our brothers that we come to know the love and holiness in us. We reach out to our brothers, as Jesus is reaching out to us.
"You are asked to live so as to demonstrate that you are not an ego, and I do not choose God's channels wrongly."
(T.4.VI.6.3) (ACIM OE T.4.VII.89) The Course is not a personal path of salvation. It is one where we heal the world by constantly extending to our brothers. In that process, any thoughts of anger, judgment, or grievance of any kind, are brought to the light, so all of the blocks to love are healed. Watching our thoughts is important, as we take this healing path to God. We must be as vigilant against the ego as we are vigilant for the Holy Spirit.
We are called to bring the messages of love and forgiveness to those who show up in our dream. These are all our special relationships, which are there specifically for the purpose of healing the mind. Our bodies can now serve a divine purpose, so what was made to limit and separate, can now be used for joining and extending love. We are not asked to proselytize the message but to be the message.
In this Lesson, Jesus reminds us of the Lesson of the Holy Spirit:
"To Have, Give All to All."
(T.6.V.A) (ACIM OE T.6.V.a.) We are to be the light in the world, not by our own efforts but by extending the light in us. Our part is to surrender to this light by being willing to look at our projections. The world is a motion picture of all our beliefs. Thus, it is a perfect reflection of our inward condition and always helpful for our healing.
We will know the truth that
"God is but Love, and therefore so am I"
(W.RV.4.3) when our minds no longer deny the Thought of God and when we know we are entrusted with His gifts. The only reason the world seems real to us is because we have denied the truth that lies beyond the illusion. In fact, Jesus tells us that we see truth as illusion and illusion as truth. In other words, the world and bodies seem more real and solid than the reality of His Truth. It is only our thoughts, and nothing but our thoughts, that obscure the truth of what we are. We would know perfect happiness that our Father wills for us if we did not obscure the truth with thoughts of misery and death.
Now we are asked to claim the gifts given us by God. God is fair and does not ask that we be certain we want them. He understands that it is only through our experience that we will see His gifts are the only thing we want. Until then, He knows we walk this middle road. God did not make the world, it is not His Will, and so it is not real. When we think the world is real, we are believing in two creators.
"Impossible indeed; but every mind that looks upon the world and judges it as certain, solid, trustworthy and true believes in two creators; or in one, himself alone. But never in one God."
(W.166.2.4-5)
This world seems to be the only home we know, yet it is a home of fear. We are attached to this world, and we fear God because we believe that we will be punished for the sin of destroying Him in order to make a separate self, with a separate will. Because we have forgotten who we are as the Christ Self, we walk as if we were homeless, feeling like tragic figures, and all the time fearing Christ's touch. Now, we have felt His touch. We still experience the world, but we have heard and responded to the Call. It is a Call to remember who we are. Increasingly, we see that the only safety is in accepting the gifts of God, recognizing our true Will and our Christ Self, and witnessing to the happiness in us for those who choose to follow.
"For God entrusts the giving of His gifts to all who have received them. He has shared His joy with you. And now you go to share it with the world."
(W.166.15.6-8)
Love and blessings, Sarah
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