ACIM Edmonton
Sarah's Reflections
Lesson 250
Let me not see myself as limited.
Sarah's Commentary:
If I see others as limited, this is how I will see myself.
"He is what I am, and as I see him so I see myself."
(W.250.2.3) We see ourselves as limited in all of the ways we describe ourselves in this world, which includes all the concepts we hold about ourselves, all our values and beliefs, all the things we desire in the world, and all the expectations and conditions we put on others. Our unlimited selves are truly glorious, eternal beings.
"The truth in you remains as radiant as a star, as pure as light, as innocent as love itself. And you
are
worthy that your will be done!"
(T.31.VI.7.4-5) (ACIM OE T.31.VI.67)
There are, of course, many other passages that affirm our perfection and our unlimited nature over and over again in the Course. We need to be reminded of the truth about ourselves because we will not believe what is said about us until we have an experience, or at least a glimpse, of the truth. In the meantime, we take the word of Jesus when he reminds us what we are.
In the Section of the Workbook Part II.Q14,
"What am I?"
he tells us again of the glory of our perfection in these words:
"I am God's Son, complete and healed and whole, shining in the reflection of His Love. In me is His creation sanctified and guaranteed eternal life. In me is love perfect, fear impossible, and joy established without opposite. I am the holy home of God Himself. I am the Heaven where His Love resides. I am His holy Sinlessness Itself, for in my purity abides His Own."
(W.PII.Q14.1.1-6) (ACIM OE Special Topic 351-360 What Am I)
Do we believe this? No. We feel less than worthy. We feel limited and vulnerable. We accuse ourselves of all kinds of sins. Until we experience our exalted state, we will listen to the ego, telling us of our shortcomings. Yes, we may have had experiences of the miraculous, but while we are at the bottom of the ladder to Heaven, our exalted state is not a consistent experience. We come to this experience through forgiveness, which is the means to our goal. We cannot profess we want the goal unless we are willing to use the means that have been carefully laid out for us. What this means is that we must be willing to take responsibility for our interpretations, accept that it is only our own thoughts that cause us pain, be willing to release our attachments, and have the courage to inquire with radical self‑honesty how we are invested in the story.
When we see our brothers as sinless/guiltless/innocent, we will know ourselves in the same way as well. To know the Self---the truth of what we are---we must behold everyone in this holy light. It is to see the Christ in everyone and know we are One with every brother. It is to see our brother in his glorious Self, beyond the way he sees himself.
"Let me not try to obscure the holy light in him, and see his strength diminished and reduced to frailty; nor perceive the lacks in him with which I would attack his sovereignty."
(W250.1.2)
The ego mind will always find fault. It will see others as guilty. I am particularly aware of this as I tune into the political environment, and I see all the turmoil and name calling going on. Watching the news and all of the violence reported daily makes it challenging to see beyond it to the truth. The mind is easily seduced by the ego into all kinds of judgments in these situations. Can I really
"behold his gentleness instead of illusions?"
(W250.2.2) Yet I am once again reminded that everything I see "out there" is a projection of the guilt in my own mind. I am not asked to see the gentleness of my brothers. I am asked, however, to look at my own judgments and be willing to surrender them to the Holy Spirit so I can come to know the gentleness of my holy nature and allow it to shine forth from my holy mind.
It is up to us to use any situation where we see our brother's guilt, and thus our own, as an opportunity for healing. It is an opportunity to take responsibility for our own minds by looking at the guilt we are projecting onto a brother so it can be released. The Holy Spirit cannot heal what we don't give Him; but when we do, He will lead us to the truth of what we are. We cannot simply overlay a cloak of glory on our brother when our minds are filled with condemnation. This would simply be a spiritual bypass, but we can use every situation for healing our minds. When we are willing to see in others the same call for love that is in us, we recognize our sameness. In that recognition is a reflection of our One Self.
When we see beyond the illusion and behold our brother’s innocence, we behold our own. This is what motivates us to take responsibility for our own minds. What a lovely thought it is, to release ourselves and our brothers from the confinement of the ego judgments that keep us bound. Let us be willing today to look with courage and honesty at our judgments so they can be released. I say courage because we so quickly move to denial and justification for what we are thinking and feeling. To look with open-eyed honesty at what we are holding in the mind is a threat to the ego. But it is the only way to peace.
Jesus reminds us,
"It is your thoughts alone that cause you pain. Nothing external to your mind can hurt or injure you in any way. There is no cause beyond yourself that can reach down and bring oppression. No one but yourself affects you. There is nothing in the world that has the power to make you ill or sad, or weak or frail. But it is you who has the power to dominate all things you see by merely recognizing what you are. As you perceive the harmlessness in them, they will accept your holy will as theirs. And what was seen as fearful now becomes a source of innocence and holiness. "
(W.190.5)
Jesus asks us to
"Be not content with littleness."
(T.15.III.1.1) (ACIM OE T.15.IV.22) When we strive for anything in this world in the belief it will bring us peace, we are belittling ourselves and blinding ourselves to glory. Our senses were made by the ego to keep our focus on the world. Our senses bring back to us what the mind has programmed them to find, and they give us very convincing evidence that what we are seeing is the truth. They convince us that our happiness is in the things we strive for in the world in trying to meet our perceived needs, but senses can be redirected so that our ears can hear God's call instead of the sounds of the world, and our eyes can learn to see with vision past the error.
We cannot make ourselves happy, worthy, or loving. We can only bring forth the blocks to what keeps us from our true glory. Every time we choose littleness, we give up our peace. Every time we choose littleness, we have actually judged ourselves as unworthy of peace!
"Every decision you make is for Heaven or for hell, and brings you the awareness of what you decided for."
(T.15.III.5.7) (ACIM OE T.15.IV.27)
"Call forth in everyone only the remembrance of God, and of the Heaven that is in him. For where you would have your brother be, there will you think you are."
(T. 15.III.12.1) (ACIM OE T.15.IV.34)
Today, let us be willing to ask for help in seeing our brother truly so we can see ourselves that way as well. To see our brother truly is to know his glory and our own. This is not about the limited separate self that wants personal empowerment or to gain additional powers to manage the illusion. It is only about the light in our brother and ourselves that we seek. It is to know the glory of the Son of God. Instead of seeing the lacks and shortcomings of our brothers and aggrandizing ourselves in the process, we are asked not to attack his sovereignty. He is the Son of God, innocent and magnificent, regardless of his behavior.
The truth of it is that if we choose not to see beyond the behavior to who he really is, we will be seeing ourselves as limited and lacking as well, and there is no getting around that. If we are motivated to diminish our brother, we are diminished as well. By seeing anyone as beneath us, we try to make ourselves different, rather than recognizing our true sameness. This is a principle we must understand if we are to attain our own glory. Jesus teaches over and over that as we see him we will see ourselves.
"And this he learns when he looks upon one brother as he looks upon himself, and sees the mirror of himself in him."
(T.31.VII.8) (ACIM OE T.31.VII.75) It is a powerful Lesson in forgiveness. Apply the Lesson specifically today to those you are having difficulty with, and use it to release your judgments.
"The voice you hear in him is but your own. What does he ask you for? And listen well. For he is asking what will come to you, because you see an image of yourself and hear your voice requesting what you want."
(T.31.II.5.11-14) (ACIM OE T.31.II.17)
"Before you answer, pause to think of this:
The answer that I give my brother is what I am asking for. And what I learn of him is what I learn about myself
.
"
(T.31.II.6.1-3) (ACIM OE T.31.II.18-19)
"Learn this, and learn it well, for it is here delay of happiness is shortened by a span of time you cannot realize. You never hate your brother for his sins, but only for your own."
(T.31.III.1.4-5) (ACIM OE T.31.III.26)
"The holy ones whom God has given you to save are but everyone you meet or look upon, not knowing who they are; all those you saw an instant and forgot and those you knew a long while since, and those you will yet meet, the unremembered and the not yet born. For God has given you His Son to save from every concept that he ever held."
(T.31.VII 10.5-6) (ACIM OE T.31.VII.77)
There is no meaningful reason for us to be in this world except to heal our minds and bring healing and forgiveness to every mind. It is what this world of time is for. This is our only purpose here. It is to achieve enlightenment. We have chosen the fast track home. It is truly a celestial speedup.
"Forget not that the healing of God's Son is all the world is for."
(T-24.VI.4.1) (ACIM OE T.24.VII.52)
We came to save the world. That is our function. Does it seem strange to you; we are here to save a world that is not real? Well, this is not about saving the world of form. It is about joining with our brothers so we can come to know our reality outside this dream. It is to finally see the real world, which is possible only through our function of forgiveness.
"The real world cannot be perceived except through eyes forgiveness blesses, so they see a world where terror is impossible, and witnesses to fear can not be found."
(W.PII.Q.8.1.4) (What is the Real World?)
Love and blessings, Sarah
