ACIM Edmonton
Sarah's Reflections
Lesson 283
My true Identity abides in You.
Sarah's Commentary:
We might feel like we are being attacked when anyone says, "Who do you think you are?" Yet that is exactly what Jesus is asking us to question all the time. It is to question who we think we are. He tells us,
"Take not the judgment of the world as answer to the question, 'What am I'?"
(T.20.III.6.7) (ACIM OE T.20.IV.21) Yet that is precisely what we have done. We think we have made ourselves by what others have said about us and by our own self-assessments. When we speak, we say, "I am this, and I think that." We are talking about ourselves as we have defined ourselves. Our ideas about ourselves reflect all our values, self-concepts, and ideas we hold that we think define us. This self we talk about includes our personality, our body, our history, our gender, our status, our roles, our beliefs, our desires, what we value, and all the thoughts we hold. They are all changeable, unstable aspects that fluctuate over time. They are subject to all kinds of situational influences that seem to cause many emotional highs and lows.
Our self-image is a false identity, which we are constantly trying to fix, change, and defend because it seems to be so very fragile. All it takes is: for something to go wrong in our lives, as we judge it, and we are thrown into a panic, or for someone to say something unkind about us, and we crumble, or for someone to leave us and we fall apart. What crumbles and gets hurt is this unstable character in the dream. It is not our true Self behind this character that is the dreamer of this dream. The Self we are is serene and unchangeable, always in a state of peace, and One with God. When we are not experiencing that state, we are listening, instead, to the voice of the false self.
Jesus says that when just one word, just a whisper of what someone might have said about us, upsets our world and hurls us into chaos, it is because of this made-up identity that has no real foundation. It is simply not the truth about us. Yet he says,
"It is not
you
who are so vulnerable and open to attack that just a word, a little whisper that you do not like, a circumstance that suits you not, or an event that you did not anticipate upsets your world, and hurls it into chaos."
(T.24.III.3.1) (ACIM OE T.24.IV.28) It is in a vulnerable state because it has no foundation.
"Without foundation nothing is secure. Would God have left His Son in such a state, where safety has no meaning? No, His Son
[our true Identity]
is safe, resting on Him."
(T.24.III.4.1-3) (ACIM OE T.24.IV.29) Our true Identity is not vulnerable at all.
"Father, I made an image of myself, and it is this I call the Son of God."
(W.283.1.1) This image is what we identify with and what we think is our reality. It is an idol, which seems to have taken the place of our divinity.
"There is a stranger in him, who wandered carelessly into the home of truth and who will wander off."
(T.20.III.7.2) (ACIM OE T.20.IV.22) Our divinity is holy, infinite, unchangeable, and beloved of the Father. Our true Identity simply cannot be changed, no matter what we think we have done. Our true Self is completely invulnerable to the vicissitudes of this world.
From our true reality, blessings flow through us to all things,
"uniting lovingly with all the world, which our forgiveness has made one with us."
(W.283.2.2) The way back to Oneness, while we are seemingly in this world, is through forgiveness. It is the only way we are given as the means to wake up to who we really are. When thoughts come up today that interfere with our peace---thoughts that bring pain, loss, grief of any kind, anger, impatience, anticipation, or frustration---we remind ourselves that this is not the truth. All thoughts we think apart from God mean that we are not thinking at all. We are instead sending forth the appeal of fear and guilt.
"Under fear's orders the body will pursue guilt, serving its master whose attraction to guilt maintains the whole illusion of its existence. This, then, is the attraction of pain. Ruled by this perception the body becomes the servant of pain, seeking it dutifully and obeying the idea that pain is pleasure. It is this idea that underlies all the ego's heavy investment in the body."
(T.19.IV.Bi.13.2-5) (ACIM OE T.19.Vb.72)
Whenever we are upset it is because of the meaning we are giving to the meaningless. It is all about our interpretations, which are never right. Only the Holy Spirit's interpretation reflects God's love for us. Our part is to bring our thoughts of fear and attack and our thoughts of specialness to the Holy Spirit for healing. It really is that simple. Our egoic mind makes it all appear difficult and complicated. The ego urges us to hold onto our hurts, disappointments, and anger, as well as our dreams, fantasies, and wishes and put our body in their service, but we don't have to listen.
"Where could your peace arise
but
from forgiveness? The Christ in you looks only on the truth, and sees no condemnation that could need forgiveness. He is at peace
because
He sees no sin. Identify with Him, and what has He that you have not? He is your eyes, your ears, your hands, your feet. How gently are the sights He sees, the sounds He hears. How beautiful His hand that holds His brother's, and how lovingly He walks beside him, showing him what can be seen and heard, and where he will see nothing and there is no sound to hear."
(T.24.V.3.1-7) (ACIM OE T.24.VI.42) Now the body is put to a different purpose. It is put to the purpose of healing, and thus it is made holy.
"All things you made have use to Him, for His most holy purpose."
(T.14.VI.5.3) (ACIM OE T.14.III.20)
"The Christ in you is very still. He knows where you are going, and He leads you there in gentleness and blessing all the way. His Love for God replaces all the fear you thought you saw within yourself. His Holiness shows you Himself in him
[every brother]
whose hand you hold, and whom you lead to Him. And what you see is like yourself. For what but Christ is there to see and hear and love and follow home? He looked upon you first, but recognized that you were not complete. And so He sought for your completion in each living thing that He beholds and loves. And seeks it still, that each might offer you the Love of God."
(T.24.V.6.1-9) (ACIM OE T.24.VI.40)
There are no accidents. Those who show up on our path are precisely here to help us. They are our saviors. They are our way back to the Self we are. They are our saviors simply because they give us another opportunity to see a reflection of our own minds. When we maintain our self-made identities, we don't know who we are. We don't know where we are going. We are filled with fear and feel lost and alone. We see everyone as separate and different from us, and we feel victimized by their attacks from which we feel a need to defend ourselves. Through forgiveness, we see that we all share the same need for truth. Our sameness is a reflection of the Oneness we share. Every attack is simply a call for love and a call for healing. The world is a mirror of everything going on in our minds that we have projected out.
"Who would send messages of hatred and attack if he but understood he sends them to himself?"
(T.19.IV.Bi.14.11) (ACIM OE T.19.IVb.73)
Positive self-concepts, such as always being helpful in every situation, can also have a dark side. We may start to see those we are helping as being demanding. We may judge their demands and feel we are being unfairly treated. This too is an opportunity to look at what we are demanding of ourselves when we try to please everyone. We can look at our own resentments. In looking at our self-made concepts, we can see how changeable they really are and therefore how unstable. Healing is about releasing them all, including what we see as positive as well as what we judge as negative, so the truth of who we are can radiate through us. All concepts are like clouds in front of the sun. They block the light of our Being from our awareness.
When we create a space for the Holy Spirit through our determination to release the thoughts that hold us back from the truth of who we are, He brings us the miracle which results in a shift from false perception to true perception. We don't have to understand how the miracle works. That is not something that can be known or understood.
"Let His understanding of the miracle be enough for you, and do not turn away from all the witnesses that He has given you to His reality."
(T.16.II.5.6) (ACIM OE T.16.III.15)
We just need to release the tight grip we hold on our beliefs, values, concepts, and thoughts and be willing to see their falsity. When we step out of the battleground of our thoughts and observe them without judgment, space is made for truth to enter.
Love and blessings, Sarah
