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28 Mistakes are
for correction, and they call for nothing else. What calls for punishment must call for nothing. Every mistake
must be a call for love. What, then, is sin? What could it be but a mistake you would keep hidden—a call for help that you would keep unheard and thus unanswered? In time the Holy Spirit clearly sees the Son of God can make mistakes. On this you share His vision. Yet you do not share His recognition of the difference between time and eternity. And when correction is completed, time is eternity.
"The Unreality of Sin"
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Workbook for Students
Part I ~ Review VI
Introduction
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1 For this review, we take but one idea each day and practice it as often as is possible. Besides the time you give morning and evening, which should not be less than 15 minutes, and the hourly remembrances you make throughout the day, use the idea as often as you can between them. Each of these ideas alone would be sufficient for salvation, if it were learned truly. Each would be enough to give release to you and to the world from every form of bondage and invite the memory of God to come again.
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Workbook for Students
Review VI ~ Lesson 215
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I am not a body. I am free.
For I am still as God created me.
[195] Love is the way I walk in gratitude.
1
The Holy Spirit is my only Guide. He walks with me in love. And I give thanks to Him for showing me the way to go.
I am not a body. I am free.
For I am still as God created me.
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Course in Miracles
Original Edition
Text
Chapter 19
Beyond the Body
IV. The Unreality of Sin
par 25-39
[PAUSED FOR WEEKEND]
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25 The attraction of guilt is found in sin, not error. Sin will be repeated because of this attraction. Fear can become so acute that the sin is denied the acting out, but while the guilt remains attractive the mind will suffer and not let go of the idea of sin. For guilt still calls to it, and the mind hears it and yearns for it, making itself a willing captive to its sick appeal. Sin is an idea of evil that cannot be corrected and will be forever desirable. As an essential part of what the ego thinks you are, you will always want it. And only an avenger with a mind unlike your own could stamp it out through fear.
26 The ego does not think it possible that love, not fear, is really called upon by sin and always
answers. For the ego brings sin to
fear, demanding punishment. Yet punishment is but another form of guilt's protection, for what is deserving punishment must have been really done. Punishment is always the great preserver of sin, treating it with respect and honoring its enormity. [What must be punished
must be true. And what is true
must be eternal and
will be repeated endlessly.] For what you think is real you want and will not let it go. An error, on the other hand, is not attractive. What you see clearly as a mistake you want corrected.
27 Sometimes a sin can be repeated over and over with obviously distressing results but without the loss of its appeal. And suddenly you change its status from a sin to a mistake. Now you will not repeat it; you will merely stop and let it go unless the guilt remains. For then you will but change the form of sin, granting that it was an error but keeping it uncorrectable. This is not really a change in your perception, for it is sin that calls for punishment, not error. The Holy Spirit cannot punish sin. Mistakes He recognizes and would correct them all as God entrusted Him to do. But sin He knows not, nor can He recognize mistakes which cannot be corrected. For a mistake which cannot be corrected is meaningless to Him.
28 Mistakes are
for correction, and they call for nothing else. What calls for punishment must call for nothing. Every mistake
must be a call for love. What, then, is sin? What could it be but a mistake you would keep hidden—a call for help that you would keep unheard and thus unanswered? In time the Holy Spirit clearly sees the Son of God can make mistakes. On this you share His vision. Yet you do not share His recognition of the difference between time and eternity. And when correction is completed, time is eternity.
29 Time is like a downward spiral which seems to travel down from a long, unbroken line along another plane but which in no way breaks the line or interferes with its smooth continuousness. Along the spiral, it seems as if the line must have been broken. Yet at the line, its wholeness is apparent. Everything seen from the spiral is misperceived, but as you approach the line, you realize that it was not affected by the drop into another plane at all. Yet from the plane, the line seems discontinuous. And this is but an error in perception which can be easily corrected in the mind, although the body's eyes will see no change. The eyes see many things the mind corrects, and you respond, not to the eyes' illusions, but to the mind's corrections.
30 You see the line as broken, and as you shift to different aspects of the spiral, the line looks different. Yet in your mind is One Who knows it is unbroken and forever changeless. This One can teach you how to look on time differently and see beyond it, but not while you believe in sin. In error, yes; for this can be corrected by the mind. But sin is the belief that your perception is unchangeable and that the mind must accept as true what it is told through it. If it does not obey, the mind is judged insane. The only power which could change perception is thus kept impotent, held to the body by the
fear of changed perception which its teacher, who is one with it, would bring.
31 When you are tempted to believe that sin is real, remember this: If sin is real, both God and you are not. If creation is extension, the Creator must have extended Himself, and it is impossible that what is part of Him is totally unlike the rest. If sin is real, God must be at war with Himself. He must be split and torn between good and evil—partly sane and partially insane. For He must have created what wills to destroy Him and has the
power to do so. Is it not easier to believe that you have been mistaken than to believe in this?
32 While you believe that your reality or your brother's is bounded by a body, you will believe in sin. While you believe that bodies can unite, you will find guilt attractive and believe that sin is precious. For the belief that bodies limit mind leads to a perception of the world in which the proof of separation seems to be everywhere. And God and His creation seem to be split apart and overthrown. For sin would prove what God created holy could not prevail against it nor remain itself before the power of sin. Sin is perceived as
mightier than God, before which God Himself must bow and offer His creation to its conqueror. Is this humility or madness?
33 If sin were real, it would forever be beyond the hope of healing. For there would be a power beyond God's, capable of making another will which could attack His Will and
overcome it and give His Son a will apart from His and
stronger. And each part of God's fragmented creation would have a different will, opposed to His and in eternal opposition to Him and to each other. Your holy relationship has as its purpose now the goal of proving this is impossible. Heaven has smiled upon it, and the belief in sin has been uprooted in its smile of love. You see it still because you do not realize that its foundation has gone. Its source has been removed, and so it can be cherished but a little while before it vanishes. Only the habit of looking for it still remains.
34 And yet you look with Heaven's smile upon your lips and Heaven's blessing on your sight. You will not see it long. For in the new perception, the mind corrects it when it seems to be seen, and it becomes invisible. And errors are quickly recognized and quickly given to correction to be healed, not hidden. You will be healed of sin and all its ravages the instant that you give it no power over each other. And you will help each other overcome mistakes by joyously releasing one another from the belief in sin.
35 In the holy instant, you will see the smile of heaven shining on both of you. And you will shine upon each other in glad acknowledgment of the grace that has been given you. For sin will not prevail against a union Heaven has smiled upon. Your perception was healed in the holy instant Heaven gave you. Forget what you have seen and raise your eyes in faith to what you now can see. The barriers to heaven will disappear before your holy sight, for you who were sightless have been given vision, and you can see. Look not for what has been removed but for the glory that has been restored for you to see.
36 Look upon your Redeemer and behold what He would show you in each other, and let not sin arise again to blind your eyes. For sin would keep you separate, but your Redeemer would have you look upon each other as yourself. Your relationship is now a temple of healing—a place where all the weary ones can come and find rest. Here is the rest that waits for all after the journey. And it is brought nearer to all by your relationship.
37 As this peace extends from deep inside yourselves to embrace all the Sonship and give it rest, it will encounter many obstacles. Some of them you will try to impose. Others will seem to arise from elsewhere—from your brothers and from various aspects of the world outside. Yet peace will gently cover them, extending past completely unhindered. The extension of the Holy Spirit's purpose from your relationship to others to bring them gently in [has already begun. This is the way in which He will bring means and goal in line. The peace He laid deep within
both of you] will quietly extend to every aspect of your lives, surrounding both of you with glowing happiness and the calm awareness of complete protection. And you will carry its message of love and safety and freedom to everyone who draws nigh unto your temple, where healing waits for him.
38 You will not wait to give him this, for you will call to him and he will answer you, recognizing in your call the Call of God. And you will draw him in and give him rest, as it was given you. All this will you do. Yet the peace which already lies deeply within must first expand and flow across the obstacles you placed before it. This will you do, for nothing undertaken with the Holy Spirit remains unfinished. You can indeed be sure of nothing you see outside you, but of this you
can be sure: the Holy Spirit asks that you offer Him a resting-place where you will rest in Him. He answered you and entered your relationship. Would you not now return His graciousness and enter into a relationship with Him? For it is He Who offered your relationship the gift of holiness, without which it would have been forever impossible to appreciate each other.
39 The gratitude you owe to Him He asks but that you receive for Him. And when you look with gentle graciousness upon each other, you
are beholding Him. For you are looking where He
is and not apart from Him. You cannot see the Holy Spirit, but you can see your brothers truly. And the light in them will show you all that you need to see. When the peace in you has been extended to encompass everyone, the Holy Spirit's function here will be accomplished. What need is there for seeing then? When God has taken the last step Himself, the Holy Spirit will gather all your thanks and gratitude which you have offered Him and lay them gently before His Creator in the name of His most holy Son. And the Father will accept them in His Name. What need is there of seeing in the presence of His gratitude?
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ACIM Edmonton
Sarah's Reflections
Review VI ~ Lesson 215
I am not a body. I am free.
For I am still as God created me.
[195] Love is the way
I walk in gratitude.
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Sarah's Commentary:
We continue today with the importance of building on a foundation of trust, which means we do not rely on our own past experience to guide us because it is a very poor guide. Relying on our own past experience means we can never discern with any certainty what is best for everyone in every situation. Only the Holy Spirit can know that, and so we need to turn to Him. He can show us the way to be helpful in any and every situation.
"I am here only to be truly helpful. I am here to represent Him who sent me.
I do not have to worry about what to say or what to do because He Who sent me will direct me.
I am content to be wherever He wishes knowing He goes there with me.
I will be healed as I let Him teach me to heal."
(T.2.V.A.18.(8).2-6) (ACIM OE T.4.IX.106)
When a brother shows up for me and offers what I perceive as difficult lessons, my job is to look at my own mind, rather than to blame or try to change his.
"Only the self-accused condemn. As you prepare to make a choice that will result in different outcomes, there is first one thing that must be overlearned. It must become a habit of response so typical of everything you do that it becomes your first response to all temptation, and to every situation that occurs. Learn this, and learn it well, for it is here delay of happiness is shortened by a span of time you cannot realize."
(T.31.III.1.1-4) (ACIM OE T.31.III.26)
Jesus tells us that we must over-learn that
"You never hate your brother for his sins, but only for your own."
(T.31.III.1.5) (ACIM OE T.31.III.26) We believe his sins are actually our own. Thus, we judge ourselves so harshly for how we believe we have sinned that we want to get rid of these perceived sins by seeing them in our brothers. But we can be grateful to our brothers for being a mirror for us to see our sins in them, as only by seeing them can they be forgiven.
It is a process. What the process involves is surrender. We cannot wake up from this dream unless we are willing to let go of what we think we know and understand. How does this happen? It happens moment by moment, and it takes a lot of practice. What are we surrendering? We surrender the temptation to make up a story about a situation. We surrender our opinions and our need to be right. We surrender our need to speak when nothing needs to be said. We surrender our need to blame, to attack, to justify, and to explain. We surrender our need to accomplish and achieve, and so much more. How does this look? Perhaps you want to blame someone, and then you choose not to. You step back and look within at what you want to accuse your brother of. Perhaps you already have yelled at your brother, but in a saner moment, you step back. You look within to see what you are accusing your brother of, which is a projection from your own mind. As you take responsibility for it, without judgment of yourself, you ask for help for healing your misperceptions.
This can take great willingness. It is a process and it takes discipline. The ego does not give up easily, but with each moment that we take to step back and willingly surrender our way, our views, our thoughts, and our opinions, the ego is slowly being undone. The intent here is not to keep the spiritual journey going. To do so is to take up a new concept of spiritual seeker. Our part is to choose peace in every moment. It is to stay motivated to listen and follow guidance in each moment. Where is peace on your list of priorities? If it is important and you really want it, then you need to apply discipline daily. No teacher, no guru, and no book can accomplish for us what we need to do for ourselves, and we do it by our willingness to listen to the inner Voice of Truth, which is always guiding us. We will hear Him when we set our ego aside.
Yesterday, Don said he would wash my car. He had driven some distance and it was covered with bugs. Today, as we were driving, I noted to myself that it was not washed, and I felt a twinge of annoyance that he had not kept his commitment. I thought to say something but Holy Spirit put in my mind to be still and not to correct my brother. The temptation was still there to say something but again the Holy Spirit asked me, "Do you want to be right or do you want peace? " I stayed quiet, moved out of the ego, and joined Spirit and all was well. This may seem insignificant to you, and it is. But it is an example of a moment where a choice is made for war or peace, hell or Heaven, and we are making these kinds of decisions all day long.
Jesus acknowledges that we may still judge ourselves unworthy of peace and substitute other gifts we think will satisfy us, but he invites us to consider that there are no gifts we give ourselves that will ever bring us peace.
"You are free to try as many as you wish, but you will be content only in magnitude, which is your home."
(T.15.III.2.5) (ACIM T.15.IV.23) He also acknowledges that this deep responsibility we owe ourselves must be remembered all the time, but that is the hard part.
"The lesson may seem hard at first, but you will learn to love it when you realize that it is true and is but a tribute to your power."
(T.15.III.3.2) (ACIM T.15.IV.24)
Today, I am grateful that this Course has found me and has taken a hold in my life. I am grateful that I can use every situation for learning, for release, for the miracle, and for the correction of my self-condemning thoughts. I am learning to be increasingly willing to undo the thought system of the ego that has kept me from knowing my true reality. I am even willing to look at where I am unwilling to let go of grievances and to ask for help. There is a better way. I am learning to see my own secret wishes for specialness. Don't we all want everyone in our lives to serve these wishes and the needs we perceive in ourselves? Initially, it can be painful to recognize the way the ego shows up in our lives, but only in this recognition can the release come. We truly do not know our own best interests. In following the ego program, we only invite more pain as we pursue what we think will bring pleasure.
We have a Guide we can trust. Our past experiences, no matter how much they have helped us to manage in the world, are still not sufficient to give us perfect judgment. We simply can never know all the variables; but when guidance is sought, and we put the future in the Hands of God, we can walk in perfect trust. Recognizing that we do not know is an important step. How do I know what experience is right for me or for you? How can I judge what is good or what is bad? How can I determine what is the best action to take that will benefit everyone?
This morning I was reading Chapter 5.III (ACIM OE T.5.V),
"The Guide to Salvation,"
which again was a reminder that there is a call for love and for understanding in all seeming attacks coming from anyone. Everyone I am seeing is myself reflected back to me. It is my own guilt I put onto others and judge it there when I choose not to take responsibility for it in myself.
"See him through the Holy Spirit in his mind, and you will recognize Him in yours. What you acknowledge in your brother you are acknowledging in yourself, and what you share you strengthen."
(T.5.III.3.4-5) (ACIM OE T.5.V.34)
The reason we need to share it is to strengthen the Voice of the Holy Spirit in us. It is not something we do alone.
"It is impossible to hear It
[the Voice]
in yourself while It is so weak in your mind. It is not weak in Itself, but It is limited by your unwillingness to hear It."
(T.5.III.4.4-5) (ACIM OE T.5.V.35) If we want to strengthen our ability to hear guidance, we need to see all seeming attack as a call for love. All guidance comes from the right mind. When we only hear one Voice, we will naturally always be coming from a place of love. We affirm the truth of what we are as Love by seeing the Christ Self in our brother.
"If you make the mistake of looking for the Holy Spirit in yourself alone your thoughts will frighten you because, by adopting the ego's viewpoint, you are undertaking an ego-alien journey with the ego as guide. This is bound to produce fear."
(T.5.III.4.6-7) (ACIM OE T.5.V.35)
If I give my thoughts to the Holy Spirit, He will reinterpret them and bring me out of the guilt of the past and the fear of the future. I just need to be willing to offer my thoughts to Him.
"His ability to deal with symbols enables Him to work with the ego's beliefs in its own language."
(T.5.III.7.2) (ACIM OE T.5.V.38) He takes us beyond these symbols to show us the light, truth, and magnitude in us. He reminds us of the Self we are, so we can truly walk the path of love in gratitude for His presence in us.
No matter how I am feeling and no matter what mistakes I have made, they can all be undone by bringing them to His healing light, which is in me now. As I do, I increasingly trust that
"I need do nothing
.
"
(T.18.VII) (ACIM OE T.18.VIII) I get out of the way and allow His guidance to take me where I need to be, who I need to be with, what to say, and what to do, and to release all investment in the outcome.
Today, we affirm,
"The Holy Spirit is my only Guide. He walks with me in love. And I give thanks to Him for showing me the way to go."
(W.215.1.2-4)
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:
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