20 The ego's plan for forgiveness is far more widely used than God's. This is because it is undertaken by unhealed healers and is therefore of the ego. Let us consider the unhealed healer more carefully now. By definition, he is trying to
give what he has not
received. If he is a theologian, he may begin with the premise, "I am a miserable sinner and so are you." If he is a psychotherapist, he is more likely to start with the equally incredible idea that
he really believes in attack and so does the patient, but it does not matter in either case.
21 We have repeatedly stated that beliefs of the ego cannot be shared, and this is
why they are unreal. How, then, can "uncovering" them
make them real? Every healer who searches fantasies for truth
must be unhealed because he does not
know where to look for truth and therefore does not have the answer to the problem of healing. There is an advantage to bringing nightmares into awareness, but
only to teach that they are not real and that
anything they contain is meaningless. The unhealed healer cannot do this because he does not
believe it.
22 All unhealed healers follow the ego's plan for forgiveness in one form or another. If they are theologians, they are likely to condemn themselves, teach condemnation, and advocate a very fearful solution. Projecting condemnation onto God, they make Him appear retaliative and fear His retribution. What they have done is merely to
identify with the ego and, by perceiving clearly what
it does, condemn themselves because of this profound confusion. It is understandable that there has been a revolt against this concept, but to revolt
against it is still to
believe in it. The
form of the revolt, then, is different but
not the content.
23 The newer forms of the ego's plan are as unhelpful as the older ones because form does not matter to the Holy Spirit and therefore does not matter at all. According to the newer forms of the ego's plan, the therapist interprets the ego's symbols in the nightmare and then uses them to prove that the
nightmare is real. Having
made it real, he then attempts to dispel its effects by depreciating the importance
of the dreamer. This
would be a healing approach if the dreamer were properly identified as unreal. Yet if the dreamer is equated with the
mind, the mind's corrective power through the Holy Spirit is
denied.
24 It is noteworthy that this is a contradiction even in the ego's terms, and one which it usually
does note, even in its confusion. If the way to counteract fear is to
reduce the importance of the fearer, how can this build ego
strength? These perfectly self-evident inconsistencies account for why, except in certain stylized verbal accounts, no one can
explain what happens in psychotherapy. Nothing real
does. Nothing real has happened to the unhealed healer, and he learns from his own teaching.
25
Because his ego is involved, it always attempts to gain some support from the situation. Seeking to get something for
himself, the unhealed healer does not know how to
give and consequently cannot share. He cannot correct because he is not working
correctively. He believes that it is up to him to teach the patient what is
real, but he does not know it himself. What, then,
should happen? When God said, "Let there be light," there
was light. Can you find light by analyzing darkness as the psychotherapist does or like the theologian, by acknowledging darkness in yourself and looking for a distant light to remove it while
emphasizing the distance?
26 Healing is
not mysterious. Nothing will occur unless you understand it, since light
is understanding. A "miserable sinner" cannot be healed without magic, nor can an "unimportant mind" esteem itself without magic. Both forms of the ego's approach, then, must arrive at an impasse, the characteristic "impossible situation" to which the ego
always leads. It
can be helpful to point out to a patient where he is heading, but the point is lost unless he can change his direction. The therapist cannot do this for him, but he also cannot do this for
himself.
27 The
only meaningful contribution the therapist can make is to present an example of one whose direction has been changed
for him and who no longer believes in nightmares of
any kind. The light in
his mind will therefore
answer the questioner, who must decide with God that there
is light because he
sees it. And by
his acknowledgment, the
therapist knows it is there. That is how perception ultimately is translated into knowledge. The miracle worker begins by
perceiving light and translates
his perception into sureness by continually extending it and accepting its acknowledgment. Its
effects assure him it is there.
28 The therapist does not heal;
he lets healing be. He can point to darkness, but he cannot bring light of
himself, for light is not of him. Yet, being
for him, it must also be for his patient. The Holy Spirit is the
only therapist. He makes healing perfectly clear in
any situation in which he is the Guide. The human therapist can only let Him
fulfill His function. He needs no help for this. He will tell you
exactly what to do to help
anyone He sends to you for help and will speak to him through you if you do not
interfere. Remember that you
are choosing a guide for helping, and the
wrong choice will
not help. But remember also that the
right one
will. Trust Him, for help is His function, and He is of God.
29 As you awaken other minds to the Holy Spirit through Him and
not yourself, you will understand that you are not obeying the laws of this world, but that the laws you are obeying
work. "The good is what works" is a sound, though insufficient, statement.
Only the good
can work. Nothing else works at all. This course is a guide to behavior. Being a very direct and very simple learning situation, it provides the Guide Who
tells you what to do. If you do it, you will
see that it works. Its
results are more convincing than its words. They will convince you that the words are true. By following the right Guide you will learn the simplest of all lessons—
30
By their fruits ye shall know them,
and
they
shall know
themselves
.
