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79 The body's serial adventures from the time of birth to dying is the theme of every dream the world has ever had. The "hero" of this dream will never change nor will its purpose. Though the dream itself takes many forms and seems to show a great variety of places and events wherein its "hero" finds itself, the dream has but one purpose, taught in many ways. This single lesson does it try to teach again, and still again, and yet once more that it is
cause and
not effect. And
you are its effect and
cannot be its cause.
CHAPTER 27: THE BODY
AND THE DREAM
IX. The "Hero" of the Dream
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Workbook for Students
Part II
What is the Real World?
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1 The real world is a symbol like the rest of what perception offers. Yet it stands for what is opposite to what you made. Your world is seen through eyes of fear and brings the witnesses of terror to your mind. 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.
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Workbook for Students
Lesson 295
The Holy Spirit
looks through me today.
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1 Christ asks that He may use my eyes today and thus redeem the world. He asks this gift that He may offer peace of mind to me and take away all terror and all pain. And as they are removed from me, the dreams that seemed to settle on the world are gone. Redemption must be one. As I am saved, the world is saved with me. For all of us must be redeemed together. Fear appears in many different forms, but love is one.
2
My Father, Christ has asked a gift of me, and one I give that it be given me. Help me to use the eyes of Christ today and thus allow the Holy Spirit's Love to bless all things that I may look upon, that His forgiving Love may rest on me.
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Course in Miracles
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Text
Chapter 27
The Body and the Dream
IX. The "Hero" of the Dream
par 77-90
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77 The body is the central figure in the dreaming of the world. There is no dream without it, nor does it exist without the dream, in which it acts as if it were a person, to be seen and be believed. It takes the central place in every dream, which tells the story of how it was made by other bodies, born into the world outside the body, lives a little while and dies, to be united in the dust with other bodies dying like itself. In the brief time allotted it to live, it seeks for other bodies as its friends and enemies. Its safety is its main concern. Its comfort is its guiding rule. It tries to look for pleasure and avoid the things that would be hurtful. Above all, it tries to teach itself its pains and joys are different and can be told apart.
78 The dreaming of the world takes many forms, because the body seeks in many ways to prove it is autonomous and real. It puts things on itself which it has bought with little metal discs or paper strips the world proclaims as valuable and good. It works to get them, doing senseless things, and tosses them away for senseless things it does not need and does not even want. It hires other bodies, that they may protect it, and collect more senseless things that it can call its own. It looks about for special bodies which can share its dream. Sometimes it dreams it is a conqueror of bodies weaker than itself. But in some phases of the dream, it is the slave of bodies that would hurt and torture it.
79 The body's serial adventures from the time of birth to dying is the theme of every dream the world has ever had. The "hero" of this dream will never change nor will its purpose. Though the dream itself takes many forms and seems to show a great variety of places and events wherein its "hero" finds itself, the dream has but one purpose, taught in many ways. This single lesson does it try to teach again, and still again, and yet once more that it is
cause and
not effect. And
you are its effect and
cannot be its cause.
80 Thus are you not the dreamer but the
dream. And so you wander idly in and out of places and events which
it contrives. That this is all the body does is true, for it
is but a figure in a dream. But who reacts to figures in a dream unless he sees them as if they were real? The instant that he sees them as they
are, they have no more effects on him because he understands he
gave them their effects by causing them and making them seem real.
81 How willing are you to escape effects of all the dreams the world has ever had? Is it your wish to let no dream appear to be the cause of what it is you do? Then let us merely look upon the dream's beginning, for the part you see is but the second part, whose cause lies in the first. No one asleep and dreaming in the world remembers his attack upon himself. No one believes there really was a time when he knew nothing of a body and could never have conceived this world as real. He would have seen at once that these ideas are one illusion, too ridiculous for anything but to be laughed away. How serious they now appear to be! And no one can remember when they would have met with laughter and with disbelief.
82 We
can remember this if we but look directly at their cause. And we will see the grounds for laughter, not a cause for fear. Let us return the dream he gave away unto the dreamer who perceives the dream as separate from himself and done to him. Into eternity, where all is one, there crept a tiny mad idea at which the Son of God remembered not to laugh. In his forgetting did the thought become a serious idea and possible of both accomplishment and real effects. Together, we can laugh them both away and understand that time cannot intrude upon eternity. It
is a joke to think that time can come to circumvent eternity, which
means there is no time.
83 A timelessness in which is time made real; a part of God which can attack itself; a separate brother as an enemy; a mind within a body, all are forms of circularity whose ending starts at its beginning, ending at its cause. The world you see depicts exactly what you thought you did. Except that now you think that what you did is being done to you. The guilt for what you thought is being placed outside yourself and on a guilty world which dreams your dreams and thinks your thoughts instead of you. It brings its vengeance, not your own. It keeps you narrowly confined within a body, which it punishes because of all the sinful things the body does within its dream. You have no power to make the body stop its evil deeds because you did not make it and cannot control its actions or its purpose or its fate.
84 The world but demonstrates an ancient truth—you will believe that others do to you
exactly what you think you did to them. But once deluded into blaming them, you will not see the cause of what they do because you
want the guilt to rest on them. How childish is this petulant device to keep your innocence by pushing guilt outside yourself but never letting go! It is not easy to perceive the jest when all around you do your eyes behold its heavy consequences, but without their trifling cause. Without the cause do its effects seem serious and sad indeed. Yet they but follow. And it is their
cause which follows nothing and is but a jest.
85 In gentle laughter does the Holy Spirit perceive the cause and looks not to effects. How else could He correct your error, who have overlooked the cause entirely? He bids you bring each terrible effect to Him that you may look together on its foolish cause and laugh with Him a while.
You judge effects, but
He has judged their cause. And by His judgment are effects removed. Perhaps you come in tears, but hear Him say, "My brother, Holy Son of God, behold your idle dream in which this could occur," and you will leave the holy instant with your laughter and your brother's joined with His.
86 The secret of salvation is but this: that
you are doing this unto yourself. No matter what the form of the attack, this still is true. Whoever takes the role of enemy and of attacker, still is this the truth. Whatever seems to be the cause of any pain and suffering you feel, this is still true. For you would not react at all to figures in a dream you knew that
you were dreaming. Let them be as hateful and as vicious as they may, they could have no effect on you unless you failed to recognize it is
your dream. This single lesson learned will set you free from suffering, whatever form it takes.
87 The Holy Spirit will repeat this one inclusive lesson of deliverance until it has been learned, regardless of the form of suffering that brings you pain. Whatever hurt you bring to Him He will make answer with this very simple truth. For this one answer takes away the
cause of every form of sorrow and of pain. The form affects His answer not at all, for He would teach you but the single cause of all of them, no matter what their form. And you will understand that miracles reflect the simple statement,
88
I have done this thing, and it is this I would undo.
89 Bring, then, all forms of suffering to Him Who knows that every one is like the rest. He sees no differences where none exist, and He will teach you how each one is caused. None has a different cause from all the rest, and all of them are easily undone by but a single lesson truly learned. Salvation is a secret you have kept but from yourself. The universe proclaims it so. Yet to its witnesses you pay no heed at all. For they attest the thing you do not
want to know. They seem to keep it secret from you. Yet you need but learn you choose but
not to listen,
not to see. How differently will you perceive the world when this is recognized! When you forgive the world your guilt,
you will be free of it. Its innocence does
not demand your guilt, nor does
your guiltlessness rest on its sins.
90 This is the obvious—a secret kept from no one but yourself. And it is this that has maintained you separate from the world and kept your brother separate from you. Now need you but to learn that
both of you are innocent or guilty. The one thing that is impossible is that you be unlike each other; that they
both be true. This is the only secret yet to learn. And it will be no secret you are healed.
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Sarah's Reflections
Lesson 295
The Holy Spirit
looks through me today.
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Sarah's Commentary:
"Christ asks that He may use my eyes today, and thus redeem the world."
(W.295.1.1) It is up to me to choose to see my brother in all his innocence. I want to see the Christ in him, but I know I can't do it on my own. I need to admit that whatever I see with my own eyes is a witness to my wrong mind. I still see my brothers as separate from me, and I judge them for my sins which I project onto them. These are all the judgments I hold against myself. Until I step out of the way and let Him lead the way, I am lost in judgment, comparison, and specialness in which my needs are at the forefront of every relationship.
"For who could hate someone whose Self is his, and Whom he knows. Only the special could have enemies, for they are different and not the same. And difference of any kind imposes orders of reality, and a need to judge that cannot be escaped."
(T.24.I.3.4) (ACIM OE T.24.II.5)
When I turn my way of seeing over to the Holy Spirit and ask for His interpretation of what I look upon, His vision shows me that we are all the same. He shows me a world that sparkles with beauty and innocence. Yet in order to see it, I must bring every judgment and grievance to the Holy Spirit for healing so space is made in the mind for the love of God to come through me. This is how I
"use the eyes of Christ today, and allow the Holy Spirit's Love to bless all things which I may look upon, that His forgiving Love may rest on me."
(W.295.2.2)
"He asks this gift that He may offer peace of mind to me, and take away all terror and all pain."
(W.295.1.2) We give our eyes and our senses to be used by Christ today. Christ is a synonym here for the Holy Spirit. We give our bodies to the Holy Spirit for His purpose, rather than for our own. Jesus constantly tells us that when we choose the Holy Spirit as our Guide to seeing, we do it on behalf of our own happiness. The gift we give our brother is always received by us, even as we give it.
"This is your brother, crucified by sin and waiting for release from pain. Would you not offer him forgiveness, when only he can offer it to you?"
(T.19.IV.D.15.1-2) (ACIM OE T.19.Vd.103) When I see my brother as guilty and want to punish him and blame him for what I think he has done, I need help to give up my way of seeing. I need to be willing to ask for help so I can see how holy and beautiful he is. I can only do that when I recognize that it is my own sin and guilt I project onto him. With my own senses, what I perceive is error, which I have made real in my brother. The Holy Spirit shows me my brother’s call for love so I can know the same call is in me. We are the same Christ Self. My brother is me. What I do to him, I do to myself. There is no difference. We are the same Self.
"Would it be possible for you to hate your brother if you were like him? Could you attack him if you realized you journey with him, to a goal that is the same? Would you not help him reach it in every way you could, if his attainment of it were perceived as yours?"
(T.24.I.6.1-3) (ACIM OE T.24.II.8) Our goal is to awaken from the dream.
Jesus tells us that a mind that has forgiven itself can only perceive safety, love, and joy. The forgiven mind can't condemn or judge. A mind at peace with itself can't see a world of death, attack, and murder. Clearly, there is still evidence of death and attack and murder in the world, but a mind that does not judge sees the truth of who everyone is behind the veil and does not condemn what it beholds. How can a mind that is kind have any thoughts or perceptions unlike itself?
We need to take total responsibility for all our beliefs, judgments, and condemnations and be willing to look at them and ask for the help of the Holy Spirit to show us what He sees instead of what we see. We see our own self-interest, but looking at our judgments without judging ourselves is important for our healing. When we condemn ourselves, we are keeping ourselves in the loop of thinking that we are guilty and now deserve to be punished. It is not helpful for our healing. It is helpful to see our judgments and recognize the importance of welcoming everything that shows up for our learning. We remind ourselves
"that His forgiving Love"
(W.295.2.2) is always resting on us. Whatever mistakes we make, it makes no difference to Him.
In the Manual for Teachers, Jesus speaks of generosity by saying,
"To the world, generosity means 'giving away' in the sense of 'giving up'. To the teachers of God, it means giving away in order to keep."
(Manual 4.VII.1.4-5) This is truly a reversal of the world's thinking. When we see through the eyes of Christ, we can only bless, and thus we experience the blessing and the love.
"The teacher of God is generous out of Self interest. This does not refer, however, to the self of which the world speaks."
(Manual 4.VII.2.1-2) It is our responsibility to,
"Make no one fearful
, for his guilt is yours, and by obeying the ego's harsh commandments you bring its condemnation on yourself, and you will not escape the punishment it offers those who obey it."
(T.13.IX.2.2) (ACIM OE T.13.III.12)
By being willing to heal our own judgments, our own terror, and our own pain, the blessing of the Holy Spirit can shine through us.
"And as they are removed from me, the dreams that seemed to settle on the world are gone."
(W.295.1.3) These dreams appear to each of us in many different forms. None of them are real, but we will believe in their reality until we wake up from the dream.
"Love is extension. To withhold the smallest gift is not to know love’s purpose. Love offers everything forever. Hold back but one belief, one offering, and love is gone, because you asked a substitute to takes its place."
(T.24.I.1.1-4) (ACIM OE T.24.II.3) We must expose the beliefs that we are holding in the mind. Jesus tells us that
"an unrecognized belief is a decision to war in secret, where the results of conflict are kept unknown and never brought to reason, to be considered sensible or not.”
(T.24.I.2.2) (ACIM OE T.24.II.4) We need to be aware of the origin of our thoughts of sin. We constantly experience the effects of our thoughts, but now need to take responsibility for them as coming from our own mind.
Think of everything you are doing today and think about how much of it comes from fear. We bake a cake and fear it will not come out right. We plan a lunch date and wonder how we will appear, what we will wear, and whether we will arrive on time. We take the car to the service station and get concerned about what it will cost. We look at the Lesson and wonder if we will get it. We go to the dentist and worry about the pain we may experience. We worry about our future, our health, and our finances. We fear getting sick, fat, aging, and on and on it goes. This world of form arose when we chose the ego, which in itself is fear. When we shift our attention to the Holy Spirit, asking for His help to see each situation differently, He reminds us that our dream of fear is not the truth. Everything comes from our own minds. Everything is a story of a future that has not yet come. We keep time real in our minds, thinking of what may happen in the future. As we notice how we try to mitigate fear through planning, we can give everything over to the Holy Spirit so we can experience the joy of the present moment where all is well. The Son of God fell asleep and dreamt a physical world. We are the dreamer of the dream and not the figure in the dream. As we recognize this more and more, we see that
"As I am saved, the world is saved with me"
(W.295.1.5) because the world is in the mind. It is all imagined.
As each fear thought comes up, we can question it and realize that our way of seeing is always wrong. With a willingness to surrender our misperceptions, we turn them over to the Holy Spirit so whatever fear thought comes to mind can be given over. Yes, sometimes we take them back when we decide to be in control, but with willingness, each time fearful thoughts come up, we continue to bring them to the light. It takes willingness, as the Holy Spirit will take nothing we have made without our agreement. We need to resign as the one who thinks it knows how to solve every problem. We need to recognize that the deceived mind is the false self and not what we are. Yet while we still identify with the wrong-minded thought system, we must keep bringing awareness to it and keep turning it over to the Holy Spirit no matter how often we need to do this. Time was made for this purpose. We have told ourselves millions of times that we are stupid, unworthy, and unlovable, so even if it takes five thousand times to turn a wrong-minded belief to the Holy Spirit, we need not get discouraged. He does it all. Our part is simply to have the willingness to look, recognize that we are wrong, and trust the Answer is within.
"Fear appears in many different forms, but love is one."
(W.295.1.7) Problems appear in many different forms, but they always have just one source-‑-guilt in the mind. The only healing possible is to go back to our minds and stop pretending that there will ever be a solution in the world. Yes, we appear to solve problems that show up in the world, but they are not solved for all time; they simply show up in other forms. Our lives become a series of problems and we keep doing our best to address them. The only real solution is to bring the cause of all our problems---the guilt in the mind---to the light of truth, where peace shines forth regardless of what seems to be happening in our lives. From this vantage point, we see all problems as opportunities to choose again.
Let's give the gift asked of us today so it can be received by us. When I see someone who attacks me and I get upset, I experience pain, sadness, and grief. The interpretation I have given to the attack brings the upset I feel. Only my thoughts about the situation can hurt me. The Holy Spirit's interpretation is that the attack is a call for love. When I see it in any other way and experience distress, I have chosen to throw my peace away and blame something outside of my own mind as the reason for my upset. Peace is a constant in my right mind. Anything other than peace is a decision for the wrong-minded thought system. The Holy Spirit asks us to bring our painful feelings and experiences to Him so He can replace them with His peace and love.
"Chris asks that He may use my eyes today, and thus redeem the world. He asks this gift that He may offer peace of mind to me, and take away all terror and all pain."
(W.295.1.1-2)
Why would we choose to hold onto terror and pain? We do so because we would rather be right than happy. We feel justified in our so-called "position," which comes from the way we have constructed reality. Until we are willing to change our minds, we will tenaciously hold onto our misperceptions, but at what cost? The cost is to not know the unlimited Christ Self that we are.
Imagine a day where your entire purpose is to see love everywhere, and where there is an attack, to see only a call for love. Imagine a day where you willingly give over to the Holy Spirit every fear thought that comes up. Imagine a day where you have perfect confidence that, no matter what it may look like in the world, you know you are perfectly supported in every moment. You know you are never alone in anything you do because He goes with you. He is part of your mind. You just need to be willing to trust Him in all things. Imagine yourself as the light of the world that you already are.
"My Father, Christ has asked a gift of me, and one I give that it be given me. Help me to use the eyes of Christ today, and thus allow the Holy Spirit's Love to bless all things which I may look upon, that His forgiving Love may rest on me."
(W.295.2.1‑2)
Love and blessings, Sarah
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Allen Watson's
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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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