A Course in Miracles Text Made Simple

To gain the most from A Course in Miracles Text Made Simple, we recommend that
you read the corresponding chapter and section in the Text of the Second or
Third Edition of A Course in Miracles published by the Foundation for Inner Peace.

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Chapter 11: God or the Ego

Section VII: The Condition of Reality

Read ACIM Chapter 11, Section VII (pages 210-11)

How do we tell the difference between what is real and what is unreal?

This section begins with a simple, quick test to help us determine what is real and what is unreal. If it is perishable or changeable, it cannot be real. Only what is eternal is real. Thus everything that the body can see or sense is unreal because it changes, even if it changes over millions of years. Only Love is true because God is Love and “everything true is like Him.” (3:8)

What does Jesus tell us is the world’s only reality?

To perceive the real world, which is a world of Love and nothing else, we must be willing to perceive only Love and nothing else. Only our loving thoughts are real and are therefore eternal. Just as God’s loving Thoughts are His creations, our loving thoughts are our creations. Jesus tells us, “The loving thoughts his mind perceives in this world are the world’s only reality. They are still perceptions, because he still believes that he is separate. Yet they are eternal because they are loving.” (2: 2-4)

Belief in illusions makes them seem real to us. This makes it impossible for us to distinguish between illusion and reality, since both appear real to us. “If you believe in truth and illusion, you cannot tell which is true.” (3:6) Choosing to believe that separation is real automatically leads to judgment and guilt because it brings with it the perception of differences and harm. It is these ideas that stand between us and our awareness of our Creator.

How is the real world perceived?

The real world is perceived by giving up all judgment, all thoughts of guilt, all thoughts of good and bad. That is why forgiveness is the means of reaching true perception in which the real world is seen. In order to forgive we must recognize illusion for what it is. If it is not like the Father, then it is not real. When we remember it is not real, we realize nothing really happened so there is nothing to forgive. We easily let it go. We remember the real world, which is a world in which only Love is perceived. We remember our Self, which is Love and nothing else. This is salvation.

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