A Course in Miracles Text Made Simple

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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 19: The Attainment of Peace

Section IV-A: The First Obstacle — The Desire to Get Rid of It

Read ACIM Chapter 19, Section IV-A (pages 407-09)

How do we give peace a home?

To choose peace means to let peace reside in our minds. To be filled with God’s peace is the same as giving peace a home. We give peace a home by accepting the reality of Love’s oneness as the only Identity that exists. We give peace a home as we are willing to accept God’s Will, and not try to replace God’s Will of oneness with the belief in separation. We cannot give peace a home and believe in a world of separation from God’s oneness at the same time.

Conflict comes with choosing to see separation from our Identity through identifying with the body’s physical senses. As long as we insist on making what body’s do and say real, we are choosing to make peace homeless because peace and separation, like oil and water, are opposites in every way.

On Text page 76 Jesus tells us, “You are the Kingdom of Heaven, but you have let the belief in darkness enter your mind and so you need a new light. The Holy Spirit is the radiance that you must let banish the idea of darkness. His is the glory before which dissociation falls away, and the Kingdom of Heaven breaks through into its own.” (T-5.II.4:1-3) The idea of darkness is the idea of separation that we let enter into our mind. The desire to get rid of peace is synonymous with the desire for separation. Getting rid of peace is the same as getting rid of God, which is where peace resides.

Because we have forgotten, Jesus reminds us in paragraph one of the eternal truth about ourselves and our true function: “You are the center from which [peace] radiates outward, to call the others in. You are [peace’s] home; its tranquil dwelling place from which [peace] gently reaches out, but never leaving you. If you would make [peace] homeless, how can [peace] abide within the Son of God? If [peace] would spread across the whole creation, it must begin with you, and from you reach to everyone who calls, and bring him rest by joining you.” (1:3-6) Here we see that giving peace a home is our function because we still are the Kingdom of Heaven.

What is the first obstacle that limits our extension of peace?

Jesus describes the belief in separation as it shows up in this world as, “The little barrier of sand [that] still stands between you and your brother.” (2:4) He asks us, “Would you let a little bank of sand, a wall of dust, a tiny seeming barrier, stand between your brothers and salvation? And yet, this little remnant of attack you cherish still against your brother is the first obstacle the peace in you encounters in its going forth. This little wall of hatred would still oppose the Will of God, and keep [your awareness of peace] limited.” (2:9-11) It is helpful for us to understand that when we think that there really is something that is outside of us that is the cause of our distress, what we are doing is creating an obstacle to experiencing the peace that is innately ours.

Because we can choose once again, we now can learn to realize that everything that seems to be happening to us in the dream is just an effect of the false idea of separation and we can choose to let it go instead of continuing to believe in it. We don’t have to continue to make this world of separation real. We can forgive, or give up trying to make it real in our minds. Jesus tells us how simple it can be as we are willing to let our minds be changed by the Holy Spirit: “This feather of a wish [to believe in separation], this tiny illusion, this microscopic remnant of the belief in sin, is all that remains of what once seemed to be the world. It is no longer an unrelenting barrier to peace. ...How mighty can a little feather be before the great wings of truth? ...See how easily this little wisp is lifted up and carried away, never to return, and part with it in gladness, not regret.” (8:1-2, 9:1,4)

How are we led out of the habit of judging our brother?

Being willing to still our minds and accept peace instead really is a reflection of our willingness to be led out of conflict. The habit of stepping back from judging our brother or from judging what anything means in this world of separation will bring great rewards. Jesus tells us, “Salvation cannot be withheld from you. It is your purpose. You cannot choose apart from this. You have no purpose apart from your brother, nor apart from the one you asked the Holy Spirit to share with you. The little wall will fall away so quietly beneath the wings of peace. For peace will send its messengers from you to all the world, and barriers will fall away before their coming as easily as those that you interpose will be surmounted.” (4:7-12)

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