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 5: Healing and Wholeness

Section II: The Voice for God

Read ACIM Chapter 5, Section II (pages 75-78)

When we ask for healing, what are we really asking for?

The Holy Spirit is our remaining communication link with God, given us when we rejected Love’s oneness in favor of separation. The Holy Spirit is ever present in our minds, calling us to return to recognizing our oneness with Love. When we ask the Holy Spirit for healing, we are asking to have our belief in separation from Love be healed, whether we realize it or not. We are asking for help in letting separation go. The Holy Spirit reminds us of the truth of our oneness with Love, which has never changed. He sees in us the unchanging Spirit that God created and sees us as extensions of God’s Love.

How does the Holy Spirit work in our minds and why don’t we always hear It?

The previous chapter began to clarify the ego and the effect of our belief in it. Now we are beginning to get clarification about the Holy Spirit, Its role, and how we can be aware of Its presence and guidance in our lives. It could be said that the Holy Spirit is the link in our minds that keeps our decision to separate from God from being irreversible.

The Holy Spirit’s gentle and peaceful Voice is always reminding us of our Source and our true Reality. The only reason we do not hear It is because we have made another voice that we value more. Because the voice we made teaches the opposite of the Holy Spirit, when we listen to it, we cannot hear the Holy Spirit’s call to joy. Most of us have lived our lives unaware of the Holy Spirit’s call or, at best, felt an underlying sense that there is another way but were clueless on how to find it. Now the Course is giving us some keys to open our minds to the guidance that will lead us back to the Self we are that God created. This section brings a tremendous message of promise that not only can we return Home, but that it is inevitable.

What is required to hear the Holy Spirit’s Voice?

There are only two voices in our minds. One we made and the other was given us by God. The one we made, which is not of God, we have come to think of as who we are because of our belief in it. We like being independent and making decisions on our own. We like thinking that our identity is up to us. It gives us a sense of control, uniqueness and specialness. But we keep hidden, through denial, the cost of following this voice that tells us we are separate.

Eventually, however, the pain of loss, guilt and fear becomes great enough that we become willing to open to another Voice. We may vacillate between listening to one voice or the other, but as we recognize the peace and joy that come with listening to God’s Voice, we gradually value It more and listen to It more consistently. Jesus demonstrated to us that it is possible to listen only to the Voice for God. He reminds us that, because we are equal to him, we can also make that choice. “I am your model for decision. By deciding for God I showed you that this decision can be made, and that you can make it.” (9:6-7)

How do we decide for God?

It is helpful to ask ourselves often, “Who am I and where am I?” Because our illusions seem so real, we need to be reminded often that we are God’s extension and remain in Heaven, where we were created. We are not just in Heaven, we are Heaven because being and having are the same. Because we chose to reject the oneness of God, we have made up a fantasy world of separate identities that is the opposite of Heaven. It is not this separate identity that we think we are that is Heaven. It is sharing one Identity as Love and nothing else.

Because we chose to reject God, our minds became split. Now we must choose whether we want to see the world we made or know the Heaven we are. The Holy Spirit helps us remember the truth and forget illusions. Jesus tells us, “I have assured you that the Mind that decided for me is also in you, and that you can let a it change you just as it changed me.” (10:1)

How do we recognize the Voice of the Holy Spirit?

Paragraph seven gives us a wonderful description of the Holy Spirit’s attributes. “The Voice for God is always quiet, because it speaks of peace.” (7:7) The Course tells us that Holy Spirit does not command, demand, seek control, overcome or attack. The Holy Spirit is always present in our minds, waiting until we are willing to quiet our minds and truly open to It’s compelling experience of peace. The Holy Spirit guides us in making the right choices that lead to peace and lasting happiness, because He speaks for God.

Jesus tells us, “When you are tempted by the wrong voice, call on me to remind you how to heal by sharing my decision and making it stronger. As we share this goal, we increase its power to attract the whole Sonship, and to bring it back to the oneness in which it was created.” (11:1-2) As we join with the one motivation inspired by the Holy Spirit, the healing we can accomplish together has no limits. Because ideas are strengthened by sharing, our shared and unified purpose brings us the strength and power of God.

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