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.

Chapter 12: The Holy Spirit’s Curriculum

Section II: The Way to Remember God

Read ACIM Chapter 12, Section II (pages 218-20)

How do we remember God?

The way to remember God is to accept the miracle, which is a change of mind received from the Holy Spirit. This change of mind helps us let go of the denial of truth. The truth is in us, but we must be willing to accept the Light — the Holy Spirit — that is residing in our own mind. “The sick must heal themselves, for the truth is in them.” (1:6) Sickness is the denial of our true reality, which is Love.

Why is making the body sick one of the ego’s favorite dream scripts?

When we deny ourselves the Love we are, our mind is sick and we need help. When our mind is sick, one of the ways it shows up in our stories of separation is in sickness of the body. In this world of separation, sickness of the body is one of the illusions that seems to be most effective in making the world seem real. Pain seems to make the body real. It commands our attention, distracting us from the peace we need in order to be aware of the changeless Love we are. Sickness can only come within the belief system of separation. When we believe in separation, we cannot know Love because Love is one. Just as we need to learn to recognize fear as a symptom of the belief in separation, and therefore a call for Love, we must learn to recognize sickness as a symptom that is really a call for Love.

How do we withdraw the power we have given to illusions?

In paragraph two Jesus compares our belief in illusions of separation as being like a dense fog that hides the Light that shines within our own mind. The Light we are shines just as brightly as ever, but the fog obscures the Light. Here Jesus gives us a very helpful answer to heal our sick minds that are lost in the fog of our illusions. He says, “If you give no power to the fog to obscure the light, it has none. For [the fog] has power only if the Son of God gives power to it. He must himself withdraw that power, remembering that all power is of God.” (2:2-4)

So here we are learning that we must be willing to withdraw the power we have given to our illusions of separation. This means being willing to change our minds about what anything means in this world. The Light in our mind is the Holy Spirit — the Spirit that remembers our oneness for us while we are dreaming of stories of separation. When we open up to the Holy Spirit, we are opening up to letting the fog of separation be shined away. Because in reality we are united as one mind, when we remember that all true power lies only in God, we are remembering for the whole Sonship.

Why does Jesus say that Love is the Answer in every situation?

In paragraph three we see that Love is the Answer to every situation. “Whatever the sickness, there is but one remedy.” (3:2) Because we are of one mind, when we extend Love to every brother who is calling for Love, we are giving Love to ourselves because our brother is our Self. “Answer his call for love and yours is answered. Healing is the Love of Christ for His Father and for Himself.” (3:5-6) This is a central theme that we will return to again and again, because it is the way out of illusions. When we give power to the fog — making separate images real — we are hiding What is real and causing our mind to be sick. In truth we are mind and only mind. Making the body real is just a sign of sickness.

How do we keep our minds open and receptive to Holy Spirit’s way of seeing?

Believing we know on our own what anything means keeps us locked in the nightmare of the world of separation. This is why one of the early Workbook lessons has us repeat, “I do not know what anything means.” Elsewhere in the Text it tells us we need to learn to question everything we perceive. This is how we open our minds to be receptive to another way of seeing. This receptivity is essential for us to receive the healing perception of the Holy Spirit. When we ask for and accept the Holy Spirit’s perception, our fears vanish. Otherwise our “certainty” blinds us to everything that does not agree with our view and we remain locked in our nightmare.

Why does Jesus say, “Learn to be quiet in the midst of turmoil.”?

Whenever we are disturbed by anything, Jesus gives us a specific answer for how to deal with it. “Learn to be quiet in the midst of turmoil, for quietness is the end of strife and this is the journey to peace. Look straight of every image that rises to delay you, for the goal is inevitable because it is eternal. The goal of love is but your right, and it belongs to you despite your dreams.” (5:5-7) When we quiet our minds and open to the Holy Spirit’s perspective, we learn that in every situation, Love is the answer because only Love is real. Our only purpose, given to us by God, is to extend Love.

Why does Jesus ask us so frequently to trust in his help?

We are not alone in our journey of awakening from our nightmare of believing in separation from Love. Jesus tells us, “Trust in my help, for I did not walk alone, and I will walk with you as our Father walked with me.” (7:5) Jesus has complete trust in the truth about us. As we learn to trust him, we join with him in accepting perfect Love as the only true reality. When we join with Jesus we remember that the goal of Love is already accomplished. Only Love is true and nothing else is true. As we are willing to look at every fear with the Holy Spirit, we will receive true vision. Our fears will be shined away. We will see our nightmares for what they are.

Why is it so important to let the Holy Spirit be the judge of everything in this world?

This section is telling us that A Course in Miracles is offering us “an organized, well-structured and carefully planned program aimed at learning how to offer to the Holy Spirit everything you do not want.” (10:1) The way out of the illusion of separation that is this world is to learn to recognize that we don’t want it and give it to the Holy Spirit. This is forgiveness. We don’t have to know what to do with the illusions of the world. We just have to diligently practice, day by day, moment by moment, thought by thought, giving everything of this world to the Holy Spirit and let Him judge it truly. With this practice we will learn to distinguish reality from illusion.

In our identification with the ego we have tried to make illusion real and thus cannot tell the difference between illusion and reality. That is why we need the Holy Spirit’s help. The key for our release is our willingness to look at all our fears and guilt and bring them to the Holy Spirit. He will not fail to help us because that is His job.

We cannot be relieved of our fears by hiding them. Neither does it help us to just recognize the fears. If we stop with just that, the fears will seem more real to us. We must give our fears to the Holy Spirit. He will replace them with His vision, which looks past the form and recognizes Love is the only reality. Here we find peace.

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