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 15: The Holy Instant

Section VI: The Holy Instant and the Laws of God

Read ACIM Chapter 15, Section VI (pages 314-316)

Why do we experience guilt when we try to change the laws of God?

God’s Love is one and universal. God’s all inclusive Love is a total giving of all Love to All. There is nothing outside of this all inclusive Love. The laws of God do not change.

When we try to change the laws of God’s Love, we will experience guilt. “And there will be guilt as long as you accept the possibility, and cherish it, that you can make a brother into what he is not, because you would have him so.” (1:6) We are trying to make a brother into what he is not when we believe he is separate from us and different from others or ourselves. We are trying to make a brother into what he is not when we choose to withhold love from one or reserve special love for another. The law of Love is that Love is all inclusive, so if we exclude anyone, we will feel guilty.

What is it that we share with all our brothers?

The Course tells us in many ways that only Love is real and Love is strength. Here we are being reminded that this Love is in us. Love is our true Self and it is this Self that we share with all our brothers. Because of the all inclusive nature of Love, perfect Love is the same everywhere, always.

What causes us to feel weak, lacking and guilty?

It is the unwillingness to accept the Love that is in us that causes us to feel weak, guilty and lacking. This world is the effect of believing that we are separate from God’s universal Love. The sense of lack that this belief induces causes us to search to try to fill the lack. Convinced that we are separate, we look outside ourselves to fill this imagined need, unaware that the Love we seek is What we are. We believe the brothers we see as outside of us are equally as limited as we are.

What happens to our vision when we accept the holy instant?

Fortunately Jesus does not buy into this mistaken image we have made of ourselves. He has perfect faith in the truth about us that we are Love and nothing else. He sees God’s universal Love in every brother, recognizing them all as the holy Son of God and one with himself. The Holy Spirit in our minds shares this recognition. In the holy instant, our minds are open to this shared vision of the holiness of God’s Son. Thus in that holy instant we are able to love all our brothers equally.

How does Jesus describe Love as different from the love found in this world?

God (Love) is the idea of sharing one Identity. Inherent in Love is giving Love. Love must give of Itself to be Itself. Love is the idea of giving all of Itself to all of Itself. As we learn to see our brothers as part of our one Self, we will naturally give all of our Love to every part of our Self. The Course tells us, “...like your Father, you are an idea. And like Him, you can give yourself completely, wholly without loss and only with gain. Herein lies peace, for here there is no conflict.” (4:5-7)

Inherent in accepting the Love that we are is giving the Love that we are and seeing the Love that we are in everyone. In Love there is total oneness. There is total equality. There is total inclusiveness. We are learning that there is nothing outside of Love. As we return to accepting Love as Love is, we see that if it is not Love it is an illusion and therefore nothing. Love is constant and does not change with time. We learn about the laws of Love from the Holy Spirit, our one true Guide out of the loveless world we have made for ourselves.

It is the Holy Spirit That brings us the change of mind that is needed to bring us into full communication with the truth of all Love everywhere. The Holy Spirit brings us to the holy instant. “In the holy instant God is remembered, and the language of communication with all your brothers is remembered with Him. God and the power of God will take Their rightful place in you, and you will experience the full communication of ideas with ideas.” (8:1,6)

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