The holy instant is the opposite of the ego’s fixed belief in salvation through vengeance for the past. In the holy instant it is understood that the past is gone, and with its passing the drive for vengeance has been uprooted and has disappeared. The stillness and the peace of now enfold you in perfect gentleness. Everything is gone except the truth.
There is nothing you can hold against reality. All that must be forgiven are the illusions you have held against your brothers. Their reality has no past, and only illusions can be forgiven. God holds nothing against anyone, for He is incapable of illusions of any kind. Release your brothers from the slavery of their illusions by forgiving them for the illusions you perceive in them. Thus will you learn that you have been forgiven, for it is you who offered [your brothers] illusions. In the holy instant this is done for you in time, to bring you the true condition of Heaven.
Remember that you always choose between truth and illusion; between the real Atonement that would heal and the ego’s “atonement” that would destroy. The power of God and all His Love, without limit, will support you as you seek only your place in the plan of Atonement arising from His Love. Be an ally of God and not the ego in seeking how Atonement can come to you. His help suffices, for His Messenger understands how to restore the Kingdom to you, and to place all your investment in salvation in your relationship with [God]. (A Course in Miracles, T-16.VII.6:3-5;9-10. See also ACIM Text Made Simple.)
An instant is made holy when we let go of illusions of the past. The eternal present is eternally holy because only Love is real. Only Love is now. Do we see our brother as Love and nothing else, incapable of harm and united in God’s Love? This is the vision the Holy Spirit offers us because illusions of separation and differences have been released.
Our attachment to a bodily identification binds us to the past. Bodies seem to have had effects in the past. We hold on to memories of these effects and use them as the basis for our interpretation of our present experience. Thus we hide the present with a veil built upon the past. We see our brothers as bodies, which reinforces our belief in the reality of separation. To free ourselves from the imprisonment of this belief we need the help of the Holy Spirit to show us how to look past our mistaken beliefs to see the reality of eternal Love now.
Each time we bring a judgment or sense of fear to the Holy Spirit with willingness to receive and accept the Holy Spirit’s correction, we welcome the holy instant. We experience a taste of the peace and happiness that are our natural state, free of the past. We may reserve some aspects of the past that we are unwilling to release, which limits the depth of our experience of the holy instant. But as we practice accepting the Holy Spirit’s help to release more and more of the past, our experience of the Love, peace and joy of God becomes stronger. When we have released all illusions, we remember Heaven.
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