All temptation is nothing more than some form of the basic temptation not to believe the idea for today. Salvation seems to come from anywhere except from you. So, too, does the source of guilt. You see neither guilt nor salvation as in your own mind and nowhere else. When you realize that all guilt is solely an invention of your mind, you also realize that guilt and salvation must be in the same place. In understanding this you are saved.
The seeming cost of accepting today’s idea is this: It means that nothing outside yourself can save you; nothing outside yourself can give you peace. But it also means that nothing outside yourself can hurt you, or disturb your peace or upset you in any way. Today’s idea places you in charge of the universe [the oneness of Love], where you belong because of what you are. This is not a role that can be partially accepted. And you must surely begin to see that accepting it is salvation. (A Course in Miracles Workbook Lesson 70, W-pI.70.1-2. See also ACIM Lesson 70 Insights.)
Guilt is inherent in the ego thought system because it is the denial of Love’s oneness. The ego is simply a part of our mind in a made up dream of separation. Within the dream everything seems real. We seem to lack Love because it is a dream of lovelessness, it is an acting out of the denial of Love.
The underlying belief that comes with this is that we have attacked and hurt Love. Guilt is the inevitable consequence of this belief. We hide from guilt by projecting it on the world outside. We believe that the outside world is determined to punish us for this guilt. So in the dream we are caught in the cycle of attacking through projection and expecting retaliation. Peace is impossible in this thought system.
Our salvation comes by recognizing all this is only a dream in our mind. Nothing in the dream is true. Nothing that seems to happen in a dream has ever occurred in truth. It is possible to wake up from a dream. We have a loving Companion Who constantly calls us to awaken. He represents our Father, Whose limitless Love for us has never changed. He will help us undo the belief that made the dream. When the belief is undone, the dream is gone. We remember that we are safe and loved in the Heart of Love.
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