A Course in Miracles Text Made Simple

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Chapter 23: The War Against Yourself

Section IV. Above the Battleground

Read ACIM Chapter 23, Section IV (pages 496-498)

What does the fear of God really represent?

Fearing God really means fearing oneness. Accepting oneness means accepting that we are not really separate individuals with separate bodies with private thoughts. Jesus tells us, “The fear of God is fear of life, not of death. (1:2) This means that we are not afraid of the ego, or thoughts of separation. What we are really afraid of is accepting the truth that this illusionary world of separate bodies could never be real and is nowhere in truth.

We are afraid that we will lose our “special” unique separate identity that we have substituted for our Identity as Love in the Heart of Love. We think that if we accept that the world is just a dream, we will cease to exist. It is true that the separate identity (symbolized by the body) we made up will cease to seem to be, but this will simply reveal our real eternal Identity That has remained unchanged by dreams of being separate and alone.

Why does Jesus say that what is not Love is murder ?

Jesus refers to our choosing separation over oneness as murder because choosing to believe in separation obliterates or destroys our awareness that we are still Love and nothing else. Choosing to believe that separate bodies are real is the same as attacking the truth of God’s oneness. At unconscious levels we feel guilty for hiding from What we are in truth, so the ego’s answer is to project or hurl that guilt onto separate bodies we see as different from us. Hurling guilt is the same as trying to murder or kill God’s law of oneness.

What does it mean to rise above the battleground?

Rising above the battleground means rising above the wish to see separation from God and our brothers. When we see God’s Son as a body, we are in a battle with our Self because, in truth we are part of God. Rising above the battleground means rising above the belief that we or anyone we see in this world is different, or separate and alone.

What are the signals that we need to see the battle from above?

We need to see the battle from above when we see our brother as a body, separate from ourselves. Our judgment that our brother is separate from God is same as our judgment that we are a little, separate self. The battle with God is the belief in the reality of separate objects, separate things, separate bodies that are all different and distinct from each other. Jesus tells us, “When the temptation to attack rises to make your mind darkened and murderous, remember you can see the battle from above. Even in forms you do not recognize, the signs you know. There is a stab of pain, a twinge of guilt, and above all, a loss of peace. This you know well.” (6:1-4)

What happens when we are willing to choose a miracle instead of murder?

Jesus tells us in paragraph 6: “And God Himself and all the lights of Heaven will gently lean to you, and hold you up. For you have chosen to remain where He would have you, and no illusions can attack the peace of God together with His Son.” (6:6-7)

What stands between the Father and the Heaven He created for His Son?

What stands between the Father and His Son is the false belief that there are separate bodies. Jesus tells us in paragraph 7: “The body has no purpose of itself, and must be solitary. From below, it cannot be surmounted. From above, the limits it exerts on those in battle still are gone, and not perceived. The body stands between the Father and the Heaven He created for His Son because it has no purpose.” (7:5-8)

What is given those who share their Father’s purpose?

When we share our Father’s purpose, we share the purpose of extending only Love’s oneness to all. When we share our Father’s purpose, we remember the truth that all that exists is only Love and that nothing else could be real. This sharing of the truth about everyone gives us a sense of calmness and peace so great that all the fears found in the dream of separation are seen as simply meaningless.

Jesus tells us, “Think what is given those who share their Father’s purpose, and who know that it is theirs. They want for nothing. Sorrow of any kind is inconceivable. Only the Light they love is in awareness, and only Love shines upon them forever. It is their past, their present and their future; always the same, eternally complete and wholly shared. They know it is impossible their happiness could ever suffer change of any kind.” (8:1)

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