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.

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Chapter 3: The Innocent Perception

Section VI: Judgment and the Authority Problem

Read ACIM Chapter 3, Section VI (pages 46-49)

What is the effect of judgment?

Judgment is used to decide what we want to include and exclude from our awareness. That is why perception happens through judgment. Judgment is the mechanism we use to attempt to define our own reality and always involves rejection. We are attempting to usurp God’s Authority by redefining His Creation according to our own desire to see unique images of separation and make up individuality.

We are capable of denying what we choose to exclude to the point that we are unaware of its presence, though it is all around us. That is why we are unaware of God’s Love. In order to be unaware of God’s Love surrounding us, we must actively judge against It and deny It. The constant effort this requires is tiring.

We believe that judgment has power. Because we have used judgment to make God unknown to us, we are afraid of the power of judgment. We then fear that judgment can be used against us to send us into oblivion, just as we have sent God’s universal Love into oblivion, making it unknown to us.

If we believe the ego’s judgmental thought system is our own, we do not want to be aware of knowledge because perception would disappear and the whole world we have made would disappear with it. “In the presence of knowledge all judgment is automatically suspended, and this is the process that enables recognition to replace perception.” (3:6) We would recognize our Self as God created us and realize that all that we made through perception does not really exist.

What Is the Authority Problem?

We have an authority problem when we think that it is up to us to decide what Reality is. In truth we have been created by God as part of Himself. We are part of His Identity and have all that God is because we are all that God is. In God, having and being are the same. We can’t be an entity separate from God. Only in mad delusions can we think that this is so. “Everyone is free to refuse to accept his inheritance, but he is not free to establish what his inheritance is.” (10:2) Because God is our Author, He determines our reality. Only in illusions can we seem to make a different reality. Attempting to perceive a different reality through judgment is the authority problem.

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Chapter 3: The Innocent Perception

Section V: Beyond Perception

Read ACIM Chapter 3, Section V (pages 44-46)

What does the Course mean when it refers to “make”?

The Course distinguishes “make” from “create.” In the Workbook on page 461 we are told, “Only Love creates and only like itself.” (W-pII.11.1:2) Our Source is Creation, and because we were created like our Source, it is our function to extend Creation, which means to extend Love. In Creation all is one, so all has everything. “God did create spirit in His Own Thought and of a quality like to His Own. There is nothing else.” (7:3-4)

When we believe we are separate, we believe anything we perceive as external to us is not part of us. We no longer feel part of everything and thus feel lack. Then we make up solutions to fill this perceived lack. This “making” occurs within the world of perception and becomes an action to fill the lack. Image making is entirely based on form, centered on bodies. This image making makes up separate images of what we think we are and what we think others are. The inevitable consequence of believing in images is perceiving lack and separation instead of the oneness of Creation.

What does the Course say about image-making?

Image making, making up forms in our mind, is what the ego does to make separation seem real. These images are projected outward and we see them as bodies and forms in a world outside of us, forgetting that these are just projections, coming from our mind. Jesus wants us to understand how flawed this attempt is when he says, “You have no image to be perceived.” (4:5) There can be no form in oneness. By definition, an image is a distinct form and must therefore not be part of oneness. When we believe we are an image — a body with an individual personality — we limit our awareness to this body and therefore cannot know our oneness.

What is the difference between Knowing and perception?

Knowing comes with accepting ourselves as God created us — one with Him. When we choose to believe we are an identity different from what God created, we are disagreeing with God’s idea of our creation. “The confusion between your real creation [extension of Love] and what you have made of yourself is so profound that it has become literally impossible for you to know anything.” (3:2)

When we disagree with God about what we are, we are not in our right mind and we forget the truth. We lose awareness of what we are as God created us. We no longer know ourselves as part of God. In truth, God/Love is all there is to know. Love is one and all the same. To know any part of Love is to know all of It. “Only perception involves partial awareness.” (8:5) We only perceive when we believe in the idea of being separate from what we are. Thus our perceptions are inherently false. “You cannot perceive yourself correctly.” (4:4)

Does perception always involve evaluation and judgment?

Perception is always an interpretation and cannot be knowing, which is not open to interpretation. That is why it always involves evaluation and judgment. Perception is selective, picking one thing out from others. “Perception is a continual process of accepting and rejecting, organizing and reorganizing, shifting and changing. Evaluation is an essential part of perception, because judgments are necessary in order to select.” (7:7-8) Anyone who perceives at all needs healing. That is why very early in the Workbook the lessons emphasize that we need to learn that we do not know what anything means on our own.

What is the Course’s definition of forgiveness?

All through the Course it talks about forgiveness as the letting go of the belief in separation. When we let go of separation, or forgive, we return to awareness of our natural state, which is total communion and union with God. We return to the eternal flow of giving and receiving Love. We return to accepting ourselves as “Thoughts of God Who live in His Light.” (10:6)

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Chapter 3: The Innocent Perception

Section IV: Error and the Ego

Read ACIM Chapter 3, Section IV (pages 41-44)

What is basis of the error of the ego?

God’s Creation is an extension of Himself, retaining all of His qualities and attributes — Love, oneness, peace, and joy. Because God’s Creation is an extension of Himself, it is one with Him and cannot be different. God’s Creation is one undivided whole.

The idea that anything could exist that is different and separate from God’s Oneness is a mistaken thought. When this error in thinking is accepted by any part of God’s Extension, it is a choice against its unity with its Source and Creator. Around this mistaken idea an entire thought system was built that is called the ego. In this false ego thought system, the mind became divided. Where there is division, conflict is inevitable. “A separated or divided mind must be confused.” (3:4)

Why is all of God’s power given to us?

Because we are His extension and remain connected to Him, all of God’s power is ours. We can choose to create like God by extending His Love or choose to believe that we are different and split off from our Source. When we believe we are separate, we project that separation by making up images of separate bodies and separate forms. By choosing to be separate, we are choosing to perceive this world of separation.

What directs the power of our mind?

The power of our mind is directed by our thoughts and beliefs. When we choose to believe that we have spit off from God’s oneness, we believe we have made a self that is different from what God created. With this belief in a made up separate self identity, we lose awareness of our Source because we are denying that God’s Creation is one undivided whole that extends Itself as one. This idea of a separate existence leads to perception because it now appears there is something external to perceive.

How does the Course define consciousness?

“Consciousness, the level of perception, was the first split introduced into the mind after the separation, making the mind a perceiver rather than a creator.” (2:1) Consciousness can receive messages from either the Holy Spirit or the ego. (See C-1.7:3-6, Manual for Teachers, pages 79-80) The Holy Spirit brings us messages that lead to peace and the recognition of Love’s oneness. The ego’s messages bring us the false perceptions of differences, conflict and lack of peace. As we vacillate between listening to the Holy Spirit and listening to the ego, our consciousness can shift awareness dramatically.

Can our consciousness be trained?

The goal of the Course is to teach us to train our consciousness to receive the messages of the Holy Spirit rather than the ego. This will lead us to true perception and thus prepare us to accept knowledge, which is beyond consciousness or perception. “The mind returns to its proper function only when it wills to know. This places it [the mind] in the service of spirit, where perception is changed.” (5:6-7)

As long as we want to believe in the error of separation, truth will not dawn upon our minds. Truth does not impose itself upon us. We have to be willing to accept it by giving up our misperceptions. We do this by being willing to give our misperceptions to Jesus or the Holy Spirit to be corrected. When Jesus says, “I can erase all misperceptions from your mind if you will bring it under my guidance,” (7:7) he is speaking as the manifestation of the Holy Spirit. By choosing to bring our perceptions to the Holy Spirit for clarification, we are choosing to listen to our right mind. By doing this we will find peace and remember our unity with God.

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Chapter 3: The Innocent Perception

Section III: Perception versus Knowledge

Read ACIM Chapter 3, Section III (pages 40-41)

What happens when we join with the ego’s belief in time and space?

In this section we are learning that perception comes through the belief in time and space. Through our belief in time and space, we forget what we are, what our brother is and we forget our unity with God, or Love. The belief in time and space comes with joining with the ego thought system, which is the same as joining with the thought of being separated from the unity of Love. Perception comes through the ego’s chief vehicle — the body — with which we see separate forms within a world of time and space. This belief in being separate from Love produces fear. The Course calls this misperception.

Because we cannot truly separate from our Self, our brother and God, joining with the ego’s belief in time and space is really joining with illusions. It is only by being willing to question the validity of these illusions that we can move toward true perception, which returns us to spiritual sight or the miracle. When our fear is strong, we are very closed minded and not open to recognizing that our misperceptions are only showing us illusions.

What happens when we are willing to receive a correction in our perceptions?

As we are willing to open to a correction of our perceptions, we return to remembering the truth in our brother and ourselves. Our fear of Love is gradually dissolved as our beliefs in separation are corrected through the Holy Spirit. True perception is the doorway to knowledge.

What is Knowledge according to the Course?

We cannot know what we believe we are separate from. Knowledge is an experience of wholeness and unity. Whatever we believe is separate from us is unknown to us because by separating from it we are rejecting it. Because it is unknown, we make up a story of what it means that is a projection of our own beliefs. The story we make up is our interpretation that forms the basis of our perception.

Because we see ourselves as separate from everything in this world, we cannot truly know anything in the world. The Course is teaching us a way out of this disconnectedness, using the very mechanisms we have used to reinforce our sense of being disconnected. By giving perception a new purpose, the Holy Spirit uses it to lead us to spiritual sight. He teaches us to disregard what the body’s eyes see and to learn to trust our inner vision, which shows us the Love and Light we share with our brother.

As we consistently ask for the Holy Spirit’s perception, our investment in the seeming reality of physical vision diminishes. Simultaneously spiritual vision becomes more real to us. As our trust in our spiritual vision increases, we rely less on form and see the truth and innocence in our brother more and more. When we reach the point of relying totally on spiritual vision, we recognize only the truth in our brother and we stand at the threshold of knowledge. There Knowledge comes of Itself, for we have removed all the barriers to It.

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Chapter 3: The Innocent Perception

Section II: Miracles as True Perception

Read ACIM Chapter 3, Section II (pages 38-39)

Why does fear and guilt not really exist?

Central to the Course is the idea that reality and unreality cannot coexist. This idea is introduced in the second paragraph of the introduction where it says, “Nothing real can be threatened. Nothing unreal exists. Herein lies the peace of God.” (T-Intro.2:2-4) Because only Love is real, all our perceived causes for fear and guilt do not really exist. This is radically different from what we have learned in this world.

Why does Jesus use the metaphor of light and darkness?

In the first paragraph of this section, Jesus uses the metaphor of light and darkness, which cannot both occupy the same space. This metaphor is very helpful because it demonstrates how truth works in a form that is easy for us to relate to. Light does not need to do battle with darkness in order to replace it. When Light is brought into a dark room, the darkness disappears instantly. The only way darkness can be maintained is for the darkness to build barriers to keep out the light. It does not affect the light at all. It only means that a part is separated off from the light. But the light continues to radiate and extend itself, unaffected by this little part that seems to have excluded itself. The light does not try to break down the barriers. It simply continues to extend itself.

The Course is telling us that the seeming barriers put up to keep out the Light of Love are really illusions that could never be real. In order to keep Love out, we must actively believe in the barrier. This barrier requires constant defense, constant effort to believe in its strength, in order to maintain the illusion that Love has been kept out. The moment we cease to defend the barrier and let it down, the Light of Love floods in and lights that part of our mind that we have kept in seeming darkness. The barriers in the darkness were never real.

Every one of us has known in our heart, no matter how dark it seemed, that the Light is there. We have seen the Light somehow, sometime through a crack in the barriers. The Light calls to us and our heart reaches out for It. For beneath all the denial, all the defense against Light, is the yearning to reconnect with the Love that is our Self. Everyone has experienced this, no matter how much they may deny it. Though it may be misdirected because of mistaken ideas about where we will find what we are looking for, we are all searching to find the way back to the Light of Love.

Where does the ego direct us to find love?

When the ego is directing the search for Love, it will never direct us to where It can be found because the ego does not know what Love is. The ego will always direct us to look at appearances — what the body does. It believes that love is shown by what the body says and does. And if a body behaves in a way that does not fit the ego’s idea of love, it is perceived as attack. The ego responds to this with defense and attack. This reaction comes because we are misdirected by a false idea of what Love is.

How do we receive true perception?

True perception looks past the behavior that results from this misguided searching. True perception recognizes the Love behind the fear, the innocence behind the anger and attack. True perception knows that the outer appearances do not reflect the truth that lies behind it and does not believe in the appearances.

To obtain true perception, we need to turn to the Source of true perception in our mind, the Holy Spirit. As we practice bringing all our perceptions to Him for His Light of clarity, we will begin to experience the miracle of seeing perfect innocence through the Holy Spirit’s eyes. Innocence is all the Holy Spirit sees. As we dedicate our minds to aligning with the Holy Spirit, innocence is all we will see. It is through aligning with the Holy Spirit Who has only one goal that our will becomes unified and we become of one mind. “To be one is to be of one mind or will. When the Will of the Sonship and the Father are one, their perfect accord is Heaven.” (4:5-6)

When we let the Holy Spirit guide our perception, we don’t believe in appearances and thus we do not give them any power. A brother may be acting out his misguided beliefs, but if we are unwilling to join in his belief, it weakens the seeming strength of the false ideas that he is carrying.

Think about what you experience when you share what you believe with someone and they don’t believe it. Two responses are likely. You may become angry and try to defend your belief, separating yourself from the one who questions you. In this case you may try to get them to agree with you or seek someone else who will agree with you so you can keep your belief. Or you may begin to question the truth of your belief. You open your mind to another possibility because you have at least some level of readiness to receive another way of perceiving.

So when you align yourself with the Holy Spirit and perceive the innocence the Holy Spirit perceives, disregarding what is not real, you offer your brother the opportunity to question his false beliefs about himself and take a step toward freeing himself from them. You are “canceling out misperceptions in yourself and in others simultaneously. Because you see them as they are, you offer them your acceptance of their truth so they can accept it for themselves. This is the healing that the miracle induces.” (6:5-7)

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Chapter 3: The Innocent Perception

Section I: Atonement without Sacrifice

Read ACIM Chapter 3, Section I (pages 36-38)

What correction does Jesus make regarding the idea of atoning for sin?

In this section Jesus focuses on correcting mistaken ideas fostered in many current Christian teachings. One of the first corrections he makes is the idea that God requires sacrifice to atone for sin. The idea that God would kill to atone for the sins of the world is clearly the opposite of a merciful, kind and loving God. It is a projection of the upside down thinking of the ego thought system. We need to understand that God could not be a vengeful God, because He is only Love and Love does not condemn. The idea of retribution could never be of God.

The old testament taught that sacrifice was necessary to be washed clean of sin. That belief was carried forward in the new Testament where God was portrayed as requiring the sacrifice of his only Son. This is what we have been taught Atonement is. Jesus tells us, “Can you believe our Father really thinks this way? It is so essential such thinking be dispelled that we must be sure that nothing of this kind remains in your mind.” (2:8-9)

What does Jesus say about the crucifixion and the resurrection?

The crucifixion and resurrection are central concepts in Christianity. Jesus points out that the true meaning is frequently not understood. Rather than the crucifixion, it is the resurrection that established the Atonement because it demonstrated that nothing can destroy truth. (see 1:2 and 7:6)

Why does Atonement not require sacrifice?

We are being shown that rather than requiring sacrifice, the Atonement is really a blessing that comes with the undoing of our mistaken belief in separation. With the undoing of separation comes the recognition of perfect innocence. Nothing can change what God created as pure and innocent. Because we are God’s creations, we are as pure and innocent as God Himself for God could not create anything unlike Himself.

God, being Love, does not know of evil. It is inconceivable to a Mind That is only Love. Only a mind that believes that it has separated from Love believes that loss and lack of Love (sin and evil) are possible. This is the core of the ego thought system. It then projects this idea of lack of Love on God, portraying Him as capable of vengeance and demanding sacrifice.

God knows only of innocence. When we return to our true state of mind, we will see only like God. Innocence and only innocence is the truth. Anything else is illusion, based on the mistaken ideas of the ego. “Innocence is wisdom because it is unaware of evil, and evil does not exist.” (7:4) “Innocence is incapable of sacrificing anything, because the innocent mind has everything and strives only to protect its wholeness.” (6:1) Love, being complete, makes no demands.

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Chapter 2: The Separation and the Atonement

Section VIII: The Meaning of the Last Judgment

Read ACIM Chapter 2, Section VIII (pages 33-35)

Why does Creation have nothing to do with making anything in this world?

It is helpful to remember that the Course says that only Love creates and only like Itself. So when Jesus speaks of creation, he is referring to the extension of Love, which we all are. Since Love is formless, creation has nothing to do with making anything in this world. In the Course’s terminology ‘making’ occurs only in the domain of the ego, the world of separation.

How is it that the ego’s images of separate forms we see are unreal?

The ego makes up images that appear to be external forms, but they still remain thoughts in the ego mind. Because these images are made up in the ego-mind, when we join with the ego, we believe in these images and perceive them as real. But the good news is that perception does not make reality. It is our belief in these misperceptions that needs to be corrected for us to return to awareness that we remain Love in the Mind of Love. Like our Creator, our true Will is also to create by extending Love and nothing else.

At the end of paragraph one it says, “...whatever you alone make [identified with the ego thought system which believes it is separate from God] is real in your own sight, though not in the Mind of God. This basic distinction [between real and unreal] leads directly into the real meaning of the Last Judgment.” (1:5-6)

How does the Course redefine The Last Judgment?

The Course redefines the Last Judgment as a process of right evaluation. (3:5) It is a process of learning to discern the difference between reality and illusion, true and untrue, what is worthy and what is not. This is not a process we can do on our own.

Thinking we are on our own means we are identifying with the ego thought system of separation, which is totally false and cannot recognize truth. We need the help of the Holy Spirit referred to in the manual for Teachers as the Voice of Judgment. (See M-15, “Is each one to be judged in the end?” on page 38.) It is the Holy Spirit in our mind That will teach us to evaluate truly and sort out the true from the false.

What is the Holy Spirit’s judgment?

The Holy Spirit does not make judgments of good and bad. He only distinguishes between real and unreal, true and false. This is why the Last Judgment “is a final healing rather than a meting out of punishment.” (3:3) The Holy Spirit does not condemn. He simply helps us release the thoughts that lead to a false sense of guilt so that we can remember we are still the innocent Son of God. In this world, the last judgment has been portrayed as a condemnation by a fearsome, judgmental God Who punishes us for our mistakes. This section is telling us this is a mistaken idea. In fact, it is a great relief to know that “judgment is not an attribute of God.” (2:3)

How long will the last judgment last according to the Course?

It has taken millions of years to teach ourselves that separation from God is real. Because we have invested so strongly in this belief, it can take a similarly long period of undoing to reverse this investment in what is false. But through the power of miracles, the thought reversal that the Holy Spirit brings, the time needed to undo this dream of separation from Love can be shortened immeasurably. Under the Holy Spirit’s direction, the sole purpose of time is to bring about this thought reversal. As we free ourselves from believing in the false ideas of the ego, we are released from guilt and fear. This is our part in the Atonement. We are then in a position to help others free themselves from the conflict and fear brought about by joining with the ego thought system.

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Chapter 2: The Separation and the Atonement

Section VII: Cause and Effect

Read ACIM Chapter 2, Section VII (pages 31-33)

What is the true cause of our experience?

In this section it is emphasized that our thoughts are the cause of our experience. If our thoughts are inducing fear, we need mind training in order to avoid miscreation, which is choosing to believe that we are separate from Love, our Source. In the previous section we learned that fear arises from lack of Love and that the the only remedy is perfect Love.

Miscreating — believing in lack of Love — causes conflict, pain and fear. Our experience of pain and fear is caused by our own thoughts, trying to think lovelessly, unlike God. We are free to choose whatever we want to think, but we are not free to choose the effects of our thoughts. There is always a thought that is the cause behind every effect. Whatever thoughts we choose will have inevitable effects. If we want to change the effect, we must change the cause, which is our thoughts.

Why does Jesus say it is inappropriate to pray to have our fear taken away?

It is inappropriate to pray to have our fear taken away because fear is an effect, and the answer to this prayer would require tampering with the basic law of cause and effect. In this section Jesus says, “If I intervened between your thoughts and their results, I would be tampering with the basic law of cause and effect; the most fundamental law there is. I would hardly help you if I depreciated the power of your own thinking. This would be in direct opposition to the purpose of this course. It is much more helpful to remind you that you do not guard your thoughts carefully enough.” (1:4-7) It is appropriate to ask for help with changing the loveless thoughts that are the cause of fear. The Holy Spirit, or Jesus as His manifestation, offers us the mind training that will lead us to miracle-minded thinking, which is the change of mind that releases fear. But we must be willing to accept this training.

How does the Holy Spirit help us recognize the true source of our fear?

The training begins with teaching us how to recognize our loveless thoughts, not deny that they are there. Once we recognize the lack of love in our thinking, it is important not to dwell or ruminate on it, for this just reinforces the error. We do not solve the problem by worrying or analyzing and dissecting it. We need to take the next step of bringing these loveless thoughts of separation to the Holy Spirit with an open mind to receive His correction. Handing our thoughts over to the Holy Spirit for correction means we are recognizing that the true source of our fear lies with our loveless thoughts. As we are willing to hand these thoughts over, we are choosing the real solution to every problem.

We may have thoughts that cause fear, but what we fear is really nothing. Because we believe in the body and what the body’s eyes show us, it doesn’t seem like we are fearing nothing. The body and the entire world of form are the effect of believing in the illusion of separation and are thus themselves illusions. By definition an illusion is nothing.

When take our loveless thoughts to the Holy Spirit with an open mind, He gives us a new perception, a different way of seeing the situation. He helps us think outside the ego box of belief that separation is real. He helps us see that our fear was based on the mistaken idea that anyone is different from God’s Love. As we are willing to accept the Holy Spirit’s correction, He will always bring us to see the Love in everyone and recognize our wholeness and unity with God’s one Son.

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Chapter 2: The Separation and the Atonement

Section VI: Fear and Conflict

Read ACIM Chapter 2, Section VI (pages 28-31)

What is reallying going on when we choose to believe in separation?

The experience of fear and conflict come from the willingness to be separate. Willingness to be separate is a control issue. When we will to be separate, we are trying to take over God’s authority and have something we individually control on our own. This is called miscreating. In paragraph two it says, “Whenever you are afraid, it is a sure sign that you have allowed your mind to miscreate and have not allowed me to guide it.” (2:10)

What is fear a signal of and how is fear truly released?

The experience of fear is a signal that we have chosen wrongly and are miscreating. The presence of fear shows that we are thinking form is real, thinking the body is real. This reflects the willingness to be separate. Release from fear can come only from letting go of the wish to be separate and unique. Trying to rearrange external circumstances to alleviate fear, such has changing behavior or changing our environment, will not work. Release from fear comes only through changing our mind and accepting that we remain part of God and share His Love.

This section addresses two common mistaken approaches for alleviating the pain of conflict and fear. One approach tries to focus only on positive thoughts, spouting positive platitudes without looking at and changing the underlying beliefs that are the true cause of the conflict and fear. This simply sweeps the erroneous thoughts under a carpet of ‘correct’ behavior and denies their presence. Not only does this not address the cause, but it adds to the strain because we are attempting to hold conflicting beliefs.

The second approach emphasizes dwelling on the fear and pain, feeling, grieving and analyzing it, but does not bring it to the Holy Spirit to receive His healing perception. This continues to reinforce the conflict and fear, making it even stronger by investing more belief in it.

Neither of these approaches work because neither brings about the change of mind necessary for true healing. To achieve a real and lasting change of mind, we need to be willing to bring our mistaken thoughts of conflict and fear to the Holy Spirit. He will bring us a new perception that will help us move toward accepting the perfect Love of the Atonement. The Holy Spirit treats our lack of Love with the true remedy of perfect Love. The perception of emptiness is filled and we remember God’s Love is ours.

In paragraph seven, we are offered a mental exercise that can help us out of conflict whenever we recognize it.

1. Know first that conflict is an expression of fear. I must have chosen not to Love.
2. Fear arises from lack of love, a willingness to be separate from God’s universal Love.
3. The only remedy for lack of love is to accept God’s perfect Love.

This means letting go of control and trying to make our own identity separate from God. It means accepting ourselves as God created us. This is how we are released from the experience of fear and conflict.

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Chapter 2: The Separation and the Atonement

Section V.A: Special Principles of Miracle Workers

Read ACIM Chapter 2, Section V. A. (pages 27-28)

Paragraphs 11-18 offer key guidelines for miracle workers. Let us remember that a miracle is a correction of our misperceptions. When we are miscreating through the vehicle of the body, we are in need of mind healing. Miracle workers offer mind healing by accepting the healing of their own minds.

As we accept miracles more and more, how do our values change?

As we accept corrections in our perception, we place less and less importance on the physical world (lower-order concerns). Our focus shifts to the truth that we are Spirit and are not limited by time and space or physical laws. Under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, we see illusions for what they are and do not judge them because we see that they are meaningless. We let the Holy Spirit be the judge of what is real and what is not real. We learn to see the body as the Holy Spirit sees it — as a means of communication in this world, but not our identity. With less importance placed on the physical, we are less likely to judge it as real and so our peace of mind is more consistent.

What is the fundamental error that must be corrected by the Holy Spirit?

The Course has already told us that only Love creates. Since only Love is real, only Love’s Creation is real. The ego makes illusions as a substitute for reality. Our belief in these illusions makes them seem real to us, leading to an inability to distinguish between what is created and what is made. It is the mistaken belief in illusions that is the fundamental error that must be corrected. (For more insight into the difference between ‘make’ and ‘create’ see T-3.V.2 on Text, page 44, paragraph 2.)

What are we learning to pay attention to as miracle workers?

As miracle workers we need to be alert to our state of mind. When we are in our right mind, we recognize illusions for what they are and don’t react to them. In our wrong mind, we react to error or the illusions of the ego as if they were real. It is in this state of mind that we experience conflict, fear, guilt and lack. A miracle worker learns to see past the illusions and recognize the need for Love or release from fear and so his response is the desire to heal rather than defend against illusions.

The miracle worker affirms the truth of oneness, which denies the error of separation. This is the only correction that has any real effect because it shifts us from believing in illusion to accepting the truth that we remain Love as God created us. Illusions have no meaning of their own; they are empty. We try to give them meaning through projection, yet projection does not make reality.

When does true forgiveness occur?

True forgiveness occurs when we recognize that what we thought was real was really an illusion and never actually occurred. When we see that nothing happened, it is easy to let it go. This is the right perception that heals our mind and frees us from judgment. (For more understanding of true forgiveness, see W-pII.1 — Workbook, page 401.)

To be a miracle worker we need to be willing to follow the Holy Spirit’s lead rather than try to be independent and decide how to be helpful on our own. We need to see ourselves as assistants of the Holy Spirit. As an assistant, we don’t decide on our own, but follow the Director, who sets the direction. To do this we need to keep an open mind and be content to be led, knowing the Holy Spirit is always there with us. It is this open mindedness that allows us to be taught how to heal. Sentences 2-6 in paragraph 18 offer us a wonderful prayer to help us maintain this dedication as a miracle worker: “I am here only to be truly helpful. I am here to represent Him Who sent me. I do not have to worry about what to say or what to do, because He Who sent me will direct me. I am content to be wherever He wishes, knowing He goes there with me. I will be healed as I let Him teach me to heal.” (18:2-6)

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Chapter 2: The Separation and the Atonement

Section V: The Function of the Miracle Worker

Read ACIM Chapter 2, Section V. (pages 24-27)

The purpose of A Course in Miracles is to train us to be miracle workers. In our training to be a miracle worker, we need to understand some key ideas about ourselves as we move toward releasing our minds from fear:

Why are we subconsciously afraid of awakening to the truth?

There is a strong tendency to be afraid of awakening to the truth that we are still one with Love because we think that it would sacrifice our individuality and the ability to make decisions on our own. If we are not yet ready to let go of individuality, we may think that forgiveness, or letting go of body identification, is a sacrifice. We may believe that we have really succeeded in destroying our unity with God. Because we are denying our reality as Love, we may believe that only what happens to bodies in the physical world is real. We will not realize that, “None of these errors is meaningful, because the miscreations of the mind do not really exist.” (1:5)

Why is it so important to accept that the miscreations of the mind do not exist?

Understanding that the miscreations of the mind do not really exist is very important. It leads us to the next step, which is: The correction of our miscreations is always accomplished at the thought level. The mistaken idea that needs to be corrected in our minds is that we think we are a body with a unique and separate mind. This mistaken idea is the denial of the truth that we are joined as one eternal Spirit. The correction of this false idea of separation comes as the mind becomes willing to give up its miscreations.

How does the Course define ‘magic’?

The Course defines magic as the attempt to make something in the physical world to be the cure for body ailments. The truth is that unconscious guilt for desiring to be separate from God is the cause of physical ailments and releasing guilt by accepting the truth of our innocence is the real cure.

What are we to do if our fear of awakening is still too great?

The Course emphasizes that if the fear of awakening is still too great, “it is safer for you to rely temporarily on physical healing devices, because you cannot misperceive them as your own creations.” (2:5) When we are not yet ready to accept the power inherent in our mind, it would arouse too much fear.

What is necessary first in order to help someone else come to his right mind?

Let us remember that a miracle is a change in perception, a change of mind that brings us to right-mindedness. We must be in our right mind in order to to help someone else come to his right mind. If we refuse to let our false perceptions to be undone, we cannot help anyone and we ourselves are then in need of accepting the Atonement.

What happens as we accept the Atonement from the Holy Spirit?

As we accept the Atonement from the Holy Spirit, we remember that the miscreations of the mind do not really exist. We remember that no one’s miscreations cannot really hurt them. “By affirming this you release the mind from over evaluating its own learning device [the body] and restore the mind to its true position as the learner.” (5:6)

The body is an effect. It is not a creator. It cannot think on its own initiative. As we recognize that the body is only an instrument of learning that has been used by the mind to reinforce separation, we can learn to look beyond the body to the truth. “Corrective learning always begins with the awakening of spirit, and the turning away from the belief in physical sight.” (7:1)

Why does spiritual sight sometimes bring up fear?

Spiritual sight may bring up fear because it entails the undoing of the misperception of individuality. It may make us feel uncomfortable for awhile, but as we do it with the Holy Spirit, His Light shines away the darkness and our fears are eased in the healing waters of God’s peace.

What does Jesus say is the true meaning of ‘charity’?

In paragraphs 9 to 10 it talks about charity that is different from the conventional way we use the word in this world. Three key ideas about the Course’s use of charity are as follows: “Charity is a way of perceiving the perfection of another even if you cannot perceive it in yourself.” (9:4) “Charity is a way of looking at another as if he had already gone far beyond his actual accomplishments in time.” (10:1) and “The charity that is accorded him is both an acknowledgment that he needs help, and a recognition that he will accept it.” (10:3) This charity sees the innocence in another, looking past his behavior, which may be the acting out of guilt and fear. Later in the Course this is referred to as Christ’s vision. As we learn to look past the body to the Spirit in everyone, we offer the miracle of seeing our oneness in Spirit instead of reinforcing the belief in physical sight. As we give the miracle of right mindedness, we shorten the suffering of everyone, including ourselves.

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Chapter 2: The Separation and the Atonement

Section IV: Healing as Release from Fear

Read ACIM Chapter 2, Section IV (pages 23-24)

How are we released from fear?

All release from fear is the release from mistaken thinking stemming from the desire to experience independence from God. We are released from fear as we are willing to let go of thinking we are separate from God. As we let go of what is not true, our mind is healed. In truth we are eternal Spirit. We are formless Love in one, undivided whole.

What is the sign that there is an error in our mind?

When we join with the false idea of being separate from What we are, our mind is sick. We are not in our right mind. Identifying with the physical body as what we are is an error in our mind. The body is just an effect of the desire to be separated from the all encompassing Love that we are in truth. Through the body we experience a world of separation and teach ourselves that separation is real. Even though the whole world is based on a false foundation and is not true, we experience it as true because of the power of our mind.

We were given all the power of God when we were created, which means we have the power to create like God. When we deny that we are Spirit united with God, we miscreate. “If one denies this unfortunate aspect of the mind’s power, one is also denying the power itself.” (3:13) In other words, if we deny that we have the power to miscreate, we are also denying the creative power that God has given us.

How do we miscreate?

When we believe in separation and cherish our individuality, we are miscreating. This is called sickness or not-right-mindedness. The instrument of miscreation is the body. It was made as a learning device to teach ourselves that the physical world of separate bodies is real. It is important to remember that the body is the effect of a thought in the mind that desires to experience individuality. Everything that the body sees in the world is a reflection of the power of the mind to miscreate. Nothing in this world has any power of its own and cannot be a cause of anything, because it is the effect of thoughts in the mind.

What are ‘magic principles’ according to the Course?

Since the body is only an effect of thoughts in the mind, any “problems” in the body must also be an effect of thought. If we try to fix the body at the level of form, which is the level of effect, we are trying to heal the body using inappropriate means. This is called magic, which is trying to make illusions seem real. When we go to a magic show, the magician tries to trick us into thinking his illusions are real. This is why in paragraph four it says, “All material means that you accept as remedies for bodily ills are restatements of magic principles.” (4:1) They are attempts to make the illusions of the ego seem real by trying to fix its ‘problems’ with something in the physical world instead of healing the thoughts in the mind which is the real cause of every problem.

For real healing, where must change occur?

To change an effect, its cause must be changed. So the place where change must occur is in the mind. This is why the Course tells us all healing is of the mind.

Most of us identify very strongly with the body as who and what we are. Because of this, we resist anything that seems to indicate that this identity is a miscreation of the mind and is not real. In fact, it brings up great fear because we feel lost if we think our unique identity is being taken away from us. It feels like we are being cast into oblivion. This is the fear behind the fear of death, because it seems to be the complete loss of our very existence. For most of us this fear is unconscious. If asked, “What is your greatest fear?” you might answer, “Death,” but you are not likely to say “Losing my unique identity.” This is why the Holy Spirit works with us gently, leading us toward remembering our true Identity as Love united with our Creator.

Because the body is an effect, instant physical healing is possible through a change of mind. But such an event would be a profound demonstration of the power of our mind. When we identify with the body as what we are, we are denying the power of the mind, which is the cause of the body. A change of mind that heals the body can thus be perceived as frightening and will be defended against.

In what situations is it more helpful to use physical means to relieve sickness?

In this fearful state of mind, it may be more helpful for physical means to be used to relieve symptoms in the body while we let our minds gradually and gently be brought to the recognition of the truth that we remain one with God and share in all His power. As we learn to practice following the Holy Spirit’s lead, He will compassionately lead us away from fear, teaching us with language and experiences that we can accept without fear. As we learn to accept more and more of the power of our mind, physical means of resolving our problems become less and less important.

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Chapter 2: The Separation and the Atonement

Section III: The Altar of God

Read Chapter 2, Section III (pages 21-22)

What is the Altar to God?

The Light within us is what we Are. It is the Altar of God. We have deceived ourselves into thinking that the physical structure of the body is what we are. Believing in the reality of physical structures is a defense against accepting the inner altar, which brings us spiritual sight or Christ’s vision. Defending against the truth of our inner Light is painful and generates fear. There comes a point when the fear and pain become intolerable. This becomes a turning point when we become willing to open to a better way. Our mind, which has been closed to Spirit, becomes more open to spiritual vision, “simultaneously weakening the investment in physical sight.” (3:8)

Why is it important to shift from physical sight to spiritual vision?

This section is telling us that we need to shift what we value from the physical to the spiritual. The reason we want to do this is because the beauty and truth of what we are is of Spirit and cannot be seen in physical form.

This world places great emphasis on physical beauty. Huge advertising budgets are dedicated to products that are supposed to help the body be more beautiful or in some way make the body “better.” Tourists flock to the Grand Canyon to revere its beauty. Tremendous investments are put into cathedrals and monuments. Yet this section is telling us this value is misplaced. “The real beauty of the temple cannot be seen with the physical eye.” (1:10)

If we are to behold the glory of what we are as God created us, we must learn to use spiritual vision to look past all form to the eternal Spirit that is one with God. This is the altar or heart of what we are. Because the truth of what we are remains united with our Creator and with all that is real, we must let go of all belief in separation in order to fully recognize our Self.

Our attempts to be separate, unique individuals make us unaware of our one, whole Self. The result is a feeling of being alone, isolated and lacking. It is very painful. Fortunately God gave us the Holy Spirit in our minds to Whom we can turn when the pain of separation becomes intolerable. And we all reach that point eventually. We don’t have to wait that long, but for most of us we need the pain to motivate us to seek a better way.

What happens as we accept spiritual sight?

As we learn to turn more and more to the Holy Spirit for His vision, we become less and less tolerant of the pain that comes with belief in separation. We more quickly turn to Him when we experience conflict or any lack of peace. This is how we release the inner Light of what we are and let our true Self shine forth. The Will of our true Self is to extend the Light of Love without limit, just as God Wills. Here is our joy. Here is our completion. Here is the Atonement.

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Chapter 2: The Separation and the Atonement

Section II: The Atonement as Defense

Read Chapter 2, Section II. (pages 19-21)

When we value the ego thought system, we will believe in it. In paragraph one we are told, “Remember that where your heart is, there is your treasure also. You believe in what you value.” (1:5-6) This means that as long as we choose to believe in the reality of a world of separate bodies, that is what we will see. We will think that separation has really happened. What we choose not to remember is this belief also generates unconscious fear and guilt.

What happens with believing in the ego thought system comes the experience of being separated from Love, our Source, which generates fear. If we value wrongly, wanting the illusions of separation and individuality to be real, then we will think what is unreal is reality. Because we give equal power to the ego’s thoughts, which are always in conflict, our peace of mind is then destroyed.

How do we keep illusions of separation in place?

One of the ego’s chief mechanisms for keeping illusions of separation in place is denial. We made the world of form we see by identifying with the ego thought system. Then we deny that we had anything to do with it. We’ve already talked about projection, which is a form of denial. By projecting what we unconsciously believe about ourselves, we make it appear that we are the victim of an outside world. We deny the guilt we feel inside by projecting that guilt onto an external world. We then believe we are the victim of circumstances beyond our control. As long as we keep our beliefs about ourselves hidden in the unconscious through denial, we maintain the illusion of separation and feel powerless to change it.

What is the proper use of denial according to the Holy Spirit?

Here we are seeing that there is another use for denial that can actually free us from the ego’s misuse of denial. Instead of giving power to illusions and thus believing they can hurt us, we deny them any power because in truth, illusions have no power of their own. Thus we are not using denial to hide, but to correct. As we learn to deny the ego’s lies of separation, which is the proper use of denial, the lies of the ego are seen in light and recognized for what they are.

We don’t defend the truth by battling against error. We defend truth by denying that error has any power over us. As we learn to ask ourselves of everything, “What is this for? Am I treasuring reality or illusions?” we are able to clear our minds of misplaced values and the goal of truth becomes clear. If we don’t maintain this practice of questioning everything, our misplaced valuing of illusions will continue to confuse our goal of truth.

What happens when our values are misplaced?

When our values are misplaced, we think illusions are real and consequently our goals are based on illusions, leading us nowhere. We cannot serve two masters. We are either following the ego’s dictates or opening to the truth through the Holy Spirit. We are always choosing one or the other. Because they are opposite in every way, we cannot join with both at the same time.

The Atonement undoes illusions. In paragraph 5 we are told: “The Atonement was built into the space-time belief to set a limit on the need for the belief itself, and ultimately to make learning complete. The Atonement is the final lesson. Learning itself, like the classrooms in which it occurs, is temporary.” (5:1-3)

We undo illusions by learning to see past error to the truth with the help of the Holy Spirit. This frees us from the ego’s mistaken values. Our real Will is to extend Love and nothing else. When we let go of illusions, we are free to follow our real Will. We naturally extend Love, which knows only oneness. When we have let go of all illusions, the bridge of return to Love has been completed.

How does Jesus describe the value of peace?

In paragraph one, Jesus describes the value of peace: “This peace is totally incapable of being shaken by errors of any kind. It denies the ability of anything not of God to affect you. This is the proper use of denial. It is not used to hide anything, but to correct error. It brings all error into the light, and since error and darkness are the same, it corrects error automatically.” (1:10-14)

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Chapter 2: The Separation and the Atonement

Section I: The Origins of Separation

Read Chapter 2, Section I. (pages 17-18)

What is the difference between extension and projection?

Paragraph one addresses the fundamental difference between extension, which is a characteristic of God’s oneness, and projection, which is the ego’s attempt to replace oneness with separation. By definition, an extension never separates from its source. If it were to separate, it would no longer be an extension. It would be another separate thing.

A projection, on the other hand, is separate from its source by definition. Because the ego is the idea of separation, it distorts Love’s extension by introducing separation into its dream of “reality,” thus turning extension into projection.

What is God’s extension?

The Son of God, which is what we all are, is God’s extension of Love. Inherent in Love is extending or sharing the Love we all are with all of Itself equally. As part of Love, we remain united with God, our Source, as one continuous whole. This seamless union cannot be affected by dreams that try to change the reality of Love’s all encompassing unity.

With the wish to keep some of God’s Love for ourselves alone and not share It with all, we experienced the emptiness of lack, believing that we did not have all that we wanted. Not realizing the impossibility of this wish, we lost awareness that God had already given us all Love and we lacked nothing. Believing in this sense of lack of love, we decided we could fill this feeling of lack with our own ideas that were based on separation instead of the truth of Love’s extension universally. (For more about this idea, see T-29.VII.2 on page 617 and T-13.III.10-12 on page 244.)

What are we really doing when we believe in this world of separate bodies?

In the first paragraph, Jesus describes the core beliefs of the entire ego thought system: “First, you believe that what God created can be changed by your own mind. Second, you believe that what is perfect can be rendered imperfect or lacking. Third, you believe that you can distort the creations of God, including yourself. Fourth, you believe that you can create yourself, and that the direction of your own creation is up to you.” (1:9-12)

It is helpful for us to understand that every idea based on separation is equally untrue and that our belief in separation is what makes our images of separate bodies seem real to us. We probably don’t go around consciously telling ourselves that we can distort God’s creation or that we can create ourselves and direct our own creation. But that is what we are doing when we believe we have made a world of separate bodies with separate individual minds.

What is the purpose of the Course?

In truth, we remain an extension of God, which is the same as universal Love. We remain in the wholeness of Love and cannot change our Identity or separate from Love. As an extension of Love, we are not weak and vulnerable and we cannot die. We are not the victim of an outside world because there is nothing ‘outside’ all encompassing Love. The whole purpose of the Course is to help us undo these insane ideas that we could be separate or different from Love, our Source. In our delusions, our detour into fear, we try to usurp Love’s Authority and make up our own world that is the opposite of Love’s oneness. It is very comforting to learn that none of this is true.

What helps us realize that we have not usurped the power of God?

By trying to make our own world of separate bodies, we are competing with God. This is what it means when it says we think we “have the power to usurp the power of God.” (4:1) As we are willing to recognize this is impossible, we understand that these are only dreams that could never happen in truth. The miracle, which is the correction of our perception, is what helps us recognize that we have not usurped the power of God, and we have not really made a world of separation. Since there is no order of difficulty in miracles, it does not matter how wild and crazy our illusions seem to be. The Holy Spirit helps us undo them all with equal ease.

Where does peace and Love reside?

Because peace is inherent in what we are, peace is not outside us. Accepting the peace we are is the same as being willing to choose the peace of unity instead of the conflict of separation. Consciously choosing peace opens our minds to the Holy Spirit within, Who corrects our distortions of separation. As our minds are corrected, we are able to see beyond our projections which reflect lack of Love, thereby healing our minds. In a state of peace we become invulnerable to any expressions of lack of love, whatever their form because we have stopped placing our belief in them. We stop searching for love outside, remembering that Love is What we are. As we accept our true Identity, we naturally extend Love to all equally.

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