A Course in Miracles Text Q&A on Preface & Introduction, How It Came

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 22: Salvation and the Holy Relationship

Section III: Reason and the Forms of Error

Read ACIM Chapter 22, Section III (pages 474-76)

What is the beginning of the ego’s undoing?

Jesus tells us, “The introduction of reason into the ego’s thought system is the beginning of its undoing, for reason and the ego are contradictory. Nor is it possible for them to coexist in your awareness. For reason’s goal is to make plain, and therefore obvious. You can see reason. This is not a play on words, for here is the beginning of a vision that has meaning. Vision is sense, quite literally.” (1:1-6) Here we see that reason is what the Holy Spirit brings us when we open to Its healing insight. Holy Spirit’s reason sees past the errors of the ego thought system, showing us that the separated bodies we see through the body’s eyes are not real.

What does Jesus say about what the body’s eyes see?

“Everything the body’s eyes can see is a mistake, an error in perception, a distorted fragment of the whole without the meaning that the whole would give.” (4:3) When we look through the body’s eyes, it seems very easy to believe that what we see is real. The Course tells us that to the ego, this is what the body is for — to make illusions of separation appear to be real. Now, as we join with the Holy Spirit, we are going through a thought reversal process which the Course calls forgiveness.

How does reason reverse our errors in thinking?

In this section Jesus refers to the return to sanity as a return to reason. “For reason sees through errors, telling you what you thought was real is not. Reason can see the difference between sin and mistakes, because it wants correction.” (2:3-4) Here we see that as we accept reason from the Holy Spirit, we are able to see past our errors in thinking. The reason the Holy Spirit shows us helps us see that the separate forms we once saw as real are really only a mistake in our thinking that can be corrected if we are willing.

What does the ego call our errors in perception and why?

The ego calls all our errors in perception sins. By making them sins instead of just an error to be corrected, the ego anchors its thought system of a rock bed of making us think we are guilty for our mistaken thoughts and therefore making our separation from God appear to be permanent. “For here is its own stability, its heavy anchor in the shifting world it made; the rock on which its church is built, and where its worshippers are bound to bodies believing the body’s freedom is their own.” (4:7) The core of the ego thought system is that we are guilty and that we can escape the wrath of God by continuing to hide from our oneness with God by maintaining the belief in the reality of separate bodies.

How does perception of form obscure our understanding of the truth?

Perception of form obscures seeing the reality of our oneness with God, which is perfect Love. We see a world of separate forms that appear to be outside us in order to project or hurl the guilt we believe is ours onto someone or some thing outside us.

Jesus tells us, “Reason will tell you that if form is not reality it must be an illusion, and is not there to see. And if you see it you must be mistaken, for you are seeing what can not be real as if it were.” (7:4-5) Here we see that our efforts at projecting guilt onto those separate bodies we perceive as outside us is hopeless and will never free us from the pain of guilt. He tells us, “Let your awareness of your brother not be blocked by your perception of his sins and of his body. What is there in him that you would attack except what you associate with his body, which you believe can sin? You gave him not his holiness, but tried to see your sins in him to save yourself. And yet, his holiness is your forgiveness. Can you be saved by making sinful the one whose holiness is your salvation?” (8:3-8)

What happens when we are willing to see past the ego’s idea of sin?

As we are willing to see past the body, we are brought to the awareness of the changeless Love that is what every brother truly Is. We see the holiness that is there beyond the body. “Yet reason sees a holy relationship as what it is; a common state of mind, where both give errors gladly to correction, that both may happily be healed as one.” (9:7)

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Chapter 22: Salvation and the Holy Relationship

Section II: Your Brother’s Sinlessness

Read ACIM Chapter 22, Section II (pages 471-74)

What is the opposite of illusions to the ego?

The Course tells us in this section that, to the ego, the opposite of illusions is ‘disillusionment.’ The dictionary describes disillusionment as “The condition or fact of being disenchanted.” When we are ‘enchanted’ with something, we are attracted to it or desire it. To be disenchanted, we are no longer attracted to it or are ‘disillusioned.’ The attraction disappears and is gone. The ego responds to this ‘disillusionment’ by shifting to another illusion because the ego does not even recognize that only Love is real.

What is the opposite of illusions to the Holy Spirit?

To the Holy Spirit, the opposite of illusions is the truth. Jesus tells us, “In truth, they [illusions and disillusionment] are the same. Both bring the same amount of misery, though each one seems to be the way to lose the misery the other brings. Every illusion carries pain and suffering in the dark folds of the heavy garments in which it hides its nothingness. Yet by these dark and heavy garments are those who seek illusions covered, and hidden from the joy of truth.” (1:3-6) The Holy Spirit knows that illusions of separate bodies and separate things are nothing and will never satisfy us and will only bring us pain.

How does Jesus explain the difference between true happiness and what is really fear?

In answer to this Jesus tells us, “Joy is eternal. You can be sure indeed that any seeming happiness that does not last is really fear. Joy does not turn to sorrow, for the eternal cannot change. But sorrow can be turned to joy, for time gives way to the eternal.” (3:4-7)

In this world everything is in a state of constant change and flux. Nothing stays the same. Nothing here is eternal and therefore ‘is really fear.’ This means that true happiness is not found in a world of separation where concepts of time and space are given meaning. The good news is that we have the choice to let go of our hold on fearful concepts and give welcome to the truth, which resides in our minds eternally through the Holy Spirit. “Reason will tell you that the only way to escape from misery is to recognize it and go the other way.” (4:1) We go the other way by allowing the Holy Spirit to bring us Christ’s vision.

What does Jesus say about trying to hold onto both truth and illusions at the same time?

He tells us it is impossible to hold onto illusions and remember the truth because the truth will show us that illusions are nothing. When we try to maintain that even one illusion is real, we are denying Reality. “One illusion cherished and defended against the truth makes all truth meaningless, and all illusions real. Such is the power of belief. It cannot compromise. And faith in innocence is faith in sin, if the belief excludes one living thing and holds it out, apart from its forgiveness.” (4:4-7)

What is the one decision we must make?

We must choose to accept our true Self and let go of identifying with the illusory image of an independent ‘self’ that is a separate body, living in a world of time and space. Jesus tells us, “There is no point in trying to avoid this one decision. It must be made. Faith and belief can fall to either side, but reason tells you misery lies only one one side and joy upon the other.” (6:8-10)

Because our true Self includes everyone, the way to make this one decision is to accept the truth about every brother, with no exceptions. Accepting the reality of every brother is accepting our true reality. “Forsake not now your brother. For you who are the same will not decide alone nor differently. Either you give each other life or death; either you are each other’s savior or his judge, offering him sanctuary or condemnation. This course will be believed entirely or not at all.” (7:1-4)

What is at the core of our belief that we could be at the mercy of anything in this world?

At the core of our belief that we can be at the mercy of anything outside us is the belief that ideas can leave the mind that thinks them. Jesus tells us, “Let us look closer at the whole illusion that what you made has power to enslave its maker. This is the same belief that caused the separation. It is the meaningless idea that thoughts can leave the thinker’s mind, be different from it and in opposition to it. If this were true, thoughts would not be the mind’s extensions, but its enemies.” (9:1-4 italics added)

Belief in the idea that thoughts could leave the mind that thinks them stems from the belief that we could separate from the Mind of God and be different from God. Jesus tells us, “Only if it were possible the Son of God could leave his Father’s Mind, make himself different and oppose His Will, would it be possible that the self he made, and all it made, should be his master.” (9:6) Because we are eternally Thought in the Mind of God, we cannot leave God. The truth is we are still Love, just like God and being Love, we cannot leave Love. We cannot leave What we Are because we cannot change What we Are. Isn’t this good news? We are still safe as we were created in the Mind of God and it is only the world of separation that is impossible.

What does this mean to us who think that we are still in this world of separate bodies?

The fact that illusions have not replaced the truth that we are still Love in the Mind of Love can now hold great meaning for us. We can be comforted instead of fearful. Jesus tells us how to do this: “Behold the great projection, but look on it with the decision that it must be healed, and not with fear. Nothing you made has any power over you unless you still would be apart from your Creator, and with a will opposed to His. For only if you would believe His Son could be His enemy does it seem possible that what you made is [your enemy].” (10:1-3) Our dream is not our enemy. It is really nothing but a dream. We may dream of being harmed, but it is not true. It is merely a dream of trying to be something different from the Universal Love that we were created to be. We can let go of the dream and realize it could never be real.

As we let go of the false idea that ideas can leave their source, we now see that everything we experience is coming from our own mind and has not left our mind. As we allow our insane thoughts of separation to be healed by the Holy Spirit, we are brought to the awareness that none of our illusions have replaced God. Separate bodies with separate minds could never really happen. Beyond every illusion of separation, there is only Love. So this means that our only real relationship is with Love. “Heaven is the home of perfect purity, and God created It for you. Look on your holy brother, sinless as yourself, and let him lead you [to Heaven].” (13:6-7) As we allow the great projection to be healed, we find that we are still in Heaven, and have never left.

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Chapter 22: Salvation and the Holy Relationship

Section I: The Message of the Holy Relationship

Read ACIM Chapter 22, Section I (pages 468-71)

What is really going on when we judge or get angry with anyone?

In answer to this Jesus says, “If you attack whom God would heal and hate the one He loves, then you and your Creator have a different will. Yet if you are His Will, what you must then believe is that you are not yourself. You can indeed believe this, and you do.” (1:2-4) So when we judge or get angry with anyone, we are disagreeing with God regarding our brother’s Identity, and therefore are believing we are not one Self, as God created us. We are wandering away from our Identity and therefore feel lost and alone. “And where, you wonder, does your strange uneasiness, your sense of being disconnected, and your haunting fear of lack of meaning in yourself arise? It is as though you wandered in without a plan of any kind except to wander off, for only that seems certain.” (1:6-7)

What will we understand about ourselves as we listen to Holy Spirit’s reasoning?

As we open our minds to Holy Spirit’s perspective, we open to knowing wholeness rather than believing in separation and seeing it through the body’s eyes. We open to seeing the denial of oneness for the false perception it is and refuse to believe that it is our reality. We open to Christ’s vision, which sees wholeness — our one true Identity. Through Christ’s vision, we see every brother as part of our one Self.

Jesus tells us, “Reason would tell you that the world you see through eyes that are not yours must make no sense to you. To whom would seeing such as this send back its messages? Surely not you, whose sight is wholly independent of the eyes that look upon the world. If this is not your vision, what can it show to you? The brain cannot interpret what your vision sees. This you would understand.” (2:3-8)

As we listen to reason, separate bodies with separate minds would make no sense to us. Through reason we do not identify with the false world of separate bodies. We see that it is alien to the one Love we all are. As we relate to our true Self, separate bodies are not what we choose to see. We would identify with God’s Will rather than a separate will that is not our own.

Why does Jesus say that we have secrets and how do these secret, fearful thoughts relate to our belief in sin and guilt?

Jesus tells us, “What could your secrets be except another ‘will’ that is your own, apart from His? Reason would tell you that this is no secret that need be hidden as a sin. But a mistake indeed! Let not your fear of sin protect it from correction, for the attraction of guilt is only fear. Here is the one emotion that you made, whatever it may seem to be. This [fear] is the emotion of secrecy, of private thoughts and of the body. [Fear] is the one emotion that opposes Love, and always leads to sight of differences and loss of sameness. [Fear] is the one emotion that keeps you blind, dependent on the self you think you made to lead you through the world [fear] made for you.” (4:3-10, italics added)

What does what we see reveal to us?

Jesus tells us that, “everyone sees only what he thinks he is.” (5:2) This means that if we see separate bodies, we think that we are a separate body. The thought system we join with is what we will think we are.

As we learn from the Course to see that the thought system we have joined with is false, we will be open to a new kind of seeing — Christ’s vision. It is in this way that we return to our true Identity. Jesus tells us, “Of all the messages you have received and failed to understand, this course alone is open to your understanding and can be understood. This is your language.” (6:1-2) Here we see that the Course shows up in our dream of separation because we are asking for a better way. The Course shows us that we have been hiding from our Self and that we can choose differently. As we choose differently, a new perception from the Holy Spirit comes into our mind. This new perception comes because we want it and ask for it.

Why does Jesus refer to the holy relationship, seen through Christ’s vision, as a newborn babe that must be given a home?

Because the holy relationship seems new to us because we have focused on its opposite, Jesus refers to our experience of the holy (one, whole) relationship as a like a newborn babe that we must protect and nurture for it to live in us. Jesus tells us, “Where Christ has entered no one is alone, for never could He find a home in separate ones. Yet must He be reborn into His ancient home, so seeming new and yet as old as He, a tiny newcomer, dependent on the holiness of your relationship to let Him live.” (8:6-7)

As we become willing to see holiness (wholeness, unity) where we once saw separation (division, differences), we are giving Christ’s vision a home. We are nurturing and protecting the newborn babe — the holy relationship — and letting it’s remembrance of oneness be reborn in us. “So in each holy relationship is the ability to communicate instead of separate, reborn. Yet a holy relationship, so recently reborn itself from an unholy relationship, and yet more ancient than the old illusion it has replaced, is like a baby now in its rebirth. Still in this infant is your vision returned to you, and he will speak the language you can understand.” (7:1-3)

What is the message of the holy relationship?

The holy relationship communicates the message of union through Christ’s vision. Jesus tells us, “For no two brothers can unite except through Christ, Whose vision sees them one. (7:6) This communication of unity comes to us naturally as we make room in our mind for Christ’s vision. “Communication must have been restored to those who join, for this they could not do through bodies. What, then, has joined them? Reason will tell you that they must have seen each other through a vision not of the body, and communicated in a language the body does not speak. Nor could it be a fearful sight or sound that drew them gently into one. Rather, in each the other saw a perfect shelter where his Self could be reborn in safety and in peace.” (9:4-8)

What calls on truth and shows us that fear is meaningless?

Christ’s vision shows us that illusions are nothing and nowhere. To ask for Christ’s vision demonstrates a willingness to make way for the holy instant by allowing illusions to be replaced with truth. Jesus tells us, “Think what that instant brought; the recognition that the “something else” you thought was you is an illusion. And truth came instantly, to show you where your Self must be. It is denial of illusions that calls on truth, for to deny illusions is to recognize that fear is meaningless. Into the holy home where fear is powerless Love enters thankfully, grateful that It is one with you who joined to let It enter.” (10:4-7, italics added)

Why is opening to Christ’s vision the same as accepting the holy relationship?

To see every brother through Christ’s vision is our Father’s Will for us. This is how we awaken from illusions of differences. As we build the habit of asking for and accepting Christ’s vision, we see that every relationship is a holy relationship. We are shown that every brother is part of our one Self. We are shown that illusions of bodies are meaningless and we can quit giving meaning to them. Jesus tells us, “Christ comes to what is like Himself; the same, not different. For He is always drawn unto Himself. What is as like Him as a holy relationship? And what draws you and your brother together draws Him to you.” (11:1-4)

Seeing the Christ in every brother becomes our one focus. Seeing the Christ in every brother makes every relationship holy. Jesus closes this section with, “This is your Father’s Will for you, and [your will] with His. And who is drawn to Christ is drawn to God as surely as Both are drawn to every holy relationship, the home prepared for Them as earth is turned to Heaven.” (11:8-9)

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Chapter 22: Salvation and the Holy Relationship

Introduction

Read ACIM Chapter 22, Introduction (pages 467-68)

What is the difference between a holy and an unholy relationship?

In an unholy (unwhole) relationship, wholeness is not seen and separation is valued. In an unholy relationship, the ‘other’ is seen as different from ourselves. The appearance of separation is maintained through unholy relationships. The body of the ‘other’ is what is focused on, and what the body says and does. The purpose of an unholy relationship is to see ‘sin’ or guilt in the ‘other’ in an attempt to project the guilt that still resides in our own minds. Unholy relationships are full of conflict and pain and do not bring us the experience of unchanging happiness and joy.

Holy relationships, on the other hand, look past differences to the one Spirit that is the truth about everyone. No one is excluded in the holy relationship, because everyone’s wholeness is recognized and loved. The purpose of holy relationships is to see unity, oneness, holiness and innocence in every brother.

What undoes the painful effects of unholy relationships?

Jesus tells us, “Sin is a strictly individual perception, seen in the other yet believed by each to be within himself. And each one seems to make a different error, and one the other cannot understand. Brother, it is the same, made by the same, and forgiven for its maker in the same way. The holiness of your relationship forgives you and your brother, undoing the effects of what you both believed and saw. And with their going is the need for sin gone with them.” (1:4-8)

At the beginning of Chapter 21 we are told, “Projection makes perception.” (T-21.Intro.1:1) Here again in the Introduction of Chapter 22, Jesus is referring to projection when he tells us the errors we see in our brothers is simply an outward picturing of that is coming from our own mind. As we forgive, or let go of the guilt (unholiness), what we see will reflect our change of mind. Holiness, which is what is eternally real, is seen again because we have let go of unholiness, or what is not real.

What is the premise or foundation of all holy relationships?

Just as the appearance of separation is maintained by seeing guilt and differences in the unholy relationship, the appearance of oneness is maintained by seeing holiness and sameness in the holy relationship. Jesus tells us, “[In the holy relationship] Each one has looked within and seen no lack. Accepting his completion, he would extend it by joining with another, whole as himself. He sees no difference between these selves, for differences are only of the body.” (3:2-3) If we each see wholeness in ourselves and our brother, we are not needy. We need nothing from our brother. We only want to extend Love in a joyful joining with the truth of our Father in every brother.

What are we taught through a holy relationship?

Jesus tells us, “Here is belief in differences undone. Here is the faith in differences shifted to sameness. And here is sight of differences transformed to vision. Reason now can lead you and your brother to logical conclusion of your union. [Your union] must extend, as you extended when you and he joined. [Your union] must reach out beyond itself, as you reached out beyond the body, to let you and your brother be joined. And now the sameness that you saw extends and finally removes all sense of differences, so that the sameness that lies beneath them all becomes apparent. Here is the golden circle where you recognize the Son of God. For what is born into a holy relationship can never end.” (4:2-10)

So here we see that it is through our relationships with every brother that we return to God. As we see him, we see ourselves. As we no longer wish to have separation be our goal, the oneness that lies beyond separation is now seen. It is in this way that the face of Christ becomes known to us. Where we once saw separate bodies, we now see the one Spirit of Love that is eternal and changeless.

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Chapter 21: Reason and Perception

Section VIII: The Inner Shift

Read ACIM Chapter 21, Section VIII (pages 465-66)

What is the inner shift that brings us to a place of constant joy and happiness?

Jesus is guiding us to the truth about ourselves and every brother. The truth is, God is changeless Love, and so are we because we are Love’s extension. The inner shift what is required is related to that important fourth question Jesus talked about in the last section: “And do I want to see what I denied because it is the truth?” (T-21.VII.5:14) Jesus is guiding us to a shift in what we value so that we move toward wanting to see the constant and changeless Love of God above all else. We are being taught to shift our values from the inconstant and ever changing world of the ego to the reality of God’s wholeness, which brings us constant happiness and joy. We are being taught to shift our focus from believing in the helplessness and powerlessness that comes with the ego thought system to accepting the constant joy and happiness that comes from remembering God.

Are we always seeing what we desire to see in our heart of hearts?

What we want to see we will see. As long as we desire to see differences, diversity and the constantly changing world of the ego, that is what we will see. Jesus tells us, “He goes from life to death, the final proof he valued the inconstant more than constancy. Surely he thought he wanted happiness. Yet he did not desire [happiness], because it was the truth, and therefore must be constant.” (1:5-7) In this section, Jesus reminds us that God is changeless joy and happiness. God is what is true; God is what is real. Jesus is helping us to understand that when we want to see something different from the truth, we are denying our happiness and choosing to see what is not real.

How can we tell if we are allowing ourselves to become aware of God’s happiness?

As we allow ourselves to become aware of God’s happiness, we will become aware that it is eternal — it does not come and go. God’s happiness is not fleeting. It is constant and stays the same. Jesus tells us, “The constancy of happiness has no exceptions; no change of any kind. It is unshakable as is the Love of God for His creation. Sure in its vision as its Creator is in what He knows, happiness looks on everything and sees it is the same. It sees not the ephemeral, for it desires everything be like itself, and sees it so. Nothing has power to confound its constancy, because its own desire cannot be shaken. It comes as surely unto those who see the final question is necessary to the rest, as peace must come to those who choose to heal and not to judge.” (2:3-8)

Is becoming aware of God’s happiness the same as accepting the holy instant?

Becoming aware of God’s happiness comes along with accepting God’s wholeness, or holiness. This is the same as accepting the holy instant. Jesus tells us, “What is the holy instant but God’s appeal to you to recognize what he has given you? Here is the great appeal to reason; the awareness of what is always there to see, the happiness that could be always yours. Here is the constant peace you could experience forever. Here is what denial has denied revealed to you. For here the final question is already answered, and what you ask for given. Here is the future now, for time is powerless because of your desire for what will never change. For you have asked that nothing stand between the holiness of your relationship and your awareness of its holiness.” (5:1-7)

What happens as we truly desire to receive what God has given us?

If we see a world of separation, we have denied what God has given us because we cannot see wholeness and separation at the same time. The good news is that we can change our mind about what we want to see. We can choose to see what we denied before. We can become aware of God’s wholeness because it is our true Identity for eternity. “You who complete God’s Will and are His happiness, whose will is powerful as His, a power that is not lost in your illusions, think carefully why you have not yet decided how you would answer the final question.” (4:1) We are learning to say ‘yes’ to that last question, “Do I want to see what I denied because it is the truth?” (T-21.VII.5:14)

As we desire to receive what God has given us, we will receive His peace and happiness. We will receive what never changes — the holy instant. We are being gently guided to ‘the inner shift’ that brings us to the awareness of what is true eternally. We are learning that only God is true and all the rest is merely illusions that constantly shift and change. When we want His peace and happiness above all else, we will receive it.

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Chapter 21: Reason and Perception

Section VII: The Last Unanswered Question

Read ACIM Chapter 21, Section VII (pages 461-65)

What does Jesus tell us is inevitable when we believe in separation?

Joined with the belief that we are different from God’s one Reality as Love is the belief in sin and guilt. As long as we refuse to remember that we are God’s Son, or Love’s extension, we will secretly think that we are alone, weak, afraid and guilty for destroying God. Jesus tells us, “No one believes the Son of God is powerless. And those who see themselves as helpless must believe that they are not the Son of God. What can they be except his enemy? And what can they do but envy him his power, and by their envy make themselves afraid of it? These are the dark ones, silent and afraid, alone and not communicating, fearful the power of the Son of God will strike them dead, and raising up their helplessness against him.” (2:1-5 italics added)

Jesus is helping us understand that our belief in separation — believing that a world of separate bodies with separate minds is real — is just a dream and never happened in reality. Because we are choosing to think our dreams of individuality are real, we also think we really sinned, or were successful in killing God’s unity. And included in this deluded ego dream is the belief that we are weak and powerless against God’s vengeance in return. To win in this imagined battle with oneness, we dream that the body ‘dies’ to ‘prove’ that we once ‘lived.’ As we learn to see the insane ego dream for what it is, we can learn to smile at its crazy antics and see that it is not real.

Is it possible to win the war the sleeping Son of God believes he is waging against God’s Oneness?

We can imagine that we have won by dreaming of a world of separate bodies where we are attacked and feel justified in attacking back, but all the while we feel little and weak and dream of lives that are filled with pain and guilt. Jesus tells us, “Yes, it [the army of the powerless] can dream it found an enemy, but this will shift even as it attacks, so that it runs at once to find another, and never comes to rest in victory. And as it runs it turns against itself, thinking it caught a glimpse of the great enemy who always eludes its murderous attack by turning into something else. How treacherous does this enemy appear, who changes so it is impossible even to recognize him.” (4:5-7)

Here we see that we are waging an impossible war against our Self when we insist that separation is real. The good news is that our true Self could never really be harmed by our insane dreams of separation because these hallucinations are really nothing. Giving meaning to nothingness does not work.

What questions are we to ask ourselves in order to have this battle with God’s oneness be undone in our mind?

In order to bring about a change of mind in what we desire to see, Jesus tells us, “But let him only ask himself these questions, which he must decide, to have it done for him:

Do I desire a world I rule instead of one that rules me?
Do I desire a world where I am powerful instead of helpless?
Do I desire a world in which I have no enemies and cannot sin?
And do I want to see what I denied because it is the truth?” (5:10-14)

Here we see that we have been in a battle with the truth, and we cannot win the battle by simply denying what is real by dreaming dreams of truth’s opposite. Like an ostrich, we can stick our head (mind) in the sand (a dream of separation), but we cannot change the truth. When we are willing to see the truth, it will be there for us to see.

How do we return to our real power rather than stay in a mind set of helplessness?

We return to power when we are willing to see through the Holy Spirit’s eyes rather than believe what we see through the body’s eyes. We are choosing between these two ways of seeing all the time. What do we want to see? Do we want to see the truth or do we want to see the false dream of separation? Which do we want to make real in our mind?

Jesus says, “Forget not that the choice of sin or truth, helplessness or power, is the choice of whether to attack or heal. for healing comes of power, and attack of helplessness. Whom you attack you cannot want to heal. And whom you would have healed must be the one you chose to be protected from attack. And what is this decision but the choice whether to see him through the body’s eyes, or let him be revealed to you through vision?” (7:1-5) The Holy Spirit will show us the truth if we are willing to make way for truth. As we allow ourselves to be shown the truth and accept it, we have no more questions. We only have the truth, which is where our true power lies. As we look on illusions we are to ask ourselves, “Is this what I would see? Do I want this?” (8:4-5) Jesus tells us, “You have control of this. And if you choose to see a world without an enemy, in which you are not helpless, the means to see it will be given you.” (9:3-4)

Why is the power of our desire so important to our awakening to the truth?

As long as happiness appears to come and go, we still need to strengthen our willingness to make way for the truth consistently. Jesus tells us, “No one decides against his happiness, but he may do so if he does not see he does it. And if he sees his happiness as ever changing, now this, now that, and now an elusive shadow attached to nothing, he does decide against [his happiness].” (12:5)

As we practice stepping back from our illusions instead of the old habit of making them real, we give the Holy Spirit a crack in the door. It just takes this little willingness not to decide what anything means on our own and the means to see holiness will be given us. Jesus reminds us again, “The power of the Son of God’s desire remains the proof that he is wrong who sees himself as helpless. Desire what you want, and you will look on it and think it real. No thought but has the power to release or kill. And none can leave the thinker’s mind, or leave him unaffected.” (13:5-8)

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Chapter 21: Reason and Perception

Section VI: Reason versus Madness

Read ACIM Chapter 21, Section VI (pages 459-61)

How does reason lead to the correction of errors?

Reason is in our right mind, our true Self. Being in our right mind, reason is grounded in Reality or Truth. And since Reality is changeless, reason cannot be shaken or altered by the illusions of the ego. Thus reason is able to bring illusion to Truth so that our illusions disappear and we return to full awareness of our oneness with our brother and our Source. “Reason cannot see sin but can see errors, and leads to their correction.” (1:1)

Why must correction always include releasing the idea of sin or guilt?

Correction always entails letting go of the belief in sin or guilt. Belief in sin or guilt is inherent in the belief that separation from our Source has really happened. Believing any brother is guilty for what he has ‘done,’ is the same as believing that the separation from Love could really happen, which is what belief in ‘sin’ means. If separation from the Mind of Love has never happened, we are still joined in the Mind of Love. If we think that separation from the Mind of Love has happened, we are still believing in sin, and this belief is what needs to be corrected. If reason shows us we have not separated, this means every brother is still Love and we are still the same Love. This also means that if we ‘see’ something else, what we are seeing is illusion, coming from the false idea of separation.

How does correction include releasing the idea that we have private thoughts?

Jesus tells us, “If you and your brother are joined, how could it be that you have private thoughts?” (2:8) As we move away from madness and toward reason, we view the idea of private thoughts differently. We are able to see these ‘private’ thoughts as coming from the false ego mind and therefore we see that they are not our real Thoughts. It becomes clearer to us that what we are seeing through the body’s eyes is madness. We start learning to see past the body and let the veil be lifted to the fact that we are still one Spirit of Love and these stories of separate ‘lives’ are not real.

We may still see bodies through the body’s eyes, but we give them a new meaning. Jesus says, “Madness and reason see the same things, but it is certain that they look upon them differently.” (3:9) With the help of the Holy Spirit’s reason, we see the madness of separate bodies as a story that could never be real. With the help of the Holy Spirit, the veil of madness is lifted, and we look upon what we see differently. We are able to see the Love that is always there beyond the story of separation.

Why does Jesus refer to what is real about us as ‘continuous’?

Jesus tells us, “What can there be that stands between what is continuous? And if there is nothing in between, how can what enters part be kept away from other parts?” (5:5-6) It is very helpful to our awakening that we understand that what is real is continuous. That is not what we see in this world and this helps us remember that everything that appears to be ‘not continuous’ or not connected is false and therefore not real.

The fact that we are ‘continuous,’ means that there is no division, no gaps between what we are and what our brother is. This means that our brother is one with us.

Does the fact that we are one with our brother mean that we have the power to heal the Son of God?

Jesus tells us, “The power to heal the Son of God is given you because he must be one with you. You are responsible for how he sees himself. And reason tells you it is given you to change his whole mind, which is one with you, in just an instant. And any instant serves to bring complete correction of his errors and make him whole. The instant that you choose to let yourself be healed, in that same instant is his whole salvation seen as complete with yours.” (7:4-8) Letting in this idea that we are one with our brother is central to our awakening to the truth. We are not one with his body or the personality we associate with his body, but we have the same Mind. As we allow reason to replace madness, we see that this wholeness with God is true now. As we let our insanity be healed, we see that every brother is saved, along with us because we are still are one Son, one extension of Love.

How do we realize that we are already freed?

We realize that we are already freed when we are willing to make way for the truth. Jesus reminds us, “Where could his freedom lie but in himself, if he be free already? And who could bind him but himself, if he deny his freedom? God is not mocked; no more His Son can be imprisoned save by his own desire. And it is by his own desire that he is freed. Such is his strength, and not his weakness. He is at his own mercy. And where he chooses to be merciful, there is he free. But where he chooses to condemn instead, there is he held a prisoner, waiting in chains his pardon on himself to set him free.” (11:3-10)

There you have it. The whole Sonship is free. As we are willing to make way for the truth, we see what is true about us and every brother right now and for eternity. As we want to wake up, we will wake up to what has been true forever. As we are willing to wake up to Reality, we see that nothing has ever happened to change God’s one Son. Instead of condemnation, we choose Love. And what we choose, we will see.

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Chapter 21: Reason and Perception

Section V: The Function of Reason

Read ACIM Chapter 21, Section V (pages 456-58)

Is what we see our choice or is it an unchangeable fact?

Jesus answers this question in this way: “Perception selects, and makes the world you see. It literally picks it out as the mind directs. ...For what you look for you are far more likely to discover than what you would prefer to overlook. The still, small Voice for God is not drowned out by all the ego’s raucous screams and senseless ravings to those who want to hear it. Perception is a choice and not a fact. ...For on the voice you choose to hear, and on the sights you choose to see, depends entirely your whole belief in what you are. Perception is a witness but to this, and never to reality.” (1:1-2,5-7,9-10)

This is a very succinct and direct answer. Here we come to understand that what we see with our body’s eyes is not what is real. It is not a fact, but an illusion that comes from what we are choosing to see and what we want to be. If we want to be something other than our true Identity — an extension of God’s Love — we can dream dreams that make it look like this is so. We see the dream of separate bodies as real because we want the dream to seem real to us. If we want to be a separate identity, we will be attracted to stories of unique identities and want to think that they are real and not just stories.

Jesus makes it clear to us that we have only two choices of where we want our mind to reside. And on this choice we will hear either the ego’s voice or the Holy Spirit’s voice. This puts our experience solidly in our laps and upsets the ego’s little game of making it look like we are at the mercy of a dangerous ‘outside’ world that is not of our making. He makes it clear here that we have chosen to be in this world of separation and were not forced into it against our will. God did not put us here; we did this ‘on our own.’

Why does our awareness of Reality need our help?

The answer to this is crucial to our becoming aware of the truth. We must want to become aware of Reality. We must want the truth instead of the ego’s false perceptions of separate identities. We must want to return to the awareness of God’s one Mind of Love. We must want to let go of our grievances against our brother and let these grievances be replaced by seeing that nothing has happened to change God’s one Son. God’s Son has not really split up into trillions of separate and unique identities. God’s one Son has not really changed from how He was created — He has not changed from perfect Love. We are all still joined in the one Mind of Love. There is still only one relationship, and that is our relationship with God, because there is nothing other than God that is real.

What happens when we listen to the ego’s voice?

Jesus is very specific about what happens when we listen to the ego’s voice: “Listen to what the ego says, and see what it directs you see, and it is sure that you will see yourself as tiny, vulnerable and afraid. You will experience depression, a sense of worthlessness, and feelings of impermanence and unreality. You will believe that you are helpless prey to forces far beyond your own control, and far more powerful than you. And you will think the world you made directs your destiny. For this will be your faith. But never believe because it is your faith it makes reality.” (2:3-8) The good news is that we do not need to continue placing our faith or belief in the ego. We can change our mind about what we want to see.

How do we go about changing our mind?

We are not left hanging without help to return from this dream of separation from God. God gave us the Holy Spirit, Who still resides in our mind, waiting to lead us out of dreams of separation. This part of our mind, where the Holy Spirit resides, is the part we are learning to listen to. We have made up a false, separate mind, and this is the part that we are learning to let go of. Jesus is guiding us to get familiar with the part of our mind where the Holy Spirit resides so we will be led back Home, where we belong.

Jesus tells us, “There is another vision and another Voice in Which your freedom lies, awaiting but your choice. And if you place your faith in Them [Holy Spirit’s vision and Voice], you will perceive another self in you. This other self sees miracles as natural. They [miracles] are as simple and as natural to it as breathing to the body. They [miracles] are the obvious response to calls for help, the only one it makes.” (3:1-5)

Where does reason reside in our mind and what is its function?

No matter how deeply entrenched we have gotten into the ego thought system, there is still a part of our mind that remembers Reality. It is here the Holy Spirit resides. This part of our mind could be called our real Self, and it is here that reason lies. When we identify with the ego, we cut off our awareness of this Self. But as we are willing to begin questioning the ego thought system, we begin to open the door to reason. “Faith and belief, upheld by reason, cannot fail to lead to changed perception.” (10:4)

Reason is the means that the Holy Spirit uses to lead us out of the insanity of the ego thought system. Because it comes from our right mind, our true Self, it cannot be distorted by the ego and used to reinforce the belief in separation. “The part of mind where reason lies was dedicated, by your will in union with your Father’s, to the undoing of insanity.” (9:1)

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Chapter 21: Reason and Perception

Section IV: The Fear to Look Within

Read ACIM Chapter 21, Section IV (pages 454-56)

Why does Jesus say we are we afraid to look within?

When we believe in the ego thought system of separation from God, we will be afraid to quiet our mind and see what is there. If we identify with the ego as what we are, there will be fear to look within. The ego teaches that we are full of sin. “Loudly the ego tells you not to look inward, for if you do your eyes will light on sin, and God will strike you blind.” (2:3) We do not want to look upon the guilt that we think is there. Often this is why we spend so much time focusing on things the ‘outer’ world. This keeps our mind so busy and distracted that we have no time to let our mind quiet and listen to what is there.

Yet behind this belief in sin Jesus tells us that there is even a deeper fear. “Beneath your fear to look within because of sin is yet another fear, and one which makes the ego tremble. What if you looked within and saw no sin? This ‘fearful’ question is one the ego never asks.” (2:8, 3:1-2)

What happens as we look within and see there is no sin?

Going within and finding our innocence would be the end of the ego. We would find our true Identity in God’s oneness and would no longer wish to join with belief in separate bodies. We would see that we are joined with every brother in innocence because the dream of separation is now seen as just a dream and not the truth. Jesus tells us, “Those who have joined their brothers have detached themselves from their belief that their identity lies in the ego. A holy relationship is one in which you join with what is part of you in truth.” (3:4-5)

As we go inward, what does reason tell us?

Jesus answers us in this way: “Your faith is moving inward, past insanity and on to reason. And what your reason tells you now the ego would not hear. The Holy Spirit’s purpose was accepted by the part of your mind the ego knows not of. No more did you. And yet this part [your right mind], with which you now identify, is not afraid to look upon itself. It knows no sin. How, otherwise, could it have been willing to see the Holy Spirit’s purpose as its own?” (4:3-9) Here we see that as we go inward, we find our ‘right’ mind, where sanity resides. Here we identify with the Holy Spirit instead of the ego. Here we find peace and gentleness and freedom from the fear thoughts that the ego thought system generates. Here we learn to choose peace instead of conflict; we learn to see innocence instead of guilt in every brother.

As we continue to join with the Holy Spirit instead of the ego, what happens?

As we continue on our inward journey with the Holy Spirit, we are able to look at the madness of the ego without fear. We see that the ego’s ‘gifts’ lead to pain and not to the freedom we now seek. Jesus tells us, “A few remaining trinkets still seem to shine and catch your eye. Yet you would not ‘sell’ Heaven to have them. And now the ego is afraid. Yet what it [the false mind] hears in terror, the other part [the right mind] hears as the sweetest music; the song it longed to hear since first the ego came into your mind. The ego’s weakness is [your right mind’s] strength. The song of freedom, which sings the praises of another world, brings to it hope of peace. For it [your right mind] remembers Heaven, and now it sees that Heaven has come to earth at last, from which the ego’s rule has kept it out so long. Heaven has come because it found a home in your relationship on earth. And earth can hold no longer what has been given Heaven as its own.” (6:7, 7:1-7)

As we continue to join with the Holy Spirit instead of the ego, we follow the Holy Spirit in quietness and peace. We see the ego’s fearful thoughts of lack and disaster and quietly step aside from them because we would no longer make the ego our dwelling place. We are getting used to the Holy Spirit’s gentle ways of knowing where our true safety lies and cherish the feeling of comfort and well-being that comes with residing in the temple of the Holy Spirit. Jesus tells us, “What matters it to you how loudly [the ego] is proclaimed? The senseless is not made meaningful by repetition and by clamor. The quiet way is open. Follow it happily, and question not what must be so.” (8:6-9)

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Chapter 21: Reason and Perception

Section III: Faith, Belief and Vision

Read ACIM Chapter 21, Section III (pages 451-54)

Why must the Holy Spirit change the purpose of our relationships to make them useful to him and harmless to us?

When we see our brother as unique and separate from God’s undivided Love, we are choosing to experience individuality instead of Heaven’s oneness. We are trying to change God’s Reality to suit our desire to experience something different.

With this desire to see differences comes belief in sin and guilt. We believe we sinned for trying to change Love’s oneness and hate the feeling of guilt that comes with our belief in sin. And so we joined with the ego thought system, which dreamed up a world that had separate bodies with separate minds. In this dream-world scheme, we project the sin and guilt onto the ‘foreign’ bodies we now think of as separate from our mind.

Jesus explains what is really going on in these mental games when he tells us, “All special relationships have sin as their goal. For they are bargains with reality, toward which the seeming union is adjusted.” (1:1-2) Jesus is helping us see that we are trying to change God when we dream of looking through the bodies eyes and believe in the ‘differences’ we see. He is helping us see the futility of this dream of projecting guilt onto unique bodies that we now think are separate from us. He guides us to open to the Holy Spirit, Who will reverse the purpose that we have given our ‘relationships’ in the dream.

With the Holy Spirit as our Guide, the purpose for every relationship we have in the dream is changed from one of seeing differences and individuality to the purpose of returning to the recognition of our union. Instead of projecting sin and guilt, we now see innocence and wholeness. Jesus tells us, “If you accept this change, you have accepted the idea of making room for truth. The source of sin is gone. You may imagine that you still experience its effects, but it is not your purpose and you no longer want it.” (2:1-3) With the Holy Spirit as our Guide, we receive the thought reversal that the Holy Spirit offers. We no longer want to see guilt outside us. We are open to seeing everyone’s innate holiness.

Why is it so important to place our faith in Love?

Love is all there is in Reality. Anything ‘else’ is an illusion, a dream made up that is a ‘bargain with reality.’ Waking up to Reality is a process of placing our faith in Love instead of placing our faith in the dreams of separate ‘lives’ in separate bodies that are isolated and alone. Jesus tells us, “The power of faith is never recognized if it is placed in sin. But [the power of faith] is always recognized if [faith] is placed in love.” (2:6-7) What we place our faith in is what we will experience. In the dream world of the ego, this power is never recognized in order to keep the charade of the ego dream of projecting guilt going.

Jesus wants to help us understand the power of faith and how important it is to place our faith in Love instead of sin. He tells us, “For faith can keep the Son of God in chains as long as he believes he is in chains. And when he is released from them it will be simply because he no longer believes in them, withdrawing faith that they can hold him, and placing [faith] in his freedom instead. It is impossible to place equal faith in opposite directions. What faith you give to sin you take away from holiness. and what you offer holiness has been removed from sin.” (3:3-7) The dream of being a separate body can no longer hold us to the pain and suffering this dream of sin brings as we are willing to place our faith in Love, Which means placing our faith in Reality instead of dreams.

How is the goal of holiness reached?

Jesus is very direct in his answer to this question. He tells us, “Faith and belief and vision are the means by which the goal of holiness is reached. Through them the Holy Spirit leads you to the real world, and away from all illusions where your faith was laid. This is His direction; the only one He ever sees. And when you wander, he reminds you there is but one. His faith and His belief and vision are all for you.” (4:1-5) We have placed our faith in our dream of separation. Because of our faith in it, it has become real to us. We became lost in our dreams and forgot that they are not reality. We are led to wake up from this insane dream as we accept Holy Spirit’s faith and belief and vision instead of our own. We can know that we are doing this as we begin to see holiness instead of sin.

Why do we feel powerless when we place our faith in illusions?

Jesus tells us, “Faith given to illusions does not lack power, for by it does the Son of God believe that he is powerless. Thus is he faithless to himself, but strong in faith in his illusions about himself. For faith, perception and belief you made, as means for losing certainty and finding sin. This mad direction was your choice, and by your faith in what you chose, you made what you desired.” (5:3-6) Here we are seeing that faith in illusions is the same as faith in being powerless. Belief in being separate from Love is the same as belief in being separate from our Source, which is where all real power lies. It is no wonder that we feel powerless when we place our faith in a world that is separate from God, where all power lies.

How does the Holy Spirit use all that we have made for a different purpose?

The Holy Spirit does not try to take away all that we have made in order to see guilt outside us. He uses our projections (perception) in a new way. Jesus tells us, “You made perception that you might choose among your brothers, and seek for sin with them. The Holy Spirit sees perception as a means to teach you that the vision of a holy relationship is all you want to see. Then will you give your faith to holiness, desiring and believing in it because of your desire.” (6:5-7)

Why do we have no fear when we place our faith in Holy Spirit’s vision?

Jesus answers this when he tells us, “Those who would free their brothers from the body can have no fear. They have renounced the means for sin by choosing to let all limitations be removed. As they desire to look upon their brothers in holiness, the power of their belief and faith sees far beyond the body, supporting vision, not obstructing it. (8:1-3) When we choose to see with Holy Spirit’s vision, we see that where we once saw frightening dreams of separation, only Love is there. We feel safe as we release ourselves from belief in harm. Nothing but Love could ever be real. We remember we are surrounded by Love and are Love. How could there be fear in remembering this? When we want to let go of fear, we will make this choice.

How does the body serve the Holy Spirit’s goal?

The body was originally made to make separation appear to be real, but now it can serve the Holy Spirit’s purpose. Jesus tells us how this can happen: “The body was made to be a sacrifice to sin, and in the darkness so [the body] still is seen. Yet in the light of vision [the body] is looked upon quite differently. You can have faith in [the body] to serve the holy Spirit’s goal, and give it power to serve as means to help the blind to see. But in their seeing they look past [the body], as do you. The faith and the belief you gave [the body] belongs beyond. You gave perception and belief and faith from mind to body. Let [belief and faith] now be given back to what produced them, and can use them still to save itself from what it made.” (12:1-7 italics added) We have placed our faith in the body and now we are learning to see beyond the body to the truth. We now use the body as a tool to help the Sonship awaken to the truth.

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Chapter 21: Reason and Perception

Section II: The Responsibility for Sight

Read ACIM Chapter 21, Section II (pages 448-51)

What is asked of us in order for us to be filled with peace and happiness?

We are asked to suspend judgment, which means to stop deciding on our own what reality is. We are asked to make room for and welcome the truth. We are asked to step aside from giving belief to a world of separate individuals, which is the opposite of God’s oneness. We are asked to let go of thinking that we are unique and different from Love’s oneness — that we are different from God’s united Love. We are asked to stop making up the world by deciding on our own what everything means. We are asked to realize that we are the same as God’s Love, and not different. Accepting eternal peace and happiness is the same as accepting that we are Love’s extension, and our Identity remains Love for eternity. We cease trying to change Love, but accept It as It is.

Jesus tells us, “All that is asked of you is to make room for truth. You are not asked to make or do what lies beyond your understanding. All you are asked to do is let it in; only to stop your interference with what will happen of itself; simply to recognize again the presence of what you thought you gave away.” (7:6-8)

How does the ego make it appear that what it wants is real?

The ego uses wishful thinking or the power of desire. Jesus tells us, “All that the ego is, is an idea that it is possible that things could happen to the Son of God without his will; and thus without the Will of his Creator, Whose Will cannot be separate from his own.” (6:4)

The ego is the wish for the experience of independence (separation) from God joined with the idea that we did not make up the world of separate bodies we perceive but instead, are the victim of circumstances which now are caused by something or someone else. The ego’s laws were set up to deny that we wanted to experience a world that was different from God, our Creator. Thus the ego’s story line makes it look like we were hurled from Heaven, and that it was not of our making. Jesus tells us, “This [the world of separate bodies] is the Son of God’s replacement for his will, a mad revolt against what must forever be. This is the statement that he has the power to make God powerless and so to take it for himself, and leave himself without what God has willed for Him. This is the mad idea you have enshrined upon your altars, and which you worship.” (6:5-7) This clearly describes the ‘authority problem’ Jesus speaks of so often in the Course.

As long as we continue to place our belief in the dream world of separate bodies is as long as we will suffer and feel deprived. Our experience of a suffering ‘self’ comes from our insane attempt to prove that we had nothing to do with making up the treacherous and difficult world that we see. Once we see this insane attempt to deflect responsibility for what it is, we can change our mind and let it go.

Why does Jesus ask us to assume responsibility for what we see?

As we assume responsibility for what we see, we are acknowledging our projections and being honest about what is really going on in our minds. As we take responsibility for the thoughts that are residing in our mind, we end the pattern of self-deceit and willingly give up the deceitful mechanism of hurling guilt onto a world that we thought was outside our mind. Jesus tells us, “Deceive yourself no longer that you are helpless in the face of what is done to you. Acknowledge but that you have been mistaken, and all effects of your mistakes will disappear.” (2:6-7)

We feel guilty for rejecting our Source. Seeing a world outside ourselves is an attempt to project this guilt onto something that we view as outside us. As we acknowledge that what we have been seeing has simply been a mistaken choice, we now have the opportunity to make another choice. “His power of decision is the determiner of every situation in which he seems to find himself by chance or accident. No accident or chance is possible within the universe as God created it, outside of which is nothing. Suffer, and you decided sin was your goal. Be happy, and you gave the power of decision to Him Who must decide for God for you.” (3:3-6)

How important is it to see the truth about every brother rather than see him as a separate body?

Jesus returns us to the truth when he tells us, “Yet the truth is you and your brother were both created by a loving Father, Who created you together and as one. See what ‘proves’ otherwise, and you deny your whole reality. But grant that everything that seems to stand between you and your brother, keeping you from each other and separate from your Father, you made in secret, and the instant of release has come to you. All its effects are gone, because its source has been uncovered. It is its seeming independence of its source that keeps you prisoner. This is the same mistake as thinking you are independent of the Source by Which you were created, and have never left.” (13:1-6)

As we return to accepting our Source as the truth about every brother instead of his separate body, we return to safety. We return to inner happiness and contentment. We return to God. We learn to ask ourselves, “Do I want to see God or something that is separate from God?” As we choose to recognize our Source in every brother we are choosing to return to peace, joy and happiness.

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Chapter 21: Reason and Perception

Intro and Section I: The Forgotten Song

Read ACIM Chapter 21, Intro and Section I (pages 445-47)

How can the world we see show us what is going on in our mind?

The world we see reflects our state of mind. What we see with our body’s eyes is really a projection, like a movie, that is coming from our mind, whether we realize it or not. The world we see is an effect. It is not a cause that is independent of our mind. It is showing us what is in our mind, what we believe. The ego thought system turns everything upside down to make the world look like it is a separate reality that has nothing to do with our thoughts or what we are believing in. But now we are learning that what we see has everything to do with the thoughts that are residing in our mind. Jesus tells us, “[The world you see] is the witness to your state of mind, the outside picture of an inward condition. As a man thinketh, so does he perceive. Therefore, seek not to change the world, but choose to change your mind about the world.” (Intro.1:5-7)

This is very valuable insight. What does it mean to us in our search for peace and everlasting happiness? Now we know that the world we experience is merely an effect that is coming from our mind, and that means that we are constantly getting important feedback as to what is really going on in our mind. If we are having trouble in our relationships, we can now understand that there is a belief we are holding onto that is causing this effect to show up in our ‘life’ experience. This experience can show us that this is an area we need to hand over to the Holy Spirit for a correction in what we are believing is true. We can let go of being a ‘know it all’ and choose instead to step back from what we think we know and allow the Holy Spirit to show us the difference between the real and the unreal.

As we learn to look upon the world with vision, how does what we see change?

As we look upon the world with Holy Spirit’s vision, we are able to lift the veil to see past the ego’s perception of separation. This opening to the truth allows us to see the Spirit of Love that is really there eternally. The Course has told us many times in many ways that only what God creates is real and God creates only what is like Himself. We are becoming aware that if we see something that is different from God’s eternal Love, it is an illusion and could never be real. It is sinking in that what we are seeing is merely a reflection that is mirroring what is in our mind. We need this feedback or we would never have the incentive to step back and allow the Holy Spirit to transform the thoughts that we are giving belief to.

Our one need is to let the Holy Spirit look at the world we see with us. Joined with the Holy Spirit, we are able to distinguish between the real and the unreal. Once we see that separate bodies are unreal, it is easier to see past these separate images, or projections, to the Love that is eternally there. Looking with Holy Spirit, our mountains of conflict become molehills that are easily stepped over. Jesus tells us, “Everything looked upon with vision is healed and holy. Nothing perceived without [vision] means anything. And where there is no meaning there is chaos.” (1:10-12)

What is really happening when we condemn or judge another?

When we judge another, we are judging ourselves. When we judge what we are seeing in a world we believe is outside of us, we are merely showing ourselves that judgment instead of vision is residing in our mind. It is a signal to us that we need a change of mind that comes with returning again to the Holy Spirit, Who will return us to the truth of the Love that is eternally real. Jesus tells us, “If you behold disaster and catastrophe, you tried to crucify [the Son of God]. If you see holiness and hope, you joined the Will of God to set him free. There is no choice that lies between these two decisions. And you will see the witness to the choice you made, and learn from this to recognize which one you chose. The world you see but shows you how much joy you have allowed yourself to see in you, and to accept as yours.” (Intro.2:3-7)

Why do we stumble and fall as we think that we live in a world that is separate from our Father?

Jesus wants to make it clear to us that we are choosing incorrectly when we believe in the reality of a world of separate bodies. He tells us, “You do not see. Your cues for inference are wrong, and so you stumble and fall down upon the stones you did not recognize, but fail to be aware you can go through the doors you thought were closed, but which stand open before unseeing eyes, waiting to welcome you.” (1:4-5) We are being shown that we are making a mistake (stumbling and falling in a false thought system) in thinking that anything separate from God’s oneness could be real. We do not realize that emptiness and sorrow lies in what we are choosing to imagine.

Why does Jesus say we are not happy learners yet?

Our false world has become so familiar to us that we think there is nothing else that has true value. Even though it has brought us pain and fearful experiences of lack, weakness and death, we cling to what we made up and think of as reality. We have become so accustomed to separation, that we think that this is all that is real.

Jesus tells us, “The blind become accustomed to their world by their adjustments to it. They think they know their way about in it. They learned it, not through joyous lessons, but through the stern necessity of limits they believed they could not overcome. And still believing this, they hold those lessons dear, and cling to them because they cannot see. They do not understand the lessons keep them blind. This they do not believe. And so they keep the world they learned to ‘see’ in their imagination, believing that their choice is that or nothing. They hate the world they learned through pain. And everything they think is in it serves to remind them that they are incomplete and bitterly deprived.

“Thus they define their life and where they live, adjusting to it as they think they must, afraid to lose the little that they have. and so it is with all who see the body as all they have and all their brothers have.” (4:1-9, 5:1-2) Let’s apply what Jesus is telling us here to our lives… our thoughts… the perspectives we hold dear… How are we still clinging to “the stern necessity of limits we believe we can not overcome”? Under what circumstances do we still feel “incomplete and bitterly deprived”? Once we recognize that we are making judgments based on imagined images and limitations and see the unhappiness it brings, it becomes easier to become a happy learner.

We cannot have the truth and its opposite at the same time. We cannot have vision and keep our false beliefs about separate bodies at the same time. Once we accept one, the other disappears. When we are not a happy learner, we resist opening to the truth by thinking that the memory of Heaven is not open to us. We will think that we cannot hear Holy Spirit’s voice or become aware of Love’s presence, though it is all around us. “You are not a happy learner yet because you still remain uncertain that vision gives you more than judgment does, and you have learned that both you cannot have.” (3:7)

What does Jesus mean by ‘the forgotten song’?

The forgotten song is a metaphor for the remembrance of Heaven, Where we still reside in truth. Jesus brings us a vision that describes what it is really like to let the veil be lifted and remember where we are in truth. He tells us, “Beyond the body, beyond the sun and stars, past everything you see and yet somehow familiar, is an arc of golden light that stretches as you look into a great and shining circle. And all the circle fills with light before your eyes. The edges of the circle disappear, and what is in it is no longer contained at all. The light expands and covers everything, extending to infinity forever shining and with no break or limit anywhere. Within it everything is joined in perfect continuity. Nor is it possible to imagine that anything could be outside, for there is nowhere that this light is not.

“This is the vision of the Son of God, whom you know well. Here is the sight of him who knows his Father. Here is the memory of what you are; a part of this, with all of it within, and joined to all as surely as all is joined in you. Accept the vision that can show you this, and not the body. You know the ancient song, and know it well. Nothing will ever be as dear to you as is this ancient hymn of love the Son of God sings to his Father still.” (8:1-6, 9:1-6) This imagery provides a visualization that we can use to help us move toward the experience of the all-inclusiveness of Love.

What happens as we remember the vision of the Son of God?

As we are willing to become a happy learner and remember that everyone is included in God’s circle of golden Light with no break or limit anywhere, we heal and are healed of all we learned before. Jesus reminds us, “The light in one awakens it in all. And when you see [this light] in your brother, you are remembering for everyone.” (10:6-7) As we let our perception of separation be corrected and transformed into wholeness, we do it for the whole Sonship because God’s extension of Love (the Sonship) is one in truth.

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Chapter 20: The Vision of Holiness

Section VIII: The Vision of Sinlessness

Read ACIM Chapter 20, Section VIII (pages 441-44)

How do we receive the vision of sinlessness?

Because judgment, or deciding what reality is on our own, has been our goal, we have lost true vision. The goal of the thought system of separation has been to see guilt outside us by projecting it onto ‘others’ we now see as outside of our own mind. The vision of sinlessness sees just the opposite. Jesus tells us, “Vision will come to you at first in glimpses, but they will be enough to show you what is given you who see your brother sinless. Truth is restored to you through your desire, as it was lost to you through your desire for something else. Open the holy place that you closed off by valuing the ‘something else,’ and what was never lost will quietly return.” (1:1-3)

How do we exchange our doubts for certainty and misery for joy?

Jesus tells us, “Your holy relationship offers all this to you. As it was given you, so will be its effects. And as its holy purpose was not made by you, the means by which its happy end is yours is also not of you. Rejoice in what is yours but for the asking, and think not that you need make either means or end. All this is given you who would but see your brother sinless. All this is given, waiting on your desire but to receive it. Vision is freely given to those who ask to see.” (2:4-10, italics added)

What other gift comes along with the Holy Spirit’s certainty and joy?

As we let all our relationships become holy relationships by seeing the truth behind every body, we receive the peace of God. We see holiness instead of sin. “For peace will come to all who ask for it with real desire and sincerity of purpose, shared with the Holy Spirit and at one with Him on what salvation is. Be willing, then, to see your brother sinless, that Christ may rise before your vision and give you joy. And place no value on your brother’s body, which holds him to illusions of what he is. It is his desire to see his sinlessness, as it is yours. And bless the Son of God in your relationship, nor see in him what you have made of him.” (3:2-6)

What is the body the sign of?

“The body is the sign of weakness, vulnerability and loss of power.” (5:1) We do not have to continue choosing to dream this dream. We have at our disposal the way out of every problem we think we have by accepting Holy Spirit’s vision instead of our own judgment. We do not have to continue focusing on the illusion of separate bodies with all the pain and sorrow it brings to us. “There is no problem, no event or situation, no perplexity that vision will not solve. All is redeemed when looked upon with vision. For this is not your sight, and brings with it the laws beloved of Him Whose sight it is.” (5:7-9)

What is the difference between judgment and vision?

Jesus tells us, “Judgment is but a toy, a whim, the senseless means to play the idle game of death in your imagination. But vision sets all things right, bringing them gently within the kindly sway of Heaven’s laws.” (7:1-2) With Holy Spirit’s vision, we see the truth. We see that everyone is still as God created them. Everyone is still pure Love and nothing else. With judgment we see illusions of separation, where nothing is the same and everything is in a constant state of change. Jesus is showing us the difference between judgment and vision so that we can recognize the ‘idle game of death’ that is going on in our minds and become willing to let it go. He tells us, “What if you recognized this world is an hallucination? What if you really understood you made it up? What if you realized that those who seem to walk about in it, to sin and die, attack and murder and destroy themselves, are wholly unreal? Could you have faith in what you see, if you accepted this? And would you see it?” (7:3-7) The Holy Spirit’s gentle correction teaches us to recognize the hallucination for what it is and with this recognition, we automatically let go of the dream.

How is judgment replaced by vision?

We are learning that all we see in this world of separate bodies is the effect of judgment — making separate bodies real because we like the made-up story of individuality and uniqueness. We see this story of differences because of our choice or we would not see it. At this stage of the game we would rather see separation than the oneness that vision would show us. The good news is, “Hallucinations disappear when they are recognized for what they are. This is the healing and the remedy. Believe them not and they are gone. And all you need to do is recognize that you did this. Once you accept this simple fact and take unto yourself the power you have them, you are released from them.” (8:1-5) This is how judgment is replaced by vision. We must first recognize that we are making the world we see up. We must see that they are hallucinations that are coming from what we are choosing to believe in. Jesus says, “One thing is sure; hallucinations serve a purpose, and when that purpose is no longer held they disappear.” (8:6)

What are the only two purposes that are possible?

Jesus tells us, “Only two purposes are possible. And one is sin, the other holiness. Nothing is in between, and which you choose determines what you see. For what you see is merely how you elect to meet your goal.” (9:1-4) Because of the power of our mind, as long as we want to have a separate identity, we will see separate bodies. As we become willing to join with the Holy Spirit’s purpose, our mind is returned to remembering oneness. We recognize that nothing could really be outside of our mind and that what we see as outside us is coming from our mind. Because only oneness is real, there is no ‘other.’ Only God, or Love is real. The question is, when will we be willing to see the truth of Love’s all encompassing oneness?

What happens in our dream as the Holy Spirit is given the opportunity to bring us vision?

As we open up to our true Self, the hallucinations coming from the false self are transformed into experiences of gentleness and peace. The fearful sights are translated into calm and reassuring sights. Instead of guilt, we see innocence. Instead of rejection and hate, we see acceptance and God’s Love. “These gentle sights and sounds are looked on happily, and heard with joy. They are His substitutes for all the terrifying sights and screaming sounds the ego’s purpose brought to your horrified awareness. [Holy Spirit’s substitutes] step away from sin, reminding you that it is not Reality which frightens you, and that the errors which you made can be corrected.” (10:5-7)

What is it that Jesus invites us to behold?

Jesus tells us, “Think but an instant just on this; you can behold the holiness God gave His Son. And never need you think that there is something else for you to see.” (11:3) All there really is to see is our loving brother who is one with us in the Love of God.

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Chapter 20: The Vision of Holiness

Section VII: The Consistency of Means and End

Read ACIM Chapter 20, Section VII (pages 439-41)

How is truth restored to us?

Jesus tells us, “Truth is restored to you through your desire, as it was lost to you through your desire for something else. Open the holy place that you closed off by valuing the ‘something else,’ and what was never lost will quietly return. It has been saved for you. Vision would not be necessary had judgment not been made. Desire now its whole undoing, and it is done for you.” (2:2-6)

We made separation by our desire for it. It has not made us happy. We thought it would bring us specialness, but it has only brought us doubt, fear and pain. We now want the truth restored to us because we now see that illusions of separation do not bring us the happiness we seek. We are willing to ‘choose once again.’ And this time we are willing to open to the Holy Spirit by choosing to quiet our mind and accept peace. We allow peace to fill that place in our mind where we were making decisions on our own about what was real. We allow those decisions to be undone for us. We are willing to be shown that separate bodies are not real and that Love can never change into something else.

What is really happening when we still see our brother as a body?

Jesus knows that we are still vacillating in what we want to see. When we still want to see bodies, it will appear hard for us to accept the Holy Spirit’s peace. If we are still insisting on judging what is real on our own, we are still holding back from accepting Christ’s vision, which replaces our false ideas of the reality of separate bodies. Jesus tells us, “And when you hesitate, it is because the purpose [of accepting the truth of oneness] frightens you, and not the means. Remember this, for otherwise you will make the error of believing the means are difficult.” (3:4-5)

When we want to continue seeing our brother as a body, the means to let that go will seem difficult. We will not see the body as nothing because we still want to make the evaluation or judgment that it is something that is real and has value. To this Jesus tells us, “As nothing, which [the body] is, the body cannot meaningfully be invested with attributes of Christ or of the ego. Either must be an error, for both would place the attributes where they cannot be. And both must be undone for purposes of truth.” (4:6-8) Many times throughout the Course, Jesus tells us not to make the error real. Here he reminds us that we cannot want to make something out of nothing and have the truth restored to us.

What is the means the Holy Spirit offers us to serve His purpose?

The Holy Spirit offers us vision. We receive the Holy Spirit’s vision when we refrain from deciding what anything means on our own. We refrain from bringing the past to the present. We stop and step back from thinking in terms of separate bodies. This gives a clean and open space for the Holy Spirit to enter and bring the Light of clarity to our clouded minds. Jesus tells us, “To see the body is a sign that you lack vision, and have denied the means the Holy Spirit offers you to serve His purpose. How can a holy relationship achieve its purpose through the means of sin? Judgment you taught yourself; vision is learned from Him Who would undo your teaching. His vision cannot see the body because it cannot look on sin. And thus [vision] leads you to reality.” (8:2-6)

What is the real question to ask if we want to see with Holy Spirit’s vision?

Jesus tells us, “Your question should not be, ‘How can I see my brother without the body?’ Ask only, ‘Do I really wish to see him sinless?’ And as you ask, forget not that his sinlessness is your escape from fear.” (9:1-3) When we judge what anything means from the perspective of this world, we are deciding on our own and closing off Holy Spirit’s vision. If we want to see our sinless brother, we will open our minds to the Holy Spirit and let the truth be given us. The truth comes to us when we are ready and willing to receive. Only Love is real. When we are ready we will see that nothing has happened to change God’s one Son. God’s laws of extension is still the only Reality. We can relax now and let the truth return to our awareness.

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Chapter 20: The Vision of Holiness

Section VI: The Temple of the Holy Spirit

Read ACIM Chapter 20, Section VI (pages 436-39)

What is the difference between a real relationship and an unreal relationship?

Jesus tells us that our only real relationship is our relationship with our Creator and this one real relationship exists now and forever. This one real relationship was created by God and remains unchanged as He created it. Regarding this real relationship Jesus tells us, “His real relationship is one of perfect union and unbroken continuity. ...The one created by his Father is wholly self-encompassing and self-extending.” (1:5,7)

Regarding our unreal relationships, Jesus tells us, “Yet has the Son of God invented an unholy relationship between him and his Father. ...The one he made is partial, self-centered, broken into fragments and full of fear. ...The one he made is wholly self-destructive and self-limiting.” (1:4,6,8)

When we look at what Jesus is telling us closely, we see that all the relationships we think of as real in this world of separate bodies are actually unreal. When we think of anyone in terms of their body or their unique personality, we are looking at an unreal relationship. It is the ego’s unreal substitute for our one real relationship with God.

Why does Jesus say the body is the opposite of Love’s perfect union and unbroken continuity?

Jesus tells us, “The body is an isolated speck of darkness; a hidden secret room, a tiny spot of senseless mystery, a meaningless enclosure carefully protected, yet hiding nothing. Here the unholy relationship escapes reality, and seeks for crumbs to keep itself alive. Here it would drag its brothers, holding them here in its idolatry. Here it is “safe,” for here love cannot enter. The Holy Spirit does not build His temples where Love can never be. Would He Who sees the face of Christ choose as His home the only place in all the universe where it can not be seen?” (5:1-7) The body was made to separate from Love’s oneness. It is not real and was meant to be an effective barrier to keep Love out of our awareness. It is just a false idea that we can discard because we see that it is not real.

How do we transcend our unreal or unholy relationships and accept our one real or holy relationship?

As we learn to take all our beliefs about separate bodies to the Holy Spirit for a true perspective, we learn to see the difference between reality and illusions. We learn to transcend the body and see the one true relationship of Love that encompasses everything and extends to all Reality. We learn the true meaning of the Son of God and see his relationship with his Creator. We focus on the one, undivided Love in every brother instead of focusing on his mistakes. Jesus tells us, “Then lay aside the body and quietly transcend it, rising to welcome what you really want. And from His holy temple, look you not back on what you have awakened from. For no illusions can attract the mind that has transcended them, and left them far behind.” (9:5-7)

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Chapter 22: Salvation and the Holy Relationship

Section III: Reason and the Forms of Error

What is the beginning of the ego’s undoing?

What does Jesus say about what the body’s eyes see?

How does reason reverse our errors in thinking?

What does the ego call our errors in perception and why?

How does perception of form obscure our understanding of the truth?

What happens when we are willing to see past the ego’s idea of sin?

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Chapter 22: Salvation and the Holy Relationship

Section II: Your Brother’s Sinlessness

What is the opposite of illusions to the ego?

What is the opposite of illusions to the Holy Spirit?

How does Jesus explain the difference between true happiness and what is really fear?

What does Jesus say about trying to hold onto both truth and illusions at the same time?

What is the one decision we must make?

What is at the core of our belief that we could be at the mercy of anything in this world?

What does this mean to us who think that we are still in this world of separate bodies?

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Chapter 22: Salvation and the Holy Relationship

Section I: The Message of the Holy Relationship

What is really going on when we judge or get angry with anyone?

What will we understand about ourselves as we listen to Holy Spirit’s reasoning?

Why does Jesus say that we have secrets and how do these secret, fearful thoughts relate to our belief in sin and guilt?

What does what we see reveal to us?

Why does Jesus refer to the holy relationship, seen through Christ’s vision, as a newborn babe that must be given a home?

What is the message of the holy relationship?

What calls on truth and shows us that fear is meaningless?

Why is opening to Christ’s vision the same as accepting the holy relationship?

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Chapter 22: Salvation and the Holy Relationship

Introduction

What is the difference between a holy and an unholy relationship?

What undoes the painful effects of unholy relationships?

What is the premise or foundation of all holy relationships?

What are we taught through a holy relationship?

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Chapter 21: Reason and Perception

Section VIII: The Inner Shift

What is the inner shift that brings us to a place of constant joy and happiness?

Are we always seeing what we desire to see in our heart of hearts?

How can we tell if we are allowing ourselves to become aware of God’s happiness?

Is becoming aware of God’s happiness the same as accepting the holy instant?

What happens as we truly desire to receive what God has given us?

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Chapter 21: Reason and Perception

Section VII: The Last Unanswered Question

What does Jesus tell us is inevitable when we believe in separation?

Is it possible to win the war the sleeping Son of God believes he is waging against God’s Oneness?

What questions are we to ask ourselves in order to have this battle with God’s oneness be undone in our mind?

How do we return to our real power rather than stay in a mind set of helplessness?

Why is the power of our desire so important to our awakening to the truth?

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Chapter 21: Reason and Perception

Section VI: Reason versus Madness

How does reason lead to the correction of errors?

Why must correction always include releasing the idea of sin or guilt?

How does correction include releasing the idea that we have private thoughts?

Why does Jesus refer to what is real about us as ‘continuous’?

Does the fact that we are one with our brother mean that we have the power to heal the Son of God?

How do we realize that we are already freed?

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Chapter 21: Reason and Perception

Section V: The Function of Reason

Is what we see our choice or is it an unchangeable fact?

Why does our awareness of Reality need our help?

What happens when we listen to the ego’s voice?

How do we go about changing our mind?

Where does reason reside in our mind and what is its function?

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