³Forgiveness through the Holy Spirit lies simply in looking beyond error from the beginning, and thus keeping it unreal for you. ⁴Do not let any belief in its realness enter your mind, or you will also believe that you must undo what you have made in order to be forgiven. ⁵What has no effect does not exist, and to the Holy Spirit the effects of error are nonexistent. ⁶By steadily and consistently cancelling out all its effects, everywhere and in all respects, He teaches that the ego does not exist and proves it.
Follow the Holy Spirit’s teaching in forgiveness, then, because forgiveness is His function and He knows how to fulfill it perfectly. …³Miracles are merely the sign of your willingness to follow the Holy Spirit’s plan of salvation, recognizing that you do not understand what it is. ⁴His work is not your function, and unless you accept this you cannot learn what your function is.
Behold, my child, reality is here. ²It belongs to you and me and God, and is perfectly satisfying to all of Us. ³Only this awareness heals, because it is the awareness of truth. (A Course in Miracles, T-9.IV.5:3–6:1,3-4;12:1-3. See also ACIM Text Made Simple.)
The first lesson of the Workbook threatens the ego to its core. If nothing we see means anything, then the ego is nothing. The ego responds to this thought with all its defenses. For if we fully accept that everything we see in the world means nothing, the ego would no longer seem to exist.
This idea is the foundation upon which forgiveness rests. if nothing we see through the body’s eyes means anything, then there has been no change in What God created one with Himself. We are not a body; we remain His Son, wholly loving and wholly loved.
We are so ensconced in the ego thought system that this idea is hard to accept. Fortunately, we have powerful Help to learn this important lesson. But we must be willing to accept this help. The more we practice, moment-by-moment, remembering that we do not know what anything means and asking for the Holy Spirit’s vision of the truth, the greater will be our happiness and peace. With this practice we accept the plan of Atonement. We forgive the world for all we thought it was and welcome God’s gift of all of His Love.
Let’s join together in this practice today.
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