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Study of Text, C 14: VI. The Light of Communication, P 4. 5-8-17

VI. The Light of Communication, P 4

4 Death yields to live simply because destruction is not true. The light of guiltlessness shines guilt away because, when they are brought together, the truth of one must make the falsity of its opposite perfectly clear. Keep not guilt and guiltlessness apart, for your belief that you can have them both is meaningless. All you have done by keeping them apart is lose their meaning by confusing them with each other. And so you do not realize that only one means anything. The other is wholly without sense of any kind.

Journal

Jesus tells us that we must not keep guilt and guiltlessness apart from each other. I was wondering how it is that I do this. What came to me is that I keep guilt and guiltlessness apart when I think that sometimes guilt is true and warranted. When I think that someone really did something and that they really are guilty of it, I am trying to believe that guiltlessness is true, but sometimes guilt is true. Jesus says that when I do this, they lose their meaning, and I confuse them with each other.

There was once a woman in my life that I didn’t like and who felt like a threat to me. She was someone I used to work with, and I spent a long time justifying my belief that she was guilty. There just seemed to be so much proof that I was right. When I looked for people to support my belief, I found it.

When someone would see her value, instead, I would simply ignore it. I refused to bring the guilt to guiltlessness. I wanted her condemned and so I kept guiltlessness apart from my belief in her guilt. I did this for as long as I could tolerate the loss of peace. When I had made myself too miserable to stand it anymore, I changed my mind.

I stopped asking ego to define this woman, and I started asking the Holy Spirit to heal my mind. I wanted to see her as guiltless and I wanted that more than anything. In that moment, the miracle occurred and suddenly, I knew she was guiltless. Her behavior didn’t entirely change, though, in the light of my love, she did behave differently at times. But no matter what she said or did, I saw it differently.

I stopped arresting my sight at her body/personality, and I saw her light. I no longer saw her behavior as mean and hateful, but only as confused. Like all of us, she wanted to be happy but was confused as to how to do that. What I felt from her when I began to see her as guiltless, had nothing to do with her behavior. When I gave up guilt, love took its place. I came to love my enemy. There was a time when I would never have believed that was possible in this case, but then I brought guilt and guiltlessness together.

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Study of Text, C 14: VI. The Light of Communication, P 3. 5-3-17

VI. The Light of Communication, P 3

3 Would you continue to give imagined power to these strange ideas of safety? They are neither safe nor unsafe. They do not protect; neither do they attack. They do nothing at all, being nothing at all. As guardians of darkness and of ignorance look to them only for fear, for what they keep obscure is fearful. But let them go, and what was fearful will be so no longer. Without protection of obscurity, only the light of love remains, for only this has meaning and can live in light. Everything else must disappear.

Journal
What strange ideas is Jesus talking about in this paragraph? What is it that we think is keeping us safe, but do nothing? The first things that come to my mind are guilt, fear, and projection. I have mentioned before that I am afraid of heights, and so the ego mind reasons that the solution is to stay away from heights.

As I have started listening to Holy Spirit more than ego, I have decided that the answer is not to change where I allow myself to be, but to change the problem at the source, which is in my mind. But the ego warned me that if I succeeded, then I would wind up on some scary mountain, trying to navigate a switchback.

Just imagining being there triggers the terror I feel at the thought, and I don’t want to stop being afraid of heights. I think my fear protects me from what I fear. The reasoning is convoluted and obscures the truth. The truth is much simpler and hides nothing. If I were willing to accept the simple truth of my invulnerability, all the crazy thinking would be gone.

The idea that I am guilty is another dark thought, and the ego offers me protection through projection. Just get rid of it, the ego says. Throw it out and let it stick to someone else. See that it is the other person’s fault. The ego doesn’t tell me that getting rid of it that way only creates a morass of complex thinking that leaves me with even more guilt.

The fact is that there is nowhere outside the mind and thus hurling it “away” leaves it right where the guilt began, in mind. The decision to project the guilt and make someone else guilty instead,  just makes me feel guiltier. The whole attempt is so devious and deceitful, how could I not feel guilty. It just seems so obscure that I become afraid of myself. The truth is simple; I am innocent, and there is no such thing as guilt. There. Problem solved.

Another guardian of darkness is sickness. Sickness seems to prove that I am this body I seem to inhabit. Since I am the body, I cannot be the Son of God. Apparently, I am not loved by this God; look how weak and vulnerable He created me. Look how He punishes me. I must be very guilty. The ego then suggests remedies that will thwart my thoroughly deserved sickness, and thus the guilt increases. It’s such a messy thought process that I become too afraid to look further.

The simple truth becomes evident when I stop asking ego what everything means and start asking the Holy Spirit. I am not this body. I am the thinker of the body, the mind that made it. It is just a neutral object onto which I project whatever I want. It is like the canvas on which the artist paints.

The canvas doesn’t make its own painting. The body, in kind, does not make its own sickness. I did this to myself, and I can undo it by accepting the truth. While not guilty for my choice for sickness, I am responsible for it, and thank goodness for that. As before, I understand that guilt is not real and thus punishment is not necessary. All I have to do is accept the clear and unambiguous truth. When that happens, fear falls away.

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Study of Text, C 14: VI. The Light of Communication, P 2. 5-2-17

VI. The Light of Communication, P 2

2 The quiet light in which the Holy Spirit dwells within you is merely perfect openness, in which nothing is hidden and therefore nothing is fearful. Attack will always yield to love if it is brought to love, not hidden from it. There is no darkness that the light of love will not dispel, unless it is concealed from love’s beneficence. What is kept apart from love cannot share its healing power, because it has been separated off and kept in darkness. The sentinels of darkness watch over it carefully, and you who made these guardians of illusion out of nothing are now afraid of them.

Journal
This explanation seems very simple to me. My dark thoughts are protected from the Holy Spirit when I insist I am guilty because I have them. They are dispelled when I stop defending these ideas and let love heal them instead. It is truly the easiest thing in the world to do. It only seems hard when I listen to the ego’s dire warnings.

I used to think that when I was sad and discouraged, there was nothing I could do about this emotional state. Slowly, I proved to myself that I could let these feelings go if I asked the Holy Spirit to show me how to see them differently. If I gave them to the Holy Spirit, I could let love undo them. But I would notice the feelings would re-emerge when I was tired and didn’t have the energy to deal with them.

The return of the feelings at a time I felt vulnerable would scare me. I wondered if I was wrong about the whole thing and if I was forever trapped in my dark mind. Then one evening, I told the Holy Spirit that I was tired of this and, that I wanted to claim my happiness all the time.

I told Him that I didn’t know what to do about the sadness that would creep in at night and the fear and guilt that resulted, but I knew that He did and I put it in His hands. Holy cow! That was it! Now, if the sadness tries to return, I just laugh at it. It is nothing but smoke and mirrors. I just say no to sadness, and the feeling melts away.

Sadness is just one form of darkness, but it is the same with all forms, guilt, fear, anger; they all dissipate when given to love. I have a couple of dark thoughts that have been harder for me to turn over to Spirit. It is harder, I think because I think it is harder. But each time they come up, it is a little easier and so I continue to practice this process until I master it.

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Study of Text, C 14: VI. The Light of Communication, P 1. 5-1-17

VI. The Light of Communication, P 1
1 The journey that we undertake together is the exchange of dark for light, of ignorance for understanding. Nothing you understand is fearful. It is only in darkness and in ignorance that you perceive the frightening, and shrink away from it to further darkness. And yet it is only the hidden that can terrify, not for what it is, but for its hiddenness. The obscure is frightening because you do not understand its meaning. If you did, it would be clear and you would be no longer in the dark. Nothing has hidden value, for what is hidden cannot be shared, and so its value is unknown. The hidden is kept apart, but value always lies in joint appreciation. What is concealed cannot be loved, and so it must be feared.

Journal
The world as we see it is dark until we begin to bring our perceptions to the light. Our life within this world is dark in the same way and everyone here experiences fear and guilt. From what I understand from reading this paragraph, it is not the world or our life that is frightening; it is our lack of understanding that drives us deeper into the darkness. Because we don’t understand the world we see, we are afraid of it.

This is good news, indeed. We are afraid, not of the world, but are afraid of what we do not understand. The world is not the problem; meaninglessness is the problem, and God did not create meaninglessness. We can discover the meaning and in doing so, it becomes something we can share.

This is the purpose of the Atonement. We forgive what we condemned and learn of its value. When it is no longer hidden, it can be appreciated and what is appreciated can be shared and loved. Where there is love, there is not fear. I have proven this to myself. I have forgiven much and in doing so I have discovered my purpose. I share this purpose with all who have discovered it for themselves. My life is much lighter and happier now, and I have peace in a way I, heretofore, could not even imagine.

Let yourself become aware of the darkness without guilt. The darkness is an illusion born of misunderstanding and nothing to be feared. Give your willingness to know the truth instead. Watch the light come into your awareness, and in the light you see the value of life because you understand it. In understanding it, you will share it, and in sharing it, you will love it.

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Study of Text, C 14: V. The Circle of Atonement, P 11. 4-27-17

V. The Circle of Atonement, P 11

11 Each one you see you place within the holy circle of Atonement or leave outside, judging him fit for crucifixion or for redemption. If you bring him into the circle of purity, you will rest there with him. If you leave him without, you join him there. Judge not except in quietness which is not of you. Refuse to accept anyone as without the blessing of Atonement, and bring him into it by blessing him. Holiness must be shared, for therein lies everything that makes it holy. Come gladly to the holy circle, and look out in peace on all who think they are outside. Cast no one out, for here is what he seeks along with you. Come, let us join him in the holy place of peace which is for all of us, united as one within the Cause of peace.

Journal

Oh, my! What a beautiful paragraph this is. The following passage is very helpful in its simplicity.

If you bring him into the circle of purity, you will rest there with him. If you leave him without, you join him there.

Every morning I pray for the people on my prayer list. My prayer is that they not be left alone in their guilt, and my visualization is one of drawing them into the circle of Atonement. This morning as I did this, I felt as if I was inviting them in and then holding them all in love as perfect as I can conceive of at this time. I was overwhelmed with joy.

On the other hand, if I imagine anyone as unworthy of the Atonement, I cast myself from within this circle of love. At this moment, I cannot imagine wanting to leave anyone out, so I asked Holy Spirit to point me to this error. Immediately I thought about my son and realized that I had imagined him outside the circle of Atonement.

I didn’t know that I was doing this until the Holy Spirit helped me to see it. My son was going through some tough times recently, and in my fear and frustration, I felt like it was his own fault. He seemed to me to be bent on self-destruction, and I was, in one moment, angry with him for that, in the next, I felt sorry for him and sad for him.

This judgment was from the ego mind, and it was the idea that he did not have a place in the circle. It also cast me out of that same circle. I felt fearful, guilty and unlovable. Like my judgment of him, I was being self-destructive and doing this to myself. Ha! The world really is a mirror, isn’t it. As I correct that error and refuse to leave my precious son alone with his guilt, I feel us both enfolded in the awesome love of God. I joined him in the holy place of peace which is for all of us, united as one within the Cause of peace.

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Study of Text, C 14: V. The Circle of Atonement, P 10 4-26-17

V. The Circle of Atonement, P 10

10 The crucifixion had no part in the Atonement. Only the resurrection became my part in it. That is the symbol of the release from guilt by guiltlessness. Whom you perceive as guilty you would crucify. Yet you restore guiltlessness to whomever you see as guiltless. Crucifixion is always the ego’s aim. It sees everyone as guilty, and by its condemnation it would kill. The Holy Spirit sees only guiltlessness, and in His gentleness He would release from fear and re-establish the reign of love. The power of love is in His gentleness, which is of God and therefore cannot crucify nor suffer crucifixion. The temple you restore becomes your altar, for it was rebuilt through you. And everything you give to God is yours. Thus He creates, and thus must you restore.

Journal

Jesus uses the symbol of crucifixion to help us see that we are crucifying ourselves and each other with guilt. When I think I am guilty, I am crucifying myself, that is, I am suffering at my own hand. When I choose guilt, it is a choice for death. It is a little harder to see how it is that I am crucifying someone else with guilt.

I do understand how I condemn another when I find that one guilty. In my mind, perhaps with my words, I condemn. But how is it that I restore guiltlessness to someone? How does my change of mind affect another? How could it be that my belief in your innocence will restore you? I honestly don’t know how to explain this, but I have experienced it. I suppose it must be true because we are one spirit, and we really cannot have private thoughts.

The Holy Spirit sees only guiltlessness, and I have the Holy Spirit in my mind. Therefore, I can see only guiltlessness. I need only choose to look with that mind. Yes, I am aware of my brother’s confusion and its effects in his life, but his confusion does not condemn him. I can know that he is guiltless because the Holy Spirit in me knows he is guiltless.

The way this has worked for me is that I give my desire to see with my holy mind rather than with my ego mind. If my desire for guiltlessness is what I want, that is what I will see because it is there for me to see. As guilt falls away, fear falls with it. My desire to love and my devotion to the Atonement grows each day. Each day, my sense of purpose becomes stronger.

I eagerly release guilt thoughts. I notice that I feel guilty or that I have projected guilt onto someone, and I let that thought die. I choose not to enliven it with my attention. Love overcomes fear and guilt falls away. There are still times when I have to work at this when the belief in guilt is compelling, but the process remains the same.

I have discovered that if I set the story aside and only look at the belief in guilt that the story represents, then the struggle wanes. For instance, there was a person in my life with whom I was uncomfortable. I projected this onto her and believed she was the problem.

Believing that she was the problem is the same thing as saying that she was to blame for my discomfort and so was guilty. She did so many things that seemed to prove my point, and the more I looked at our relationship, the harder it was to see that guilt wasn’t warranted. What I did, was to look past the story of this young woman and me.

I looked at what the story represented, and I saw that I found value in guilt. Seeing her as guilty in this story provided a way to avoid looking within where I thought guilt resided. That was the whole purpose of the story. Once I saw that this was not about her actions or my reactions, but that it was about guilt, I was able to allow healing. I returned to love and guilt fell away. Then there was no story.

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Study of Text, C 14: V. The Circle of Atonement, P 9. 4-25-17

V. The Circle of Atonement, P 9

9 Blessed are you who teach with me. Our power comes not of us, but of our Father. In guiltlessness we know Him, as He knows us guiltless. I stand within the circle, calling you to peace. Teach peace with me, and stand with me on holy ground. Remember for everyone your Father’s power that He has given him. Believe not that you cannot teach His perfect peace. Stand not outside, but join with me within. Fail not the only purpose to which my teaching calls you. Restore to God His Son as He created him, by teaching him his innocence.

Journal
As I teach innocence, I stand in the circle, and I teach of God and with Jesus, my brother. Do you see how simple this is? I want to be on that holy ground, and I want to teach peace. This is my only purpose. All that is required of me is that I not teach anyone he is guilty. Not only is it simple to teach innocence, it is easy. It only requires a certain faith and practice.

First I must have faith that innocence is true. I could simply trust that there is no guilt because that is what Jesus tells me. But Jesus does not ask us to go on blind trust. He helps us understand why we want to release this belief in guilt. Jesus explains that it is possible to let go of the belief in guilt because, not being a creation of God, it is not real. He then tells us how to release it.

He explains how guilt hurts us and gives us encouragement by telling us what it will be like when we let guilt go. He gives us lessons in releasing the false idea of guilt, and lessons in joining with our brothers instead of separating through guilt. He is very convincing that guilt has no value.

What I have done is to use this information for its practical nature and logic. It makes sense that there is no value in guilt and there is every reason to accept innocence. As I practice releasing guilt, the effects of doing so have motivated me to continue letting go of the belief in guilt. At first, it was more about looking for guilt thoughts in my mind, learning to recognize the effects of guilt, and then convincing myself that guilt held no value for me.

But now, something has shifted through this process. As more of the belief in guilt has been chipped away, I have discovered what lies beneath it. I have begun to uncover the love that I am. The way this appears is that I feel love toward everyone, even those who I once disliked, and those I didn’t trust, or even those I simply disregarded. I also found devotion, devotion to my brothers and to myself and to this work. I think this devotion I feel is perhaps a shadow of the devotion Jesus has for us.

This transformation I am experiencing is not complete. It isn’t stable yet. I still need to be vigilant for those thoughts of guilt in others and in myself. Though I don’t do it as often, I can still project guilt rather than to release it. But now, I want to find the guilt thoughts. I feel excited to find signs that I still choose to keep guilt alive. Each time I see this desire on my part, I choose again, and instead of encouraging it with my attention I just let the belief die. I have very little interest in fostering guilt, and a strong desire to cultivate innocence instead.

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