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Study of Text, Chapter 9, IV. The Holy Spirit’s Plan of Forgivness, P 4. 2-5-15

IV. The Holy Spirit’s Plan of Forgiveness, P 4
4 The ego, too, has a plan of forgiveness because you are asking for one, though not of the right teacher. The ego’s plan, of course, makes no sense and will not work. By following its plan you will merely place yourself in an impossible situation, to which the ego always leads you. The ego’s plan is to have you see error clearly first, and then overlook it. Yet how can you overlook what you have made real? By seeing it clearly, you have made it real and cannot overlook it. This is where the ego is forced to appeal to “mysteries,” insisting that you must accept the meaningless to save yourself. Many have tried to do this in my name, forgetting that my words make perfect sense because they come from God. They are as sensible now as they ever were, because they speak of ideas that are eternal.

Journal
Jesus said even in the Bible that we must not judge and must forgive. He said we must love each other and treat others as we would want to be treated. We found this to be too hard and so we did not take his words literally. We called it a mystery as to how this works, and we just kept on judging and hating and failing to forgive. That is why we are still living the dream of separation.

It is not hard to do what Jesus said, it is just necessary that we want to do it. Our error in forgiveness (and all other errors follow from this) is that we made the offense real and then tried to forgive it. This is the ego’s plan for forgiveness and of course never works. On the cross, Jesus did not say, “Forgive these terrible people for their sin.” He overlooked their actions knowing they were just confused. They were acting out of ego thinking and the whole thing was meaningless because the ego is meaningless, the illusion is meaningless.

Jesus knew there was nothing to forgive and this was forgiveness. I used to be confused about this. If there was no sin then why did he ask that they be forgiven? I think (that if he actually said this) that he was modeling forgiveness for us. He was showing us that no insult, regardless of its seeming severity, is to be taken as sin. Everything is to be forgiven. Now that we are ready, he is telling us that nothing actually happened to be forgiven and that is forgiveness.

In Lesson 36, we are told that there is no sin. Our mind is part of God’s Mind and we are very holy. There is no sin in God so there can be no sin in us. None. Ever. So what could there be to forgive? If there seems to be sinful action, it can only be an illusion, an ego story, meaningless because it is not real.

I would not find anyone guilty because I want to release the separation idea now. I am ready to wake up. I cannot wake up if I believe in sin and guilt. I awaken to reality and sin and guilt have no existence in reality. When I am aware of an ego behavior, I know it is not in alignment with the Love that we are, but I remind myself that the Love that we are cannot be affected by ego. We remain sinless. This is what Jesus has told us from the start. Don’t look at the action, judge it is sinful and then try to forgive it. Simply look at your brother and know he is holy.

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Study of Text, Chapter 9, IV. The Holy Spirit’s Plan of Forgiveness, P 3. 2-3-15

IV. The Holy Spirit’s Plan of Forgiveness, P 3
3 The Atonement is a lesson in sharing, which is given you because you have forgotten how to do it. The Holy Spirit merely reminds you of the natural use of your abilities. By reinterpreting the ability to attack into the ability to share, He translates what you have made into what God created. If you would accomplish this through Him you cannot look on your abilities through the eyes of the ego, or you will judge them as it does. All their harmfulness lies in the ego’s judgment. All their helpfulness lies in the judgment of the Holy Spirit.

Journal
I was a little confused at first when I read this. But then I read it again and sentence three really clicked for me. “By reinterpreting the ability to attack into the ability to share, He translates what you have made into what God created.” Here is an example of this. At the sales meeting yesterday I discovered that something important had been overlooked by a member of the team. This could have serious repercussions for me and I immediately attacked him.

I stopped myself as quickly as I could, but still, I did attack. I said something like, “You can’t do that. This is important.” Just reading the words it doesn’t seem like much, but in my mind it was a full out attack. If I said what my ego mind was thinking, it would have been more like, “You are such an idiot! How could you do something so dumb? You are attacking me with your behavior and I’m going to return the attack. Then we will see how you feel.” Luckily, I do have a filter and I generally use it.

This is the ego use of my abilities. The ego uses everything as either an attack or a defense. The ego felt that his behavior was an attack on me and could affect my income. The ego response was to do something about this. It wanted to defend through making him do better, which is an attack on him. I recognized this and I was able to recover my senses and ask for healing before it got too far out of hand.

How is it that the Holy Spirit could use my abilities to share? In this same situation, once I allowed my mind to be corrected and I had returned to peace, I saw it as a situation to be resolved. I thought about it during the day and came up with some solutions. It was no longer about assigning blame and defending myself. Now I can honestly say that I love this person. I see him differently. I see with greater vision because I asked for vision. Instead of projecting blame and assigning guilt, I feel like I just want to extend love and understanding.

It’s funny that during the same meeting I discovered I had made a mistake that could negatively affect a member of the team. My first reaction was to defend and lash out (in my mind at least) doing what the ego always does, projecting the fault on others. I saw that desire right away and I knew that isn’t what I want. I looked at it again with Holy Spirit and felt led to make amends. I did this and the other person was gracious in accepting my apology, and even in insisting it was no big deal.

There is a world of difference in the ego’s judgment and the Holy Spirit’s judgment. I have learned to value the peace and joy that comes from judging through the Holy Spirit rather than judging through the ego. The ego judgments pop up in my mind, and to the degree that I believe them, I suffer. But the truth is in my mind as well, and even in the middle of an ego storm of resentment and rage, I know what I want. Eventually, and usually soon, I choose peace.

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Study of Text, Chapter 9, IV. The Holy Spirit’s Plan of Forgiveness, P 2. 2-2-15

IV. The Holy Spirit’s Plan of Forgiveness, P 2
2 You have a part to play in the Atonement, but the plan of the Atonement is beyond you. You do not understand how to overlook errors, or you would not make them. It would merely be further error to believe either that you do not make them, or that you can correct them without a Guide to correction. And if you do not follow this Guide, your errors will not be corrected. The plan is not yours because of your limited ideas about what you are. This sense of limitation is where all errors arise. The way to undo them, therefore, is not of you but for you.

I don’t see the real world; I see only the images I have made based on my beliefs. But I can see the real world, and I will see that world as my beliefs are corrected. This is the purpose of the Atonement, to guide me out of my errors and their effects. It is important for me to first acknowledge the error, and to desire to be free of it, and then to realize that what I have made cannot be undone by me alone.

This is my only way to freedom. Right now I am trapped in an illusory world of my own making, but that is temporary. I have been given the plan for escape. The Atonement is that plan. The thought occurred to me that a being with the power to make this world in all its complexity could surely figure out how to stop making it.

But the whole point of the dream world is to give us a place to experience ourselves as mortal. This world we made is where we discover what it would be like to be limited. From the belief in limitation it was impossible to believe we could be unlimited. That is why we needed a plan to extricate ourselves.

Thus we have a guide, and a plan for us but not of us, a plan made and operated outside of the belief in limitation. This plan will allow us to undo what we have done. It is so simple as to be overlooked. It really has only three simple components. We notice that what we are thinking is imprisoning us in this illusion. We decide that we are ready for the dream to end. We ask our Guide to undo what we have done.

That is all. It is simple and easy. It seems hard because our desire to awaken is not unopposed. There is still a part of the mind that values the story and is afraid to let it go. There is also a part of the mind that is afraid of change. What would it mean, how would it look? Are we in trouble for trying to change reality?

As we begin this process of awakening, the sleeping mind is reluctant to let go of its false sense of power to accept true power. In this upside down world, releasing our confused thoughts can feel like giving up, like losing. So we hesitate and try again to do it ourselves. It feels hopeless as once again we fail.

Our Guide takes all of this into account, our reticence, our doubts and uncertainties. He works with each of us individually, gently guiding us toward freedom, moving only as fast as we are willing to go, never coercing or forcing. Not that anything could force the Son of God, but even the appearance or sense of being forced is avoided.

In releasing our beliefs that we are separate and our beliefs that we are limited, our memory is going to return and reality will dawn on our minds. But we must not think that we can do this on our own. We have deliberately chosen to believe in limitation. It is this belief in limitation that limits our ability to undo what we have done.

We are not helpless, however. The Atonement Plan is in place, which uses the power of our desire to awaken us. In small simple steps, our Guide is reminding us of our power. All we have to do is follow His directions, and soon we will remember our desire to be what we are. Then it is done.

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study of Text, Chapter 9, IV. The Holy Spirit’s Plan for Forgiveness, P1. 1-30-15

IV. The Holy Spirit’s Plan of Forgiveness
1 Atonement is for all, because it is the way to undo the belief that anything is for you alone. To forgive is to overlook. Look, then, beyond error and do not let your perception rest upon it, for you will believe what your perception holds. Accept as true only what your brother is, if you would know yourself. Perceive what he is not and you cannot know what you are, because you see him falsely. Remember always that your Identity is shared, and that Its sharing is Its reality.

Journal
I am going to begin by reminding myself that the Atonement is the Holy Spirit’s plan to lead us out of the idea of separation. We complete our part through total forgiveness. Someplace in the Text it says that Jesus put the plan into action when he completed his part, but the plan was already there. I wonder if anyone remembers where this is in the Course? I am always reading nifty stuff in the Course and then forgetting where I read it.

Since the Atonement is meant to undo the belief in separation, it naturally is for all. It undoes the belief that anything could be for me alone. I hear the ego in my mind separating out a brother and seeing him as guilty and it is just insane. How could my brother be separate from me? We share the same identity, the same mind.

The idea that I am different from you, separate and apart, is an illusion. If I would remember reality, this is an idea I must release. I cannot believe in the illusion of separation and believe in Reality at the same time. Could you believe that the sky is blue and believe it is red at the same time? One thought would have to be seen as wrong.

It is the same with illusion and reality. Only one is true. I can believe something is not true, but my belief will not change reality. However, if I believe a lie is true I will live as if the lie is true. This is what has happened. We have chosen to believe a lie and it has become true for us. Not true in reality, but true in our mind. This lie is that we are separate from each other and what happens to me does not affect you.

I live my life as if this were truth and I suffer for it; this much is clear to me. I have become convinced that I have made a choice for something that is an illusion, but I have not let go of the illusion. I am trying to live my life as if both Reality and illusion exist. It isn’t working, of course, but it is just a transitional period as I continue to release the illusion and accept the Atonement.

Sometimes I feel like I stand at the veil, with one hand on it, wishing I could just pull it aside, wondering why I don’t. Sometimes releasing the belief in the illusion of separation feels like a lost cause to me. I think about this guy who is attacking me and it just feels so real and he seems so obviously guilty, I just can’t let go of my grievance.

The whole situation seems terribly important and real, and yet, it is just an image I have made. It cannot be real because I cannot be separate from a brother and I cannot have needs that are different and goals that supersede my brother’s needs. He cannot be the cause of what I have made. How can I know this in my little mind and yet, still believe my brother is guilty?

If I believed the sky was red there would be nothing you could do to make me see a blue sky. You might convince me that everyone else sees it differently, and you might convince me that I would be happier if I saw that the sky was blue, but you could not make me see a blue sky. I might want very much to see the sky you see, but if I believe the sky is red, I will never see a blue sky.

There is only one way I will ever see the sky as it truly is. I will have to let go of my belief in red skies. I will have to desire to know the truth, then let go of the belief I currently hold. In that way I can accept the new truth because there will be nothing in my mind to compete with it. This is how the Atonement works.

I have a thought in my mind that my brother is trying to take from me what I want and so he is guilty. This is an image of the belief that we are separate and have separate needs, and that only one of us can win. I have been told that this is false and that believing it is causing me to suffer.

So I ask for the Atonement for this belief. I ask the Holy Spirit to remove this belief from my mind, and then I release it to him. In that empty space where the belief in separation used to be, the truth rises up in my mind. It seems that I need to do this often because I think that there is some value in keeping the old belief so I reclaim it when I think I need it.

Or at least that is how I see it. At any rate, I have had to ask for the Atonement for this mistaken belief often, but each time I am quicker to do it, and it is easier for me to release it. I am learning not to believe that thought in my mind. One day, that thought will not show up anymore because there is no place for it in my mind.

In the mean time, I am looking past my belief about my brother, and not letting my mind dwell on the error, because that will just fix it more firmly in my belief system. If I believe my brother is guilty, I will not be able to see myself as innocent, because whether I consciously accept this as true or not, the fact is that we share the same identity.

If I believe in his guilt, I will believe in mine, so I look past my belief that he is guilty and look toward the truth. I ask the Holy Spirit to remove the thought of guilt from my mind and accept the truth instead. I see his perfection and so I see mine. This Atonement thing is really effective! I notice right away that in forgiveness, I am happy, and in guilt I am not. I choose happiness as I choose the Atonement.

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Study of Text, Chapter 9, III. The Correction of Error, P 8. 1-29-15

III. The Correction of Error, P 8

8 The Holy Spirit forgives everything because God created everything. Do not undertake His function, or you will forget yours. Accept only the function of healing in time, because that is what time is for. God gave you the function to create in eternity. You do not need to learn that, but you do need to learn to want it. For that all learning was made. This is the Holy Spirit’s use of an ability that you do not need, but that you made. Give it to Him! You do not understand how to use it. He will teach you how to see yourself without condemnation, by learning how to look on everything without it. Condemnation will then not be real to you, and all your errors will be forgiven.

Journal

Oh my goodness, I feel like I need to contemplate every sentence in this paragraph!

“The Holy Spirit forgives everything because God created everything.” This is the reason I forgive everything. I forgive every person involved in every situation in my life, including me, because what we are is a creation of God. That alone is reason enough to forgive. I feel excited to think about this. How simple this makes forgiveness. Nothing to judge or decide; in every case I forgive because God created it.

‘Do not undertake His function, or you will forget yours.” I am not certain what is meant by this sentence, but here is what comes into my mind. My function is to notice when there is a thought in my mind that needs correction and to desire that correction. I then release it to the Holy Spirit and He heals my mind. So correction, healing, and forgiveness (which are all the same thing) is His function, not mine.

My function is to choose to be healed, to allow the healing, and to accept it. This is what the Course means when it says I am to forgive. If I try to take the Holy Spirit’s job, I will forget mine, which is essential to the process. I want healing, so I will notice if I start to think it is my job to correct either my brother or myself, and I will step back and let myself be reminded of my part.

“Accept only the function of healing in time, because that is what time is for.” Healing is my only function while I am in time. I often become confused about this as I go about my day. I start to think that getting certain tasks completed is my function and I become anxious if it doesn’t look like I am succeeding.

I think that being on time is function, that winning is my function, that dieting, learning to budget my money better, figuring out how to retire; I start to think that these are all very important and for me to do. But healing is the only function I have in time, and so it is my job to notice these wrong minded choices and ask the Holy Spirit to correct my thinking.

“God gave you the function to create in eternity.” The function of healing is only in force while we are in time. It is the necessary substitute for our true function. In eternity, where we exist, our function is creating. Oh my! Look at the phenomenal job we have done in making this upside down world, and now imagine what we can do in our natural state. This thought is a powerful motivation for me to open my mind and heart to this awakening process.

“You do not need to learn that, but you do need to learn to want it. For that all learning was made.” I do not need to learn I am a creator or how to create. I was created a creator and thus this cannot be lost to me. I can however, choose to deny it for the purpose of experience that is different than Reality. Because this was my choice, and because it is time to return to reality, I must learn that I want to do so. That is what it means that my function in time is learning. I am learning that I want to be what I am.

“This is the Holy Spirit’s use of an ability that you do not need, but that you made.” In my natural state there is no function of learning because I already have all Knowledge. What could there be to learn? In the upside down world I made, I must learn everything, because the ego knows nothing. Like everything I made, as I give it to the Holy Spirit for His use, He uses it to teach me that I don’t need it. If it sounds insane, that is because it is insane. But in giving what I made to the Holy Spirit, my sanity is restored along with my memory. Whew!

“Give it to Him! You do not understand how to use it. He will teach you how to see yourself without condemnation, by learning how to look on everything without it. Condemnation will then not be real to you, and all your errors will be forgiven.” I gladly give the Holy Spirit my learning and put Him in charge of it. I give Him my crazy thoughts and my belief that I know what to do with them. He is forgiving it all and healing my mind, and I am learning to see myself without condemnation.

This has been slow going for me because the ego mind really treasures the notion it can and should judge. When I start to feel like the holy and Divine Being that I am, the ego rushes in with memories of all my errors. It insists that they make me guilty and unworthy. The purpose is to reinstall fear in my mind and so keep the ego myth going.

What has made this easier for me is that I now understand that to see myself as innocent, it is necessary that I see all aspects of Self as innocent. I am learning that my brother is innocent no matter what his ego does. I am learning that the world is innocent regardless of appearances. In this understanding, I know that I must also be innocent. It is in this denial of guilt as real that all errors are forgiven and we are restored to our true nature. What judgment could be more important or valuable than this?

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Study of Text, Chapter 9, III. The Correction of Error, P 7. 1-28-15

III. The Correction of Error, P 7

7 Your brother’s errors are not of him, any more than yours are of you. Accept his errors as real, and you have attacked yourself. If you would find your way and keep it, see only truth beside you for you walk together. The Holy Spirit in you forgives all things in you and in your brother. His errors are forgiven with yours. Atonement is no more separate than love. Atonement cannot be separate because it comes from love. Any attempt you make to correct a brother means that you believe correction by you is possible, and this can only be the arrogance of the ego. Correction is of God, Who does not know of arrogance.

All my errors are corrected by the Holy Spirit, as are all my brothers. I become aware of these corrections as I accept the Atonement, but the Atonement is not part of separation. It is whole and is for my brother as it is for me. If I try to accept forgiveness for myself, but deny it of my brother, I don’t understand the Atonement and so I will not understand that I am forgiven.

I cannot correct myself, how is it I think I can correct my brother? What arrogance! This could only be my ego and I gladly set that aside. It seems so clear and simple as I sit here writing about it. But what I have discovered is that there is a strong desire in me to judge and to correct. That I keep in to myself rather than speaking it (usually) does not make any difference.

I sometimes disguise this desire to correct by pretending I just want to help. This satisfies my spiritual ego, but does nothing in reality. It is still a desire to correct. It still shows me that I think I know my brother’s errors and that I should correct them. I can convince myself that it is obvious that I am supposed to steer these unfortunates in the right direction. Oh, arrogant ego, I would let you speak to dead air today! I am not interested.

Holy Spirit, as my day progresses, please help me to be aware of the temptation to correct my brother or even myself. I see the error in this and I truly desire to surrender this to You.

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Study of Text, Chapter 9, III. The Correction of Error, P 7. 1-28-15

III. The Correction of Error, P 7

7 Your brother’s errors are not of him, any more than yours are of you. Accept his errors as real, and you have attacked yourself. If you would find your way and keep it, see only truth beside you for you walk together. The Holy Spirit in you forgives all things in you and in your brother. His errors are forgiven with yours. Atonement is no more separate than love. Atonement cannot be separate because it comes from love. Any attempt you make to correct a brother means that you believe correction by you is possible, and this can only be the arrogance of the ego. Correction is of God, Who does not know of arrogance.

All my errors are corrected by the Holy Spirit, as are all my brothers. I become aware of these corrections as I accept the Atonement, but the Atonement is not part of separation. It is whole and is for my brother as it is for me. If I try to accept forgiveness for myself, but deny it of my brother, I don’t understand the Atonement and so I will not understand that I am forgiven.

I cannot correct myself, how is it I think I can correct my brother? What arrogance! This could only be my ego and I gladly set that aside. It seems so clear and simple as I sit here writing about it. But what I have discovered is that there is a strong desire in me to judge and to correct. That I keep in to myself rather than speaking it (usually) does not make any difference.

I sometimes disguise this desire to correct by pretending I just want to help. This satisfies my spiritual ego, but does nothing in reality. It is still a desire to correct. It still shows me that I think I know my brother’s errors and that I should correct them. I can convince myself that it is obvious that I am supposed to steer these unfortunates in the right direction. Oh, arrogant ego, I would let you speak to dead air today! I am not interested.

Holy Spirit, as my day progresses, please help me to be aware of the temptation to correct my brother or even myself. I see the error in this and I truly desire to surrender this to You.

© 2015, Pathways of Light. https://www.pathwaysoflight.org
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