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Study of Text, C 14: IV. Your Function in the Atonement, P 1. 3-27-17

IV. Your Function in the Atonement, P 1
1 When you accept a brother’s guiltlessness you will see the Atonement in him. For by proclaiming it in him you make it yours, and you will see what you sought. You will not see the symbol of your brother’s guiltlessness shining within him while you still believe it is not there. His guiltlessness is your Atonement. Grant it to him, and you will see the truth of what you have acknowledged. Yet truth is offered first to be received, even as God gave it first to His Son. The first in time means nothing, but the First in eternity is God the Father, Who is both First and One. Beyond the First there is no other, for there is no order, no second or third, and nothing but the First.

Journey
What I got from this paragraph is that I will not see my brother as guiltless until I believe in his guiltlessness. While I look with the ego I will see guilt because that is all the ego has to offer. If I decide with the ego that my brother is guilty, I will not be able to see innocence because what I decide on is true for me. This is why I ask the Holy Spirit to decide for me. I need a new decision in order to see differently. The ego will not give me a new decision, but the Holy Spirit will.

I will not see myself as innocent as long as I see my brother as guilty. Seeing the guilt undone in my brother releases me of my belief in my own guilt. The ego would keep the mind trapped in guilt. It argues that the other is guilty and so there is no innocence to see. It uses the same argument against me, so if I accept it for my brother I will accept it for me.

The Holy Spirit says that no matter what I think I see, it is not possible for us to be guilty because we were created innocent. If I accept His judgment instead of the ego’s I will see the innocence. Acceptance comes first, and then vision to see. This is so hard for us to accept because we have taught ourselves to believe that what the body’s eyes show us came first, then the reaction came next. But this is not how it actually works. We choose what to believe and then the eyes show it to us.

Here is an example of this. I see someone I know steal something from me. This seems to prove that she is guilty of being a thief. I saw it with my own eyes so it must be true. Now guilt has been reinforced in the mind. But I have been studying A Course in Miracles and I don’t entirely believe in guilt anymore. So I take a leap of faith. I ask the Holy Spirit to decide for me how to see this.

I realize that, in spite of appearances, my friend cannot be guilty, and this decision makes it possible for the Holy Spirit shows me her innocence. My friend wants to be happy, just like I want to be happy. She is confused about what will make her happy. Her confusion does not make her guilty. Her confusion cannot make her guilty. God created her innocent and therefore she is innocent. That must mean that my sins are meaningless as well, because I, too, was created innocent. First, comes acceptance of the truth, then comes the realization of the truth. It cannot be the other way around.

© 2017, Pathways of Light. https://www.pathwaysoflight.org
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Posted by Rev. Myron Jones.

Study of Text, C 14: III. The Decision for Guiltlessness, P 19, 20. 3-25-17

III. The Decision for Guiltlessness, P 19, 20
19 Whenever you are in doubt what you should do, think of His Presence in you, and tell yourself this, and only this:
He leadeth me and knows the way, which I know not.
Yet He will never keep from me what He would have me learn.
And so I trust Him to communicate to me all that He knows for me.

20 Then let Him teach you quietly how to perceive your guiltlessness, which is already there.

Journal
I struggled yesterday with ego thoughts of guilt trying to drive my words and actions. The ego would go from blame to fear over and over again. It felt very uncomfortable, but I knew then as I know now that God’s Holy Spirit is in my mind and that I can trust Him. I kept talking to God and asking for help. And of course, I received help. When the time came to speak, I was spoken through, and all is well.

Looking back on yesterday I have to laugh at the ego’s antics. Did you know that jelly beans are a way to resolve the effects of conflict in the mind? If you are doubtful about that you would be right. While they were yummy, they didn’t actually make me feel any better. “Typical, ego, seek and do not find. Thanks for nothing.”

One thing I notice is that while I was intermittently anxious, I was not nearly as upset as I used to get. What I mean by that is that when I had a worry thought or a blame thought, I would feel anxious, then I would talk to Holy Spirit and feel better. I continuously asked Him to decide for me. So while there was anxiety in the moment, there was also faith which would bring me back to peace.

The only really rough moments led to the over indulgence in jelly beans. And even that helped me to see how the mind works. I started off eating three jelly beans and immediately I knew this was an ego impulse. It was the ego offering me a solution to my anxiety that doesn’t work. In taking that direction I was feeding the ego appetite, which is trying to use the body to solve problems.

I kept going back for more jelly beans even knowing what was happening and that triggered guilt feelings. But still, I was aware and I kept asking the Holy Spirit to decide for me. There are still jelly beans in the bag so it worked. LOL.

It is important to note that in my thoughts and actions it seemed like I wasn’t receiving help, and it seemed like I was giving in to ego. But when the time came for me to speak and to act, it was clear that I was stepping back and allowing the Holy Spirit to speak through me, so my prayer absolutely was answered. The idea that was reinforced for me during this time is that I am not guilty for my vacillating mind. This is just how things work until we make a final decision for God.

© 2017, Pathways of Light. https://www.pathwaysoflight.org
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Posted by Rev. Myron Jones.

Study of Text, C 14: III. The Decision for Guiltlessness, P 18. 3-23-17

III. The Decision for Guiltlessness, P 18
18 You taught yourself the most unnatural habit of not communicating with your Creator. Yet you remain in close communication with Him, and with everything that is within Him, as it is within yourself. Unlearn isolation through His loving guidance, and learn of all the happy communication that you have thrown away but could not lose.

Journal
I remain in close communication with God and with everything that is in God and this is because it is within myself, so how could I not be in communication with It. So why is it that I am not aware of this communication? It seems that I have isolated myself from it. In other words, I am not listening. I have my hands over my “ears” and I am going, “lalalalala” so that I cannot hear. ~smile~ Actually, this is pretty close to what is happening. I use the world I made as the distraction that keeps me from being aware of the communication with God. I use the noise of the ego mind to drown out God.

Even in this state of separation I have chosen, God’s Voice is available to me. God’s Voice speaks to me all through the day, and even here I can learn to hear only that Voice. It is just another insane idea of the ego world that I must “learn” to listen to the Voice of God, a Voice that never has and never will cease to communicate with me. I am not completely deaf to that Voice anymore. I have learned to listen to it, to be aware of it.

Sometimes it feels like love and something like joy, sometimes like peace, and sometimes a blessed stillness. Sometimes It gives me Its thoughts and inspiration. Sometimes It gives me words. Sometimes it is just an understanding of where I am to go, what I am to do, what I am to say. Sometimes when I am wrestling with a thorny issue and I say something like, “Holy Spirit, decide for me,” all the other thoughts and feelings just fall away and all I know is that I am safe and loved.

But nothing I have said here captures the Voice for God and the effects of listening to it. And that is not exactly communication with God, I think. As I understand it, real communication is not the exchange of words. It is the extension of love. The words and ideas are just the echoes of the love that is being communicated. It is like the love of God is being extended to me and then it is being interpreted in a way that makes sense to me in this contracted state I have put myself in. The love takes on form that is most understandable and most useful to me in the moment.

I am beyond grateful for the communication I am able to accept at this time and I am determined to be more open to communication with my God.

© 2017, Pathways of Light. https://www.pathwaysoflight.org
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Posted by Rev. Myron Jones.

Study of Text, C 14: III. The Decision for Guiltlessness, P 17. 3-22-17

III. The Decision for Guiltlessness, P 17
17 How gracious it is to decide all things through Him Whose equal Love is given equally to all alike! He leaves you no one outside you. And so He gives you what is yours, because your Father would have you share it with Him. In everything be led by Him, and do not reconsider. Trust Him to answer quickly, surely, and with Love for everyone who will be touched in any way by the decision. And everyone will be. Would you take unto yourself the sole responsibility for deciding what can bring only good to everyone? Would you know this?

Journal
I was thinking last night about someone I love who seems to have taken the hard road to Awakening. He is so lost that he doesn’t even know he is traveling that road, and it is a painful path for him. I was talking to Jesus about it, asking Him what my part is in this. My life is not at random so this person is part of it for a reason. What is that reason?

Am I supposed to play an active part? Am I supposed to intercede or say words, or just silently know the truth? It can be confusing sometimes. In Helen’s notes from Jesus he talked about miracles and how her desire to be her brother’s keeper had made her miracle ready, and thus she was able to perform a miracle that touched many. So maybe that is my part, to be my brother’s keeper. Or maybe not.

I didn’t feel like I was getting an answer right away, so I had the thought to share my confusion with a fellow teacher, which I did. Perhaps I will hear from him today. I had asked, and in some way, from Jesus directly into my mind, or from someone else, I knew I would receive an answer. So I let it go and decided to do some work on my website.

In the process, I “accidentally” pulled up yesterday’s writing from this journal. The first thing I read was this. “Say to the Holy Spirit only, “Decide for me,” and it is done.” Ok. Of course. I immediately asked the Holy Spirit to decide for me what needs to be done in this situation. This is something simple I can do and something I have experienced many times, and so know without doubt that I can trust it.

This morning’s reading is further encouragement. I am told to be led by Him in everything, and instructed not to reconsider. Again, this is something I can do. I can step back and let myself act only on guidance. Just a short time ago fear would have prevented this, but through vigilance and willingness that fear has abated. Now I am prepared to listen and to do as directed.

To do anything else is to doubt God’s intentions. Could a God of Love want anything but happiness for His children? Could an all knowing God be wrong about how to achieve this? His Voice will tell me what I could not possibly know for myself. Why have I ever even considered taking on the intolerable burden of deciding what is best for this one I love?

My concern of last night was simply fear trying to reassert itself in my mind. It was like I was reconsidering my decision to be done with fear about this situation. It was the ego mind offering its advice and proposing solutions. As always, I was free to ask the ego to help me decide, or to turn in God’s direction and receive His quiet and certain help.

I am so glad I have made a habit of choosing the Holy Spirit as my partner in decision-making. I have proven over and over that the ego is not good at this, and that the Holy Spirit makes impeccable decisions. I feel peaceful in my decision this morning. I am still looking forward to hearing from my friend. I am certain he will have a helpful message from Jesus for me.

© 2017, Pathways of Light. https://www.pathwaysoflight.org
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Posted by Rev. Myron Jones.

Study of Text, C 14: III. The Decision for Guiltlessness, P 16. 3-21-17

III. The Decision for Guiltlessness, P 16
16 Say to the Holy Spirit only, “Decide for me,” and it is done. For His decisions are reflections of what God knows about you, and in this light, error of any kind becomes impossible. Why would you struggle so frantically to anticipate all you cannot know, when all knowledge lies behind every decision the Holy Spirit makes for you? Learn of His wisdom and His Love, and teach His answer to everyone who struggles in the dark. For you decide for them and for yourself.

Journal
I am making this the way I live my life. I ask the Holy Spirit to decide for me in every instance. It started with my study of The Rules for Decision in Chapter 30, and this practice of asking the Holy Spirit to decide for me has grown until it encompasses my entire life. “Decide for me” is my daily prayer. “Decide everything for me, Holy Spirit.”

In Chapter 4, Section I, Jesus says this: “I can be entrusted with your body and your ego only because this enables you not to be concerned with them, and lets me teach you their unimportance.” When I say to the Holy Spirit, decide for me and trust that it is done, this is another way that I give over the body and the ego. It is a way to entrust my life to One Who Knows my best interests, and Who knows the right decision.

There is absolutely nothing in my life, in my past or present moment, that would lead me to believe that I can make decisions on my own and live a happy life. The ego mind is so limited that this is not possible. I, as ego, cannot know what is best for everyone who is affected by my decisions now and in the future. It is crazy to try to anticipate all that is needed in order to make a decision when the Holy Spirit has all knowledge at His disposal, and will make the decision for me if I ask.

In the last sentence of this paragraph, Jesus reminds us that in our decisions we decide not just for ourselves, but for all. Each decision affects our little personal story, and it affects the entire world we made up, and it affects the whole Sonship in its awakening process. I don’t just ask the Holy Spirit to decide for me because I want a life of ease and of peace, but because I want to awaken from the dream and to my real life. I want this for the entire Sonship because I am part of that Sonship, and we must awaken together.

© 2017, Pathways of Light. https://www.pathwaysoflight.org
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Posted by Rev. Myron Jones.

Study of Text, C 14: III. The Decision for Guiltlessness, P 15. 3-20-17

III. The Decision for Guiltlessness, P 15
15 Seek not to appraise the worth of God’s Son whom He created holy, for to do so is to evaluate his Father and judge against Him. And you will feel guilty for this imagined crime, which no one in this world or Heaven could possibly commit. The Holy Spirit teaches only that the “sin” of self-replacement on the throne of God is not a source of guilt. What cannot happen can have no effects to fear. Be quiet in your faith in Him Who loves you, and would lead you out of insanity. Madness may be your choice, but not your reality. Never forget the Love of God, Who has remembered you. For it is quite impossible that He could ever let His Son drop from the loving Mind wherein he was created, and where his abode was fixed in perfect peace forever.

Journal
I experienced a grievance this weekend and since that hasn’t happened for awhile now it was especially uncomfortable. This paragraph explains why it felt bad. A grievance against someone is a grievance against God. I evaluated this young woman and judged against her and in so doing I was judging against her Creator.

“Gosh, God, You didn’t do a very good job with this one. Better luck next time. Check out my list of judgments so that you will know what needs correction in your next attempt.” Jeez. No, I didn’t say this, or even think it to myself. I hid it from myself, and I pretended nothing happened but it did. Whether I used these words or not, this is what a judgment against a creation of God means. No wonder we struggle under the burden of perceived guilt.

Fortunately, Jesus gave us these nifty lessons to help us undo this kind of thinking. The next day the perfect lesson came up for me to use. Imagine that! You would think that everything is in my own best interests and that my life is not at random. Maybe even that it is perfectly planned by One Who knows exactly what I need.

Here is the good news. “The Holy Spirit teaches only that the “sin” of self-replacement on the throne of God is not a source of guilt.” I am assured that I am not guilty for this lapse into ego thinking. I am not guilty for deciding on my own what God’s creation means. And the reason I am not guilty is that nothing happened in reality, only in the illusory world. “What cannot happen can have no effects to fear.”

So I can relax. I can rest in God knowing that I am innocent, as is this young woman. We are innocent because that is the way we were created. I can feel guilty if that is my choice. I can even believe that guilt is real and that judgment is justified, but I can’t make it true. There is nothing I can imagine doing or believing that would remove me from the Mind of God.

Thank you, God. I love You, God.

© 2017, Pathways of Light. https://www.pathwaysoflight.org
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Posted by Rev. Myron Jones.

Study of Text, C 14: III. The Decision for Guiltlessness, P 14. 3-16-17

III. The Decision for Guiltlessness, P 14
14 Let Him, therefore, be the only Guide that you would follow to salvation. He knows the way, and leads you gladly on it. With Him you will not fail to learn that what God wills for you is your will. Without His guidance you will think you know alone, and will decide against your peace as surely as you decided that salvation lay in you alone. Salvation is of Him to Whom God gave it for you. He has not forgotten it. Forget Him not and He will make every decision for you, for your salvation and the peace of God in you.

Journal
Even though Jesus is telling us over and over that we can let the Holy Spirit decide for us, I am just now realizing how literal this is. In fact, it is not just an offer; it is necessary. To awaken I must stop trying to be alone in my decisions. I can’t anyway. In The Rules for Decision section in Chapter 30, Jesus explains that we cannot make decisions on our own. We either make them with the ego or with the Holy Spirit.

So if I make them with the Holy Spirit that means I am joining with Him in the decision process. I surrender the desire to make the decision and I ask Him to do it for me. My part is the surrender; His part is to make the decision. I wonder if others feel, too, a little a little resistance to that idea, a little uneasiness. I think that is the ego mind that prides itself in its decision-making prerogative. It doesn’t make very good decisions, but by golly, it jealously guards the right to make them.

The ego mind wants to keep that right. It wants to decide on its own. The thought of losing that “right” is frightening to the ego. It feels like a sacrifice to the ego mind to let go of the decision-making process. It feels like this is a loss of self, and it is. The loss is only to the ego, though, not to me. As I have let go of the self, my holy Self as risen in my consciousness and with it has come happiness and peace.

In other words, the light has come. When I turn to the light, there are no dark thoughts. When I return my attention to the darkness, there is no light. Somehow I have often allowed the ego mind to convince me the darkness is my friend. This is what comes of asking the ego to decide for me. The ego loves the dark because it hides its insane thought system in the dark.

Light would expose the ego’s insanity, and then who would want it? Light would show the Holy Spirit’s benign intentions. Darkness hides the ego’s tyranny under the false mask of self-determination. In the light we see the Holy Spirit’s kind helpfulness waiting patiently for our permission to act on our behalf.

Jesus says to forget not the Holy Spirit and He will make every decision for me. So today I will remember the Holy Spirit. I will invite Him to make all decisions for me. What a simple and joyful experience life will be as I make this my default setting. I am going to trust this and I am going to test it. I surrender completely and if I am tempted to return to the ego’s dark help, I will choose again until I cannot imagine deciding otherwise.

© 2017, Pathways of Light. https://www.pathwaysoflight.org
You may freely share copies of this with your friends, provided this notice is included.