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July - September, 2006

A Course in Miracles Text Q & A: The Lifting of the Veil

by Revs. Robert & Mary Stoelting

On the Pathways of Light web site, you will find questions and answers for each section of the Text of A Course in Miracles. Below are questions and answers for Chapter 19, Section IV D-i: The Lifting of the Veil, from pgs 421-424.

What does Jesus mean when he talks about lifting the veil?

In this insightful section, Jesus tells us that lifting the veil to see the Christ in every brother is our only meaningful purpose on our journey of returning to the truth. Again and again in the Course, Jesus reminds us not to make the error of separation real or we will remain in hell, along with our brother. “No one can look upon the fear of God unterrified, unless he has accepted the Atonement and learned illusions are not real.” (9:1)

Again and again Jesus reminds us that we do not go Home alone. The reason we cannot go Home alone is that in truth, we could never really be alone. The truth is we are united with every brother in the Christ Mind as the one Son of God. We are joined in the one Mind of Love. “Let him be what he is, and seek not to make of Love an enemy.” (13:8)

Why is forgiveness such an important part of lifting the veil?

Throughout the Course Jesus talks about forgiveness and how important it is for us to look past error to the truth in every brother. “Here is the holy place of resurrection, to which we come again; to which we will return until redemption is accomplished and received. Think who your brother is, before you would condemn him. And offer thanks to God that he is holy, and has been given the gift of holiness for you. Join him in gladness, and remove all trace of guilt from his disturbed and tortured mind. Help him to lift the heavy burden of sin you laid upon him and he accepted as his own, and toss it lightly and with happy laughter away from him. Press it not like thorns against his brow, nor nail him to it, unredeemed and hopeless.” (16:1-6)

The way out of madness is not to join with it. The way out of madness is to be willing to look past illusions of differences to the real Spirit of Wholeness in every brother. This is how we heal together. Jesus tells us, “You see his madness, which you hate because you share it. ... Brother, you need forgiveness of your brother, for you will share in madness or in Heaven together. And you and he will raise your eyes in faith together, or not at all.” (12:5,6-8)

How do we practice lifting the veil?

Because lifting the veil is such an important part of our returning to sanity, we will focus on practicing this in our daily life. The following is a way to practice what Jesus is teaching us in this section. To get the most out of it, pause to do each step as you read each paragraph below:

Think of someone you consider close to you, someone who is in your life a lot, whom you see frequently. Because you see them with your body’s eyes so frequently, it is easy to imagine them as you see them through the body’s eyes….

The Holy Spirit now shows you that this is the way to return Home… As you consistently practice letting the Holy Spirit lift the veil, you see the truth about every brother… You are shown that we all are one Light… We all are the same peace… We all are the same Love… All differences have been just false ideas and were never true...

As you are able to practice this consistently and join with the Love that is there in every brother, all unconscious guilt will be undone… You will no longer need to project guilt onto an outside world. You will no longer need to believe in differences…

You will feel safe because you know that you are surrounded by God’s Love… You remember it is everywhere you are and everywhere everyone is… You know that your journey Home is accomplished by letting the veil be lifted. The Holy Spirit will show you the truth about every brother and every thing as you let Him…

You feel the peace and fulfillment and quiet joy in letting this remembrance of wholeness return to you… And you give thanks that only eternal Love could ever be real… You give thanks that this is your reality and this is everyone’s reality now…

You remember that both time and space do not exist. They are merely hallucinations and you are grateful that this is so… You thank the Holy Spirit for being your Guide in your daily practice of letting the veil be lifted so that you can again see the Love that is there eternally…

What are other key ideas to remember as we practice lifting the veil?

1. There are only two thought systems, the ego’s or the Holy Spirit’s. We join with what is real as we consistently step back, pause and let the Holy Spirit lead the way.

2. The Holy Spirit shows us what is real and what is not real.

3. When we make separation real, guilt is the inevitable effect. As we accept everyone’s innocence, guilt is released.

As we learn to see innocence instead of guilt, we free ourselves and our brother. We join Jesus in the one goal of freeing every brother of illusions of guilt and pain. “The crucified give pain because they are in pain. But the redeemed give joy because they have been healed of pain. Everyone gives as he receives, but he must choose what it will be that he receives. And he will recognize his choice by what he gives, and what is given him.” (20:3-6) The more we practice seeing innocence where we once saw guilt, the more we are lifting the veil for ourselves and every brother. We all go Home together.

© 2006, Pathways of Light. https://www.pathwaysoflight.org
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