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October-December, 2020

The Ladder

by Rev. Joyce Peebles, Ordained Ministerial Counselor

The teachings in A Course in Miracles can be likened to a ladder, each rung giving us an idea of where we are in our learning process. At the bottom of the ladder is the belief we are a body and should love another’s ego body. We are not asked to love anyone’s ego personality. We certainly are not asked to judge, nor make decisions on our own. We are asked to forgive.

In Workbook Lesson 122 it says, “Forgiveness lets the veil be lifted up that hides the face of Christ from those who look with unforgiving eyes upon the world.” (W-pI.122.3:1)

According to the ego, there is one awfully bad thing about forgiveness. You must extend it to each fragment of the Sonship without exception. There is no picking or choosing who to forgive.

Mother Theresa talked about ministering to the poor in India and said she saw the face of Christ in all His many distressing disguises. We are asked to see beyond the disguise of the ego body suit to the essence of who that person really is. Each of us eventually learns progressing up the ladder involves practicing this kind of forgiveness.

The Course tells us we meet nobody by accident. The disliked person you do not care for is in your life on purpose because you need them! The question is not how to change or get rid of them but what do I have to learn from this situation?

The Holy Spirit tells me often that what I see in this world is a shadow or mirror of the condition or beliefs in my mind. So, when I see someone my ego finds offensive, it mirrors back to me that portion of my self I am unwilling to love yet.

This Course is all about undoing the guilt and self-hatred I unconsciously have over a separation that in reality never happened. Once I see in myself what the offending person really represents, I see the situation differently. 

As we ascend up this ladder, we remember the Love of God is our Self, and see everyone without exception as this Love also. When we see Christ in our brother, we see Him in our true Self. This is impossible with ego thinking. We get there by allowing the Holy Spirit to reveal this to us each day, each judgmental thought, each encounter. “When you meet anyone, remember it is a holy encounter. As you see him you will see yourself. As you treat him you will treat yourself. As you think of him you will think of yourself. Never forget this, for in him you will find yourself or lose yourself.” (T-18.III:4:1-5)

There is a saying in this world that love is blind. It means the person “in love” overlooks the faults in another. The forgiveness that Jesus talks about is love too, but it is not blind. It does not overlook the faults or sins. It sees that there is no sin. Rather than look upon what offended us, we look at our false beliefs that there is such a thing as sin and guilt.

Forgiveness does not forgive another’s sin; it sees that it never happened. What offended was only in my mind. That person can now be seen past his distressing disguise to the face of Christ, for in reality that is all there is. This is the miracle, the ability to see with different eyes. We are not saved in Heaven. We wake up on earth from our mistaken beliefs and see a different world. The erroneous thoughts fall away as we no longer desire them. The ideas of sin, guilt and fear lose their appeal. We do not need them as we are no longer afraid.

When we are at the bottom of the ladder, we see as through a glass darkly, but know there is clarity beyond our present condition. Jesus also speaks of the end of the ladder. This is where your brother stands before the gate of Heaven beside you. “I cannot go without you, for you are part of me.” (S-1.V.3:9) I am grateful that with the decision to experience separation from God, I took the memory of Him with me. The Holy Spirit will not fail to awaken this sleeping mind. I hear the call. At the bottom of the ladder, the Voice is faint, as we ascend it grows louder and we hear the ancient song of Love. That voice reminds me that as I journey home, I take everyone with me without exception.

© 2020, Pathways of Light. https://www.pathwaysoflight.org
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