V. The Holy Instant and Special Relationships, P 8
8 Everyone on earth has formed special relationships, and although this is not so in Heaven, the Holy Spirit knows how to bring a touch of Heaven to them here. In the holy instant no one is special, for your personal needs intrude on no one to make your brothers seem different. Without the values from the past, you would see them all the same and like yourself. Nor would you see any separation between yourself and them. In the holy instant, you see in each relationship what it will be when you perceive only the present.
Journal
This paragraph is almost incomprehensible to the ego mind. In the holy instant no one is special… Wait, let me review what Jesus means by the holy instant. Oh yes, it is the instant outside of time in which we choose forgiveness instead of guilt, the miracle instead of a grievance, the Holy Spirit instead of the ego. Yes, I know that the Holy Spirit will bring me to the holy instant if that is my true desire. I choose the Holy Spirit instead of ego, and the rest will follow.
In this timeless moment, no one is special. I see everyone as they are, as they were created, and that means I see (perceive) them as united and me with them, as one glorious self. It is not that one is the same as another, each being interchangeable. It is that there is no other. I love you and you and you because I love because we are all together the One I love. How very strange the idea of one is to a mind mired in separation.
… your personal needs intrude on no one to make your brothers seem different. In the holy instant, outside of time, there is no personal. There is only a shared self. There are no needs. All is given to all. This is another nearly incompressible idea. I wonder if there is any relationship I have ever had that was not burdened by my personal needs. Even those to whom I am the closest bear this burden. I expect something from everyone and feel abandoned or rejected when I don’t receive it.
Without the values from the past, you would see them all the same and like yourself. How did I learn that I have needs and that people I love are expected to fill those needs? I learned it as those expectations were placed on me. I learned it from my parents and other loved ones, and from friends. I learned it from books and movies, and even commercials. All this past learning still drives me today, though not as forcefully as it used to. The holy instant is outside the idea of time. It is free of time and thus free of the past and all that was learned in the past.
In the holy instant, I will see in each relationship what it will be when I perceive only the present. And what is clear to me is that I cannot give myself the holy instant that will lead me to the holy relationship. I can barely grasp its meaning. I need the Holy Spirit for this. That is His function, and mine is to accept the Atonement as it is offered. I can understand just enough to know that I long for holy relationships and I long for the holy instant. I understand enough to do my part. I am assured that this is enough.
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