II. The Answer to Prayer, P 5
6 You can no more pray for yourself alone than you can find joy for yourself alone. Prayer is the restatement of inclusion, directed by the Holy Spirit under the laws of God. Salvation is of your brother. The Holy Spirit extends from your mind to his, and answers you. You cannot hear the Voice for God in yourself alone, because you are not alone. And His answer is only for what you are. You will not know the trust I have in you unless you extend it. You will not trust the guidance of the Holy Spirit, or believe that it is for you unless you hear it in others. It must be for your brother because it is for you. Would God have created a Voice for you alone? Could you hear His answer except as He answers all of God’s Sons? Hear of your brother what you would have me hear of you, for you would not want me to be deceived.
I was trying to untangle this paragraph in my mind when I realized it was really very simple. There is one Son of God and we are It. There can be no difference between us because we are created One. Again, I return to the thought that Christ had a tiny mad idea and remembered not to laugh at it, but to consider it in all its ramifications, to experience it in full color and virtual reality. So the Christ fell asleep and dreamed it was many.
Myron is one of the many being dreamed by the Christ Mind, as are all the others. But in reality, there remains the One. How could there be any difference between us, except in the dream. If we are enjoying the dream and want to remain in it longer, then we can go on pretending that we are separate individuals with different needs and abilities. But if you feel like I do, and I assume you do or you wouldn’t be studying the Course, then you are ready to wake up from the dream and return to Reality.
The first thing we must do to awaken from a dream is to realize we are dreaming. Jesus is helping us to do this. He is pointing out obvious clues to let us know when we are dreaming and when we are not. It reminds me of the movie, Inception. In the movie when the character knew the clues to look for, they could tell it was the dream. But if they got too deep into the dream, they would forget they were dreaming and needed a totem to let them know what was reality and what was illusion.
Jesus is telling us that if we think we can pray for something for ourselves alone, that is a clue that we are still dreaming. How could one being pray for something that is not for all of that being? The very act of doing so indicates we are deep into the dream. If the dream is of experiencing ourselves as many, awakening from the dream will be remembering that we are one. The very fact that we are willing to accept that it might be a dream and to desire, to even a small degree, to be free of the dream sets into motion the plan of Awakening.
So I have asked the Holy Spirit to keep me alert to the clues that I am dreaming, so that I can change my mind about remaining in the illusion. That is my part, and it is absolutely necessary that I do my part. He reminds me that every thought is a prayer, and I see how often I have thought I could ask for something just for me. This is crazy behavior for someone ready to awaken from the dream of separation.
As I think of it I realize it happens so often that for a moment I am stunned into inaction. How on earth am I ever going to wake up? Everything in my life is about being separate and different. I am in constant competition with everyone, even with myself. But that is not my problem. My part is only to notice that it is happening and that I am ready for it to stop.
I notice the old desire for separation and I ask that my mind be healed. I accept the Atonement for this thought, then the next one. I trust that what I have done is being undone. I am the Son of God with all the power that brings with it. I chose to dream and that occurred. I chose to believe the dream and so it happened.
Now I choose to awaken. Nothing can prevent me from doing so. This is the truth. I am not a victim or what I see, but the maker of it, and now I choose to make differently, then to Awaken and return to Creation as is my natural state. I do this with my brother or not at all, and I am beginning to realize how impossible it is to do it any other way.
“Holy Spirit, help me keep my eye on the truth. Help me remain steady in my awakening and to not delay any more than I must. Help me to know that what I want for my brother, I want for myself, for we are one Self. I am still deep enough in the dream to forget this. I need Your help.”
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