MIRACLES SOURCE

Weekly Questions and Answers 09/17/2003

This week's questions/topics:
Q #258: Is forgiveness a process, or a one-time action?.
Q #259: Why does the Course appear to predict the progress of my learning?
Q #260: Does the body really die and does the soul live on?
Q #261: Can I use a central loving figure other than Jesus ?
Q #262: Please explain "Swear not to die, you holy Son of God" ?

Q #258: I have been trying to forgive a major person in my life for some time now, both prior to starting A Course in Miracles and, with more focus, since beginning it. As a result, there have been times when I seem to have let go of much of my grievance, but then something triggers the hurt, and it all comes raging back again. Sometimes it feels like I'm just lopping off the top of this poisonous weed of grievance, rather than pulling it out by the roots. What advice would you have in such a situation? Should I see forgiveness as a process, or is it an either/or, once and for all decision? And if the latter, how do I finally make it?

A: Your metaphor for how you are pulling weeds is an apt one. You’re not yet getting to the root of the problem so long as you keep your focus on the other person, for that is playing into what Jesus refers to in the Song of Prayer pamphlet as “forgiveness-to-destroy” (S.2.II). The ego’s version of forgiveness is to make sin real in someone else and then attempt to “forgive” it. As you’re finding, this just does not work. But that of course is always the ego’s goal -- “Seek, but do not find” (T.16.V.6:5).

The Course, in contrast, is attempting to lead you towards an experience of true forgiveness in which you recognize that “what you thought your brother did to you has not occurred” (W.pII.1:1). In the metaphysical sense, this is true at the level of the actual behavior you are holding against this other person, since we are the dreamer of our dream and we assign the roles to the figures in our dream. But the more practical level to understand Jesus’ meaning is to recognize that it is your interpretation of what this other person has done that is the cause of your anger and your grievance, and not what the person actually has done (M.17.4). You are blaming this person at some level for robbing you of your peace, love, joy, security, etc. But no one can deprive us of any of these experiences unless we have first chosen to give them away (T4.IV.3:3). So the good news is that we don’t have to change what the other person has done, which, of course, we can’t do anyway. We only need help with changing our interpretation of what has happened. How do we do that?

What most of us are not in touch with is that we carry within our minds a huge burden of unacknowledged guilt that unconsciously controls our interpretations of all our interactions by dictating that we seek and find guilt in everyone but ourselves (T.19.IV.B.i.12). The source of our guilt is the mistaken belief, which we cling to, that we have established a separate individual existence apart from God, at His expense. And the cost to Him has been His total annihilation. Guilt at such a horrendous offense is unimaginable, and so our defense is to project it outside of our minds. Our anger at someone else then is always our attempt to justify seeing the guilt of separation outside of us, thus obscuring the projection we are making (T.6.in.1:2).

All of us are trying to do exactly the same thing. We are all walking around with intense guilt, covered over with a seething rage that is our attempt to deny the guilt within and see it outside. We may try to put a nice, socially appropriate face of innocence on all of this (T.31.V.2), but the anger, and the guilt fueling it, are always bubbling just below the surface. And there they will remain, affecting all our interactions, sometimes subtly, sometimes not so subtly, until we are willing to do the challenging and difficult work of looking within, past the anger to the guilt buried beneath it. So forgiveness then really has nothing to do with the other person, which explains in part our resistance to practicing it. For, rather than justifying our anger, if we really want to heal, Jesus is asking us to recognize that our grievances are nothing more than a cover for our guilt. Anger then becomes a signal that there is a dark place within our mind. And Jesus helps us see that our guilt, like our anger, is not what it appears to be. It only seems real and heavy and serious while it remains shrouded in darkness. Its unreality becomes apparent when we allow the light of true forgiveness to shine upon it. This is the release we seek and yet, while we remain identified still with our ego, it is also a cause for fear.

We resist looking within, preferring to hold on to our anger and to continue to project our guilt, because these are the layers of defense that we unconsciously see as protecting our individual self (T.21.IV.1,2,3). And so beneath the anger and the guilt is fear -- fear that if we forgive we will disappear, that God will seize back the life we stole from Him. For all these reasons, forgiveness will be a process for us, as you suggest, and not simply a once-and-for-all decision -- until the very end of the process, when we are ready to let go completely of our ego identity.

The more we are willing to uncover our own guilt and allow it to be healed, the more we will come to recognize that those against whom we have been holding our grievances are only in need of the same release that we have been seeking. And their guilt is no more real than our own. With that recognition, we can experience real forgiveness, for the interpretation of what has happened between us is now the Holy Spirit’s and no longer our own.

For further discussions of the process of forgiveness, you may wish to look at Questions #44 and #69.

Q #259: This question has two parts. The first starts from an observation. As I have been advancing through the workbook, I have often found that the daily lesson corresponds uncannily with a need or preoccupation which has only just begun to make itself felt in my mind -- as though some subtle synchronicity were at work between the unfolding Course and my own changing inner state. (This has also happened on occasions when reading the text). Do you think this is a frequent experience among students of A Course in Miracles? Maybe my first question goes some way to answering my second, but I'll ask it anyway. In the workbook, Jesus frequently tells his student about how he or she is responding at that particular point. For example, in Lesson 123, he says, “Today let us be thankful.…There is no thought of turning back, and no implacable resistance to the truth. A bit of wavering remains, some small objections and a little hesitance…” (W.pI.123.1:1,3,4). But how can Jesus make such general pronouncements when referring to thousands of individuals, each with their own way of responding to and progressing with the Course?

A: With regard to the first question: Occasionally, we have had students relate experiences similar to the kind you described, but we have no way of knowing how common this type of experience is. Many students have said that when they were reading certain parts of the Course, they felt that Jesus was speaking very personally to them.

Second, as we know, most of what is written in the Course was given specifically to Helen Schucman and Bill Thetford for their personal spiritual process, and so the wording reflects that context. Jesus was helping Helen, in particular, with undoing what was left of her ego; so he would include comments, observations, gentle rebukes, emphatic directives, etc., that pertained to her personal process. At the same time, though, the Course can easily be understood as reflecting the more general pattern of spiritual advancement that applies to everyone. An excellent example of this are the six stages in the development of trust described in the manual for teachers (M.4.I.A). This discussion of the development of trust is meant to give us a general sense of what occurs during the process of undoing our ego.

It is not surprising that you would experience the kind of synchronicity that you describe. Recall that (a) time is not linear or real; (b) the content of the split mind never changes: the wrong mind is 100% ego -- innumerable ways of expressing the one content of separation and sin, guilt, and fear; the right mind is 100% Holy Spirit -- innumerable ways of accepting the Atonement through forgiveness; (c) having acceded to the ego’s strategy of making ourselves mindless, we are not aware of the full dimension of the content or dynamics in our minds. And we surely are not aware of the full content of each lesson Jesus gives us.

Thus, what we actually experience is almost always just a miniscule portion of what is going on in our minds, and is almost always in a defined form, rather than its original abstract nature -- the tip of the iceberg, to switch metaphors. To simplify, as Jesus does, there is “only one problem, one solution” (W.pI.80.3:5); and we are either calling out for love or extending love. Therefore, our readiness and openness to learn from Jesus reflects the call for love in our minds, and it has already been answered. We would experience this process as something new that is happening as we read words in the workbook, when all it is is our mind’s decision to stop blocking the truth that is always there. It is a perfect match, you might say, between our call for love and the answer to that call, experienced in the only way that would be intelligible to us at that moment. It is a process that happens in our minds outside time and space; but because we are still identified with a body that seems to exist in time and space, that is how we will experience it. Jesus did not know “ahead of time” how his students would respond and what they would be ready for at any given instant. To think that is to make time real. The process is experienced in time, because that is the only form in which we (the decision-making part of ours minds) can accept the truth about ourselves. We are still too invested in our identities as separate, special beings, and too frightened to get beyond them. That is quite normal, and as we continue to practice forgiveness, we will be drawn more and more to the love that inspired the words of the Course that are so meaningful to us.

Q #260: “The curious belief that there is a part of dying things that may go on apart from what will die, does not proclaim a loving God nor re-establish any grounds for trust. If death is real for anything, there is no life” (M.27.4:1,2; 1st edition, p. 63). Please explain the verse. Does the body “die” or is that only illusion?

A: Death is an illusion, but so is birth, aging, and losing vitality, as the beginning of this section states (M.27.1:2). If “there is no life outside of Heaven” (T.23.II.19:1), then the body neither lives nor dies. Jesus is really talking about the thought system of death with which we identify when we choose the ego as our teacher instead of him or the Holy Spirit. If we choose the ego, we will believe that the separation from God really happened, and that will lead us to believe that we are bodies that were born and will eventually die. The ego will try to soften the cruelty of its thought system of death by saying that even though we have to die, part of us (our souls) will survive the death of the body.

But Jesus is teaching us that there can be no compromise in this at all. “If death is real for anything, there is no life” (4:2). God did not and could not make death, any more than He could make fear. “Both are equally meaningless to Him” (4:9.10). This is a Level One statement. The ego’s god is responsible for fear and death. And so Jesus is teaching us that when we identify with the ego (Level Two), death will be a reality for us, and many people will believe that God is merciful because He takes our souls to Heaven after we die.

So the process of A Course in Miracles is to ask for help from Jesus or the Holy Spirit to begin to disidentify with that thought system, and to perceive death as just a thought in our minds that we have chosen to make real. “Ideas leave not their source,” as Jesus reminds us numerous times throughout his Course. We can gradually begin to get comfortable with the thought that nothing happens to us when the body “dies,” because we are decision-making minds outside time and space that have just chosen to believe that we are autonomous bodies, as a defense against the truth that we are the one Son of God, Who never truly left His home in Heaven.

Q #261: I am a Buddhist and feel more comfortable using Kwan Yin, rather than Jesus, as the "Christ"-like figure. Kwan Yin is a female Buddha of compassion and healing. Any suggestions for those of us who use a different "Christ" figure?

A: Any symbol that represents a presence of love outside of yourself is suitable. The only caution is to be mindful of specific resistance to having it be Jesus. Avoidance of him as the “Christ figure” may reflect unforgiveness, which another symbol will not evoke in you. However, don’t worry. If this is the case, you will have to forgive him before the process is completed, and so he will “show up” in one way or another. Other than this caveat, use whatever symbol makes you feel loved and protected.

Q #262: Could you please further explain “Swear not to die, you holy Son of God!” (T.29.VI.2:1). Someone told me that it means that we literally don't have to die. We do die, but we don't have to die by the conventional means; we can simply choose to de-materialize. Is this true? Also speaking about death of the body, why do many enlightened beings such as Jesus, Ghandi, Peace Pilgrim, to name a few who have only peace and love in their minds, choose to die violently? I thought what is in the mind will manifest in the world. Wouldn't their death be a peaceful passing? I guess you could argue that they physically didn't feel pain, but as far as an example to others viewing their life, why wouldn't the peace pervade unto their last breath to teach what is within is what happens without, and also to lessen the fear of death to their brothers who want to live as they did.

A: In our answer to Question #91, in which we commented on this passage, we stated that we have already pledged our loyalty to the ego thought system, in which death -- including ours -- is the central reality. We have already taken this oath to believe that God’s Son is not as He created him, invulnerable and eternally present within the Being of His Father. It is part of the bargain we made with the ego, so that our individual separate identities would be preserved. In this passage, therefore, Jesus is asking us to undo that bargain. He is not talking about the physical process of dying. He is talking about our decision to support what the ego says is reality, rather than what the Holy Spirit says is reality.

We refer you also to Question #135, in which we discuss the topic of death in the context of the all-important distinction of form and content, or purpose. We are always choosing at every instant to identify with either the ego’s or the Holy Spirit’s thought system. And so, in that sense, death is no different from any other thought in our minds. It can be directed by either of those thought systems. It is up to us as to how we shall die: as guided by the ego or by the Holy Spirit. The overriding emphasis in A Course in Miracles is on the mind’s decision-making capacity to choose a teacher. Jesus is interested always and only in whether our thinking is blocking his love or accepting it. The form of the body’s “death” is not relevant to our spiritual progress. The content in our minds is.

Focusing on purpose and form and content can also help to answer your question about the death of enlightened beings. Most of the time we do not know the reasons behind people’s choices, and we should be very cautious about judging solely on the basis of form, or what we see with our eyes. “Nothing so blinding as perception of form” (T.22.III.6:7), Jesus reminds us. What appears to us to be “violent,” therefore, may not be experienced by their minds that way. For example, when you experience yourself as having been victimized, you (as a decision-making mind) have interpreted an occurrence in the world; you (as a decision-making mind) have given a meaning to that occurrence or event. Jesus knew he was not his body, and so if nails were hammered through his feet, he would not have experienced himself as a victim of someone else’s cruelty. He no longer had an ego, and so he could not experience himself as vulnerable in any way. Moreover, he would have seen the call for love beyond the people’s anger. So to say he chose a violent death might be how we would interpret the event, because we have a need to see it that way, but it would not be how he experienced it. He teaches us about this in Chapter 3 “Atonement without Sacrifice” (T.3.I) and also in Chapter 6, “The Message of the Crucifixion” in which he says:

“There is a positive interpretation of the crucifixion that is wholly devoid of fear, and therefore wholly benign in what it teaches, if it is properly understood. The crucifixion is nothing more than an extreme example. Its value, like the value of any teaching device, lies solely in the kind of learning it facilitates. It can be, and has been, misunderstood. This is only because the fearful are apt to perceive fearfully.…You are free to perceive yourself as persecuted if you choose. When you do choose to react that way, however, you might remember that I was persecuted as the world judges, and did not share this evaluation for myself” (T.6.I.1:5; 2:1,2,3,4; 5:2,3).

Finally, Jesus helps us rise to his level by asking of us: “Teach not that I died in vain. Teach rather that I did not die by demonstrating that I live in you” (T.11.VI.7:3). The Course helps us to learn that our perceptions are interpretations informed either by the projection of guilt in our wrong minds, or inspired by the love in our right minds.

Weekly Questions and Answers 09/17/2003

For further discussions of the process of forgiveness, you may wish to look at Questions #44 and #69.

Weekly Questions and Answers 09/10/2003

This week's questions/topics:
Q #252: Could other "redeemer" figures exist in other versions of time?.
Q #253: If the world is unreal, why not just ignore worldly obligations?
Q #254: Is it wrong to experience judgemental thoughts, if we recognize them as such?
Q #255: How can I prevent the complexity of everyday life from blocking my peace ?
Q #256: Is it somehow "wrong" to ask my boss for more money ?
Q #257: Should one really stop taking anti-depressant medication ?

Q #252: In the Course, Jesus says that the Atonement works in time, and in all the dimensions of time. Does this mean that there is a "redeemer" figure in different worlds in every dimension of time? I've heard of this idea many years ago, but still know nothing about it. So as well as Jesus appearing in different forms in the Sonship’s dream of living on another world, could this also mean A Course in Miracles has, or will appear in other forms, in other worlds also, not excluding the fact it could also come again into this world in another, even more sophisticated form!

A: You’ve got it! Rather than seeing time in a linear way, picture it holographically (the entire history of the whole physical universe contained within each of our minds), and you can better understand how it is that a "redeemer" figure can be in all places at all times. As the Course states: "The tiny tick of time in which the first mistake was made, and all of them within that one mistake, held also the Correction for that one, and all of them that came within the first" (T.26.V.3:5). There is a hologram of "error," which contains every possible "sin," and the ramifications thereof. There is also a hologram of "Correction," along with its ramifications (reedeemer figures, spiritual teachings, etc.). At any time, at any place, we are choosing one of these two holograms.

Gloria and Kenneth Wapnick deal with the nature of the separation and the Course’s view of time in Question 16 of The Most Commonly Asked Questions About A Course in Miracles: "...when the thought of separation is projected "far away" from the mind of the Son, it is expressed in the dimension of time: The past, the seeming present, and the future do appear to reflect the huge gap of billions of years the ego wishes to introduce between the mind's decision to be separate from God and the Holy Spirit, and the Son's experience of himself as a body. When the thought of separation is experienced between an individual and another person -- i.e., closer to his experience of himself -- then it is known as space, the physical gap we experience between ourselves and others in our special relationships. To state this another way, time (and therefore space as well) was specifically made by the ego to keep cause (the mind and its thoughts) and effect (our pain and suffering) separated."

And yes, this does mean a more sophisticated form of teaching may appear in the world, and this is dependent upon the Son’s mind being more fully healed. As healing takes place, and a clear understanding and appreciation of the ego’s strategy is accepted, higher teachings are then possible.

Q #253: I understand that we made the world outside to appear real, based on error. Also, in A Course in Miracles it mentions that every time a problem arises we do not look at the problem itself (which will make it "more real"). Instead, we look within. It is like saying if worldly things (including obligations) are all unreal, then we can simply "drop it" or "let go" (let God). It is like saying -- forget about taxes, or bills, or the whole world, because they are not real. However, in the Course Jesus teaches, or at least mentions, how to look (outside or inside) without judgment (because there is nothing to judge). Please share your kind guidance to clarify this delusion.

A: A Course in Miracles is a spiritual path designed as a learning program. In this context, the world, and all the circumstances of our lives, become the classroom for learning and applying the Course principles. Everything in our lives is therefore very important to our learning, and is not meant to be merely "dropped." It is meant to be examined, reinterpreted and transformed.

Although in truth the world is an illusion (W.155.2:1), it is very real to those who perceive themselves as separate from God, which includes most of us. In order to apply the principles of the Course to our lives, it is important not to confuse levels of teaching. The Course does not ask us to stop doing any of the things we do in the world as bodies. This is not a Course in behavior -- it is a Course in mind training. A Course in Miracles is addressing the mind, and is concerned only with the content of the mind. Dealing with a perceived problem in the world is not what makes the error real. It is believing that the perceived problem is the cause of our upset and has an effect on the truth of who we are which makes the error real in our awareness, though not in truth.

When the Course asks us to look within, it does not say ignore or disregard the problem as it is perceived in the world. In fact, it tells us we must look at what we have made: "No one can escape from illusions unless he looks at them, for not looking is the way they are protected. There is no need to shrink from illusions, for they cannot be dangerous…The "dynamics" of the ego will be our lesson for a while, for we must look first at this to see beyond it, since you have made it real. We will undo this error quietly together, and then look beyond it to truth" (T.11.V.1:1,2,5,6; italics added). Thus, the steps involved in applying the Course’s teaching begin with seeing the problem as we have made it up in the world, dealing with the problem in the normal way (i.e., paying taxes and bills), while learning to recognize that the problem is made up as a smokescreen for the real problem, which is the choice in the mind to take the thought of separation seriously. Recognizing the purpose the ego assigns to the world’s problems is what the Course means by "looking within." Since we believe the world with its bills and taxes is real, we do have judgments which need to be acknowledged because they reveal our hidden beliefs in scarcity, victimization, etc. This is part of the process of looking within. The world and our feelings are showing us the "dark secrets" (T.22.VI.9:5) our minds contain. They cannot be dispelled if we are unaware of them.

In the same way, belief in the body cannot be undone by denying it and then ignoring the specific conditions of life in a body. Not paying bills or taxes would certainly bring on an avalanche of other problems. The exacerbated situation would reinforce the ego’s smokescreen, and would not facilitate healing. Only when the real problem -- belief in separation -- is recognized can we turn to the Holy Spirit in our minds to seek the real solution -- undoing the belief in separation through forgiveness. Once this is accomplished, we will be ready to believe that the world with all its "problems" is not real, and move beyond it to the truth.

Q #254: My question has to do with judgment. Since I have been studying A Course in Miracles, I have been very careful to see everyone beyond the body, as myself, as the Son of God. I know they are exactly the same and sinless just like me and I don't let their, or my, behavior cloud this knowledge. With this filter always in the forefront of my mind, is it wrong to make observations about myself and others, and then label the behavior? For example, my mother was acting selfishly and with prejurrdddddddddddice in my presence; or admitting to myself that I was acting selfishly and with prejudice. It seems impossible not to have some kind of physical reaction to what is in front of us, whether a person or a situation. I am not judging them badly; I am just noticing something and then letting it have no effect on my thoughts about them or me.

A: You are on the right track. The thrust of our practice is to "deny the denial of truth" (T.12.II.1:5), which means we must first observe the ego, and then choose to deny that it has any power to affect the reality of God’s Son. This world is the manifestation of a choice within our minds to attack and reject the Love of God; therefore it would be impossible not to see expressions of hatred, specialness, selfishness, and fear all around us all the time. Jesus is teaching us that we need to bring these perceptions to him, and then ask his help to look at them with him, so that we will get beyond judgment and condemnation. He ultimately wants us to be able to experience ourselves and everyone else as the same. Our starting point, though, is looking honestly at how attracted we are to seeing differences, to judging, and to condemning others for their faults and sins. We would not be experiencing ourselves as bodies in the world if we were not attracted to that. It is second-nature to us; but it is not sinful. So that is where the process of healing must begin.

Then we can learn that beneath our hatred, fear, selfishness, and all of our neediness, is a call for mercy, and a plea to be told that we are wrong about ourselves. We are all the same on both of these levels. As we learn how to approach everyone and all situations from that perspective, we will become kinder and more compassionate, and we will share Jesus’ vision of ourselves and everyone else. This is not accomplished through denying our reactions and our observations, however. Our reactions and observations are the classroom into which we invite Jesus, who will then teach us how to share his loving, kind perception.

Q #255: I am from Brasil, and have been practicing A Course in Miracles for the last 21 years. I have gone through it about three times completely, and I am going through it again now. This time I have felt the real presence of the Light, of the Christ that exists in me when I do the exercises; the absence of the physical body, the real joy of being. But, on the other side, my life is so complicated now, and it seems that the multiplication (things to do, people to care for, responsibilities of the day-by-day life, with all those magic things to organize, calculate, pay for, etc.) is getting to an unbearable state. It seems that the ego is trying to make my way difficult. What do you think? What can I do to reach, constantly, all the time, the state of mind that we get when doing the exercises -- of total peace and joy?

A: It is difficult to know the specific reason for your life becoming more complicated. It could well be a reaction to your getting closer to letting go of your ego; but there really is no way of knowing that for sure. That does not really matter, though, because the solution would always be the same. The solution is to focus on the purpose, which you can discern by the results. In other words, the increased complications have resulted in your loss of inner peace and joy; therefore, that must be the purpose of these recent occurrences. That really is all you have to know. Somewhere in your mind, you (the decision-making part of your mind) became afraid of being peaceful, and so you came up with a way of "protecting" yourself from that peace and all that it represents. The preferred defense of most of us is to become preoccupied with our lives as bodies. That quickly does away with any thought that we might be something else.

All that you need to do is to take responsibility for the state you are in and bring it to Jesus or the Holy Spirit in your mind, which means that you would not judge yourself or feel bad about it. When you no longer need the defense, you will just deal with your obligations and responsibilities the best you can, with the love of Jesus guiding you. They would no longer be experienced as "unbearable," because you would see them as classrooms in which you are learning that the peace and joy in your mind has nothing to do with anything external. If you truly knew that everything of the body and the world is intended to keep you from finding out that the source of all your distress is a choice you are making in your mind, then you would eagerly turn to Jesus or the Holy Spirit to help you give your experience a different purpose. "The world was made that problems could not be escaped" (T.31.IV.2:6).

Rather than seeing them as burdens, your day-by-day responsibilities could be seen as the means you are using to restore to your awareness the love that is your true and eternal Identity. Each interaction could then be regarded as an opportunity to learn that your interests are not really separate from anyone else’s, despite the appearance of major differences. The specifics of each situation (the form) then become less important than the meaning (the content), which is to undo your belief in separation, and accept back the identity we all share as one. Your day-by-day life is your "laboratory" in this sense. It was originally intended to keep you from the truth; now with the help of Jesus or the Holy Spirit, it becomes the means of your return to God.

Q #256: In my relationship with my boss, I am having difficulty knowing the difference between the right and wrong mind. I try to practice the principles of generosity, tolerance, and patience described in the Manual for Teachers, but we have communication problems regarding my salary. My earnings change at his whim, making me feel powerless and underpaid. I am afraid that I will lose my job if I ask for what I think is really my due. Though money is not everything to me, I read in the Psychotherapy pamphlet that an unhealed healer may demand money where the Holy Spirit might guide otherwise.
I seem to be afraid of everything and always at fault somewhere. Is this the pain of a special relationship? Can you tell me if I am trying to be too good? Am I trying to apply the principles of A Course in Miracles with the ego, fearing the true guidance of the Holy Spirit? Do I suffer from an inverse form of poverty, which expresses itself in false generosity?

A: In studying the Course, it is important to remember that it speaks to us on different levels. We are learning to undo the ego thought system with which we have identified, while learning an entirely new way of perceiving. We seem to have a foot in two worlds and this can be very confusing. The wrong mind sees the problem as outside of the mind caused by an external agent, in this case your boss. The right mind recognizes that the cause is in the mind and the world of form is the effect. It does not blame any situation on anything outside of the mind. An easy way to distinguish which part of the mind has been chosen, is to ask if you are attributing the cause of your upset to something outside of yourself. This is a simple way of distinguishing the wrong mind from the right mind. Recognizing that the cause of any upset is a choice in the mind is the beginning of right minded thinking. It is not the whole story, but it is a beginning.

Since we still believe we are separate, individual bodies in the world, we have to deal with the world and our relationships accordingly. We continue to do whatever we must do to meet our perceived needs in the body. There is nothing wrong with working out an agreement with your boss about your salary. You can be honest about what you feel would be a just wage, and perhaps request a schedule for changes so your salary doesn’t fluctuate unpredictably, if that is possible. This is no different from any of the things we do to take care of the body. The Course does not give any guidelines for behavior on the level of form. Rather, it is teaching us to expose the thoughts and judgments we hold about ourselves and others in our minds, so the mind can be healed. Only then will the characteristics of a teacher of God, described in the Manual, flow naturally from the healed mind. They are not meant to be "exercised" or "practiced" while there are underlying beliefs that oppose them. The practice of the Course rests in finding all the hidden beliefs that are in operation in your relationship with your boss, and with everyone. These are the beliefs in separation, scarcity, and victimization that do in fact make all our relationships special. The way to undo the specialness is to expose the beliefs by recognizing them and bringing them to the Holy Spirit to be transformed. We are not being asked to practice holy qualities that we do not in fact possess, such as detachment from material wealth or other "virtuous" mind sets. We are not being asked to be "good" at all (by the way, neither are we expected to go out of our way to "bad"). We are asked only to look at our beliefs with a willingness to have them transformed. That is not always as easy as it seems, because we have such a desire to hold on to them. We are asked to become aware of our attachment to these beliefs and how much we do not want them to be changed. We cling to them in spite of the guilt and pain they cause. Actually it is because of the guilt and pain that we do cling to them. This is what the Course refers to as the attraction of guilt: "The sick attraction of guilt must be recognized for what it is. For having been made real to you, it is essential to look at it clearly, and by withdrawing your investment in it, to learn to let it go" (T.15.VII.3:1,2).

This is the guidance the Holy Spirit gives. There is no imposition of His thought system, and no behavior in the world that is required. Behind all concerns about money, poverty, and injustice is the feeling of lack and deprivation that comes from the belief that our separation from God has truly been accomplished. That is the fundamental belief that the Holy Spirit is inviting us to question. It is the belief that underlies all the conflict with your boss. While you work with your boss toward reaching an agreement about your salary, you can apply the teachings of the Course by being very honest with yourself about what you are feeling, and the thoughts of judgment that occur to you. These thoughts and feelings represent the choice to identify with the ego’s thought system in the mind, which is where healing is needed. When they are brought to the light of the Holy Spirit they are gradually transformed and replaced with His peace. Only then will the issue of more or less money be irrelevant, and generosity, tolerance, and patience will replace all fear. Until that point is reached, honesty with yourself about your perceived needs, and honesty with your boss in searching for an agreement is the best place for practicing the Course. Believing that an agreement is possible is already a recognition that to some extent you and your boss do not have separate interests. And that is the beginning of healing.

Q #257: In Question #128, you state that by practicing forgiveness, one could stop taking medication for antidepressants. While this may ultimately be true, I have seen the physical and mental anguish that accompanies depression, and I believe that someone, if they are clinically depressed, would be a much better student of A Course in Miracles while taking their antidepressants than by not taking them. Clinical depression wrecks the brain's ability to function. Yes, it seems to be related to an overemphasis on guilt and punishment -- yet when in this condition, one's ability to function or think clearly is severely impaired. As long as we perceive ourselves in a body, should we not seek medical attention to make us think and behave clearly? Is it not easier to address our real problems in a state of sound mind? In fact, knowing that one might solve their depression through total forgiveness might even cause more depression when one fails and remains depressed. Is it not true that what we do here on earth, in our physical bodies, is an illusion? Is a body that takes anti-depressants any different from a body that does not? Aren't they both illusions? There is no hierarchy of illusions. Is seeking spiritual help to make us a better "body" -- i.e., no antidepressants, really a worthy spiritual goal with the Course?

A: Oh no, you misunderstood! The "flip" answer "Forgive" at the beginning was qualified in the rest of the response. The goal, as you say, is not to stop taking the antidepressant, any more than it would be to stop eating or sleeping. The Course never advises us to change our behavior, only our mind (T.2.VI.3:4). The things you say are true and are in line with the point being made in the answer to Question 128. It makes much more sense to continue taking the antidepressant and to get in touch with the implicit judgment about taking the medication, than to have a goal of getting off the medication.

It is true that forgiveness is the way to move beyond any of the world’s magic, but so long as we see ourselves as bodies, we will depend on magic- - including breathing oxygen! -- to keep the self we believe we are alive and functioning. Only at the very end of the forgiveness process, when we have accepted the Atonement for ourselves, do personal needs disappear, and with them the need for any form of external interventions. But that is not the goal of the Course. Peace is (T.8.I.1:1,2). And that can be found at any step along the way through the healing practice of forgiveness.

Besides perhaps reading the answer to Question 128 again in light of the above comments, it may also be helpful to look at Questions #57, #142, and #229.

Weekly Questions and Answers 09/03/2003

This week's questions/topics:
Q #246: How can I deal with my addictions from a Course perspective?.
Q #247: What is the Course's viewpoint on "same-sex" relationships?
Q #248: What does the Course mean when it says the mind "cannot create beyond itself"?
Q #249: What does the Course mean by "unholy values will produce confusion..." ?
Q #250: If "chance plays no part in God's plan," how can God not be involved in this world ?
Q #251: What is the meaning of "a celestial speedup" ?

Q #246: I've been studying and practicing A Course in Miracles for almost six years, usually on a daily basis. It has helped me a lot, but I still need help to understand and deal with addictions. According to my ego, I am addicted to alcohol and cigarettes. According to God, I am His beloved daughter. How to deal with this? Don't tell me to stop hearing my ego, it sounds like a green light to addictions. I feel there's a deeper ground to think about. Professional advice seems to reinforce sickness, guilt and sacrifice. The Course tells me I don't have to do anything, to put it in the Holy Spirit's hand. But I need further help in letting it be, in opening myself to a lesson I don't quite understand, in not paying so much attention to the world's point of view. Please, let me know if there is something in A Course in Miracles, or elsewhere, I am overlooking.

A: First, it is difficult for us to understand the nature of the specific lessons we have in our lives. We cannot see the whole picture in our minds, because we are still so fearful of regaining that part of our identity that we have split off and concealed from ourselves. In one sense, though, we don’t have to know why we chose the conditions we did, because the remedy the Course provides is so clear. Whatever the condition, the only relevant issue is whether we choose to have Jesus or the ego guide us through it. If we choose Jesus or the Holy Spirit, we will wind up feeling more peaceful, regardless of whether the condition changes or not; and we will be more inclined to be gentle and kind with ourselves and others. If we choose the ego, we will wind up feeling more guilty or hopeless; we will continue to have thoughts of self-blame and self-pity, and to hold others responsible for our plight. We will remain preoccupied with the body and will be anything but peaceful.

Putting yourself in the Holy Spirit’s hands, as the Course views this, involves accepting responsibility for whatever state you are in, and letting go of any thoughts of blame -- either self-blame or blaming others -- and then adopting a kind and gentle attitude towards yourself. The lesson the Holy Spirit or Jesus would help you with is learning that peace of mind is not conditional on physical/psychological health, or on anything external to your mind and Their loving presence in your mind. As you concentrate on learning that lesson, the thoughts that oppose it would come to the surface, and you would then bring those ego thoughts to the loving presence in your mind, where you could choose either to hold on to them or let them go. The patience and gentleness would be manifest in your assurance that when you are ready to let go of the addictions, you will, and that holding on to them is not something sinful, nor something you need to be ashamed of. Nothing we do with or to our bodies can have any affect on the love that is held for us in our right minds.

Thus, putting yourself in the hands of the Holy Spirit does not mean that it is then up to Him to do something about your addictions. Rather, it means that you have made a decision to use the Holy Spirit’s way of looking at what is going on instead of the ego’s way of looking, which will always leave you believing that you are a vulnerable, victimized body.

Finally, the choice to seek professional help many times can be a loving response to the call for help that is behind the self-hatred and guilt; it can be an expression of kindness toward oneself as a way of undoing that self-hatred. You seem to imply, however, that you have tried traditional methods of treatment, and that they have not been helpful to you. We have addressed this in previous questions asked of us: #30, #57, and #119.

In case it might be of help, we are summarizing the explanations the Course gives us that can be applied to conditions such as addictions. Although the term is never used in the Course, an addiction is nothing more than a special relationship, and there is a great deal in the Course about special relationships.

Addictions frequently are the result of overwhelming feelings of self-hatred and guilt. The pain is so great that it must be neutralized in some way. Overindulgence in alcohol and cigarettes (or any number of other forms -- food, sex, wealth, luxury, etc.) is often chosen as a means of dulling this pain.

Abusing your body through addictions can also be a way of punishing yourself for being such a "bad" person, a belief that your self-hatred and guilt testifies to. It could also be a means of punishing someone else: you could be pointing an accusing finger at someone and saying, "It’s your fault that I am an addict. You made me this way." Paraphrasing a line from the text: Behold me brother, at your hands I am an addict (T.27.I.5:6); also, "I am the thing you made of me, and as you look on me, you stand condemned because of what I am" (T.31.V.5:3). We all have a need to get rid of the pain of our self-hatred and guilt, and so we would even be willing to suffer intensely just so that we could blame it on someone else. The payoff is that we would feel like the innocent victim of what someone else did to us.

As with any form of sickness -- physical or psychological -- being addicted reinforces the belief that the body is real, and can be victimized. When we are preoccupied with the body in any or all of these ways, we more than likely have made a prior decision to keep from our awareness our true identity as spirit. Any form of preoccupation with the body is a defense against the truth. The truth about ourselves can be so frightening to us -- when we allow it into awareness even for a split second -- that we then do whatever would most effectively banish that truth from our awareness. So we make ourselves mindless in the sense of being at the mercy of some force not under our control. Our real beauty and strength as God’s Son can be so frightening to us that we substitute an identity of weakness and dependency, and then repress the real origin of it and attribute it to some factor in our own body, another’s, or some condition in the world.

To sum up then, the real issue is: Now that the addiction is there, what do I do about it? And as Jesus reminds us, we need only think in terms of purpose, or "What is it for?" (T.17.IV.2:2). We know that to the ego, the purpose of addictions is to reinforce guilt; and to the Holy Spirit the purpose is changed to a means of undoing guilt. "The Son of God can make no choice the Holy Spirit cannot employ on his behalf, and not against himself" (T.25.VI.7:5). So it comes down to discerning whether you are choosing the ego or the Holy Spirit as your teacher.

Q #247: Many denominations of "traditional" Christianity prohibit homosexual relationships, while promoting heterosexual ones. With A Course in Miracles being provided within the context of Christianity, are "same-sex" relationships similarly prohibited?

A: To begin with, the Course comes in a Christian context, but it is not simply another form of Christianity, or another denomination. Second, the Course says nothing about this issue. It neither forbids homosexual relationships nor promotes heterosexual ones. In fact, it says nothing about any form of behavior, because that is not its focus. The focus of the teaching is always on our thinking and our beliefs, which are the source of our behavior. One of its major teachings is that the world and the body, along with the multitude of issues connected with them, serve mainly as smokescreens to keep us from looking into our minds, where the source of all our problems and dilemmas are located. That is the purpose of the world and the body. Ultimately, of course, both are illusory. So the focus of the Course is always on correcting the thinking going on in our minds that leaves us preoccupied with what is essentially illusory. That is where the help is needed, and therefore that is the whole orientation of the Course. In brief, then, when we choose against the ego’s thought system of hate and separation, and for the Holy Spirit’s thought system of love and shared interests, our behavior would always be an expression of that love and oneness with which we have identified.

Finally as with anything in our lives, the only relevant aspect is purpose: "In any situation in which you are uncertain, the first thing to consider, very simply, is "What do I want to come of this? What is it for?" The clarification of the goal belongs at the beginning, for it is this which will determine the outcome (T.17.VI.2:1,2,3). Thus, both homosexuality and heterosexuality can be used either to reinforce guilt (the ego’s purpose) or to undo guilt (the Holy Spirit’s purpose). That is why directing our attention to our choice of teachers is absolutely central to our work with the Course. Concentrating on that will help to keep things simple.

Q #248: I am studying the section "Healing as Release from Fear" in the text of A Course in Miracles. Can you please help me understand what is meant when Jesus says that "the mind, the only level of creation, cannot create beyond itself" (T.2.IV.2:10). I am unclear about the meaning of "cannot create beyond itself."

A: In the context of the discussion in this section, the meaning of the passage is that the Christ Mind was created by God and that Mind cannot create something totally different from itself, such as a body. There can be ideas or thoughts in the mind, but they never leave their source in the mind to become something else. The point Jesus is making is that a great deal of our confusion would clear up if we understood that the body and the mind are not two separate entities, and that the body is only an idea in the mind; it has no autonomous capabilities and therefore cannot be sick.

Q #249: Can you please clarify the following passage from the text of A Course in Miracles: "Unholy values will produce confusion, and in awareness" (T.22.III.9:2).

A: The meaning is that when we see our interests as separate from another person’s (an example of "unholy values"), we will become confused, and we will be aware of that confusion: "and in awareness" was a common psychological term at the time of the scribing of the Course.

Q #250: In Kenneth Wapnick's book Forgiveness & Jesus, he says on page xv in the Preface: "Jesus and the Holy Spirit do not operate in the world, and certainly do not send people as if they were operating a giant chess board, moving us around according to the evolution of the plan of salvation." However, the manual for teachers of A Course in Miracles says: "There are no accidents in salvation. Those who are to meet will meet, because together they have the potential for a holy relationship" (M.3.1:6,7); and then later it says, "Remember that no one is where he is by accident, and chance plays no part in God's plan" (M.9.1:3). This indicates that meeting certain people is part of God's plan, and as I have understood the Course, the Holy Spirit is operating in the illusion to help us, just as the Course is made within the framework of the illusion. Meetings are part of God's plan -- there are no accidents -- so how can this be interpreted?

A: There are no accidents because everything has already happened, and we are simply reviewing mentally what has already gone by: "The script is written.…we but see the journey from the point at which it ended, looking back on it, imagining we make it once again; reviewing mentally what has gone by" (W.pI.158.4:3,5). In "The Little Hindrance" Jesus tells us: "To you who still believe you live in time and know not it is gone, the Holy Spirit still guides you through the infinitely small and senseless maze you still perceive in time, though it has long since gone. You think you live in what is past" (T.26.V.4:1,2). So people are in our lives only because that is what our scripts involve. We have no recollection of our having written these scripts (a metaphor, of course), which is part of the ego’s strategy to keep us from remembering that we are decision-making minds. You might wish to consult Kenneth’s A Vast Illusion: Time According to "A Course in Miracles," which is an in-depth study of this intriguing part of the Course’s theory.

We are inclined to view what the Course says from our perspective, which is that the world and linear time are real. And that is why we would think that the Holy Spirit and Jesus actually do things, such as direct us to specific people so that we can learn our lessons of forgiveness. But that could not be, since there is no world, and time is not real, either. It is helpful to review the levels of language in the Course, and why Jesus speaks to us as if our experience in the world and linear time were real. Earlier answers to questions have developed these topics, and we refer you to them for further study: Questions #72 and #116.

Q #251: With world conditions the way they are, I am reminded of a section in Robert Skutch's book, Journey Without Distance (p.60), regarding Helen's asking Jesus what A Course in Miracles was for, and the answer she received: "The world situation is worsening to an alarming degree. People all over the world are being called on to help, and are making their individual contributions as part of an overall prearranged plan. Because of the acute emergency, the usual slow, evolutionary process is being by-passed in what might best be described as a ‘celestial speed-up.’ "Helen could sense the urgency that lay behind this ‘explanation,’ and strongly sensed that what was being conveyed to her was that time was running out." What does this mean exactly? What is the absolute worst that could happen? Even if we destroyed every living thing on the planet wouldn't we still be alive in spirit? Is there, in reality, anything to worry about?

A: First, a clarification of the "celestial speed-up." This was Helen’s personal experience; it was a way for her to understand the unsettling experiences that were occurring in her life at that time (1965), without increasing the fear that was already present. She had not yet come across the theory of time as totally illusory, which Jesus would explain much later; that would have been far too upsetting to her in those early months. And so the content of Jesus’ message was expressed in a form that was meaningful to Helen and with which she could be reasonably comfortable. Most likely, Helen would not have expressed the meaning in that form years later, after she had seen the complete picture. Forgetting about this form/content distinction has led many students to take Helen’s "celestial-speedup" explanation literally. When the unreality of time is brought into the discussion, it is obvious that there could not literally be a need to speed things up. The situation in the world can worsen and be cause for concern only if the world is real, and time also is both real and linear. (See Absence from Felicity: The Story of Helen Schucman and Her Scribing of A Course in Miracles, pp. 464-65)

Secondly, destruction of any kind can emanate only from the ego thought system. Just because Planet Earth might no longer exist does not mean that we would have returned to our true Identity as spirit. The pain in our minds tortured with self-hatred does not disappear simply because the planet has been blown up. If we ("Who is the ‘you’ who are living in this world?" [T.4.II.11:8]) destroyed the planet, we might be very much "alive," but in the guilt of our wrong minds, not in the innocence and purity of spirit, as Christ. We would still be caught up in the dream of sin, guilt, and fear, and their projection. In other words, as minds, we would be perceiving a destroyed planet, and our guilt, which we have not let go of, would then manifest in some other form.

Understanding that the world is not real and that we are not our bodies is a step in the right direction -- a major step; but our healing is not yet complete. It is very comforting to be assured that the world and bodies are not real, because we would no longer fear that the end of the planet is the end of "us." That dimension of our terror subsides, fortunately, which then frees us to move to the next step, which is experiencing ourselves as decision-making minds that are constantly choosing to identify with either the ego’s or the Holy Spirit’s thought system.

We must look at our investment in upholding the purpose served by our belief in sin, guilt, and fear. Ultimately, we must reach the level of readiness to let go of all sense of individuality, consciousness, and specialness before we return to our existence as spirit. The interim stage, though, is the right-minded awareness that we are the dreamers of the dream. This is the stage in which we consistently choose to perceive everything from "above the battleground," confidently assured that all destruction and suffering, all pleasure and excitement, are but the outcome of a mind dreaming it has separated from the Oneness of Heaven.

Weekly Questions and Answers 08/27/2003

This week's questions/topics:
Q #239: How can we kill others and still be loving and forgiving?.
Q #240: Is the Course's thought system compatible with gods and goddesses?
Q #241: Could my relationship with Jesus be a special relationship?
Q #242: What does the Course mean by "Proper learning conditions" ?
Q #243: What is the Course perspective on "unpardonable sin" ?
Q #244: Is happiness the goal of life?
Q #245: Does the term "at-one-ment" have any specific meaning?

Q #239: I have a question regarding the March 2003 Lighthouse article. The beginning, about "regime change," made sense to me, and had me laughing. But at the end I was frustrated -- I didn't know how to formulate how to act, or what actions to support. If the only sane response is forgiveness, does that mean we shouldn't try to stop people who are hurting others? Can we stop them lovingly? What if we have to kill them to stop them -- can that be loving?

A: The answer to your questions lies in understanding the teachings of A Course in Miracles on forgiveness, which is not the same as the ego’s version of forgiveness. Forgiveness, according to the ego, rests on seeing sin, and then forgiving it. It then esteems some "sinners" as deserving of forgiveness, and some as not. The important thing for the ego is making the error real by believing some harm has been done by one part of the Sonship to another, and that its effect is real. These beliefs are in full operation in a situation, such as the war in Iraq. It is a perfect opportunity to see the ego thought system in action -- not on the battlefield of the Iraqi desert, but in our mind, which is where forgiveness is needed. It is also a perfect opportunity for forgiveness, as stated in the Lighthouse article. Forgiveness, as taught by the Course, begins by looking at the world, and events like the war in Iraq, paying attention to all the judgments and feelings that come up in us, and recognizing their source, which is the mind: "It [the world] is the witness to your state of mind, the outside picture of an inward condition"(T.21.in.1:5). The real war, therefore, is in our mind. The judgments and feelings are projections of the guilt in our own mind which is caused by our choice to identify with the ego’s belief in the separation. The mind then becomes a battleground, and the war in the world merely reflects the conflict in the mind. Since this is an activity of the mind, it needs correction on the level of the mind, not on the level of form. As a student of the Course our part in "ending the war" lies in this forgiveness process.

The next step in the Course’s forgiveness process is the recognition that no true harm is done by the war: "There is nothing to forgive. No one can hurt the Son of God" (T.14.III.7:5,6). Any perceived damage is based on the belief that the separation and the body are real. Though in truth they are not, our belief makes them real in our awareness. As we watch the devastation of war on television we realize how much we do perceive damage and we do believe the body is real. All our reactions to the war come from this belief, along with so many other beliefs about how the world should work, who is responsible for the war, who are the victims, and on and on. The list of misperceptions is very long, particularly in an extreme example, such as war. It is this belief system that causes our upset, not the events of the war. And it is this belief system that brings about war in the world in the first place. That is why the real solution to war is forgiveness, not negotiation, or any specific action. However, while we turn within to see the turmoil in our own minds and seek help to undo our misperceptions, it is still possible to take action in the world. Just as we continue to take normal care of our bodies as we learn to undo our belief in them, so too we can do whatever we think may be helpful to resolve conflicts in the world. The decision is not whether or not to act, or what action to take, but with whom we make the decision: "And make no mistake, nowhere in A Course in Miracles does Jesus suggest that we not act in the world; only that we not act alone" (The Lighthouse, Vol. 14, No. 1, p. 5). Is the purpose of taking action to reinforce the ego’s belief in victims and victimizers, taking sides with those who are "good" against those who are "evil", or are we willing to ask the Holy Spirit to help us see that everyone in the war is a brother calling for help, rather than a sinner, and that their truth remains inviolate no matter how insane their ego behavior is? Whatever form the action takes will then reflect the belief system of the teacher we have chosen: the ego or the Holy Spirit. Choosing to accept the Holy Spirit’s perception is the only loving response in any situation, including war. When these steps are taken it is possible to stop an aggressor from physically hurting someone else without attack. If the only way to do this is by killing another, and if a person has clearly chosen to identify with the Holy Spirit, not the ego, in principle the killing can also be done without attack, without judgment, and without guilt. There are probably very few people who would fall into this category. It may indeed be more loving to stop someone from killing another (although not necessarily), but that would only be clear if you are coming from the right mind, having chosen the Holy Spirit, and not from fear. In applying the principles of the Course to any situation in the world the only important thing to remember is the content of the mind, not the form. The mind is what we are being trained to be aware of, and it is the mind that is in need of healing.

A last consideration, but certainly not the least, is the Course teaching that there is no death: There is no death because what God created shares His life. There is no death because an opposite to God does not exist. There is no death because the Father and the Son are One" (W.167.1:5,6,7). It is when we perceive ourselves and others as separate that the Son of God is "murdered." It follows that a person who claims to support peace and brotherhood, but is filled with judgment against political leaders responsible for war, inflicts a death penalty on the Son of God, while a soldier who fully identifies with the Holy Spirit’s perception and knows his oneness with all brothers, can perform his duty, which includes killing, with the Holy Spirit’s love that flows through him. This is possible only by joining with the Holy Spirit in the mind: "He brings forgiving dreams, in which the choice is not who is the murderer and who shall be the victim. In the dreams He brings there is no murder and there is no death" (T.27.VII.14:4,5).

Q #240: In the course of a recent Tantra workshop I experienced a powerful "goddess" energy, which immediately provoked a conflict, as I thought, "Hey, there aren't any goddesses in A Course in Miracles!" Would you say the notion of god or goddess energies, of Shiva and Shakti, is incompatible with ACIM, or could the fusion of these sexual polarities be seen as analogous with the overcoming of duality as envisioned by the Course?

A: Although -- with only one exception (C.2.8:2) -- all the gender references in the Course are masculine, the only reality according to the Course is a genderless one. Any polarities, whether they be male-female, good-bad, hot-cold, in-out, etc., must be a product of the ego thought system, originating as it does in a belief in opposition -- against God. Given that we experience them, the only question worth asking, according to the Course, is for what purpose shall such polarities be used? (T-24.VII.6:1,2,3,4). To reinforce the thought system of sin, guilt, fear, differences and specialness? Or to serve as a classroom for our forgiveness lessons that leads us beyond the perception of differences and specialness?

The Course process does not involve any fusion of polarities -- that would be more in line with the Jungian approach of reconciling opposites, where both poles are afforded reality, but a higher level of experience is arrived at by their integration. In the Course, even such seeming dualities as love and fear, or light and darkness, are not really opposites for, as the Course observes at the very beginning, "The opposite of love is fear, but what is all-encompassing can have no opposite" (T.in.1:8). Fear and darkness have no reality and so there is no possibility to integrate them with their "opposite." Rather, we need to step back and look at the fear and the darkness with the Holy Spirit until, over time, we come to recognize their illusory nature. And in that recognition is the realization that there is nothing to overcome. There is no war to be waged against duality. All that is needed is a shift in perception that produces a totally different perspective, from above the oppositional battlefield.

As for your specific experience of a powerful "goddess" energy, the Course would make no specific judgment except to have you ask yourself: Was this experience of power in any way associated with seeing yourself in opposition to anyone else, as having separate interests, such as a female-male split? If so, it would have reflected an alignment of your thinking with the ego thought system. If however, the experience was one of shared, mutual possibilities for yourself with everyone else, excluding no one, it would be a reflection of right-minded thinking. For it is your interpretation of that experience of power that determines what you have used it for, as we noted above.

Q #241: Jesus, for me, is a symbol of God's Love in my mind, that I use interchangeably with that of the Holy Spirit, for looking at the blocks (grievances) in my mind. I do not proselytize A Course in Miracles, and indeed feel that everyone must choose their own spiritual pathway. Recently however I read where someone on the internet suggested that any one using the Course or Jesus, had formed a special relationship with both. I do not see it that way. Could you give me your opinions on this?

A: As long as we have any belief that the separation is real, and as long as we identify with the body to any degree, all of our relationships begin as special: "…every relationship on which the ego embarks is special" (T.15.VII.1:7). In A Course in Miracles, the term "special" refers to the belief that since we are separate individuals in bodies, we are incomplete, and have need of persons, things, and events outside of ourselves to be made complete. In other words, anyone who perceives any need in themselves (this means just about everyone) brings specialness to all their relationships. Only those who have accepted the Atonement for themselves do not relate with specialness. The fact that Jesus (or the Holy Spirit) is perceived as different, in that he symbolizes the memory of God’s love in the mind, makes him special. In truth, we are not only one with the symbols of the memory of God, we are one with God at home in Heaven. Only this is not special. For the sake of clarity, it might be helpful to substitute the word "separate" for special. Wherever perceived separateness or differences are, there specialness is. It is the inevitable outcome of belief in separation. When the Course says "The Holy Spirit knows no one is special" (T.15.V.5:1), it means no one is separate, also meaning not in need of anything or anyone. When we identify fully with the Holy Spirit in our minds, we will no longer have a special relationship with Him, with Jesus, or with the Course, because we will no longer perceive ourselves as separate. Meanwhile, we still perceive ourselves as incomplete, and in need of help to accept the Atonement for ourselves, and, we establish special relationships with everything. Again, "For every relationship on which the ego embarks is special" (T.15.VII.1:7). Only by recognizing this can the special relationships become a classroom the Holy Spirit uses to transform them. We initially turn to the Course and to Jesus out of a sense of need. This does make them special. It is necessary to recognize this so we can allow our relationship with them, along with everyone else, to be transformed. If we deny this, we deny ourselves the opportunity to look at the beliefs that underlie our sense of need and incompleteness, thus withholding them from the power of healing. In the end, we will learn that we have no need. Until then, remember that "This course is a beginning, not an end" (W.ep.1:1). Jesus knows we come to him with our specialness intact. In fact, he tells us we must forgive him: "Forgive me, then, today. And you will know you have forgiven me if you behold your brother in the light of holiness. He cannot be less holy than can I, and you can not be holier than he" (W.pII.288.2). As long as we perceive ourselves as different than Jesus -- separate from him -- we bring specialness to our relationship with him, and need to "forgive him" for our mistaken beliefs.

Q #242: I am confused by A Course in Miracles’ use of the word conditions. We are not to ask for help with the "release of fear," but rather to ask "for help in the conditions that have brought the fear about." Would you say it's also appropriate to ask for help in bringing "proper learning conditions" about?...for help in bringing about the conditions for peace?...for help in bringing about the conditions for love?...etc. I assume it's talking about conditions of mind.

A: Yes, the term conditions always refers to a choice made in our minds, which accounts for our lack of peace, for our not being aware of love’s presence, etc. The point of the passage you are referring to (T.2.VI.4) is that Jesus was helping Helen and all of us to learn to take responsibility for our thoughts and feelings, so that we can get back in touch with the power of our minds to choose. We essentially chose to repress this power and become mindless instead when we gave our allegiance to the ego. So Jesus is saying that it really would not be helpful to us in the long run, if he simply took our fear away from us, without our having learned that it is there only because of our ongoing choice to prefer separation to oneness (the conditions that led to the fear). He tells us several paragraphs later: "You may still complain about fear, but you nevertheless persist in making yourself fearful. I have already indicated that you cannot ask me to release you from fear. I know it does not exist, but you do not. If I intervened between your thoughts and their results, I would be tampering with a basic law of cause and effect; the most fundamental law there is. I would hardly help you if I depreciated the power of your own thinking. This would be in direct opposition to the purpose of this course. It is much more helpful to remind you that you do not guard your thoughts carefully enough" (T.2.VII.1:2,3,4,5,6,7).

So Jesus is emphasizing the importance of guarding our thoughts very carefully, just as the entire workbook comes back over and over again to the importance of our being vigilant about our thoughts. That is what he wants to help us with: looking at how willing we are to keep ourselves separate and special, how willing we are to see others as the sinners and ourselves as innocent victims. These are the conditions that result in our fear and our lack of peace, etc.

Thus is it very appropriate to ask for help in bringing about the conditions that would facilitate our learning, and that would bring about the conditions for peace and love, etc. If we were to look with him at all of our ego thoughts, and then let them go, fear and guilt would vanish forever, and then the love that had been blocked by the fear would be our only reality. All fear and guilt rest on our willingness to choose against the love of Jesus and for the ego, which ensures our survival as separate individuals.

Finally, if we ask him to help us look at our choice to keep him away, then we have already begun the process of correcting that choice. That is the kind of help that would benefit us most.

Q #243: Some verses in the New Testament seem to speak of an "unpardonable sin" against the Holy Spirit. What is A Course in Miracles’ view of those passages?

A: The Course always views sin as part of the illusory ego thought system. It has no basis in reality. Therefore there are no pardonable or unpardonable sins, parallel to the principle that there is no hierarchy of illusions. The ego attempts to keep sin real in our minds because that is what keeps its own existence real. Without a notion of sin, there would be no need for dynamics to cope with its effects.

Jesus talks about this in the Course by teaching us that we have done nothing in reality that would warrant the label sin. What we would be inclined to call sin -- our attack on God by separating from Him -- is simply a "tiny, mad idea," easily corrected by making the choice to accept the Atonement principle, which states that the separation never happened; and therefore there is no such thing as sin.

Q #244: Is happiness the goal of life?

A: A Course in Miracles states that "there is no life outside of Heaven" (T.23.II.19:1); so what we call life here is really illusory. But since we think we are here as individuals in a world, Jesus talks to us on that level in order to help us begin the process of awakening from the dream we call life. In that context, Jesus says that our goal is to achieve a state of abiding peace in our minds, which is the natural outcome of the practice of forgiveness. "Happiness," he says, "cannot be found apart from Your joint Will [with God]," which is reflected in our choice to see our interests as shared with everyone else’s, not separate from them. We might say that no happiness the world offers can match the happiness we would experience when we experience the oneness and sinlessness of God’s Son.

Q #245: In many groups studying A Course in Miracles that I have attended, people mention that atonement and at-one-ment are the same thing. I consider at-one-ment to be a new age euphemism that actually has nothing to do with Atonement as it is used in the Course. I don't find the word at-one-ment anywhere on the Course CD. Please give me your thoughts on this subject.

A: You are right. At-one-ment is not the same as Atonement as it is used in A Course in Miracles. "The Glossary-Index for A Course in Miracles" by Kenneth Wapnick defines Atonement as "the Holy Spirit’s plan of correction to undo the ego and heal the belief in separation" (p.32). The term at-one-ment is not used in the Course.

The Course tells us "the sole responsibility of God’s Teacher is to accept the Atonement for himself" (M.18.4:5), meaning to no longer believe that the separation is real. The term oneness in the Course refers to the unity of the Father and the Son in Heaven, and is reflected in the dream by joining with another through forgiveness. Neither of these principles of the Course’s thought system is expressed by the term at-one-ment.

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