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Word Gems 

exploring self-realization, sacred personhood, and full humanity


 

A Course In Miracles

 


 


 

"All things are lessons God would have us learn." A Course In Miracles

 

 

 

 

 

Editor's prefatory note:

About 15 years ago, I began studying the Course. I stayed with it, off and on, for 3 years but eventually gave it up as much of it made little sense to me. Later, I would experience a small measure of the sightedness spoken of in the Course; of the sort referenced in the “Small Quiet Room” book. In receipt of this first-hand knowledge, I returned to the Course and understood more; even so, large sections of the book remained indecipherable: too many unclear antecedents, too many bold statements without substantiation - in such quantity that one is led to judge that much of the Course will never be unraveled. Nevertheless, over time, by inches, its meaning seems to become evident; moreover - its saving grace - where it's good, it's very good. And that's why I've dedicated this page to it.

background

The Course purportedly is channeled information from the other side. The unlikely receiver of messages on Earth was a professor at a medical university. It seems that this was a totally new and unexpected experience for her.

format

The narrator within the Course claims to be Jesus. The lessons are presented in "mashal" style, the same teaching method employed in the New Testament parables; meaning, the pedagogy offered by the Course is designed, in the main, not to impart information but understanding.

purpose

The Course -- which has three sections, "Text," "Workbook for Students," and "Manual for Teachers" -- asserts that "this is a course in mind training," in "how to know yourself" and "how to awaken." The Course does not seek to establish another religion of the Earth; that, "a universal theology is impossible, but a universal experience is not only possible but necessary." This "universal experience" is accomplished by opening one's spirit to God who will teach us directly; until we follow this path, we remain in a form of spiritual insanity and darkness. As such, this "is a required course" for all human beings, destined to become godlike; "only the time you take it is voluntary." The essence of the sought-for right-mindedness is made possible by "removing the blocks to the awareness of love's presence" within the hidden inner person. Not everyone will study this book, as such, but everyone, if they wish to be sane and escape the ego's suffering, will become student in this universal classroom of sacred evolvement.

my evaluation

Do I believe that the Course is a message from Jesus? One cannot be certain of such claims. It may be channeled information, but I have doubts that the source is Jesus; that said, there are some good things in this book.

how the information below is structured

Below you’ll find key terms and phrases of the Course supported by quotations from the text. Why might this be helpful? Many of the key words are found in common usage, every day language, and we think we know what they mean; however, the Course will often attach its own definition, and this will cause the uninitiated much confusion. As stated, the Course is written in “mashal” style. The surface, literal meaning is not primary. Most terms offered are highly symbolical. The entire Course is like a jigsaw puzzle with a more complete picture coming into view only after a good portion of the initial pieces have been fitted together.

The question might be asked, why are common terms offered with new definitions? For example, many traditional religious words are used, such as “atonement,” but do not mean what we’ve known them to mean. The reason for this, it seems, is that the churches’ definition of “atonement” is quite detached from reality. The Course offers a new meaning, one rooted in how the universe truly works. And so, it's not that the Course is so avant-garde in its use of words, but that these terms have been fraudulently or ill-advisedly employed for so long.

Direct quotations from the Course are offered in italicized red lettering, with Editor’s comments sprinkled throughout. This page is my own notebook on what I’m learning from the Course, and I will post items as I come to see them.

 

 

altar

Editor’s note: See discussion of "altar" under the “temple” icon.

 

Apocalypse

 

The first step toward freedom involves a sorting out of the false from the true... This reflects the true meaning of the Apocalypse... it is the doorway to life.

Editor's note: “Apocalypse,” along with the Course’s sister-term, “Last Judgment,” has nothing to do with the end of the world or meeting a harsh God intent upon seeing the worst in us.

READ MORE

 

 

Atonement

 

When you feel guilty, remember that the ego has indeed violated the laws of God, but you have not. Leave the “sins” of the ego to me. That is what the Atonement is for. But until you change your mind about those whom your ego has hurt [or those who have hurt you], the Atonement cannot release you.

Editor’s note: The term “Atonement” prompts us to think of orthodoxy’s teaching of vicarious sacrifice, dying on a cross, washed clean in the blood, that sort of thing. However, as we learn in the instruction, the standard religious view is well disowned by Jesus: he says, "Do not make the pathetic error of 'clinging to the old rugged cross.'"

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authorship

 

... you believe you are the author of yourself and project your delusion onto others... This belief is very frightening to them.

The problem everyone must decide is the fundamental question of authorship. All fear comes ultimately from ... the denial of Authorship.

Editor’s note: The Course uses "authorship" almost as a synonym for "separation." The ego tends to believe that it is not one of God's creations and that it created itself. This self-authorship promotes a fear of aloneness, of isolation in the universe.

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body

 

The body is the ego's home... It is the only identification with which the ego feels safe

Miracles reawaken the awareness that the spirit, not the body, is the altar of truth.

Editor’s note: Because the ego identifies with the body, the common emotions reflect the ego’s thoughts in the body. See the following extensive discussion:

READ MORE

 

 

certainty

 

Think what is given those who share the Father’s purpose, and who know that it is theirs. They want for nothing... a sense of love so deep and quiet that no touch of doubt can ever mar your certainty...

READ MORE

 

 

change

 

Tolerance for pain may be high, but it is not without limit. Eventually, everyone begins to recognize ... there must be a better way.

God uses a very natural process to lead people to change. No one needs to be punished, no one needs to be brought to trial. The suffering we bring on ourselves by living according to the ego's dictates "eventually" causes us "to recognize there must be a better way."

Kairissi and Elenchus discuss this natural process of change.

READ MORE

 

 

Christ Mind

 

Only minds can really join, and whom God has joined no man can put asunder. It is, however, only at the level of Christ Mind that true union is possible, and has, in fact, never been lost.

Editor’s note: The term “Christ” is not a first name like “Jesus.” “Christ,” in the original biblical languages, means “agent” or “representative.” Jesus had the Christ Mind, but we, as his brothers and sisters, all of us, sons and daughters of God, are to share in the same...

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choice

 

When your mood tells you that you have chosen wrongly, and this is so whenever you are not joyous, then know that this need not be...

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Course, purpose of the

 

Forget not that the motivation for this course is the attainment and the keeping of the state of peace…

This Course is a beginning, not an end…

[The Course aims] at removing the blocks to the awareness of [true] love's presence [residing within the soul].

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create, miscreate

 

The children of God ... waste themselves and their true creative powers on useless attempts to make themselves more comfortable by inappropriate means.

Because of your likeness to your Creator you are creative. No child of God can lose this ability because it is inherent in what he is, but he can use it inappropriately by projecting. [This miscreating] occurs when you believe that some emptiness or lack exists in you...

Editor’s note: The Course at times refers to the illusions of the egoic mind in terms of “miscreating.” It does this, it seems, to emphasize the inherent nature and power of the mind, that of naturally expressing itself, for better or worse, in terms of creating.

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devil

 

The mind can make the belief in separation very real and very fearful, and this belief is the "devil." It is powerful, active, destructive, and clearly in opposition to God... Look at your life and see what the devil has made.

Editor’s note: The Course uses the term "devil," not to signify an external being who opposes God but, the dysfunctional ego within and its delusion of separation, all of which leads us astray.

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Divine Abstraction

 

God, Who encompasses all being, created beings who have everything individually, but who want to share it to increase their joy. Nothing real can be increased except by sharing. That is why God created you. Divine Abstraction takes joy in sharing.

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dream, dreamer

 

it looks as if the world were hurting you

Awaken and forget all thoughts of death

A brother separated from yourself [is what] you dream … Here is the cause of suffering

Editor's note: The Course employs the metaphors of the “dreamer” and the “dream” to explain an extremely important concept.

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ego

 

The ego is that part of the mind that believes your existence is defined by separation.

The ego is the mind’s belief that it is completely on its own.

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egoic love

 

The “little I” [the small ego] seeks to enhance itself by external approval, external possessions, and external “love” … We [the small ego in us, will] “love” another in order to get something [for] ourselves. That, in fact, is what passes for love in the dream world [of perception].

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emptiness

 

There is no emptiness in you... You have not only been fully created , but you have also been created perfect.

... you believe that some emptiness or lack exists in you, and that you can fill it with your own [egoic] ideas instead of truth.

 

 

fear

 

When you are afraid, be still, [go within] and know that God is real, and you are His beloved Son in whom He is well pleased. Do not let your ego dispute this, because the ego cannot know what is as far beyond its reach as you are.

All fear is ... reducible to the basic misperception that you have the ability to usurp the power of God [that is, that you are separate from and in competition with God].

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forgiveness

 

Forgiveness is the means by which we will remember [who we really are, our “true selves,” as opposed to the egoic “false self”].

... the only meaningful prayer is for forgiveness, because those who have been forgiven have everything. Once forgiveness has been accepted, prayer in the usual sense becomes utterly meaningless. The prayer for forgiveness is nothing more than a request that you may be able to recognize what you already have... You have lost the knowledge that you yourself are a miracle of God.

No one forgives unless he has believed in sin

Because you see them as they are, you offer them your acceptance of their truth so they can accept it for themselves. This is the healing that the miracle induces.

Forgiveness is the healing of the perception of separation.

Forgive the past and let it go, for it is gone... You have gone on

 

 

God

 

you [are] an extension of God... you are part of God

God is not in you in a literal sense; you are part of Him

You are not a stranger in the house of God

God has no secrets. He does not lead you through a world of misery, waiting to tell you, at the journey's end, why He did this to you.

 

 

guilt

 

Editor’s note: The Course teaches that the underlying existential guilt plaguing many stems from the ego’s belief in separation from God.

READ MORE

 

 

habit

 

The habit of engaging with God and His creations is easily made if you actively refuse to let your mind slip away [that is, if we "stay present" to the true self]. The problem is not one of concentration; it is the belief that no one, including yourself, is worth consistent effort. Side with me consistently against this deception, and do not permit this shabby belief to pull you back.

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healing

 

The Holy Spirit points the way beyond the healing that it brings, and leads the mind beyond its own integration toward the paths of creation. It is at this point [when one begins to look outside of oneself, beyond one’s own healing,] that sufficient quantitative change occurs to produce a real qualitative shift.

Editor’s note: This is an extremely important point concerning “a real qualitative shift.” Jesus in the Course is saying that, yes, first we need to heal our own minds from the cancer of egocentric thinking, but eventually, as the healing progresses, the Holy Spirit will lead us to think about the healing needed for all the world.

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heal yourself by healing others

 

the idea gains as it is shared

[virtue] is strengthened by being given away

what you share you strengthen

Editor’s note: The “healing” icon just above introduces the concept of a “qualitative shift” in one’s level of consciousness as we become less egocentric and more other-centered. This precept is spoken of again and again in the Course and needs to be emphasized.

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heaven, the goal of

 

How do you feel? Is peace in your awareness? Are you certain which way you go? And are you sure the goal of Heaven can be reached? If not, you walk alone.

Editor’s note: Trying to get to Heaven is not like planning a trip to Disneyworld. Well, it sorta is because there’s a lot of good stuff in Summerland. However, if that’s all Heaven is to you, you’re going to be disappointed.

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holy instant, eternal instant

 

An honest question is a learning tool that asks for something you do not know. It does not set conditions for response... Only within the holy instant can an honest question honestly be asked.

Attempt to solve no problems but within the holy instant's surety.

Editor's note: About half way through the “Text” portion of the Course, we’re offered an extensive discussion on the use of time by the ego. The ego, in its neediness, wants more time to perfect itself, but the Holy Spirit, the Course insists, does not require time to heal us because, in our truest selves, we’re already perfect. Instead of more time, all that’s required is a “holy instant” or an “eternal instant” of recognition. In my own writings on this subject, I've used the phrase “one moment of cosmic clarity” to say the same thing. See more discussion on this misuse of time on the page devoted to “reincarnation," a belief of the ego which sanctifies much time in order to find salvation.

 

 

 

holy relationship

 

For an unholy relationship is based on differences, where each one has what he has not. They come together, each to complete himself and rob the other. They stay until they think  that there is nothing left to steal, and then move on. And so they [are] … living … perhaps under a common roof that shelters neither; in the same room and yet a world apart...

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Holy Spirit, the Universal Inspiration

 

The Holy Spirit will help you reinterpret everything that you perceive as fearful

The Holy Spirit is the highest communication medium.

The Holy Spirit is the only part of the Holy Trinity that has a symbolic function…

Editor’s note: As we’ve seen, the Course insists on using orthodoxy’s terminology, but then takes it all away by assigning a new definition. The “Holy Spirit” herein is not a person, not part of Big Religion’s “trinity,” but, better rendered, the “Universal Inspiration."

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Holy Trinity

 

... the mind awakens from its sleep [of separation] and ... All sense of separation disappears. The Son of God [this means all of us; see "the Sonship"] is part of the Holy Trinity, but the Trinity itself is one...

Editor’s note: Big Religion's "Trinity" finds no support in reality. The Course's definition here is worlds apart.

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imprisoned will

 

An imprisoned mind is not free because it is ... held back by itself.

Editor’s note: Just as the “true self” is referred to with many artful names (“inner teacher,” “inner altar,” etc.), so too is there multiplicity with the “false self.” “Imprisoned will” is just another name for the ego's tyranny over the authentic self.

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innocence, lamb of God

 

... those who represent the lamb as blood-stained do not understand the meaning of the symbol. Correctly understood, it ... speaks of my innocence.

Innocence is incapable of sacrificing anything [for the misguided purpose of atoning for sins] because the innocent mind [already] has everything

The innocence of God is the true state of mind of His Son.

READ MORE

 

 

internal teacher, inner light, inner altar

 

[God’s] Voice seems to be distant and difficult to hear because the ego … seems to be much louder.

The Atonement can only by accepted within you by releasing the inner light.

READ MORE

 

 

irreconcilable

 

Your [egoic] self and God's Self [your true self] are in opposition. They are opposed in source, in direction and in outcome. They are fundamentally irreconcilable... spirit [and] ego [are] not in communion, and can never be in communion.

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Jesus

 

There is nothing about me that you cannot attain.

I have stressed that awe is not an appropriate reaction to me because of our inherent equality... you should not experience awe in the presence of your equals.

[I am] an elder brother.

I was created like you.

READ MORE

 

 

joy

 

When your mood tells you that you have chosen wrongly, and this is so whenever you are not joyous, then know that this need not be... Depression comes from a sense of being deprived of something... Remember that you are deprived of nothing except by your own decisions, and then decide otherwise.

READ MORE

 

 

judgment

 

... beyond perception there is no judgment [only knowledge]

... judgment is ... placing your belief in the unreal... it implies the belief that reality is yours to select from. You have no idea  of the tremendous release and deep peace that comes from meeting yourself and your brothers totally without judgment. When you recognize what you are and what your brothers are, [then judging] is without meaning.

 

 

knowledge

 

To know is to be certain... You know when you have ceased to ask questions.

Knowledge is truth, under one law, the law of love or God. Truth is unalterable, eternal and unambiguous. It can be unrecognized, but it cannot be changed. It applies to everything that God created, and only what He created is real. It is beyond learning because it is beyond time and process. It has no opposite; no beginning and no end. It merely is.

Editor’s note: Ironically, while the highest knowledge is “beyond learning,” it is also a precept taught in a Course to be learned. However, the Course itself declares that its purpose is to lead us to the “internal teacher” which is the authentic path to knowledge and truth, not a printed page.

 

 

knowledge versus perception

 

From knowledge and perception respectively, two distinct thought systems arise which are opposite in every respect. In the realm of knowledge no thoughts exist apart from God, because God and His Creation share one Will. The world of perception, however, is made by the belief in opposites...

Perception is a continual process of accepting and rejecting, organizing and reorganizing, shifting and changing...

I have stated that the basic concepts referred to in this course are not matters of degree. Certain fundamental concepts cannot be understood in terms of opposites...

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Last Judgment

 

The Last Judgment ... is a final healing rather than a meting out of punishment

The aim of the Last Judgment is to restore right-mindedness to you

 

 

learning, teaching

 

Every good teacher hopes to give his students so much of his own learning that they will one day no longer need him. This is the one true goal of the teacher.

think with me ... my goal will always be to absolve you finally from the need for a teacher.

I need devoted teachers who share my aim of healing the mind.

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loss

 

You have the right to all the universe; to perfect peace, complete deliverance from all effects of sin, and to the life eternal, joyous and complete in every way, as God appointed…

You cannot be unfairly treated.

Be certain any answer to a problem the Holy Spirit solves will always be one in which no one loses

Editor's note: The justice of this world issues as a zero-sum game; if there is a winner, there must also be a loser. But the Course would have know that such ill-constructed counterbalance, all built upon the “scarcity principle,” has no place in the economy of God.

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love

 

[The Course aims] at removing the blocks to the awareness of [true] love's presence [residing within the soul].

When you love someone you have perceived him as he is, and this makes it possible for you to know him.

There is no difference between love and joy... To heal or make joyous is therefore the same as to integrate and to make one. Editor's note: In the "Wedding Song" we discussed how love is a perception of oneness, which relates closely to "integrate and to make one." The implication here, concerning authentic romantic love, is that the true mate will be the one with whom one shares greatest joy and delight.

 

 

memory of God

 

The memory of God comes to the quiet mind. It cannot come where there is conflict, for a mind at war against itself remembers not eternal gentleness…

READ MORE

 

 

mind training

 

This is a course in mind training.

Whenever you are afraid, it is a sure sign that you have allowed your mind to miscreate and have not allowed me to guide it.

You are much too tolerant of mind wandering, and are passively condoning your mind's miscreations.

READ MORE

 

 

miracles

 

Miracles are examples of right thinking, aligning your perception with truth as God created it.

A miracle is a correction introduced into false thinking by me [Jesus]. It acts as a catalyst, breaking up erroneous perception and reorganizing it properly. This places you under the Atonement principle, where perception is healed.

[Miracles release] you from your false sense of isolation, deprivation, and lack.

READ MORE

 

 

miracle, quickly choose

 

When the temptation to attack rises to make your mind darkened and murderous ... leave not your place on high, but quickly choose a miracle instead of murder...

READ MORE

 

 

miracle worker

 

The sole responsibility of the miracle worker is to accept the Atonement for himself... Once you accept this, your mind can only heal.

Miracle working entails a full realization of the power of thought in order to avoid miscreation.

Both miracles and fear come from thoughts. If you are not free to choose one, you would not be free to choose the other.

 

 

mission

 

Your mission is very simple: You are asked to live so as to demonstrate that you are not an ego

 

 

murder

 

Attack in any form is … destructive… Its sole intent is murder, and what form of murder serves to cover the massive guilt and frantic fear of punishment the murderer must feel? He may deny he is a murderer and justify his savagery with smiles as he attacks. Yet he will suffer...

Editor's note: "Murder" here is not mafia activity, but something closer to home for each of us.

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perception

 

Perception is based on a separated state... perception rests on lack

The world of perception [as opposed to immutable and eternal knowledge and truth] is the world of time, of change, of beginnings and endings. It is based on interpretation, not on facts.

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prayer

 

[God] has never failed to answer [any] request [made by the "true self"] because it asks only for what He has already willed. Those who call truly are always answered.

Watch carefully and see what it is you are really asking for [that is, are your prayers just expressions of the ego's neediness of never having enough?] ... If you will really try to do this, you have taken the first step toward preparing your mind for the Holy [Spirit] to enter.

It is not necessary to tell Him [God] what to do. He cannot fail. Where He can enter [to effect what you desire], there He is already.

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quiet center

 

If you recognize you need do nothing, you have withdrawn the body’s value from your mind… To do nothing is to rest, and make a place within you… Into this place the Holy Spirit comes… there will always be this place of rest to which you can return. And you will be more aware of this quiet center of the storm than all its raging activity. This quiet center, in which you do nothing, will remain with you, giving you rest in the midst of every busy doing on which you are sent… It is this center, from which the body is absent, that will keep it so in your awareness of it.

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raising the dead

 

your sanity will be restored. I raised the dead [those controlled by the ego] by knowing that life is an eternal attribute of everything that the living God created.

Editor’s note:  The “dead” here are the spiritually dead, the spiritually insane. The New Testament often uses the term "dead" in the same sense, as in “let the dead bury the dead.” Raising the dead, thus, means to aid in another’s coming to sanity, to access and rekindle-to-flame the smoldering ember of “life,” eternal life of the human spirit, buried under the rubble of the ego’s influence; a “life” which never leaves anyone nor can be extinguished, no matter the amount of evil at the surface of personality.

 

 

reality

 

“Nothing real can be threatened. Nothing unreal exists. Herein lies the peace of God.” This is how “A Course In Miracles” begins. It makes a fundamental distinction between the real and the unreal … only what [God] created is real.

Nothing that is good can be lost

Editor's note: In the "holodeck" article, we entertained discussion concerning coming worlds, not just Summerland but, thought-worlds, worlds brought into being by the power of desire and intention. In this surfeit of creativity, the question will arise, "Is it a real world? Is it less real than the Earth-world? Or is this - here, right now - the unreal world?"

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reinterpret

 

You cannot understand yourself alone. This is because [what you are] has no meaning apart from your rightful place in the Sonship [which] is God. This is your life, your eternity and your Self. It is of this that the Holy Spirit reminds you... [and also will] perform the function of reinterpreting what the ego makes ...

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revelation

 

Revelation is intensely personal.

Revelation [is] the original form of communication between God and his creations.

Revelation unites you directly with God.

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scarcity principle

 

Our sense of inadequacy, weakness, and incompletion comes from the strong investment in the “scarcity principle” that governs the whole world of illusions.

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secret of God

 

God has no secrets. He does not lead you through a world of misery, waiting to tell you, at the journey's end, why He did this to you.

Editor's note: These brief comments of the Course need to win a prize for most remarkable, or maybe most counter-intuitive to popular understanding about God…

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Self

 

Who is the "you" ... living in this world?

You cannot understand yourself alone. This is because [what you are] has no meaning apart from your rightful place in the Sonship [which] is God. This is your life, your eternity and your Self.

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separation

 

... the original error [is] that one can be separated from God

A sense of separation from God is the only lack you really need correct.

These related distortions [of miscreation] represent a picture of what ... occurred in the separation, or the "detour into fear." None of this existed before the separation, not does it actually exist now.

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sin

 

Sin is defined as “lack of love.” Since love is all there is, sin in the sight of the Holy Spirit is a mistake [of perception] to be corrected, rather than an evil to be punished.

What if you looked within and saw no sin?

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the Sonship

 

You cannot understand yourself alone. This is because you have no meaning apart from your rightful place in the Sonship. This is your life, your eternity, and your Self.

God has only one Son. If all his creations are his Sons, every one must be an integral part of the whole Sonship. The Sonship in its Oneness transcends the sum of its parts...

Editor's note:The term “Sonship” will be troubling to some. “Why not a Daughtership? Why the sexual chauvinism? Does not God also love his daughters?”

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special function in salvation

 

Let [each daughter and son of God] no more be lonely, for the lonely ones are those who see no function in the world for them to fill; no place where they are needed, and no aim which only they can perfectly fulfill. Such is the Holy Spirit's kind perception of specialness... To each He gives a special function in salvation he alone can fill; a part for only him. Nor is the plan complete until he finds his special function, and fulfills the part assigned to him...

Editor's note: The Holy Spirit reinterprets the ego’s version of “specialness”, featured below. Each of us has special gifts and is called upon to contribute these in furtherance of the greater good.

 

 

specialness

 

All that is ever cherished as a hidden belief, to be defended though unrecognized, is faith in specialness. This takes many forms, but always clashes with the reality of God’s creation... 

Editor's note: Wisdom literature might warrant us assuming that a term “specialness” would convey meaning of human value or some such. But, as usual, the Course will not flow in predictable currents. "Specialness" herein is something else entirely; moreover, one of the most fundamental and important precepts offered by the Course.

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temple

 

... [to view] the Atonement in physical [or historical] terms is impossible. [Likewise, it is necessary] to realize that [the real] temple is not a [man-made] structure at all. Its holiness lies at the inner altar, around which the structure is built.

Editor’s note: The Course draws upon well-known biblical imagery as it instructs. The Course's “temple” is a primary icon along with the related “altar” and “Atonement.” In effect, the speaker of the Course, Jesus, is saying, “You have heard of the major biblical symbols, but allow me to explain what they really signify.”

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time, space

 

You who are part of God are not at home ... only in eternity

Time is under my direction, but timelessness belongs to God. In time we exist for and with each other. In timelessness we coexist with God.

Time is a belief of the ego... The only aspect of time that is eternal in now.

The purpose of time is solely to "give you time" to achieve [right-mindedness]

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vicious

 

frightened people can be vicious... only the self-accused condemn... You never hate your brother for his sins, but only for your own

The ego becomes strong in strife [and] you will react viciously, because the idea of danger has entered your mind 

When you choose to [put away separation from God, and the resultant feelings of guilt] you will simultaneously exchange guilt for joy, viciousness for love, and pain for peace.

There is no need to learn through pain

 

 

 

Voice

 

The Voice of the Holy Spirit is the Call to Atonement, or the restoration of the integrity of the mind

[God’s] Voice seems to be distant and difficult to hear because the [voice of the] ego … seems to be much louder.

The two voices speak for different interpretations of the same thing ... the ego always speaks first ... The ego speaks in judgment, and the Holy Spirit reverses its decision, much as a higher court has the power to reverse a lower court's decisions ... the Higher Court will [not] condemn you. It will merely dismiss the case against you [no matter how] carefully [the ego has] built it up... the Holy Spirit will not hear it.

The Voice of the Holy Spirit does not command ... it does not demand ... does not seek control... merely reminds. It is compelling only because of what it reminds you of

What we can accomplish together has no limits, because the Call for God is the Call to the unlimited.

 

 

will of God

 

Do you understand that to oppose the Holy Spirit is to fight yourself? He tells you but your will; He speaks for you… God asks you to do your will. He joins with you. He did not set up His kingdom alone… How wonderful it is to do your will! For that is [true] freedom... God is no enemy to you. He asks no more than that He hear you call Him "Friend." 

Editor’s note: People commonly fear the will of God, supposing it to be something contrary to their own wishes. The Course, as it often does, turns this street wisdom on its head by declaring that we, ourselves, in our essential “true selves,” perfectly align with the will of God and are one with it.

 

 

world

 

the Holy Spirit, the reinterpreter of what the ego made, sees the world as a teaching device for bringing you home

The real purpose of this world is to use it to correct your unbelief [in the perfection of the true self]. Editor’s note: The Course offers many references to the temporary nature of time, space, and the world. We entered this "4-D" universe for the strategic purpose of maturing ourselves, with time, space, and the world as provisional stage-props to that end.

Forget not that the healing of God’s Son is all the world is for. That is the only purpose the Holy Spirit sees in it, and thus the only one it has. Until you see the healing of the Son as all you wish to be accomplished by the world … you will use the world for what is not its purpose, and will not escape its violence and death.

This world was over long ago ... The miracle but shows the past is gone [but exists only as] illusions of its presence. Editor's note: see the section on the “Surrender and Acceptance” page, “fighting yesterday’s battles from the comfort of your bedroom.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

Editor's last word:

The text of the Course will also be found online.

And the "small quiet room" is a good workshop for the Course.