VI. Time and Eternity, P 5, 6, 7, 8
5 There are many examples of how the ego’s interpretations are misleading, but a few will suffice to show how the Holy Spirit can reinterpret them in His Own light.
6 “As ye sow, so shall ye reap” He interprets to mean what you consider worth cultivating you will cultivate in yourself. Your judgment of what is worthy makes it worthy for you.
Journal
What I like about these interpretations is that they show me that the Holy Spirit can correct my perceptions, too. No matter how screwy my ego mind gets, He will undo the wrong minded perceptions and will heal my mind. I used to think of this passage as a warning and now I think of it as a simple explanation of how the mind works to manifest into form the thoughts in my mind. My experience becomes what I want. If after seeing my desire appear as a situation in my life, I can then question my beliefs. Are these beliefs worthy of the Son of God? If not, would I have the Holy Spirit remove them from my mind?
7 “Vengeance is mine, sayeth the Lord” is easily reinterpreted if you remember that ideas increase only by being shared. The statement emphasizes that vengeance cannot be shared. Give it therefore to the Holy Spirit, Who will undo it in you because it does not belong in your mind, which is part of God.
Journal
We are meant to increase through sharing which is the definition of creation, but we cannot share what is not real. Vengeance is an example of an idea that cannot be shared. Vengeance is not part of God so it is not a true idea. In this passage we can see that we have recourse. Rather than trying to make vengeance real and trying to find satisfaction through vengeance, we can give the idea to the Holy Spirit and He will remove it from our mind, which leaves our holy mind in a state of peace.
8 “I will visit the sins of the fathers unto the third and fourth generation,” as interpreted by the ego, is particularly vicious. It becomes merely an attempt to guarantee the ego’s own survival. To the Holy Spirit, the statement means that in later generations He can still reinterpret what former generations had misunderstood, and thus release the thoughts from the ability to produce fear.
Journal
I especially appreciate this interpretation from the Holy Spirit. It was statements like this in the Bible, and my interpretation of them by the ego mind, that encouraged my fear of God and kept me away from the Bible. As Jesus says, the ego interpretation of this passage seems especially vicious. The Holy Spirit’s interpretation turns out to be such a blessing that I have learned to trust that anything can be interpreted differently if I ask for help.
I used to be certain there were certain behaviors that were simply unforgivable. I couldn’t see how they could be interpreted in any way other than as a condemnation of the sinner. Now I know that I was wrong. I have learned to see things differently. As I allowed my mind to be healed, I began to look out on the world through the filter of love rather than the filter of fear.
When I hear about someone who deliberately hurt a child, for instance, I don’t see a guilty person, but a confused and frightened person. I see someone who wants God, as do we all, but who doesn’t understand his need or how to satisfy it. All he knows is an unfulfilled longing he doesn’t understand and no matter what he does, he remains confused and unsatisfied. Now instead of hating him for acting on his confusion, I ask that our mind be healed of this confused longing. I ask that the Holy Spirit remove from the mind all thoughts that produce fear and block the awareness of Loves presence.