ACIM Chapter 1. V. Wholeness and Spirit, P 2, 3

ACIM Wholeness and Spirit 2. The basic decision of the miracle-minded is not to wait on time any longer than is necessary.

V. Wholeness and Spirit, P 2

2 The basic decision of the miracle-minded is not to wait on time any longer than is necessary. Time can waste as well as be wasted. The miracle worker, therefore, accepts the time-control factor gladly. He recognizes that every collapse of time brings everyone closer to the ultimate release from time, in which the Son and Father are one. Equality does not imply equality now. When everyone recognizes that he has everything, individual contributions to the Sonship will no longer be necessary.

Regina Talks About Wasting Time

This morning I read something Regina Dawn Akers wrote about not wasting time. This is what she said.

It seems I remember something from the UrText of A Course in Miracles where Jesus sent Helen to a specific store to find and buy a specific coat. This directed shopping saved time, so she could spend more time with Jesus scribing the Course and less time going from store to store looking for a coat.

I find the same guidance in my life. When I am surrendered and asking, “What am I to do now,” I am led efficiently from one thing to the other. When I am not surrendered, my mind comes up with ideas about what to do that wastes time.

With surrender, I accomplish more of what needs to be done, and I have more time for focused spiritual contemplation and meditation. Without surrender, more time is wasted in activities that accomplish nothing meaningful (e.g., too much time on Facebook looking at nothing.)

It seems the intuition that answers us when we ask, “What am I to do now?” guides for our best interest and ultimate satisfaction. By listening to it, time is used wisely. We will notice the effects of this wise use of time; there’s a feeling of being in the flow, in harmony with all things.

Sometimes I Choose to Ask for Guidance, Sometimes, Not

That was a helpful reminder from Regina. I often ask for guidance, and then sometimes, I fall out of the habit and try to make all my own decisions. There is a huge difference in the flow of my life. It is always a waste of time when I do this. I did this when I spent nearly all of Friday shopping and got almost nothing done except to wear myself out. Clearly, I didn’t ask for guidance at all, just decided it was the thing to do. I was wrong. It seems that every so often, I have to try life on my own just to be sure it really is better if I make no plans and no decisions on my own.

The most helpful way I use this idea of time control is that I use every situation as an opportunity to heal the mind. If I am upset or worried, rather than looking outside for the cause, I look within. I notice my thoughts, and then I question the beliefs that are the source of those thoughts. I ask the Holy Spirit to choose for God for me.

It Takes Work

We do have work to do here. There is effort that is required. I know the text tells us that we need do nothing, but Jesus is talking about healing of the mind when he says this. We need do nothing to accomplish healing except to want the healing. However, it sometimes takes great effort to get to a place where we want the healing more than we want the problem.

In this way, we are not all equal at this time. Some of us have done more work or have more quickly accepted the truth. I am grateful to those who have stepped forward and done what needed to be done. They do not heal for themselves alone but for all of us. As Jesus tells us frequently in the Course, we are not alone in our experience, and we are not alone in our healing.

Our Minds May Be Split on the Issue

Our minds are conflicted about what we want. If this were not so, we would already be awake. For instance, I have been trying to lose weight for most of my adult life. I recognize now that it has never been a problem with calories or carbs or anything other than a conflicted desire. Yes, I desired to lose weight. But I was not interested in changing my mind about the desire to use food for emotional support rather than for fuel for the body.

I also finally realized that weight control was where I drew the line. I would surrender everything but this. It would be the one thing that proved I was a body and that I couldn’t change my mind about some things. That it was just too hard. I suppose seeing this in myself means that I am ready to allow healing in this area.

The ego is not happy about this and isn’t giving up. But I know from work I have already done that it is just a matter of time now. I know that changing my mind is not hard, and I know that I can do this. I am patient and gentle with myself as I allow my mind to be further purified of ego thinking.

Because of what others who have gone before us have done, we are all much closer to awakening, and the work is much easier now. The mind is not as deeply asleep now, so it is not as hard for us to realize we can always change our minds. Also, as I look at those who walk ahead of me, I am encouraged. If they achieved it, I can do that too. And I am doing so.

V. Wholeness and Spirit. P 3


3 When the Atonement has been completed, all talents will be shared by all the Sons of God. God is not partial. All His children have His total Love, and all His gifts are freely given to everyone alike. “Except ye become as little children” means that unless you fully recognize your complete dependence on God, you cannot know the real power of the Son in his true relationship with the Father. The specialness of God’s Sons does not stem from exclusion but from inclusion. All my brothers are special. If they believe they are deprived of anything, their perception becomes distorted. When this occurs the whole family of God, or the Sonship, is impaired in its relationships.

Two things stand out for me in this paragraph. The first is that I am special because I am one with my brothers who are special. I lack nothing. I have every gift of God there is to have. And I know this is true. I know that the world I experience is not what I am. I know that I am part of God and in God and want for nothing. When it seems I do not, that is because I have temporarily become identified with Myron, that is, with the idea of a separated self.

I Want What She Has

As a separated self, I seem to be different from my brothers, each of us having certain gifts. And it seems inevitable; someone else seems to have the gift I want and long for. This is an attack, an attack on myself because now I feel less than, and so no longer special in my wholeness. It is an attack on my brother because I envy him and want what I think belongs to him. I want what he has so that I can feel special in my separation.

For instance, I have always longed to express myself creatively. I long to sing, but it seems my part is to listen and appreciate. I long to paint, but I can only enjoy what others paint. Why can I not be given an incredible book like A Course in Miracles or The Holy Spirit’s Interpretation of the New Testament? I want to wake up and live the rest of this life from that perspective the way others are doing. I want to have what Byron Katie has and what Cate Grieves has. The list of special talents and gifts that I feel deprived of is too long to list here.

Distorted Perception

Jesus is telling me that I am deprived of nothing, and when I think I am, my perception becomes distorted, and I can see that he is right. When I think I lack something someone else has, that thought is a distortion and leads to further distortion, such as feeling unloved and uncared for. Why do I not have what they have, is the underlying question, and the answer seems to be that I must not be worthy.

The world as I see it now, from the point of view of Myron, is splintered. Some have, and some have not, but this is not the truth. The world is not the truth. I can be Myron for a while, and I have probably tried on many roles. But they are temporary parts to be played and lain aside. In truth, I am One with all my brothers, and there is nothing we do not share.

I am so very grateful that my attachment to the separated self is loosening. I have a certain detachment from the Myron character that never goes away now, not even when I am drawn into a story. It is feeling that, fundamentally, all is well. I’m learning to disregard these ego longings as nonsense.

Learning to Let Go

The second thing that stands out is the idea of being as a child, being completely dependent on God. I practice this as I surrender my day-to-day decisions, as I lay aside my plans and ask, “What would You have me do now?” I practice becoming empty of self so that I can be lived. I laugh at myself when I say this because I am being lived whether I surrender to it or not. It is another distortion of perception to think Myron is in control and making things happen.

I want to consciously and completely let go of the idea that I am in control or that I want to be. I want to relax into God and be happy to be led. And I want to let go of all resistance to the idea that to surrender means to lose. Because this is what I sincerely want, it is happening. For instance, this morning, before I began my study, I asked Spirit to take me to God, as I have been doing for several days now. My mind wandered all over the place, and finally, I let go of trying.

What Do I lose? What Do I Gain?

Holy Spirit helped me to see that this is resistance, this mind wandering. The distractions of the mind are simply a defense against God, designed to keep me separate and, in the distorted perception of ego, safe from God. The ego does not want to give up its “independence” from God. As if it could ever be independent of God!

What would I lose if I surrendered to my Truth? Unhappiness? Loss? Suffering and death? I ask myself why I struggle so hard to maintain my pretense of being separate from my God. What would I gain if I let go of my fierce grip on this pretense? Everything. Thank you, Holy Spirit, for showing me what needs to be healed now.

Would you like to read a short article I wrote on my Pathways of Light blog? Click Here to read, When a Brother Acts Insanely.