ACIM Chapter 10. III. The God of Sickness, P 5-7

ACIM Chapter 10. III. The God of Sickness, P 5-7

III. The God of Sickness, P 5

5 Look calmly at the logical conclusion of the ego’s thought system and judge whether its offering is really what you want, for this is what it offers you. To obtain this you are willing to attack the Divinity of your brothers, and thus lose sight of yours. And you are willing to keep it hidden, to protect an idol you think will save you from the dangers for which it stands, but which do not exist.

I wonder how I could have ever thought of the body as my salvation. It is such a frail and weak thing, subject to sickness and every kind of suffering and, finally and inevitably, to death. And yet, given to the Holy Spirit for His use and not used by the ego to defend and attack, it is helpful. The Holy Spirit teaches you to use your body only to reach your brothers, so He can teach His message through you. ²This will heal them and therefore heal you. (ACIM, T-8.VIII.9:1-2)

I was thinking of how I am to use the body and especially how I am not to use it.

This weekend, I joined with several of my dear brothers and sisters to share in our love of God. Our words represented true communication because all we said was said in love. On the other hand, sometimes my thoughts are divisive, and occasionally, they are shared in conversation. That is an example of using the body to attack my brother’s Divinity.

I thought I was protecting this body as I protected my source of income., which I used to clothe, feed, and take care of it. When I worked, I was protecting this small self as I defended its position in the company’s hierarchy. In defense of this self, I attacked. I have sometimes seen my interests as more important than someone else’s interests rather than knowing we all want the same thing: peace and happiness.

This weekend, I have been joyful. When I was defensive at work, I was anxious and unhappy. Each of these effects witnessed to the thought system from which I was operating. It was my choice and is always a choice I must make. With which mind will I think? Will I give this body over to the use of the Holy Spirit or to the use of the ego? It is a choice between joy and pain, between Heaven and hell. What I have seen is that if I remember my brother’s Divinity, it is easy to look past his ego actions and words and see the Light of his being. I can remember his Divinity. Maybe I should write it on my hand as a reminder, just to be sure. ~smile~

III. The God of Sickness, P 6

6 There are no idolaters in the Kingdom, but there is great appreciation for everything that God created, because of the calm knowledge that each one is part of Him. God’s Son knows no idols, but he does know his Father. Health in this world is the counterpart of value in Heaven. It is not my merit that I contribute to you but my love, for you do not value yourself. When you do not value yourself you become sick, but my value of you can heal you, because the value of God’s Son is one. When I said, “My peace I give unto you,” I meant it. Peace comes from God through me to you. It is for you although you may not ask for it.

In Heaven, there is great appreciation for everything God created, and this is because it is known that each one is part of Him. I want to remember this even here, and I think I can. I think this must be what I am to do here now. Can I appreciate everyone I meet, not because of how they look or how they act, but because they are part of God? Can I have the calm knowledge that this is true?

I don’t always value myself, so it is hard for me to value everyone else.

I don’t always accept that I am part of He Who created me, and so I don’t always know my value. But Jesus does know this and knows it for me. He gives me his peace. I need only accept it. I am amazed at myself sometimes that I seem so unwilling to accept this gift so freely given. The peace of God is all I want … until I want something else.

I was experiencing some physical challenges recently, and I got very caught up in body beliefs. Untangling completely from these beliefs took a couple of days. Each time I returned my mind to God, I could feel the ego mind calling me back, telling me that the body needed my attention and that this was real and serious. Saying that, I dared not turn away.

But in turning away, I felt such relief.

It was like a great weight being lifted from my shoulders. This morning, it happened again. I could feel the little tug of war returning to my mind as I looked first to the ego and then to God. This morning’s lesson riveted my attention on God. It brought the truth fully to mind, and I felt tears of relief slide down my face.

Again, after a few minutes, I could feel my ego trying to call me back, planting little doubts and fears in my mind. I am not so interested now, but I do find it interesting to watch the ego at work. With some detachment now, I can see how sly the mind can be when it wants to plant an idea that will take root and yield a tangled garden of weeds to block my vision of the beauty that was there only a moment before.

The more clearly I see the ego manipulations, the less I am fooled by them. I want the peace of God, and the peace of God is all I want. I don’t have to do anything for this because Jesus offers it to me. Peace comes from God, through Jesus, and to me, and all I need to do is accept it. I open my heart and I receive. I give what I receive, and then I know it is mine. That is the way salvation works.

III. The God of Sickness, P 7

7 When a brother is sick it is because he is not asking for peace, and therefore does not know he has it. The acceptance of peace is the denial of illusion, and sickness is an illusion. Yet every Son of God has the power to deny illusions anywhere in the Kingdom, merely by denying them completely in himself. I can heal you because I know you. I know your value for you, and it is this value that makes you whole. A whole mind is not idolatrous, and does not know of conflicting laws. I will heal you merely because I have only one message, and it is true. Your faith in it will make you whole when you have faith in me.

I have been sick in body as well as spirit, which makes absolute sense. What I believe is projected outward and outward includes the body I identify with.  Jesus says elsewhere in the Course that if we use the body only for communication (communicating love), it will be perfectly healthy. There are times when I still choose fear or anger over peace, and it is this choice that comes from a sick mind, which is then projected onto the body, causing it to appear sick.

While tests were being done, they threw in a thyroid test.

It showed a bit high, and I thought that maybe that explains why I have had so much trouble with my weight lately. I normally can lose weight as easily as I gain it, but that hasn’t been true in the past few months. So, I thought it would be nice to get a pill and fix this problem. Then I laughed at myself. Does my body need to be repaired, or does my mind need to be healed?

If there is a thyroid problem, then it comes from an unhealed mind. This is the cure, this mind healing. A pill is just a temporary, magical solution to a magical problem. When I get too involved in the medical community, I can temporarily lose my perspective. I began to think the body is what needs to be healed when really it is the mind that needs healing. Magical solutions may be necessary at times when my faith wavers and a solution must be employed. But even then, I recognize where the real problem lies, and I ask that my mind be healed.

I am asking my dear brother right now to heal me in all ways, my sick mind, which, when healed, will also reflect as a healed body. I ask that I be healed and that in my healing, I can heal others with my renewed faith. The outward appearance of the sickness in the mind is simply reflective of our belief that we have somehow damaged ourselves and God in our decision to play around with separation and are guilty of it. It is not true and could never be true. This belief is ultimately what needs correction. Everything else will follow.

Join with others practicing the 12 Steps and ACIM. Pathways of Light.