ACIM Chapter 11. VII. The Condition of Reality, P 1, 2

ACIM Chapter 11. VII. The Condition of Reality, P 1, 2

VII. The Condition of Reality, P 1

1 The world as you perceive it cannot have been created by the Father, for the world is not as you see it. God created only the eternal, and everything you see is perishable. Therefore, there must be another world that you do not see. The Bible speaks of a new Heaven and a new earth, yet this cannot be literally true, for the eternal are not re-created. To perceive anew is merely to perceive again, implying that before, or in the interval between, you were not perceiving at all. What, then, is the world that awaits your perception when you see it?

I used to be confused about the world. As in this paragraph, Jesus talks about a world that is different than the world I see. I can understand that on every level. I have seen instances of a healed world as I allowed my mind to be healed. One moment I would be looking at the ego interpretation of a situation, and the next, I would ask for and receive the Holy Spirit’s interpretation, and what had been awful, was then seen (perceived) as perfect.

Lesson 132 says that the world is nothing in itself.

Your mind must give it meaning. It also says this about the world.

“There is no world apart from what you wish, and herein lies your ultimate release. Change but your mind on what you want to see, and all the world must change accordingly. Ideas leave not their source. This central theme is often stated in the text, and must be borne in mind if you would understand the lesson for today. It is not pride which tells you that you made the world you see, and that it changes as you change your mind.”

Again, the world is seen as available to us but seen as we would have it be seen. It also says that we made the world we see. That seems to infer that there is a world that is different from the world we see. Then, this same lesson tells us that “There is no world! This is the central thought the course attempts to teach.”

So is there a world or not?

The world is part of the mind. It is what we think it is and as our mind heals, the world heals. It is thought only as is all form we think of as real. As we allow our thoughts to be corrected, we experience what Jesus calls the real world. That is, the world without our projections of guilt. God did not create the world we see. We created it with our beliefs. Our experience of it changes as we change these beliefs.

This new vision is a worthy goal. It is attainable, and though it is not the end of what is attainable, it is a step in that direction and one I must take. I have always seen the world as it is interpreted by ego, but now I mostly see it as interpreted by the Holy Spirit. The difference is one of peace and joy. Fear enters only when I slip back into my split mind. Thankfully, I know how to change my mind now so I don’t stay there too long.

VII. The Condition of Reality, P 2

2 Every loving thought that the Son of God ever had is eternal. The loving thoughts his mind perceives in this world are the world’s only reality. They are still perceptions, because he still believes that he is separate. Yet they are eternal because they are loving. And being loving they are like the Father, and therefore cannot die. The real world can actually be perceived. All that is necessary is a willingness to perceive nothing else. For if you perceive both good and evil, you are accepting both the false and the true and making no distinction between them.

There are two ideas that stood out to me.  First, my loving thoughts are eternal. Honestly, I must think about which thoughts are actually loving. Love has been a much confused concept in this world. There were times when I thought I was being loving and actually, I learned through the study of the Course, that it was only neediness that I was expressing.

I had an experience of love when I was flying to N Carolina for the workshop.

I had been standing in a long line waiting to get on the plane. It was moving slowly because they kept calling up various groups of “special” people. First class and VIPs of various degrees. I was starting to think untrue thoughts about these folks who were getting the best seats and on top of that, were keeping me standing in line.

With nothing else to do, I started practicing being in the moment rather than anticipating the next moment. Immediately, I noticed how heavy and dark I felt and realized it was because I was attacking my brothers. So, I asked for the Atonement in this situation and allowed those thoughts to be removed from my mind.

My experience changed.

When I did finally get on the plane and was moving slowly up the aisle, I met eyes with a man sitting in first class. I smiled at him and kept eye contact for a moment. It was a smile that conveyed love and union, and he responded with a sincere smile of his own. When I looked away, I made eye contact with a woman across the aisle and the same thing happened. These were holy encounters, an exchange of love. Those thoughts are eternal.

The second thing that caught my attention in this paragraph is that the real world can actually be perceived. The real world is a world of love and I got a little glimpse of that world, a peek behind the veil, when I had the holy encounters on the plane. Jesus says that I can have that experience all the time in all circumstances as I begin to perceive the world in this way.

But to do so, I must choose only truth. At this time, I am still shifting back and forth between the world the ego perceives and the world that is available to me through true perception. I am closer to consistently choosing truth than I ever have been and so my life is more peaceful and loving than it ever has been. I am dedicated to this practice and I am open and willing to allow the full healing of my mind.

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