ACIM Chapter 13. III. The Fear of Redemption, P 11, 12

ACIM Chapter 13. III. The Fear of Redemption, P 11, 12

III. The Fear of Redemption, P 11

11 In peace he needed nothing and asked for nothing. In war he demanded everything and found nothing. For how could the gentleness of love respond to his demands, except by departing in peace and returning to the Father? If the Son did not wish to remain in peace, he could not remain at all. For a darkened mind cannot live in the light, and it must seek a place of darkness where it can believe it is where it is not. God did not allow this to happen. Yet you demanded that it happen, and therefore believed that it was so.

We declared war on peace in our desire for specialness and, thus, separation. How could we be at peace in this state? In asking for the impossible our mind now believed in something other than peace. And what we believe is true for us. There would always be a for and against, a good and a bad. There would always be competition and chaos. And so, love returned to the Father and waited.

So here we are, in the world of darkness that we made but God did not allow.

We demanded it, and so we believe in it, and because we believe in it, we cannot undo it without help. God’s love for us would not leave us in our conundrums, so He created the Holy Spirit to guide us home when we were ready. We will be guided to the truth of ourselves and the truth of God. He will guide us to where we never left and are now.

 This is a journey of no distance because we made nothing and, therefore, went nowhere. We are simply being awakened from a dream of being somewhere other than God. I have always been drawn to this sentence from the Course. How else can you find joy in a joyless place except by realizing that you are not there? (ACIM, T-6.II.6:1) So I often pray the simple prayer that Cate suggested for me. “God, wake me up.” It is the only thing we need to do, but to desire this awakening we must leave behind all that we made here that is in opposition to Reality.

 So I pray to be awakened.

Then, I spend my day noticing any thoughts or feelings that I must release. I ask the Holy Spirit to do this for me, and He gladly responds to the degree I allow. It seems to be taking a long time for me to change my mind completely, but then what is time except for another illusion I made?

In Lesson 173, Jesus tells us that all things are lessons God would have us learn because He wants us to be happy and not to suffer. And if we believe we are separate from Him, we will suffer. In Lesson 192, Jesus says this: Forgiveness gently looks upon all things unknown in Heaven, sees them disappear, and leaves the world a clean and unmarked slate on which the Word of God can now replace the senseless symbols written there before. (ACIM, W-192.4:1)

He also tells us how to forgive.

Forgiveness, on the other hand, is still, and quietly does nothing. ²It offends no aspect of reality, nor seeks to twist it to appearances it likes. ³It merely looks, and waits, and judges not. (ACIM, W-pII.1.4:1-3) This is so simple. And yet, each time I practice forgiveness in this way, I have to remind myself to do nothing. I really want to do something. I want to think differently, and I really want to rid myself of the uncomfortable feelings. But as I continue the practice, it becomes easier, and I have come to appreciate the ease of doing nothing. I bring willingness to the table and let the Holy Spirit do the rest.

So today, I will say these words: “I will forgive and this will disappear.” These words express both my willingness and my trust. The problem I see will disappear, and eventually, the world I see will disappear. Saying these words, forgiving what has been done, will make every problem the same and is, at the same time, the solution to every problem.

1III. The Fear of Redemption, P 12

12 To “single out” is to “make alone,” and thus make lonely. God did not do this to you. Could He set you apart, knowing that your peace lies in His Oneness? He denied you only your request for pain, for suffering is not of His creation. Having given you creation, He could not take it from you. He could but answer your insane request with a sane answer that would abide with you in your insanity. And this He did. No one who hears His answer but will give up insanity. For His answer is the reference point beyond illusions, from which you can look back on them and see them as insane. But seek this place and you will find it, for Love is in you and will lead you there.

We see ourselves as separate and alone, each in our own little bodies. This is a state that induces pain and suffering and, ultimately, death. Then we blamed God and said He kicked us out of paradise for disobedience. Maybe this was the first attempt to use projection to make the other guy guilty. From that story we made up about God, we taught ourselves guilt and fear of God.

 None of this is true.

God did not create suffering, and He has not condemned us for thinking separation thoughts. We have certainly condemned ourselves, though. We asked him for pain and suffering and He could not give it to us. How could Love give hate? Not possible. But neither could he deny our desire for the experience of it. He had given us creation and would not take that back. So, we made for ourselves what Love did not have and so could not give us.

 God loves us, though, and did not leave us without help. He answered our insane question with sanity. That answer is in us. As Jesus tells us, it is a reference point. We can stand in love and look back on what we made. The comparison between the Love we are and what we made leaves us with only one choice. We will not want separation when we clearly see what we could have instead.  

This is what we are doing right now.

We are learning to disregard the outer illusion, to go within and find the love that God placed there. This allows us to judge from the Holy Spirit’s perspective and thus to decide for God. I do this every day, all day long. For instance, I had trouble falling asleep last night and so felt groggy on awakening. At first, I fought it with coffee, and I felt frustrated with my brain, which was sluggish. But then I forgave the situation.

I let myself feel it all without judging it good or bad. I didn’t add to the story with expectations of further effects. Nor did I try to get rid of the feelings. I allowed it all to be what it was, as I did nothing about it. In a short time, my mind began to clear as I settled into my writing. I didn’t forgive and then tried to wrestle the situation into something else. I just forgave it and watched it disappear.

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