ACIM Chapter 13. IX. The Cloud of Guilt, P 4, 5
ACIM Chapter 13. IX. The Cloud of Guilt, P 4, 5
IX. The Cloud of Guilt, P 4
4 Atonement brings a re-evaluation of everything you cherish, for it is the means by which the Holy Spirit can separate the false and the true, which you have accepted into your mind without distinction. Therefore you cannot value one without the other, and guilt has become as true for you as innocence. You do not believe the Son of God is guiltless because you see the past, and see him not. When you condemn a brother you are saying, “I who was guilty choose to remain so.” You have denied his freedom, and by so doing you have denied the witness unto yours. You could as easily have freed him from the past, and lifted from his mind the cloud of guilt that binds him to it. And in his freedom would have been your own.
Students often ask me to help them understand what Jesus means by Atonement. I always think of Atonement as undoing, and I think that Atonement and forgiveness are the same thing. I like this explanation even better:
Atonement brings a re-evaluation of everything you cherish, for it is the means by which the Holy Spirit can separate the false and the true…
This is why I bring my thoughts to the Holy Spirit for interpretation. I want Him to separate the false from the true because I cannot do that. As Jesus goes on to say, I have accepted everything without distinction. I have a thought, and I tend to believe it simply because it is in my mind. Actually, I have taught myself not to automatically accept every thought, but I used to do so and still do so sometimes.
Here is an example.
I awoke one night and lay there worrying about someone dear to me. He is going through a very difficult time and making some hard decisions. I started thinking about all that could go wrong and what those consequences would mean to him. I started feeling so anxious that I knew I couldn’t go to sleep like this. I wanted to be peaceful and sleep through the night. I wanted to stop being afraid for this person.
The reason I was finding it so hard to stop being afraid and to return to peace is that I had automatically accepted my thoughts about the situation as being true; he could make bad decisions, and he could suffer dire consequences. What I did was listen to the Rules for Decision section of the Course. Afterward, I realized that the only thing that happened was that I asked the ego what the situation meant, and I joined with the ego in deciding what would happen based on the ego’s interpretation.
I did the steps that Jesus laid out for me to undo that decision and make way for the Holy Spirit to re-interpret for me. He helped me by sorting through my thoughts, rejecting what was not true. What I was left with were some true thoughts that restored my mind to the peace of God that I so desired. A true thought in my mind was that I must have faith in my brother.
Another was that nothing was happening.
Nothing was happening anywhere except in my mind, which was projecting my fears into a non-existent future. The following day, I was guided to this passage: “Your patience with your brother is your patience with yourself. Is not a child of God worth patience?” All the other thoughts were gone. I wasn’t thinking about all the ways his life could go wrong now or how unlikely it was that he would succeed. I wasn’t thinking about how this would affect my life or other lives. I was happy and at peace.
Jesus says the result of not distinguishing between thoughts and simply accepting them all is that guilt has become as true for us as innocence. To free my mind, I had to free this dear person I love. I had to let go of the thoughts that he was guilty of anything and embrace his innocence. I had to let go of the belief in guilt and embrace only the belief in innocence.
Will he make mistakes, and will there be dire consequences? I don’t know. But no matter where his lessons take him, I have faith now that all will be as it should be and that he will be successful, regardless of how it appears in the story. He is guilty of nothing; what happens here is meaningless of itself and gains meaning only according to our desires. I desire to know only innocence, his and mine. From now on, I will be vigilant for thoughts about this situation and will ask only the Holy Spirit to sort them out for me.
IX. The Cloud of Guilt, P 5
5 Lay not his guilt upon him, for his guilt lies in his secret thought that he has done this unto you. Would you, then, teach him he is right in his delusion? The idea that the guiltless Son of God can attack himself and make himself guilty is insane. In any form, in anyone, believe this not. For sin and condemnation are the same, and the belief in one is faith in the other, calling for punishment instead of love. Nothing can justify insanity, and to call for punishment upon yourself must be insane.
Guilt in any form, regardless of where it is directed, whether if it is expressed or only believed, is a form of insanity. It is what keeps the illusion in place, and it is a defense against Love. It is not possible to know yourself as the Son of God and still believe in guilt. How do you know that you have thoughts of guilt? It might not be obvious to you right away.
Here are some clues:
He shouldn’t have…
She could have done this instead…
I wish he had…
If only I had…
Why did I…
How could he have …
I watch for thoughts that start in this way. When they occur, I know that I have found someone guilty. One morning, I was struggling with a feeling. My brother asked me to do something for him, which he felt was very important. I don’t want to do this, but I will. I feel anxious about it, and as I read this paragraph, I realized I resented my brother for asking me for this favor. That resentment is a form of guilt. He is guilty of asking me and guilty for how I felt. Any form of resentment is guilt.
I have been struggling with letting go of past regrets.
Because I am willing to do this work now, I have been shown regrets about things I did and things I didn’t do. These regrets are just another form of guilt. I should have done things differently and didn’t, therefore I am guilty.
Another form of guilt is projection. Any time I see someone else as bad or lacking in some way that I find objectionable, it is only because I have projected my belief in guilt onto that person. I used to know a woman who didn’t have a clue about how to discipline her child or even how to talk to her child in a way that would be helpful rather than making it worse. I found myself getting angry at her for her ignorance. Now I realize I felt angry because I was projecting my guilt at not being a better mother. I was making us equally guilty.
I’ve learned better.
Now, when I notice guilt, whether directed at another or myself, I remember that this is not possible. We were not created guilty, so we cannot be guilty. We cannot prove our guilt no matter what story we cook up in the illusion. Without a belief in guilt, I look at a mother’s ignorance about child rearing as an opportunity to undo more guilt in the mind. I can approach this favor for my brother as an act of love, and if I still feel anxious about it, I can ask for clarity. What is it in me that needs to be healed? And I can accept atonement for that error.
When I think about how simple and straightforward this correction is, I feel a sense of relief. While it is absolutely necessary to give up the belief in guilt, it is very possible to do so because guilt is not real. We are innocent, and I find that a good mantra for the day. No matter what I see through the body’s eyes, I will remind myself that we are innocent, and, without exception, that is the only truth of the situation.