ACIM Chapter 13. VII. Attainment of the Real World, P 1-3

ACIM Chapter 13. VII. Attainment of the Real World, P 1-3

VII. Attainment of the Real World, P 1

1 Sit quietly and look upon the world you see, and tell yourself: “The real world is not like this. It has no buildings and there are no streets where people walk alone and separate. There are no stores where people buy an endless list of things they do not need. It is not lit with artificial light, and night comes not upon it. There is no day that brightens and grows dim. There is no loss. Nothing is there but shines, and shines forever.”

When I read this paragraph, my heart beats faster, and I feel exhilarated! This world I see is not real, not in any sense. I have told myself in the past that the world I see is not real. That is, the world as I perceive it is not real. But Jesus is very clear in this paragraph. In the real world, there are no buildings, no streets, no stores. No people are walking alone and separate. There is not even day and night; everything shines and shines forever.

 So, where did these images come from?

This is our illusion, so they could only have come from our minds. We began with the idea of separation, and images of that idea took form and were, and are even now, being projected so that we can experience them. We imaged bodies, giving them eyes to show us what separation would look like and to help us believe in the images. Though it is only a vivid hallucination, it is an incredible feat accomplished through the power that is ours as a creation of God.

 My thought about this world we made is that the effects of separation thinking may have been interesting initially, but they are now often nightmarish. For that reason alone, I have begun to lose interest. More so because I feel an emptiness that longs to be filled. I miss my Self, and I miss Love’s Presence, which I sense but cannot feel. When I think of God, I feel tears begin to form, and my heart hurts. Nothing in this imagined world means more to me than returning Home. And yet, here I am.

 “Holy Spirit, I change my mind.

I want to see the real world. I am willing to let go of anything in this world that binds me to it. Help me to see what it is I still value so that you can release me from it. The thoughts that make up this world are in my mind, but those that make up the real world are also in my mind. Those are the thoughts I want to bring forward in my awareness. Those are the thoughts I would cherish.”

VII. Attainment of the Real World, P 2

2 The world you see must be denied, for sight of it is costing you a different kind of vision. You cannot see both worlds, for each of them involves a different kind of seeing, and depends on what you cherish. The sight of one is possible because you have denied the other. Both are not true, yet either one will seem as real to you as the amount to which you hold it dear. And yet their power is not the same, because their real attraction to you is unequal.

Here is how I am learning to deny the world I see. When I had planned an outing, and it got canceled, I reminded myself that this disheartening feeling was made up. There is no such feeling in the real world. Then, I decide if I want to keep that gloomy feeling or allow a real feeling to be expressed through me.

When I look in the mirror and see something I don’t like, something older and heavier and saggier than I want to see, I remind myself that this judgment is not reality. It is something I made up. It is a choice based on a false belief. Then, I decide if I want to keep this judgment and believe in it. This body is not me. It is just an image of a belief in my mind. Why would I ever want to defend it or make it look different?

When I was with my dear friend, my eyes showed me his pain.

I saw his suffering, his confusion, and his depression, and I had a choice. I could believe in what I was seeing, and for a while, I did. This belief showed me a bleak future for him. But I knew then, as I know now, that I was not looking at the real world. There is a real world, and I can see it if I am willing to look away from the world I made up.

For a while, I was mesmerized by the fearful world of the ego belief system, but peace called to me, and I decided to allow the false vision to fade away. When I did, I began to see something closer to the real world. I began to see my friend, not as he sees himself, but as he truly exists.

Jesus tells us that every thought is a prayer.

He tells us that our thoughts are images we have made. And that every thought takes form on some level. He tells us that no one can suffer loss unless it be his own decision, that nothing occurs but represents our wish, and that nothing is omitted that we choose. Jesus says that here is our world, complete in all details. Here is its whole reality for us. And he says that we but do this to ourselves.

He says that what I see reflects a process in my mind, which starts with my idea of what I want. From there, the mind makes up an image of the thing the mind desires, judges valuable, and therefore seeks to find. These images are then projected outward, looked upon, esteemed as real, and guarded as one’s own. From insane wishes comes an insane world.

So, this is how it happened.

Jesus is telling us that we have made up a world that is unlike reality, that we did it deliberately, and he even tells us how we did it. Now, he is also telling us how to undo what we have done. That is why every time now that I get a glimpse of the world of pain and suffering, I remember that there is a real world where suffering and death do not exist, and I can see it if I refuse to accept the world of ego as reality.

Sometimes, it feels slow going and even impossible, but I have taken Jesus at his word. I have practiced denying the ego world, and I have experienced the real world rising within me. So, I know it can be done and that there is nothing else worth doing here. So far, the real world has appeared as relief, happiness, peace, and even joy arising despite appearances. I can look at the world in wonder and joy, or I can look at it in fear and dread. I cannot see both at the same time, so I must choose

3 VII. Attainment of the Real World, P 3

3 You do not really want the world you see, for it has disappointed you since time began. The homes you built have never sheltered you. The roads you made have led you nowhere, and no city that you built has withstood the crumbling assault of time. Nothing you made but has the mark of death upon it. Hold it not dear, for it is old and tired and ready to return to dust even as you made it. This aching world has not the power to touch the living world at all. You could not give it that, and so although you turn in sadness from it, you cannot find in it the road that leads away from it into another world.

I am turning from this world, but Jesus, do I really do so in sadness?

Yes, I want very much to find my way home. I want to look around and see the light and beauty that is the world reinterpreted by the Holy Spirit. When I look at each person and each place, at each thing, I want to see only God expressed. I want to respond to what I see with joy, and I want the peace of God, uninterrupted. So, what is it that I find so important, of so much value, that I would choose it instead?

As I think of this, I let my mind wander to the past, where I first began to experience the change of mind I seek. I noticed the times I felt happy. I was sitting with my boss and thinking about what a kind man he was and how happy I was that I finally chose to see that in him. Another time, I joined with two coworkers to discover the answer to a sticky problem. I felt so pleased to just be in their company, and I felt our unity. Another time, I was at the bank, and a teller I was not using took the time to speak to me and seemed happy to see me. And I took the time to look into her eyes and knew there was a joining.

These were little things.

But as I looked at the day, moments like these made it a happy day. They were moments of union, of shared purpose, and of gratitude. So, what happened during the day to pull me out of peace? Well, I felt myself being annoyed at a coworker and saying something “funny” about her to another coworker. As we laughed, the day felt a little darker. Another time, an error was made, and I saw the error and felt superior that I did so. I pointed to the error, and I lost the sense of union that is so essential to my happiness and peace.

I was grudging in my kindness at the restaurant because of the judgments that I was making. There was a moment of thinking my boss was foolish in his decision and another of wondering if someone else was silently judging me. I had a couple of times thinking that my son needed to do something he was not doing and to stop other behaviors, and I felt really dark and heavy. I texted him advice but felt uncertain that I was doing so with guidance. Was the advice from the Holy Spirit, or was it from my ego?

These little moments in the day point to what I valued more than Heaven.

It seemed I would rather be well thought of, secure in my job, and feel superior than to feel the touch of God. I would rather laugh at a coworker and gossip, judge rather than love, and accept the fearful ego interpretation of my sweet son rather than let the Holy Spirit show me his beautiful essence. I would rather act out of fear than rest in trust and certainty.

How very strange it is to see the things I value over my joy and peace. I am grateful that I can see this so clearly because I was oblivious for most of my life. Now that I see it, I can change it. In fact, I see that scale is tipping. I was much more accepting and loving than I was judgmental, and though I did have moments of fear for my friend, I had many more of faith, trust, and certainty. Some days, I wonder if I will spend eternity in this messy hell that I made, and those are dark days indeed. But those days are the exception now, as I am learning to love the light.

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