ACIM Chapter 13. VII. Attainment of the Real World, P 11, 12
ACIM Chapter 13. VII. Attainment of the Real World, P 11, 12
VII. Attainment of the Real World, P 11
11 Everything the ego tells you that you need will hurt you. For although the ego urges you again and again to get, it leaves you nothing, for what you get it will demand of you. And even from the very hands that grasped it, it will be wrenched and hurled into the dust. For where the ego sees salvation it sees separation, and so you lose whatever you have gotten in its name. Therefore ask not of yourself what you need, for you do not know, and your advice to yourself will hurt you. For what you think you need will merely serve to tighten up your world against the light, and render you unwilling to question the value that this world can really hold for you.
When I was younger, I felt an emptiness in me and a compelling desire to fill it. I had spent my life up until that time believing in fairytales. I believed I was waiting for Prince Charming to ride in on his big white horse and save me from my aloneness. When that was done, I was sure I would be fulfilled, and this empty feeling would go away. So, forever unwilling to wait, I set about finding my prince. I had in my mind the qualities I thought would make him perfect, and when I found him, I pursued him with grim determination until I got him.
There were so many things wrong with that plan I didn’t even know where to start.
But suffice it to say that the ego was running the whole thing, which is never good. I did not feel fulfilled. There was still an emptiness in me, and an ego goal and grim determination do not guarantee you will like what you get. I did not understand why my plan didn’t work at the time, so I tried the same plan over and over, only to fail each time. Sure, I got the prince I was after, but the plan to save myself in the relationship never worked.
The ego mind formed the plan and carried it out with precision, and it promised me fulfillment. For a time, I would enjoy the feeling of being in love, and my thoughts were so fixated on the other and on my emotions that I thought I was happy and had what I needed. But as time went on and the initial “I am so in love” feeling began to fade, I realized that being with another body just isn’t enough to fill up that emptiness. Then the projection would begin, and it would seem to me like the other was not my savior but my problem. And so I would start over in my quest. Special relationships are just one way that the ego offers everything and then snatches it away.
When A Course in Miracles came into my life, I began to understand.
That empty feeling was the longing for God. Slowly, I began to change as I let more thoughts be healed and as I allowed in more God. I stopped trying to get my needs met by others and began to give others the love that I discovered in me. That love does not diminish with time but grows within me. The more I give away, the more I have to give. I didn’t have to find anyone to get this love, and I only lose awareness of it when I return to listening to the ego instead of the Voice for God.
The contrast between the ego-driven quest for fulfillment and the Holy Spirit’s gentle and loving guidance was so sharp that I realized I wanted to stop asking the ego for advice. I wanted the Holy Spirit to be my advisor in everything. Instead of asking the ego what I should do to be happy, I began to ask the Holy Spirit what He would have me do now. I would ask Him what He wanted me to know about any particular situation. I am sometimes confused about where He is taking me, as it is not always apparent. But I give as much trust as possible, and I try hard to resist that still present but fading desire to be in control.
What I have discovered is that what God gives is truly given.
It cost me nothing, and it is never snatched away as inevitably happens with the ego’s “gifts.” What I receive from the Holy Spirit is mine for as long as I need it, and it never hurts me. He gives truly and generously out of abundance. If something is suddenly gone, I know that I no longer need it, though I sometimes become confused and think I have lost something. But then I realized what really happened was that person, thing, or circumstance is no longer needed, and I’ve learned to wait in happy anticipation to see each of my needs met in this perfect way.
VII. Attainment of the Real World, P 12
12 Only the Holy Spirit knows what you need. For He will give you all things that do not block the way to light. And what else could you need? In time, He gives you all the things that you need have, and will renew them as long as you have need of them. He will take nothing from you as long as you have any need of it. And yet He knows that everything you need is temporary, and will but last until you step aside from all your needs and realize that all of them have been fulfilled. Therefore He has no investment in the things that He supplies, except to make certain that you will not use them on behalf of lingering in time. He knows that you are not at home there, and He wills no delay to wait upon your joyous homecoming.
Some paths emphasize how to manifest what we want to have in this life. I don’t have an issue with that. I have done so myself, and I know how it is possible, and I also know how and why we limit our ability to do so. But I am not very interested in that path. This section of A Course in Miracles is why I lost interest in using my time to consciously manifest what I think will make me happy. I do not know what I need or what will make me happy, but the Holy Spirit does know. He knows what I need and will supply my needs as long as I let Him. He will renew them as long as I need them, and he will take nothing from me as long as I need it.
With this promise, why would I try to figure out what I need and how long I need it?
Why would I give any of my time to this fruitless effort? I have spent a lifetime proving that I really don’t know what I need. I did this through trial and error without realizing that was what I was doing. But I cannot help noticing the effects of my efforts, which were hit-and-miss at best. So, I know I am not good at even deciding what I need, and I also know that I have to work hard at getting what I think I need and then work to hold onto it. And then, if what I thought I needed were no longer there, I would feel loss, even if I didn’t really need it anymore. It is a messy and unreliable method of achieving what I need.
What if I did this instead? What if I asked the Holy Spirit what it is I need right now? Then, what if I simply accepted that what I needed would be provided? What if I never again worried about any need and absolutely knew that each need would be met in perfect timing, in a way that would be most helpful to all involved, and that the need would be met as long as the need existed? What if I knew the way the need was met was so perfect that it could never hurt me? And what if I never had to be concerned that I would be given something that would keep me lingering in the illusion? How peaceful and calm my life would be! How happy I would be! And this is the promise that we are given in this paragraph.
So, what is my part?
Well, I can see that I would need to stop trying to decide what I need and how to get that need met. It cannot be done for me if I am doing it myself. I would have to trust Jesus. I would have to let go of any expectations I have about how this would unfold. And I would have to trust that everything was occurring perfectly even if I didn’t understand it at the moment. I would have to give up the idea that I must do it myself. I would have to give up the delusion that I have control and need to keep control. And I would have to give up self-will in favor of Self-will. I can do all this, but it takes awareness and practice. But, oh my, it would really be worth it!
This is something that I have experienced, and so I know that it works. It worked when it was time to buy a house in preparation for retirement. I talked about that in yesterday’s reading. It didn’t seem like I would have enough income to retire. Yet, it worked even though when I added the numbers, it didn’t seem possible for me to live on my income. Every month, miraculously, there is enough money. When a hurricane damaged my home, there were so many things to decide and many different people to work with. It all seemed overwhelming, and mistakes would be costly. But each time I felt uncertain or overwhelmed, I asked the Holy Spirit for guidance and for peace. Trust solved them all.
Now, it feels like our world is at a crossroads.
This one is clearly out of my ability to affect. But there is one important thing I can do. I forgive. I forgive my belief that things should be different than they are. And I forgive the belief that I know what should happen and how it should happen. If there is one thing I have learned, it is that I don’t know. From the perspective of the split mind, I don’t know. But there is in my mind the answer to all problems, and all I have to do to find that answer is to stay in my right mind. I do that through forgiving and, thus, letting go of the ego thoughts. I am so grateful to know this.
Here is Regina Dawn Akers’s talk on Cultivating Intuition.