ACIM Chapter 13. VII. Attainment of the Real World, P 9,10
VII. Attainment of the Real World, P 9
9 You will first dream of peace, and then awaken to it. Your first exchange of what you made for what you want is the exchange of nightmares for the happy dreams of love. In these lie your true perceptions, for the Holy Spirit corrects the world of dreams, where all perception is. Knowledge needs no correction. Yet the dreams of love lead unto knowledge. In them you see nothing fearful, and because of this they are the welcome that you offer knowledge. Love waits on welcome, not on time, and the real world is but your welcome of what always was. Therefore the call of joy is in it, and your glad response is your awakening to what you have not lost.
We were in Heaven, knowing ourselves as One in God.
We decided to dream of more than one, and the dream became a nightmare. But it is just a dream, and we are awakening now. We are backing out a step at a time, just as we came into the dream. Our first step is to leave the nightmares behind and return to the happy dream. Our acceptance of the happy dream signals our desire to awaken from the dream. Love waits on our welcome.
This is accomplished as we realize that we are the cause of our unhappiness and make a decision to change our minds. This decision and this true desire for happiness are what trigger the Holy Spirit in our minds. The Holy Spirit then corrects our perception and brings it close to truth. So, our part is to become aware of what we are doing and to truly desire a change. Salvation asks so little of us.
My younger daughter and I talked about her getting married.
She had not decided how she wanted to do this and was thinking about just going to the courthouse and getting it done. I think she was actually feeling me out to see how I felt about this. I had done my older daughter’s wedding for her, and when my younger son planned to get married, he intended for me to do his. Perhaps she wanted to see if I objected to alternate plans. I told her that it was her wedding and she should do what she wanted to do. That was a while back.
One night, we all attended her baby shower with family and friends. I thought that with everyone gathered, this would be a good time for them to get married. As it turned out, she had planned this big surprise. She had someone there to perform the ceremony, and we all watched as Susan and Mike were married. My first reaction was surprising to me.
I felt embarrassed in front of my family that she did not confide in me and that I was not the one officiating. Then, I felt rejected and somewhere between angry and sad. I watched all those feelings pass through me, and I thought they would just keep going. However, I evidently believed them because they stayed. I tried to talk myself out of them, but that hardly ever worked. It is not our job to correct our perception, only to want correction.
Finally, when I got home, I asked for help.
I saw that the only thing happening here was that I was defending my self-image. I have done weddings for my family members since I was ordained, and I had an image of myself as that person. In the past, I have always presented myself as a good mother, one who is loved by her children. I often felt less than that, but it is the image I presented to the world, and now I felt the loss of that image.
It seems that I thought I needed her to show the world (and me) how special I am to her. I was reminded of how much work we put into maintaining our images, and the images are nothing. We are the Son of God, we are perfect Love, and yet here I am bemoaning the loss of an imagined illusory image.
It was still hard to let go of the desire to do so.
I used the Rules for Decision. The problem existed because I had first judged the situation and then asked what to do. I decided what it meant, and once I had done that, my reaction was pretty much fixed. So, if I wanted to return to peace and to love, I had to undo that decision. I knew it was too late for the quick restorative, so I began the step-by-step change of mind.
I at least knew that this thinking was not making me happy, so I hoped I was wrong. And I wanted another way to look at this. I had to come back to that a few times because, at first, I didn’t want another way to look at it. What I really wanted was for her to know she hurt my feelings and to be sorry for it. I’m very glad that I didn’t express that out loud, knowing that I would change my mind about it. I sure wouldn’t want her special moment to be forever tainted by my unhappiness, and that kept me in check until I could allow the healing.
Finally, I knew that I wanted another way to see this. And I began to accept that maybe there was another way to see. (do ya think?) ~smile~ And my mind and heart began to open to that new perception. I really, really wanted this new perception, this true perception. I could make no image that comes close to what I was created. Trading my Divinity for specialness was no real bargain at all. I saw how painful it is to need “proof” of love and approval. I wanted healing, and that was my only job. The correction itself was out of my hands, so I simply allowed it.
This seems to be the way perception is corrected.
My experience of this, after doing the practice for a number of years now, is that I have become vigilant about my thoughts and beliefs. And having allowed them to be corrected, I have become much happier. I haven’t slipped into that permanent state of a happy dream. I still occasionally have trouble letting go of some false beliefs that cause unhappiness. But I also see that I am willing to let them go, even if it feels hard at first. Love is waiting for me to make it welcome, and I am doing that.
VII. Attainment of the Real World, P 10
10 Praise, then, the Father for the perfect sanity of His most holy Son. Your Father knoweth that you have need of nothing. In Heaven this is so, for what could you need in eternity? In your world you do need things. It is a world of scarcity in which you find yourself because you are lacking. Yet can you find yourself in such a world? Without the Holy Spirit the answer would be no. Yet because of Him the answer is a joyous yes! As Mediator between the two worlds, He knows what you have need of and what will not hurt you. Ownership is a dangerous concept if it is left to you. The ego wants to have things for salvation, for possession is its law. Possession for its own sake is the ego’s fundamental creed, a basic cornerstone in the churches it builds to itself. And at its altar it demands you lay all of the things it bids you get, leaving you no joy in them.
Jesus knows that in eternity, we need nothing.
We have and are everything, but in this world built on the idea of lack, there are things we need. If we give our needs to the Holy Spirit, He will fulfill them in a way that will not hurt us. I live by this creed, and I am fully convinced that I do not know what I need or even want. I have asked for things and received them and regretted my choices. They left me unfulfilled. Yes, I still do that sometimes, but when I notice I am doing it, I change my mind quickly.
Regina Dawn Akers gave a class when The Secret was all the big rage. She talked about it and how she was able to use the idea in a safe way. Instead of telling the Holy Spirit what she wanted, she asked Him what she wanted. This is what I try to do in all cases. When I succeed, I find myself with what I need for as long as I need it. I know I didn’t do anything except desire what was needed, and so I have no great attachment to it or a fear of losing it.
My home is an example.
I had the thought that I wanted to retire someday and, in fact, that I would have to retire at some point, hopefully not too far away. Then, I thought that I would never be able to do that if I kept paying rent, which would be unaffordable in retirement. I also would like to live in a comfortable place in a nice neighborhood.
I’ve never had house envy, and while I can appreciate a nice house, I don’t get excited about it or long for it. So, I didn’t have anything special in mind, and really, I couldn’t figure out how on earth I could buy a house of any kind. I didn’t have a down payment, and that was important. Also, it was late in life for me to make this decision. How would I get it paid off in only a few years before retirement? I would just be in the same fix. But the thought persisted, so I just gave the need to the Holy Spirit.
Very soon, other thoughts began to surface, and I followed each one as they came to me. Within a few months, I was living in my own home. It meets all my needs, and I am very comfortable here. Within three years, I had paid it off, just in time for my retirement. It is really miraculous when I think of that first thought that I should buy a house and where it led me. It could have all gone so differently if I had listened to the ego objections.
Since all I did was follow directions and ignore my ego, I didn’t worry about the house.
There was something in the world that I needed, and the Holy Spirit supplied it. I didn’t make it happen, so I don’t feel responsible for it. I have no particular fear about loss because the Power that provided once will provide again. Nor do I feel attached to this form of provision. If I am to move again for some reason, I am ok with that, too.
The ego hates that. It wants to worry about hurricanes and flooding. It wants to worry about taxes and any other calamities it can come up with. But I am learning through this experience and others that I give my need to the Holy Spirit and trust His judgment and His love, and I have done my part. Even if the solution does not seem to meet my expectations, I generally just wait to see how His plan will work out. It might very well be that I was wrong about the purpose of what He provided, and all will be enlightened in its time.
An example of that was my job. Everything changed at work quite suddenly, and it threw me for a loop. However, I did my best at each step to overcome my fear and allow the situation to unfold. At first, it was hard to see this situation as another gift from the Holy Spirit, something I needed and would appreciate. And yet, I allowed relationships to be healed, to be made holy. Everything that occurred was perfect.
I am learning to trust Love and to surrender to It. I am never disappointed when I do.
To enjoy Regina Dawn Akers talk on The Secret Holy Spirit Style CLICK HERE.