ACIM Chapter 13. VIII. From Perception to Knowledge, P 1, 2

ACIM Chapter 13. VIII. From Perception to Knowledge, P 1, 2

VIII. From Perception to Knowledge, P 1

1 All healing is release from the past. That is why the Holy Spirit is the only Healer. He teaches that the past does not exist, a fact which belongs to the sphere of knowledge, and which therefore no one in the world can know. It would indeed be impossible to be in the world with this knowledge. For the mind that knows this unequivocally knows also it dwells in eternity, and utilizes no perception at all. It therefore does not consider where it is, because the concept “where” does not mean anything to it. It knows that it is everywhere, just as it has everything, and forever.

Jesus says that all healing is a release from the past. In another place in the Course he says that all healing is essentially a release from fear. This tells me that a release from the past is a release from fear. So I asked how this could be. How is it that fear and the past are associated? The answer is in this paragraph.

Here is how this seems to me.

Jesus tells us that the Holy Spirit teaches us that the past does not exist, and without the belief in the past, we know ourselves only in eternity. In eternity, there is no perception because we have knowledge. In fact, if we have knowledge, we cannot exist in the world. So, what is perception, and how is it different from knowledge?

Perception is what we have instead of knowledge, while we believe we exist outside eternity. Knowledge is certain and unchanging. Knowledge is true now and later and in every circumstance. In fact, knowledge undoes ‘now and later,’ as well as ‘in every circumstance.’ Perception, on the other hand, is only what we currently believe to be true. It might be true, or it might not. It might be true at this moment and different at another moment. Perception is a product of time, so it doesn’t exist outside of time.

Here is an example of perception. I had a text from my child that seemed very unkind and judgmental. I felt first angry, then sad. When we spoke in person, I realized she had been making a joke, something that was not obvious in the text. So, for a while, I read the words and thought I knew what they meant. That was my perception, my interpretation of an event. Then I spoke to her, and the meaning of the words changed. That was my new perception of the same words. Remembering this incident, it is easy for me to see why it is that perception causes us to feel like the world is not stable and why we feel insecure and, therefore, fearful.

If we had knowledge instead of perception all this would change.

But here is something interesting that Jesus tells us in this paragraph. If we had knowledge we would not see ourselves as in this world. We would know that we dwell in eternity. Eternity is without a where and without a when. Without a when there would be no past.

What would there be to fear without a past? Every frightening or regretful thought I have ever had was based on something I did or heard or learned in the past. The ego thoughts that I bring to the Holy Spirit for healing would not exist if I did not keep them alive through memory, which is the present view of the past. So, without a past, there would be no need for healing. If there were nothing to be healed, there would be no fear. The mind that knows it is in eternity knows that it is everywhere, just as it has everything and forever. I repeated this promise here just because I like to remind myself of the goal and the reason I do the work and stay true to my purpose.

Our purpose here is to awaken, and one day last week, right in the middle of a conversation, I was given a new way of doing this. I associate being awake with being peaceful, happy, and loving without interruption in those states. And  I realized that I was joyful in that moment. I loved everyone present without exception. I felt perfectly peaceful and so happy to be where I was, doing what I was doing. The thought I was given was that I was awake right then, and I could stay awake if I stayed in the present moment.

Of course!

If I thought about something I did or said, I would leave the moment and likely leave the state of awakeness. If I thought about something I needed to do or say, I would no longer be perfectly happy, loving, and peaceful. So, I would have left the awakened state. But if I stayed in the moment, I stayed awake. So, since that time, I have been gently bringing my attention back to the perfection of the moment. I am being awake to become awake.

Here is an example. This morning, when I woke up, I felt happy. I was at peace. Then, I thought about how I had trouble staying asleep last night, and immediately, I was no longer completely happy and at peace. So, I let that go. As soon as I did, I was again happy and peaceful. As I got ready for the day, I thought about something I said to a client yesterday and wondered if it was the right thing to say. And again, I lost the happy, peaceful state of awakeness. But again, I let that thought go and returned to the now and to being in an awakened state. I am joyfully practicing this all the time now.

VIII. From Perception to Knowledge, P 2

2 The very real difference between perception and knowledge becomes quite apparent if you consider this: There is nothing partial about knowledge. Every aspect is whole, and therefore no aspect is separate. You are an aspect of knowledge, being in the Mind of God, Who knows you. All knowledge must be yours, for in you is all knowledge. Perception, at its loftiest, is never complete. Even the perception of the Holy Spirit, as perfect as perception can be, is without meaning in Heaven. Perception can reach everywhere under His guidance, for the vision of Christ beholds everything in light. Yet no perception, however holy, will last forever.

Here is what I know… ok, that was a short list. I don’t know even the most basic things. I can say that I am here, but then I have to ask, who am I who is here? Where is here? Jesus just told us in the last paragraph that there is no where or when. How about this: I love God, and He loves me. At least, that is true. But what does it mean? I don’t even know what love is. I know the feelings I have for certain people, but love is universal, or it is not love. So clearly, what I feel is not love as love truly exists. 

All I have to go on is perception, that is, how I choose to see things. If I allow it, the Holy Spirit will fulfill Its function and correct my perception. Even then, it is still perception and not knowledge. Trying to understand this, I thought about how the Holy Spirit has helped me. I have made myself miserable simply by dragging the past around with me. This unfortunate tendency keeps me locked into thinking that is often painful.

The Holy Spirit has helped me understand that the past does not exist.

Thus, there is no reason to feel guilty or find someone else guilty. He helped me imagine time rolling up like a carpet behind me so that there is nothing to see when I look back. Where is the reason for guilt now? But if we actually exist in eternity, then there is no timeline at all, so there is no carpet to roll up. Nothing is happening before or after.

And not only is time an illusion, but there is also no one outside my mind to find guilty in the first place, and as the Son of God, how could I be guilty of anything myself? And even this is just a clearer way to see; it is not truth. I accept the limits of perception, but I know that truth or not, there is a way to see that will bring me peace even in this dream state. This is worth pursuing.

I can just forget about knowing anything. That is not going to happen. What I can do is accept correction for my misperceived thoughts. If I allow the Holy Spirit to do that for me, I can bring my thoughts into alignment with something close to truth. Right now, my life is pretty insane. It always has been, but in the past, I just didn’t know how insane it was.

Here is an example.

This morning, I discovered that someone did something for me that was very loving and kind. I felt that love wash over me, and it brought tears of happiness to my eyes. Then, in almost the same breath, I remembered that something was occurring with a loved one that I perceived as bad, and the fear covered the love. I felt discouraged, and the tears were sad tears.

I know what happened. I understand that both the loving feeling and the frightened feeling are the result of perception, and perception isn’t the truth. The loving feeling was closer to the truth. It more closely reflects what I am as the Son of God, so while it is not truth, it is a true perception. I see the Holy Spirit’s work in this perception. The frightening feeling is further from the truth. It reflects a thought that is based on an illusion. How could the Son of God have anything to fear? To be afraid, I would have to believe something false. I see the ego’s thinking in this perception.

It is easy now to discern the source of my perceptions.

If my thoughts produce happy, peaceful, and loving effects, they reflect true perception. If they produce angry, fearful, and guilty effects, they reflect untrue perceptions. Knowing this, I can ask for correction of my thoughts when I see they are clearly false. I forgive these thoughts as I invite correction.

In the Rules for Decision in Chapter 30, Jesus tells us that all decisions, in order to have power, must be made in union. We either make them with the ego or with the Holy Spirit. So, if I made a decision to believe something that causes me to suffer, then to correct that effect, I must make a new decision, this time with the Holy Spirit. So, instead of joining with ego, I join with the Holy Spirit. My part is to desire change, and His part is to facilitate that change. In union, He and I changed the perception that was false, and my thinking once again reflects love, and I am happy. And very grateful. And living a more awakened life.

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