ACIM Chapter 14. II. The Happy Learner P 4-6
ACIM Chapter 14. II. The Happy Learner P 4-6
Photo by John Gardiner of Whangarei, New Zealand
II. The Happy Learner P 4
4. Like you, the Holy Spirit did not make truth. ²Like God, He knows it to be true. ³He brings the light of truth into the darkness, and lets it shine on you. ⁴And as it shines your brothers see it, and realizing that this light is not what you have made, they see in you more than you see. ⁵They will be happy learners of the lesson this light brings to them, because it teaches them release from nothing and from all the works of nothing. ⁶The heavy chains that seem to bind them to despair they do not see as nothing, until you bring the light to them. ⁷And then they see the chains have disappeared, and so they must have been nothing. ⁸And you will see it with them. ⁹Because you taught them gladness and release, they will become your teachers in release and gladness.
I do my part to bring release to my brothers by accepting release for myself. How else could I bring it to them unless I had it to bring? My life teaches far more effectively than my words. I invite the Holy Spirit to shine the Light of Truth into my mind. In so doing, I see how dark the ego thoughts are and gladly release them.
This reminds me of Lesson 13: A meaningless world engenders fear.
It tells us that a meaningless world engenders fear because ²It represents a situation in which God and the ego “challenge” each other as to whose meaning is to be written in the empty space that meaninglessness provides. ³The ego rushes in frantically to establish its own ideas there, fearful that the void may otherwise be used to demonstrate its own impotence and unreality. ⁴And on this alone it is correct.
I have been concerned for my friend recently. It is not his situation that is concerning. It is my interpretation of his situation that upsets me. My interpretation is the meaning I have written there. I have decided to disregard that meaning and allow myself to know God’s meaning for my son.
The ego argues against this, saying it is what it is (interpret this as it is what the ego says it is), and I can’t change that. When I ignore the ego, it decides on another tactic. It offers me an alternative meaning. I can decide on a more positive meaning to put on my friend’s situation. But I am not fooled by that either. I will not decide what it means. I will not challenge God as to its meaning. Instead, I will gladly and gratefully allow God to write His meaning on my Heart. This is how I live a life that shines a light into the darkness and releases us all.
II. The Happy Learner P 5
5. When you teach anyone that truth is true, you learn it with him. ²And so you learn that what seemed hardest was the easiest. ³Learn to be a happy learner. ⁴You will never learn how to make nothing everything. ⁵Yet see that this has been your goal, and recognize how foolish it has been. ⁶Be glad it is undone, for when you look at it in simple honesty, it is undone. ⁷I said before, “Be not content with nothing,” for you have believed that nothing could content you. ⁸It is not so.
Deciding to disregard the ego’s version of my son’s situation heals us both. I begin to think of him as the strong, courageous, and beautiful soul he is, and my vision, being true and real, touches his heart. He will accept it when he decides to, but the healing is there. All attempts to heal succeed, and they wait patiently to be accepted. I can be patient, too. When I bring light to others, I am healed by the same light.
The world, as seen from the perspective of the split mind, is nothing. It is not the Will of God, and thus it is nothing. There is no world of pain and suffering. There is only the belief in one. As I have learned to question my beliefs, I see them falling away, and in their place is the peace of God. The ego’s worst fears come to pass as I see the ego for the nothing it is. I am no longer content with nothing, and with that, joy takes its place. I will continue to question all the meaning I have given the world now that I understand that I give up nothing for everything.
II. The Happy Learner P 6
6. If you would be a happy learner, you must give everything you have learned to the Holy Spirit, to be unlearned for you. ²And then begin to learn the joyous lessons that come quickly on the firm foundation that truth is true. ³For what is builded there is true, and built on truth. ⁴The universe of learning will open up before you in all its gracious simplicity. ⁵With truth before you, you will not look back.
I used to be an anxious learner. I wasn’t sure what to give to the Holy Spirit or even how to give it to Him. And I was pretty sure that I would not succeed in this long-term. But I kept at it anyway. There was something in me that would not quit. So I tried harder and worked harder and have had success even though all this hard work wasn’t needed. I was supposed to be doing the work happily. Who knew? All along, I only needed to let the Holy Spirit unlearn for me.
I still sometimes fall back into making this hard. But eventually, I see the error and correct it. This isn’t hard to do. How could the truth be hard to see? The truth is all there is. Anything else I experience must be an illusion. How hard can it be to disregard an illusion? All that is needed is a decision to accept only what is true. This is the firm foundation that I have laid.
Now, I simply pay attention to what I believe.
If I believe something that causes distress of any kind, I know I have strayed into the unreal, and turning back is simple and easy. The only time it feels hard now is when I let myself get interested in an ego story. The stories can mesmerize me for a bit before I change my mind. But always, I change my mind.
Every experience here is a lesson God would have me learn. Now that I have the hang of it and my commitment is strong, they are joyous lessons. They are joyous because I know the outcome is what I came here to experience. These lessons are why I am here. I would not overlook a single one of them. If they do seem difficult at times, I have so much help. I call on my angels, my guides, my Bother, and the Holy Spirit, and I am always answered. I have a grateful heart.
Do you enjoy reading about Near Death Experiences? Here is my favorite if you are interested.
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