ACIM Chapter 14. III. The Decision for Guiltlessness P 10, 11
Decision for Guiltlessness P 10, 11
III. the Decision for Guiltlessness P 10, 11
10. Those who accept the Atonement are invulnerable. ²But those who believe they are guilty will respond to guilt, because they think it is salvation, and will not refuse to see it and side with it. ³They believe that increasing guilt is self-protection. ⁴And they will fail to understand the simple fact that what they do not want must hurt them. ⁵All this arises because they do not believe that what they want is good. ⁶Yet will was given them because it is holy, and will bring to them all that they need, coming as naturally as peace that knows no limits. ⁷There is nothing their will fails to provide that offers them anything of value. ⁸Yet because they do not understand their will, the Holy Spirit quietly understands it for them, and gives them what they want without effort, strain, or the impossible burden of deciding what they want and need alone.
11. It will never happen that you must make decisions for yourself. ²You are not bereft of help, and Help that knows the answer. ³Would you be content with little, which is all that you alone can offer yourself, when He Who gives you everything will simply offer it to you? ⁴He will never ask what you have done to make you worthy of the gift of God. ⁵Ask it not therefore of yourself. ⁶Instead, accept His answer, for He knows that you are worthy of everything God wills for you. ⁷Do not try to escape the gift of God He so freely and so gladly offers you. ⁸He offers you but what God gave Him for you. ⁹You need not decide whether or not you are deserving of it. ¹⁰God knows you are. (ACIM, T-14.III.10:1–11:10)
I never questioned why guilt seemed so natural to me.
Or why I accepted it without resistance. It seemed obvious to me that I do things wrong, and so do others, and so we are guilty. I, like everyone else, feel the burden of that guilt and so try to give it away, but before A Course in Miracles, it never occurred to me that I didn’t have to accept it at all. I would “sin” and then feel guilty. I would find someone to blame, and so now there is a deeper belief in guilt as reality, and this has gone on for most of my life. The guilt grew to an intolerable level, but I just kept collecting it. I didn’t understand what I was doing or how to free myself, but the Holy Spirit understands for me and gives me what I really want without effort or strain. I am learning to gratefully accept this help.
A Course in Miracles was what I needed to find my freedom.
So the Holy Spirit decided for me that this was for me when it showed up. At the time, I thought it was “me” that made that decision, even though I questioned myself as to why. I just knew that this was for me. Now I see the loving Hand of God in this. Of course, I could have said no, and I am grateful that I didn’t. Over time, the Course has done its work. I came to accept that the Holy Spirit has my best interests at heart, and in time, I have allowed His help more and more, but never letting go of the reins completely. Now, I want to turn my life over to Him without reservation. Old habits are hard to break, but seeing the results, I am encouraged to form this new habit.
When the veil was accepted, forgetting seemed to follow.
We forgot who we are and why we are here. We forgot that we have a purpose and a mission. Because we forgot our innocence, we accepted guilt as a consequence. So we forgot the decision we must make. But we are not bereft of help. The Holy Spirit remembers for us and will make all decisions based on His knowledge if we let Him. He knows the answer, and we do not, so why do we insist on deciding on our own?
Perhaps it makes sense that I chose to be independent of my Guide and decide everything myself before I knew better. Seeing the senselessness of it now, I am actively changing my mind. I am learning to allow the Holy Spirit to make decisions on my behalf. It is taking practice for me to do this automatically, but I see that to do otherwise is merely foolish.
I am encouraged to do this in the Course.
Here is the passage that opened my mind to allowing the Holy Spirit to decide for me all things.
2. You have been told to ask the Holy Spirit for the answer to any specific problem, and that you will receive a specific answer if such is your need. ²You have also been told that there is only one problem and one answer. ³In prayer this is not contradictory. ⁴There are decisions to make here, and they must be made whether they be illusions or not. ⁵You cannot be asked to accept answers which are beyond the level of need that you can recognize. ⁶Therefore, it is not the form of the question that matters, nor how it is asked. ⁷The form of the answer, if given by God, will suit your need as you see it. ⁸This is merely an echo of the reply of His Voice. ⁹The real sound is always a song of thanksgiving and of Love. (ACIM, S-1.I.2:1-9)
Turning to the Holy Spirit for answers in all the little problems, I learned to trust Him. I also learned the deeper lesson that I was causing all my problems. Now I don’t wait for guidance until there is a problem I can’t solve on my own. I am learning to turn to the Holy Spirit in all things. In so doing, I am beginning to realize that innocence lost was not the result of sins, but the consequence of accepting the veil so that I could have this experience. Rediscovering my innocence is the mission, and while this is not at all a done deal, I am much closer now. Letting go of guilt, I feel worthy of help, and so it is easier now.
This is the prayer I repeat daily, if not in words, in intent.
³What would You have me do?
⁴Where would You have me go?
⁵What would You have me say, and to whom? (ACIM, W-71.9:3-5)
I would add one more: What would you have me think and believe?
It is my prayer for freedom. What now, Holy Spirit? And now…