ACIM Chapter 14. III. The Decision for Guiltlessness P 2, 3

ACIM Chapter 14. III. The Decision for Guiltlessness P 2, 3

III. The Decision for Guiltlessness P 2

2. Perhaps you are accustomed to using guiltlessness merely to offset the pain of guilt, and do not look upon it as having value in itself. ²You believe that guilt and guiltlessness are both of value, each representing an escape from what the other does not offer you. ³You do not want either alone, for without both you do not see yourself as whole and therefore happy. ⁴Yet you are whole only in your guiltlessness, and only in your guiltlessness can you be happy. ⁵There is no conflict here. ⁶To wish for guilt in any way, in any form, will lose appreciation of the value of your guiltlessness, and push it from your sight.

3. There is no compromise that you can make with guilt, and escape the pain that only guiltlessness allays. ²Learning is living here, as creating is being in Heaven. ³Whenever the pain of guilt seems to attract you, remember that if you yield to it, you are deciding against your happiness, and will not learn how to be happy. ⁴Say therefore, to yourself, gently, but with the conviction born of the Love of God and of His Son:

⁵What I experience I will make manifest.
⁶If I am guiltless, I have nothing to fear.
⁷I choose to testify to my acceptance of the Atonement, not to its rejection.
⁸I would accept my guiltlessness by making it manifest and sharing it.
⁹Let me bring peace to God’s Son from his Father.

Jesus is telling me that I am trying to keep both guilt and guiltlessness.

And that this will not work if I want to reach my goal of life without suffering. I see that this is what I have been doing. It’s 1:00 AM right now as I write this. I woke up at midnight, unable to fall back asleep. I lay there thinking about obligations I worry I can’t meet. The mind immediately starts looking for someone to blame.

When I was not able to stop the thoughts, I got out of bed and came to this work. It always helps with any uneasiness of any kind if I talk it out with Jesus. I see that I am not trying to eliminate guilt; I am trying to use it to take the edge off of suffering. This is what Jesus is telling us in this paragraph.

I am reminded of having severe acid reflux. I read a list of foods to avoid, but I didn’t want to stop eating them altogether. So when I would eat one of them, and it triggered the reflux, I took medicine. I chose to keep the problem and treat the pain. This is what I do with the pain of guilt. Rather than giving it up altogether, I take some guiltlessness to ease the distress.

To want guilt “in any way, in any form” is to forget the value of what I already am. Even a little desire for self-attack pushes my innocence out of sight. So tonight, feeling the pain of guilt, I refuse to yield to it. I am sitting here with the Holy Spirit, and I am still and quietly doing nothing, allowing the belief in guilt to be reinterpreted until I see that it has no cause. I do this until all effects are gone. I will not compromise with guilt.

Jesus tells us we are here to learn this.

Remember that if you yield to it, you are deciding against your happiness, and will not learn how to be happy. ⁴Say therefore, to yourself, gently, but with the conviction born of the Love of God and of His Son:

⁵What I experience I will make manifest.

What I accept as guilt within my mind must show up as guilt in my experience. I will feel guilty, and I will manifest more opportunities to see others guilty.

⁶If I am guiltless, I have nothing to fear.

Tonight I noticed the connection of guilt to fear. I have been trying to forgive fear and let it go. I see now that if I let go of guilt, there will be nothing to fear.

⁷I choose to testify to my acceptance of the Atonement, not to its rejection.

When the temptation to guilt arises, I will gently remind myself that choosing guilt is choosing to reject the Atonement. That is counter to my purpose.

⁸I would accept my guiltlessness by making it manifest and sharing it.

In learning to accept my innocence, I will make that manifest rather than guilt. I will share this with everyone as I choose to see their innocence as well.

 
⁹Let me bring peace to God’s Son from his Father.

Ah, now I can go back to bed and sleep. My mind is at rest, so I will be able to rest my body.