ACIM Chapter 14. V. The Circle of Atonement P 8, 9
Photo by John Gardiner of Whangarei, New Zealand
V. The Circle of Atonement
- Peace, then, be unto everyone who becomes a teacher of peace. ²For peace is the acknowledgment of perfect purity, from which no one is excluded. ³Within its holy circle is everyone whom God created as His Son. ⁴Joy is its unifying attribute, with no one left outside to suffer guilt alone. ⁵The power of God draws everyone to its safe embrace of love and union. ⁶Stand quietly within this circle, and attract all tortured minds to join with you in the safety of its peace and holiness. ⁷Abide with me within it, as a teacher of Atonement, not of guilt.
- Blessed are you who teach with me. ²Our power comes not of us, but of our Father. ³In guiltlessness we know Him, as He knows us guiltless. ⁴I stand within the circle, calling you to peace. ⁵Teach peace with me, and stand with me on holy ground. ⁶Remember for everyone your Father’s power that He has given him. ⁷Believe not that you cannot teach His perfect peace. ⁸Stand not outside, but join with me within. ⁹Fail not the only purpose to which my teaching calls you. ¹⁰Restore to God His Son as He created him, by teaching him his innocence. (ACIM, T-14.V.8:1–9:10)
This sentence—this is the sentence that inspires me to right thinking.
⁴I stand within the circle, calling you to peace. ⁵Teach peace with me, and stand with me on holy ground.
Every day I write. I write about the lesson, and on many days, I also write about a paragraph or two in the Text. I do this because it helps me stay on the path and gives me more understanding and inspiration than I would get otherwise. But I also do it as a way of joining with Jesus in teaching peace. I care that others who are drawn to it are receiving from it whatever they need. I care because we are One, and what is for you is also for me. I give, and I receive what I give. I am healed, and you are healed with me. I stand in the Circle of Atonement as steadfastly as I am able, and I invite you to join me there alongside Jesus.
Sometimes, I shock myself at how easily I can step out of that circle when tempted by some ego story. At the same time, I am thrilled by how quickly I am called back, and how willing I am to return to that hallowed ground. This morning, in the lesson, I wrote about a situation in which, through judgment, I had stepped out of the circle, and then my devotion called me back. You might find it helpful to read about my process in Lesson 37.
Now this was somewhat of a surprise.
After so many years of studying and practicing the Course, it is almost funny to see it all distilled down to the simple understanding that we are One within the Mind of God and everything else is an illusion. We are here to heal the sleeping mind of its delusions. Each, in our own way, is learning and teaching innocence. As we learn, we teach, and as we teach, we learn, but what we learn remains the same. It is just another form of guilt denied. I know that I am looking at and believing another form of guilt if what I experience is not love. Truly, this is so simple.
Shortly before I began this particular writing, I got a text from my son. He has a particularly bad case of the flu, but cannot just sit things out while he heals. For one thing, he had to drive quite a way to get his medicine. He can’t talk because of his sickness, and his head feels like it is going to explode. It hurts so much. On top of all that, he can’t work and his bills are all way behind, and he doesn’t have money for food. Then he had a blowout, and his new jack wasn’t working. Lord, have mercy!
Oh, I felt so bad for him, and I could feel the tension mounting in my body.
I had just stepped out of the Circle, and I wanted back in. I knew that was what I wanted, but I was having trouble backing out of my son’s story. The part of my mind that was caught up in that began to catalogue all his struggles over the past few years. Then it wanted to think about how so much of it was due to poor choices. In other words, I was not only stuck in my story about his story, but I was also leaning into guilt.
I have to say that understanding this did not immediately change how I felt. But I remembered that my difficulty seeing this differently was caused by trying to use the same mind that got me into it to get me out. I then asked the Holy Spirit to decide for God for me. And slowly, over the next little while, my stress was relieved. There were a few more ego thoughts that promoted some form of guilt, but I looked at them, and then it was over. I had stepped back into the Circle of Atonement, where I could actually be helpful.
I have no solution for my son’s present problems.
But I did ask Jesus to help him, and I began to think of him as he is in reality. He is a soul just like me, trying to wake up, just like me. In refusing to join in his story of fear, I am helping. Believing in the strength of God in him, I am helping him believe in himself as well, even though, on a conscious level, he has no idea this is what’s happening. Our minds are joined, and so he receives what I receive. It may or may not affect an immediate change for him, but it is available to him. And as more of us stand with Jesus, that message grows stronger and is more easily received by those who need it.
So, right now, I stand peacefully beside Jesus on holy ground. Honestly, this might change in the next moment, but what won’t change is that I know the way back now. And I will always take that path, even if it takes me a while to decide on it. I invite you to join me there. Let us stand together in the Circle of Atonement, where guilt is undone, and peace is remembered. From here, we will, as one, all go Home together.