ACIM III. Perception versus Knowledge P 5. The Bible tells you to know yourself, or to be certain. Certainty is always of God.
ACIM III. Perception versus Knowledge P 5
5 III. Perception versus Knowledge, P 5
5 The Bible tells you to know yourself, or to be certain. Certainty is always of God. When you love someone you have perceived him as he is, and this makes it possible for you to know him. Until you first perceive him as he is you cannot know him. While you ask questions about him you are clearly implying that you do not know God. Certainty does not require action. When you say you are acting on the basis of knowledge, you are really confusing knowledge with perception. Knowledge provides the strength for creative thinking, but not for right doing. Perception, miracles and doing are closely related. Knowledge is the result of revelation and induces only thought. Even in its most spiritualized form perception involves the body. Knowledge comes from the altar within and is timeless because it is certain. To perceive the truth is not the same as to know it.
Revelation, Knowing, and Love
Jesus says that we receive knowledge as a result of revelation. Revelation is information revealed. This means that we don’t get to knowledge on our own. We don’t get there through logic, judgment, reasoning, or any kind of learning. We receive knowledge as it is revealed to us. It comes from the altar within. It is certain and unchanging because it is of God. And it is timeless. And it does not induce action, only thought.
To love means to know. While I question God, when I wonder what God is or when I doubt Him and doubt His Love, I do not know Him and cannot love Him. The same is true for myself and for anyone else. For instance, I say I love my children, but do I? I sometimes doubt them. I see their actions, hear their words, and think they are headed for trouble, making bad decisions. This is not love because this is to not know them. When I remember that they are as God created them, not these bodies living these scripts, then I know them and can love them.
Perception and Knowledge are Very Different
Again, Jesus helps us understand the difference between perception and knowledge. He needs to be really clear about this because we are often confused about it. I think I know what I am. I am the Son of God. But do I really know this? Or is it a concept I have learned from reading the Course? I accept it as true because I believe what Jesus tells me, but at this time, I do not know it. Knowledge is of God and is revealed by God in His time; I have not received that knowledge.
Perception is what we work with here almost entirely. That is why it is important that we allow our perception to be corrected so that it is true perception. That is, it is as close to truth as we are going to come while still in the world. We can and must do this work. It is our part in salvation. I like this paragraph from Lesson 23 because it describes how we are to do our part.
The idea for today introduces the thought that you are not trapped in the world you see, because its cause can be changed. ²This change requires, first, that the cause be identified and then let go, so that it can be replaced. ³The first two steps in this process require your cooperation. ⁴The final one does not. ⁵Your images have already been replaced. ⁶By taking the first two steps, you will see that this is so. (ACIM, W-23.5:1-6)
How I Use These Instructions
Our part in purifying our perception is so simple, isn’t it? We identify the cause of our confusion, that is, the untrue thought. For instance, in talking about my doubts about my children, I had an untrue thought. I saw their actions or heard their words, and I confused what I saw and heard with who they were. Now that the error has been identified, I let it go so it can be replaced.
My part is now done. The healing or correction is done for me. I begin to remember that they are as God created them, and I lose interest in judging them and thus worrying about them. The Holy Spirit gives me truer thoughts, such as they are just learning the lessons they came to learn and doing so in perfect safety because these false images we imagine are already replaced. We are in God where He placed us, and a clear mind knows anything else is impossible.
Perception, miracles and doing are closely related.
I am still at the stage of having my perception corrected so that it becomes true perception, that is, very close to knowledge. I do this through miracles, as miracles are a change of mind. First, I realize that my perception must not be true because it is not like what I would think with God. And so I ask for a miracle. I ask that my mind be changed. This is done, and I am closer to truth.
The final step, from true perception to knowledge, is taken by God. He reveals Himself, and then we know. There is nothing else to ponder. There is nothing to do. When we know God, we know ourselves, and we know our brother. I imagine (perceive) what this must be like, and though I cannot know for sure if I am right, I think it must be wonderful.
We Are So Blessed
How blessed to know that God is Love and nothing else, to never doubt this and to know exactly what that means. How blessed to know that my brothers are Love and never a threat to me. And how blessed to know my friend is Love and to never become confused about that, to never believe in her confusion.
What a blessing it is to look at my son and see perfection and to know that one day, I will never become confused by the suffering the body’s eyes show me. How blessed to never again forget that I am not living this life but observing my mind playing with ideas. It makes me cry to think that this unwavering certainty will be mine, and it brings me comfort to see that I am close to that now.
Yes, sometimes my perception wavers. Sometimes I am seeing truly, and other times seeing with the ego. But I do the work and accept the Atonement as I am able. I get closer to true perception every day, and I “know” enough now to trust that all will be revealed when I am ready to receive it. With knowledge, all doubt and uncertainty will be gone, and never again will I be confused. I will know that I am as God created me. I will know that there is only Love.
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