ACIM V. Beyond Perception, P 3, 4, 5. Knowing, as we have already observed, does not lead to doing. Knowing is not open to interpretation. You have no image to be perceived.
ACIM V. Beyond Perception, P 3, 4, 5.
V. Beyond Perception, P 3
3 Knowing, as we have already observed, does not lead to doing. The confusion between your real creation and what you have made of yourself is so profound that it has become literally impossible for you to know anything. Knowledge is always stable, and it is quite evident that you are not. Nevertheless, you are perfectly stable as God created you. In this sense, when your behavior is unstable, you are disagreeing with God’s idea of your creation. You can do this if you choose, but you would hardly want to do it if you were in your right mind.
The first thing I had to do to really understand this was to become aware of my instability. As I thought about this, the word that came to mind was honesty. In the Manual for Teachers, there is a section on honesty. In part, it says:
“The term actually means consistency. There is nothing you say that contradicts what you think or do; no thought opposes any other thought; no act belies your word; and no word lacks agreement with another. Such are the truly honest. At no level are they in conflict with themselves. Therefore it is impossible for them to be in conflict with anyone or anything.”
I notice that I am closer now to being honest than I used to be. That means I am closer to being the self that God created. (Not that I could actually be anything else, but I am closer to accepting my self as God created me.) But as yet, I am still not honest.
Judgment, Suffering, and Love
I am not the judgmental person I used to be, yet I judge often. There is a difference now. I notice judgmental thoughts in my mind, but instead of instantly believing them, I question these thoughts and sooner, or maybe later, let them go. When I remember who I am, there will be no temptation to believe judgmental thoughts. Maybe they will cease to show up since I will have no interest in them. I cannot report on this, though, because I haven’t had that experience yet.
I am learning that pain and suffering, and death are not real. Sometimes when I am in pain, I remind myself of the truth, and the pain fades away. Sometimes when I am in pain, I take a pain pill. At times when I am in emotional pain, I ask for clarity, and the pain subsides or is transformed into joy. Sometimes I ride that train to the end of the line and wallow in self-pity for a while before I finally give it up. But those times are now exceedingly rare.
I will be loving, kind, and generous to one person and judgmental, angry, or maybe just indifferent to another person, as if one is more or less than another. Making one person special over another is dishonest. I am beginning to see how unstable my thinking and behavior are, and so I see why I don’t know anything but only perceive.
Identity Confusion
I am obviously still confused, and so I am in constant battle with God over my identity. God created me whole, and I see myself as separate and different from others. I was created perfectly, and I demonstrate daily my imperfections. God created me stable, honest, and all-knowing, and there is apparently not one thing I am willing to know absolutely.
The thought that comes to me as I consider this is that there is great value in becoming aware of how unstable my mind is. The other thought is that it will not be helpful to try to change how I think or to control my behavior. This is not healing but rather an attempt to use self-will to camouflage the belief in my mind. The solution is the Holy Spirit. Now that I am aware of the problem, I give it to the Holy Spirit for correction.
When I notice behavior or thinking that is out of accord with the truth, I put it on the altar. I offer it as a gift to God, trusting He knows what to do with it. I accept His answer. In this one way, I am becoming consistent. I practice this over and over and am learning to do so with patience and love and without guilt, no matter how ugly the thought, or how often I must return with the same thought.
I trust that one day my perceptions will be corrected. One day I will know, and there will be no more questions or doubts. This will be done not through my efforts but according to my desire. Jesus terms this as standing at the gate to Heaven. God will take the next step for me.
4 V. Beyond Perception, P 4
4 The fundamental question you continually ask yourself cannot properly be directed to yourself at all. You keep asking what it is you are. This implies that the answer is not only one you know, but is also one that is up to you to supply. Yet you cannot perceive yourself correctly. You have no image to be perceived. The word “image” is always perception-related, and not a part of knowledge. Images are symbolic and stand for something else. The idea of “changing your image” recognizes the power of perception, but also implies that there is nothing stable to know.
I understand this. I often ask the question, “What am I?” but I don’t ask myself, and I don’t try to figure it out. Neither do I try to change what I am. That is, I don’t try to change myself by changing the image you see when you look at me. If the image changes anyway, I don’t believe that anything real changed. The image of Myron, body, and personality is not who I am.
I can play with that image all my life, and no matter what seems to happen, nothing has actually been accomplished because that is not what I am. What I am cannot be changed, but it can be known. I simply have to ask the question of One Who knows. So far, the answer has come as opportunities to let go of all I think I know. As that falls away, the truth is revealing itself.
5 V. Beyond Perception, P 5
5 Knowing is not open to interpretation. You may try to “interpret” meaning, but this is always open to error because it refers to the perception of meaning. Such incongruities are the result of attempts to regard yourself as separated and unseparated at the same time. It is impossible to make so fundamental a confusion without increasing your overall confusion still further. Your mind may have become very ingenious, but as always happens when method and content are separated, it is utilized in a futile attempt to escape from an inescapable impasse. Ingenuity is totally divorced from knowledge, because knowledge does not require ingenuity. Ingenious thinking is not the truth that shall set you free, but you are free of the need to engage in it when you are willing to let it go.
I Have Questions
I am very curious about my origins. Where did I come from? When did I come? What am I? What is God? How can I be part of God when God created me? If there is no time, then there cannot be a ‘when’ I was created and what on earth does that mean? I wonder about these questions, but I don’t try to figure them out.
Sometimes I receive some clarity about one of my questions, but it does not come from the thinking mind. I notice that when I do get some unexpected clarity, it is not like it came from the encyclopedia. It is more like a knowing that would be pretty much impossible for me to put into words.
I remember a time when I used to sit around discussing philosophy and thinking that I was very clever. I remember thinking that I had it all figured out. But now, I don’t even care. I just want to know the next step so I can do my part. I “know” less, but I am less confused.
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