ACIM V. Beyond Perception, P 7, 8. The statement “God created man in his own image and likeness” needs reinterpretation.
ACIM V. Beyond Perception, P 7, 8
V. Beyond Perception, P 7
7 The statement “God created man in his own image and likeness” needs reinterpretation. “Image” can be understood as “thought,” and ‘likeness” as “of a like quality.” God did create spirit in His Own Thought and of a quality like to His Own. There is nothing else. Perception, on the other hand, is impossible without a belief in “more” and “less.” At every level it involves selectivity. Perception is a continual process of accepting and rejecting, organizing and reorganizing, shifting and changing. Evaluation is an essential part of perception, because judgments are necessary in order to select.
I remember the first time I read this, I was very happy to have confirmed the belief I held that God is not a body and “created in His own image” did not refer to our bodies. I also remember what a leap it was to go from the idea of God as like me (the body of Myron) to the thought that I must be like God, whatever that looks like. Even after I let go of the idea of God as a body, I was resistant to the idea of letting go of God as a separatist. I kept expecting God to be as judgmental as I was. I suppose that even though I am letting go of that idea, there must be some unconscious belief of God as Judge because I am still here hiding out in ego land, afraid to go Home.
Creation
God created me like Himself, and creation continues in that way. God is a creator, and therefore, so am I. I continue to create as, and in the same manner, as God creates. This dream of separation does not qualify as creation because it is not as God creates. It is not an extension of God and not an extension of my Self. Separation is not real but is only a consideration of an impossible idea because, as Jesus says, there is nothing else (but God). If Heaven could have an opposite, surely the idea of separation would be it, so I know it cannot be part of God.
Perception
“Perception is a continual process of accepting and rejecting, organizing and reorganizing, shifting and changing.” I can vaguely remember that when I first began to understand perception, I felt very resistant to letting this process go. I didn’t want to stop evaluating and judging, and I really loved the process of organizing and reorganizing, accepting and rejecting. I valued my right to make choices. Now, just thinking about this makes me tired. I want to let this go. In time, however, perception is necessary. What I can do is allow my mind to be healed and my perceptions to be brought into alignment with the truth.
In order for this to happen, I must remember to be vigilant for those times I still value the right to judge so that I can choose again. Also, I must remember that I cannot make this change myself. I made these perceptions, and so I believe in them. It requires something outside of the belief system to make that change for me, and that is why the Holy Spirit is in my mind. He is the One Who does this for me when I am ready for the change. All I need to do is ask.
Judgment
Now I have learned to watch for the judgments in my mind and have learned to accept the Atonement for those judgments. I am also noticing the more subtle ways I do this. Allowing the Holy Spirit to help me see the body as unreal was a real eye-opener for me in a lot of ways. I was surprised to note that I didn’t want to give up the right to be in pain, to suffer, and, apparently, to die. He showed me that time is meaningless, pain is optional, and suffering is unnecessary. And yet, I returned to them over and over and still do at times. In spite of that, I am not discouraged. Well, sometimes I get discouraged with myself, but overall, I am intrigued and anticipatory.
V. Beyond Perception, P 8
8 What happens to perceptions if there are no judgments and nothing but perfect equality? Perception becomes impossible. Truth can only be known. All of it is equally true, and knowing any part of it is to know all of it. Only perception involves partial awareness. Knowledge transcends the laws governing perception, because partial knowledge is impossible. It is all one and has no separate parts. You who are really one with it need but know yourself and your knowledge is complete. To know God’s miracle is to know Him.
Jesus, I really don’t know what to do with this paragraph. I don’t doubt the truth of it; I just don’t remember how that feels. What I hear you say is that I am a miracle of God. When I know myself as a miracle of God, I will know everything because knowledge is whole. Perception will disappear along with judgment. What would there be to judge? There would be only truth. Oh, I do so long for that knowledge, complete and uninterrupted!
As I write this, part of my mind is on an experience of yesterday. A few years ago, my mom died of Alzheimer’s. I spent several months forgiving our relationship, and mostly that was me forgiving myself for not loving her as well as I could have. It felt like grief, and at first, that is what I thought it was, but if it was grief, it was grief that I had not been a better daughter.
Grief
During those months, a memory would surface, and I would feel this overwhelming guilt over my behavior and would then go through the process of forgiveness. Finally, the memories stopped coming, and I felt like it was complete. I thought of Mom, and there was no guilt, only love. Then yesterday, a different memory surfaced, and it really knocked me off my feet. It was not just the feeling of guilt the memory triggered but that it was so unexpected. Like walking along, something suddenly hits you from behind and knocks you down.
Me: Jesus, the shame and guilt I felt yesterday and this morning are receding, but it is still there. It is hard to think of myself as a miracle of God when I think of myself as a guilty, shameful person.
Feelings
Jesus: Here is what you can do. Allow the feelings to flow over you. Your resistance to them is all that makes them painful. Your resistance is your fear that the feelings are true and that, as you suspected, you really are guilty. The circumstances that seemed to be the source of your feelings are unimportant. You feel guilty, and your mom’s story seems to be the reason for your guilt, but it is not. As long as you believe in guilt, you will continue to experience these guilty stories. The stories are not the cause of the guilt; they are the effect of the guilt. You are innocent. You are, indeed, a miracle of God.
Me: I had the thought that there was no guilt and that there was only innocence. I imagined myself saying to a friend that she could not be guilty because she is innocent, and so she could never be guilty. At that moment, I felt the truth of that so strongly it was hard for me to imagine how she could feel guilty. Then, a short time later, this memory surfaced, and I felt so overwhelmed with guilt that I could not imagine innocence. The story of my guilt was a hammer pounding me into the ground.
Fear
Jesus: Do not be concerned that you have these feelings of guilt. You have the truth in your mind. You also have the separation thought in your mind. The story of your guilt is just a symbol of the separation thought. You have done nothing. All that is happening is that you are looking at both thoughts in your mind.
First, you looked at the truth. This causes a fearful reaction in the part of your mind that feels separate from God and feels guilty for that separation. The guilt that felt so drowning was actually the reaction to that fear. Truly, the belief in guilt is your defense against the love of God. It is your defense against the idea that you are a miracle of God.
Imagine you are standing on the beach, and a tall wave is coming at you. If you become fearful and stand against the wave, it will knock you over, and you will feel like you are drowning. If you sit quietly and let the wave flow over and around you as if you were a rock in its path, it will rush over you and then quickly recede.
Safe
Be the rock. Let the rush of feelings, the doubts, and the fears flow over you. They cannot hurt you. You are safe. Without fear, you will hear even the wave whisper the truth about you. You are innocent. Nothing can touch your innocence. You are innocent because guilt is a lie. It doesn’t exist. There is no such thing as guilt.
This is the meaning of this paragraph, Myron. As you are waking up, you are remembering who you are. With that return to truth, perception will fall away. If there is only innocence, where is guilt? In God, there cannot be opposites. It is only in the idea of separation that there is a belief in opposites or more than one, and with this belief, perception was chosen over certainty. Stand like a rock in the face of your fears. Let the Voice of Truth undo this error in your mind. Don’t struggle against it, and it will pass quickly and painlessly. You are not alone. We stand with you.
Thank You
Me: Thank you for that reminder, Jesus, and thank you for the helpful visual. Instead of seeing the wave crashing down on me, I will see it washing away the doubts and uncertainties. I will see you standing with me. I notice that the residual sadness is completely gone now. I see that it was only my clinging to the idea of guilt and shame that made it seem real in the first place and that made it linger for so long.
I am reminded of how it feels when I am not certain. So, when someone else is in fear, I can be certain for them, but I will remember how it feels to be afraid and will feel compassion as well.
To read, Fear Is a Concept from my blog at Pathways, CLICK HERE.