ACIM 5. I. The Invitation to the Holy Spirit, P 3, 4. This is the invitation to the Holy Spirit.
I. The Invitation to the Holy Spirit, P 3
3 This is the invitation to the Holy Spirit. I have said already that I can reach up and bring the Holy Spirit down to you, but I can bring Him to you only at your own invitation. The Holy Spirit is in your right mind, as He was in mine. The Bible says, “May the mind be in you that was also in Christ Jesus,” and uses this as a blessing. It is the blessing of miracle-mindedness. It asks that you may think as I thought, joining with me in Christ thinking.
The Holy Spirit is in my mind. This is very literal. He is never absent from me in any circumstance. I can always have His guidance. If I think I do not, it is because I don’t like what He has to say and am pretending to myself I don’t hear it. Jesus is our link to the awareness of the Holy Spirit. His life and his acceptance of the truth is what makes it possible for us to hear the Holy Spirit, too.
Jesus is now the manifestation of the Holy Spirit.
I am the manifestation of the Holy Spirit, and when you see me it will be because you have invited Him. (ACIM, T-12.VII.6:1)
Jesus is the manifestation of the Holy Spirit, Whom he called down upon the earth after he ascended into Heaven, or became completely identified with the Christ, the Son of God as He created Him. (ACIM, C-6.1:1)
What Jesus Knows, We Know
I am reminded that we are of one mind, and so what Jesus has done, we have done, and what he knows, we know. But our decision to continue to live in memories of what has already gone by keeps us in ignorance of what is known. Jesus, now being outside that cycle, can help us awaken, too. He has given us his Course in Miracles and assures us that he remains with us in a very literal sense as the manifestation of the Holy Spirit.
While the Holy Spirit is always there in our right mind and speaks to us all through the day, we do not always listen. Listening is our choice, just as not listening is our choice. The Holy Spirit’s guidance and comfort cannot be forced on us. Jesus was the first of us to hear the Voice and to accept it, and because he did so, it is available to us.
The Mind of Christ
Jesus says that the Biblical passage, “May the mind be in you that was also in Christ Jesus,” is a blessing of miracle-mindedness. I think of it as a prayer, and maybe that is the same thing. I want to let go of the ego-thinking mind and become open to guidance outside the wrong mind. More than anything, I want to be a follower of Christ until I remember I am part of -Christ.
I want to be miracle-ready so that I can perform whatever miracles I am guided to. I want to wake up from this illusion of separation, and the Holy Spirit is my ticket Home. So, this is my prayer, said with great sincerity and with all the willingness I have, “May the mind that was in you, Jesus, also be in my awareness, and may I always choose to hear it.”
I. The Invitation to the Holy Spirit, P 4
4 The Holy Spirit is the only part of the Holy Trinity that has a symbolic function. He is referred to as the Healer, the Comforter and the Guide. He is also described as something “separate,” apart from the Father and from the Son. I myself said, “If I go I will send you another Comforter and He will abide with you.” His symbolic function makes the Holy Spirit difficult to understand, because symbolism is open to different interpretations. As a man and also one of God’s creations, my right thinking, which came from the Holy Spirit or the Universal Inspiration, taught me first and foremost that this Inspiration is for all. I could not have It myself without knowing this. The word “know” is proper in this context, because the Holy Spirit is so close to knowledge that He calls it forth; or better, allows it to come. I have spoken before of the higher or “true” perception, which is so near to truth that God Himself can flow across the little gap. Knowledge is always ready to flow everywhere, but it cannot oppose. Therefore you can obstruct it, although you can never lose it.
Understanding the Holy Spirit
I’ve always tried to understand what the Holy Spirit is, but I find it easier to understand what the Holy Spirit is for. The Holy Spirit’s function is to bring us the truth, to help us undo the mistaken idea of separation so that knowledge can flow unimpeded throughout the Mind. Knowledge is meant for us, but to receive knowledge, we must not oppose it. The ego opposes knowledge because knowledge would undo it, so we need the Holy Spirit to correct our thinking and heal our minds.
This process of asking for and receiving help from the Holy Spirit is simple. First, we learn to recognize the ego in our mind and realize we don’t want it. Then we ask the Holy Spirit to heal our mind, correct our thinking, or purify our thoughts. Or we ask for the Atonement. I use whatever words come to me at that moment. Sometimes I just say, “Help” or “God.” The words don’t matter; He hears the prayer of our hearts.
The Holy Spirit’s Help Is for All
Jesus said he knew he could not have the Holy Spirit’s help unless he understood that It is for everyone. This is so essential, this understanding of Its universal nature. Everything in the Course revolves around the fact that I must forgive myself and everyone else. I cannot leave unforgiven a single person or a single circumstance. Nor can I make anything special or separate. I must join my brother wherever he appears and under whatever circumstances. No one can be condemned because the Holy Spirit is in everyone, guiding, comforting, and healing. I go to God in union with my brother or not at all.
Understanding this, it makes no sense at all to cling to my judgments. Whether I judge the murderer I read about in the paper or the clerk at the store, I close myself to the knowledge it is the Holy Spirit’s function to bring forward. I close myself to God. In doing so, I suffer, and I but do it to myself.
“Today, Holy Spirit, bring to me the one You would have me forgive. Help me to remember what it is I truly desire. When I am tempted to see the behaviors and hear the confused words of my brother, reveal to me his innocence so that I may know mine as well. Please help me to experience the joy that comes when we place nothing between us, nothing to prevent union.”
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