ACIM 5. III. The Guide to Salvation, P 10, 11. The Holy Spirit is the perfect Teacher. He uses only what your mind already understands to teach you that you do not understand it.
ACIM Chapter 5. III. The Guide to Salvation, P 10, 11
III. The Guide to Salvation, P 10
10 The Holy Spirit is the perfect Teacher. He uses only what your mind already understands to teach you that you do not understand it. The Holy Spirit can deal with a reluctant learner without going counter to his mind, because part of it is still for God. Despite the ego’s attempts to conceal this part, it is still much stronger than the ego, although the ego does not recognize it. The Holy Spirit recognizes it perfectly because it is His Own dwelling place; the place in the mind where He is at home. You are at home there, too, because it is a place of peace, and peace is of God. You who are part of God are not at home except in His peace. If peace is eternal, you are at home only in eternity.
Learning How to Lead Gently
I understand what is being said about the Holy Spirit using only what my mind already understands to teach me that I do not understand it. When I was working, I did this all the time with my customers. A big part of my job was to provide technical assistance. But if my operator was wrong about what he thinks needs to be done and I told him that he was wrong, he might have gone into a defensive mode. Then he would not have been open to hearing what I had to say.
If, instead, I agreed with him, if I said, “Yes, I see what you mean,” he would be open and receptive. I could then guide him gently to see another way of doing it. If I did it very well, he would come to the right conclusion on his own. I had to be careful that I didn’t make him feel foolish for being wrong and didn’t give him the impression he had to see it my way. If he were unwilling to change his mind, I would leave it alone. If I had pushed too hard, he might have rejected my help altogether, and we would not get another chance to look at the issue again.
The Holy Spirit Doesn’t Coerce
This is very much the way the Holy Spirit works with me. He doesn’t say that I am foolish or even that I am wrong. He starts where I think I am and very gently guides me to where I am willing to go. If I get balky, he just waits for me to change my mind. His absolute faith in me has taught me to have faith in myself. Just like I did with my mistaken customer, He begins by acknowledging what I believe, then helps me to see for myself that my thinking is not making me happy. Then He offers His correction.
In A Course in Miracles, Jesus tells us often that we are never coerced. Nothing can overcome our will. It would seem, then, that we might never get out of this dream. Because we believe in it, it is our will to be here. How does the Holy Spirit get past this without overcoming our will? Here, Jesus tells us that while we have the idea of separation in our mind, that is, ego, we also have the love of God in our mind. This is the part of the mind where the Holy Spirit dwells.
This part of the mind is stronger than the ego. We don’t realize this because we identify with the ego, and the ego believes it is stronger. Thinking about this, I realize that while the ego believes in its own strength, there is doubt because it recognizes it is not alone in the mind. It must know on some level that something much greater than itself exists.
The Source of Guilt and Fear
This is the source of guilt and fear that is continually being projected as stories in my life. That is why trying to fix all the guilt and fear in my life will do no good. The solution is to heal the mind of the belief in guilt and fear. Guilt and fear are completely undone as the mind turns from the ego toward God. Without the belief in guilt and fear, the mind will no longer project guilt and fear stories.
This healing is inevitable because the part of my mind that is for God and is the dwelling place of Spirit, is also where I live. I live in God. I live in peace, and I live in eternity. While I dream of separation, this does not appear to be so, but nothing can change this. I suffer from a delusion, not from anything real. My mind is slowly being awakened, and as this is done, I find I can more readily believe that I am what I am, even though that is not yet my full experience. I can believe it because I am not being taught so much as I am being reminded.
III. The Guide to Salvation, P 11
11 The ego made the world as it perceives it, but the Holy Spirit, the re-interpreter of what the ego made, sees the world as a teaching device for bringing you home. The Holy Spirit must perceive time, and reinterpret it into the timeless. He must work through opposites, because He must work with and for a mind that is in opposition. Correct and learn, and be open to learning. You have not made truth, but truth can still set you free. Look as the Holy Spirit looks, and understand as He understands. His understanding looks back to God in remembrance of me. He is in communion with God always, and He is part of you. He is your Guide to salvation, because He holds the remembrance of things past and to come, and brings them to the present. He holds this gladness gently in your mind, asking only that you increase it in His Name by sharing it to increase His joy in you.
Delivering a Message
Though we made the world as a place to hide from God, to experience something different than God, the Holy Spirit uses it to help us awaken to our truth. This happens in many ways and as often as we are willing to listen to His Voice. One day I delivered the Sunday message for a Unity Church in New Orleans. This required a good deal of time to prepare, and I didn’t have a lot of extra time. But even as my ego started panicking, I asked Jesus to help me with the time issue. He does this often for me, so I understand that time is not real.
As the time got close for me to share this message, I started getting nervous. I began to think what I wrote was not good. Maybe it was not helpful, was too long, or too short. What if I stumbled over the words? I was afraid that it was too “Course” for the people I was speaking to who were not Course students. I was afraid that it was not “Course” enough for the listeners who were Course students.
All this went through my mind quickly, and I quickly dismissed it. It was all just ego stuff and meaningless. I gave the whole thing over to Spirit. He would guide me, of that I was certain. I told Him that I would say whatever He wanted me to say without regard to what I had written or anyone’s expectations.
I Was Feeling Uncertain
As I spoke, it was very quiet, and at times, I was uncertain if I was making sense to them or if they were accepting it. I couldn’t tell. Then I would remember that this was none of my business. My job is to follow guidance to the best of my ability. My job is to be helpful and kind and to share what is given to me. How it is accepted is not my concern.
Afterward, I was approached by several people who said they enjoyed the message very much. Several people told me which parts seemed to be just for them. One woman told me that my story about my daughter was perfect for her because she was going through the same thing. She was so grateful to have heard about my experience. When I wrote the message, I almost took that story out several times because it was too long, but each time I felt I should leave it. Now I know why.
This is how the Holy Spirit uses the world we made to wake us up from the world. The circumstances of our lives become our way home, or they will be the way we go deeper into the dream. It is up to us. That day, I chose to allow the Holy Spirit to reinterpret my perceptions, and I am truly grateful for the opportunity.
Feeling Joyful
I felt so much joy, not because what I said was accepted, not because I got through it without any disasters, not because I was complimented, but because I shared what I was given to share, and in doing so, I did what I was meant to do. We all have a part to play in the awakening, and while your part might look different from mine, each part is absolutely essential to the whole. My only business is my part. It makes me happy every time I do it.
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