ACIM 5. VI. Time and Eternity, P 5-9. There are many examples of how the ego’s interpretations are misleading, but a few will suffice to show how the Holy Spirit can reinterpret them in His Own light.

VI. Time and Eternity, P 5,6

⁵ There are many examples of how the ego’s interpretations are misleading, but a few will suffice to show how the Holy Spirit can reinterpret them in His Own light.⁶ “As ye sow, so shall ye reap” He interprets to mean what you consider worth cultivating you will cultivate in yourself. Your judgment of what is worthy makes it worthy for you.  

What I like about these interpretations is that they show me that the Holy Spirit can correct my perceptions, too. No matter how screwy my ego mind gets, He will undo the wrong-minded perceptions and will heal my mind. I used to think of this passage as a warning, and now I think of it as a simple explanation of how the mind works to manifest into form the thoughts in my mind. My thoughts are what I sow, and my experience is what I reap. If, after seeing my desire appear as a situation in my life, I can then question my beliefs. Are these beliefs worthy of the Son of God? If not, would I have the Holy Spirit remove them from my mind?  

7 VI. Time and Eternity, P 7

⁷ “Vengeance is mine, sayeth the Lord” is easily reinterpreted if you remember that ideas increase only by being shared. The statement emphasizes that vengeance cannot be shared. Give it therefore to the Holy Spirit, Who will undo it in you because it does not belong in your mind, which is part of God.  

We are meant to increase through sharing, which is the definition of creation, but we cannot share what is not real. Vengeance is an example of an idea that cannot be shared. Vengeance is not part of God, so it is not a true idea. In this passage, we can see that we have recourse. Rather than trying to make vengeance real and trying to find satisfaction through vengeance, we can give the idea to the Holy Spirit, and He will remove it from our mind, which leaves our holy mind in a state of peace.  

It is astounding to me now to realize that I used to think vengeance was something to be desired. I thought that everyone should get their just due, but I couldn’t always see it happening in their life. So, I would project my desire for vengeance onto God, assuring myself that the miscreant would be punished when he died. Now, that idea sounds ridiculous. I don’t want anyone punished. What I want is for them to be forgiven and to know they are forgiven. I am not whole until we are all whole. The sleeping mind that we all share is bound to the world by guilt. It is innocence that must be learned for all our sakes.  

8 VI. Time and Eternity, P 8

⁸ “I will visit the sins of the fathers unto the third and fourth generation,” as interpreted by the ego, is particularly vicious. It becomes merely an attempt to guarantee the ego’s own survival. To the Holy Spirit, the statement means that in later generations He can still reinterpret what former generations had misunderstood, and thus release the thoughts from the ability to produce fear.  

I especially appreciate this interpretation from the Holy Spirit. It was statements like this in the Bible, and my interpretation of them by the ego mind, that encouraged my fear of God and kept me away from the Bible. As Jesus says, the ego interpretation of this passage seems especially vicious. The Holy Spirit’s interpretation is such a blessing that I have learned to trust that anything can be interpreted differently if I ask for help.  

Seeing Sin Differently

I used to be certain certain behaviors were simply unforgivable. I couldn’t see how they could be interpreted in any way other than as a condemnation of the sinner. Now I know that I was wrong. I have learned to see things differently. As I allowed my mind to be healed, I began to look out on the world through the filter of love rather than fear.  

For instance, I hear about someone who deliberately hurt a child. I don’t see a guilty person but a confused and frightened person. I see someone who wants God, as do we all, but doesn’t understand his need or how to satisfy it. All he knows is an unfulfilled longing he doesn’t understand. And no matter what he does, he remains confused and unsatisfied. Now, instead of hating him for acting on his confusion, I ask that our mind be healed of this confused longing. I ask that the Holy Spirit remove from the mind all thoughts that produce fear and block the awareness of Love’s presence.  

9 VI. Time and Eternity, P 9

⁹ “The wicked shall perish” becomes a statement of Atonement, if the word “perish” is understood as “be undone.” Every loveless thought must be undone, a word the ego cannot even understand. To the ego, to be undone means to be destroyed. The ego will not be destroyed because it is part of your thought, but because it is uncreative and therefore unsharing, it will be reinterpreted to release you from fear. The part of your mind that you have given to the ego will merely return to the Kingdom, where your whole mind belongs. You can delay the completion of the Kingdom, but you cannot introduce the concept of fear into it.  

All my wicked thoughts shall perish! Woohoo! This means only that my loveless thoughts will be undone, not destroyed, but only reinterpreted. It is a sign of God’s love and respect for us that even our uncreative ego will be honored. Because ego is fearful it must be reinterpreted before it is given into the Kingdom where fear is unknown.  This is what is being done every day, every minute of the day, as we learn to invite the Atonement into our minds.  

Asking for the Atonement

We are fearful only because we believe our mistaken thoughts and cherish our separate will. When we ask for the Atonement for this wrong decision, we will experience our inheritance as creations of a powerful and loving God. Nothing we believe or do can prevent this. It is God’s Will and, therefore, our true will, which is one and the same. So, I will delay my return to the Kingdom no more. I will look for my self in my brother and find God there. I will entertain only the thoughts that can be shared, and I will release to the Holy Spirit the ego thoughts so they can be undone for me.  

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