ACIM Chapter 8. V. The Undivided Will of the Sonship, P 1, 2. Can you be separated from your identification and be at peace?
ACIM Chapter 8. V. The Undivided Will of the Sonship, P 1, 2
V. The Undivided Will of the Sonship
1 Can you be separated from your identification and be at peace? Dissociation is not a solution; it is a delusion. The delusional believe that truth will assail them, and they do not recognize it because they prefer the delusion. Judging truth as something they do not want, they perceive their illusions which block knowledge. Help them by offering them your unified mind on their behalf, as I am offering you mine on behalf of yours. Alone we can do nothing, but together our minds fuse into something whose power is far beyond the power of its separate parts. By not being separate, the Mind of God is established in ours and as ours. This Mind is invincible because it is undivided.
We are one whole and part of God, but we will not know this or experience it if we prefer separation. Our preference for illusionary stories will block knowledge. Where is your mind right now? Is it focused on the truth of your being, or is it focused on defending your small self? Earlier today, I was occupied with separation thoughts. I was concerned about a relationship and how I should handle it. I was feeling resentful that I had to do this at all. Also, I was concerned that I might not have enough time to write this morning.
At first, I didn’t notice my thoughts.
What I noticed was that I was feeling anxious. It was very mild, almost subliminal. I talked to Jesus about it and immediately, I realized it was anxiety about the relationship decisions and making time for my writing. I thanked him for helping me see this. Anxiety is an effect, not a cause. Finding the cause, I understood the solution was to remember to let the Holy Spirit make all decisions for me. The anxiety left as soon as I asked Him to decide for me.
There are things I must do in the illusion, but I can do them with grace, or I can worry and fret over them. I have done it both ways, and I know which I prefer. Several times this week, I have become concerned that I will forget something or not find time to do it, and then realizing what I was doing, I stopped. I reminded myself that Spirit will bring it to mind if it needs my attention. Spirit will guide the project and keep it simple and joyful if I allow this.
Holy Spirit will decide for me if I ask.
When I make the second choice, when I lay aside my desire to make my own decisions and plans as a separate self, there is no anxiety. In turning to Spirit, I am laying aside the idea that a little me has goals that are mine alone and that the little me must accomplish them on my own. In choosing Spirit as my guide, I am choosing wholeness. I am being one with All That Is. And there is no fear in God.
I watch my mind and my words for the tell-tell signs that I am falling into the old habits of seeing separation everywhere. I watch for those beliefs that someone is guilty or that I am afraid. And I ask for the Atonement. That is, I ask that these thoughts be removed from my mind. I am learning not to insist on a separated self. I am learning that I prefer to join my mind with Spirit. Alone, I can only weave stories, but in God, we are powerful beyond anything we can imagine. In God, we are vast and unlimited.
2 V. The Undivided Will of the Sonship P 2
2 The undivided will of the Sonship is the perfect creator, being wholly in the likeness of God, Whose Will it is. You cannot be exempt from it if you are to understand what it is and what you are. By the belief that your will is separate from mine, you are exempting yourself from the Will of God which is yourself. Yet to heal is still to make whole. Therefore, to heal is to unite with those who are like you, because perceiving this likeness is to recognize the Father. If your perfection is in Him and only in Him, how can you know it without recognizing Him? The recognition of God is the recognition of yourself. There is no separation of God and His creation. You will realize this when you understand that there is no separation between your will and mine. Let the Love of God shine upon you by your acceptance of me. My reality is yours and His. By joining your mind with mine you are signifying your awareness that the Will of God is One.
I will join my mind with Jesus’ mind.
Jesus is asking me to understand how important it is to recognize that there is no separation between his will and mine. I think his wording here is very important. He did not ask me to accept his will or to change my will. He simply pointed out that our will is the same and that it is necessary that I accept this. As I accept that our will is the same, I will know that our will is the same as God’s Will.
The reason I must accept something that is already fact is that I have made up a will to take the place of my true will. This is my ego will, my separate will. It is not truly my will, but it is the will I am pretending is true. To have an experience of separation, I had to will it, and this is the will I am using now as if it were the truth. Jesus is actually reminding me that I have a true will and that I want this will, and he is encouraging me to accept it now. He explains that I need to accept my true will because it is only through doing so that I can return to creation and remember God.
When I was still struggling with this, I was given a way to see it that was helpful.
Jesus: Honey, you are dreaming of being separate and being a body that is not joined with anything. You dream of having emotions and being guilty, afraid, and in danger. You have enjoyed your dream and sometimes scared yourself with your dream, but Life is waiting for you. There is so much more to experience, so much more to be. Wake up now and join with me. This is what you yearn for now. You are tired of your stories, and you are tired of pretending to be separate. But more than anything, you want to recognize God as you have before, to know yourself as one in Him again.
I want this, but I don’t know how to get it.
Me: I don’t know how to know God, and I can’t imagine how to be one in Him. I know you have said that I already am and always have been, but I can’t remember that, and I don’t know how you think I can go from this experience to God.
Jesus: You feel very far from God right now. I understand that. You cannot bring yourself to access the memory of your oneness with Him. The idea of joining your will with God’s Will vacillates between disbelief and fear. But that’s ok. You know me now, and it will be easy because you know my love for you, and you feel safe with me. So you can accept that our will is joined. In fact, you really want to do that and have been opening yourself to that for a while now. It is through this step, this acceptance of our joint will, that you will be able to take the next step.
Me: Ok, so you are saying that I am not really living a life right now but I am dreaming of something different in which I am alone and not connected to everything. And you say that this dream isn’t anything like my real life and that I can get my real life back just by wanting it. You already did it, and you know the way Home. So all I have to do to return Home is to accept that you and I share the will to return to God. I just have to accept that your will and my will are the same. This is a step I can take and want to take.
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