ACIM Chapter 9. V. The Unhealed Healer P 6, 7

ACIM Chapter 9. V. The Unhealed Healer P 6, 7

V. The Unhealed Healer P 6

6 What, then, should happen? When God said, “Let there be light,” there was light. Can you find light by analyzing darkness, as the psychotherapist does, or like the theologian, by acknowledging darkness in yourself and looking for a distant light to remove it, while emphasizing the distance? Healing is not mysterious. Nothing will change unless it is understood, since light is understanding. A “miserable sinner” cannot be healed without magic, nor can an “unimportant mind” esteem itself without magic.

“Can you find light by analyzing darkness…” is the key idea I am taking from this paragraph. I am not going to find the answer in the story, and I am not going to understand what needs to change about the story. In fact, dwelling on the story is going to keep me in darkness and confuse me further.

I’ve learned how to use the story.

Whether working with myself or someone else, I try to move out of the story as quickly as possible. The story of what seems to be happening in my life can help me see that I need correction. But it is not the story that needs to be corrected; it is the belief in my mind that sourced the story that needs correction. Further analysis of the story would help only if my goal was to try to make myself feel better by reordering my story. This is trying to heal through magical means, and it has never worked and never will.

What does help is to realize that the story is just a symbol of a thought in my mind that has been projected outward and seen as if it is real. If I don’t immediately recognize the symbolism, it can help to look at how the situation makes me feel. For instance, if I feel like life is not fair or that I was unfairly treated, then I know that I believe I am a victim of the world I see.

This can’t be true.

so I ask the Holy Spirit to remove that thought from my mind so that I can see the truth that lies just behind it. When I ask for healing, it really feels like a light has come on. I see what was before obscured by the dark thoughts in my mind. I do this each time I notice that my story triggers fear or guilt.

Practice has taught me that I could have peace instead of this, and I have learned to desire peace more than I desire the story of victimhood. As I remain vigilant and consistently choose peace, there is a transfer of learning. I begin to choose peace automatically in every situation. Nor is there that uncomfortable period of suffering while I decide I want my mind to be healed.

V. The Unhealed Healer P 7

7 Both forms of the ego’s approach, then, must arrive at an impasse; the characteristic “impossible situation” to which the ego always leads. It may help someone to point out where he is heading, but the point is lost unless he is also helped to change his direction. The unhealed healer cannot do this for him, since he cannot do it for himself. The only meaningful contribution the healer can make is to present an example of one whose direction has been changed for him, and who no longer believes in nightmares of any kind. The light in his mind will therefore answer the questioner, who must decide with God that there is light because he sees it. And by his acknowledgement the healer knows it is there. That is how perception ultimately is translated into knowledge. The miracle worker begins by perceiving light, and translates his perception into sureness by continually extending it and accepting its acknowledgement. Its effects assure him it is there.

Jesus makes it very simple and easy to understand. The healer heals by being healed. A true healer presents an example of one who does not believe in nightmares of any kind. The light in his mind is perceived by the mind of the one who needs healing. Then, he believes in the light because he sees it. The healer is further enlightened as his light is acknowledged, and this translates his perception into sureness.

Here is how this feels to me in my own life.

I am learning that nightmares are never true, no matter how real they may appear to be in the world. Every time I believe in one but remain open to healing, I discover that the dream is an illusion, and I become more certain that all nightmares are just illusions.

When I teach or counsel, I am doing so from the highest part of myself that I can access. That part of my mind can see the nightmare my student is having for what it is. I know the truth for the student and am not confused by her story. This certainty in my mind is a light that, on some level, can be perceived by the student. I translate it into words and we talk, but it is the certainty that heals.

I have had times when my mind would be all fogged in because I had been listening to my ego. My personal self would be confused and unhappy. I would get a call from a student asking for help seeing a problem differently, and as I allowed the little self to step back and the Holy Spirit to move forward in my mind, I was perfectly clear and perfectly certain as my student and I spoke.

That never ceases to amaze me.

It also has helped me to understand that ego confusion is just a temporary condition. The truth remains in my mind even when I am listening to the wrong voice. It is harder now for me to take the ego as seriously as before because I have had proof that the truth is always there, even when I am not noticing it. I have evidence that my mind is part of God’s Mind all the time. As I shine that light for my student, I see it reflected back to me and this translates my perception into sureness.