ACIM Lesson 312 I see all things as I would have them be.
Perception follows judgment. ²Having judged, we therefore see what we would look upon. I have no purpose for today except to look upon a liberated world, set free from all the judgments I have made.
I see all things as I would have them be.
1. Perception follows judgment. ²Having judged, we therefore see what we would look upon. ³For sight can merely serve to offer us what we would have. ⁴It is impossible to overlook what we would see, and fail to see what we have chosen to behold. ⁵How surely, therefore, must the real world come to greet the holy sight of anyone who takes the Holy Spirit’s purpose as his goal for seeing. ⁶And he cannot fail to look upon what Christ would have him see, and share Christ’s Love for what he looks upon.
2. I have no purpose for today except to look upon a liberated world, set free from all the judgments I have made. ²Father, this is Your Will for me today, and therefore it must be my goal as well.
All Thinking Produces Form
Well, this is easy. How do I see all things? I see them as I want them to be. Here is how this works. First, I judge and then I perceive. Another way to say this is that I decide what I want to see and then I see it. This sounds crazy since so much of what we see is painful or ugly. So much of what we see seems to be outside our ability to control much less to manifest. But let us remember that Jesus tells us that all thinking produces form at some level. This tells me that I must be careful what I think. Or seen another way, I must be careful what thoughts I choose to believe.
Who Will I Choose as my Interpretor, Ego or Holy Spirit?
The way I change my thinking is to choose a different Guide to thinking. I become aware that my feelings indicate to me that the form my thinking produced is not what I truly want. I realize that I must have chosen the ego as my interpreter of reality. Here is an example. I’m telling a friend about a problem that I have and she doesn’t seem to be paying attention. I judge her as not being a good friend. This is because I used the ego perspective to make that decision. In other words, I asked the ego what it means that my friend is distracted.
I had another option. I could ask the Holy Spirit what this means. He would have given me a different way to see it. I would have realized that my friend may have problems of her own or she may have a headache. The point is, her attention or inattention doesn’t mean anything about me. I chose to judge her as a bad friend because I felt unworthy and was looking for proof that this was true. I always find what I look for. I choose the ego part of the mind or the Holy Spirit part of the mind according to my goal. Which I choose determines my experience of the world.
Love or Fear; Those are My Only Two Options
Now that I understand how it works, I watch for opportunities to choose differently to establish a different thought habit. When I choose to judge on my own, that is, with the ego mind-set, I always suffer. The reason is because I am choosing separation and specialness. That is, what I am choosing is a defense against love and if I don’t choose love, I choose fear. Instead, or as soon as I notice the need, I change my mind and choose God. I choose Love. Another way to say this is that I choose union or oneness.
Judging Less, Loving More
When I let go of the judgment against my friend, I no longer cared why she was acting disinterested or distracted. Without the judgment, I just loved my friend. The love I felt for her reflected back to me. The effect was that I no longer felt burdened by my problem as Love heals all. If the problem shows up in another way or at another time, perhaps I will be wise enough to look at it with the Holy rather than the ego. As I continue to do this, I notice that I judge less and love more. The ego’s goal is to separate in fear and anger. In contrast, the Holy Spirit’s goal is to unite in Love. To reinforce this new way of choosing, I dedicate myself to the Holy Spirit’s purpose of unification in Love.
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