ACIM Lesson 332 Fear binds the world. Forgiveness sets it free.
The ego makes illusions. ²Truth undoes its evil dreams by shining them away.
Fear binds the world. Forgiveness sets it free.
ACIM Lesson 332
Fear binds the world. Forgiveness sets it free.
1. The ego makes illusions. ²Truth undoes its evil dreams by shining them away. ³Truth never makes attack. ⁴It merely is. ⁵And by its presence is the mind recalled from fantasies, awaking to the real. ⁶Forgiveness bids this presence enter in, and take its rightful place within the mind. ⁷Without forgiveness is the mind in chains, believing in its own futility. ⁸Yet with forgiveness does the light shine through the dream of darkness, offering it hope, and giving it the means to realize the freedom that is its inheritance.
2. We would not bind the world again today. ²Fear holds it prisoner. ³And yet Your Love has given us the means to set it free. ⁴Father, we would release it now. ⁵For as we offer freedom, it is given us. ⁶And we would not remain as prisoners, while You are holding freedom out to us.
Imagined Fears
Jesus has assured us that we are safe and that we are free. He tells us that the only reason we think otherwise is that we believe that dreams are reality. As we undo these beliefs we are for a while conflicted. The world appears very real to us and the body with all its sensations feels immediate and important. What we have made seems to prove that Jesus is wrong. On the other hand, the truth is in our minds. And even if we seem not to be consciously aware of it, we feel the call.
Peace calls us and at the same time, fear can be compelling and at the least, it is a habitual thought pattern. We might be afraid of sickness. Or we might be afraid of heights or the dentist. Most parents are afraid for their children. Some people are afraid of not having enough. Others are afraid of their guilt. The world makes some of these fears seem all too real, and sometimes there is nothing to account for the fears. We often go to ridiculous lengths to defend ourselves from our imagined fears. However, we seldom do anything to end them.
Forgiveness: A Sure Way to Freedom
Jesus offers us a sure way to freedom. In A Course in Miracles, he tells us that forgiveness will make way for light to enter the mind and dispel the darkness. Forgiveness doesn’t make the problem real; it simply lets it go. The presence of truth then takes its place and we begin to remember who we are. When we awaken, we know that the world is not real and that we are. We know that who we are cannot be affected by what happens in dreams. And thus, fear fades away because there is nothing to fear.
Questioned Beliefs
My experience with fear is that I had to let go of it a little at a time. I think this is probably most everyone’s experience. I still have fear thoughts but I have few that I believe and none I would keep. When I was younger and before my mind began to heal, fear drove everything I did. But as I learned to question all beliefs and to change my mind about most of them, this changed. As dofears fell away there was more light in my mind and thus less belief in the world. This is how I forgive the world.
Directing my Mind to the Truth
This positive cycle of forgiveness lighting the mind to reveal the truth makes it progressively easier. It is the way I live now but there are times when I stubbornly cling to a fear thought and once again it seems hard to release. I’m not fooled, though. “Seemingly” hard is the word because in reality, nothing is hard to release. You just let it go. What is really happening when it seems like I cannot let go of fear is that there is some underlying belief that needs my attention. When that happens, I just continue to direct my mind to the truth. Eventually, it will shift as it must being my good servant.
To enjoy the Pathways of Light Insights on ACIM Lesson 332 click here.
If you found this content helpful, please share on social media so more people can read and learn.