ACIM: There Is No Darkness in God’s Son. The children of light cannot abide in darkness, for darkness is not in them. (ACIM, T-11.III.6:1)

ACIM: God’s Son Is Only Light.
God’s Son Is Only Light
I pretended to be less than I am. I pretended to be that for so long that even I believed it. So, I sit here in the middle of a feast and suffer famine. I sit here in perfect safety and suffer fear. And I sit here in Love and feel that I am bereft of comfort. I abide in darkness when all along I am the Light of the world. Dear God, hear my prayer. I would wake up and see what is before me, all around me, in me. I would no longer be deceived.
The perfect plan has been designed to wake me gently from my dream of suffering and sacrifice. The Atonement is in place, and I but need to accept it to experience its healing effects. I forgive. I forgive over and over again until finally, I realize what it means to forgive. And with that realization comes an insatiable appetite for forgiveness.
This morning everything makes me laugh. I laugh that I still must forgive this little thing and that little thing. How am I still so blind to the blazing light of truth that I still believe there is some little thing separate from some other little thing that needs forgiveness? How can I so easily forget that it is all the same?
Laughter Bubbles Out of Me
And isn’t it hilarious that I know this, and yet, Myron goes out into the world and feels attacked and put upon, fearful and ashamed? She feels all the other ridiculous stuff that is part of the experience of separation. And then I laugh again as I realize that I am the one who sees Myron do this, so I cannot be Myron. I laugh to realize that the more I do this, the less at stake I have in this story of Myron. And so, the easier it is to forgive.
Really, laughter bubbles out of me with abandon this morning.
Oh Spirit, help me remember today. I mean, after I leave the silence of your presence and immerse myself in the daily stuff of life in the illusion, help me remember what I am. Help me remember the purpose I have accepted. Help me remember to forgive it all. But mostly, help me remember to laugh today. When I think of my ridiculous state, I must either laugh or cry. I am tired of crying and would prefer to laugh now.
How did I get to the place I am where I can laugh at the idea of living in darkness? Jesus tells us it is not possible for us to be in darkness. He says: The children of light cannot abide in darkness, for darkness is not in them. (ACIM, T-11.III.6:1) Nothing could be clearer than that.
The Good News
The good news is that we made all this up, and we can undo it and will undo it. It is not complicated, nor is it difficult though we can make it seem difficult. Everything we see with our eyes is an out-picturing of a belief in our minds. Thus, we can easily learn to recognize the belief that is holding the world in place. Once seen, we can decide to forgive that belief and let it go.
Perhaps like me, it seems hard to believe a construct so complex could be undone simply by letting it go. But like me, you will, or maybe already have, seen this happen. I use the process that Jesus gives us in the Course. It has three parts. First, I notice the thought that is causing distress, and looking at it with the Holy Spirit, I let it go to Him. The third part is not for me to do. The actual healing is the Holy Spirit’s function. See, it is simple and easy.
Getting Caught Up in Someone’s Story
Here is an example of how I do this. I was concerned for my son because he is feeling discouraged. He is looking for a job and not getting one. His life is not unfolding as he thought it would, which depresses him. My problem was that I was caught up in his story, so I was suffering along with him. This was not helping either of us.
I realized that it was my thoughts about the situation that were upsetting to me. I looked at it with the Holy Spirit and asked Him to heal my mind of the belief that I know what is in my son’s best interest. And the belief that my worry for him is somehow helpful, even necessary. I forgave it and let it go to the Holy Spirit. I know that my son is having the experience he came here for. It is helping him wake up, just as my life offers me the same opportunity. Now I am at peace. If fearful thoughts return, I know what to do with them.
Withdrawing My Projections
These dark thoughts can’t travel with us unless that is our wish. The light that is in us and has never left us will shine them away if that is our desire. Here is what is most helpful to me right now. I had an errant thought. I wondered if my kids were ok. My son was driving to Florida for a weekend with his girlfriend, and my daughter was driving home from Disney World with her family. The question was really fear that they might not be OK. These thoughts are the dark companions I no longer desire to keep.
Instead, I withdrew my projections and brought them back to my mind. I sat with the Holy Spirit as I felt the effect of believing in them. Then I was able to release the whole thing to the Holy Spirit for healing. As I clear my mind of ego beliefs, my world shifts, and instead of being a scary place, it is just a big classroom where I learn my lessons. I know I am not alone, and I know I and everyone else are perfectly safe no matter what happens in the world.
⁵But the dark journey is not the way of God’s Son. ⁶Walk in light and do not see the dark companions, for they are not fit companions for the Son of God, who was created of light and in light. (ACIM, T-11.III.4:5-6) Oh, yes! This is my choice, and I make that choice every day all through the day as I choose, again and again, to walk in the light rather than in the darkness.
To read the Pathways of Light article, Our Journey Into Light, CLICK HERE.