ACIM Edmonton - Sarah's Reflections

LESSON 54 ~ REVIEW I
[Review Lessons 16-20]

Sarah's Commentary:

The theme of the Lessons we are reviewing today is about the power of our thoughts. It is a power
that has made up a world separate from God. It is a world He does not know of. If God knew of
this world, it would have to mean it is real. Yet the only reality is God’s Kingdom. Our thinking
errors are what made the world we see. It is a shared illusion. "Even the mad idea of
separation had to be shared before it could form the basis of the world I see."
(W.54.3.3) This is why billions of people can agree about the nature of this world, but that does
not make it true. It just means it is a shared thought of separation. The world is illusory and does
not exist except in the beliefs we hold about it, and those beliefs have power. It is impossible to
have a neutral thought. "Neutral thoughts are impossible because all thoughts have
power." (W.54.1.2) After all, thoughts are what make the world what it is. The thing that is
valuable about this power is that it can undo all we have made real.

Every thought has an effect. The entire world is the effect of our incredibly powerful thoughts. As
we change our minds, we change our world. Mind is the cause, and the world is the effect. Clearly,
this is not how we experience the world. We see the world as the cause of our distress, and thus,
we see ourselves as its effect. As such, we see ourselves as the victims of what the world seems to
be delivering. When we turn to the Lessons, they shift our thinking and help us to recognize that
everything starts in our minds. Our thoughts are what have made this world appear to be real and
solid; but equally, our thoughts can lead us out of this world to the real world. It is through
forgiveness that we come to see with vision.

Forgiveness undoes all that is false. With the separation came enormous guilt, which was
overwhelming to the mind. Thus, the ego offered us a scheme to make it possible to live with all
this guilt. The scheme was to project the guilt onto others. Now we find others to blame for our
circumstances. We are under the illusion we have released our guilt by making others responsible,
but this is, instead, how we hang onto guilt. Yet when we take responsibility for our projections,
without blaming ourselves for them, the Correction can be made and the plan of the ego to keep
us invested in guilt is undone. While the ego is totally insane, it is nevertheless brilliant in creating
this plan, making us think we have released our guilt through projection.

Forgiveness can only be understood in the context that this world is not real and nothing has really
happened. In the illusion, there are painful events and difficult situations. Forgiveness allows us
to see them from outside the dream and recognize their unreality. What we are seeing are the
projected images from our own fearful minds. When the projected images are ". . . cleansed and
purified, and finally removed forever," (T.18.IX.14.2) (ACIM OE T.18.XI.98) and our false
perceptions are forgiven, we will see ". . . the bright world of new and clean perception."
(T.18.IX.14.3) (ACIM OE T.18.XI.98) This is the real world we experience when forgiveness is
complete. The real world is a state of love, innocence, peace, and joy. "And it is there that
peace awaits you." (T.18.IX.14.5) (ACIM OE T.18.XI.98)

There is no middle ground between the ego's guilt and fear and the peace and love we experience
when we choose the miracle. Neutral thoughts are impossible because all thoughts have power.
Every thought we have is either of love or fear, Heaven or hell. There is no middle ground. "My
thoughts cannot be neither true nor false. They must be one or the other. What I see
shows me which they are." (W.54.1.6-8) It is a mutually exclusive state of "one or the other,"
which is why we can't hold both love and hate in our minds at the same time. We know which
thought we have chosen by its effects. The world is thus a representation of our own state of mind.
If we want to know the state of our mind, we just need to look at how we are feeling. When we
experience joy and peace, which are not dependent on external circumstances, we know we have
chosen the Holy Spirit. What we perceive is never a fact but only an interpretation of our own
making.

I used to become very upset when negative emotions would arise in me. I would crucify myself for
making mistakes. I saw my mistakes as evidence of not being sufficiently spiritual. Now, as I look
more and more at these negative thoughts and emotions, while I don't enjoy them, I am more and
more an observer of them. I resist making judgments about myself for having these thoughts. By
stepping back from them, I am able to see that these thoughts and emotions do not define me.
Instead, they provide an opportunity to look at my unhealed mind and choose another way. This
is the purpose of the world, our relationships, and circumstances. When judgments come up, just
see them as another opportunity for forgiveness and healing. The world has no other purpose than
this. There is no value in delay. The time is now. Can further delay bring us anything but what it
has always brought us which is more suffering, pain, and sickness? Now we are called to use time
for its intended purpose, which is to undo all that keeps us in hell.

The process of watching our egoic reactions develops gradually over a period of time. It takes
practice. One of the pitfalls we fall into is when we judge ourselves for getting angry or for making
judgments. We think that if we don't see everyone through the eyes of love, and if we don't see the
Christ in everyone, we just need to try harder to be loving and to stop being judgmental. That is
not going to help us in undoing the ego. Instead, we need to simply observe our judgments and
our need for specialness and be willing to let them go by turning them over to the gentle love of
Jesus, who helps us to see the ego as completely meaningless. "Your task is not to seek for
love, but merely to seek and find all of the barriers within yourself that you have
built against it. It is not necessary to seek for what is true, but it is necessary to seek
for what is false." (T.16.IV.6.1-2) (ACIM OE T.16.V.35)

Thus, to take responsibility for our thoughts requires a high level of honesty and courage. Our
tendency is to defend, rationalize, explain, and justify by telling stories of why we feel the way we
do. This won't help us in our healing. We can't expect this world of egos to always treat us lovingly.
Problems will prevail. Despite our best efforts in extending love, the world can still treat us with
unkindness, rudeness, and nastiness, but ultimately true inner peace does not depend on the
behaviors of others. Certainly, it may not be in our best interest to stay in difficult relationships
and difficult situations, but maintaining relationships in form is not what is important. What is
important is the content of our minds. Leaving relationships can be a right-minded decision.

We can never know the entirety of someone's path of Atonement. The same healing opportunity
is there for them, as it is for us. Whatever shows up in our lives is just another opportunity for
healing, as it is for anyone who makes this choice. They have the same power, as we do, to choose
forgiveness when they are sufficiently motivated to do so. Patience is one of the characteristics of
the teacher of God, and we can afford to be patient because the outcome is certain for us all. The
only important factor is not the forms of this world, but the content of our own minds. Thus, it
really does not matter what anyone does, only how we interpret what is happening. Ultimately,
when we let go of all our judgments and our need for specialness, we will automatically perceive
the Christ in everyone. It is not a matter of trying. It is only a matter of bringing our judgments
and grievances to the Holy Spirit.

All the multiplicity of problems and complexities we experience in relationships, and all the
confusion, anger, and stress that arises, is the result of our mistaken thoughts. They are not idle
thoughts. Look around you and see what they have produced. They have produced this world we
have come to believe is our reality. All thoughts have power. "All thinking produces form at
some level." (T.2.VI.9.14) (ACIM OE T.2.V.92)

There are no private thoughts. All minds are joined. There is only one Mind, which is the Christ
mind. "Everything I think or say or do teaches all the universe." (W.54.4.3) Therefore, if
I change my mind because all minds are joined, I have the power to change every mind. Obviously,
this is not a matter of trying to heal others, changing their minds, or telling them how to think. It
is simply what we call forth in them by being a symbol of right-mindedness. When I choose to let
go of my grievances, I send a message to others that they too can engage in this process of
awakening from the dream. When I hold onto grievances, I send a message of attack and further
separation.

Everything we do reinforces separation or joining. My decision to judge you, get angry with you,
worry about you, attack you, blame you, or be jealous of you is a decision for hell instead of
Heaven. This reflects the insane promise we made ". . . to another to be hurt by him, and to
attack him in return." (T.28.VI.4.7) (ACIM OE T.28.VII.57) Why would we make such an
agreement? It seems insane, and it is, but these secret vows were made to keep the separation
going so we could keep our identity as a separate being. This is why attack and blame are so
attractive to us. "Whoever says, 'There is no gap between my mind and yours' has kept
God's promise, not his tiny oath to be forever faithful unto death." (T.28.VI.5.4) (ACIM
OE T.28.VII.58) Thus, we have a choice with each decision we make, which is either to attack or
to join with our brothers.

We can't change anyone's mind any more than Jesus can change our minds for us. We all need to
make our own decisions, but we can use our power for good and truth by being the change we look
for in the world. What I look on witnesses to the thought system I have chosen. I can look at the
choices I am making by observing what is going on around me. For example, I notice that when I
am in conflict with a brother, this often leads to the onset of a cold in me. When I experience a
great deal of stress and demand perfectionism of myself, my head hurts. It is an immediate
indication of my choice for the ego. On the other hand, when I release a grievance, I feel light and
happy. As we learn to pay attention to the witnesses to our state of mind, we can make a choice
for healing; as ultimately, all healing is of the mind.

Jesus demonstrated our bodies are not who we are. We are love. We are an idea in the Mind of
God, and nothing can hurt us. In order to uncover our reality as love, we need to uncover our
unconscious guilt as a result of our belief that we have separated from God. We fear we will never
find our way back and have done something terribly evil. In this review, we are being reminded to
watch our thoughts and look at what we are making real. Our part is thus to be a demonstration
of His love in the world. In order to do that, we must continue to forgive our false perceptions so
our minds can be healed of the guilt we are projecting onto others.
Every goal in the world, except the correction of our thoughts, has no value. It doesn't matter what
we are doing in the world. Whether we are a teacher, stockbroker, mother, lawyer, service worker,
or nurse, it is all just a backdrop for our real work in the world, which is to take responsibility for
the healing of our guilt.

The goal of this Course peace. The only way we will know peace is through forgiveness. It doesn't
mean we need to hang with anyone. It doesn't mean they have to be in our presence or still be in
their bodies. The forgiveness work is the same. We are healing our perceptions and remembering
that our perceptions are never a fact but an interpretation.

I am determined to see because I am realizing the true nature and power of my mind. We can
choose to make more and more illusions, which witness to guilt and fear, or we can practice
forgiveness and witness more peace, joy, and joining in our lives. In that choice, thoughts of love
replace thoughts of fear. Thoughts of laughter replace thoughts of tears, and thoughts of
abundance replace thoughts of loss. These are the choices available to us.

Love and blessings, Sarah

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