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that it was not created by God. While this statement is not entirely false, and
while there are a few proof texts which support the statement, the statement
is incomplete and if “world” is understood to be either “earth” or the
“physical universe,” which it generally is, then the statement is a severe
distortion of a central teaching of the Course which is to teach us how to
correct perception so that we stop seeing the illusory world we made up and
start seeing the real world God created.
That central teaching is that there are TWO WORLDS which are both
“worlds of perception” and not physical objects or places. One is an illusion.
“Think not you made the world. Illusions yes!”
There are a few instances of the use of the word “world” where “earth”
could be substituted without a change in meaning. And when “earth” is used,
as it is 119 times, it does refer to this physical planet. And in the Course,
“earth” is NEVER said to be an “illusion.” There is one simple reason, in
the thought system of the Course, the illusion is not the earth or anything
physical, but in our misperceptions of earth and other physical things.
Most often, however, “world” means either “the world as ego sees it”
[usually signaled by the expression “this world”] or “the world as the Holy
Spirit sees it [usually signaled by “real world” or “forgiven world”].” And
these are the two “levels of perception” and the Course mostly addresses the
issue of changing our level of perception from the illusory lower ego level to
the correct higher level of the Holy Spirit. In this change of perception “the
world as ego sees it” is exchanged for “the real world.”
These are worlds of perception that can exist on earth, and not different
physical things. They are different ways of perceiving one and the same
physical thing.
The world which will be experienced is the one you choose, and while one is
an illusion made of fear by the ego, the other is called the “real world.” It is
reached through forgiveness, is made by the Holy Spirit, has the purpose of
training our minds, is characterized by joy and peace, and is the gate of
Heaven. But when its purpose is fulfilled it will be “translated into Heaven”
or “shined away” or “cease to seem to exist.”
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If we stop with the statement “the world was not created by God” and don’t
complete the idea, that there is another world, we generally end up thinking
of the world as an illusion all right, but also as an evil illusion. Perceiving
the world as external to ourselves, the problem then is seen as external, out
there in an illusory world rather than in here in the mind that conjured an
illusion from reality.
Heaven can only be entered by its Gate. There is no back door. And the
“Gate of Heaven” is the “real world.” And the real world is a creation of the
divine.
We also have a problem with distinctions the Course makes between God’s
doing and the Holy Spirit’s doing. “God doesn’t know” for instance, but
“The Holy Spirit knows.”
Since both are reasonably considered divine, and both are members of a
unitary Trinity, and both are of One Mind and One will, this metaphysical
distinction between the Persons of the Trinity is mostly a moot point for
practical purposes. This distinction certainly does not mean that the divine
does not manifest on earth or in miracles.
Yet those very few lines about what “God doesn’t know” are often taken out
of context to argue that divine intervention doesn’t happen on earth, that
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earth is entirely an illusion, and is without hope of salvation short of death of
the body. And that is a profound misreading of the Course’s teaching.
There are a vast number of statements in the Course which assert that the
divine does manifest on earth through our will. And if we are not
experiencing, it is because we will not to.
“God doesn’t know” does not mean “the Holy Spirit doesn’t ACT on earth!”
The actual reason “God doesn’t know” is that God exists on the level of
eternity beyond both levels of perception. God doesn’t perceive, God knows.
But the Holy Spirit is the “medium of communication” between the lower
“levels of perception” and the upper level of “knowledge.” The Holy Spirit’s
objective is to teach us how to elevate our perception such that we can
perceive, on earth, the love and joy and peace of God.
In the next pages I list quotes which use the words “created” and “earth.”
The word “created” occurs 619 times. The word “earth” occurs 119 times.
The word “world” which we will get to later, occurs 2,152 times.
When simply reading the Course from cover to cover the commonalities and
contrasts between the various usages of certain words often slip past our
conscious attention. When we read the Course only looking at particular
words, then it is easier to see just how those words are used, in what context,
and what variety of meanings they are given by the Author. In this way we
can form a much more comprehensive understanding of the Author’s use of
language and what particular words mean to HIM.
I have not quoted ALL instances, only those which seemed to me to be most
interesting. I have not included quotes which are very similar in usage and
context to those which are included. There are many many more quotes
available than those I’ve chosen to include.
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The central question which informed my choice of quotes is “Did God create
the world? What does the Course say about that?” Among the things the
Course says is that God created everything, that the world has two makers,
and one of them is the Holy Spirit. Unless we exclude the Holy Spirit from
the Trinitarian Godhead, then yes, God did it. And that is very explicitly and
repeatedly asserted.
The Course does say BOTH “Think not you made the world. Illusions yes”
AND “you made the world you see.” How can we reconcile these apparently
contradictory statements? Well we didn’t make earth, but we did make our
perceptions of it. HOW we see “the world” or “earth” or which world we
perceive, is our doing. But the “real world” is not of our making, it is the
work of God the Holy Spirit and God the Son (Christ).
Now these quotes need to be sorted better than they are and perhaps, in some
cases, require some commentary, but the day is growing old and it crossed
my mind that simply reading this selection of quotes might suffice to make
the point without the need for commentary.
The key thing here is that the first definition of “world” in most all
dictionaries (I checked 14 different ones) is “earth” and down the list we
have the “natural grand division” definition, as in “the world of golf” or “the
world of politics.” These “worlds” are not different physical places, they are
different ways of looking at one and the same physical place. The “world of
golf” and “the world of politics” can be present in the same room, and even
in the same brain! Here the author is signaling to us what he means by the
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world “world!” And gives us a specific definition, and tells us that he
doesn’t mean “the planet earth.”
This statement clearly asserts that there is a “world” created by God. Viewed
as an error by some, those words are there and have to be considered. In the
later clarifications which tell us there are TWO worlds, and one of them is
divine, well … the statement is not false.
T 2 A 9. The world, in its original connotation, included both the proper creation
of man by God, AND the proper creation by man in his Right Mind. The latter
required the endowment of man by God with free will, because all loving
creation is freely given. Nothing in either of these statements implies any sort of
level involvement, or, in fact, anything except one continuous line of creation, in
which all aspects are of the same order.
T 1 B 15. Each day should be devoted to miracles. (God created time so that man
could use it creatively, and convince himself of his own ability to create. Time is
a teaching device, and a means to an end. It will cease when it is no longer useful
for facilitating learning.)
Time, and time and space, are terms which refer to that which is physical
and the way we physically perceive in space and time.
T 2 E 52. "And God so loved the world that He gave his only begotten Son so that
whosoever believeth on Him shall not perish but have Eternal Life" needs only
one slight correction to be entirely meaningful in this context. It should read
"And God so loved the world that he gave it TO His only begotten Son." It
should be noted that God HAS begotten only ONE Son. If you believe that all of
the Souls that God created ARE His Sons, and if you also believe that the Sonship
is One, then every Soul MUST be a Son of God , or an integral part of the
Sonship. You do not find the concept that the whole is greater than its parts
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difficult to understand. You should therefore not have too great difficulty with
this. The Sonship in its Oneness DOES transcend the sum of its parts. However,
it loses this special state as long as any of its parts are missing. This is why the
conflict cannot ultimately be resolved UNTIL all of the individual parts of the
Sonship have returned. Only then, in the true sense, can the meaning of
wholeness be understood.
If God gave the world to his Son, as we are told, it stands to reason that it’s
not an illusion and that He created it.
T 2 B 68. The acceptance of the Atonement by everyone is only a matter of time.
In fact, both TIME and MATTER were created for this purpose. [created by
WHOM, and WHOSE purpose does their creation serve? If we want to know “who
dunnit” we often need only ask “in whose interest was the doing of it? Whose purposes
are furthered by it?”] This appears to contradict free will, because of the
inevitability of this decision. If you review the idea carefully, you will realize that
this is not true. Everything is limited in some way by the manner of its creation.
Free will can temporize, and is capable of enormous procrastination. But it
cannot depart entirely from its Creator, who set the limits on its ability to
miscreate by virtue of its own real purpose.
Most of these very direct affirmations of divine involvement in the
“creation of the world” survived, at least in part, the editing done by
Helen and Bill up to 1972 and only vanished from the Course after
Ken became involved and “explained” to Helen that God did not
create the world, and so in his view all these statements were errors
which needed to be removed.
The Course was thus edited to reflect Ken’s, and maybe even Helen’s
view after she came under his influence. Despite that, their editing
was sloppy and they didn’t notice and remove all references which
tell us clearly that “the illusion” is not the “physical stuff” but rather
the way we look at the physical stuff.
T 3 I 16. You who fear salvation are WILLING death. Life and death, light and
darkness, knowledge and perception are irreconcilable. To believe that THEY can
be reconciled is to believe that God and man can NOT. Only the Oneness of
Knowledge is conflictless. Your Kingdom is not of this world because it was
given you from BEYOND this world. Only IN this world is the idea of an
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authority problem meaningful. The world is not left by death but by truth, and
truth CAN be known by all those for whom the Kingdom was created, and for
whom it waits.
To say that the “world is not left by death but by truth” tells us in no
uncertain terms that “world” here is not the physical earth, which
clearly IS left by “death.”
T 5 E 15. You who are part of God are not at home EXCEPT in His peace. If peace is
eternal, you are at home only in eternity. The ego made the world as IT perceives it, but
the Holy Spirit, the RE-interpreter of what the ego made, sees it only as a teaching device
for bringing you home. The Holy Spirit must perceive time and re-interpret into the
timeless. The mind must be led into eternity THROUGH time, because having made time
it is capable of perceiving its opposite.
This pretty clearly tells us what the ego “made.” It is “the world as it
perceives it.” And that sure isn’t planet earth!
T 8 C 8. When we said, "all power and glory are yours because the Kingdom is
His," this is what we meant: The Will of God is without limit, and all power and
glory lie within it. It is boundless in strength and in love and in peace. It has no
boundaries because its extension is unlimited, and it encompasses all things
because it CREATED all things. By CREATING all things, it made them PART
OF ITSELF. YOU are the Will of God, because this is how you were created.
Because your Creator creates only like Himself, you ARE like Him.
God created all things. Is earth a thing?
T 7 H 7. ONLY honor is a fitting gift for those whom God Himself created
worthy of honor and whom He honors. Give them the appreciation which God
accords them always, because they are His Beloved Sons in whom He is well
pleased. You CANNOT be apart from them, because you are not apart from
Him. Rest in His love, and protect your rest by loving. But love EVERYTHING
He created, of which YOU are part, or you cannot learn of His peace and accept
His gift for yourself and as yourself. You CANNOT know your own perfection
until you have honored all those who were created LIKE you.
God created “all things” and we are called to love “all things.”
Illusions aren’t things, but the earth is a thing.
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T 9 B 5. The Holy Spirit in you forgives all things in you, AND your brother. HIS
errors are forgiven WITH yours. Atonement is no more separate than love. It
CANNOT be separate, because it COMES from Love. ANY attempt you make to
correct a brother, means that you believe correction by YOU is possible, and this
can ONLY be the arrogance of the ego. Correction is of God, Who does not know
of arrogance. The Holy Spirit forgives everything, BECAUSE GOD CREATED
EVERYTHING. Do not undertake HIS function, or you will forget YOURS,
God created everything. It would be rather difficult to come up with
any definition of any “physical” thing such as planets which would
not be included in the category of “everything.”
T 9 J 8. When you have experienced the protection of God, the making of idols
becomes inconceivable. There are no strange images in the Mind of God, and
what is not in His Mind CANNOT be in yours, because you are of One Mind,
and that Mind belongs to HIM. It is yours BECAUSE it belongs to Him, for
ownership is sharing to Him. And if it is so for Him, it is so for you. His
definitions ARE His laws, for by them He established the universe as what it is.
No false gods you attempt to interpose between yourself and your reality, affect
truth at all. Peace is yours because God created you. And He created nothing
else.
Is “the world” part of “the universe?” If so then by extension, it was
established by God.
T 10 H 1. The world as YOU perceive it cannot have been created by the Father,
for the world is NOT as you see it. God created ONLY the eternal, and
everything YOU see is perishable. Therefore, there must be another world which
you do NOT see. The Bible speaks of a NEW Heaven and a NEW earth, yet this
cannot be literally true, for the eternal are not REcreated. To PERCEIVE anew is
merely to perceive again, implying that before YOU WERE NOT PERCEIVING
AT ALL. What, then, is the world that awaits your perception WHEN YOU SEE
IT? Every loving thought that the Son of God ever had is eternal. Those which his
mind perceived in this world are the world's only reality. They are still
perceptions, because he still believes that he is separate, yet they are eternal,
because they are loving. And BEING loving, they are like the Father, and
therefore cannot die.
This is pretty clear, God did not create “the world as YOU perceive
it” at the level of ego. But “the world is not as you see it. […]
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Therefore there must be another world which you do NOT see.”
That “other world” is the world God created.
T 10 H 2. The real world can ACTUALLY BE PERCEIVED. All that is necessary
is a willingness to perceive nothing ELSE. For if you perceive both good AND
evil, you are accepting both the false AND the true, AND MAKING NO
DISTINCTION BETWEEN THEM. The ego sees SOME good, but never ONLY
good. That is WHY its perceptions are so variable. It does not reject goodness
entirely, for this you could not accept, but it always ADDS something that is
NOT real TO the real, thus CONFUSING ILLUSION AND REALITY. For
perceptions cannot be partly true. If you believe in truth AND illusion you
CANNOT TELL WHICH IS TRUE.
“The real world can be perceived.” If it can be perceived then it
follows that it has some tangible, physical existence. And clearly as
we’ve seen, it is God’s creation.
We’re getting a clue here that there are TWO WORLDS at least being
discussed in ACIM. One is “the world as YOU perceive it.” It’s
really only an illusion, not a “world” or a “thing” at all, but just a
misperception.
When ACIM speaks of “this world” it usually refers to the illusory
world. When the word is anthropomorphized as in “the world says”
or “the world thinks” then it is generally referring to what the ego
says or thinks from its position of having created an illusion which it
thinks is reality.
When ACIM speaks of “the real world” or the “forgiven world” it is
speaking of the world that God did create, which is utterly beautiful
and joyous. It is also called the Kingdom of God, the Gate of Heaven,
and a number of other things.
T 11 H 12. When you have accepted your mission to PROJECT peace, you will
FIND it. For by MAKING IT MANIFEST you will SEE it. Its holy witnesses will
surround you, because you CALLED UPON THEM, and they will come to you. I
HAVE heard your call, and I have answered it, but you will not look upon me
nor hear the answer which you sought. But that is only because you do not yet
want ONLY that. Yet as I become more real to you, you will learn that you DO
want only that. And you will see me as you look within, and we will look upon
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the world as God created it together. Through the eyes of Christ, ONLY the real
world exists, and can BE seen.
If there is a “world as God created it” to look upon then God must
have created a world!
T 13 D 14. Praise be unto you, who make the Father One with His Own Son.
Alone we are all lowly, but together, we shine with brightness so intense, that
none of us alone can even think on it. Before the glorious radiance of the
Kingdom, guilt melts away, and, transformed into kindness, will never more be
what it was. Every reaction that you experience will be so purified, that it is
fitting as a hymn of praise unto your Father. See only praise of Him in what He
has created, for He will never cease His praise of YOU. United in this praise, we
stand before the gates of Heaven, where we will surely enter, in our
blamelessness. God loves you. Could I, then, lack faith in you, and love Him
perfectly?
Did God create the “Gate of Heaven?” Or was it the ego? Well the
“Gate of Heaven” is also “the real world.”
T 15 I 5. Think but an instant on this; God gave the Sonship to you, to ensure
your perfect creation. This was His Gift, for, as He withheld Himself not from
you, He withheld not His creation. Nothing that ever was created, but is not
yours. Your relationships are with the universe. And this universe, being of God,
is far beyond the petty sum of all the separate bodies YOU perceive. For all its
parts are joined in God through Christ, where they become like to their Father.
For Christ knows of no separation FROM His Father, Who is His One
relationship, in which He gives as His Father gives to Him.
While “the universe” that God created is “far beyond the petty sum
of all the separate bodies YOU perceive” there is nothing here that
hints that “the universe” does not include the physical.
T 18 G 1. THERE IS NOTHING OUTSIDE YOU. That is what you must
ultimately learn, for it is in that realization that the Kingdom of Heaven is
restored to you. For God created only this, and He did not depart from it, nor
leave it separate from Himself. The Kingdom of Heaven is the dwelling place of
the Son of God, who left not his Father, and dwells not apart from Him. Heaven
is not a place nor a condition. It is merely an awareness of perfect Oneness, and
the knowledge that there is nothing else. Nothing OUTSIDE THIS Oneness, and
NOTHING ELSE within.
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The suggestion here is quite strong that “awareness of perfect
Oneness” can be achieved on earth in space and time. This tends to
equate “the real world” and “heaven.”
T 19 L 8. For HIS redemption he will give you yours, as surely as God created
every living thing, and loves it. And he will give it truly, for it will be both
offered and RECEIVED. There is no grace of Heaven that you cannot OFFER to
each other, and receive from your most holy Friend. Let him withhold it not, for
by receiving it, you offer it to HIM. And he WILL receive of you what YOU
received of him. Redemption has been given you to give EACH OTHER, and
thus receive it. Whom you forgive IS free. And what you give, YOU SHARE.
Forgive the sins your brother THINKS he has committed, and all the guilt YOU
see in him.
In this paragraph we see that the idea of God having created living
things is ASSUMED to be something everyone is sure of. That
Course interpreters would claim God didn’t appears to be an idea so
absurd as to not have been anticipated by the Course. Therefore it is
not directly addressed. It is, however, indirectly addressed many
many times, as you can see. It is clear that the author himself
assumes that God created everything, including earth and that the
author assumes the reader knows this.
Are YOU a living thing? Yes. Is earth a living thing? Yes. Did God
create both? Yes.
T 21 C 3. It is impossible the Son of God be merely driven by events OUTSIDE
him. It is impossible that the happenings that come to him were NOT his choice.
His power of decision is the DETERMINER of every situation in which he seems
to FIND himself by chance or accident. No accident or chance is POSSIBLE
within the universe as God created it, OUTSIDE of which is nothing. Suffer, and
YOU decided sin was your goal. Be happy, and you GAVE the power of decision
to Him Who MUST decide for God for you. This is the little gift you offer to the
Holy Spirit, and even this He gave to you to give yourself. For, BY this gift ,is
given you the power to release your savior, that HE may give salvation unto
YOU.
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This tells us that “events” which we experience occur “within the
universe as God created it.” Our interpretations of those events
might well be “illusions” but the events themselves are not accidents
and are part of what God created. That includes the earth and every
“event” that occurs on the earth.
T 30 C 3. Look once again upon your enemy, the one you chose to hate instead of
love. For thus was hatred born into the world, and thus the rule of fear
established here. Now hear God speak to you through Him Who is His Voice,
and YOURS as well, reminding you that it is NOT your will to hate, and be a
prisoner to fear, a slave to death, a LITTLE creature with a LITTLE life. Your will
is boundless; it is NOT your will that it be bound. What lies in you has joined
with God Himself in all creation's birth. Remember Him Who has created you,
and through YOUR will created everything.
Again we see “God created everything.”
T 30 C 4. Not one created thing but gives you thanks, for it is by your will that it
was born. No light of Heaven shines except for you, for it was set in Heaven by
your will. What cause have you for anger in a world which merely waits YOUR
blessing to be free? If YOU be prisoner, then God Himself could not be free. For
what is done to him whom God so loves is done to God Himself. Think not HE
wills to bind you, Who has made you cocreator of the universe along with Him.
He would but KEEP your will forever and forever limitless.
“[…] a world which merely waits YOUR blessing to be free […]”
This clearly implies the world IS free except for the lack of your
blessing which makes it appear to be a prison, but that’s only illusion.
Two Worlds
T 25 D 3. Perception rests on choosing; knowledge does not. Knowledge has but
one law BECAUSE it has but One Creator. But this world has two who made it,
and they do NOT see it as the same. To each it has a DIFFERENT purpose, and to
each it is a perfect means to serve the goal for which it is perceived. For
specialness it is the perfect frame to set it off; the perfect battleground to wage its
wars, the perfect shelter for the illusions which it would make real. Not one but it
upholds in its perception; not one but can be fully justified.
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T 25 D 4. There is another Maker of the world, the simultaneous Corrector of the
mad belief that ANYTHING could be established and maintained without some
link that kept it still within the Laws of God. NOT as the Law Itself upholds the
universe as God created it. But in some form adapted to the need the Son of God
believes he has. Corrected error IS the error's end. And thus has God protected
still His Son, even in error. There IS another purpose in the world that error
made because it has another Maker, Who CAN reconcile its goal with His
Creator's Purpose.
The use of language here is interesting indeed but I’ll skip that
intriguing question and point out that in saying there are “two who
made it [this world]” we can see that ONE of those is God! “This
world” is one thing. There are two ways of seeing it. Each is
sometimes called “a world” as in “the world as ego perceives it” or
“the real world [as God created it]”
T 31 F 4. How is this done? It is not done at all. What COULD there be within the
universe that God created that must still be done? Only in arrogance could you
conceive that YOU must make the way to Heaven plain. The means are GIVEN
you by which to see the world that will replace the one you made. Your will be
done! In Heaven as on earth this is forever true. It matters not where you believe
you are, or what you think the truth about yourself must really be. It makes no
difference what you look upon, nor what you choose to feel or think or wish. For
God Himself hath said, "Thy will be done." And it IS done to you accordingly.
Again we have “two worlds” one of which is illusory and “made by
you” and the other which is “real” and is created by God.
The world can’t be created by God because what God created never
changes, and everything on earth always changes.
How often have you heard THAT logical inference? The statement
assumes there is ONE WORLD only, it’s physical, and it’s an illusion.
None of those assumptions are true.
T 7 B 5. The "last step" that God was said to take was therefore true in the
beginning, is true now, and will be true forever. What is timeless IS ALWAYS
THERE because its BEING is eternally changeless. It does NOT change by
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increase, because it was forever created TO increase. If you perceive it as NOT
increasing, you do not know what it IS. You also do not know what created it, or
who HE is. God does not REVEAL this to you, because it was never hidden. His
light was never obscured, because it is His Will to SHARE it. How can what is
fully shared be withheld and then revealed?
“It does NOT change by increase, because it was forever created TO
increase.” This statement is linguistically challenging because
obviously the word “change” would ordinarily apply to something
that “increases.” An “increase” is a “change” by the definition of the
words. Yet this kind of change is said to not be a change because what is
unchanging about what God created is perpetual increase.
“What God created never changes” does not mean a static state of
stasis but a perpetual state of change by increase. The unusual use of
language here is essential to rcognize.
T 9 H 2. God created nothing beside you, and nothing beside you exists, for you
are part of Him. What except Him CAN exist? Nothing BEYOND Him can
happen, because nothing EXCEPT Him is real. YOUR creations add to Him, as
YOU do. But nothing is added that is different, because everything has always
BEEN. What can upset you except the ephemeral, and how can the ephemeral be
real, if you are God's ONLY creation, and He created you eternal?
The word “you” here is clearly used to refer to all creation. It is again
unusual language. Normally that word would mean either one
person being addressed (singular) or any number of people being
addressed (plural). In this context the plurality of ‘you’ clearly
extends to everything. We’ve previously told “God created
everything.” Now the author is addressing “you” as everything.
T 10 H 1. The world as YOU perceive it cannot have been created by the Father,
for the world is NOT as you see it. God created ONLY the eternal, and
everything YOU see is perishable. Therefore, there must be another world which
you do NOT see. The Bible speaks of a NEW Heaven and a NEW earth, yet this
cannot be literally true, for the eternal are not REcreated. To PERCEIVE anew is
merely to perceive again, implying that before YOU WERE NOT PERCEIVING
AT ALL. What, then, is the world that awaits your perception WHEN YOU SEE
IT? Every loving thought that the Son of God ever had is eternal. Those which his
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mind perceived in this world are the world's only reality. They are still
perceptions, because he still believes that he is separate, yet they are eternal,
because they are loving. And BEING loving, they are like the Father, and
therefore cannot die.
At the very least, this tells us that there is a world you see which is
not real. “the world is NOT as you see it […] everything YOU see is
perishable. Therefore there must be another world which you do
NOT see” and which, of course, God created.
4) Use of the word “earth” (119 instances)
a) Heaven and earth as opposites and as identities
T 5 D 8. The Holy Spirit is the way in which God's will can be done on
earth as it is in Heaven. Both Heaven and Earth are in YOU, because the
call of both are in your wills, and therefore in your minds. The voice for
God comes from your own altars to Him. These altars are not THINGS.
They are DEVOTIONS. But you have other devotions now. Your divided
devotion has given you the two voices, and you must choose at which
altar you will to serve. The call you answer now IS an evaluation, because
it is a DECISION. The decision itself is very simple. It is made on the basis
of which call is worth more to you.
“God’s will can be done on earth.” If earth is an illusion which
is unknown to God as some argue, how could this be? And
what would this mean?
T 5 D 9. My mind will always be like yours, because we were created as
equals. It was only my DECISION that gave me all power in Heaven and
earth. My only gift to you is to help you make the same decision FOR
YOURSELF. The will for this decision is the will to SHARE it, because the
decision itself IS the decision to share. It is MADE BY GIVING, and is
therefore the one act of mind that resembles true creation.
All power in Heaven *and* earth!
T 5 G 1. Perhaps this will become clearer and more personally meaningful
if the ego's use of guilt is clarified. The ego has a purpose, just as the Holy
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Spirit has. The ego's purpose is FEAR, because only the fearful can be
egotistic. The ego's logic is as impeccable as that of the Holy Spirit,
because your mind has all the means at its disposal to side with Heaven or
earth, as it elects. But let us again remember that both are in you.
Here we have “heaven” and “earth” set up as opposites,
alternative choices. And here earth is equated to “ego.” In this
case, just as “ego” is not a physical thing, neither is “earth.”
The word “earth” here is not being used literally OR physically,
but as a symbol for “not heaven.”
T 11 H 4. You cannot see the Holy Spirit, but you CAN see His
MANIFESTATIONS. And UNLESS YOU DO, you will not realize He is
there. Miracles are His witnesses, and speak for his Presence. What you
cannot see becomes real to you only through the witnesses who speak
FOR it. For you can be AWARE of what you cannot see, and it can become
compellingly real to you, as its presence becomes manifest THROUGH
you. Do His work, for you SHARE in His function. As your function in
Heaven is creation, so your function on earth is healing. God shares His
function with you in Heaven, and the Holy Spirit shares HIS with you on
earth.
In speaking of “functions” the question here is “what is the
functional difference between the first person of the Trinity,
“God the Father” who shares His function with you in Heaven,
and the third person of the Trinity, “God the Holy Spirit” who
shares His function with you on earth?
T 30 D 8. The Thought God holds of you is like a star, unchangeable in an
eternal sky. So high in Heaven is it set that those outside of Heaven know
not it is there. But still and white and lovely will it shine through all
eternity. There was no time it was not there; no instant when its light grew
dimmer or less perfect ever was. Who knows the Father knows this light,
for He is the eternal sky which holds it safe, forever lifted up and
anchored sure. Its perfect purity does not depend on whether it is seen on
earth or not. The sky embraces it, and softly holds it in its perfect place,
which is as far from earth as earth from Heaven. It is not the distance nor
the time which keeps this star invisible to earth. But those who seek for
idols CANNOT know this star is there.
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W 183 L 4. Perhaps you think it is your childhood home that you would
find again. The childhood of your body and its place of shelter are a
memory now so distorted that you merely hold a picture of a past that
never happened. Yet there is a Child in you Who seeks His Father's house,
and knows that He is alien here. This Childhood is eternal, with an
innocence that will endure forever. Where this Child shall go is holy
ground. It is His holiness that lights up Heaven, and that brings to earth
the pure reflection of the light above, wherein are earth and Heaven
joined as one.
Translation
T 10 H 5. This is a very simple course. Perhaps you do not feel that a
course which, in the end, teaches nothing more than that only reality is
true is necessary. BUT DO YOU BELIEVE IT? When you have perceived
the real world, you will recognize that you did NOT believe it. But the
swiftness with which your new and ONLY real perception will be
translated into knowledge, will leave you only an instant to realize that
this judgment is true. And then everything you made will be forgotten,
the good and bad, the false and the true. For as Heaven and earth become
one, even the real world will vanish from your sight. The end of the world
is not its destruction, but its TRANSLATION into Heaven. The re
interpretATION of the world is the transfer of ALL perception to
knowledge.
T 22 B 12. Christ comes to what is LIKE Himself; the same, NOT different.
For He is ALWAYS drawn unto Himself. What is as like Him as a holy
relationship? And what draws YOU together, draws HIM to you. Here is
His sweetness, and His gentle innocence PROTECTED from attack. And
here can He RETURN in confidence, for faith in one another is ALWAYS
faith in Him. You are indeed correct in looking on each other as His
chosen home. For here you willed WITH Him and with His Father. This IS
your Father's Will for you, and yours WITH Him. And who is drawn to
Christ is drawn to God, as surely as both are drawn to every holy
relationship, the home prepared for them as earth is turned to Heaven.
T 22 C 12. Beyond the bodies that you interposed between you, and
shining in the golden light that reaches it from the bright endless circle
that extends forever, is your holy relationship, beloved of God, and holy
as Himself. How still it rests, in time and yet beyond, immortal yet on
earth. How great the power that lies in it. Time waits upon its will, and
earth will BE as it would HAVE it be. Here is no SEPARATE will, nor the
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desire that ANYTHING be separate. Its will HAS no exceptions, and what
it wills is true. Every illusion brought to its forgiveness is gently
OVERLOOKED, and disappears. For, at its center, Christ has been reborn,
to light His home with vision that overlooks the world.
Earth/world as “mirror.”
T 14 E 5. In the world you, can become a spotless mirror, in which the
holiness of your Creator shines forth from you, to all around you. You can
REFLECT HEAVEN here. But no reflections of the images of other gods
must dim the mirror that would hold God's reflection in it. Earth can
reflect Heaven or hell; God or the ego. You need but leave the mirror
clean, and clear of all the images of hidden darkness you have drawn
upon it. God will shine upon it of Himself. Only the clear reflection OF
Himself can BE perceived upon it. Reflections are seen in light. In
darkness, they are obscure, and their meaning seems to lie only in shifting
interpretations, rather than in themselves.
T 20 E 6. To each who walks this earth in seeming solitude is a savior
given, whose special function here is to release him, and so to free himself.
In the world of separation, each is appointed separately, though they are
all the same. But those who KNOW that they are all the same, need not
salvation. And each one FINDS his savior, when he is ready to look upon
the face of Christ, and see Him sinless. The plan is not of you, nor need
you be concerned with anything except the part that has been given YOU
to learn. For He Who knows the rest will see to it WITHOUT your help.
But think not that He does not need your part, to help Him with the rest.
For in your part lies ALL of it, without which is no part complete, nor is
the whole completed WITHOUT your part. The ark of peace is entered
two by two, yet the beginning of another world goes with them. Each holy
relationship must enter here, to learn its special function in the Holy
Spirit's plan, now that it SHARES His purpose. And as this purpose is
fulfilled, a new world rises, in which sin can enter not, and where the Son
of God can enter WITHOUT fear. And where he rests a while, to forget
imprisonment, and to remember freedom.
T 21 E 6. And now the ego IS afraid. But what it hears in terror, the
OTHER part hears as the sweetest music; the song it longed to hear since
first the ego came into your minds. The ego's weakness is ITS strength.
The song of freedom, which sings the praises of ANOTHER world, brings
to it hope of peace. For it REMEMBERS Heaven. And now it sees that
Heaven HAS come to earth at last, from which the ego's rule has kept it
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out so long. Heaven has come because it found a home in your
relationship on earth. And earth can hold no longer what has been GIVEN
Heaven as its own.
T 22 A 4. He sees no DIFFERENCES between these selves, for differences
are ONLY of the body. Therefore, he looks on nothing he would TAKE.
He denies NOT his own reality BECAUSE it is the truth. Just under
Heaven does he stand, but close enough NOT to return to earth. For this
relationship HAS Heaven's holiness. How far from home can a
relationship so like to Heaven BE? Think what a holy relationship can
teach! Here is BELIEF in differences undone. Here is the FAITH in
differences shifted to sameness. And here is sight of differences
transformed to VISION.
T 24 H 6. The test of EVERYTHING on earth is simply this: "What is it FOR?" The
answer makes it what it IS for you. It has NO meaning of itself, yet you can GIVE
reality to it, according to the purpose which YOU serve. Here, YOU are but
means, along with it. God is a Means as well as End. In Heaven, means and end
are one, and One with Him. This is the state of true creation, found not within
time, but in eternity. To noone here is this describable. Nor is there any way to
learn what this condition means. Not 'til you go PAST learning to the Given; not
'til you make again a holy home for YOUR creations is it understood.
T 29 C 7. The body does not change. It represents the larger dream that change is
POSSIBLE. To change is to attain a state unlike the one in which you found
yourself before. There IS no change in immortality, and Heaven knows it not. Yet
here on earth, it has a double purpose, for it can be made to teach opposing
things. And they reflect the teacher who is teaching them. The body can APPEAR
to change with time, with sickness or with health, and with events that seem to
alter it. And this but means the mind remains unchanged in its belief of what the
PURPOSE of the body is.
T 29 D 4. There, in its place, God's Witness has set forth the gentle way of
kindness to God's Son. Whom you forgive is GIVEN power to forgive you your
illusions. By your gift of freedom is it given unto YOU. Make way for love which
you did not create, but which you CAN extend. On earth this means forgive your
brother, that the darkness may be lifted from YOUR mind. When light has come
to him through your forgiveness, he will not forget his savior, leaving him
unsaved. For it was in YOUR face he saw the light that he would keep beside
him, as he walks through darkness to the everlasting Light.
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T 30 C 5. The world awaits the freedom you will give, when you have recognized
that YOU are free. But you will not forgive the world until you have forgiven
Him Who GAVE your will to you. For it is BY your will the world is given
freedom. Nor can YOU be free APART from Him Whose holy Will you share.
God turns to YOU to ask the world be saved, for by your OWN salvation is it
healed. And noone walks upon the earth but must depend on YOUR decision,
that he learn death HAS no power over him because he shares YOUR freedom,
as he shares your will. It IS your will to heal him, and because you have decided
WITH him, he is healed. And now is God forgiven, for you chose to look upon
your brother as a friend.
Split mind ego as false son, Son as True Son
T 24 H 10. Here is an image that you WANT to be yourself. It is the means to
make your wish come true. It GIVES the eyes with which you look on it, the
hands that feel it, and the ears with which you listened to the sounds it makes. IT
PROVES ITS OWN REALITY TO YOU. Thus is the body made a THEORY of
yourself, with NO provisions made for evidence BEYOND itself, and NO escape
within its sight. Its course is sure, when seen through its own eyes. It grows and
withers, flourishes and dies. And you cannot conceive of you APART from it.
You brand it sinful, and you hate its acts, judging it evil. Yet your specialness
whispers, "Here is my own beloved son, with whom I am well pleased."
T 24 H 11. Thus does the son become the MEANS to serve his father's purpose.
NOT identical, not even like, but still a means to offer to the father WHAT HE
WANTS. Such is the travesty on God's creation. For, as His Son's creation gave
HIM joy and witness to HIS Love and shared HIS Purpose, so does the body
testify to the idea that made it, and speak for ITS reality and truth. And thus are
two sons made, and BOTH appear to walk this earth without a meeting place,
and NO encounter. One do you see OUTSIDE yourself, your OWN beloved son.
The other rests within, His Father's Son, within your brother as he is in you.
T 25 I 14. You have the right to all the universe; to perfect peace, complete
deliverance from ALL effects of sin, and to the life eternal, joyous, and complete
in EVERY way, as God appointed for His holy Son. This is the ONLY justice
Heaven knows, and all the Holy Spirit brings to earth. Your special function
shows you nothing else BUT perfect justice CAN prevail for you. And you ARE
safe from vengeance in ALL forms. The world deceives, but it can NOT replace
God's justice with a version of its own. For only love IS just, and CAN perceive
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what justice must accord the Son of God. Let love decide, and never fear that
you, in your unfairness, will deprive yourself of what GOD's justice has allotted
you.
Heaven and Earth only SEEM to be “separate states.”
T 26 G 2. Lead not your little lives in solitude, with one illusion as your only
friend. This is no friendship worthy of God's Son, nor one with which he could
remain content. But God has given him a better Friend, in whom all power in
earth and Heaven rests. The one illusion that you THINK is friend obscures HIS
grace and majesty from you, and keeps his friendship and forgiveness from your
welcoming embrace. Without him you are friendless. Seek not another friend to
take his place. There IS no other friend. What God appointed HAS no substitute,
for what illusion CAN replace the truth?
Earrth/World as almost synonymous
T 26 K 5. You think your brother is unfair to you BECAUSE you think that one
must be unfair to MAKE the other innocent. And in this game do you perceive
one PURPOSE for your whole relationship. And this you seek to ADD unto the
purpose GIVEN it. The Holy Spirit's purpose is to let the Presence of your holy
Guests be known to you. And TO this purpose nothing CAN be added, for the
world is purposeless except for this. To add or take away from this ONE goal is
but to take away ALL purpose from the world and from yourself. And each
unfairness that the world appears to lay upon you, you have laid on it, by
rendering it purposeless, without the function that the Holy Spirit sees. And
simple justice has been thus denied to every living thing upon the earth.
Real World
T 30 F 3. Not yet is Heaven quite remembered, for the purpose of forgiveness still
remains. Yet everyone is certain he will go BEYOND forgiveness, and he but
remains until it is made perfect in himself. He has no wish for anything but this.
And fear has dropped away, because he is united in his purpose with HIMSELF.
There is a hope of happiness in him so sure and constant he can barely stay, and
wait a little longer with his feet still touching earth. Yet is he glad to wait 'til
every hand is joined, and every heart made ready to arise and go with him. For
thus is HE made ready for the step in which is all forgiveness left behind.
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T 30 F 4. The final step is God's, because it is but God Who could create a perfect
Son, and share His Fatherhood with him. Noone outside of Heaven knows how
this can be. For understanding this is Heaven itself. Even the real world has a
purpose still beneath creation and eternity. But fear is gone, because its purpose
is forgiveness, NOT idolatry. And so is Heaven's Son prepared to be Himself,
and to remember that the Son of God knows everything his Father understands,
and understands it perfectly with Him. The real world still falls short of this, for
this is God's Own Purpose; ONLY His, and yet completely shared and perfectly
fulfilled. T 30 F 5. The real world is a state in which the mind has learned how
easily do idols go when they are still perceived, but wanted not. How willingly
the mind can let them go when it has understood that idols are nothing and
nowhere, AND ARE PURPOSELESS. For only then can guilt and sin be seen
WITHOUT a purpose, and as meaningless. Thus is the real world's purpose
gently brought into awareness, to REPLACE the goal of sin and guilt. And all
that stood BETWEEN your image of yourself and what you ARE forgiveness
washes joyfully away. Yet God need not create His Son AGAIN, that what is his
be given BACK to him. The gap between your brother and yourself was never
there. And what the Son of God knew in creation he MUST know again. T 30 F 6.
When brothers join in purpose in the world of fear, they stand ALREADY at the
edge of the real world. Perhaps they still look back, and think they see an idol
that they want. Yet has their path been surely set AWAY from idols toward
reality, for when they joined their hands, it was Christ's hand they took. And
they WILL look on Him Whose hand they hold. The face of Christ is looked upon
BEFORE the Father is remembered. For He MUST be unremembered 'til His Son
has reached BEYOND forgiveness to the Love of God. Yet is the love of Christ
accepted first. And THEN will come the knowledge They are One. How light
and easy is the step across the narrow boundaries of the world of fear, when you
have RECOGNIZED Whose hand you hold!
T 31 F 6. Are YOU a body? So is all the world perceived as treacherous, and out
to kill. Are you a Spirit, deathless, and without the promise of corruption and the
stain of sin upon you? So the world is seen as stable, fully worthy of your trust; a
happy place to rest in for a while, where nothing need be feared but only loved.
Who is unwelcome to the kind in heart? And what could hurt the truly innocent?
Thy will be done, you holy Child of God. It does not matter if you think you are
in earth or Heaven. What your Father wills for you can never change. The truth
in you remains as radiant as a star, as pure as light, as innocent as Love Itself.
And you ARE worthy that your Will be done.
T 31 H 10. Salvation's song will echo through the world with every choice they
make. For we are one in purpose, and the end of hell is near. In joyous welcome
is my hand outstretched to every brother who would join with me in reaching
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past temptation, and who looks with fixed determination toward the light that
shines beyond in perfect constancy. Give me my own, for they belong to You.
And can You fail in what is but Your Will? I give You thanks for what my
brothers are, and as each one elects to join with me, the song of thanks from earth
to Heaven grows from tiny, scattered threads of melody to one inclusive chorus
from a world redeemed from hell, and giving thanks to You.
W 60 L 1. 46) "God is the Love in which I forgive." God does not forgive because
He has never condemned. The blameless cannot blame, and those who have
accepted their innocence see nothing to forgive. Yet forgiveness is the means by
which I will recognize my innocence. It is the reflection of God's Love on earth. It
will bring me near enough to Heaven that the Love of God can reach down to me
and raise me to my home.
W 60 L 2. 47) "God is the Strength in which I trust." It is not my own strength
through which I forgive. It is through the strength of God in me, which I am
remembering as I forgive. As I begin to see, I recognize His reflection on earth. I
forgive all things because I feel the stirring of His strength in me. And I begin to
remember the Love I chose to forget, but Which has not forgotten me.
W 61 L 3. True humility requires that you accept today's idea [Lesson 61. "I am
the light of the world."] because it is God's Voice which tells you it is true. This
is a beginning step in accepting your real function on earth. It is a giant stride
toward taking your rightful place in salvation. It is a positive assertion of your
right to be saved, and an acknowledgment of the power that is given you to save
others.
World’s purpose is salvation
Lesson 64. "Let me not forget my function."
W 64 L 1. Today's idea is merely another way of saying, "Let me not wander into
temptation." The purpose of the world you see is to obscure your function of
forgiveness, and provide you with a justification for forgetting it. It is the
temptation to abandon God and His Son, taking on a physical appearance. It is
this which the body's eyes look upon.
W 64 L 2. Nothing the body's eyes seem to see can be anything but a form of
temptation, since this was the purpose of the body itself. Yet we have learned
that the Holy Spirit has another use for all the illusions you have made, and
therefore He sees another purpose in them. To the Holy Spirit, the world is a
place where you learn to forgive yourself what you think of as your sins. In this
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perception, the physical appearance of temptation becomes the spiritual
recognition of salvation.
W 64 L 3. To review our last few lessons, your function here is to be the light of
the world, a function given you by God. It is only the arrogance of the ego which
leads you to question this, and only the tear of the ego which induces you to
regard yourself as unworthy of the task assigned to you by God Himself. The
world's salvation awaits your forgiveness because through it does the Son of God
escape from all illusions and thus from all temptation. The Son of God is you.
W 64 L 4. Only by fulfilling the function given you by God will you be happy.
That is because your function is to be happy by using the means by which
happiness becomes inevitable. There is no other way. Therefore every time you
choose whether or not to fulfill your function, you are really choosing whether to
be happy or not.
W 64 L 5. Let us remember this today. Let us remind ourselves of it in the
morning and again at night, and all through the day as well. Prepare yourself in
advance for all the decisions you will make today by remembering that they are
all really very simple. Each one will lead to happiness or unhappiness. Can such
a simple decision really be difficult to make?
W 64 L 6. Let not the form of the decision deceive you. Complexity of form does
not imply complexity of content. It is impossible that any decision on earth can
have a content different from just this one simple choice. That is the only choice
the Holy Spirit sees. Therefore it is the only choice there is.
W 64 L 7. Today, then, let us practice these thoughts: "Let me not forget my
function. Let me not try to substitute mine for God's. Let me forgive and be
happy." At least once devote ten or fifteen minutes to reflecting on this with
closed eyes. Related thoughts will come to help you, if you remember the crucial
importance of your function to you and to the world.
W 184 L 8. Think not you made the world. Illusions, yes! But what is true in earth
and Heaven is beyond your naming. When you call upon a brother, it is to his
body that you make appeal. His true identity is hidden from you by what you
believe he really is. His body makes response to what you call him, for his mind
consents to take the name you give him as his own. And thus his unity is twice
denied, for you perceive him separate from you, and he accepts this separate
name as his.
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W 184 L 9. It would indeed be strange if you were asked to go beyond all
symbols of the world, forgetting them forever; yet were asked to take a teaching
function. You have need to use the symbols of the world a while. But be you not
deceived by them as well. They do not stand for anything at all, and in your
practicing it is this thought which will release you from them. They become but
means by which you can communicate in ways the world can understand, but
which you recognize is not the unity where true communication can be found.
Lesson 186. "Salvation of the world depends on me."
W 186 L 1. Here is the statement that will one day take all arrogance away from
every mind. Here is the thought of true humility which holds no function as your
own but that which has been given you. It offers your acceptance of a part
assigned to you, without insisting on another role. It does not judge your proper
role. It but acknowledges the Will of God is done on earth as well as Heaven. It
unites all wills on earth in Heaven's plan to save the world, restoring it to
Heaven's peace.
W 191 L 9. You who perceive yourself as weak and frail, with futile hopes and
devastated dreams, born but to die, to weep and suffer pain, hear this: All power
is given you in earth and Heaven. There is nothing that you cannot do. You play
the game of death, of being helpless, pitifully tied to dissolution in a world which
shows no mercy to you. Yet when you accord it mercy, will its mercy shine on
you.
W 191 L 10. Then let the Son of God awaken from his sleep, and opening his holy
eyes return again to bless the world he made. In error it began. But it will end in
the reflection of his holiness. And we will sleep no more and dream of death.
Then join with me today. Your glory is the light that saves the world. Do not
withhold salvation longer. Look about the world and see the suffering there. Is
not your heart willing to bring your weary brothers rest?
W 191 L 11. They must await your own release. They stay in chains 'til you are
free. They cannot see the mercy of the world until you find it for yourself. They
suffer pain until you have denied its hold on you. They die 'til you accept your
own Eternal Life. You are the holy Son of God Himself. Remember this and all
the world is free. Remember this and earth and Heaven are one.
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W 192 L 2. Therefore you have a function in the world in its own terms. For who
can understand a language far beyond his simple grasp? Forgiveness represents
your function here. It is not God's creation, for it is the means by which untruth
can be undone. And who would pardon Heaven? Yet on earth you need the
means to let illusion go. Creation merely waits for your return to be
acknowledged, not to be complete.
W 192 L 3. Creation cannot even be conceived of in the world. It has no meaning
here. Forgiveness is the closest it can come to earth. For being Heavenborne, it
has no form at all. Yet God created One Who has the power to translate into form
the wholly formless. What He makes are dreams, but of a kind so close to waking
that the light of day already shines in them, and eyes already opening behold the
joyful sights their offerings contain.
W 193 L 13. This is the lesson God would have you learn: There is a way to look
on everything that lets it be to you another step to Him and to salvation of the
world. To all that speaks of terror, answer thus: "I will forgive and this will
disappear." To every apprehension, every care, and every form of suffering
repeat these selfsame words. And then you hold the key that opens Heaven's
gate, and brings the Love of God the Father down to earth at last, to raise it up to
Heaven. God will take this final step Himself. Do not deny the little steps He
asks you take to Him.
Lesson 194. "I place the future in the hands of God."
W 194 L 1. Today's idea takes another step toward quick salvation, and a giant
stride it is indeed! So great the distance is that it encompasses, it sets you down
just short of Heaven, with the goal in sight and obstacles behind. Your foot has
reached the lawns that welcome you to Heaven's gate; the quiet place of peace
where you await with certainty the final step of God. How far are we progressing
now from earth! How close are we approaching to our goal! How short the
journey still to be pursued!
W 198 L 11. Now is there silence all around the world. Now is there stillness
where before there was a frantic rush of thoughts that made no sense. Now is
there tranquil light across the face of earth, made quiet in a dreamless sleep. And
now the Word of God alone remains upon it. Only That can be perceived an
instant longer. Then are symbols done, and everything you ever thought you
made completely vanished from the mind which God forever knows to be His
only Son.
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W 208 L 1. 188) "The peace of God is shining in me now." I will be still, and let
the earth be still along with me. And in that stillness, we will find the peace of
God. It is within my heart, which witnesses to God Himself.
Lesson 326. "I am forever an Effect of God."
W 326 L 1. "Father, I was created in Your Mind, a holy Thought that never left its
home. I am forever Your Effect, and You forever and forever are my Cause. As
You created me I have remained. Where You established me I still abide, and all
Your attributes abide in me because it is Your Will to have a Son so like his
Cause that Cause and Its Effect are indistinguishable. Let me know that I am an
Effect of God, and so I have the power to create like You. And as it is in Heaven,
so on earth. Your plan I follow here, and at the end I know that You will gather
Your Effects into the tranquil Heaven of Your Love, where earth will disappear,
and separate things unite in glory as the Son of God."
W 326 L 2. Let us today behold earth disappear, at first transformed, and then,
forgiven, fade entirely into God's holy Will.
Lesson 345. "I offer only miracles today, For I would have them be returned to
me."
W 345 L 1. "Father, a miracle reflects Your gifts to me, Your Son. And every one I
give returns to me, reminding me the law of love is universal. Even here it takes
a form which can be recognized, and seen to work. The miracles I give are given
back in just the form I need to help me with the problems I perceive. Father, in
Heaven it is different, for there, there are no needs. But here on earth the miracle
is closer to Your gifts than any other gift which I can give. Then let me give this
gift alone today, which, born of true forgiveness, lights the way that I must travel
to remember You."
W 345 L 2. Peace to all seeking hearts today. The light has come, to offer miracles
to bless the tired world. It will find rest today, for we will offer what we have
received.
U 7 A 1. Jesus is the manifestation of the Holy Spirit, Whom he called down upon
the earth after he ascended into Heaven, or became completely identified with
the Christ, the Son of God as He created Him. The Holy Spirit, being a creation of
the one Creator, creating with Him and in His likeness or Spirit, is eternal and
has never changed. He was "called down upon the earth" in the sense that it was
now possible to accept Him and to hear His Voice. His is the Voice for God, and
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has therefore taken form. This form is not His reality, which God alone knows
along with Christ, His real Son, Who is part of Him.
P 3 B 4. Ideally, psychotherapy is a series of holy encounters in which brothers
meet to bless each other and to receive the peace of God. And this will one day
come to pass for every "patient" on the face of this earth, for who except a patient
could possibly have come here? The therapist is only a somewhat more
specialized Teacher of God. He learns through teaching, and the more advanced
he is the more he teaches and the more he learns. But whatever stage he is in,
there are patients who need him just that way. They cannot take more than he
can give for now. Yet they both will find sanity at last.
S 2 C 8. All forms forgiveness takes that do not lead away from anger,
condemnation and comparisons of every kind are death. For that is what their
purposes have set. Be not deceived by them, but lay them by as worthless in their
tragic offerings. You do not want to stay in slavery. You do not want to be afraid
of God. You want to see the sunlight and the glow of Heaven shining on the face
of earth, redeemed from sin and in the Love of God. From here is prayer
released, along with you. Your wings are free, and prayer will lift you up and
bring you home where God would have you be.
S 3 E 2. As witness to forgiveness, aid to prayer, and the effect of mercy truly
taught, healing is blessing. And the world responds in quickened chorus through
the voice of prayer. Forgiveness shines its merciful reprieve upon each blade of
grass and feathered wing and all the living things upon the earth. Fear has no
haven here, for love has come in all its holy oneness. Time remains only to let the
last embrace of prayer rest on the earth an instant, as the world is shined away.
This instant is the goal of all true healers, whom the Christ has taught to see His
likeness and to teach like Him.
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