Definition of Atonement II

“The Voice of the Holy Spirit is the Call to Atonement, or the restoration of the integrity of the mind. (T74)”

1 – What Does This Mean?

What does it mean to restore the integrity of the mind? How much salvation does it take?

2 – Awakening

I think that full salvation always means an Awakening, but Awakenings can be rare, though many of us experience glimpses of Awakening before it is sustained (satori). The idea that the mind can be restored to its integrity is, essentially, a freeing of the mind from the ego. Once this has been accomplished, once and for all, and once we have relinquished judgment that the ego supports, the way is cleared for God to act in granting us Awakening.

3 – Holy Spirit

This passage sets forth the pivotal role that the Holy Spirit, our guidance, plays in restoring us to our right mind. When we listen to this Voice only, we are well on our way to peace and happiness.

4 – Atonement

Atonement is reached when we have made peace with the world and all who are in it. We have reached a state of oneness with all living beings. This does include our forgiveness of all with whom we come in contact, or even think about. Forgiveness frees us for Atonement.

5 – The Voice

We must listen for the Voice always. This does not mean that we are mentally ill, or that we are choosing a pathway that is detrimental to our mental health. The Voice is usually manifested in varieties of way, but mostly through an inner knowing that defies description. Sometimes the Voice comes through what is obviously our own thinking, but yet paradoxically a bit beyond us. We know that we are reaching wisdom that is not ours alone. We have reached to God, and He will guide us when we are willing to give up self-will.

6 – God’s Will = Our Real Will

God’s will for us and our own real will are actually identical. When we realize this, we have overcome a feeling that we are being pursued as Job was in the Old Testament. The Course says that we need not fear God’s will for us, that the Holy Spirit would wait for our willingness; He will not impose His will on us if we are not ready. Actually we will not need for Him to step aside unless we feel threatened. And this false sense drops away when we listen more carefully to His dictates. They are always for our good.

7 – Perceptions

“He [God] also blessed His children with a way of thinking that could raise their perceptions so high they could reach almost back to Him. The Holy Spirit is the Mind of the Atonement. He represents a state of mind close enough to One-mindedness that transfer to it is at last possible. (T74)”

This passage further explains how Atonement comes about. We reach a high realm of thought when the mind has been returned to integrity. This One-mindedness does not have room for conflict, for the ego to rear its ugly head. We are following in the steps revealed to us by the Holy Spirit, and this Way always involves a willingness to relinquish judgment of our fellow beings, our brothers and sisters.

8 – Unfairly Treated?

Of course, to relinquish judgment, we must understand that we cannot be unfairly treated (from ACIM Text). Our brothers and sisters are innocent, having done nothing to us in this world of illusion. We live in a dream, and it is a dream that we ourselves devised. We are learning, and we have developed the script for our learning. We wrote the dream. Hugh Prather says a good bit about this, and there is a quotation from him in a blog posting that I wrote which may be helpful. See “A Tribute to Hugh Prather,” which can be put in the search box for this blog.

9 – Comforter / Universal Inspiration / Holy Spirit

“I myself said, ‘If I go I will send you another Comforter and He will abide with you.’ His symbolic function makes the Holy Spirit difficult to understand, because symbolism is open to different interpretations. As a man and also one of God’s creations, my right thinking, which came from the Holy Spirit or the Universal Inspiration, taught me first and foremost that this Inspiration is for all. (T74)”

The Holy Spirit is for all. Make no mistake about that. All of us can and do experience the baptism of the Holy Spirit when we have asked for it. The Holy Spirit is our Comforter; he is also the Universal Inspiration. He is the link between God and ourselves when we have fallen out of communication with God. God knows that His channels of communication are closed, and He is lonely. He thinks that we are asleep and need to be awakened. And He will move to our Awakening as soon as we have removed the roadblocks to its realization.

Prayer:

Dear Father/Mother,

Help me to discern when my inclination is coming from the Holy Spirit. Help me not to let my own thoughts interfere.

May I follow the guidance that I perceive to be true. This will lead me Home to You.

Amen.