PART 2: WHAT IS TRUE REALITY? WHAT REALITY IS NOT

Illness Is Evidence of Unreality

“He [god of sickness] is the belief that you can choose which god is real. Although it is clear this has nothing to do with reality, it is equally clear that it has everything to do with reality as you perceive it.” (ACIM, T-10.III.11)

A Course in Miracles sees sickness as unreal, as an illusion, as evidence that we are not “in reality.” Most importantly, ACIM does not “blame the victim,” though. We are to have compassion for ourselves as well as others when we or they are under the weather. If we can just see this evidence of illusion as illusion, we will not be so likely to exacerbate pain into suffering.

Not all of us can avoid this exacerbation all the time. Doing so is the “ideal” reading of A Course in Miracles, and on the practical level, we see plenty of evidence that many of us do get sick, and on a regular basis. In addition, sainthood is no preserver of good health. We see no evidence in ACIM that those who are “closer” to God have an immunity from the ills of the human condition.

Knowing that even good people have illnesses can help us to see that we are in no position to blame the victim. We can’t see the whole picture; that is because of our finite minds. The Christ Self within each of us is not omniscient. The Christ Self is just following true reality as far as this Self can muster.

So, seeing illnesses as unreal, as lacking true reality, means that our real Self has not suffered. Nothing awry has gone wrong with the inner Self. We are still safe. But, as long as live on earth, we will be subject to its ills. And we need compassion to get us through the rough spots.

Don’t be tempted to blame the victim, because we “create our own reality,” as is said in New Age circles. This type of mentality avoids the hard issues of suffering that nobody has an answer for. The best we can do is simply to see this suffering as not touching the real Self. The illusory “little” self can get into all kinds of trouble, though. And when this happens (and it will happen, inevitably, to many of us) we need to ask for the patience to endure, and, most importantly, not to be tempted to turn our pains into suffering. To do so adds an emotional component to the pain that can be avoided, and ought to be, whenever we can muster the impetus to avoid this emotional component.

A Felt Sense of Being Separate = Leads to Sickness

“A sick person perceives himself as separate from God.  Would you see him as separate from you?  It is your task to heal the sense of separation that has made him sick.  (M-22.6)”

Affirmation:  “I would not separate myself from anyone today.”

Reflections:

1 – Theology

This passage is part of the theoretical and theological construct of A Course in Miracles.  We do not have to take on the theology of ACIM if we find it impossible to accept.  Jesus says that ACIM is concerned with the practical most of all, and the practical will prove the validity of ACIM.  If the ideas work in everyday life, then we will then be more open to considering some of the theology and the theory in back of the theology.  Theological debates are always controversial and therefore dividing among people.  We would not be separate from our brothers and sisters, to whom we are meant to bring salvation (a Text tenet).  We do not force our ideas, or even ACIM ideas, on anyone who is not ready.  But when others express an interest in what has changed our lives (ACIM), then is the time to speak.  Always ask the Holy Spirit what to say, and we are told in ACIM that what to say will come unfailingly into our minds.

2 – Sickness = A Physical Reality in an Illusory World

Sickness is a physical reality in our world, but the whole world is illusory.  We are told this with certainty.  This does not mean that we lack sympathy for the ill.  In many cases, recognizing the illusion in which our brother or sister believes may give us more sympathy.  But we ask for a healing, knowing that healing will occur–even when it is healing that we cannot see as either physical or emotional.  The healing has occurred.  This, of course, is more theory, and, just as I said above, we do not have to take unto ourselves anything that is dividing or too controversial.  The more we work with A Course in Miracles, the more likely we are to see its truth and to stop arguing with its tenets.  We are told that we may actively resist some of the teachings of ACIM in the Workbook, but none of this matters.  We are simply to do the exercises, and it is these that will convince us that Jesus is not misleading us.

3 – How to Heal the Belief in Separation?

How do we heal the belief in separation that has caused sickness?  That is not up to us.  It is the Holy Spirit, the Communicator from God, who carries out the miracle.  We are merely the instrument in His Hands.  If we recognize that the sense of separation has caused the sickness, we may be more likely to give up the folly of bringing sickness upon ourselves.

4 – Do Not Blame the Victim

Note that none of this theology blames the victim.  Everyone is doing the best that he/she can, given the understanding that he/she has at any given moment.

Prayer:

Dear Father/Mother,

I pray for Your wellness to follow me all the days of my life.  Help me fully to understand, while remaining in a positive mind slant, that sickness comes about when we believe in the illusory separation from You.  I would entertain only thoughts and words that illustrate our Oneness.  And I am a part of You, though the separation has made all of us find this idea a difficult one, and possibly one that would even be termed blasphemous.  This truth is not blasphemy.  Knowing–not perceiving–this truth is one of Your greatest blessings to me in this lifetime.

Be with us as we walk through another day.  May we remain grateful for Your manifold blessings to us.  May we focus on thanking You for those blessings.  May we never dwell on the negative, for to do so is to invite more negative.  We need to attract what You would have us attract, and that is only the good.

Thank You for allowing me to experience the felt Presence of You.

Amen.

An Ancient Truth

“The world but demonstrates an ancient truth; you will believe that others do to you exactly what you think you did to them.  But once deluded into blaming them you will not see the cause of what they do, because you want the guilt to rest on them. (T587)”

 

Affirmation:  “I believe that others do to me what I think I did to them.”

Reflections:

1 – Definition of Blaming

This passage sounds hard to understand at first glance.  Do we, we ask ourselves, really want the guilt to rest on others?  If we reflect a moment, we will realize that we do.  This is what “blaming” is all about.

2 – The Problem with Blaming Others

Some of us almost make a career out of blaming others for our misfortunes.  We automatically shift the blame to the outside, if we are outwardly directed.  But does this make a friend of our brother or sister?  We know not.  Our brothers and sisters have a hard time, often, forgiving us when we have blamed them for our plight, even when we might objectively think that they had some part in bringing that plight upon us.

3 – We See a Projected World

The philosophical basis of the Course is hinted at in this passage.  Our perceptions determine what we see, because what we see is a projected dream.  This means that our brothers and sisters are not in any way to blame when something terrible happens (or more likely, when we perceive something terrible has happened).  There are many bad things in this world, and Jesus in ACIM does not counsel that we close our eyes to the obvious.  But our projections do determine how those bad things affect us.  We are at home in God when we have a peaceful heart, mindful always that we are living in illusion.  The real Self of another has not been hurt, however bad the outer circumstances may become (an interpretation, not stated in ACIM directly).

4 – The Wishes of Others

We believe that others do not always wish kindness upon us, and therefore we see that.  And we think that we have been guilty of unkindness.  The “we” comes first.  We project the dream that we are bad people, guilty of much “sin,” and then we see others doing bad things to us.  This is the way that we learn.  This is a reason for the world’s existence in its present form.  When we realize that we need this world to correct our own errors, we will be well on our way to our real  home.

Prayer:

Dear Father/Mother,

I would not rely on the false premise that others have harmed me and that I am right in blaming them for any misfortunes that come.  I am projecting this dream, and I am responsible for what happens.  I know that this does not mean that I myself am “to blame,” either.   I would not see myself as a victim, either of myself or of others.

Be with me as I seek to understand these theological undertones of A Course in Miracles.  There is much that we do not understand, but may I take the little that I do understand and make the most of it.  Thank You for the blessing of A Course in Miracles.  These volumes do explain much that previously could only be given over to sometimes blind faith.  Thank You for knowing that we were ready for this knowledge.

May my own projections not create a difficult world for myself.  It is up to me in some measure to choose the life that I would have.  Help me to choose always to serve You without reserve.

Be with me as I go through this day.  May no stress pique my temper, and may I be guided by the love that You would have me show not only to others, but also to myself.

Amen.

The Prayer of the Heart

“It is impossible that the prayer of the heart remain unanswered in the perception of the one who asks.  If he asks for the impossible, if he wants what does not exist or seeks for illusions in his heart, all this becomes his own.  The power of his decision offers it to him as he requests.  Herein lie hell and Heaven.  (M53)”

Affirmation:  “May my prayer of the heart always ask for Heaven.”

Reflections:

Few of us know our hearts well.  We sometimes ask for things that we really don’t want, and yet in our hearts, we do, and then these prayers are answered.  Elsewhere Jesus assures us that God will protect us from danger in prayers that are really bad for us.  So even in the prayer of the heart we are protected..

We may not realize that we are protected, though.  We may, since projection makes perception (a Course tenet), find that erroneously we are in a situation that we didn’t think we asked for.  Yet, we did, on some level.  This is a particularly difficult concept when we are dealing with painful issues in our lives or in the world.

Elsewhere the Course says that we can believe what nobody else believes to be true, because in our perception, we have made it true for ourselves.  Particularly do we find this in emotional matters, but it is true in the physical as well.  This is not a “blame the victim” mentality, because we are not being punished, however much it may appear that we are.  God does not  punish, however much we may think punishment is warranted.  Our own decisions give us hell or Heaven.  That puts us in the driver’s seat, a very good place to be if we are attuned to God’s power and His way.

Prayer:

Dear Father/Mother,

May I know that You protect me always, even when I ask for things that would not be good for me.  Jesus assures me of this.  Yet my own perception can seem to give me bad things.  May my perception of my world be cleansed.

Thank You for helping through the confusions of this world.  I know that You love me always, and in that I will be protected.

Amen.