Freedom Principles; At-One-Meant Now

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My thoughts* on ACIM Lesson 198,, Warning: Triggers
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Only my condemnation injures me.
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* This means that God does not condemn me. Not that He does not exist. He knows I am as I was created.
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1. Injury is impossible. ²And yet illusion makes illusion. ³If you can condemn, you can be injured.
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* To state that something has occurred is not the same as condemning something. Nor is it making it “real” rather than recognizing it as part of the dream/illusion. It is having healthy boundaries which from my observation can be nearly unheard of here and now. There are all kinds of silent rules in society or family that interfere with genuinely taking care of our own space which begins in our minds.
* And what others think of you you cannot do anything about. That is why it is nice to know that God is in your corner and has your back under the direction of the Holy Spirit.
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⁴For you have believed that you can injure, and the right you have established for yourself can be now used against you, till you lay it down as valueless, unwanted and unreal.
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* Remember, Christ, at the instant of conception in the Mind of God, believed injury had occurred as separation from God was considered. We all have it and we each must make the decision to lay it aside. Not only from ourselves toward others but to ourselves.
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* I obviously bought into the idea of the possibility of injury from the setup of my life so far and I want to release that, NOT ONLY in my initial complete forgiveness of the Christ but in my walking day to day in life as I interact with others. Sending the Holy Spirit before me is one way I do this. Keeping at least a small smile on my face helps, and giving thanks for all who cross my path are ways that I want to focus on to help implement this change of mind and heart.
* Then I need to trust what the Holy Spirit tells me about a person or situation and not subject myself to the laws of courtesy or anything besides His direction. Nice is the new “screw you” canopy because if you are silly enough to be drawn in by it they are going to take advantage of it and treat you from wherever their ego story has them. It is like thieves and panhandlers in days of old. Trust the Holy Spirit to direct you. Seriously. “Ego” is not nice whether it is in a stranger or not.
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⁵Then does illusion cease to have effects, and those it seemed to have will be undone. ⁶Then are you free, for freedom is your gift, and you can now receive the gift you gave.
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* People will try and tell you that you have not done this. They will say your ego is showing when you are committed to following the inner voice of the Holy Spirit but you want to give yourself the space and benefit of the doubt to see if that is what you are doing. I had this happen this week from a couple of directions and I had to look at myself closely. I need to trust what I have done and not second guess what the Holy Spirit has revealed to me because some “body” out there says “it ain’t so”.
* And trust me, be careful who you share this experience with, because the ego is tricky and it can be turned on you once more and you will feel as if you must be insane, even while you are accepting sanity through the witness of the Holy Spirit.
* Everything that is called a “safe space” is not necessarily so.
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2. Condemn and you are made a prisoner. ²Forgive and you are freed.
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* If you know that you can see an offense of the ego and still look beyond it and feel the love and connection that you have with all that is (including the one that the offense appeared to come from) and know inside that nothing could break that you can rest assured that you ARE whole and in the Atonement. You have forgiven and are freed as you have allowed them to be. **THIS IS HUGE. It describes the vision that the Holy Spirit gives once you accept the complete forgiveness of creation through the Atonement.
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³Such is the law that rules perception. ⁴It is not a law that knowledge understands, for freedom is a part of knowledge.
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* Perception then, has two steps; seeing the offense and looking beyond it to the connection and Love that we have with all that is through the Sonship of the Son of God. Knowledge on the other hand, stands in the witness of freedom by its very definition.
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⁵To condemn is thus impossible in truth.
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* To condemn is impossible in truth. Even if one sees injuries within the illusion, because of the witness of the Holy Spirit that they are not real.
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⁶What seems to be its influence and its effects have not occurred at all.
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* “What seems” tells us that we will see them and the knowledge given by the Holy Spirit that “its effects have not occurred at all” will bring us peace.
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⁷Yet must we deal with them a while as if they had.
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* We “deal with them a while as if they had” by seeing them.
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⁸Illusion makes illusion.
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* And it will, as long as any part of the Sonship is not ready to partake of the Atonement and be released from the illusion.
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⁹Except one. ¹⁰Forgiveness is illusion that is answer to the rest.
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* Forgiveness does not mean then, that we do not identify an injury or offense but that we “see through it” by means of forgiveness and the witness or vision of the Holy Spirit as described above.
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3. Forgiveness sweeps all other dreams away, and though it is itself a dream, it breeds no others.
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* And how sweet it is! And it is possible to “see” this through tears of the deepest grief or terror. Though others may NOT be able to see what you “see” from within. I have experienced this. Not in every horrific accounting that humanity can imagine but through enough to be able to say with assurance that this is so.
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²All illusions save this one must multiply a thousandfold. ³But this is where illusions end.
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* Is this not how forgiveness can save us 1000’s of years of suffering?
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⁴Forgiveness is the end of dreams, because it is a dream of waking.
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* The “dream of waking”: forgiveness. What beautiful imagery!
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⁵It is not itself the truth.
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* Forgiveness was not a creation of God so it cannot be truth but a correction necessary due to the confusion of the Son to correct an error. So, it comes from God’s inspiration but has “no reality in creation” because it came about due to an “impossible” error.
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⁶Yet does it point to where the truth must be, and gives direction with the certainty of God Himself.
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* Here is the beauty of the affirmation of God’s existence expressed! “… the certainty of God Himself.”
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⁷It is a dream in which the Son of God awakens to his Self and to his Father, knowing They are one.
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* Yes, TRUE forgiveness of the illusions within the dream gives us A WITNESS OF “ME” as the CHRIST and of MY FATHER, GOD. And OUR relationship as ONE MADE UP OF MANY within ONE WHOLE COMPLETE “MIND”.
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4. Forgiveness is the only road that leads out of disaster, past all suffering, and finally away from death.
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* Amen!
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²How could there be another way, when this one is the plan of God Himself?
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* God is REAL! (~ to deny him is to deny you which many do)
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³And why would you oppose it, quarrel with it, seek to find a thousand ways in which it must be wrong; a thousand other possibilities?
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* Because we are running away from our own guilt. We want to be sure that we, ourselves, are included in the complete forgiveness.
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5. Is it not wiser to be glad you hold the answer to your problems in your hand?
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* Not because YOU made the answer or release possible but because you may choose it from the Hand and Heart of God, Himself.
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²Is it not more intelligent to thank the One Who gives salvation, and accept His gift with gratitude?
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* This One is God. His gift is complete forgiveness not from HIM but from YOURSELF. In other words, you forgive you. God does not have any need to forgive what you could never have done except in a bad dream.
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³And is it not a kindness to yourself to hear His Voice and learn the simple lessons He would teach, instead of trying to dismiss His words, and substitute your own in place of His?
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* His Voice is the still small voice within known as the Holy Spirit. This is what becomes available to us as we forgive. Direction directly from God. Communion with God and through Him to all of the Sonship.
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6. His words will work. ²His words will save. ³His words contain all hope, all blessing and all joy that ever can be found upon this earth. ⁴His words are born in God, and come to you with Heaven’s love upon them.
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* This you can count on from the Holy Spirit.
* DO NOT think you can count on the fact that others will understand what you are saying from forgiveness nor hear you from the place of forgiveness themselves. More than likely, even those proclaiming great spirituality, such as those who have experienced wondrous things of the near-death experience may see you as ego and lay judgment on you, as well as labels, insisting that you get additional education from another “body” (person) even though you have found your True Northern guidance in God, Himself through the Holy Spirit. (Yep, been there, done that.)
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⁵Those who hear His words have heard the song of Heaven.
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* Beautiful!
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⁶For these are the words in which all merge as one at last.
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* One WORD, even the fullness of the Son of God as the last bit of confusion gives way to the complete forgiveness of the Atonement.
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⁷And as this one will fade away, the Word of God will come to take its place, for it will be remembered then and loved.
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* The Word of God is Christ, Himself. Each of us together as a Whole, united in the witness that God IS. And NOTHING outside of Him is real.
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7. This world has many seeming separate haunts where mercy has no meaning, and attack appears as justified.
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* Justification cannot be given as a reason to attack. (Even though “healthy boundaries” have been known to be called “attack” they are not.)
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²Yet all are one; a place where death is offered to God’s Son and to his Father.
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* The death of both can be heard in discussions of ACIM as the ego finds a way to take the message of Jesus and convince you that you are “NOT”, and neither is God.
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³You may think They have accepted.
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* You may think that God and His Son have accepted death.
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⁴But if you will look again upon the place where you beheld Their blood, you will perceive a miracle instead.
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* The miracle. The truth that neither God nor His Son can be destroyed because it is an impossibility. (The Holy Instant reveals this through the witness of the Holy Spirit.)
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⁵How foolish to believe that They could die! ⁶How foolish to believe you can attack! ⁷How mad to think that you could be condemned, and that the holy Son of God can die!
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* I would almost like to see capitals on each of these pronouns. “You” are a part of the Sonship of Christ. ~ Just in this reference because I think it really applies. (And not that I am suggesting a rewrite of anything. Just awareness for consideration.)
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8. The stillness of your Self remains unmoved, untouched by thoughts like these, and unaware of any condemnation which could need forgiveness.
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* This is the peace which we can have inside that has no rational reason to be there.
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²Dreams of any kind are strange and alien to the truth. ³And what but truth could have a Thought which builds a bridge to it that brings illusions to the other side?
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* So, we (the Thought) can build the bridge that takes the illusion to Heaven. Yay!
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9. Today we practice letting freedom come to make its home with you. ²The truth bestows these words upon your mind, that you may find the key to light and let the darkness end:
³Only my condemnation injures me.
⁴Only my own forgiveness sets me free.
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* 100% Correct!
* However, do not think that this takes the place of God! Nor see yourself or anyone else as savior. God is the one who deserves the praise because He is the one who gave you the bridge (and everything else). (**And I do not care if it says you are “savior” in another place in the Course! The reason for that was to allow Helen to feel comfortable with it OR to appease Kenneth’s new found wisdom on the teachings of Jesus and his insistence that there be a savior noted in what was also called the Christ.)
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⁵Do not forget today that there can be no form of suffering that fails to hide an unforgiving thought.
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* I am going to put a caveat on this statement and say that there is PTSpD. Post Traumatic Separation Disorder comes from being a part of the illusion as long as we are not all within the Atonement.
* Here, in PTSpD, there can be sorrow, grief, and any amount of emotion, however, it is also understood that what brings about the emotion IS NOT REAL. It in no way interferes with your joy, peace, and happiness that the complete forgiveness of the Atonement brings. Even though it can be temporarily difficult to manuever.
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⁶Nor can there be a form of pain forgiveness cannot heal.
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* Likewise, PTSpD is applicable here as well. And amen to the statement that forgiveness heals! Forgiveness needs to be applied like a balm or ointment over any form of distress because it is an impossibility, even though it can feel so real here.
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10. Accept the one illusion which proclaims there is no condemnation in God’s Son, and Heaven is remembered instantly; the world forgotten, all its weird beliefs forgotten with it, as the face of Christ appears unveiled at last in this one dream. ²This is the gift the Holy Spirit holds for you from God your Father. ³Let today be celebrated both on earth and in your holy home as well. ⁴Be kind to Both, as you forgive the trespasses you thought Them guilty of, and see your innocence shining upon you from the face of Christ.
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* Be kind to earth and your experience there and your holy home as well.
* In our holy home we thought that Christ, as a whole, had made this error of belief in separation from God and yet it was corrected as soon as it became a concrete thought. I do not think I need to explain the way we see errors here on earth. lol
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11. Now is there silence all around the world. ²Now is there stillness where before there was a frantic rush of thoughts that made no sense. ³Now is there tranquil light across the face of earth, made quiet in a dreamless sleep. ⁴And now the Word of God alone remains upon it. ⁵Only that can be perceived an instant longer.
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* I take “silence” to be a reflection on the lack of contention and strife rather than silence in our use of the word which means no speaking or form of expression.
* The Word of God in Jesus’ vernacular is Christ, the Son of God. It is God’s Word manifested not in any particular form but in expression. That we might see only Christ everywhere.
* There will be a time when all parts of the Sonship are aligned and that will have its own expression that is eternal creation.
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⁶Then are symbols done, and everything you ever thought you made completely vanished from the mind that God forever knows to be His only Son.
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* In another place in the Course around Chapter Eighteen, it says that what is removed is all that is unloving. And that what remains is Heaven. So I do not take this verbatim as if “everything” vanishes but “that which is false” vanishes and I understand this is a stickler of a situation for many Course students.
* Is it possible that with the original error of belief in separation from God that many time lines and dimensions have been thrown together and smashed into a linear construct so dense that it seems to require laws without number to maintain safe existence? Could this be why it is possible to be drawn to multiple lovers, for instance, whether you carry out the behavior or not, you know what I mean?
I believe that the “Heaven” includes all possibilities for any Loving thought or outcome and that we may visit all places at the same “time” etc. I think it is an intriguing thing to consider.
We are not our bodies and yet bodies seem to be a tool of experience here, yet it is only to communicate God’s Love to His Son. Hmm.
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12. There is no condemnation in him. ²He is perfect in his holiness. ³He needs no thoughts of mercy.
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* This does not mean that the Son (you) does not need His (your) Father, God.
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⁴Who could give him gifts when everything is his?
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⁵And who could dream of offering forgiveness to the Son of Sinlessness Itself, so like to Him Whose Son he is, that to behold the Son is to perceive no more, and only know the Father?
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⁶In this vision of the Son, so brief that not an instant stands between this single sight and timelessness itself, you see the vision of yourself, and then you disappear forever into God.
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* 5 and 6 do not seem to align with what I know about what Jesus teaches or what the Holy Spirit has taught me. I suspect it is the teaching of the Trinity as it was understood in the sixties which had Father, Son and Holy Spirit as one being as taught by the predominant denomination of Christianity at that time.
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13. Today we come still nearer to the end of everything that yet would stand between this vision and our sight. ²And we are glad that we have come this far, and recognize that He Who brought us here will not forsake us now. ³For He would give to us the gift that God has given us through Him today. ⁴Now is the time for your deliverance. ⁵The time has come. ⁶The time has come today.
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* “He Who brought us here” would be the Holy Spirit, sent with the gift of the witness of Christ that allows us to embrace the complete forgiveness of the Atonement.
* Again, this vision which is described in 5 and 6 of 12 I do not see as correct representation of Jesus’ teachings.
* The deliverance is from the blinders to God’s Love, not from our “being.”
* If we call it Christ’s Vision and not God’s we are placing a False-Savior in front of us once again and placing a barrier betweent the Love of God and Him Son.
*This is my understanding today.
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Thank you for sharing this discussion with me. Till next time, God bless, debi.