Let me recognize the problem so it can be solved.
* This statement makes me very nervous.
* It suggests that all problems are solved in the world of form, NOW.
* I suspect that is not its meaning.
1. A problem cannot be solved if you do not know what it is.
* The problem always has to do with belief in separation from God.
²Even if it is really solved already you will still have the problem, because you will not recognize that it has been solved.
* I suggest that this lesson is referring to the fact that there really is no problem because there really is no separation from God. But not having everyone on board with this understanding means that problems will seem to be there when they in fact are not.
³This is the situation of the world.
* From what I read this was not the understanding of the core group that founded the publication of A Course in Miracles. Even Bill’s greatest achievement seems to be being ‘fluid’ enough to not be troubled by anyone’s flustrations.
⁴The problem of separation, which is really the only problem, has already been solved.
* The idea of separation from God which leads to belief in separation from other parts of creation is really the ONLY problem.
⁵Yet the solution is not recognized because the problem is not recognized.
* We are able to understand it for ourselves but we are not able to understand it for someone else and this is CRITICLE to understand.
2. Everyone in this world seems to have his own special problems.
²Yet they are all the same, and must be recognized as one if the one solution that solves them all is to be accepted.
* This is what is found within the true forgiveness of the Atonement because it forgives the idea of separation.
* The foundational founders of the Course did not understand this.
³Who can see that a problem has been solved if he thinks the problem is something else?
* The problem is ALWAYS belief in separation from God. We think that we can ignore His reality and the problem will be something else.
⁴Even if he is given the answer, he cannot see its relevance.
* This is how the civilized world has dealt with A Course in Miracles for 45 years.
3. That is the position in which you find yourself now.
²You have the answer, but you are still uncertain about what the problem is.
* How could the core group teach true unity when God, Himself was not allowed to be recognized?
³A long series of different problems seems to confront you, and as one is settled the next one and the next arise.
* Life as we experience is fraught with death, divorce, illness, handicaps, ‘natural’ disasters, and so forth which are the results of the belief that creation is separate from the Creator.
⁴There seems to be no end to them.
⁵There is no time in which you feel completely free of problems and at peace.
* I live in a state of peace regardless of what life presents to me, including a broken leg and a romance gone awry because I understand that all things which do not bring complete bliss and joy ARE the result of the original belief that Creator and creation could be separated.
4. The temptation to regard problems as many is the temptation to keep the problem of separation unsolved.
* Honestly, it truly does simplify things and makes a lot of sense once you allow yourself to live in the awareness of this truth for a while. Yeah, at first it may be uncomfortable as all CHANGE can be at this time where belief in separation rules our existence.
²The world seems to present you with a vast number of problems, each requiring a different answer.
* Wow, this one can be especially hard to swallow but if it were understood IMAGINE what issues we could resolve in the world and make life a more serene experience!!!
³This perception places you in a position in which your problem solving must be inadequate, and failure is inevitable.
5. No one could solve all the problems the world appears to hold.
²They seem to be on so many levels, in such varying forms and with such varied content, that they confront you with an impossible situation.
³Dismay and depression are inevitable as you regard them.
⁴Some spring up unexpectedly, just as you think you have resolved the previous ones. ⁵Others remain unsolved under a cloud of denial, and rise to haunt you from time to time, only to be hidden again but still unsolved.
6. All this complexity is but a desperate attempt not to recognize the problem, and therefore not to let it be resolved.
* In other words, self-sabotage.
²If you could recognize that your only problem is separation, no matter what form it takes, you could accept the answer because you would see its relevance.
* It really is a matter of acknowledging that God really is all-knowing, all-powerful, and everywhere and that He has acknowledged His Son which gives His Son Existence; and having given God’s All to the Son, the Son IS All That Is.
³Perceiving the underlying constancy in all the problems that seem to confront you, you would understand that you have the means to solve them all.
* Yes, IN GOD’s RECOGNITION.
⁴And you would use the means, because you recognize the problem.
* Bring God into the situation. This resolves the problem whether it APPEARS to be resolved immediately or not.
7. In our longer practice periods today we will ask what the problem is, and what is the answer to it.
²We will not assume that we already know.
* You may IF you know that God truly is all that there is and has NO opposition as ‘Christianity’ and the frightened ego has taught us.
³We will try to free our minds of all the many different kinds of problems we think we have.
⁴We will try to realize that we have only one problem, which we have failed to recognize.
⁵We will ask what it is, and wait for the answer.
⁶We will be told.
⁷Then we will ask for the solution to it.
⁸And we will be told.
* Apply the believe in separation from God to the problem as its solution. What is the feeling that you get? Is it one of peace? Is it one of joy? That is the Holy Spirit speaking to you.
8. The exercises for today will be successful to the extent to which you do not insist on defining the problem.
²Perhaps you will not succeed in letting all your preconceived notions go, but that is not necessary.
³All that is necessary is to entertain some doubt about the reality of your version of what your problems are.
⁴You are trying to recognize that you have been given the answer by recognizing the problem, so that the problem and the answer can be brought together and you can be at peace.
9. The shorter practice periods for today will not be set by time, but by need.
²You will see many problems today, each one calling for an answer.
³Our efforts will be directed toward recognizing that there is only one problem and one answer.
⁴In this recognition are all problems resolved.
⁵In this recognition there is peace.
* Yes.
10. Be not deceived by the form of problems today.
²Whenever any difficulty seems to rise, tell yourself quickly:
³Let me recognize this problem so it can be solved.
⁴Then try to suspend all judgment about what the problem is.
⁵If possible, close your eyes for a moment and ask what it is.
⁶You will be heard and you will be answered.
* Okay, let’s get practical here. I am not going to convince my ‘partner’ that the Atonement is something that is worth having on my mind ALL of the time if he is not ready to even look at it because he has a shield of tradition and old memories that he holds up in front of me.
* Nor am I going to be able to speak with him of my devotion if he feels unworthy at his core because of his belief that he is even able to sin.
* Nor am I going to be able to be with him if he sees the internet as a world of degradation and sin. (Do you think he might have gotten his porn from there?) Yeah, I live and breathe with the internet because it allows me the one place that I actually can share my testimony (in 2024) without being thrown in jail, stoned, or otherwise ridiculed and shunned.
* Back to the ‘problem,’ IE my ‘partner’ and I not being able to share quarters (a living space) or mutual respect is due to the belief that God is separated from His Son and that there can be anything outside of their mutual enjoyment.
* I can see this and seek the satisfaction of mutual companionship and fun in diversity of our two experiences and personalities but he demands that I fit into a prefabricated ideal of what his partner ought to be and I cannot do this.
* Resolution, at least temporarily, is for me to have my own space to be free to be me and for him to maybe get a pet to teach him that he is not the god he wants to serve but that there is a bigger God that wants to allow freedom for the Whole Sonship that is Christ to experience life and diversity because this is why the Father wanted a Son in the first place; to share in the delight of the diversity of expression of Love.
* I pray this lifts us to a better place, in the Name of Christ, amen.
(ACIM, W-79.1:1–10:6)
Till next time, God bless, debi.
Freedom Principles; At-One-Meant Now 
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