Hi,
I'm Teresa Hubbard.
Welcome back to our continued reading of the text to A Course in Miracles.
We continue today in Chapter 1,
The Meaning of Miracles,
Section 6,
The Illusion of Needs.
To summarize my takeaways,
In Section 6 of Chapter 1 we are told that we have the ability to create in the likeness of our Creator.
Yet this is often only in attitude,
Not content.
In attitude we create like God,
Who has perfect faith in His creations.
Yet in content we often create fear,
Which does not exist.
In this sense,
Our creations are an illusion,
Yet we believe them to be real.
We are told that the real purpose of this world is to correct our misguided belief that we are separate from God.
This sense of separation from God is the only error that needs correction.
It is our source of fear,
Which we create ourselves.
Space,
Like time,
Is used as a tool to correct vertically from the bottom up.
Once the bottom level,
Our sense of separation from God,
Has been corrected,
Then we are able to see other levels that need correction.
All aspects of fear are untrue.
For this purpose we are given a test.
When we are willing to submit our beliefs to this test,
We are given freedom,
A miracle,
Because this test sorts the true from the false.
This is the gift of faith offered us by God.
The test is,
Perfect love casts out fear.
If fear exists,
Then there is no perfect love.
But,
Only perfect love exists.
If there is fear,
It produces a state that does not exist.
Therefore using this test,
If we perceive fear,
We are experiencing an egoic state of illusion.
If we recognize perfect love,
We have opened to the real world,
Which the miracle offers.
I invite you to keep a few things in mind as you listen to the reading.
The Course uses male pronouns,
Yet this is simply a way of pointing to the spiritual being,
Having no gender.
The Course is written in first person,
And although not introduced directly to the reader,
It becomes clear that the words are from Jesus,
Often quoting from the Bible.
The Course uses traditional Christian terms in a non-traditional manner.
These words are simply pointers to the truth,
Nothing more.
A few definitions of terms you will hear within the reading.
Forgiveness.
A shift in our perception of an other to brother or friend.
The ability to look at ourselves or others without guilt or judgment.
Creation.
The extension of God's being or spirit.
Although we are creators,
Created in the likeness of our Creator,
Our creations are either true,
Sourced from love,
Or untrue,
Sourced from fear.
Spirit.
The nature of our true reality,
Which being of God,
Is changeless and eternal.
Separation.
The untrue belief in sin that affirms our identity as separate from our Creator.
This idea is represented by the ego,
Which results in a world filled with perceptions of pain,
Suffering,
And death.
Ego.
Our belief in the separated or false self,
Made as a substitute for the self that God created.
Perception.
What we see inwardly determines what we see outwardly.
Miracle.
The change in mind that shifts our perception,
Transcending the laws of this world to reflect the laws of God.
Through the Holy Spirit,
Our worldly perception of sin,
Guilt,
And fear is transformed into the reality of love and forgiveness.
The miracle provides the means to heal our own minds and the minds of others.
Holy Spirit.
The communication link between God and us,
Bridging the gap between the mind of Christ and our human minds.
Christ.
The self that God created by extension of His Spirit.
This represents the potential within each of us.
Real world.
Through total forgiveness,
We are released from our perception of guilt,
Allowing us to see the vision of Christ,
Which blesses rather than condemns.
And now,
On to the reading.
A Course in Miracles Chapter 1.
The Meaning of Miracles.
Section 6.
The Illusion of Needs.
You who want peace can find it only by complete forgiveness.
No learning is acquired by anyone unless he wants to learn it and believes in some way that he needs it.
While lack does not exist in the creation of God,
It is very apparent in what you have made.
This is,
In fact,
The essential difference between them.
Lack implies that you would be better off in a state somehow different from the one you were in.
Until the quote separation,
End quote,
Which is the meaning of quote the fall,
End quote,
Nothing was lacking.
There were no needs at all.
Needs arise only when you deprive yourself.
You act according to the particular order of needs you establish.
This in turn depends on your perception of what you are.
A sense of separation from God is the only lack you really need correct.
This sense of separation would never have arisen if you had not distorted your perception of truth and had thus perceived yourself as lacking.
The idea of order of needs arose because,
Having made this fundamental error,
You had already fragmented yourself into levels with different needs.
As you integrate,
You become one,
And your needs become one accordingly.
Unified needs lead to unified action,
Because this produces a lack of conflict.
The idea of orders of need,
Which follows from the original error that one can be separated from God,
Requires correction at its own level before the error of perceiving levels at all can be corrected.
You cannot behave effectively while you function on different levels.
However,
While you do,
Correction must be introduced vertically from the bottom up.
This is because you think you live in space,
Where concepts such as up and down are meaningful.
Ultimately,
Space is as meaningless as time.
Both are merely beliefs.
The real purpose of this world is to use it to correct your unbelief.
You can never control the effects of fear yourself,
Because you made fear,
And you believe in what you made.
In attitude,
Then,
Though not in content,
You resemble your Creator,
Who has perfect faith in His creations because He created them.
Belief produces the acceptance of existence.
That is why you can believe what no one else thinks is true.
It is true for you,
Because it was made by you.
All aspects of fear are untrue because they do not exist at the creative level,
And therefore do not exist at all.
To whatever extent you are willing to submit your beliefs to this test,
To that extent are your perceptions corrected.
In sorting out the false from the true,
The miracle proceeds along these lines.
Perfect love casts out fear.
If fear exists,
Then there is not perfect love.
But only perfect love exists.
If there is fear,
It produces a state that does not exist.
Believe this and you will be free.
Only God can establish the solution,
And this faith is His gift.
