Hi,
I'm Teresa Hubbard.
Welcome back to our continued reading of the text to A Course in Miracles.
We continue today in Chapter 11,
God or the Ego,
Section 2,
The Invitation to Healing.
To summarize my takeaways,
In Section 2 of Chapter 11,
We learn that we will not rest until we know our function and fulfill it.
For only in this can our will and our Father's be wholly joined.
Our decision to heal is the first step toward recognizing what we truly want.
Having forgotten our will,
We do not know what we truly want.
Healing then becomes a lesson in understanding,
And the more we practice it,
The better teacher and learner we become.
Healing is a sign that we want to make whole,
And this willingness opens our ears to the voice for God,
The Holy Spirit,
Whose message is wholeness.
The Holy Spirit is always with us,
Although He cannot help us without our invitation,
For whomever we invite as our guest will abide with us.
With our invitation,
No matter how slight at first,
The little spark within us becomes a blazing light that fills our mind.
What can we not accomplish with the Fatherhood of God in us?
We who have God must be as God,
For His function becomes ours with His gift.
We must invite this knowledge back into our minds and let nothing that obscures it enter.
The Holy Spirit will teach us how to do this.
If we but recognize the little spark within us and are willing to let it grow,
Our willingness need not be perfect,
Because His is.
If we will merely offer the Holy Spirit a little space in our mind,
He will lighten it so much that we will gladly let it be increased,
And by this increase,
We will begin to remember who we are.
Let us not be satisfied with imaginary comforters,
For the Comforter of God is in us.
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 truth,
Nothing more.
A few terms you will hear within this reading.
God,
The Creator,
The Source of all being,
Or Life.
God's essence is Spirit,
Which is shared with all creation.
Yet the word God can be limiting,
Since universal energy and life are infinitely vast and cannot be contained in a word.
The two teachers are the ego and the Holy Spirit.
The ego is our belief in the separated or false self that we made as a substitute for the self that God created.
The Holy Spirit is the communication link between God and us,
Bridging the gap between the mind of Christ and our human minds,
The voice for God,
Will of God,
The expression of God's being,
Through our unity and wholeness with God,
Vision dawns upon us that our will is also God's will.
And now,
On to the reading.
A Course in Miracles Chapter 11,
God or the Ego,
Section 2,
The Invitation to Healing.
If sickness is separation,
The decision to heal and to be healed is the first step toward recognizing what you truly want.
Every attack is a step away from this,
And every healing thought brings it closer.
The Son of God has both Father and Son,
Because He is both Father and Son.
To unite having and being is to unite your will with God's,
For He wills you Himself,
And you will yourself to Him,
Because in your perfect understanding of Him,
You know there is but one will.
But when you attack any part of God and His Kingdom,
Your understanding is not perfect,
And what you really want is therefore lost to you.
Healing thus becomes a lesson in understanding,
And the more you practice it,
The better teacher and learner you become.
If you have denied truth,
What better witnesses to its reality could you have than those who have been healed by it?
But be sure to count yourself among them,
For in your willingness to join them is your healing accomplished.
Every miracle that you accomplish speaks to you of the Fatherhood of God.
Every healing thought that you accept,
Either from your brother or in your own mind,
Teaches you that you are God's Son.
In every hurtful thought you hold,
Wherever you perceive it,
Lies the denial of God's Fatherhood and of your Sonship.
And denial is as total as love.
You cannot deny part of yourself,
Because the rest will seem to be separate,
And therefore without meaning.
And being without meaning to you,
You will not understand it.
To deny meaning is to fail to understand.
You can heal only yourself,
For only God's Son needs healing.
You need it because you do not understand yourself,
And therefore know not what you do.
Having forgotten your will,
You do not know what you really want.
Healing is a sign that you want to make whole,
And this willingness opens your ears to the voice of the Holy Spirit,
Whose message is wholeness.
He will enable you to go far beyond the healing you would undertake.
For beside your small willingness to make whole,
He will lay His own complete will and make yours whole.
What can the Son of God not accomplish with the Fatherhood of God in Him?
And yet the invitation must come from you,
For you have surely learned that whom you invite as your guest will abide with you.
The Holy Spirit cannot speak to an unwelcoming host,
Because He will not be heard.
The eternal guest remains,
But His voice grows faint in alien company.
He needs your protection,
Only because your care is a sign that you want Him.
Think like Him ever so slightly,
And the little spark becomes a blazing light that fills your mind so that He becomes your only guest.
Whenever you ask the ego to enter,
You lessen the Holy Spirit's welcome.
The Holy Spirit will remain,
But you have allied yourself against Him.
Whatever journey you choose to take,
He will go with you,
Waiting.
You can safely trust His patience,
For He cannot leave a part of God.
Yet you need far more than patience.
You will never rest until you know your function and fulfill it.
For only in this can your will and your Father's be wholly joined.
To have Him is to be like Him,
And He has given Himself to you.
You who have God must be as God,
For His function became yours with His gift.
Invite this knowledge back into your mind,
And let nothing that obscures it enter.
The guest whom God sent you will teach you how to do this,
If you but recognize the little spark and are willing to let it grow.
Your willingness need not be perfect,
Because His is.
If you will merely offer Him a little place,
He will lighten it so much that you will gladly let it be increased,
And by this increase you will begin to remember creation.
Would you be hostage to the ego,
Or host to God?
You will accept only whom you invite.
You are free to determine who shall be your guest,
And how long he shall remain with you.
But this is not real freedom,
For it still depends on you how you see it.
The Holy Spirit is there,
Although He cannot help you without your invitation.
And the ego is nothing,
Whether you invite it in or not.
Real freedom depends on welcoming reality,
And of your guests,
Only the Holy Spirit is real.
Know then who abides with you,
Merely by recognizing what is there already,
And do not be satisfied with imaginary comforters,
For the comforter of God is in you.
