A Course In Miracles, Chapter 12, Section VII
ACIM is read one section at a time. It is a guidebook leading us back to our true natures, as we open to the awareness of love's presence. All quoted material is from A Course in Miracles, copyright ©1992, 1999, 2007 by the Foundation for Inner Peace, publisher, and the copyright holder. This material is used with permission. Glossary-Index for a Course In Miracles, 8th edition, Kenneth Wapnick, Ph.D. Music: Bensound
Transcript
Hi,
I'm Teresa Hubbard.
Welcome back to our continued reading of the text to A Course in Miracles.
We continue today in Chapter 12,
The Holy Spirit's Curriculum,
Section 7,
Looking Within.
To summarize my takeaways,
In Section 7 of Chapter 12 we are reminded that there is no situation to which miracles do not apply,
And by applying them to all situations,
We gain the real world.
Miracles demonstrate that learning has occurred under the right guidance.
For learning is invisible,
And what has been learned can be recognized only by its results.
Jesus tells us here that He is the manifestation of the Holy Spirit,
And when we see Him,
It is because we have invited the Holy Spirit within.
The Holy Spirit will send us His witnesses if we will but look only upon them.
As we look within,
We choose the guide for seeing.
When we want only love,
We will see nothing else.
The contradictory nature of the witnesses we perceive is merely the reflection of our conflicting invitations.
The power of decision for who we invite is our one remaining freedom as prisoners of this earthly world.
When we look within and see Christ,
It will be because we have decided to manifest truth.
As we manifest truth,
We will see it both within and without.
We will see it without because we saw it first within.
Then everything we behold is a judgment of what we beheld within.
If it is our judgment,
It causes suffering because judgment is not our function.
Yet if it is the Holy Spirit's judgment we see within,
It will open us to love because judgment is the Holy Spirit's function,
Transforming our perceptions into truth.
We share the Holy Spirit's function only by judging as He does,
For we will judge against ourselves,
But the Holy Spirit will always judge for 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.
Holy Spirit,
The communication link between God and us,
Bridging the gap between the mind of Christ and our human minds,
The voice for God.
Ego,
Our belief in the separated or false self that we made as a substitute for the self that God created.
Heaven,
The real world where God and His creations dwell in perfect unity.
Real world,
Through total forgiveness we are released from our perception of sin and guilt,
Allowing us to see through the vision of Christ,
Which blesses rather than condemns.
Death,
Death is a complete illusion,
For life and spirit cannot be lessened,
Killed,
Or changed in any way.
Yet bodies do cease to function,
And are laid down after having fulfilled their purpose as a teaching device.
And now,
On to the reading.
A Course in Miracles Chapter 12,
The Holy Spirit's Curriculum.
Section 7,
Looking Within.
Miracles demonstrate that learning has occurred under the right guidance.
For learning is invisible,
And what has been learned can be recognized only by its results.
Its generalization is demonstrated as you use it in more and more situations.
You will recognize that you have learned there is no order of difficulty in miracles when you apply them to all situations.
There is no situation to which miracles do not apply,
And by applying them to all situations you will gain the real world.
For in this holy perception you will be made whole,
And the atonement will radiate from your acceptance of it for yourself to everyone the Holy Spirit sends you for your blessing.
In every child of God his blessing lies,
And in your blessing of the children of God is his blessing to you.
Everyone in the world must play his part in its redemption in order to recognize that the world has been redeemed.
You cannot see the invisible,
Yet if you see its effects you know it must be there.
By perceiving what it does you recognize its being,
And by what it does you learn what it is.
You cannot see your strengths,
But you gain confidence in their existence as they enable you to act,
And the results of your actions you can see.
The Holy Spirit is invisible,
But you can see the results of his presence,
And through them you will learn that he is there.
What he enables you to do is clearly not of this world,
For miracles violate every law of reality as this world judges it.
Every law of time and space,
Of magnitude and mass is transcended,
For what the Holy Spirit enables you to do is clearly beyond all of them.
Perceiving his results you will understand where he must be,
And finally know what he is.
You cannot see the Holy Spirit,
But you can see his manifestations,
And unless you do you will not realize he is there.
Miracles are his witnesses and speak for his presence.
What you cannot see becomes real to you only through the witnesses that speak for it.
For you can be aware of what you cannot see,
And it can become compellingly real to you as its presence becomes manifest through you.
Do the Holy Spirit's work,
For you share in his function.
As your function in heaven is creation,
So your function on earth is healing.
God shares his function with you in heaven,
And the Holy Spirit shares his with you on earth.
As long as you believe you have other functions,
So long will you need correction,
For this belief is the destruction of peace,
A goal in direct opposition to the Holy Spirit's purpose.
You see what you expect,
And you expect what you invite.
Your perception is the result of your invitation,
Coming to you as you sent for it.
Whose manifestations would you see?
Of whose presence would you be convinced?
For you will believe in what you manifest,
And as you look out,
So will you see in.
Two ways of looking at the world are in your mind,
And your perception will reflect the guidance you have chosen.
I am the manifestation of the Holy Spirit,
And when you see me,
It will be because you have invited him,
For he will send you his witnesses if you will but look upon them.
Remember always that you see what you seek,
For what you seek you will find.
The ego finds what it seeks,
And only that.
It does not find love,
For that is not what it is seeking,
Yet seeking and finding are the same,
And if you seek for two goals,
You will find them,
But you will recognize neither.
You will think they are the same,
Because you want both of them.
The mind always strives for integration,
And if it is split,
And wants to keep the split,
It will still believe it has one goal by making it seem to be one.
I said before that what you project or extend is up to you,
But you must do one or the other,
For that is a law of mind,
And you must look in before you look out.
As you look in,
You choose the guide for seeing,
And then you look out and behold his witnesses.
That is why you find what you seek.
What you want in yourself you will make manifest,
And you will accept it from the world because you put it there by wanting it.
When you think you are projecting what you do not want,
It is still because you do want it.
This leads directly to dissociation,
For it represents the acceptance of two goals,
Each perceived in a different place,
Separated from each other because you made them different.
The mind then sees a divided world outside itself,
But not within.
This gives it an illusion of integrity,
And enables it to believe that it is pursuing one goal.
Yet as long as you perceive the world as split,
You are not healed.
For to be healed is to pursue one goal,
Because you have accepted only one,
And want but one.
When you want only love,
You will see nothing else.
The contradictory nature of the witnesses you perceive is merely the reflection of your conflicting invitations.
You have looked upon your mind and accepted opposition there,
Having sought it there.
But do not then believe that the witnesses for opposition are true,
For they attest only to your decision about reality,
Returning to you the messages you gave them.
Love too is recognized by its messengers.
If you make love manifest,
Its messengers will come to you,
Because you invited them.
The power of decision is your one remaining freedom as a prisoner of this world.
You can decide to see it right.
What you made of it is not its reality,
For its reality is only what you give it.
You cannot really give anything but love to anyone or anything,
Nor can you really receive anything but love from them.
If you think you have received anything else,
It is because you have looked within and thought you saw the power to give something else within yourself.
It was only this decision that determined what you found,
For it was the decision for what you sought.
You are afraid of me,
Because you looked within and are afraid of what you saw.
Yet you could not have seen reality,
For the reality of your mind is the loveliest of God's creations.
Coming only from God,
Its power and grandeur could only bring you peace,
If you really looked upon it.
If you are afraid,
It is because you saw something that is not there.
Yet in that same place,
You could have looked upon me and all your brothers,
In the perfect safety of the mind which created us.
For we are there in the peace of the Father,
Who wills to extend His peace through you.
When you have accepted your mission to extend peace,
You will find peace,
For by making it manifest you will see it.
Its holy witnesses will surround you,
Because you called upon them,
And they will come to you.
I have heard your call,
And I have answered it.
But you will not look upon me,
Nor hear the answer that you sought.
That is because you do not yet want only that.
Yet as I become more real to you,
You will learn that you do want only that.
And you will see me as you look within,
And we will look upon the real world together.
Through the eyes of Christ,
Only the real world exists,
And only the real world can be seen.
As you decide,
So will you see.
And all that you see,
But witnesses to your decision.
When you look within and see me,
It will be because you have decided to manifest truth.
And as you manifest it,
You will see it both within and without.
You will see it without,
Because you saw it first within.
Everything you behold without is a judgment of what you beheld within.
If it is your judgment,
It will be wrong.
For judgment is not your function.
If it is the judgment of the Holy Spirit,
It will be right,
For judgment is His function.
You share His function only by judging as He does,
Reserving no judgment at all for yourself.
You will judge against yourself,
But He will judge for you.
Remember then,
That whenever you look without and react unfavorably to what you see,
You have judged yourself unworthy and have condemned yourself to death.
The death penalty is the ego's ultimate goal,
For it fully believes that you are a criminal as deserving of death as God knows you are deserving of life.
The death penalty never leaves the ego's mind,
For that is what it always reserves for you in the end.
Wanting to kill you as the final expression of its feeling for you,
It lets you live,
But to await death.
It will torment you while you live,
But its hatred is not satisfied until you die.
For your destruction is the one end toward which it works,
And the only end with which it will be satisfied.
The ego is not a traitor to God,
To whom treachery is impossible,
But it is a traitor to you,
Who believe that you have been treacherous to your Father.
That is why the undoing of guilt is an essential part of the Holy Spirit's teaching.
For as long as you feel guilty,
You are listening to the voice of the ego,
Which tells you that you have been treacherous to God,
And therefore deserve death.
You will think that death comes from God,
And not from the ego,
Because by confusing yourself with the ego,
You believe that you want death,
And from what you want,
God does not save you.
When you are tempted to yield to the desire for death,
Remember that I did not die.
You will realize that this is true when you look within and see me.
Would I have overcome death for myself alone?
And would eternal life have been given me of the Father unless He had also given it to you?
When you learn to make me manifest,
You will never see death.
For you will have looked upon the deathless in yourself,
And you will see only the eternal,
As you look out upon a world that cannot die.
