A Course In Miracles - Chapter 13, Section VIII
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 13,
The Guiltless World,
Section 8,
From Perception to Knowledge.
To summarize my takeaways,
In Section 8 of Chapter 13,
We learn that the very real difference between perception and knowledge becomes quite apparent if we consider this.
There is nothing partial about knowledge.
Every aspect is whole,
And therefore no aspect is separate.
We then are an aspect of knowledge being in the mind of God,
Who knows us.
Therefore all knowledge must be ours.
Our perceived separation from God has not interrupted this.
Every person we see then,
Without the past,
Brings healing sight into the darkness,
Enabling the world to see.
We must therefore come to know that the Holy Spirit knows our part,
Who is seeking us,
And where to find them.
Knowledge is far beyond our individual concern.
We who are part of and all of it,
Need only realize that it is of the Father,
Not of us.
The miracles we do on the earth are lifted up to heaven.
They witness to what we do not know.
And as they reach the gates of heaven,
God will open them.
For never would he leave his own beloved Son outside them and beyond himself.
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.
Perception.
What we see inwardly determines what we see outside ourselves.
Knowledge.
Also referred to as heaven or the real world.
It is the pre-separation world of God and his unified creation in which there are no differences in form and therefore exclusive of the world of perception.
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.
Christ.
The self that God created by extension of his Spirit.
The potential within each of us.
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.
Now,
On to the reading.
A Course in Miracles Chapter 13.
The Guiltless World.
Section 8.
From Perception to Knowledge.
All healing is released from the past.
That is why the Holy Spirit is the only healer.
The Holy Spirit teaches that the past does not exist,
A fact which belongs to the sphere of knowledge,
And which therefore no one in the world can know.
It would indeed be impossible to be in the world with this knowledge.
For the mind that knows this unequivocally knows also it dwells in eternity,
And utilizes no perception at all.
It therefore does not consider where it is,
Because the concept of where does not mean anything to it.
It knows that it is everywhere,
Just as it has everything,
And forever.
The very real difference between perception and knowledge becomes quite apparent if you consider this.
There is nothing partial about knowledge.
Every aspect is whole,
And therefore no aspect is separate.
You are an aspect of knowledge,
Being in the mind of God,
Who knows you.
All knowledge must be yours,
For in you is all knowledge.
Perception at its loftiest is never complete.
Even the perception of the Holy Spirit,
As perfect as perception can be,
Is without meaning in heaven.
Perception can reach everywhere under His guidance,
For the vision of Christ beholds everything in light.
Yet no perception,
However holy,
Will last forever.
Perfect perception,
Then,
Has many elements in common with knowledge,
Making transfer to it possible.
Yet the last step must be taken by God,
Because the last step in your redemption,
Which seems to be in the future,
Was accomplished by God in your creation.
The separation has not interrupted it.
Creation cannot be interrupted.
The separation is merely a faulty formulation of reality,
With no effect at all.
The miracle without a function in heaven is needful here.
Aspects of reality can still be seen,
And they will replace aspects of unreality.
Aspects of reality can be seen in everything and everywhere,
Yet only God can gather them together by crowning them as one with the final gift of eternity.
Apart from the Father and the Son,
The Holy Spirit has no function.
He is not separate from either,
Being in the mind of both,
And knowing that mind is one.
He is a thought of God,
And God has given Him to you because He has no thoughts He does not share.
This message speaks of timelessness in time,
And that is why Christ's vision looks on everything with love.
Yet even Christ's vision is not His reality.
The golden aspects of reality that spring to light under His loving gaze are partial glimpses of the heaven that lies beyond them.
This is the miracle of creation,
That it is one forever.
Every miracle you offer to the Son of God is but the true perception of one aspect of the whole.
Though every aspect is the whole,
You cannot know this until you see that every aspect is the same,
Perceived in the same light,
And therefore one.
Everyone seen without the past thus brings you nearer to the end of time,
By bringing healed and healing sight into the darkness and enabling the world to see.
For light must come into the darkened world to make Christ's vision possible even here.
Help Him to give His gift of light to all who think they wander in the darkness,
And let Him gather them into His quiet sight that makes them one.
They are all the same,
All beautiful and equal in their holiness.
And He will offer them unto His Father as they were offered unto Him.
There is one miracle,
As there is one reality.
And every miracle you do contains them all,
As every aspect of reality you see blends quietly into the one reality of God.
The only miracle that ever was is God's most holy Son,
Created in the one reality that is His Father.
Christ's vision is His gift to you.
His being is His Father's gift to Him.
Be you content with healing,
For Christ's gift you can bestow,
And your Father's gift you cannot lose.
Offer Christ's gift to everyone and everywhere,
For miracles offered the Son of God through the Holy Spirit attune you to reality.
The Holy Spirit knows your part in the redemption,
And who are seeking you and where to find them.
Knowledge is far beyond your individual concern.
You who are part of it,
And all of it,
Need only realize that it is of the Father,
Not of you.
Your role in the redemption leads you to it by reestablishing its oneness in your mind.
When you have seen your brothers as yourself,
You will be released to knowledge,
Having learned to free yourself through Him who knows of freedom.
Unite with me under the holy banner of His teaching,
And as we grow in strength the power of God's Son will move in us,
And we will leave no one untouched,
And no one left alone.
And suddenly,
Time will be over,
And we will all unite in the eternity of God the Father.
The holy light you saw outside yourself,
In every miracle you offer to your brothers,
Will be returned to you.
And knowing that the light is in you,
Your creations will be there with you,
As you are in your Father.
As miracles in this world join you to your brothers,
So do your creations establish your fatherhood in heaven.
You are the witness to the fatherhood of God,
And He has given you the power to create the witnesses to yours,
Which is as His.
Deny a brother here,
And you deny the witnesses to your fatherhood in heaven.
The miracle that God created is perfect,
As are the miracles that you established in His name.
They need no healing,
Nor do you,
When you accept them.
Yet in this world your perfection is unwitnessed.
God knows it,
But you do not,
And so you do not share His witness to it,
Nor do you witness unto Him,
For reality is witnessed to as one.
God waits your witness to His Son and to Himself.
The miracles you do on earth are lifted up to heaven and to Him.
They witness to what you do not know,
And as they reach the gates of heaven,
God will open them,
For never would He leave His own beloved Son outside them,
And beyond Himself.
