A Course In Miracles - Chapter 15, Section IX
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 15,
The Holy Instant.
Section 9,
The Holy Instant and the Attraction of God.
To summarize my takeaways,
In Section 9 of Chapter 15,
We are reminded that while the ego limits our perception of our brothers to the body,
The Holy Spirit releases our vision and lets us see the great rays shining from our brothers so unlimited that they reach to God.
This is the shift to vision,
Which is accomplished in the Holy Instant.
Our task then is to continue,
As fast as possible,
The necessary process of looking straight at all the interference and seeing it exactly as it is.
We must recognize that the body is the symbol of the ego,
As the ego is the symbol of the separation,
And both are nothing more than attempts to limit communication,
Thereby making it impossible.
For communication must be unlimited in order to have meaning,
And deprived of meaning,
It will not satisfy us completely.
Yet communication is the only means by which we can establish real relationships,
Which have no limits,
Having been established by God.
We must remember it is impossible to divide our strength between heaven and hell,
God and the ego.
Love always increases,
Yet limits are demanded by the ego and represent its demands to make little and ineffectual.
When we limit our sight of a brother to a body,
Which we do,
When we are not willing to release him from it,
We have denied his gift to us,
His body cannot give it,
And we must not seek it through ours.
For our minds are continuous,
And their union need only be accepted,
And the loneliness in heaven is gone.
For the body is little and limited,
And only those whom we see without the limits the ego would impose on them,
Can offer us the gift of freedom.
But this we must remember,
The attraction of guilt opposes the attraction of God.
In the holy instant,
There are no bodies,
And we experience only the attraction of God.
The reality of this relationship becomes the only truth that we could ever want.
All truth is here.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Holy Instant,
The instant outside of time,
In which we choose forgiveness instead of guilt,
The miracle instead of a grievance,
The Holy Spirit instead of the ego.
The expression of our little willingness to live in the present,
Which opens into eternity,
Rather than holding on to the past and fearing the future.
Vision,
The perception that sees beyond the body to the spirit within us,
Our true identity.
Through vision we can see the real world of forgiveness and sinlessness.
It is a shift in attitude from the ego's use of the body to the Holy Spirit's use of the body as a tool to awaken to our true nature.
Great Rays,
The extension of the light of God,
Our true reality as Christ.
The Great Rays are of the spirit and have nothing to do with the body at all.
Communication is synonymous with creation,
An expression of our unified relationship with God.
We experience communication in our right minds through the Holy Spirit,
Allowing love to be shared through us.
And now,
On to the reading.
A Course in Miracles,
Chapter 15,
The Holy Instant.
Section 9,
The Holy Instant and the Attraction of God.
As the ego would limit your perception of your brothers to the body,
So would the Holy Spirit release your vision and let you see the Great Rays shining from them,
So unlimited that they reach to God.
It is this shift to vision that is accomplished in the Holy Instant.
Yet it is needful for you to learn just what this shift entails,
So you will become willing to make it permanent.
Given this willingness,
It will not leave you,
For it is permanent.
Once you have accepted it as the only perception you want,
It is translated into knowledge by the part that God Himself plays in the Atonement,
For it is the only step in that He understands.
Therefore,
In this,
There will be no delay when you are ready for it.
God is ready now,
But you are not.
Our task is but to continue,
As fast as possible,
The necessary process of looking straight at all the interference and seeing it exactly as it is.
For it is impossible to recognize as wholly without gratification what you think you want.
The body is the symbol of the ego,
As the ego is the symbol of the separation,
And both are nothing more than attempts to limit communication,
And thereby to make it impossible.
For communication must be unlimited in order to have meaning,
And deprived of meaning,
It will not satisfy you completely.
Yet it remains the only means by which you can establish real relationships,
Which have no limits,
Having been established by God.
In the holy instant,
Where the great rays replace the body in awareness,
The recognition of relationships without limits is given you.
But in order to see this,
It is necessary to give up every use the ego has for the body,
And to accept the fact that the ego has no purpose you would share with it.
For the ego would limit everyone to a body for its own purposes,
And while you think it has a purpose,
You will choose to utilize the means by which it tries to turn its purpose into accomplishment.
This will never be accomplished.
Yet you have surely recognized that the ego,
Whose goals are altogether unattainable,
Will strive for them with all its might,
And will do so with the strength that you have given it.
It is impossible to divide your strength between heaven and hell,
God and the ego,
And release your power to creation,
Which is the only purpose for which it was given you.
Love would always increase.
Limits are demanded by the ego,
And represent its demands to make little and ineffectual.
Limit your sight of a brother to his body,
Which you will do as long as you would not release him from it,
And you have denied his gift to you.
His body cannot give it,
And seek it not through yours.
Yet your minds are already continuous,
And their union need only be accepted,
And the loneliness in heaven is gone.
If you would but let the Holy Spirit tell you of the love of God for you,
And the need your creations have to be with you forever,
You would experience the attraction of the Eternal.
No one can hear him speak of this and long remain willing to linger here.
For it is your will to be in heaven,
Where you are complete and quiet,
In such sure and loving relationships that any limit is impossible.
Would you not exchange your little relationships for this?
For the body is little and limited,
And only those whom you would see without the limits the ego would impose on them can offer you the gift of freedom.
You have no conception of the limits you have placed on your perception,
And no idea of all the loveliness that you could see.
But this you must remember.
The attraction of guilt opposes the attraction of God.
His attraction for you remains unlimited,
But because your power,
Being His,
Is as great as His,
You can turn away from love.
What you invest in guilt you withdraw from God,
And your sight grows weak and dim and limited,
For you have attempted to separate the Father from the Son,
And limit their communication.
Seek not atonement and further separation,
And limit not your vision of God's Son to what interferes with His release,
And what the Holy Spirit must undo to set Him free.
For His belief in limits has imprisoned Him.
When the body ceases to attract you,
And when you place no value on it as a means of getting anything,
Then there will be no interference in communication,
And your thoughts will be as free as God's.
As you let the Holy Spirit teach you how to use the body only for purposes of communication,
And renounce its use for separation and attack,
Which the ego sees in it,
You will learn you have no need of a body at all.
In the Holy Instant,
There are no bodies,
And you experience only the attraction of God.
Accepting it as undivided,
You join Him wholly,
In an instant,
For you would place no limits on your union with Him.
The reality of this relationship becomes the only truth that you could ever want.
All truth is here.
