Hi,
I'm Teresa Hubbard.
Welcome back to our continued reading of the text to A Course in Miracles.
We continue today in Chapter 6,
The Lessons of Love,
Section 5,
The Lessons of the Holy Spirit,
Subpart B,
To Have Peace,
Teach Peace to Learn It.
To summarize my takeaways,
In Section 5,
Subpart B of Chapter 6,
We are offered the second of three lessons given to us by the Holy Spirit.
We are reminded here that the first step in the reversal,
Or undoing process,
Is the undoing of the getting concept.
Accordingly,
The Holy Spirit's first lesson was,
To Have All,
Give All,
To All.
At this point,
Though,
The equality of having and being is not yet perceived by us,
And until it is,
Having appears to be the opposite of giving.
Therefore,
The first lesson seemed to contain a contradiction,
Since it is being learned by a conflicted mind.
Since we are still strongly aware of the ego in ourselves,
And responding primarily to the ego of others,
We are reacting to both as if what we believe is not true.
For a time,
Then,
We are receiving conflicting messages and accepting both.
Yet we are reminded in this lesson that the way out of two conflicting thought systems is to clearly choose one and relinquish the other.
The Holy Spirit perceives the conflict exactly as it is.
Therefore,
The Holy Spirit's second lesson is,
To Have Peace,
Teach Peace to Learn It.
This is also a preliminary step,
Since having and being are still not equated.
It is,
However,
More advanced than the first step,
Which is really only the beginning of the thought reversal.
The second step is a positive affirmation of what we want.
It is a step out of conflict.
As we take this step and hold this direction,
We will be pushing toward the center of our thought system,
Where the fundamental change will occur.
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 definitions of terms you will hear within this reading.
Ego Our belief in the separated or false self we made as a substitute for the self that God created.
Holy Spirit The communication link between God and us Bridging the gap between the mind of Christ and our human minds.
And now,
On to the reading.
A Course in Miracles Chapter 6 The Lessons of Love Section 5 The Lessons of the Holy Spirit Subpart B To have peace,
Teach peace,
To learn it All who believe in separation have a basic fear of retaliation and abandonment.
They believe in attack and rejection,
So that is what they perceive and teach and learn.
These insane ideas are clearly the result of dissociation and projection.
What you teach you are,
But it is quite apparent that you can teach wrongly and can therefore teach yourself wrong.
Many thought I was attacking them,
Even though it was apparent I was not.
An insane learner learns strange lessons.
What you must recognize is that when you do not share a thought system,
You are weakening it.
Those who believe in it therefore perceive this as an attack on them.
This is because everyone identifies himself with his thought system,
And every thought system centers on what you believe you are.
If the center of the thought system is true,
Only truth extends from it.
But if a lie is at its center,
Only deception proceeds from it.
All good teachers realize that only fundamental change will last,
But they do not begin at that level.
Strengthening motivation for change is their first and foremost goal.
It is also their last and final one.
Increasing motivation for change in the learner is all that a teacher need do to guarantee change.
Change in motivation is a change of mind,
And this will inevitably produce fundamental change because the mind is fundamental.
The first step in the reversal,
Or undoing process,
Is the undoing of the getting concept.
Accordingly,
The Holy Spirit's first lesson was,
Quote,
To have give all to all,
End quote.
I said that this is apt to increase conflict temporarily,
And we can clarify this still further now.
At this point,
The equality of having and being is not yet perceived.
All it is,
Having appears to be the opposite of giving.
Therefore,
The first lesson seems to contain a contradiction,
Since it is being learned by a conflicted mind.
This means conflicting motivation,
And so the lesson cannot be learned consistently as yet.
Further,
The mind of the learner projects its own conflict,
And thus does not perceive consistency in the minds of others,
Making him suspicious of their motivation.
This is the real reason why,
In many respects,
The first lesson is the hardest to learn.
Still strongly aware of the ego in yourself,
And responding primarily to the ego in others,
You are being taught to react to both as if what you do believe is not true.
Upside down as always,
The ego perceives the first lesson as insane.
In fact,
This is its only alternative,
Since the other possibility,
Which would be much less acceptable to it,
Would obviously be that it is insane.
The ego's judgment,
Here as always,
Is predetermined by what it is.
The fundamental change will still occur with the change of mind in the thinker.
Meanwhile,
The increasing clarity of the Holy Spirit's voice makes it impossible for the learner not to listen.
For a time,
Then,
He is receiving conflicting messages and accepting both.
The way out of conflict between the two opposing thought systems is clearly to choose one and relinquish the other.
If you identify with your thought system,
And you cannot escape this,
And if you accept two thought systems which are in complete disagreement,
Peace of mind is impossible.
If you teach both,
Which you will surely do as long as you accept both,
You are teaching conflict and learning it.
Yet you do want peace or you would not have called upon the voice for peace to help you.
Its lesson is not insane.
The conflict is.
There can be no conflict between sanity and insanity.
Only one is true,
And therefore only one is real.
The ego tries to persuade you that it is up to you to decide which voice is true.
But the Holy Spirit teaches you that truth was created by God and your decision cannot change it.
As you begin to realize the quiet power of the Holy Spirit's voice and its perfect consistency,
It must dawn on your mind that you are trying to undo a decision that was irrevocably made for you.
That is why I suggested before that you remind yourself to allow the Holy Spirit to decide for God for you.
You are not asked to make insane decisions,
Although you can think you are.
It must,
However,
Be insane to believe that it is up to you to decide what God's creations are.
The Holy Spirit perceives the conflict exactly as it is.
Therefore,
His second lesson is this,
To have peace,
Teach peace to learn it.
This is still a preliminary step since having and being are still not equated.
It is,
However,
More advanced than the first step,
Which is really only the beginning of the thought reversal.
The second step is a positive affirmation of what you want.
This then is a step in the direction out of conflict,
Since it means that alternatives have been considered and one has been chosen as more desirable.
Nevertheless,
The term,
More desirable,
Still implies that the desirable has degrees.
Therefore,
Although this step is essential for the ultimate decision,
It is clearly not the final one.
Lack of order of difficulty in miracles has not yet been accepted because nothing is difficult that is wholly desired.
To desire wholly is to create,
And creating cannot be difficult if God Himself created you as a creator.
The second step,
Then,
Is still perceptual,
Although it is a giant step toward the unified perception that reflects God's knowing.
As you take this step and hold this direction,
You will be pushed toward the center of your thought system where the fundamental change will occur.
At the second step,
Progress is intermittent,
But the second step is easier than the first because it follows.
Realizing that it must follow is a demonstration of a growing awareness that the Holy Spirit will lead you on.
