A Course In Miracles - Chapter 7, 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. (Foundation for Inner Peace, 448 Ignacio Blvd #306 Novato, CA 94949 USA).
Glossary-Index for a Course In Miracles, 8th edition, Kenneth Wapnick, Ph.D. Music by 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 7,

The Gifts of the Kingdom.

Section 7,

The Totality of the Kingdom.

To summarize my takeaways,

In Section 7 of Chapter 7,

We are reminded that those who attack do not know they are blessed.

They attack because they believe they are deprived.

We are asked to therefore give of our abundance and teach our brothers of theirs.

We are asked to not share their illusions of scarcity or we will perceive ourselves as lacking.

We are reminded that when a brother acts insanely,

We are given an opportunity to bless him.

His need is ours.

We need the blessing we offer him and there is no way for us to have it except by giving it.

This is the law of God and has no exceptions.

What we deny we lack,

Not because it is lacking,

But because we have denied it in another and are therefore not aware of it in ourselves.

We must teach no one that he is what we would not want to be.

Our brother is the mirror in which we see the image of ourselves.

We must therefore love everything God created,

Of which we are a part or we cannot learn of God's peace and accept it for ourselves.

We cannot know our own perfection until we have honored all those who were created like us.

We are asked to see the love of God in ourselves so that we can see it everywhere because it is everywhere.

See God's abundance in everyone and we will know that we are in God with them.

They are part of us as we are part of God.

Wanting this only,

We will have this only and giving this only,

We will be only this.

Understand totally by understanding totality.

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.

Data,

The non-dualistic world of knowledge wherein God and his creations dwell in perfect unity.

Sonship,

All of us,

The creations of God.

Ego,

Our belief in the separated or false self that 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.

God,

The creator,

The source of all being or life.

God's essence is spirit which is shared with all creation.

Life,

The principle of spiritual vitality or reality imparted by God.

It has no separate parts,

No opposites,

No degrees,

And cannot be extinguished or lessened in any way.

This definition was comprised from the Circle of Atonement glossary of terms which can be found at circleofa.

Org.

And now,

On to the reading.

A Course in Miracles Chapter 7,

The Gifts of the Kingdom.

Section 7,

The Totality of the Kingdom.

Whenever you deny a blessing to a brother,

You will feel deprived,

Because denial is as total as love.

It is as impossible to deny part of the sonship as it is to love it in part.

Nor is it possible to love it totally at times.

You cannot be totally committed sometimes.

Denial has no power in itself,

But you can give it the power of your mind,

Whose power is without limit.

If you use denial to deny reality,

Reality is gone for you.

Reality cannot be partly appreciated.

That is why denying any part of it means you have lost the awareness of all of it.

Yet denial is a defense,

And so it is as capable of being used positively as well as negatively.

Used negatively,

Denial will be destructive,

Because it will be used for attack.

But in the service of the Holy Spirit,

Denial can help you recognize part of reality and thus appreciate all of it.

Mind is too powerful to be subject to exclusion.

You will never be able to exclude yourself from your thoughts.

When a brother acts insanely,

He is offering you an opportunity to bless him.

His need is yours.

You need the blessing you can offer him.

There is no way for you to have it except by giving it.

This is the law of God,

And it has no exceptions.

What you deny,

You lack,

Not because it is lacking,

But because you have denied it in another and are therefore not aware of it in yourself.

Every response you make is determined by what you think you are,

And what you want to be is what you think you are.

What you want to be,

Then,

Must determine every response you make.

You do not need God's blessing,

Because that you have forever,

But you do need yours.

The ego's picture of you is deprived,

Unloving,

And vulnerable.

You cannot love this.

Yet you can very easily escape from this image by leaving it behind.

You are not there,

And that is not you.

Do not see this picture in anyone,

Or you have accepted it as you.

All illusions about the Sonship are dispelled together as they were made together.

Teach no one that he is what you would not want to be.

Your brother is the mirror in which you see the image of yourself as long as perception lasts,

And perception will last until the Sonship knows itself as whole.

You made perception,

And it must last as long as you want it.

Illusions are investments.

They will last as long as you value them.

Values are relative,

But they are powerful,

Because they are mental judgments.

The only way to dispel illusions is to withdraw all investment from them,

And they will have no life for you,

Because you will have put them out of your mind.

While you include them in your mind,

You are giving life to them,

Except there is nothing there to receive your gift.

The gift of life is yours to give,

Because it was given you.

You are unaware of your gift,

Because you do not give it.

You cannot make nothing live,

Since nothing cannot be enlivened.

Therefore you are not extending the gift you both have and are,

And so you do not know your being.

All confusion comes from not extending life,

Because that is not the will of your Creator.

You can do nothing apart from Him,

And you do do nothing apart from Him.

Keep His way to remember yourself,

And teach His way lest you forget yourself.

Give only honor to the sons of the living God,

And count yourself among them gladly.

Only honor is a fitting gift for those whom God Himself created worthy of honor,

And whom He honors.

Give them the appreciation God accords them always,

Because they are His beloved sons,

And whom He is well pleased.

You cannot be apart from them,

Because you are not apart from Him.

Rest in His love,

And protect your rest by loving.

But love everything He created,

Of which you are apart,

Or you cannot learn of His peace,

And accept His gift for yourself and as yourself.

You cannot know your own perfection until you have honored all those who were created like you.

One child of God is the only teacher sufficiently worthy to teach another.

One teacher is in all minds,

And he teaches the same lesson to all.

He always teaches you the inestimable worth of every son of God,

Teaching it with infinite patience born of the infinite love for which he speaks.

Every attack is a call for his patience,

Since his patience can translate attack into blessing.

Those who attack do not know they are blessed.

They attack because they believe they are deprived.

Give therefore of your abundance,

And teach your brothers theirs.

Do not share their illusions of scarcity,

Or you will perceive yourself as lacking.

Attack could never promote attack unless you perceived it as a means of depriving you of something you want.

Yet you cannot lose anything unless you do not value it,

And therefore do not want it.

This makes you feel deprived of it,

And by projecting your own rejection,

You then believe that others are taking it from you.

You must be fearful if you believe that your brother is attacking you to tear the kingdom of heaven from you.

This is the ultimate basis for all the ego's projection.

Being the part of your mind that does not believe it is responsible for itself,

And being without allegiance to God,

The ego is incapable of trust.

Projecting its insane belief that you have been treacherous to your creator,

It believes that your brothers,

Who are as incapable of this as you are,

Are out to take God from you.

Whenever a brother attacks another,

That is what he believes.

Projection always sees your wishes in others.

If you choose to separate yourself from God,

That is what you will think others are doing to you.

You are the will of God.

Do not accept anything else as your will,

Or you are denying what you are.

Deny this and you will attack,

Believing you have been attacked.

But see the love of God in you,

And you will see it everywhere,

Because it is everywhere.

See his abundance in everyone,

And you will know that you are in him with them.

They are part of you as you are part of God.

You are as lonely without understanding this,

As God himself is lonely when his sons do not know him.

The peace of God is understanding this.

There is only one way out of the world's thinking,

Just as there was only one way into it.

Understand totally by understanding totality.

Perceive any part of the ego's thought system as wholly insane,

Wholly delusional,

And wholly undesirable,

And you have correctly evaluated all of it.

This correction enables you to perceive any part of creation as wholly real,

Wholly perfect,

And wholly desirable.

Wanting this only,

You will have this only,

And giving this only,

You will be only this.

The gifts you offer to the ego are always experienced as sacrifices,

But the gifts you offer to the kingdom are gifts to you.

They will always be treasured by God,

Because they belong to his beloved sons who belong to him.

All power and glory are yours,

Because the kingdom is his.

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