A Course In Miracles - Chapter 9, Section V
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 9,
The Acceptance of the Atonement,
Section 5,
The Unhealed Healer.
To summarize my takeaways,
In Section 5 of Chapter 9,
We learn that an unhealed healer is one that tries to give what he has not received.
We are reminded that the Holy Spirit is the only healer and makes healing clear to us in any situation in which we accept Him as the guide.
From this guidance,
The healer then recognizes that the light in his mind will answer the questioner,
Who must decide with God that there is light because he sees it.
And by his acknowledgment,
The healer knows it is there.
This is how perception ultimately is translated into knowledge.
The miracle worker begins by perceiving light,
And translates his perception into sureness by continually extending it and accepting its acknowledgment.
Its effects assure him it is there.
We are further reminded that this course offers a very direct and very simple learning situation,
Providing the guide who tells us what to do.
And if we do it,
We will see that it works.
Its results are more convincing than its words.
The results will convince us that the words are true.
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,
Ego and 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.
The attempt to solve a problem where there is none.
Trying to solve a problem in the mind through physical or mindless measures.
And now,
On to the reading.
A Course in Miracles Chapter 9 – The Acceptance of the Atonement Section 5 – The Unhealed Healer The ego's plan for forgiveness is far more widely used than God's.
This is because it is undertaken by unhealed healers and is therefore of the ego.
Let us consider the unhealed healer more carefully now.
By definition,
He is trying to give what he has not received.
If an unhealed healer is a theologian,
For example,
He may begin with the premise,
Quote,
I am a miserable sinner and so are you,
End quote.
If he is a psychotherapist,
He is more likely to start with the equally incredible belief that attack is real for both himself and the patient,
But that it does not matter for either of them.
I have repeatedly said that beliefs of the ego cannot be shared,
And this is why they are unreal.
How then can uncovering them make them real?
Every healer who searches fantasies for truth must be unhealed because he does not know where to look for truth and therefore does not have the answer to the problem of healing.
There is an advantage to bringing nightmares into awareness,
But only to teach that they are not real and that anything they contain is meaningless.
The unhealed healer cannot do this because he does not believe it.
All unhealed healers follow the ego's plan for forgiveness in one form or another.
If they are theologians,
They are likely to condemn themselves,
Teach condemnation,
And advocate a fearful solution.
Projecting condemnation onto God,
They make him appear retaliative and fear his retribution.
What they have done is merely to identify with the ego and by perceiving what it does,
And condemn themselves because of this confusion.
It is understandable that there have been revolts against this concept,
But to revolt against it is still to believe in it.
Some newer forms of the ego's plan are as unhelpful as the older ones because form does not matter and the content has not changed.
In one of the newer forms,
For example,
A psychotherapist may interpret the ego's symbols in a nightmare and then use them to prove that the nightmare is real.
Having made it real,
He then attempts to dispel its effects by depreciating the importance of the dreamer.
This would be a healing approach if the dreamer were also identified as unreal.
Yet if the dreamer is equated with the mind,
The mind's corrective power through the Holy Spirit is denied.
This is a contradiction even in the ego's terms,
And one which it usually notes even in its confusion.
If the way to counteract fear is to reduce the importance of the mind,
How can this build ego strength?
Such evident inconsistencies account for why no one has really explained what happens in psychotherapy.
Nothing really does.
Something real has happened to the unhealed healer,
And he must learn from his own teaching.
His ego will always seek to get something from the situation.
The unhealed healer,
Therefore,
Does not know how to give and consequently cannot share.
He cannot correct because he is not working correctively.
He believes that it is up to him to teach the patient what is real,
Although he does not know it himself.
What then should happen?
When God said,
Quote,
Let there be light,
End quote,
There was light.
Can you find light by analyzing darkness as the psychotherapist does,
Or like the theologian by acknowledging darkness in yourself and looking for a distant light to remove it while emphasizing the distance?
Healing is not mysterious.
Nothing will change unless it is understood,
Since light is understanding.
A quote,
Miserable sinner,
End quote,
Cannot be healed without magic,
Nor can a quote,
Unimportant mind esteem itself without magic.
Both forms of the ego's approach then must arrive at an impasse,
The characteristic quote,
Impossible situation,
End quote,
To which the ego always leads.
It may help someone to point out where he is heading,
But the point is lost unless he has also helped to change his direction.
The unhealed healer cannot do this for him since he cannot do it for himself.
The only meaningful contribution the healer can make is to present an example of one whose direction has been changed for him and who no longer believes in nightmares of any kind.
The light in his mind will therefore answer the questioner,
Who must decide with God that there is light because he sees it.
And by his acknowledgment,
The healer knows it is there.
That is how perception ultimately is translated into knowledge.
The miracle worker begins by perceiving light and translates his perception into sureness by continually extending it and accepting its acknowledgment.
Its effects assure him it is there.
A therapist does not heal.
He lets healing be.
He can point to darkness,
But he cannot bring light of himself,
For light is not of him.
Yet being for him,
It must also be for the patient.
The Holy Spirit is the only therapist.
He makes healing clear in any situation in which he is the guide.
You can only let him fulfill his function.
He needs no help for this.
He will tell you exactly what to do to help anyone he sends to you for help and will speak to him through you if you do not interfere.
Remember that you choose the guide for helping and the wrong choice will not help.
But remember also that the right one will.
Trust him,
For help is his function and he is of God.
As you awaken other minds to the Holy Spirit through him and not yourself,
You will understand that you are not obeying the laws of this world.
But the laws you are obeying work.
The good is what works is a sound,
Though insufficient statement.
Only the good can work.
Nothing else works at all.
This course offers a very direct and a very simple learning situation and provides the guide who tells you what to do.
If you do it,
You will see that it works.
Its results are more convincing than its words.
They will convince you that the words are true.
By following the right guide,
You will learn the simplest of all lessons.
By their fruits ye shall know them,
And they shall know themselves.
