[acimlessons_list] LESSON 268 - September 25

Susan Carrier suelegal at theteks.com
Fri Sep 24 06:43:25 EDT 2004 

 
 
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+ COMMENTARIES ON LESSONS FROM THE WORKBOOK OF A COURSE IN MIRACLES
+ by Allen Watson, with Practice Summaries by Robert Perry, 
+ of The Circle of Atonement
+ Visit our website at <http://www.circleofa.com <http://www.circleofa.com/>
>
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LESSON 268 - September 25

"Let all things be exactly as they are."

PRACTICE SUMMARY

(See also Part II Introduction)

COMMENTARY

Seen in the light of forgiveness, this lesson teaches us that to criticize
what is is to judge and condemn God. To let all things be exactly as they
are is a form of forgiveness. To insist that things be different is to judge
and to be unforgiving. As Paul Ferrini wisely says in his little book, From
Ego To Self, "Only when I resist what is here do I desire what is not."

We are all filled with wishes for how things should be. We are all
discontent with things as they are. Is anybody really perfectly content with
everything in their life?

Yet this is what this lesson counsels. It could seem to be cruel counsel,
both towards myself and towards the world around me. If we are in unpleasant
conditions--sick, trapped in a destructive relationship, dying of an
illness, financially strapped, miserably unhappy--how can we say in any
honesty, "Let all things be exactly as they are."? It seems a horrible thing
to affirm.

If we see horrible conditions around us, in family, friends or the world,
with people in some condition like the above, how can we say "Let it be"?

Our reluctance to say these words under such circumstances testifies to our
firm belief that the conditions we see are real. If we believe the suffering
is real, of course we do not wish that it continue! We cannot say it if what
it means to us is "Let my mother be dying in pain," or "Let my husband
continue to drink and beat me." Of course not!

The lesson is really a call to recognize that the conditions of suffering we
see are not real. "Only reality is free of pain" (2:3). It is a call to
recognize that "nothing real can be threatened, and nothing unreal exists."
We cannot say "let it all be" until we first recognize that "all" means only
what is real, only what is of God. The rest is illusions.

To say "let all things be exactly as they are" is an affirmation of faith
that what appears to be pain and suffering is not really there. It is a
response to God's call, drawing us up out of the world of conditions and
into unconditional truth. It is not a phrase that applies to the world we
see, but to the world we do not see with physical eyes, but only with the
eyes of Christ. It is an affirmation that we want to see the solid reality
behind all the illusion of pain.

It does not mean that we turn our eyes on a brother in suffering and pain,
see that, and callously say "Let that be exactly as it is." This is the old
Christian mistake of "It's God's will." It is not God's will that we suffer
and die. This is seeing the error, making it real, and then blaming it on
God.

This is about not seeing the error at all. "Do not see error," says the Song
of Prayer. "Do not make it real. Select the loving and forgive the sin."
(Page 9-10).

To say, "Let all things be exactly as they are" is an affirmation that
conditions do not need to change for love to be real. Only the love is real
no matter what the conditions appear to be; that is what this is
proclaiming.

The error, the pain and suffering we see, does not come from God. It is not,
therefore, real. It is only a projection of our collective minds. It is
there because we have allowed ourselves to wish conditions would be
different. Ending the wish for different conditions is the start of
dispelling the illusion. Resigning as creator of the universe is what is
called for. We think we can change this, fix that, patch this up, and the
world will be a better place. It is our interference with reality that has
made it what it is! It is our interference that must stop.

While we are in the world of illusion, we must function there sanely. If I
cut my finger, I don't let it bleed untended because I know the body is not
real. No, I put a Band-Aid on it. Yet as I do that, let me recognize that
what I am doing is "magic." I'm just patching the illusion, and it isn't
really important. It just makes for a more comfortable illusion. Making the
illusion more comfortable is fine, but in the end it is completely
irrelevant.

The same therefore applies to extreme conditions. Suppose I am dying of
cancer. Of course I treat it. How I treat it does not really matter. I may
use medical therapy. I may try to heal myself through diet. I may do
affirmations and mental conditioning. All of it is magic, all of it is
patching the illusion. In the final evaluation, it does not matter if my
body lives or dies. "Let all things be exactly as they are" in this
circumstance means, "What happens to my body is not what counts. Giving and
receiving love counts. I don't need to be free of cancer to be happy; what
happens to my body does not affect who I really am."

If, when ill, I live with a continual insistence that the condition of my
body must change in order for me to be happy, I am merely perpetuating the
error that made me sick in the first place. "Let it be" does not mean I
cease all effort to change conditions, but it does mean I give up all
investment in the outcome. It means that, however the conditions evolve and
manifest, I rest assured that they are cannot affect the ultimate good of
all living things.

"I do not perceive my own best interests," says an earlier lesson. Saying
"let it be" is the natural outcome of realizing our ignorance. Operating
from our extremely limited viewpoint, we can still attempt to change
conditions, but as we do so, we recognize that there is a lot we don't
understand, a lot we haven't taken into consideration because, from the
perspective of a separated mind, we simply cannot see it. So we do what we
see to do, but we are not attached to the outcome, recognizing that whatever
our efforts, the results are in God's hands, and God's hands are good hands.

Jesus praying in the Garden of Gesthemane is an example of this attitude: He
said, "Let this cup pass from me. Nevertheless, not my will but Thine be
done." From his perspective as a human individual, Jesus did not want to be
nailed to a cross. From his trust in God, he could still say, "Let it be
unto me as You will."

"It is necessary for the teacher of God to realize, not that he should not
judge, but that he cannot." (M-10.2:1) To say "let it be" is to realize
this, and to affirm that God's judgment is perfect. We are not to judge
anything that happens. "This day I will judge nothing that occurs." That
means we don't judge anything bad, and neither do we judge it good. We don't
judge at all. What is, is. Period. Let it be.


What is the Body? (Part 8)

W-pII.5.4:3,4

How does it work out, practically, when we change the purpose of our bodies
from murder to miracles, from the pursuit of hell to the goal of Heaven?
"The Son of God extends his hand to reach his brother, and to help him walk
along the road with him" (4:3). It's that plain and simple. We reach out and
help a brother. We put our hand under his elbow when he stumbles and help
him walk with us, to God. We allow ourselves to be the first to smile in
welcome. We drop our pride and become the first to seek reconciliation in a
wounded relationship. We visit a sick friend. We help one another.

Some people say that since our only responsibility is accepting the
Atonement for ourselves, there is no connection to outward actions. It's all
a mental thing. I say, "Bushwa!" Accepting the Atonement for ourselves is
the sole responsibility of "miracle workers." This means that if you do
accept the Atonement, you will work miracles. If you aren't working
miracles--bringing healing to those around you-- you aren't accepting the
Atonement. The two go hand in hand. Read the paragraph in which that "sole
responsibility" statement occurs (T-2.V.5) and notice what follows that
statement. By accepting the Atonement, your errors are healed and then your
mind can only heal. By doing this, "you place yourself in a position to undo
the level confusion of others. The message you then give to them is the
truth that their minds are similarly constructive..." (T-2.V.5:2-5). In
order to be a miracle worker, you must accept the Atonement for yourself; to
heal the errors of others, you must have your own errors healed first
(M-18.4).

If you are familiar with Christian theology, this is like the old argument
about salvation by grace versus salvation by works. Doing good works will
not save you, the Bible says; salvation is only "by grace through faith."
And yet, it also says that if you have faith you will do good works; the
good works are the evidence of the faith. Therefore, "faith without works is
dead" (James 2:20). Similarly, accepting the Atonement is all that is
necessary, but the evidence of doing so, the "proof" you have accepted
healing for your own mind, is the extension of miracles of healing to those
around you. The Course repeats this over and over, saying that the way you
know you are healed is by healing others.

"That is why miracles offer you the testimony that you are blessed. If what
you offer is complete forgiveness you must have let guilt go, accepting the
Atonement for yourself and learning you are guiltless. How could you learn
what has been done for you, unknown to you, unless you do what you would
have to do if it had been done for you?" (T-14.I.1:6-8).

So what these sentences are saying (back in "What is the body?") is that the
body becomes holy as we use it in service to others. By extending our hands
to help, we bring healing to our own minds. Reaching out instead of drawing
back, seeking to heal rather than to wound, is how we accept the Atonement,
or better, how we demonstrate to ourselves that we have accepted it. The
mind that has accepted Atonement can only heal, and by healing, we know our
true Self. Notice here that the body "serves to heal the mind" (4:5). Yes;
the mind is what needs healing, but the body serves to heal it, by acting in
healing love towards our brothers.
 
 
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+ Commentary by Allen Watson
+ Practice Summary: Robert Perry
+ Available in book format from The Circle
+ of Atonement (Vol. 1 reprint due by end of 2004, write us for info)
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