I will there be light.
The understanding that we are not separate from God does not relate to our bodies nor to the confused self that appears to be that body. We share a will with God, a will to create in perfect abstraction, beyond the limited nature of bodies and worlds.
This is a fundamental concept that underlies the recent emphasis laid by the ACIM workbook on discerning what we are in truth from what we believe we are. A Course in Miracles aims to take us beyond belief to knowledge, where there is neither doubt nor need to defend in any way. When we know, belief does not enter into it.
The will you share with God has all the power of creation in it. The ego’s idle wishes are unshared, and therefore have no power at all. . . they make nothing that is real (W-pI.73.1:3-4, 7).
Ego’s “idle wishes” make both a vulnerable body and a world filled with people, places and things which attack that body and must be defended against, often under the rubric of attack. Grievances arise naturally in such a world and, together with the ego’s frivolous plan for salvation, obscure both our truth and the reality of our brothers and sisters.
A Course in Miracles invites us to let the focus on the body – and the ego’s arguments for focusing on it, and the grievances which are its lifeblood – go and see what takes its place.
Indeed, Lesson 73 is explicitly intended to help us reach the world that is in accordance with the will we share with God (W-pI.73.4:1).
The light is in you because it does not oppose the Will of God. It is not Heaven, but the light of Heaven shines on it. Darkness has vanished. The ego’s idle wishes have been withdrawn (W-pI.73.4:2-5).
This light is in us. It is not in a body – much less in a world – but in us. We are relying not on the mind’s conception of light nor the body’s eyes to heed the lesson’s directive. Instead, we are turning to the Vision that wakens in us when we no longer listen to the ego’s raucous cries. Vision – which is the exercise of forgiveness, or right seeing – “lifts the darkness, reasserts your will, and lets you look upon a world of light.”
Thus, Lesson 73 is asking us to reject the ego’s arguments without exception and instead answer a very simple question: Do we really want to “weep and suffer and die” (W-pI.73.5:8)?
Our answer is not actually in any doubt. A Course in Miracles is in our life because our answer is not in doubt. And our answer is not in doubt because what we are in truth – what we are in reality – is not in doubt.
There is a point beyond which illusions cannot go. Suffering is not happiness, and it is happiness you really want. Such is your will in truth. So so salvation is your will as well (W-pI.73.6:4-7).
Thus, we can ask with confidence if we are ready and willing to perceive the light that is in us as God created us. And we can refuse any answer or argument that merely delays our return to happiness.
This is easier to say than to actually do. But it can be helpful to remember that all we are really doing is surrendering our insistence that we know what is best for us, right for us, healthy for us. We are letting go of our definition of spirituality, peace, understanding and love.
Bit by bit we shed the ego’s layers and leaves, discovering as we do that we are really shedding nothing and gaining a clear and undivided understanding of the reality of our identity. Indeed, this becomes a space of rest and restoration. It heals perception, bringing the world into harmony with our Source in love. We become happy, and offer our happiness to the world. In this way, we are saved.
This is beautiful, Sean. Stevie Jay here (in Charlottesville, Virginia). April 29, 2019. It’s 5:40am…not because I woke up early for practice ; -) but because I’m sleepless…agitated…resisting the inevitability of some things already past…I’m coming back to center now. Deep sigh. A friend who lives in Spain emailed me Lesson 71 a few days ago, and it was spot on for me. Today, I looked up 72 and 73, and was browsing the net for other versions…and I came upon your blog entry. You felt like a friend as I was reading your words, seeing the images of your personal world, feeling your heart, sensing your earnestness–appreciating all of it. Thank you for sharing all this with me, with us. “There is nothing outside of us that needs to be fixed. Everything is right where it is supposed to be. What is, is, and it is without our effort. We are part of that isness. Our lives can unfold with the same natural ease as a flower blossoming or a maple tree releasing its sap. In fact, our lives are unfolding that way. But we aren’t aware of it because we are trying so hard to be important actors, powerful causes. Or we are studying enlightenment. Or we are trying to be spiritual superheroes. And all of that is merely the spinning of wheels and the tugging of wool and the banging of one’s head against the proverbial wall. It doesn’t work.”
Breathing easier. Sending love and blessings and good wishes to you in all directions. ; – ) Stevie ♥
You’re welcome, Stevie. Thank you for reading and for sharing. I am glad we are sharing the way, this way, today. Peace and love to you as well 🙂
~ Sean