I trust my brothers, who are one with me
Lesson 181 of A Course in Miracles emphasizes the importance of trust in our spiritual journey. We are called to trust our brothers and sisters in order to awaken and realize our true nature as one with our Creator. In order to facilitate this realization, we are encouraged to let go of past grievances and judgments because they separate us from one another and thus obscure the truth of our underlying connectedness.
When we trust our brothers and sisters – especially those we do not want to trust, believe we should not trust, are perhaps justified in not trusting – we gradually recognize that the Light of Christ infuses all beings. There are no exceptions in Love. Our shared calling is to remember this together.
As we acknowledge our shared purpose and unity, we naturally extend love and forgiveness, which fosters an even deeper sense of connection and healing. In a sense, when we trust our brothers and sisters, we are also placing our trust in God’s Plan for salvation. This naturally leads to a shift in perception.
Remove your focus on your brother’s sins, and you experience the peace that comes from faith in sinlessness. This faith receives its only sure support from what you see in others past their sins. For their mistakes, if focused on, are witnesses to sins in you (W-pI.181.2:5-7).
This practice of looking beyond errors in order to see the divinity within others is essential for awakening to our oneness with God. By embracing forgiveness and recognizing the divine nature within others, we experience a deep sense of connection and healing, ultimately progressing on our path towards understanding that the past is gone and healing is now.
. . . the past is gone; the future but imagined. These concerns are but defenses against present change of focus in perception. Nothing more. We lay these pointless limitations by a little while (W-pI.181.5:2-5).
This looking beyond error is directly related to our willingness to let go of our fears, doubts, and judgments. We cannot trust ourselves if we do not trust our brothers and sisters and so long as we hold a single grudge, then our trust is not complete. We are not yet fully allowing ourselves to be guided by the Holy Spirit, who helps us overcome the illusion of separation and become aware of our true interconnectedness which cannot sustain the interference of grievances.
This remembrance – this seeing – this knowing our oneness – is tantamount to knowing a “wholly sinless world” (W-pI.181.8:3).
When seeing this is all we want to see, whe this is all we seek for in the name of true perception, are the eyes of Christ inevitably ours. And the Love He feels for us becomes our own as well. This will become the only thing we see reflected in the world and in ourselves (W-pI.181.8:4-6).
Perceiving sinlessness in a brother or sister is what allows us to perceive our own sinlessness. We are basically acknowledging our shared divine essence. And by acknowledging it – by sharing it with the Holy Spirit, who recognizes it for us – we naturally strengthen it. This always leads to happiness.
The Holy Spirit never varies on this point, and so the one mood He engenders if joy. He protects it by rejecting everything that does not foster joy, and so He alone can keep you wholly joyous (T-6.V.C.1:10-11).
Happiness, however, is not the final goal today. Today’s goal is simpler: in each moment we want to give attention only to our brothers and sisters, and only so that we might place our faith in them, trusting them to do their part to bring forth salvation for the world. We are here for them – to learn from them and to be saved by them.
This harmonizes with the overall focus of the holy instant, which is always teaching us to be fully present to and focused on our practice of forgiveness. Future planning – and escaping or valorizing the past – merely distracts us from the truth the present moment is. In this way, we naturally cultivate and nurture our awareness of our oneness with God which extends to all of Creation.
