In
Miracles
Abstract
1
PREFACE
This Abstract is not a substitute or replacement for ACIM, but merely a study aid
and reference companion. It was compiled with a deep respect and reverence
for the original work which some scholars consider the most significant sacred
spiritual work written in modern times.
Many people also find the Course difficult to read and understand. The Abstract
provides an overview for newcomers and a quick review for experienced
students, encouraging both to dig deeper into A Course in Miracles. The
comprehensive reference notations lead the reader to the context from which
each quote was taken. To fully experience the life-changing effect and beauty of
the Course, you need to read, contemplate and study all of it. Blessings to
everyone motivated by this Abstract to further study of the full Course and apply
its principles to save the world, one student at a time.
This Abstract's quotes from ACIM consist mostly of very short sentences or parts
of sentences collected and assembled to address specific subjects. Starting with
page 7, each page contains a collection of direct quotes on one or two subjects
as listed in the Table of Contents. Forty subjects are covered in 36 pages. Each
quote is referenced to the exact location of its source in the Second Edition of
ACIM, using a standard notation scheme. (See REFERENCE NOTATIONS at
the end of the Preface)
Most lines consist of one or more complete or partial sentences, each followed by
its notation. Partial sentences are usually identified with ellipses or by ending
with a comma. Longer quotes are placed on contiguous lines with the notation
located on the first line of the quote. Since the Course is strewn with pronouns,
brackets are used to replace pronouns with their subject deduced from reading
the quote in its original context. As serious students of the Course know, defining
the subject of a pronoun is not always a simple matter.
2
Since this Abstract is a cooperative project with those who use it, please do not
hesitate to send an e-mail explaining your reasoning if you believe any brackets
or notations have been used in error. Your corrections will be made when
appropriate. Also, suggested additions, deletions or rearrangements of quotes
are welcomed with the understanding that the total quotes on a given subject will
be limited to one page, and the number of subject pages limited to 38.
The subject pages help condense the Course' s answers to four great questions
of life:
Who am I?
Why am I here?
Where am I going?
How do I get There?
Under the last question, the subjects are arranged under six life changing
practices:
We need a new way of looking at each other and the world. This is what Jesus
offered when, in the mid sixties he heard two souls in conflict cry out in pain,
“There must be a better way.” Jesus saw how distorted his message of love had
become and sent us A Course in Miracles. Many of the ideas in the Course were
first taught by Jesus over 2000 years ago: God is Love, His Kingdom is within,
the importance of forgiveness and loving our neighbors as ourselves. The Bible
tell us he said "I am the way."
This Abstract is not a new religion, nor is the Course. This is not to say that
religion is bad, in itself. The point is that this world does not need is another
religion.
The Course is nothing more, and nothing less, than Jesus’ way of providing us a
thought system to help us all experience each other differently and, in the
3
process, wake up to who we are. In the words of Jesus from the Course:
W-pI.rwV.Itr.5:4;W-97.7:2;W181.Hd;T-21.II.2:3;W-193.3:7
REFERENCE NOTATIONS
All references are given for the Second Editions printed in 1992 and later of the
Course, and are listed according to the organization of the Course, rather than
according to page numbers. Each reference begins with a letter, which denotes
the particular volume or section of the Course and its extensions (T= Text,
W=Workbook for Students, M=Manual for Teachers, C=Clarification of Terms,
P=Psychotherapy, and S=Song of Prayer). After this letter comes a series of
numbers, which differs from volume to volume:
This notation system description taken from the book "One Course, Two Visions: A Comparison of the
Teachings of the Circle of Atonement and Ken Wapnick on A Course in Miracles by Perry, Mackie & Watson
at www.circleofa.com
4
CONTENTS
Page
INTRODUCTION 6
NATURE OF THE COURSE 7
Chapter I WHO AM I?
SELF 8
GOD 9
THOUGHT 10
MIND 11
Chapter II WHY AM I HERE?
THE JOURNEY 12
HEALING 13
MIRACLES 14
DREAMS/ILLUSIONS 15
TEACHER OF GOD 16
Chapter III WHERE AM I GOING?
HEAVEN 17
LOVE 18
PEACE 19
JOY 20
HOLY INSTANT 21
ONENESS/SONSHIP 22
Chapter IV HOW DO I GET THERE?
Section 1. Let Go of All Ego Thoughts
EGO 23
Section 2. Use the Tools of the Course
FORGIVENESS 24
SALVATION 25
ATONEMENT 26
PERCEPTION/TRUE PERCEPTION 27
Section 3. Let Go of the three Great Illusions
TIME 28
BODY 29
WORLD 30
Section 4. Let Go of False Belief s
FEAR 31
SIN and GULIT 32
Section 5. Ask for Help from Holy Spirit
HOLY SPIRIT 33
Section 6. Use Relationships to Learn
RELATIONSHIPS 34
Chapter V. NEW PERSPECTIVES ON
CHRIST and JESUS 35
GIVING/RECEIVING 36
PROBLEMS 37
DECISIONS/CHOICES 38
PRAYER 39
THE NAME OF GOD and THE WORD OF GOD 40
Chapter VI. LAWS OF LIFE
FOUR BASIC LAWS OF LIFE 41
5
INTRODUCTION
This abstract consists mostly of very short sentences or parts of sentences from the Course arranged in a
unique design for easy reading of quotes by subject. Starting with Nature of the Course the 40 subject
names in bold italicized print appear here in the same sequence the subjects appear in the Abstract.
Chapters I through IV condenses the Course’s answers to four of the great questions of life:
Chapter I, WHO AM I?
We are told our true Self is a Creation of God. We are spirit, a Thought in the Mind of God. Being on
a zero-distance journey, our destination (a state of Love, Peace and Joy) also helps tell us who we are.
We are here on a Journey to experience who we are while we still do not remember. Along the way, we
will experience Healing and Miracles . This journey without distance is over when we all eventually
awaken from our Dreams/Illusions and remember who we always were and will always be, One Spirit with
God and all His Creations. Meanwhile, relax. We can not fail. In the words of the course , we are here
"only to be truly helpful." We are also instructed in the relentless use of a kind of Forgiveness unique to
the Course. Eventually this kind of forgiveness will remove the blocks in our minds which prevent us from
remembering who we are. The illusion of time gives most of us many opportunities to repeat the Journey.
As a student of the course, you become a Teacher of God to the extent you allow the Holy Spirit to teach
through you by example. This will accelerate your progress but the journey is not over until all God's
Children awaken as one.
Chapter III, WHERE AM I GOING?
The true home of our true self is Heaven where we exist eternally with God and all of his creations in a
state of Love, Peace, and Joy. Until we are fully awakened the Holy Instant gives us glimpses of the
Oneness/Sonship , of all of God’s ageless children.
We get there by removing all mental blocks to our awareness of Truth by using our upper (Spirit) mind to
let go of all the lower mind’s Ego thoughts, which started with the tiny, insane idea that we were separate
from God. We are provided with the mental Tools of Forgiveness, Salvation, Atonement, and True
Perception to do this. In the Course these Tools are symbols of goals as well as the processes we can use to
reach the goals. The Course teaches us to let go of three great illusions of: Time, Body and World and the
false beliefs of: Fear, Sin and Guilt. Help from the Holy Spirit is also promised to all who ask and listen.
The value of Relationships is emphasized as a means of speeding us along on our journey.
The subjects of Christ, Jesus, Giving/Receiving, Problems, Decisions/Choices, Prayer, Name of God, and
The Word of God are all put into a new perspective.
This is one subject chapter is a collection of quotes which outline Four Basic Laws of Life . When
understood and applied these laws will improve your life regardless of where you are on your journey to
remembering who you are and experiencing Truth.
Three Basic Spiritual Principles and Truth are the two subjects of this final one page chapter.
6
NATURE OF THE COURSE
Forgive the world, and you will understand that everything that God created
cannot have an end, and nothing He did not create is real.
In this one sentence is our course explained.
7
WHO AM I?
SELF
I am free. W-pI.rVI.in.3:4
I am spirit. W-pI.97.Hd
I am one Self. W-95.11:4
I am not a body. W-pI.rVI.in.3:3
You are God's Son. W-199.8:1
You were created holy. T-14.IX.1:2
I am as God created me. W-94.3:3
Love created me like Itself. W-67.Hd.
Yet all you need you have. T-20.II.8:3
There were no needs at all. T-1.VI.1:7
God has given you everything. T-4.III.9:2
Leave, then, your needs to Him. T-13.VII.13:1
Nothing you need will be denied you. T-20.IV.8:6
The Self That God created needs nothing. PREFACE.xii.1:4
It is forever complete, safe, loved and loving. PREFACE.xii.1:5
Needs arise only when you deprive yourself. T-1.VI.1:8
God knows what His Son needs before he asks. C-3.3:2
God is but Love, and therefore so am I. W-pI.rV.in.10:8
Love, which created me, is what I am. W-229.Hd
You cannot understand yourself alone. T-5.III.8:1
For I am still as God created me. W-pI.rVI.in.3:5
In immortality you live forever. W-199.8:2
The Son of God is limitless. W-320.1:1
You are the Will of God. T-7.VII.10:1
I am His Son eternally. W-pI.94.5:3
There is no death. M-28.4:2
And so it is. T-14.VIII.2:16
8
WHO AM I?
GOD
God is Love T-9.I.9:7
He is ALL in all. T-8.IV.1:4
All power is of God. T-11.V.3:6
Where God is, there are you. T-14.VIII.4:4
His Will created you to create. T-8.VI.6:9
The Thought of God created you. W-165.2:1
Everything God created knows its Creator. T-14.VIII.4:7
Creation and communication are synonymous T-4.VII.3:6
Communication with God is life. Nothing without it is at all. T-14.IV.10:6,7
Nothing real can be increased except by sharing. That is why God created you. T-4.VII.5:2-3
Divine Abstraction takes joy in sharing. That is what creation means. T-4.VII.5:4-5
What God did not create does not exist. W-14.1:2
Nothing unreal exists. Nothing real can be threatened. T-Int.2:3,2
[The world] is of your own making, and it does not exist. W-14.1:2
You make by projection, but God creates by extension. T-11.in.3:1
[God] is the source of all meaning, and everything that is real is in His Mind. W-53.4:3
Put all your faith in the Love of God within you; eternal, changeless and forever unfailing. W-50.4:3
The ego teaches that your strength is in you alone. T-8.III.7:3,4
The Holy Spirit teaches that all strength is in God and therefore in you.
…the belief the fear of God is real. And what is that but hell? W-196.5:3,4
There is no cruelty in God and none in me. W-180.2:1
For once you understand it is impossible that you be hurt except by your own thoughts, W-196.8.:3
the fear of God must disappear. W-196.12:2
When the fear of God is gone, there are no obstacles that still remain
between you and the holy peace of God.
And you can call on Him to save you from illusions by His Love, W-196.11:4
A sense of separation from God is the only lack you really need correct. T-1.VI.2:1
Sometimes a teacher of God may have a brief experience of direct union with God. M-26.3:1.5,6
If it happens, so be it. If it does not happen, so be it as well.
…this is so rare that it cannot be considered a realistic goal. M-26.3:4
Let us not, then, be too concerned with goals for which you are not ready. M-26.4:9-11
God takes you where you are and welcomes you.
What more could you desire, when this is all you need?
9
WHO AM I?
Let no idle and foolish thoughts enter to disturb the holy mind of the Son of God. W-50.5:3
THOUGHT
…God is an idea... T-15.VI.4:4
…you are an idea… T-15.VI.5:5
No belief is neutral. T-24.in.2:3
Everything is an idea. T-5.I.2:4
Miracles are thoughts. T-1.I.12:1
God's Will <is> Thought. T-8.VI.7:3
I have no private thoughts. W-52.5.(10):1
There are no idle thoughts. T-2.VI.9:13
Every loving thought is true. T-12.I.3:3
What you believe is true for you. T-2.VII.5:5
Only the Thoughts of God are true. T-17.III.9:7
[Holy Spirit] is a Thought of God, T-13.VIII.4:3
Thoughts increase by being given away. T-5.I.2:2
All thinking produces form at some level. T-2.VI.9:14
The ego is quite literally a fearful thought. T-5.V.3:7
The Thoughts of God are quite apart from time. W-136.13:3
10
WHO AM I?
Only forgiveness can relieve the mind of thinking that the body is its home. W-192.5:5
The mind is very powerful, and never loses its creative force. It never sleeps. T-2.VI.9:5-7
Every instant [The mind] is creating.
MIND
…minds are joined… W-18.1:2
…God is in my mind. W-30.Hd
Only minds communicate. T-7.V.2:1
Miracles make minds one in God. T-1.I.19:1
It encompasses everything. T-18.VI.8:9
It encompasses you entirely; . T-18.VI.8:10
you within it and it within you.
11
WHY AM I HERE?
Many have chosen to renounce the world while still believing its reality. W-155.4:2,4
Others have chosen nothing but the world, which leads to suffering.
Between these paths there is another road that leads away from W-155.5:1,2
loss of every kind, for sacrifice and deprivation both
are quickly left behind.
This is the way appointed for you now.
It asks that you accept the truth, W-155.8:2,4
There is no cost, but only gain.
We walk to God. W-155.12:1
12
WHY AM I HERE?
You have been told that your function in this world is healing,
and your function in Heaven is creating. T-13.IV.1:3
HEALING
Healing [gladdens]. T-7.V.6:4
Health is inner peace. T-2.I.5:11
Healing is not a miracle. T-2.IV.1:4
Who forgives is healed. T-27.II.3:10
...healing is a process, not a fact P-2.III.4:2
Communication ends separation. T-8.VII.4:1
All sickness comes from separation. T-26.VII.2:1
Oneness and sickness cannot coexist. M-12.6:1
Healing always produces harmony, T-7.V.6:6
All healing is release from the past. T-13.VIII.1:1
Healing reflects our joint will. T-8.IV.5:1
Sickness is not an accident. W-pI.136.2:1
Healing is not mysterious. T-9.V.6:4
Is healing frightening? To many, yes. T-27.II.1:1,2
Do not side with sickness in the presence of a [Child] of God even if [they believe] in it,
for your acceptance of God in [them] acknowledges the Love of God [they have] forgotten.
Sometimes the illness has a sufficiently strong hold over the mind to render a person temporarily
inaccessible to the Atonement. In this case it may be wise to utilize a compromise approach to mind and
body, in which something from the outside is temporarily given healing belief.
T-10.III.3:4;T-2.IV.5,6
13
WHY AM I HERE?
I am here only to be truly helpful. T-2.V.18:2-6
I am here to represent Him Who sent me.
I do not have to worry about what to say or what to do,
because He Who sent me will direct me.
I am content to be wherever He wishes,
knowing He goes there with me.
I will be healed as I let Him teach me to heal.
Nothing in the world is holier than helping one who asks for help. P-2.V.4:2
MIRACLES
Miracles are for you. T-14.XI.9:3
Miracles are natural. T-1.I.6:1
A miracle is never lost. T-1.I.45:1
The power of God is limitless. T-14.X.6:12
Miracles praise God through you. T-1.I.29:1
Let miracles replace all grievances. W-78.10:5
Miracles represent freedom from fear. T-1.I.26:1
Each day should be devoted to miracles. T-1.I.15:1
The power to work miracles belongs to you. T-1.III.1:7
Miracles unite you directly with your brother. T-1.II.1:6
Miracles occur naturally as expressions of love. T-1.I.3:1
Yet [miracles] have been done through you. T-16.II.2:5
Your understanding cannot be necessary. T-16.II.2:6
There is no order of difficulty here. T-14.X.6:14
The miracle is a learning device … T-1.I.47:1
The miracle is much like the body in that both are learning aids T-1.V.1:1
for facilitating a state in which they become unnecessary.
Accept your brother in this world and accept nothing else, T-9.VI.7:8
You cannot perform a miracle for yourself, T-9.VI.6:3
miracles are a way of giving acceptance and receiving it.
When you offer a miracle to any of my brothers, you do it to yourself T-1.III.1:2
Forgiveness is the home of miracles. The miracle is taken first on faith, W-pII.13.3:1;4:1
Yet faith will bring its witnesses to show that what it rested on is really there. W-pII.13.4:2
[A miracle] rested on a world more real than what you saw before; W-pII.13.4:3
a world redeemed from what you thought was there.
This world was over long ago. T-28.I.1:6-8
The thoughts that made it are no longer in the mind that thought of them,
The miracle but shows the past is gone,
14
WHY AM I HERE?
DREAMS/ILLUSIONS
The Holy Spirit reaches…to all your dreams…to be translated into truth. W-pII.6.4:1
Illusions can be brought to truth to be corrected. W-107.5:3
Truth will correct all errors in my mind. W-107.Hd
Where truth has entered errors disappear. W-107.1:3,5
[Errors] are gone because, without belief, they have no life.
…you are asked to let yourself be free of all the dreams of what you never were, T-30.IV.7:5
Here does the dream of separation start to fade and disappear. T-30.V.8:1,6,7
even in illusions [salvation] but asks forgiveness be the substitute for fear.
Such is the only rule for happy dreams.
…the Son of God can have no need of [Dreams]. T-30.V.8:10-12
They offer him no single thing that he could ever want.
He is delivered from illusions by his will, and but restored to what he is.
15
WHY AM I HERE?
Teaching is done in many ways, above all by example.
It is the function of God's teachers to bring true learning to the world.
Properly speaking it is unlearning that they bring, for that is "true learning" in the world.
[The world] is governed by a power that is in [God’s teachers] but not of them.
T-5.IV.5:1 M-4.X.3:6-7; M-4.I.1:5
TEACHER OF GOD
To teach is to demonstrate. M-intr.2:1
As you teach so shall you learn. T-5.IV.6:4
To have peace, Teach peace to learn it. T-6.V.B.hd
Teach only love, for that is what you are. T-6.I.13:2
Everyone teaches, and teaches all the time. T-6.in.2:2
Teaching but reinforces what you believe about yourself. M-int.3:7
They are not perfect, or they would not be here. M-int.5:4-5
A teacher of God is anyone who chooses to be one. M-1.1:1
They come from all over the world. M-1.2:1-2
They come from all religions and from no religion.
No teacher of God can fail to find the Help he needs. M-3.5:8
Teacher and pupil, therapist and patient, are all insane or they would not be here. P-2.II.5:6,7
Together they can find a pathway out, for no one will find sanity alone.
A therapist does not heal; he lets healing be. T-9.V.8:1
The Holy Spirit is the only Therapist. T-9.V.8:4
Everything I think or say or do teaches all the universe. W-54.4(19):3,2
I am alone in nothing.
[A Teacher of God] cannot claim that title until he has gone through the workbook, M-16.3:7
16
WHERE AM I GOING?
HEAVEN
Heaven can be chosen just as easily as hell, W-272.2:2
In this world Heaven is a choice, Heaven is chosen consciously. W-138.1:1;9:1
Heaven is reached through [faith, vision and belief] T-21.III.4:9
Put not your faith in illusions. They will fail you. W-50.4:1-3
Put all your faith in the Love of God within you;
Such is the Kingdom of Heaven. W-50.5:4
How can you know whether you chose the stairs to Heaven or the way to hell? T-23.II.22:6-13
Quite easily.
How do you feel?
Is peace in your awareness?
Are you certain which way you go?
And are you sure the goal of Heaven can be reached?
If not, you walk alone.
Ask, then, your Friend to join with you, and give you certainty of where you go.
The Kingdom of Heaven is within you. T-11.VIII.8:3
The word "within" is unnecessary. The Kingdom of Heaven is you. T-4.III.1:3,4
Have faith in only this one thing, and it will be sufficient: T-13.XI.7:1
God wills you be in Heaven, and nothing can keep you from it, or it from you.
17
WHERE AM I GOING?
LOVE
Love is your safety. W-pII.5.5:4
Perfect love casts out fear. T-1.VI.5:4
Love is the way I walk in gratitude. W-195H
[The Holy Spirit] walks with me in love. W-pI.215.1:3
To be wholehearted you must be happy. T-5.in.2:1
Love offers everything forever. T-24.I.1:3
Love always leads to love. T-13.VI.10:4
Love is not an illusion. T-16.IV.4:1
It is a fact. T-16.IV.4:2
The course does not aim at teaching the meaning of love, for that is beyond what can be taught.
It does aim, however, at removing the blocks to the awareness of love's presence, which is your natural
inheritance. INTRO.1:6,7
18
WHERE AM I GOING?
PEACE
The peace of God is my one goal; W-205.1:3
When…I realize that [the world] reflects the laws of God W-57.4:2,3
instead of the rules I made up for [the world]…
I will understand that peace, not war, abides in it.
Peace is an attribute in you. T-2.I.5:8
Seek not outside yourself. T-29.VII.1:6
God wills you perfect happiness now. T-9.VII.1:8
Peace is yours because God created you. T-10.IV.6:7
My peace I give you. T-13.VII.16:8
Peace is a natural heritage of spirit. T-3.VI.10:1
Nothing real can be threatened. T-Int.2:2
Nothing unreal exists. T-Int.2:3
Herein lies the peace of God. T-Int.2:4
God's answer is some form of peace. W-pII.359.int.1:1
There is no substitute for peace. T-24.in.2:7
Make way for peace, and it will come. T-14.XI.14:7
How is this quiet found? M-20.3:1
A tranquil mind is not a little gift. M-20.4:8
In [anger], peace cannot be found. M-20.3:5
I want the peace of God. W-pI.185.Hd
To say these words is nothing. W-pI.185.1:1
But to mean these words is everything. W-pI.185.1:2
Peace be to me, the holy Son of God. W-pII.360.int.1:1-3
Peace to my brother, who is one with me.
Let all the world be blessed with peace through us.
19
WHERE AM I GOING?
Be glad!
There is no room for anything but joy and thanks today.
There is a way of living in the world that is not here, although it seems to be. You do not change
appearance, though you smile more frequently. Your forehead is serene; your eyes are quiet.
God's messengers are joyous, and their joy heals sorrow and despair.
W-340.2:2,3; W-155.1:1-3;W-100.4:3
JOY
All pain Is healed; W-359.int.1:2
all misery replaced with joy.
God’s peace and joy are mine. W-105.Hd.
Pain is but sleep; joy is awakening. W-pI.190.10:5
Pain is deception; joy alone is truth. W-pI.190.10:6
God placed in the mind the Call to joy. T-5.II.3:2
[God's plan] will lead to release and joy. W-71.8:6
And what else but joy would you want? T-8.VI.5:10
Do you prefer that you be right or happy? T-29.VII.1:9
No misery is here, but only joy. T-22.II.12:10
20
WHERE AM I GOING?
HOLY INSTANT
21
WHERE AM I GOING?
For Christ is the Self the Sonship shares, as God shares His Self with Christ. T-15.V.10:10
ONENESS/SONSHIP
22
HOW DO I GET THERE?
The ego is the part of the mind that believes in division. T-5.V.3:1
Consciousness is correctly identified as the domain of the ego. T-3.IV.2:2
The ego is quite literally a fearful thought. T-5.V.3:7
Do not be afraid of the ego. T-7.VIII.5:1
The ego cannot survive without judgment, T-4.II.10:3
To the ego, the guiltless are guilty. T-13.II.4:2
The ego becomes strong in strife. T-5.III.8:8
The ego wishes no one well. T-15.VII.4:3
The ego is a contradiction. T-4.I.2:8
It offers you nothing. T-4.IV.6:2
The introduction of reason into the ego's thought system is the beginning of its undoing, T-22.III.1:1
for reason and the ego are contradictory
The ego seeks to "resolve" its problems, not at their source, T-17.III.6:1,3,4
[Holy Spirit] seeks and finds the source of problems where it is, and there undoes it.
And with each step in His undoing is the separation more and more undone,
and union brought closer.
23
HOW DO I GET THERE?
Use the Tools of the Course
THE TOOLS
Forgiveness, salvation, Atonement, true perception, all are one. C-4.3:6
No one who learns to forgive can fail to remember God. P-2.II.3:1
Forgiveness represents your function here. W-192.2:3
FORGIVENESS
Who forgives is healed. T-27.II.3;10
Anger is never justified. T-30.VI.1:1
To forgive is to overlook. T-9.IV.1:2
Forgiveness looks past bodies. C-4.5:3
This is its holiness; this is how it heals. C-4.5:4
Forgiveness is the only sane response. T-30.VI.2:8
Condemn and you are made a prisoner. W-198.2:1,2
Forgive and you are freed.
No gift of Heaven has been more misunderstood than has forgiveness. S-2.I.1:1
Forgiveness-to-destroy has many forms, being a weapon of the world of form. S-2.II.1:1
first, …a "better" person [condescends] to stoop to save a "baser" one… S-2.II.2:1
accepting of another's spite, and not respond except with silence and a gentle smile S-2.II.4:4
"I will forgive you if you meet my needs, for in your slavery is my release." S-2.II.6:2
All forms forgiveness takes that do not lead away from anger, S-2.II.8:1
condemnation and comparisons of every kind are death.
24
HOW DO I GET THERE?
Use the Tools of the Course
SALVATION
My holiness is my salvation. W-39.Hd.
Forgiveness is the central theme that runs throughout salvation, W-169.12:1
You are in charge of your salvation. Nothing outside of me can hold me back. W-pI.70.10:3,7
Salvation is a promise, made by God, that you would find your way to Him at last. W-pII.2.1:1
Salvation is a thought you share with God, W-96.7:3
Salvation is for the mind, and it is attained through peace. T-12.III.5:1,2
This is the only thing that can be saved and the only way to save it
Be glad indeed salvation asks so little, not so much. T-30.IV.8:4
A savior must be saved. How else can he teach salvation? W-pI.39.3:4,5
Salvation is immediate. Salvation is not theoretical. T-26.VIII.3:1
M-26.4:5
Salvation is as sure as God. T-13.XI.9:3
The secret of salvation is but this: that you are doing this unto yourself. T-27.VIII.10:1
Whatever seems to be the cause of any pain and suffering you feel, T-27.VIII.10:4
"I have done this thing, and it is this I would undo." T-27.VIII.11:6
My salvation comes from me. It cannot come from anywhere else. W-pI.70.7:3,4
Salvation asks you give it welcome. W-pII.10.4:5,6
And the world awaits your glad acceptance, which will set it free.
No one but yourself affects you. W-pI.190.5:4
Salvation is a paradox indeed! T-30.IV.7:1
Holding grievances is the opposite of God's plan W-71.10:3,4
for salvation. And only His plan will work.
…it but asks forgiveness be the substitute for fear. T-30.IV.8:6
… we must replace attack with acceptance. W-72.10:2
And the truth cannot be learned, but only recognized. W-138.5:2,3
In recognition its acceptance lies, and as it is accepted it is known.
Those who seek the light are merely covering their eyes. The light is in them now. W-188.1:2,3
25
HOW DO I GET THERE?
Use the Tools of the Course
… [Atonement] undoes the separation and restores the wholeness of the mind.
[The course] is concerned only with Atonement, or the correction of perception.
The means of the Atonement is forgiveness.
… Atonement,…is the natural profession of the children of God…
T-2.III.2:1;C-int.1:2,3;T-1.III.1:10
ATONEMENT
The crucifixion had no part in the Atonement T-14.V.10:1
The Atonement principle was given to the Holy Spirit C-2.6:4
long before Jesus set it in motion.
The Atonement principle was in effect long before the Atonement began. T-2.II.4:2,3
The principle was love and the Atonement was an act of love.
Perfect love is the Atonement. T-2.VI.7:8
The sole responsibility of the miracle worker is to accept the Atonement for himself.
… and that [the mind’s] errors are healed by the Atonement.
The undoing of fear is an essential part of the Atonement
…fear comes from thoughts.
Once you accept this, your mind can only heal.
T-2.V.5:1,2;T-1.I.26:3;T-2.VII.3:1;T-2.V.5:3
The Atonement is but the way back to what was never lost. Your Father could not cease to love His Son.
The full awareness of the Atonement, then, is the recognition that the separation never occurred.
Until the Atonement is complete, its various phases will proceed in time,
but the whole Atonement stands at time's end.
The Atonement is the final lesson.
T-12.VIII.8:8,9;T-6.II.10:7;T-2.II.6:9;T-2.II.5:2
26
HOW DO I GET THERE?
Use the Tools of the Course
TRUE PERCEPTION
It will not endure. Perception, at its loftiest, is never complete. T-13.VIII.2:5
But for the time it lasts it comes to heal. W-intr.6:6
It is the opposite of the way you see now.
[The fact that sin does not exist] is [what] True Perception sees. C-4.3:9
true perception brings: What was projected out is seen within, C-4.6:1
and there forgiveness lets it disappear.
The eyes of Christ look on a world forgiven. W-313.1:4
Now let [Christ’s] true perception come to me, W-313.1:6
that I may waken from the dream of sin and look within upon my sinlessness,
If you perceive truly you are cancelling out misperceptions in yourself T-3.II.6:5-7
and in others simultaneously. Because you see [others] as they are,
you offer them your acceptance of their truth so they can accept it for themselves.
This is the healing that the miracle induces.
All things are lessons God would have you learn. W-193.9:1
How can you tell when you are seeing wrong, W-193.7:1-4
or someone else is failing to perceive the lesson he should learn?
Does pain seem real in the perception?
If it does, be sure the lesson is not learned.
And there remains an unforgiveness hiding in the mind
that sees the pain through eyes the mind directs.
27
HOW DO I GET THERE?
Let Go of the three Great Illusions
TIME
Heaven is now. M-24.6:6
There is no time. M-24.6:7
God knows you now. T-15.V.9:1
…. now is the release from time. T-13.VI.8:1
I can see only what is now. W-52.5.(9):3
Take this very instant, now, T-15.I.9:5
and think of it as all there is of time.
The present is the only time there is. W-164.1:2
[Time] is thus a teaching device … T-1.I.15:3
[Space and time] are merely beliefs T-1.VI.3:6
Ultimately, space is as meaningless as time. T-1.VI.3:5
In timelessness we coexist with God. In time we exist for each other. T-2.V.17:7,6
28
HOW DO I GET THERE?
BODY
I am not a body W-pI.rVI.in.3:3
The body is a limit. W-199.1:2
The body is a dream. W-pII.q5.3:1;2:1
The body will not stay.
The body cannot know. T-18.VIII.2:1
Its safety is its main concern. T-27.VIII.1:5
Its comfort is its guiding rule. T-27.VIII.1:6
The body was not made by love. T-18.VI.4:7
You are surrounded only by [God]. T-18.VI.10:6
[The body] is not [surrounding you]. T-18.VI.9:2
Minds are joined; bodies are not. T-18.VI.3:1
At no single instant does the body exist at all. T-18.VII.3:1
YET
Bodies act, and minds do not.
To do anything involves the body.
The body is the symbol of what you think you are.
...it is not necessary to protect the mind by denying the [body].
The body is merely part of your experience in the physical world.
…it is almost impossible to deny [the body’s] existence in this world.
This course does not attempt to take from you the little that you have.
Salvation does not ask that you behold the spirit and perceive the body not.
But we can change the purpose that the body will obey by changing what we think that it is for.
For you can see the body without help, but do not understand how to behold a world apart from it.
The Holy Spirit sees the body only as a means of communication, and because communicating is sharing
it becomes communion.
The miracle is much like the body in that both are learning aids T-1.V.1:1
for facilitating a state in which they become unnecessary.
The Holy Spirit teaches you to use your body only to reach your brothers, T-8.VIII.9:1
so He can teach His message through you.
29
HOW DO I GET THERE?
WORLD
There is no world! W-132.6:7
The world is an illusion. W-155.1:1
The ego made the world … T-5.III.11:1
The world [you] sees does therefore not exist. P-1.4:3
This is the central thought the course attempts to teach. W-pI.132.6:3
…Holy Spirit sees…the world as a teaching device... T-5.III.11:1
30
HOW DO I GET THERE?
Fear and love are the only emotions of which you are capable. T-12.I.9:5
…[Holy Spirit] has taught you that fear itself is an appeal for help. T- 12.I.8:7
Fear is really nothing and love is everything. T-2.VII.5:3,1,2
Nothing and everything cannot coexist.
To believe in one is to deny the other.
FEAR
Make no one fearful, T-13.IX.2:2
Fear arises from lack of love. T-2.VI.7:6
For fear is a call for love, T-12.I.8:13
Everyone experiences fear. T-2.VI.9:1
God is not the author of fear. You are. T-4.I.9:1,2
Step back from fear, and make advance to love. W-196.11:6
31
HOW DO I GET THERE?
Let Go of False Belief s
SIN
Sins are in bodies. T-31.III.3:1
We can be mistaken…. T-19.II.3:1
But [we] cannot sin. T-19.II.3:2
…so they were but dreams. C-5.4:2
Every mistake must be a call for love. T-19.III.4:7
All sin is understood as merely a mistake. W-359.int.1:3
…If sin is real, both God and you are not. T-19.III.6:1
The Holy Spirit cannot punish sin. T-19.III.4:1
Sin is insanity. W-pII.4.1:1
There is no sin. W-101.5:4
What, then, is sin? T-19.III.4:8
…sin is a lack of love. …a mistake to be corrected. T-1.IV.3:1 Preface.xi
Let [the veil of sin ] be lifted! T-22.IV.3:2
No one is punished for sins, and the Sons of God are not sinners. T-6.I.16:4
Sins are beliefs that you impose between your brother and yourself. T-26.VII.8:7
GUILT
The guiltless mind cannot suffer. T-5.V.5:1
…for guilt is understood as the sole cause of pain in any form. T-30.V.2:4
…Guiltlessness is invulnerability. T-14.III.7:1
To accuse is not to understand. T-14.V.3:6
Only the self-accused condemn. T-31.III.1:1
Anger but screeches, "Guilt is real!" M-18.3:1
Guilt feelings are the preservers of time. T-5.VI.2:1
…God's Son is guiltless, and sin does not exist. M-10.2:9
….all guilt is solely an invention of your mind . W-70.1:5
You project guilt to get rid of it, but you are actually merely concealing it T-13.II.2:2
See no one, then, as guilty, and you will affirm the truth of guiltlessness unto yourself. T-13.IX.6:1
The acceptance of guilt into the mind of God's Son was the beginning of the separation, T-13.int.2:1
32
HOW DO I GET THERE?
HOLY SPIRIT
[IT] is a thought of God, T-13.VIII.4:3
[IT] is your Guide in choosing. T-5.II.8:1
The Holy Spirit is the spirit of Joy. T-5.II.2:1
The Holy Spirit is in your right mind, T-5.I.3:3
The ego analyzes; the Holy Spirit accepts. T-11.V.13:1
The Holy Spirit extends and the ego projects. T-6.II.4:3
Only the Holy Spirit knows what you need. T-13.VII.12:1
Decide for God through [the Holy Spirit]. T-15.III.6:3
The Holy Spirit is the only Therapist. T-9.V.8:4
The Holy Spirit is the perfect Teacher T-5.III.10:1
Your faith in nothing is deceiving you. T-14.II.3:6
You cannot understand yourself alone. T-5.III.8:1
At your request [H.S.] enters gladly. T-14.VII.6:3
Communication ends separation. T-8.VII.4:1
The Holy Spirit's function is entirely communication. T-14.VI.8:1
God can communicate only to the Holy Spirit in your mind, T-14.VI.10:3
In this world, because the mind is split, the Sons of God appear to be separate. C.1.2:1-4; 3:1
Nor do their minds seem to be joined.
In this illusory state, the concept of an "individual mind" seems to be meaningful.
It is therefore described in the course as if it has two parts; spirit and ego.
Spirit is the part that is still in contact with God through the Holy Spirit,
Who abides in this part but sees the other part as well.
The Holy Spirit has no need of time when it has served His purpose. W-pII.8.5:1,2
He waits but that one instant more for God to take His final step,
and time has disappeared, taking perception with it as it goes,
33
HOW DO I GET THERE?
Use our Relationships to Learn
RELATIONSHIPS
You cannot wake yourself. T-29.III.3:2
There are no accidents in salvation. Those who are to meet will meet, M-3.1:6-8
because together they have the potential for a holy relationship.
They are ready for each other.
No one is sent by accident to anyone. P-3.III.6:2
Let him be what he is, and seek not to make of love an enemy. T-19.IV(D).13:8
Relationships are always purposeful. P-3.III.6:3
Whoever comes has been sent. P-3.III.6:5
If any two are joined, [God] must be there. P-2.II.6:5
Communion is impossible alone. P-2.II.9:1,2
No one who stands apart can receive Christ's vision.
Under [Holy Spirit’s] teaching, every relationship becomes a lesson in love. T-15.V.4:6
SPECIAL RELATIONSHIPS
The special love relationship is the ego's chief weapon for keeping you from Heaven. T-16.V.2:3
The ego establishes relationships only to get something. T-15.VII.2:1
For an unholy relationship is based on differences, T-22.int.2:5-7
where each one thinks the other has what he has not.
They come together, each to complete himself and rob the other.
They stay until they think that there is nothing left to steal, and then move on.
…Holy Spirit uses special relationships, … as learning experiences… T-15.V.4:5-6
Under His teaching, every relationship becomes a lesson in love.
…Holy Spirit would not deprive you of your special relationships, T-17.IV.2:3
but would transform them. … bring a touch of Heaven to them here. T-15.V.8:1
HOLY RELATIONSHIPS
A holy relationship starts from a different premise. T-22.int.3:1-3
Each one has looked within and seen no lack.
Accepting his completion, he would extend it by joining with another, whole as himself.
Never can there be peace among the different. P-2.II.8:4
Each one must share one goal with someone else, and in so doing,
lose all sense of separate interests.
It does not matter what their purpose is, but they must share it wholly to succeed. P-II.6:6
….those who share a purpose have a mind as one. T-23.IV.7:4
Yet reason sees a holy relationship as what it is; a common state of mind… T-22.III.9:7
It is no dream to love your brother as yourself. T-18.V.5:1,2
Nor is your holy relationship a dream.
All that remains of dreams within it is that it is still a special relationship. T-18.V.5:3,5
…through which [Holy Spirit] can spread joy to thousands on thousands…
Relationships are still the temple of the Holy Spirit, P-2.II.1:5
and they will be made perfect in time and restored to eternity.
[The holy relationship] is the old, unholy relationship, transformed and seen anew. T-17.V.2:2
Think what a holy relationship can teach! Here is belief in differences undone. T-22.int.4:1,2
You are one Self with me, united with our Creator in this Self. W-95.15:3
This holy relationship has the power to heal all pain, regardless of its form. T-22.VI.4:4
The holiest of all the spots on earth is where an ancient hatred has become a present love. T-26.IX.6:1
34
NEW PERSPECTIVES ON
CHRIST
Christ is God's Son as He created Him. W-pII.6.1:1
God has but one son, knowing them all as one. T-9.VI.3:5
…the Sonship is the sum of all that God created. T-1.I.19:2
For Christ is the Self the Sonship shares, as God shares His Self with Christ. T-15.V.10:10
He is the Self we share, uniting us with one another, and with God as well. W-pII.6.1.2,4
He has not left His holy home, nor lost the innocence in which He was created.
Those who are joined in Christ are in no way separate. T-15.V.10:9
He abides unchanged forever in the Mind of God W-pII.6.1:5
JESUS
Is [Jesus] the Christ?
O yes, along with you. C-5.5:1-2
Jesus has led the way. M-23.5:1
[Jesus] has remained with you. M-23.5:9
Jesus has come to answer [your needs]. M-23.7:6
Where there was crucifixion stands God's Son. C-2.6:14
You are not persecuted, nor was I. T-6.I.11:1
In him you find God's Answer. M-23.7:7
Is he God's only Helper? C-5.6:1
No indeed. C-5.6:2
The name of Jesus is the name of one who was a man but saw the face of Christ C-5.2:1
in all his brothers and remembered God.
The name of Jesus Christ as such is but a symbol. M-23.4:1-3
But it stands for love that is not of this world.
It is a symbol that is safely used
as a replacement for the many names of all the gods to which you pray.
35
NEW PERSPECTIVES ON
GIVING/RECEIVING
To have, give all to all. T-6.V.A.5:13
A major learning goal this course has set is W-105.5:1
to reverse your view of giving, so you can receive.
GIVING
The cost of giving is receiving. T-14.III.5:8
All that I give is given to myself. W-pI.126.hd
All that you have, you have forever. T-15.II.3:3
Neither give littleness, nor accept it. T-15.III.6:6
Thoughts increase by being given away. T-5.I.2:2
Our hands are open to receive Your gifts. W-pI.189.10:6
Here does the Son of God ask not too much, but far too little. T-26.VII.11:7
Asking for everything, you will receive it. T-18.VIII.11:5
Nothing you need will be denied you. T-20.IV.8:6
[God] wills His Son have everything. T-26.VII.11:2
God gives; He does not take. T-11.VIII.5:9
What you ask for you receive. M-21.1:3
To have, give all to all. T-6.V.A.5:13
Hold onto nothing. W-pI.189.7:3
RECEIVING
Ask with desire. W-165.5:1
Ask and receive. . W-pI.189.8:5
The truth maintains that giving will increase what you possess. W-187.1:8,2:1,3-8
How is this possible?
…we have learned that things but represent the thoughts that make them.
…you give ideas away, you strengthen them in your own mind.
…form in which the thought seems to appear is changed in giving.
Yet it must return to him who gives.
Nor can the form it takes be less acceptable.
It must be more
To give and to receive are one in truth. W-108.8:2,3
I will receive what I am giving now
Only what you have not given can be lacking in any situation. T-17.VII.4:1
36
NEW PERSPECTIVES ON
PROBLEMS
The Holy Spirit offers you release from every problem that you think you have. T-26.II.2:1-3
They are the same to Him
because each one, regardless of the form it seems to take,
is a demand that someone suffer loss and make a sacrifice that you might gain.
And when the situation is worked out so no one loses is the problem gone,
because it was an error in perception that now has been corrected.
There can be nothing that a change of mind cannot effect…. P-2.IV.2:4
…you could recognize that your only problem is separation… W-79.6:2
In every difficulty, all distress, and each perplexity T-31.VIII.3:2
Christ calls to you and gently says,
"My brother, choose again."
No one could solve all the problems the world appears to hold. W-79.5:1,3
Dismay and depression are inevitable as you regard [ all the problems].
If you could recognize that your only problem is separation, no matter what W-79.6:2-4
form it takes, you could accept the answer because you would see its relevance.
Perceiving the underlying constancy in all the problems that seem to confront you,
you would understand that you have the means to solve them all. And you
would use the means, because you recognize the problem.
37
NEW PERSPECTIVES ON
DECISIONS/CHOICES
Consciousness is the receptive mechanism, receiving messages C-1.7:3,4
from above or below; from the Holy Spirit or the ego. Consciousness has levels…
Decisions are continuous. T-30.I.1:1,2
You do not always know when you are making them.
The Holy Spirit, like the ego, is a decision. T-5.V.6:6,7,8
Together they constitute all the alternatives the mind can accept and obey.
The Holy Spirit and the ego are the only choices open to you.
As part of [God’s] Thought, you cannot think apart from Him. T-5.V.6:16
"My brother, choose again." T-31.VIII.3:2
Then try again to have the day you want. T-30.I.1:9
Today I will make no decisions by myself. T-30.I.2(1):2
This means that you are choosing not to be the judge of what to do. T-30.I.2(1):3
At least I can decide I do not like what I feel now. T-30.I.8(4):2
And so I hope I have been wrong. T-30.I.9(5):2
I want another way to look at this. T-30.I.11(6):4
Perhaps there is another way to look at this. T-30.I.12
What can I lose by asking? (7):3,4
For you will hear, and you will choose again. T-31.VIII.9:6
The way to undo an insane conclusion is to consider the sanity of the premises T-6.int.1.6,7
on which it rests. You cannot be attacked, attack has no justification,
and you are responsible for what you believe.
38
NEW PERSPECTIVES ON
PRAYER
39
NEW PERSPECTIVES ON
Father, I was mistaken in myself, because I failed to realize the Source from which I came. W-228.2:1-6
I have not left that Source to enter in a body and to die.
My holiness remains a part of me, as I am part of You.
And my mistakes about myself are dreams.
I let them go today.
And I stand ready to receive Your Word alone for what I really am.
40
FOUR BASIC LAWS OF LIFE
41
THREE SPIRITUAL PRINCIPLES
1. We are all one with God.
The Son of God is you. W-64.3:4
[Everyone] is part of you, as you are part of God. T-7.VII.10:6
You are holy because your mind is part of God's. W-36.1:2
I am spirit. I am free. W-97.Hd.
W-pI.rVI.3:4
2. Perfection, Love, Peace and Joy are our natural state.
You are a perfect creation, T-1.II.3:3
truth is free, and what is bound is not a part of truth. W-278.1:5
No body can contain my spirit, nor impose on me a limitation God created not. W-114.1:3
Teach only love, for that is what you are. T-6.I.13:2
For truth is safe, and only love is sure. W-278.2:5
[God] loves you perfectly, completely and eternally. T-23.I.4:6
Joy characterizes peace. W-74.6:1
Peace is an attribute in you. T-2.I.5:8
Joy is eternal. T-22.II.3:4
There is no difference between love and joy. T-5.in.2:3,4
Therefore, the only possible whole state is the wholly joyous.
Light and joy and peace abide in you. W-93.11:3
TRUTH
now we cannot fail. W-pII.int.5:4
We look not backward W-pII.int.6:3
Words will mean little now. W-pII.int.1:1
Sit silently and wait upon your Father. W-pII.int.5:5
And we are sure His promises are kept. W-pII.int.2:4
Instead of prayers, we need but call His Name. W-pII.int.10:4
Instead of words, we need but feel [God’s] Love. W-pII.int.10:3
For now we seek direct experience of truth alone. W-pII.int.1:3
To perceive the truth is not the same as to know it. T-3.III.5:13
A pure mind knows the truth and this is its strength. T-3.I.5:5
We have come far along the road, and now we wait for Him. W-pII.int.2:5
We use [words] but as guides on which we do not now depend. W-pII.int.1:2
Instead of judging, we need but be still and let all things be healed. W-pII.int.10:5
through Christ's vision we behold a world beyond the one we made, W-pII.int.6:5
and take that world to be the full replacement of our own.
We look ahead, and fix our eyes upon the journey's end. W-pII.int.6:4
For we wait in quiet expectation for our God and Father. W-pII.int.2:2,3
He has promised He will take the final step Himself.
Truth is. It can neither be lost nor sought nor found. T-14.VII.2:2-4
It is there, wherever you are, being within you.
No one can fail who seeks to reach the truth. W-131.Hd
…truth will dawn upon you of itself. T-8.VI.9:11,8
Truth can only be experienced.
42