A Course In Miracles - Chapter 6, Section II

Hi,

I'm Teresa Hubbard.

Welcome back to our continued reading of the text to A Course in Miracles.

We continue today in Chapter 6,

The Lessons of Love,

Section 2,

The Alternative to Projection.

To summarize my takeaways,

In Section 2 of Chapter 6,

We learn that the Holy Spirit extends while the ego projects.

As these are opposing goals,

So are the results.

The difference between the ego's projection and the Holy Spirit's extension is very simple.

The ego projects to exclude and therefore to deceive.

Yet the Holy Spirit extends by recognizing Himself in every mind and thus perceives them as one.

We are guided in this section into taking a closer look at these opposing goals.

The ego's process begins by excluding something that exists in us but which we do not want and leads us directly to excluding us from our brothers.

Yet projection will always hurt us as it reinforces our belief in our own split mind and its purpose is only to keep the separation going.

In contrast,

The Holy Spirit's process begins by perceiving us as perfect.

Knowing this perfection is shared,

We recognize it in others,

Thus strengthening it in both.

This arouses love for both because it establishes unity.

Perceiving equality,

The Holy Spirit perceives equal needs,

Inviting the Atonement automatically because Atonement is the only need in this world that is universal.

The Holy Spirit then was given us by God to remind us that the peace of God lies in us.

This alignment with light is unlimited because it is the light of the world.

We are the light of the world and by joining our minds in this light we proclaim the unity of God together and as one.

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 definitions of terms you will hear within this reading.

Projection A law of mind.

What we see inwardly determines what we see outside ourselves.

This then is our perception which we project onto the world around us.

Perception What we see inwardly determines what we see outside ourselves.

Separation The untrue belief in sin that affirms our identity as separate from God.

This idea is represented by the ego which results in a world filled with the perception of pain,

Suffering and death.

Ego Our belief in the separated or false self made as a substitute for the self that God created.

Holy Spirit The communication link between God and us,

Bridging the gap between the mind of Christ and our human minds.

Atonement The Holy Spirit's plan of correction,

Healing our minds from the earthly world of illusion to God's world of truth.

Knowledge Also referred to as heaven or the real world.

It is the pre-separation world of God and His unified creation in which there are no differences in form and therefore exclusive of the world of perception.

God The non-dualistic world of knowledge wherein God and His creations dwell in perfect unity.

And now onto the reading.

A Course in Miracles Chapter 6 The Lessons of Love Section 2 The Alternative to Projection Any split in mind must involve a rejection of part of it and this is the belief in separation.

The wholeness of God,

Which is His peace,

Cannot be appreciated except by a whole mind that recognizes the wholeness of God's creation.

By this recognition it knows its Creator.

Exclusion and separation are synonymous,

As are separation and dissociation.

We have said before that the separation was and is dissociation and that once it occurs projection becomes its main defense or the device that keeps it going.

The reason,

However,

May not be so obvious as you think.

What you project you disown and therefore do not believe is yours.

You are excluding yourself by the very judgment that you are different from the one on whom you project.

Since you have also judged against what you project you continue to attack it because you continue to keep it separated.

By doing this unconsciously you try to keep the fact that you attacked yourself out of awareness and thus imagine that you have made yourself safe.

Yet projection will always hurt you.

It reinforces your belief in your own split mind and its only purpose is to keep the separation going.

It is solely a device of the ego to make you feel different from your brothers and separated from them.

The ego justifies this on the grounds that it makes you seem better than they are,

Thus obscuring your equality with them still further.

Projection and attack are inevitably related because projection is always a means of justifying attack.

Anger without projection is impossible.

The ego uses projection only to destroy your perception of both yourself and your brothers.

The ego's process begins by excluding something that exists in you but which you do not want and leads directly to excluding you from your brothers.

We have learned however that there is an alternative to projection.

Every ability of the ego has a better use because its abilities are directed by the mind which has a better voice.

The Holy Spirit extends and the ego projects.

As their goals are opposed so is the result.

The Holy Spirit's process begins by perceiving you as perfect.

Knowing this perfection is shared,

He recognizes it in others thus strengthening it in both.

Instead of anger,

This arouses love for both because it establishes inclusion.

Perceiving equality,

The Holy Spirit perceives equal needs.

This invites atonement automatically because atonement is the one need in this world that is universal.

To perceive yourself this way is the only way in which you can find happiness in the world.

That is because it is the acknowledgement that you are not in this world for the world is unhappy.

How can you find joy in a joyless place except by realizing that you are not there?

You cannot be anywhere God did not put you and God created you as part of Him.

That is both where you are and what you are.

It is completely unalterable.

It is total inclusion.

You cannot change it now or ever.

It is forever true.

It is not a belief but a fact.

Anything that God created is as true as He is.

Its truth lies only in its perfect inclusion in Him who alone is perfect.

To deny this is to deny yourself and Him since it is impossible to accept one without the other.

The perfect equality of the Holy Spirit's perception is the reflection of the perfect equality of God's knowing.

The ego's perception has no counterpart in God but the Holy Spirit remains the bridge between perception and knowledge.

By enabling you to use perception in a way that reflects knowledge you will ultimately remember it.

The ego would prefer to believe that this memory is impossible yet it is your perception the Holy Spirit guides.

Your perception will end where it began.

Everything meets in God because everything was created by Him and in Him.

God created His sons by extending His thought and retaining the extensions of His thought in His mind.

All His thoughts are thus perfectly united within themselves and with each other.

The Holy Spirit enables you to perceive this wholeness now.

God created you to create.

You cannot extend His kingdom until you know of its wholeness.

Thoughts begin in the mind of the thinker from which they reach outward.

This is as true of God's thinking as it is of yours.

Because your mind is split you can perceive as well as think.

Yet perception cannot escape the basic laws of mind.

You perceive from your mind and project your perceptions outward.

Although perception of any kind is unreal you made it and the Holy Spirit can therefore use it well.

He can inspire perception and lead it toward God.

This convergence seems to be far in the future only because your mind is not in perfect alignment with the idea and therefore does not want it now.

The Holy Spirit uses time but does not believe in it.

Coming from God He uses everything for good but does not believe in what is not true.

Since the Holy Spirit is in your mind,

Your mind can also believe only what is true.

The Holy Spirit can speak only for this because He speaks for God.

He tells you to return your whole mind to God because it has never left Him.

If it has never left Him you need only perceive it as it is to be returned.

The full awareness of the atonement then is the recognition that the separation never occurred.

The ego cannot prevail against this because it is an explicit statement that the ego never occurred.

The ego can accept the idea that return is necessary because it can so easily make the idea seem difficult.

Yet the Holy Spirit tells you that even return is unnecessary because what never happened cannot be difficult.

However you can make the idea of return both necessary and difficult,

Yet it is surely clear that the perfect need nothing.

And you cannot experience perfection as a difficult accomplishment because perfection is what you are.

This is the way you must perceive God's creations,

Bringing all of your perceptions into the one line the Holy Spirit sees.

This line is the direct line of communication with God and lets your mind converge with His.

There is no conflict anywhere in this perception because it means that all perception is guided by the Holy Spirit whose mind is fixed on God.

Only the Holy Spirit can resolve conflict because only the Holy Spirit is conflict free.

He perceives only what is true in your mind and extends outward only to what is true in other minds.

The difference between the ego's projection and the Holy Spirit's extension is very simple.

The ego projects to exclude and therefore to deceive.

The Holy Spirit extends by recognizing Himself in every mind and thus perceives them as one.

Nothing conflicts in this perception because what the Holy Spirit perceives is all the same.

Wherever He looks He sees Himself and because He is united He offers the whole kingdom always.

This is the one message God gave to Him and for which He must speak because unity is what He is.

The peace of God lies in that message and so the peace of God lies in you.

The great peace of the kingdom shines in your mind forever but it must shine outward to make you aware of it.

The Holy Spirit was given you with perfect impartiality and only by recognizing Him impartially can you recognize Him at all.

The ego is legion but the Holy Spirit is one.

No darkness abides anywhere in the kingdom but your part is only to allow no darkness to abide in your own mind.

This alignment with light is unlimited because it is in alignment with the light of the world.

Each of us is the light of the world and by joining our minds in this light we proclaim the kingdom of God together and as one.