ACIM VOLUME I
HLC TEXT
{proof reader’s V 4.4 © 2004- 2006 Doug Thompson
Updated APRIL 5, 2007
Concordance Tags Edition}

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Chapter I 1 - INTRODUCTION TO MIRACLES

T 1 A. Introduction

T 1 A 1. This is a course in miracles. It is a required course. Only the time you take it is voluntary. Free will does not mean that you can establish the curriculum. It means only that you may elect what you want to take at a given time.

T 1 A 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 [T1], Which is your natural inheritance. The opposite of love is fear, but what is all-encompassing can have no opposite.

T 1 A 3. This course can therefore be summed up very simply in this way: Nothing real can be threatened. Nothing unreal exists. Herein lies the Peace of God.

T 1 B. Principles of Miracles

T 1 B 1. There is no order of difficulty among miracles. One is not "harder" or "bigger" than another. They are all the same. All expressions of love are maximal.

T 1 B 2. Miracles as such do not matter. The only thing that matters is their Source, Which is far beyond human evaluation.

T 1 B 3. Miracles occur naturally as expressions of love. The real miracle is the love that inspires them. In this sense, everything that comes from love is a miracle.

T 1 B 4. All miracles mean life, and God is the Giver of life. His Voice will direct you very specifically. You will be told all you need to know.

T 1 B 5. Miracles are habits and should be involuntary. They should not be under conscious control. Consciously selected miracles can be misguided.

T 1 B 6. Miracles are natural. When they do NOT occur something has gone wrong.

T 1 B 7. Miracles are everyone's right, but purification is necessary first.

T 1 B 8. Miracles are healing because they supply a lack in that they are performed by those who temporarily have more for those who temporarily have less.
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T 1 B 9. Miracles are a kind of exchange. Like all expressions of love, which are ALWAYS miraculous in the true sense, the exchange reverses the physical laws. They bring MORE love both to the giver AND the receiver.

T 1 B 10. The use of miracles as spectacles to INDUCE belief is wrong; or, better, is a misunderstanding of their purpose. They are really used FOR and BY believers.
T 1 B 11. Prayer is the medium of miracles. Prayer is the natural communication of the created with the Creator. Through prayer love is received, and through miracles love is expressed.

T 1 B 12. Miracles are thoughts. Thoughts can represent lower-order or higher-order reality. This is the basic distinction between intellectualizing and thinking. One makes the physical and the other creates the spiritual, and we believe in what we make or create [T2].

T 1 B 13. Miracles are both beginnings and endings. They thus alter the temporal order. They are always affirmations of rebirth, which seem to go back, but really go forward. They undo the past in the present, and thus release the future.

T 1 B 14. Miracles bear witness to truth. They are convincing because they arise from conviction. Without conviction they deteriorate into magic, which is mindless, and therefore destructive; or rather, the uncreative use of mind.

T 1 B 15. Each day should be devoted to miracles. The purpose of time is to enable man to learn to use it constructively. Time is thus a teaching device, and a means to an end. It will cease when it is no longer useful in facilitating learning.

T 1 B 16. Miracles are teaching devices for demonstrating that it is more blessed to give than to receive. They simultaneously increase the strength of the giver and supply strength to the receiver.

T 1 B 17. Miracles are the transcendence of the body. They are sudden shifts into invisibility, away from a sense of lower-order reality. That is why they heal.
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T 1 B 18. A miracle is a service. It is the maximal service one individual can render another. It is a way of loving your neighbor as yourself. The doer recognizes his own and his neighbor's inestimable worth simultaneously.

T 1 B 19. Miracles make minds one in God. They depend on cooperation, because the Sonship is the sum of all the Souls God created. Miracles therefore rest on the laws of eternity, not of time.

T 1 B 20. Miracles re-awaken the awareness that the Spirit, not the body, is the altar of truth. This is the recognition that leads to the healing power of the miracle.

T 1 B 21. Miracles are natural expressions of total forgiveness. Through miracles, man accepts God's forgiveness by extending it to others.

T 1 B 22. Miracles are associated with fear only because of the fallacious belief that darkness can HIDE. Man believes that what he cannot see does not exist, and his physical eyes cannot see in the dark. This is a very primitive solution, and has led to a denial of the Spiritual eye. [T3] The escape from darkness involves two stages:
A. The recognition that darkness CANNOT hide. This step usually entails fear.
B. The recognition that there is nothing you WANT to hide, even if you COULD. This step brings ESCAPE from fear.

T 1 B 23a. Miracles rearrange perception, and place the levels of perception in true perspective. This heals at ALL levels, because sickness comes from confusing the levels.

T 1 B 23b. When you have become willing to hide nothing, you will not only be willing to enter into communion, but will also understand peace and joy. Your commitment is not yet total, and that is why you still have more to learn than to teach. When your equilibrium stabilizes, you will be able to teach as much as you learn, which will give you the proper balance. Meanwhile, remember that no effort is wasted, for unless you remember this, you cannot avail yourselves of MY efforts, which ARE limitless. Only eternity is real. Why not use the illusion of time constructively?
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T 1 B 24. Miracles enable man to heal the sick and raise the dead because he made sickness and death himself, and can abolish both. YOU are a miracle, capable of creating in the likeness of your Creator. Everything else is only your own nightmare, and does not exist. Only the Creations of Light are real.

T 1 B 25a. Miracles are part of an interlocking chain of forgiveness which [T4], when completed, is the Atonement. This process works all the time, and in all the dimensions of time.

T 1 B 25b. I am in charge of the process of Atonement, which I undertook to begin. When you offer a miracle unto any of my brothers, you do it unto YOURSELF and me. The reason YOU come before ME is that I do not need miracles for my own Atonement, but I stand at the end in case you fail temporarily. The purpose of my part in the Atonement is the cancelling out of all lacks of love which men could not otherwise correct. The word "sin" should be changed to "lack of love," because "sin" is a man-made word with threat connotations which he made up himself. No REAL threat is involved anywhere. Nothing is gained by frightening yourselves, and it is very destructive to do so.

T 1 B 26a. Miracles represent FREEDOM from fear. "Atoning" really means "undoing." The undoing of fear is an essential part of the Atonement value of miracles.

T 1 B 26b. The purpose of the Atonement is to restore EVERYTHING to you; or rather, to restore it to your AWARENESS. You were GIVEN everything when you were created, just as everyone was. When you have been restored to the recognition of your original state, you naturally become part of the Atonement yourself. As you share MY inability to tolerate lack of love in yourself and others, you MUST join the Great Crusade to correct it. The slogan for the Crusade is "Listen, learn, and DO;" Listen to my voice, learn to undo error, and DO something to correct it.

T 1 B 26c. The power to work miracles BELONGS to you. I will provide the opportunities to do them, but YOU must be ready and willing, since you are already able. Doing them will bring conviction in the ability, since T(5)
T 1 B conviction really comes through accomplishment. The ability is the potential; the achievement is its expression; and the Atonement is the Purpose.

T 1 B 27a. A miracle is a universal blessing from God through me to ALL my brothers. It is the privilege of the forgiven to forgive.

T 1 B 27b. The disciples were specifically told to be physicians of the Lord and to heal others. They were also told to HEAL THEMSELVES, and were promised that I would never leave them or forsake them. Atonement is the natural profession of the Children of God, because they have professed me. "Heaven and earth shall pass away" simply means that they will not continue to exist as separate states. My word, which is the Resurrection and the Light, shall not pass away because Light is eternal. YOU are the work of God, and His work is wholly lovable and wholly loving. This is how a man MUST think of himself in his heart, because this is what he IS.

T 1 B 28a. Miracles are a means of organizing different levels of consciousness.

T 1 B 28b. Miracles come from the below or subconscious level. Revelations come from the above or super-conscious level. The conscious level is in between, and reacts to either sub- or super-conscious impulses in varying ratios. Consciousness is the level which engages in the world, and is capable of responding to both. Having no impulses from itself, and being primarily a mechanism for inducing response, it can be very wrong.

T 1 B 28c. Revelation induces complete but temporary suspension of doubt and fear. It represents the original form of communication between God and His Souls, involving an extremely personal sense of closeness to Creation, which man tries to find in physical relationships. Physical closeness CANNOT achieve this. The subconscious impulses properly induce miracles, which are genuinely interpersonal, and result in real closeness to others. This can be misunderstood by a PERSONALLY willful consciousness as impulses toward physical gratification.

T 1 B 28d. Revelation unites Souls directly with God. Miracles unite minds directly with each other. Neither emanates from consciousness, but both are EXPERIENCED there. This is essential, since consciousness is the state which
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T 1 B induces action, though it does NOT inspire it. Man is free to believe what he chooses, and what he DOES attests to what he believes. The deeper levels of the subconscious ALWAYS contain the impulse to miracles, but man is free to fill its more superficial levels, which are closer to consciousness, with the impulses of this world, and to identify himself with them. This results in DENYING himself access to the miracle level underneath. In his actions, then, his relationships also become superficial, and miracle-inspired relating becomes impossible.

T 1 B 29a. Miracles are a way of EARNING release from fear.

T 1 B 29b. Revelation induces a state in which fear has ALREADY been abolished. Miracles are thus a means, and revelation is an end. Miracles do not depend on revelation; they INDUCE it. Revelation is intensely personal, and cannot actually be translated into conscious content at all. That is why any attempt to describe it in words is usually incomprehensible. Revelation induces ONLY experience. Miracles, on the other hand, induce ACTION. Miracles are more useful now, because of their interpersonal nature. In this phase of learning, working miracles is more important because freedom from fear cannot be thrust upon you.

T 1 B 30. Miracles praise God through men. They praise God by honoring His Creations, affirming their perfection. They heal because they deny body-identification and affirm Soul-identification. By perceiving the Spirit, they adjust the levels and see them in proper alignment. This places the Spirit at the center, where Souls can communicate directly.

T 1 B 31a. Miracles should inspire gratitude, not awe. Man should thank God for what he really is. The Children of God are very holy, and the miracle honors their holiness.

T 1 B 31b. God's Creations never lose their holiness, although it can be hidden. The miracle uncovers it, and brings it into the light where it belongs. Holiness can never be really hidden in darkness, but man can deceive himself about it. This illusion makes him fearful, because he knows in his heart it IS an illusion, and he exerts enormous efforts to establish its reality. The miracle sets reality where it belongs. Eternal reality belongs only to the Soul, and the miracle acknowledges only the truth. It thus dispels man's
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T 1 B illusions about himself, and puts him in communion with himself AND God.

T 1 B 32a. Christ inspires all miracles, which are really intercessions. They intercede for man's holiness, and make his perceptions holy. By placing him beyond the physical laws, they raise him into the sphere of celestial order. In THIS order, man IS perfect.

T 1 B 32b. The Soul never loses its communion with God. Only the mind NEEDS Atonement. The miracle joins in the Atonement of Christ by placing the mind in the service of the Spirit. This establishes the proper function of the mind, and corrects its errors.

T 1 B 33. Miracles honor man BECAUSE he is lovable. They dispel illusions about him, and perceive the Light in him. They thus atone for his errors by freeing him from his own nightmares. They release him from a prison in which he has imprisoned HIMSELF, and by freeing his mind from illusions, they restore his sanity. Man's mind CAN be possessed by illusions, but his Spirit is eternally free. If a mind perceives without love it perceives an empty shell, and is unaware of the Spirit within it. But the Atonement restores the Soul to its proper place. The mind that serves the Spirit is invulnerable.

T 1 B 34a. Miracles restore the mind to its fullness. By atoning for lack, they establish perfect protection. The strength of the Soul leaves no room for intrusions. The forgiven are filled with the Soul, and they forgive in return. It is the duty of the released to release their brothers.

T 1 B 34b. The forgiven ARE the means of Atonement. Those released by Christ must join in releasing their brothers, for this is the Plan of the Atonement. Miracles are the way in which minds which serve the Spirit unite with Christ for the salvation, or release, of all God's Creations.

T 1 B 35. Miracles are expressions of love, but it does NOT follow that they will always have observable effects. I am the only one who can perform miracles indiscriminately, because I AM the Atonement. You have a ROLE in the Atonement, which I will dictate TO you. Ask ME which miracles you should perform. This spares you exhaustion, because you will act under direct communication.

T 1 B 36a. Christ-controlled miracles are part of the Atonement, but Christ-guidance is personal and leads to PERSONAL salvation. The impersonal nature of miracles is an essential [T5] T(8)
ingredient, because this enables ME to control their distribution. Christ-guidance leads to the highly PERSONAL experience of Revelation. This is why it involves PERSONAL choice. A guide does NOT control, but he DOES direct, leaving the following up to you. "Lead us not into temptation" means "guide us out of our own errors." "Take up thy cross and follow me" means "recognize your errors and choose to abandon them by following my guidance."

T 1 B 36b. Remember that error cannot really threaten truth, which can ALWAYS withstand it. ONLY the error is really vulnerable. You are free to establish your kingdom where you see fit, but the right choice is inevitable if you remember this:
The Soul is in a state of grace forever.
Man's reality is ONLY his Soul.
Therefore man is in a state of grace forever.
Atonement undoes all errors in this respect, and thus uproots the REAL source of fear. Whenever God's reassurances are experienced as threat, it is ALWAYS because you are defending misplaced and misdirected loyalty. That is what projection always involves. Error is lack of love. When man projects this onto others, he DOES imprison them, but only to the extent that he reinforces errors they have ALREADY made. This makes them vulnerable to the distortions of others, since their OWN perception of themselves is distorted. The miracle worker can ONLY bless, and this undoes their distortions, and frees them from prison.

T 1 B 37. Miracles are examples of right thinking. Reality contact at all levels becomes strong and accurate, thus permitting correct delineation of intra- and interpersonal boundaries. As a result, the doer's perceptions are aligned with truth as God created it.

T 1 B 38. A miracle is a correction factor introduced into false thinking by me. It acts as a catalyst, shaking up erroneous perception, and reorganizing it properly. This places man under the Atonement principle, where his perception is healed. Until this has occurred, perception [T6] of the Divine order is impossible.
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T 1 B 39. The Spiritual eye is the mechanism of miracles because what It perceives IS true. It perceives both the Creations of God and the creations of man. Among the creations of man, It can also separate the true from the false by Its ability to perceive totally, rather than selectively. It thus becomes the proper instrument for reality testing, which always involves the necessary distinction between the false and the true.

T 1 B 40a. The miracle dissolves error because the Spiritual eye identifies error as false, or unreal. This is the same as saying that by perceiving light, darkness automatically disappears.

T 1 B 40b. Darkness is lack of light, as sin is lack of love. It has no unique properties of its own. It is an example of the "scarcity" fallacy, from which ONLY error can proceed. Truth is always abundant. Those who perceive and acknowledge that they have everything have no need for driven behavior of ANY kind.

T 1 B 41a. The miracle acknowledges all men as your brothers and mine. It is a way of perceiving the universal mark of God in them. The specialness of God's Sons does NOT stem from exclusion, but from inclusion. ALL my brothers are special. If they believe they are deprived of anything, their perception becomes distorted. When this occurs, the whole family of God, or the Sonship, is impaired in its relationships. Ultimately, every member of the family of God must return. The miracle calls him to return, because it blesses and honors him even though he may be absent in spirit.

T 1 B 41b. "God is not mocked" is not a warning, but a reassurance on this point. God WOULD be mocked if any of His Creations lacked holiness. The Creation IS whole, and the mark of wholeness is holiness.

T 1 B 42a. Wholeness is the perceptual content of miracles. It thus corrects, or atones for, the faulty perception of lack anywhere.

T 1 B 42b. Here we begin to make the fundamental distinction between miracles and projection. The stimulus MUST precede the response, and will also determine the kind of response that is evoked. Behavior IS response, so that the T(10)
question "response to what?" becomes crucial. Since stimuli are identified through perception, you first perceive the stimulus and then behave accordingly. It follows, then, that:
As ye perceive,
So shall ye behave.

T 1 B 42c. The Golden Rule asks you to behave toward others as you would have them behave toward you. This means that the perception of BOTH must be accurate. The Golden Rule is the rule for appropriate behavior. You cannot behave appropriately unless you perceive accurately, because appropriate behavior DEPENDS on lack of level confusion. The presence of level confusion ALWAYS results in variable reality testing, and therefore in variability in behavioral appropriateness. Since you and your neighbor are equal members of the same family, as you perceive both, so you will behave toward both. The way to perceive for Golden Rule behavior is to look out from the perception of your OWN holiness, and perceive the holiness of others.

T 1 B 42d. The emptiness engendered by fear should be replaced by love, because love and its absence are in the same dimension, and correction cannot be undertaken except WITHIN a dimension. Otherwise, there has been a confusion of levels. Death is a human affirmation of a belief in "fate," or level confusion. That is why the Bible says, "There IS no death," and why I demonstrated that death does not exist. I came to fulfill the law by REINTERPRETING it. The law itself, if properly understood, offers only protection to man. It is those who have not yet "changed their minds" who entered the "hellfire" concept into it.

T 1 B 42e. I assure you that I will witness for anyone who lets me, and to whatever extent he permits it. YOUR witnessing demonstrates YOUR belief, and thus strengthens it. Those who witness for me are expressing, through their miracles, that they have abandoned the belief in deprivation in favor of the abundance they have learned BELONGS to them.

T 1 B 43a. A MAJOR contribution of miracles is their strength in releasing man from his misplaced sense of isolation, deprivation and lack.

T 1 B 43b. Miracles are affirmations of Sonship, which is a state of completion T(11)
and abundance. Whatever is true and real is eternal, and CANNOT change or BE changed. The Soul is therefore unalterable because it is ALREADY perfect, but the mind can elect the level it chooses to serve. The ONLY limit which is put on its choice is that it CANNOT serve two masters.

T 1 B 43c. The mind, if it elects to do so, becomes a medium by which the Soul creates along the line of its own Creation. If it does not freely elect to do so, it retains its creative POTENTIAL, but places itself under tyrannous rather than genuinely authoritative control. As a result it imprisons, because such are the dictates of tyrants. To change your mind means to place it at the disposal of TRUE Authority.

T 1 B 43d. The miracle is thus a sign that the mind has chosen to be led by Christ in His service. The abundance of Christ is the natural result of choosing to follow Him. ALL shallow roots must be uprooted, because they are not deep enough to sustain you. The illusion that shallow roots can be DEEPENED, and thus made to hold, is one of the distortions on which the REVERSAL of the Golden Rule rests. As these false underpinnings are given up, the equilibrium is temporarily experienced as unstable. However, the fact is that NOTHING is less stable than an orientation that is upside down. Nor can anything which holds it that way be really conducive to greater stability.

T 1 B 44. Miracles arise from a miraculous state of mind. By being one, this state of mind goes out to ANYONE, even without the awareness of the miracle worker himself. The impersonal nature of miracles is because the Atonement itself is one, uniting all creations with their Creator.

T 1 B 45. The miracle is an expression of an inner awareness of Christ, and the acceptance of His Atonement. The mind is then in a state of grace, and naturally becomes gracious, both to the Host within and the stranger without. By bringing in the stranger, he becomes your brother.

T 1 B 46a. A miracle is never lost. It touches many people you do not even know, and sometimes produces undreamed of changes in forces of which you are not even aware. That is not your concern. The miracle will always bless YOU.

T 1 B 46b. The miracles you are NOT asked to perform have not lost their value. T(12)
They are still expressions of your own state of grace, but the ACTION aspect of the miracle should be Christ-controlled because of His complete awareness of the Whole Plan. The impersonal nature of miracle-mindedness ensures YOUR grace, but only Christ is in a position to know where grace can be BESTOWED.

T 1 B 47. Miracle-mindedness means miracle-readiness. Readiness means that you should always keep your perceptions straight, so that you will ALWAYS be ready, willing and able. These are the essentials for "listen, learn and do." You must be READY to listen, WILLING to learn, and ABLE to do. Only the last is involuntary, because it is the APPLICATION of miracles which must be Christ-controlled. The other two, which are the VOLUNTARY aspects of miracle-mindedness, ARE up to you.

T 1 B 48a. Awe is an inappropriate response to miracles.

T 1 B 48b. Revelation is literally unspeakable because it is an experience of unspeakable love. Awe should be reserved for revelation, to which it is perfectly and correctly applicable. It is NOT appropriate for miracles because a state of awe is worshipful. It implies that one of a lesser order stands before a greater one. This is the case ONLY when a Soul stands before its Creator. Souls are perfect creations, and experience awe only in the Presence of the Creator of perfection.

T 1 B 48c. The miracle, on the other hand, is a sign of love among equals. Equals cannot be in awe of one another because awe implies inequality. It is therefore an inappropriate reaction to me. An elder brother is entitled to respect for his greater experience, and [T7] obedience for his greater wisdom. He is also entitled to love because he IS a brother, and also to devotion if he is devoted. It is only my devotion that entitles me to yours. There is nothing about me that YOU cannot attain. I have nothing that does not come from God. The main difference between us as yet is that I have NOTHING ELSE. This leaves me in a state of true holiness, which is only a POTENTIAL in you.

T 1 B 48d. "No man cometh unto the Father but by me" is among the most misunderstood statements in the Bible. It does NOT mean that I am in any way separate T(13)
T 1 B or different from you EXCEPT IN TIME, which does not really exist at all. Actually, the quotation is more meaningful if it is considered on a vertical rather than a horizontal axis. Regarded along the vertical, man stands below me and I stand below God. In the process of "rising up," I AM higher. This is because, without me, the distance between God and man would be too great for you to encompass.

T 1 B 48e. I bridge the distance as an elder brother to man on the one hand, and as a Son of God on the other. My devotion to my brothers has placed me in charge of the Sonship, which I can render complete only to the extent to which I can SHARE it. This may appear to contradict the statement "I and my Father are one," but there are still separate parts in the statement, in recognition that the Father is greater. (The original statement was "are of one kind"). The Holy Spirit is the Bringer of Revelations. Revelations are INDIRECTLY inspired by me, because I am close to the Holy Spirit, and alert to the revelation-readiness of my brothers. I can thus BRING down to them more than they can DRAW down to themselves.

T 1 B 49. The Holy Spirit is the Highest Communication Medium. Miracles do not involve this type of communication because they are TEMPORARY communication devices. When man returns to his original form of communication with God, the need for miracles is over. The Holy Spirit mediates higher to lower communication, keeping the direct channel from God to man open for revelation. Revelation is not reciprocal. It is always FROM God TO man. The miracle IS reciprocal because it involves equality.

T 1 B 50a. The miracle is a learning device which lessens the need for time. In the longitudinal or horizontal plane, the recognition of the true equality of all the members of the Sonship appears to involve almost endless time. But we know that time is only an artifact introduced as a learning aid. [T8] However, the sudden shifts from horizontal to vertical perception which the miracle entails introduce [T9] an interval from which the doer and the receiver BOTH emerge much farther along in time than they would otherwise have been.

T 1 B 50b. The miracle thus has the unique property of abolishing [T10] time by rendering the space of time it occupies unnecessary. There is NO relationship between the time a miracle TAKES and the time it COVERS. It substitutes for T(14)
learning that might have taken thousands of years. It does this by the underlying recognition of perfect equality and holiness between the doer and the receiver on which the miracle rests.

T 1 B 50c. We said before that the miracle abolishes time. It does this by a process of COLLAPSING it, and thus abolishing certain INTERVALS within it. It does this, however, WITHIN the larger temporal sequence. It establishes an out-of-pattern time interval which is NOT under the usual laws of time. Only in this sense is it timeless. By collapsing time it literally saves time, much as daylight saving time does. It rearranges the distribution of light.

T 1 B 51a. The miracle is the only device which man has at his immediate disposal for controlling time. Only revelation TRANSCENDS time, having nothing to do with time at all.

T 1 B 51b. The miracle is much like the body, in that both are learning aids which aim at facilitating a state in which they are unnecessary. When the Soul's original state of direct communication is reached, neither the body nor the miracle serves any purpose. While he believes he is in a body, however, man can choose between loveless and miraculous channels of expression. He can make an empty shell, but he CANNOT express nothing at all. He can wait, delay, paralyze himself, reduce his creativity to almost nothing, and even introduce a developmental arrest or even a regression. But he CANNOT abolish his creativity. He can destroy his medium of communication, but NOT his potential.

T 1 B 51c. Man was NOT created by his own free will alone. Only what HE creates is his to decide. The basic decision of the miracle-minded is not to wait on time any longer than is necessary. Time can waste as well as be wasted. The miracle-worker, therefore, accepts the time-control factor gladly, because he recognizes that every collapse of time brings all men closer to the ultimate RELEASE from time, in which the Son and the Father ARE one.

T 1 B 51d. Equality does not imply homogeneity NOW. When everyone recognizes that he has everything, individual contributions to the Sonship will no longer be T(15)
necessary. When the Atonement has been completed, ALL talents will be shared by ALL the Sons of God. God is NOT partial. All His children have His total Love, and ALL his gifts are freely given to everyone alike. "Except ye become as little children" means that, unless you fully recognize your complete dependence on God, you cannot know the real power of the Son in his true relationship with the Father.

T 1 B 51e. You who want peace can find it only by complete forgiveness. You never really WANTED peace before, so there was no point in being told how to achieve it. No learning is acquired by anyone unless he wants to learn it, and believes in some way that he NEEDS it. While the concept of lack does not exist in the Creation of God, it is VERY apparent in the creations of man. It is, in fact, the essential difference. A need implies lack by definition. It involves the recognition that you would be better off in a state which is somehow different from the one you are in.

T 1 B 51f. Until the "separation," which is a better term than the "fall," nothing was lacking. This meant that man had no needs at all. If he had not deprived himself, he would never have experienced them. After the separation, needs became the most powerful source of motivation for human action. All behavior is essentially motivated by needs, but behavior itself is not a Divine attribute. The body is the mechanism for behavior. The belief that he COULD be better off is the reason why man has this mechanism at his disposal.

T 1 B 51g. Each one acts according to the particular hierarchy of needs he establishes for himself. His hierarchy, in turn, depends on his perception of what he IS; that is, what he LACKS. A sense of separation from God is the ONLY lack he really needs to correct. This sense of separation would never have occurred if he had not distorted his perception of truth, and thus perceived HIMSELF as lacking. The concept of ANY sort of need hierarchy arose because, having made this fundamental error, he had already fragmented himself into levels with different needs. As he integrates HE becomes one, and his needs become one accordingly. T(16)

T 1 B 51h. Unified need produces unified action because it produces a lack of ambivalence. The concept of a need hierarchy, a corollary to the original error that man can be separated from God, requires correction at its own level, before the error of perceiving levels at all can be corrected. Man cannot behave effectively while he operates at split levels. However, while he does, correction must be introduced from the bottom UP. This is because he now operates in space, where concepts such as "up" and "down" are meaningful. Ultimately, space is as meaningless as time. The concept is really one of space-time BELIEF.

T 1 B 51i. The physical world exists only because man can use it to correct his UNBELIEF, which placed him in it originally. He can never control the effects of fear himself because he MADE fear, and believes in what he made. In attitude, then, though NOT in content, he resembles his own Creator, Who has perfect faith in His creations BECAUSE He created them. Belief in a creation produces its existence. That is why a man can believe in what no one else thinks is true. It is true for him because it was made BY him.

T 1 B 51j. Every aspect of fear proceeds from upside-down perception. The more truly creative devote their efforts to correcting perceptual distortions. The neurotic devotes his to compromise. The psychotic tries to escape by establishing the certain truth of his own errors. It is most difficult to free him by ordinary means, because he is more consistent in his own denial of truth. The miracle, however, makes no such distinctions. It corrects errors BECAUSE they are errors. Thus, the next point to remember about miracles is,

T 1 B 52a. The miracle makes NO distinction among degrees of misperception. It is a device for perception-correction, effective quite apart from either the degree or the direction of the error. This is its TRUE indiscriminateness.

T 1 B 52b. Christ-controlled miracles are selective ONLY in the sense that they are directed toward those who can use them for THEMSELVES. Since this makes it inevitable that they will extend them to others, a strong chain of Atonement T(17)
is welded. However, Christ-control takes no account at all of the magnitude of the miracle itself, because the concept of size exists in a plane that is itself unreal. Since the miracle aims at RESTORING the awareness of reality it would hardly be useful if it were bound by the laws which govern the [T11] error it aims to correct. Only man makes this kind of mistake. It is an example of the foolish consistency which his own false beliefs have engendered.

T 1 B 52c. The power and strength of man's creative will must be understood before the real meaning of denial can be appreciated and relinquished. Denial is NOT mere negation. It is a positive miscreation. While the miscreation is NECESSARILY believed in by its maker, it does not exist at all at the level of true creation.

T 1 B 53a. The miracle compares what man has made with the higher level of creation, accepting what is IN ACCORD as true and rejecting the DISCORDANT [T12] as false. ALL aspects of fear are untrue because they do not exist at the higher creative level, and therefore do not exist at all. To whatever extent a man is willing to submit his beliefs to this test, to that extent are his perceptions corrected.

T 1 B 53b. In sorting out the false from the true, the miracle proceeds along the following lines: [T13] If perfect love casts out fear,
And if fear exists,
Then there is NOT perfect love.
But
Only perfect love REALLY exists.
If there IS fear,
It creates a state which does not exist.
Believe this, and you WILL be free. Only God can establish this solution and THIS faith IS His gift.
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T 1 C. Distortions of Miracle Impulses

T 1 C 1. You are involved in unconscious distortions which are producing a dense cover over miracle impulses, and which make it hard for them to reach consciousness. The nature of any interpersonal relationship is limited or defined by what you want it to DO. Relating is a way of achieving an outcome. The danger of defenses lies in their propensity for holding misperceptions rigidly in place. All actions which stem from reverse thinking are literally the behavioral expressions of those who know not what they do. A rigid orientation can be extremely reliable, even if it is upside-down. In fact, the more consistently upside-down it is, the MORE reliable it is.

T 1 C 2. However, validity is still the ultimate goal, which reliability can only serve. Hostility, triumph, vengeance, self-debasement, and all kinds of expressions of lack of love are often very clearly seen in the fantasies which accompany them. But it is a PROFOUND error to imagine that because these fantasies are so frequent, or occur so reliably, that this implies validity. Remember that while validity implies reliability, the relationship is NOT reversible. You can be wholly reliable and ENTIRELY wrong. While a reliable instrument DOES measure something, what USE is it unless you discover what the "something" is? This course, then, will concentrate on validity, and let reliability fall naturally into place.

T 1 C 3. The confusion of miracle impulses with physical impulses is a major source of perceptual distortion because it INDUCES, rather than straightens out, the basic level confusion which underlies the perception of all those who seek happiness with the instruments of this world. Inappropriate physical impulses (or misdirected miracle impulses) result in conscious guilt if expressed and depression if denied. ALL real pleasure comes from doing God's Will. This is because NOT doing It is a denial of self. DENIAL of error results in projection. CORRECTION of error brings release. "Lead us not into temptation" means "do not let us deceive ourselves into believing that we can relate in peace to God or to our brothers with ANYTHING external."

T 1 C 4. Child of God, you were created to create the good, the beautiful, and the holy. Do not lose sight of this. The love of God, for a little while, must still be expressed through one body to another because the real vision is T(19)
still so dim. Everyone can use his body best by enlarging man's perception so he can see the REAL vision. THIS vision is invisible to the physical eye. The ultimate purpose of the body is to render itself unnecessary. Learning to do this is the only real reason for its creation.

T 1 C 5. Fantasies of any kind are distorted forms of thinking because they ALWAYS involve twisting perception into unreality. Fantasy is a debased form of vision. Vision and revelation are closely related, while fantasy and projection are more closely associated because both attempt to control external reality according to false internal needs. Twist reality in ANY way, and you are perceiving destructively. Reality was lost through usurpation, which in turn produced tyranny. I told you that you are now restored to your former role in the plan of Atonement, but you must still choose freely to devote yourselves to the greater restoration. As long as a single slave remains to walk the earth, your release is not complete. COMPLETE restoration of the Sonship is the only true goal of the miracle-minded.

T 1 C 6. NO fantasies are true. They are distortions of perception, by definition. They are a means of making false associations, and obtaining pleasure from them. Man can do this only because he IS creative. But although he can perceive false associations, he can never make them real EXCEPT TO HIMSELF. Man believes in what he creates. If he creates miracles, he will be equally strong in his belief in THEM. The strength of HIS conviction will then sustain the belief of the miracle receiver. And fantasies become totally unnecessary as the wholly satisfying nature of reality becomes apparent to both. T(20)

Chapter II 2 - THE ILLUSION OF SEPARATION

T 2 A. Introduction

T 2 A 1. This section deals with a fundamental misuse of knowledge, referred to in the Bible as the cause of the "fall," or separation. There are some definitions which I asked you to take from the dictionary which will be helpful here. They are somewhat unusual, since they are not the first definitions which are given. Nevertheless, the fact that each of them does appear in the dictionary should be reassuring:
Project (verb): to extend forward or out.
Project (noun): a plan in the mind.
World: a natural grand division.
We will refer later to projection as related to both mental health and mental illness. We have already observed that man can create an empty shell, but he cannot create nothing at all. This emptiness provides the screen for the misuse of projection.

T 2 A 2. The Garden of Eden, which is described as a literal garden in the Bible, was not an actual garden at all. It was merely a mental state of complete need-lack. Even in the literal account, it is noteworthy that the pre-separation state was essentially one in which man needed nothing. The "tree of knowledge" is also an overly literal figure. These concepts need to be clarified before the real meaning of the separation, or the "detour into fear," can be fully understood.

T 2 A 3. To "project," as defined above, is a fundamental attribute of God, which He gave to His Son. In the Creation, God projected His Creative Ability from Himself to the Souls He created, and He also imbued them with the same loving will to create. The Soul has not only been fully created, but has also been created perfect. There is NO emptiness in it. Because of its likeness to its Creator, it is creative. No Child of God can lose this ability because it is inherent in what he IS, but he CAN use it inappropriately. Whenever projection is used inappropriately, it ALWAYS implies that some emptiness or lack exists, and that it is in man's ability to put his OWN ideas there INSTEAD of truth.

T 2 A 4. If you consider carefully what this entails, the following will become quite apparent: T(21)
5. First, the assumption is implicit that what God created can be CHANGED by the mind of man.

T 2 A 6. Second, the concept that what is perfect can be rendered imperfect, or wanting, is accepted.

T 2 A 7. Third, the belief that man can distort the Creations of God, INCLUDING HIMSELF, is accepted.

T 2 A 8. Fourth, the idea that, since man can create himself, the direction of his own creation is up to HIM, is implied.

T 2 A 9. These related distortions represent a picture of what actually occurred in the separation. None of this existed before, nor does it actually exist now. The world WAS made as "a natural grand division," or a projecting outward of God. That is why everything that He created is like Him. Projection, as undertaken by God, is very similar to the kind of inner radiance which the Children of the Father inherit from Him. It is important to note that the term "project outward" necessarily implies that the REAL source of projection is internal. This is as true of the Son as of the Father.

T 2 A 10. The world, in the original connotation of the term, included both the proper Creation of man by God AND the proper creation by man in his right mind. The latter required the endowment of man by God with free will, because ALL loving creation is freely given. Nothing in these statements implies any sort of level involvement, or, in fact, anything except one continuous line of creation, in which all aspects are of the same order.

T 2 A 11. When the "lies of the serpent" were introduced, they were specifically called "lies" because they are not true. When man listened, all he heard was untruth. He does not have to continue to believe what is not true unless he chooses to do so. All of his miscreations can literally disappear in "the twinkling of an eye," because they are merely visual misperceptions. Man's Spiritual eye can sleep, but a sleeping eye can still see. What is seen in dreams seems to be very real. The Bible mentions that "a deep sleep fell upon Adam," and nowhere is there any reference to his waking up.

T 2 A 12. The history of man in the world as he sees it has not yet been marked T(22)
by any genuine or comprehensive re-awakening or rebirth. This is impossible as long as man projects in the spirit of miscreation. It still remains within him, however, to project as God projected His Own Spirit to him. In reality, this is his ONLY choice, because his free will was given him for his own joy in creating the perfect.

T 2 A 13. All fear is ultimately reducible to the basic misperception that man has the ability to USURP the power of God. It can only be emphasized that he neither CAN nor HAS BEEN able to do this. In this fact lies the real justification for his escape from fear. The escape is brought about by his acceptance of the Atonement, which places him in a position to realize that his own errors never really occurred. When the "deep sleep" fell upon Adam, he was in a condition to experience nightmares BECAUSE he was asleep. If a light is suddenly turned on while someone is dreaming a fearful dream, he may initially interpret the light itself as part of his own dream, and be afraid of it. However, when he awakens, the light is correctly perceived as the RELEASE from the dream, which is no longer accorded reality.

T 2 A 14. It is quite apparent that this release does NOT depend on the kind of "knowledge" which is nothing more than deceiving lies. The knowledge which illuminates rather than obscures is the knowledge which not only SETS you free, but which also shows you clearly that you ARE free. Whatever lies you may believe are of no concern to the miracle, which can heal ANY of them with equal ease. It makes NO distinctions among misperceptions. Its SOLE concern is to distinguish between truth on the one hand, and ALL kinds of errors on the other. Some miracles may SEEM to be of greater magnitude than others, [T14] but remember the first point in this course; that there is NO order of difficulty in miracles.

T 2 A 15. In reality, you are perfectly unaffected by ALL expressions of lack of love. These can be either from yourself AND others, or from yourself TO others, or from others to YOU. Peace is an attribute in YOU. You cannot find it outside. All mental illness is some form of EXTERNAL searching. Mental health is INNER peace. It enables you to remain unshaken by lack of love from without, and capable, through your own miracles, of correcting the external conditions which proceed from lack of love in others.
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T 2 B. The Reinterpretation of Defenses

T 2 B 1. When you are afraid of ANYTHING, you are acknowledging its power to hurt you. Remember that where your heart is, there is your treasure also. This means that you believe in what you VALUE. If you are afraid, you are VALUING WRONGLY. Human understanding will inevitably value wrongly, and, by endowing all human thoughts with equal power, will inevitably DESTROY peace. That is why the Bible speaks of "The peace of God which PASSETH (human) understanding." THIS peace is totally incapable of being shaken by human errors of ANY kind. It denies the ability of ANYTHING which is not of God to affect you in ANY way.

T 2 B 2. This is the PROPER use of denial. It is not used to HIDE anything, but to CORRECT error. It brings ALL error into the light, and since error and darkness are the same, it corrects error automatically. True denial is a powerful protective device. You can and should deny any belief that error can hurt you. This kind of denial is not a concealment device, but a correction device. The "right mind" of the mentally healthy DEPENDS on it. You can do ANYTHING I ask. I have asked you to perform miracles, and have made it clear that miracles are NATURAL, CORRECTIVE, HEALING, AND UNIVERSAL. There is nothing good they cannot do, but they cannot be performed in the spirit of doubt.

T 2 B 3. God and the Souls He created are COMPLETELY dependent on each other. The creation of the Soul has already been perfectly accomplished, but the creation BY Souls has not. God created Souls so He could depend on them BECAUSE He created them perfectly. He gave them His peace so they could not be shaken, and would be unable to be deceived. Whenever you are afraid, you ARE deceived. Your mind is NOT serving the Soul. This literally starves the Soul by denying its daily bread. God offers ONLY mercy. YOUR words should reflect only mercy because that is what you have received, and that is what you should GIVE.

T 2 B 4. Justice is a temporary expedient, or an attempt to teach man the meaning of mercy. Its judgmental side arises only because man is capable of INjustice, if that is what his mind creates. You are afraid of God's Will T(24)
because you have used your own will, which He created in the likeness of His Own, to MISCREATE. What you do NOT realize is that the mind can miscreate ONLY when it is NOT free. An imprisoned mind is not free, by definition. It is possessed, or held back, by ITSELF. Its will is therefore limited, and is not free to assert itself. The real meaning of "are of one kind," which was mentioned before, is "are of one mind or will." When the Will of the Sonship and the Father are One, their perfect accord IS Heaven.

T 2 B 5. Denial of error is a powerful defense of truth. You will note that we have been shifting the emphasis from the negative to the positive use of denial. As we have already stated, denial is not a purely negative device; it results in positive miscreation. That is the way the mentally ill DO employ it. But remember a very early thought of your own; - "Never underestimate the power of denial." In the service of the "right mind," the denial of ERROR frees the mind and re-establishes the freedom of the will. When the will is REALLY free, it CANNOT miscreate because it recognizes ONLY truth.

T 2 B 6. False projection arises out of false denial, NOT out of its proper use. My own role in the Atonement is one of TRUE projection; I can project to YOU the affirmation of truth. If you project error to me, or to yourself, you are interfering with the process. MY use of projection, which can also be yours, is NOT based on faulty denial. It DOES involve, however, the very powerful use of the denial of errors. The miracle worker is one who accepts my kind of denial and projection, unites his own inherent abilities to deny and project with mine, and imposes them back on himself and others. This establishes the total LACK of threat anywhere. Together we can then work for the real time of peace, which is eternal.

T 2 B 7. The improper use of defenses is quite widely recognized, but their proper use has not been sufficiently understood as yet. They can INDEED create man's perception, both of himself and of the world. They can distort or correct, depending on what you use them FOR.

T 2 B 8. Denial should be directed only to error, and projection should be reserved only for truth. You should truly give as you have truly received. The Golden Rule can work effectively only on this basis.
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T 2 B 9. Intellectualization is a term which stems from the mind-brain confusion. "Right-mindedness" is the device which defends the RIGHT mind, and gives it control over the body. "Intellectualization" implies a split, while "right-mindedness" involves healing.

T 2 B 10. Withdrawal is properly employed in the service of withdrawing from the meaningless. It is NOT a device for escape, but for consolidation. There IS only one mind.

T 2 B 11. Dissociation is quite similar. You SHOULD split off or dissociate yourself from error, but only in defense of integration.

T 2 B 12. Detachment is essentially a weaker form of dissociation.

T 2 B 13. Flight can be undertaken in whatever direction you choose, but note that the concept itself implies flight FROM something. Flight from error is perfectly appropriate.

T 2 B 14. Distantiation can be properly used as a way of putting distance between yourself and what you SHOULD fly from.

T 2 B 15. Regression is an effort to return to your own original state. It can thus be utilized to RESTORE, rather than to go back to the LESS mature.

T 2 B 16. Sublimation should be a redirection of effort to the sublime.

T 2 B 17. There are many other so-called "dynamic" concepts which are profound errors due essentially to the misuse of defenses. Among them is the concept of different levels of aspiration, which actually result from level confusion. However, the main point to be understood from this section is that you can defend truth as well as error, and, in fact, much better.

T 2 B 18. The means are easier to clarify after the value of the goal itself is firmly established. Everyone defends his own treasure. You do not have to tell him to do so, because he will do it automatically. The real questions still remain WHAT do you treasure, and HOW MUCH do you treasure it? Once you have learned to consider these two questions, and to bring them into ALL your actions as the true criteria for behavior, I will have little difficulty in clarifying the means. You have not learned to be consistent about this as yet. I have therefore concentrated on showing you that the means ARE available whenever you ASK. You can, however, save a lot of time if you do not T(26)
extend this step unduly. The correct focus will shorten it immeasurably.

T 2 B 19. The Atonement is the ONLY defense which cannot be used destructively. That is because, while everyone must eventually join it, it is NOT a device which was generated by man. The Atonement PRINCIPLE was in effect long before the Atonement itself began. The principle was love, and the Atonement itself was an ACT of love. Acts were not necessary before the separation, because the time-space belief did not exist. It was only after the separation that the defense of Atonement, and the necessary conditions for its fulfillment, were planned.

T 2 B 20. It became increasingly apparent that all of the defenses which man can choose to use constructively OR destructively were not enough to save him. It was therefore decided that he needed a defense which was so splendid that he could not misuse it, although he COULD refuse it. His choice could not, however, turn it into a weapon of attack, which is the inherent characteristic of all other defenses. The Atonement thus becomes the ONLY defense which is NOT a two-edged sword.

T 2 B 21. The Atonement actually began long before the crucifixion. Many Souls offered their efforts on behalf of the separated ones, but they could not withstand the strength of the attack and had to be brought back. Angels came, too, but their protection did not suffice, because the separated ones were not interested in peace. They had already split their minds, and were bent on further dividing, rather than reintegrating. The levels they introduced into their minds turned against each other, and they established differences, divisions, cleavages, dispersions, and all the other concepts related to the increasing splits which they produced.

T 2 B 22. Not being in their right minds, they turned their defenses from protection to assault, and acted literally insanely. It was essential to introduce a split-proof device which could be used ONLY to heal, if it were used at all. The Atonement was built into the space-time belief in order to set a limit on the need for the belief, and ultimately to make learning complete. The Atonement IS the final lesson. Learning itself, like the classrooms in T(27)
T 2 B which it occurs, is temporary. The ability to learn has no value when change of understanding is no longer necessary. The eternally creative have nothing to learn. Only after the separation was it necessary to direct the creative forces to learning, because changed behavior had become mandatory.

T 2 B 23. Men can learn to improve their behavior, and can also learn to become better and better learners. This serves to bring them into closer and closer accord with the Sonship, but the Sonship Itself is a perfect Creation, and perfection is NOT a matter of degree. Only while there are different degrees is learning meaningful. The "evolution" of man is merely a process by which he proceeds from one degree to the next. He corrects his previous missteps by stepping forward. This represents a process which is actually incomprehensible in temporal terms, because he RETURNS as he goes forward.

T 2 B 24. The Atonement is the device by which he can free himself from the past as he goes ahead. It UNDOES his past errors, thus making it unnecessary for him to keep retracing his steps without advancing to his return. In this sense the Atonement saves time, but, like the miracle which serves it, does NOT abolish it. As long as there is need for Atonement there is need for time. But the Atonement, as a completed plan, does have a unique relationship TO time. Until the Atonement is finished, its various phases will proceed IN time, but the whole Atonement stands at time's end. At this point, the bridge of the return has been built.

T 2 B 25. The Atonement is a TOTAL commitment. You still think this is associated with loss. This is the same mistake ALL the separated ones make, in one way or another. They cannot believe that a defense which cannot attack IS the best defense. This is what is meant by "the meek shall inherit the earth." They will literally take it over because of their strength. A two-way defense is inherently weak precisely BECAUSE it has two edges, and can turn against the self very unexpectedly. This tendency cannot be controlled EXCEPT by miracles.

T 2 B 26. The miracle turns the defense of Atonement to the protection of the inner self, which, as it becomes more and more secure, assumes its natural talent of protecting others. The inner self knows itself as both a brother AND a Son. You know that when defenses are disrupted there is a period of T(28)
real disorientation, accompanied by fear, guilt, and usually vacillations between anxiety and depression. This course is different in that defenses are NOT being disrupted but REINTERPRETED, even though you may experience it as the same thing. In the reinterpretation of defenses, only their use for ATTACK is lost. Since this means they can be used only ONE way, they become much stronger and much more dependable. They no longer oppose the Atonement, but greatly facilitate it.

T 2 B 27. The Atonement can only be accepted WITHIN you. You have perceived it largely as EXTERNAL thus far, and that is why your experience of it has been minimal. The reinterpretation of defenses is essential in releasing the INNER light. Since the separation, man's defenses have been used almost entirely to defend himself AGAINST the Atonement, and thus maintain the separation. They themselves generally see this as a need to protect the BODY. The many body fantasies with which men's minds are engaged arise from the distorted belief that the body can be used as a means for attaining "atonement."

T 2 B 28. Perceiving the body as a temple is only the first step in correcting this kind of distortion. It alters part of the misperception, but not all of it. It DOES recognize, however, that the concept of Atonement in physical terms is not appropriate. However, the next step is to realize that a temple is not a building at all. Its REAL holiness lies in the INNER altar, around which the building is built. The inappropriate emphasis men have put on beautiful church buildings is a sign of their FEAR of Atonement, and their unwillingness to reach the altar itself. The REAL beauty of the temple cannot be seen with the physical eye. The Spiritual eye, on the other hand, cannot see the building at all because It has perfect sight. It CAN, however, see the altar with PERFECT clarity.

T 2 B 29. For perfect effectiveness, the Atonement belongs at the center of the inner altar, where it undoes the separation and restores the wholeness of the mind. Before the separation the mind was invulnerable to fear, because fear did not exist. Both the separation AND the fear are miscreations of the T(29)
mind, which must be undone. This is what is meant by "the restoration of the temple." It does not mean the restoration of the building, but the opening of the altar to receive the Atonement. This heals the separation, and places WITHIN man the one defense against ALL separation mind-errors which can make him perfectly invulnerable.

T 2 B 30. The acceptance of the Atonement by everyone is only a matter of time. In fact, both time AND matter were created for this purpose. This appears to contradict free will because of the inevitability of the final decision. If you review the idea carefully, however, you will realize that this is not true. Everything is limited in some way by the manner of its creation. Free will can temporize, and is capable of enormous procrastination. But it cannot depart entirely from its Creator, Who set the limits on its ability to miscreate by virtue of its own REAL purpose.

T 2 B 31. The misuse of will engenders a situation which, in the extreme, becomes altogether intolerable. Pain thresholds can be high, but they are not limitless. Eventually everyone begins to recognize, however dimly, that there MUST be a better way. As this recognition becomes more firmly established, it becomes a perceptual turning-point. This ultimately re-awakens the Spiritual eye, simultaneously weakening the investment in physical sight. The alternating investment in the two types or levels of perception is usually experienced as conflict for a long time, and can become very acute. But the outcome is as certain as God.

T 2 B 32. The Spiritual eye literally CANNOT SEE error and merely looks for Atonement. All the solutions which the physical eyes seek dissolve in Its sight. The Spiritual eye, which looks within, recognizes immediately that the altar has been defiled, and needs to be repaired and protected. Perfectly aware of the RIGHT defense, It passes over all others, looking past error to truth. Because of the real strength of ITS vision, It pulls the will into Its service and impels the mind to concur. This re-establishes the true power of the will, and makes it increasingly unable to tolerate delay. The mind then realizes with increasing certainty that delay is only a way of increasing unnecessary pain which it need not tolerate at all. The pain threshold drops accordingly, T(30)
and the mind becomes increasingly sensitive to what it would once have regarded as very minor intrusions of discomfort.

T 2 B 33. The Children of God are ENTITLED to perfect comfort, which comes from a sense of perfect trust. Until they achieve this, they waste themselves and their true creative powers on useless attempts to make themselves more comfortable by inappropriate means. But the real means is ALREADY provided, and does not involve any effort at all on their part. Their egocentricity usually misperceives this as personally insulting, an interpretation which obviously arises from their misperception of themselves. Egocentricity and communion CANNOT coexist. Even the terms are contradictory.

T 2 B 34. The Atonement is the only gift that is worthy of being offered to the altar of God. This is because of the inestimable value of the altar itself. It was created perfect, and is entirely worthy of receiving perfection. God IS lonely without His Souls and THEY are lonely without Him. Men must learn to perceive the world as a means of HEALING the separation. The Atonement is the GUARANTEE that they will ultimately succeed.
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T 2 C. Healing as Release from Fear

T 2 C 1. The emphasis will now be on healing. The miracle is the means, the Atonement is the principle, and healing is the result. Those who speak of "a miracle of healing" are combining two orders of reality inappropriately. Healing is NOT a miracle. The Atonement, or the final miracle, is a REMEDY, while any type of healing is a result. The KIND of error to which Atonement is applied is irrelevant. Essentially, ALL healing is the release from fear. To undertake this, you CANNOT be fearful yourself. You do not understand healing because of your OWN fear.

T 2 C 2. A major step in the Atonement plan is to undo error at ALL levels. Illness, which is really "not-right-mindedness," is the result of level confusion in the sense that it always entails the belief that what is amiss in one level can adversely affect another. We have constantly referred to miracles as the means of correcting level confusion, and all mistakes must be corrected at the level at [T15] which they occur. Only the MIND is capable of error. The body can ACT erroneously, but this is only because it is responding to mis-thought. The body cannot create, and the belief that it CAN, a fundamental error, produces all physical symptoms.

T 2 C 3. All physical illness represents a belief in magic. The whole distortion which created magic rests on the belief that there is a creative ability in matter which the mind cannot control. This error can take two forms; it can be believed that the mind can miscreate IN the body, or that the body can miscreate in the mind. If it is understood that the mind, which is the ONLY level of creation, cannot create beyond itself, neither type of confusion need occur.

T 2 C 4. The reason only the mind can create is more obvious than may be immediately apparent. The Soul HAS BEEN created. The body is a learning device for the mind. Learning devices are not lessons in themselves. Their purpose is merely to facilitate the thinking of the learner. The most that a faulty use of a learning device can do is to fail to facilitate learning. It has no power in itself to introduce actual learning errors.

T 2 C 5. The body, if properly understood, shares the invulnerability of the Atonement to two-edged application. This is not because the body is a miracle, T(32)
but because it is not INHERENTLY open to misinterpretation. The body is merely a fact in human experience. Its abilities can be, and frequently are, overevaluated. However, it is almost impossible to deny its existence. Those who do so are engaging in a particularly unworthy form of denial. The term "unworthy" here implies simply that it is not necessary to protect the mind by denying the unmindful. There is little doubt that the mind can miscreate. [T16] If one denies this unfortunate aspect of the mind's power, one is also denying the power itself.

T 2 C 6. All material means which man accepts as remedies for bodily ills are merely restatements of magic principles. It was the first level of the error to believe that the body created its own illness. It is a second misstep to attempt to heal it through non-creative agents. It does not follow, however, that the use of these very weak corrective devices is [T17] evil. Sometimes the illness has a sufficiently great hold over a mind to render a person inaccessible to 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 2 C 7. This is because the LAST thing that can help the non-right-minded, or the sick, is an INCREASE in fear. They are already IN a fear-weakened state. If they are inappropriately exposed to an "undiluted" miracle, they may be precipitated into panic. This is particularly likely to occur when upside-down perception has induced the belief that miracles are frightening.

T 2 C 8. The value of the Atonement does not lie in the manner in which it is expressed. In fact, if it is truly used, it will inevitably BE expressed in whatever way is most helpful to the receiver. This means that a miracle, to attain its full efficacy, MUST be expressed in a language which the recipient can understand WITHOUT fear. It does not follow, by any means, that this is the highest level of communication of which he is capable. It DOES mean, however, that it is the highest level of communication of which he is capable NOW. The whole aim of the miracle is to RAISE the level of communication, not to impose regression in the improper sense upon it.
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T 2 C 9. Before miracle workers are ready to undertake their function in this world, it is essential that they fully understand the FEAR OF RELEASE. Otherwise, they may unwittingly foster the belief that release is imprisonment, a belief that is very prevalent. This misperception arose from the underlying misbelief that harm can be limited to the body. This was because of the much greater fear that the mind can hurt itself. Neither error is really meaningful, because the miscreations of the mind do not really exist. THIS recognition is a far better protective device than ANY form of level confusion because it introduces correction at the level of the error.

T 2 C 10. It is essential to remember that ONLY the mind can create. Implicit in this is the corollary that correction belongs at the THOUGHT level. To repeat an earlier statement and to extend it somewhat, the Soul is already perfect, and therefore does not require correction. The body does not really exist except as a learning device for the mind. This learning device is NOT subject to errors of its own because it was created, but is NOT creating. It should be obvious, then, that correcting the creator, or inducing it to give up its miscreations, is the only application of creative ability which is truly meaningful.

T 2 C 11. Magic is essentially mindless, or the miscreative use of the mind. Physical medications are forms of "spells." Those who are AFRAID to use the mind to heal should not attempt to do so. The very fact that they ARE afraid has made them vulnerable to miscreation. They are therefore likely to misunderstand any healing they might induce, and, because egocentricity and fear usually occur together, may be unable to accept the real Source of the healing. Under these conditions, it is safer for them to rely TEMPORARILY on physical healing devices, because they cannot misperceive them as their own creations. As long as their sense of vulnerability persists, they should be preserved from even attempting miracles.

T 2 C 12. We have already said that the miracle is an expression of miracle-mindedness. Miracle-mindedness merely means right-mindedness in the sense that we are now using it. The right-minded neither exalt nor depreciate the T(34)
mind of the miracle worker OR the miracle receiver. However, as a creative act, the miracle need not await the right-mindedness of the receiver. In fact, its purpose is to RESTORE him to his right mind. It is essential, however, that the miracle WORKER be in his right mind, or he will be unable to reestablish right-mindedness in someone else.

T 2 C 13. The healer who relies on his OWN readiness is endangering his understanding. He is perfectly safe as long as he is completely unconcerned about HIS readiness, but maintains a consistent trust in MINE. If your miracle working propensities are not functioning properly, it is ALWAYS because fear has intruded on your right-mindedness, and has literally upset it (or turned it upside-down). All forms of not-right-mindedness are the result of refusal to accept the Atonement FOR YOURSELF. If the miracle worker DOES accept it, he places himself in a position to recognize that those who need to be healed are simply those who have not realized that right-mindedness IS healing.

T 2 C 14. The SOLE responsibility of the miracle worker is to accept the Atonement for himself. This means that he recognizes that mind is the only creative level, and that its errors ARE healed by the Atonement. Once he accepts this, his mind can ONLY heal. By denying his mind any destructive potential, and reinstating its purely constructive powers, he has placed himself in a position where he can undo the level confusion of others. The message he then gives to others is the truth that THEIR minds are similarly constructive, and that THEIR miscreations cannot hurt them. By affirming this, the miracle worker releases the mind from overevaluating its own learning device (the body), and restores the mind to its true position as the learner.

T 2 C 15. It should be emphasized again that the body does not learn, any more than it creates. As a learning device it merely follows the learner, but if it is falsely endowed with self-initiative, it becomes a serious obstruction to the very learning it should facilitate. ONLY the mind is capable of illumination. The Soul is already illuminated, and the body in itself is too dense. The mind, however, can bring ITS illumination TO the body by recognizing that density is the opposite of intelligence, and therefore unamenable to T(35)
T 2 C independent learning. It is, however, easily brought into alignment with a mind which has learned to look beyond density toward light.

T 2 C 16. Corrective learning always begins with the awakening of the Spiritual eye, and the turning away from the belief in physical sight. The reason this so often entails fear is because man is afraid of what his Spiritual eye will see. We said before that the Spiritual eye cannot see error, and is capable only of looking beyond it to the defense of Atonement. There is no doubt that the Spiritual eye DOES produce extreme discomfort by what It sees. Yet what man forgets is that the discomfort is NOT the final outcome of Its perception. When the Spiritual eye is permitted to look upon the defilement of the altar, it also looks IMMEDIATELY toward the Atonement.

T 2 C 17. NOTHING the Spiritual eye perceives can induce fear. EVERYTHING that results from accurate spiritual awareness is merely channelized toward correction. Discomfort is aroused only to bring the NEED for correction forcibly into awareness. What the physical eye sees is NOT corrective, nor can it be corrected by ANY device which can be seen physically. As long as a man believes in what his physical sight tells him, ALL his corrective behavior will be misdirected. The REAL vision is obscured because man cannot endure to see his own defiled altar. But since the altar HAS been defiled, his state becomes doubly dangerous unless it IS perceived.

T 2 C 18. The fear of healing arises, in the end, from an unwillingness to accept the unequivocal fact that healing is necessary. Man is not willing to look on what he has done TO HIMSELF. Healing is an ability lent to man after the separation, before which it was completely unnecessary. Like all aspects of the space-time belief, healing ability is temporary. However, as long as time persists, healing is needed as a means for human protection. This is because healing rests on charity, and charity is a way of perceiving the perfection of another even if he cannot perceive it himself.

T 2 C 19. Most of the loftier concepts of which man is capable now are time-dependent. Charity is really a weaker reflection of a much more powerful love-encompassment which is FAR beyond any form of charity that man can conceive of as yet. Charity is essential to right-mindedness in the limited T(36)
sense in which right-mindedness can now be attained. Charity is a way of looking at another AS IF he had already gone far beyond his actual accomplishments in time. Since his own thinking is faulty he cannot see the Atonement for himself, or he would have no need for charity. The charity which is accorded him is both an acknowledgment that he IS weak and a recognition that he COULD BE stronger.

T 2 C 20. The way in which both of these perceptions are stated clearly implies their dependence on time, making it quite apparent that charity lies within the human limitations, though toward its higher levels. We said before that only revelation transcends time. The miracle, as an expression of true human charity, can only shorten time at most. It must be understood, however, that whenever a man offers a miracle to another, he is shortening the suffering of BOTH. This introduces a correction into the whole record which corrects retroactively as well as progressively.
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T 2 D. Fear as Lack of Love

T 2 D 1. You believe that "being afraid" is involuntary; something beyond your control. Yet I have told you several times that only CONSTRUCTIVE acts should be involuntary. We have said that Christ-control can take over everything that does NOT matter, while Christ-guidance can direct everything that DOES, if you so choose. Fear cannot be Christ-controlled, but it CAN be self-controlled. It PREVENTS me from controlling it. The correction is therefore a matter of YOUR will, because its presence shows that you have raised the UNIMPORTANT to a higher level than it warrants. You have thus brought it under YOUR will, where it does not belong. This means that YOU feel responsible for it. The level confusion here is obvious.

T 2 D 2. The reason I cannot control fear for you is that you are attempting to raise to the mind level the proper content of lower-order reality. I do not foster level confusion, but YOU can choose to correct it. You would not tolerate insane BEHAVIOR on your part, and would hardly advance the excuse that you could not help it. Why should you tolerate insane THINKING? There is a confusion here which you would do well to look at clearly. YOU believe that you are responsible for what you DO, but NOT for what you THINK. The truth is that you ARE responsible for what you think because it is only at this level that you CAN exercise choice.

T 2 D 3. What you do COMES FROM what you think. You cannot separate yourself from the truth by "giving" autonomy to behavior. This is controlled by me automatically, as soon as you place what you think under my guidance. Whenever you are afraid, it is a sure sign that you have allowed your mind to miscreate, or have NOT allowed me to guide it. It is pointless to believe that controlling the OUTCOME of mis-thought can result in healing. When you are fearful you have willed wrongly. This is why you feel responsible for it. You must change your MIND, not your behavior, and this IS a matter of will.

T 2 D 4. You do not need guidance EXCEPT at the mind level. Correction belongs ONLY at the level where creation is possible. The term does not mean anything at the symptom level, where it cannot work. The correction of fear IS your responsibility. When you ask for release from fear, you are implying that it is not. You should ask, instead, for help in the conditions which have brought T(38)
the fear about. These conditions ALWAYS entail a separated mind willingness. At that level, you CAN help it. You are much too tolerant of mind wandering, thus passively condoning its miscreations. The particular result does not matter, but the fundamental error DOES. The correction is always the same. Before you will to do anything, ask me if your will is in accord with mine. If you are sure that it is, there will BE no fear.

T 2 D 5. Fear is always a sign of strain, which arises whenever the WILL to do conflicts with WHAT you do. This situation arises in two ways: [T18] 1. You can will to do conflicting things, either simultaneously or successively. This produces conflicted behavior, which is intolerable to yourself because the part of the will that wants to do something ELSE is outraged.
2. You can BEHAVE as you think you should, but without entirely WILLING to do so. This produces consistent behavior, but entails great strain WITHIN the self.

T 2 D 6. [T19] In both cases, the will and the behavior are out of accord, resulting in a situation in which you are doing what you do NOT will. This arouses a sense of coercion, which usually produces rage. The rage then invades the mind, and projection in the wrong sense is likely to follow. Depression or anxiety is virtually certain.

T 2 D 7. Remember that whenever there is fear, it is because you have NOT MADE UP YOUR MIND. Your will is split, and your behavior inevitably becomes erratic. Correcting at the behavioral level can shift the error from the first to the second type of strain described above, but will NOT obliterate the fear. It is possible to reach a state in which you bring your will under my guidance without much conscious effort, but this implies habit patterns which you have not developed dependably as yet. God cannot ask MORE than you will. The strength to DO comes from your own undivided WILL to do. There is NO strain in doing God's Will as soon as you recognize that it is also your OWN.

T 2 D 8. The lesson here is quite simple, but particularly apt to be overlooked. I will therefore repeat it, urging you to listen. Only your MIND can produce T(39)
fear. It does so whenever it is conflicted in what it wills, thus producing inevitable strain because willing and doing become discordant. This cannot be corrected by better DOING, but it CAN be corrected by higher WILLING.

T 2 E. The Correction for Lack of Love

T 2 E 1. The first corrective step is KNOW FIRST that this is an expression of fear. Then say to yourself that you must somehow have willed not to love, or the fear which arises from behavior-will conflict could not have arisen. Then the whole process is nothing more than a series of pragmatic steps in the larger process of accepting the Atonement as THE remedy. These steps can be summarized as follows:
1. Know first that this is fear.
2. Fear arises from lack of love.
3. The ONLY remedy for lack of love is perfect love.
4. Perfect love is the Atonement.

T 2 E 2. We have emphasized that the miracle, or the EXPRESSION of Atonement, is always a sign of real respect FROM the worthy TO the worthy. This worth IS re-established by the Atonement. It is obvious, then, that when you are afraid you have placed yourself in a position where you NEED Atonement, because you have done something loveless, having willed without love. This is precisely the situation for which the Atonement was offered. The need for the remedy inspired its creation. As long as you recognize only the need for the remedy, you will remain fearful. However, as soon as you REMEDY it, you have also abolished the fear. This is how true healing occurs.

T 2 E 3. Everyone experiences fear, and no one enjoys it. Yet it would take very little right-thinking to realize why fear occurs. Very few people appreciate the real power of the mind, and no one remains fully aware of it all the time. However, if anyone hopes to spare himself from fear, there are some things he must realize, and realize fully. The mind is a very powerful creator, and it never loses its creative force. It never sleeps. Every instant it is creating, and ALWAYS as you will. Many of your ordinary expressions reflect this. For example, when you say, "Don't give it a thought," you imply that if you do not think about something, it will have no effect on you. And this is true enough. [T20] T(40)
T 2 E 4. On the other hand, many other expressions clearly illustrate the prevailing LACK of awareness of thought-power. For example, you say, "Just an idle thought," and mean that the thought has no effect. You also speak of some actions as "thoughtless," implying that if the person had thought, he would not behave as he did. While expressions like "think big" give some recognition to the power of thought, they still come nowhere near the truth. You do not expect to grow when you say it, because you do not really think that you will.

T 2 E 5. It is hard to recognize that thought and belief combine into a power surge that can literally move mountains. It appears at first glance that to believe such power about yourself is merely arrogant, but that is not the real reason why you do not believe it. People PREFER to believe that their thoughts cannot exert real control because they are literally AFRAID of them. Many psychotherapists attempt to help people who are afraid, say, of their death wishes by depreciating the power of the wish. They even try to "free" the patient by persuading him that he can think whatever he wants without any REAL effect at all.

T 2 E 6. There is a real dilemma here which only the truly right-minded can escape. Death wishes do not kill in the physical sense, but they DO kill spiritual awareness. ALL destructive thinking is dangerous. Given a death wish, a man has no choice except to ACT upon the thought, or behave CONTRARY to it. He thus chooses ONLY between homicide and fear. The other possibility is that he depreciates the power of his thought. This is the usual psychoanalytic approach. It DOES allay guilt, but at the cost of rendering thinking impotent. If you believe that what you think is ineffectual you may cease to be overly afraid of it, but you are hardly likely to respect it.

T 2 E 7. The world is full of examples of how man has depreciated himself because he is afraid of his own thoughts. In some forms of insanity thoughts are glorified, but this is only because the underlying depreciation was too effective for tolerance. The truth is that there ARE no "idle" thoughts. ALL thinking produces form at some level. The reason people are afraid of ESP and so often react against it is because they KNOW that thoughts can hurt them. Their own thoughts have made them vulnerable.
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T 2 E 8. You who constantly complain about fear still persist in creating it. I told you before that you cannot ask ME to release you from fear because I KNOW it does not exist, but YOU do not. If I merely intervened between your thoughts and their results, I would be tampering with a basic law of cause and effect, the most fundamental law there is in this world. I would hardly help if I depreciated the power of your own thinking. This would be in direct opposition to the purpose of this course. It is much more helpful to remind you that you do not guard your thoughts carefully except for a small part of the day, and somewhat inconsistently even then. You may feel at this point that it would take a miracle to enable you to do this, which is perfectly true.

T 2 E 9. Men are not used to miraculous thinking, but they can be TRAINED to think that way. All miracle workers need that kind of training. I cannot let them leave their minds unguarded or they will not be able to help me. Miracle working entails a full realization of the power of thought, and real avoidance of miscreation. Otherwise a miracle will be necessary to set the mind ITSELF straight, a circular process which would hardly foster the time collapse for which the miracle was intended. Nor would it induce the healthy respect for true cause and effect which every miracle worker must have.

T 2 E 10. Both miracles AND fear come from thoughts, and if you were not free to choose one, you would also not be free to choose the other. By choosing the miracle you HAVE rejected fear. You have been afraid of God, of me, of yourselves, and of practically everyone you know at one time or another. This is because you have misperceived or miscreated us, and believe in what you have made. You would never have done this if you were not afraid of your own thoughts. The vulnerable are essentially miscreators because they misperceive creation.

T 2 E 11. You persist in believing that, when you do not consciously watch your mind, it is unmindful. It is time, however, to consider the whole world of the unconscious or "unwatched" mind. This may well frighten you because it is the SOURCE of fear. The unwatched mind is responsible for the whole content T(42)
of the unconscious which lies ABOVE the miracle level. All psychoanalytic theorists have made some contribution in this connection, but none of them has seen it in its true entirety. They have all made one common error in that they attempted to uncover unconscious CONTENT. You cannot understand unconscious activity in these terms because "content" is applicable ONLY to the more superficial unconscious levels, to which the individual himself contributes. This is the level at which he can readily introduce fear, and usually does.

T 2 E 12. When man miscreates he is in pain. The Cause and Effect [T21] principle here is temporarily a real expediter. Actually, "Cause" is a term properly belonging to God, and "Effect," which should also be capitalized, is His Son. This entails a set of Cause and Effect relationships which are totally different from those which man introduced into his own miscreations. The fundamental opponents in the real basic conflict are Creation and miscreation. ALL FEAR is implicit in the second, just as all LOVE is inherent in the first. Because of this difference, the basic conflict IS one between love and fear.

T 2 E 13. It has already been said that man believes he CANNOT control fear because he himself created it. His belief in it seems to render it out of his control by definition. Yet any attempt to resolve the basic conflict through the concept of MASTERY of fear is meaningless. In fact, it asserts the POWER of fear by the simple assumption that it NEED be mastered. The essential resolution rests entirely on the mastery of LOVE. In the interim, the SENSE of conflict is inevitable, since man has placed himself in a strangely illogical position. He believes in the power of what does not exist.

T 2 E 14. Two concepts which CANNOT coexist are "nothing" and "everything." To whatever extent one is believed in, the other HAS BEEN denied. In the conflict fear is really nothing, and love is everything. This is because whenever light enters darkness, the darkness IS abolished. What man believes IS true for him. In this sense the separation HAS occurred, and to deny this is merely to misuse denial. However, to concentrate on error is merely a further misuse of defenses. The true corrective procedure is to recognize error temporarily, but ONLY as an T(43)
indication that IMMEDIATE correction is mandatory. This establishes a state of mind in which the Atonement can be accepted WITHOUT delay.

T 2 E 15. It should be emphasized, however, that ultimately there IS no compromise possible between everything and nothing. Time is essentially a device by which all compromise in this respect can be given up. It seems to be abolished by degrees because time itself involves a concept of intervals which do not really exist. The faulty use of creation made this necessary as a corrective device. "And God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believeth on Him shall not perish, but have eternal life" needs only one slight correction to be entirely meaningful in this context. It should read, "He gave it TO His only begotten Son."

T 2 E 16. It should especially be noted that God has only ONE Son. If all the Souls God created ARE His Sons, then every Soul MUST be an integral part of the whole Sonship. You do not find the concept that the whole is greater than its parts difficult to understand. You should, therefore, not have too much trouble in understanding this. The Sonship in its Oneness DOES transcend the sum of its parts. However, this is obscured as long as any of its parts are missing. That is why the conflict cannot ultimately be resolved until ALL the parts of the Sonship have returned. Only then can the meaning of wholeness, in the true sense, be fully understood.

T 2 E 17. Any part of the Sonship can believe in error or incompleteness, if he so elects. However, if he does so, he is believing in the existence of nothingness. The correction of this error is the Atonement. We have already briefly spoken about readiness, but there are some additional points which might be helpful here. Readiness is nothing more than the PREREQUISITE for accomplishment. The two should not be confused. As soon as a state of readiness occurs, there is usually some will to accomplish, but this is by no means necessarily undivided. The state does not imply more than a POTENTIAL for a shift of will.

T 2 E 18. Confidence cannot develop fully until mastery has been accomplished. We have already attempted to correct the fundamental error that fear can be mastered, and have emphasized that only LOVE can be mastered. You have attested only to your readiness. Mastery of love involved a much more complete T(44)
confidence than either of you has attained. However, the readiness at least is an indication that you believe this is possible. That is only the beginning of confidence. In case this be misunderstood to imply that an enormous amount of time will be necessary between readiness and mastery, let me remind you that time and space are under my control.

T 2 E 19. One of the chief ways in which man can correct his magic-miracle confusion is to remember that he did not create himself. He is apt to forget this when he becomes egocentric, and this places him in a position where the belief in magic in some form is virtually inevitable. His will to create was given him by his own Creator, Who was expressing the same Will in His Creation. Since creative ability rests in the mind, everything that man creates is necessarily a matter of will. It also follows that whatever he creates is real in his own sight, but not necessarily in the Sight of God. This basic distinction leads us directly into the real meaning of the Last Judgment.

T 2 F. The Meaning of the Last Judgment

T 2 F 1. The Last Judgment is one of the greatest threat concepts in man's perception. This is only because he does not understand it. Judgment is not an essential attribute of God. Man brought judgment into being only because of the separation. After the separation, however, there WAS a place for judgment as one of the many learning devices which had to be built into the overall plan. Just as the separation occurred over many millions of years, the Last Judgment will extend over a similarly long period, and perhaps an even longer one. Its length depends, however, on the effectiveness of the present speed-up.

T 2 F 2. We have frequently noted that the miracle is a device for shortening but not abolishing time. If a sufficient number of people become truly miracle-minded quickly, the shortening process can be almost immeasurable. It is essential, however, that these individuals free themselves from fear sooner than would ordinarily be the case, because they must emerge from the conflict if they are to bring peace to other minds.

T 2 F 3. The Last Judgment is generally thought of as a procedure undertaken by God. Actually it will be undertaken by man, with my help. It is a Final Healing, rather than a meting out of punishment, however much man may think T(45)
that punishment is deserved. Punishment is a concept in TOTAL opposition to right-mindedness. The aim of the Last Judgment is to RESTORE right-mindedness to man.

T 2 F 4. The Last Judgment might be called a process of right evaluation. It simply means that finally all men will come to understand what is worthy and what is not. After this, their ability to choose can be directed reasonably. Until this distinction is made, however, the vacillations between free and imprisoned will cannot BUT continue. The first step toward freedom MUST entail a sorting out of the false from the true. This is a process of division only in the constructive sense, and reflects the true meaning of the Apocalypse. Man will ultimately look upon his own creations, and will to preserve only what is good, just as God Himself looked upon what He had created and knew that it WAS good.

T 2 F 5. At this point, the will can begin to look with love on its own creations because of their great worthiness. The mind will inevitably disown its miscreations which, without the mind's belief, will no longer exist. The term "Last Judgment" is frightening not only because it has been falsely projected onto God, but also because of the association of "last" with death. This is an outstanding example of upside-down perception. Actually, if the meaning of the Last Judgment is objectively examined, it is quite apparent that it is really the doorway to life.

T 2 F 6. No one who lives in fear is really alive. His own last judgment cannot be directed toward himself because he is not his own creation. He can, however, apply it meaningfully and at ANY time to everything he has created, and retain in his memory ONLY what is good. This is what his right-mindedness cannot BUT dictate. The purpose of time is solely to "give him time" to achieve this judgment. It is his own perfect judgment of his own creations. When everything he retains is lovable, there IS no reason for fear to remain with him. This IS his part in the Atonement. T(46)

Chapter III 3 - RETRAINING THE MIND
T 3 A. Introduction

T 3 A 1. This is a course in MIND TRAINING. All learning involves attention and study at some level. Some of the later parts of the course rest too heavily on these earlier sections not to require their study. You will also need them for preparation. Without this, you may become much too fearful when the unexpected DOES occur to make constructive use of it. However, as you study these earlier sections, you will begin to see some of their implications, which will be amplified considerably later on.

T 3 A 2. The reason a solid foundation is necessary is because of the confusion between fear and awe to which we have already referred [T22], and which so many people hold. You will remember that we said that awe is inappropriate in connection with the Sons of God because you should not experience awe in the presence of your equals. However, it was also emphasized that awe IS a proper reaction in the presence of your Creator. I have been careful to clarify my own role in the Atonement, without either over or understating it. I have also tried to do the same in connection with yours. I have stressed that awe is NOT an appropriate reaction to me because of our inherent equality.

T 3 A 3. Some of the later steps in this course, however, DO involve a more direct approach to God Himself. It would be most unwise to start on these steps without careful preparation, or awe will be confused with fear, and the experience will be more traumatic than beatific. Healing is of God in the end. The means are being carefully explained to you. Revelation may occasionally REVEAL the end to you, but to reach it the means are needed.
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T 3 B. Special Principles for Miracle Workers

T 3 B 1. The miracle abolishes the need for lower-order concerns. Since it is an out-of-pattern time interval, the ordinary considerations of time and space do not apply. When YOU perform a miracle, I will arrange both time and space to adjust to it.

T 3 B 2. Clear distinction between what HAS BEEN created and what IS BEING created is essential. ALL forms of correction (or healing) rest on this FUNDAMENTAL correction in level perception.

T 3 B 3. Another way of stating the above point is: - Never confuse right with wrong-mindedness. Responding to ANY form of miscreation with anything EXCEPT A DESIRE TO HEAL (or a miracle) is an expression of this confusion.

T 3 B 4. The miracle is always a DENIAL of this error and an affirmation of the truth. Only right-mindedness CAN create in a way that has any real effect. Pragmatically, what has no real effect has no real existence. Its effect, then, is emptiness. Being without substantial content, it lends itself to projection in the improper sense.

T 3 B 5. The level-adjustment power of the miracle induces the right perception for healing. Until this has occurred healing cannot be understood. Forgiveness is an empty gesture unless it entails correction. Without this, it is essentially judgmental rather than healing.

T 3 B 6. Miraculous forgiveness is ONLY correction. It has NO element of judgment at all. "Father forgive them for they know not what they do" in no way evaluates WHAT they do. It is strictly limited to an appeal to God to heal their minds. There is no reference to the outcome of their misthought. THAT does not matter.

T 3 B 7. The Biblical injunction "Be of one mind" is the statement for revelation-readiness. My OWN injunction "Do this in remembrance of me" is the request for cooperation from miracle-workers. It should be noted that the two statements are not in the same order of reality. The latter involves a time awareness, since to remember implies recalling the past in the present. Time is under MY direction, but Timelessness belongs to God alone. In time we exist for and with each other. In Timelessness we coexist with God.
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T 3 C. Atonement without Sacrifice

T 3 C 1. There is another point which must be perfectly clear before any residual fear which may still be associated with miracles becomes entirely groundless. The crucifixion did NOT establish the Atonement. The Resurrection did. This is a point which many very sincere Christians have misunderstood. No one who is free of the scarcity-error could POSSIBLY make this mistake. If the crucifixion is seen from an upside-down point of view, it DOES appear as if God permitted, and even encouraged, one of his Sons to suffer BECAUSE he was good. Many ministers preach this every day.

T 3 C 2. This particularly unfortunate interpretation, which arose out of the combined misprojections of a large number of my would-be followers, has led many people to be bitterly afraid of God. This particularly anti-religious concept enters into many religions, and this is neither by chance nor by coincidence. Yet the real Christian would have to pause and ask, "How could this be?" Is it likely that God Himself would be capable of the kind of thinking which His own words have clearly stated is unworthy of man?

T 3 C 3. The best defense, as always, is not to attack another's position, but rather to protect the truth. It is unwise to accept ANY concept, if you have to turn a whole frame of reference around in order to justify it. This procedure is painful in its minor applications, and genuinely tragic on a mass basis. Persecution is a frequent result, undertaken to justify the terrible misperception that God Himself persecuted His own Son on behalf of salvation. The very words are meaningless.

T 3 C 4. It has been particularly difficult to overcome this because, although the error itself is no harder to overcome than any other error, men were unwilling to give this one up because of its prominent "escape" value. In milder forms, a parent says, "This hurts me more than it hurts you," and feels exonerated in beating a child. Can you believe that the Father REALLY thinks this way? It is so essential that ALL such thinking be dispelled that we must be very sure that NOTHING of this kind remains in your mind. I was NOT punished because YOU were bad. The wholly benign lesson the Atonement teaches is lost if it is tainted with this kind of distortion in ANY form.
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T 3 C 5. "Vengeance is Mine sayeth the Lord" is a strictly karmic viewpoint. It is a real misperception of truth, by which man assigns his own "evil" past to God. The "evil conscience" from the past has nothing to do with God. He did not create it and He does not maintain it. God does NOT believe in karmic retribution. His Divine Mind does not create that way. HE does not hold the evil deeds of a man even against himself. Is it likely, then, that He would hold against anyone the evil that ANOTHER did?

T 3 C 6. Be very sure that you recognize how utterly impossible this assumption really is, and how ENTIRELY it arises from misprojection. This kind of error is responsible for a host of related errors, including the belief that God rejected man, and forced him out of the Garden of Eden. It is also responsible for the fact that you may believe, from time to time, that I am misdirecting you. I have made every effort to use words that are almost impossible to distort, but man is very inventive when it comes to twisting symbols around.

T 3 C 7. God Himself is NOT symbolic; He is FACT. The Atonement, too, is totally without symbolism. It is perfectly clear because it exists in light. Only man's [T23] attempts to shroud it in darkness have made it inaccessible to the unwilling and ambiguous to the partly willing. The Atonement itself radiates nothing but truth. It therefore epitomizes harmlessness and sheds ONLY blessing. It could not do this if it arose from anything but perfect innocence. Innocence is wisdom because it is unaware of evil, which does not exist. It is, however, PERFECTLY aware of EVERYTHING that is true.

T 3 C 8. The Resurrection demonstrated that NOTHING can destroy truth. Good can withstand ANY form of evil because light abolishes ALL forms of darkness. The Atonement is thus the perfect lesson. It is the final demonstration that all of the other lessons which I taught are true. Man is released from ALL errors if he believes in this. The deductive approach to teaching accepts the generalization which is applicable to ALL single instances, rather than building up the generalization after analyzing numerous single instances separately. If you can accept the ONE generalization NOW, there will be no need to learn from many smaller lessons.
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T 3 C 9. NOTHING can prevail against a Son of God who commends his Spirit into the hands of his Father. By doing this, the mind awakens from its sleep and remembers its Creator. All sense of separation disappears, and level confusion vanishes. The Son of God IS part of the Holy Trinity, but the Trinity Itself is ONE. There is no confusion within Its levels because they are of One Mind and One Will. This Single Purpose creates perfect integration and establishes the peace of God. Yet this Vision can be perceived only by the truly innocent.

T 3 C 10. Because their hearts are pure, the innocent defend true perception instead of defending themselves AGAINST it. Understanding the lesson of the Atonement, they are without the will to attack, and therefore they see truly. This is what the Bible means when it says, "When He shall appear (or be perceived) we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He IS."

T 3 C 11. Sacrifice is a notion totally unknown to God. It arises solely from fear. This is particularly unfortunate because frightened people are apt to be vicious. Sacrificing another in ANY way is a clear-cut violation of God's Own injunction that man should be merciful even as his Father in Heaven. It has been hard for many Christians to realize that this commandment (or assignment)
also applies to THEMSELVES. Good teachers never terrorize their students. To terrorize is to attack, and this results in rejection of what the teacher offers. The result is learning failure.

T 3 C 12. I have been correctly referred to as "The Lamb of God who taketh away the sins of the world." Those who represent the lamb as blood-stained, an all-too-widespread error, do NOT understand the meaning