Chapter l

HLC

FIP Second Edition

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 10 (2)

The use of miracles as spectacles to induce belief is a misunderstanding of their purpose.

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.

Prayer is the medium of miracles. It is a means of communication of the created with the Creator. Through prayer love is received, and through miracles love is expressed.

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.

Miracles are thoughts. Thoughts can represent the lower or bodily level of experience, or the higher or spiritual level of experience. One makes the physical, and the other creates the spiritual.

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.

Miracles are teaching devices for demonstrating it is as blessed to give as to receive. They simultaneously increase the strength of the giver and supply strength to the receiver.

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.

Miracles transcend the body. They are sudden shifts into invisibility, away from the bodily level. That is why they heal.

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.

Miracles make minds one in God. They depend on cooperation because the Sonship is the sum of all that God created. Miracles therefore reflect the laws of eternity, not of time.

Miracles are natural expressions of total forgiveness. Through miracles, man accepts God’s forgiveness by extending it to others.

Miracles are natural signs of forgiveness. Through miracles you accept God's forgiveness by extending it to others.

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. *

(* The term “Spiritual eye” is later replaced by the Holy Spirit and the physical eye becomes the ego. The emphasis on the two ways of seeing, however, remains throughout. )

Miracles are associated with fear only because of the belief that darkness can hide. You believe that what your physical eyes cannot see does not exist. This leads to a denial of spiritual sight.

HLC

FIP Second Edition

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 23a (3)

Miracles rearrange perception and place all levels in true perspective. This is healing because sickness comes from confusing the levels.

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.

 Miracles honor you because you are lovable. They dispel illusions about yourself and perceive the light in you. They thus atone for your errors by freeing you from your nightmares. By releasing your mind from the imprisonment of your illusions, they restore your sanity

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.

Miracles are examples of right thinking, aligning your perceptions with truth as God created it.

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.

The Holy Spirit is the mechanism of miracles. He recognizes both God's creations and your illusions. He separates the true from the false by His ability to perceive totally rather than selectively.

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.

As you share my unwillingness to accept error in yourself and others, you must join the great crusade to correct it; listen to my voice, learn to undo error and act to correct it.

The following paragraph was OMITTED ENTIRELY from FIP Second Edition

Christ-controlled miracles are part of the Atonement, but Christ-guidance is personal. The impersonal nature of miracles is an essential 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 36a (8)

Chapter 2

THE FOLLOWING PARAGRAPHS WERE OMITTED ENTIRELY FROM FIP Second Edition

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. T II A 1 (20)

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 created nothing at all. This emptiness provides the screen for the misuse of projection.

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.

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 reestablishes the freedom of the will. When the will is REALLY free, it CANNOT miscreate because it recognizes ONLY truth.

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.

The improper use of defenses is quite widely recognized, but their proper use had 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.

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.

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.

THE FOLLOWING PARAGRAPHS WERE OMITTED ENTIRELY FROM FIP Second Edition

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 II B 10 (25)

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

Detachment is essentially a weaker form of dissociation. 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.

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

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.

Sublimation should be a redirection of effort to the sublime.

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.

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.

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.

You know that when defenses are disrupted there is a period of 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.

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.

Man is not willing to look on what he has done TO HIMSELF.

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.

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.

THE FOLLOWING PARAGRAPHS WERE OMITTED ENTIRELY FROM FIP Second Edition

 …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 II E 5 (40)

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.

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.

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 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.

…Its length depends, however, on the effectiveness of the present speed-up.

HLC

FIP Second Edition

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 II A 3 (20)

To extend is a fundamental aspect of God which He gave to His Son. In the creation, God extended Himself to His creations and imbued them with the same loving Will to create. You have not only been fully created, but have also been created perfect. There is no emptiness in you. Because of your likeness to your Creator you are creative. No child of God can lose this ability because it is inherent in what he is, but he can use it inappropriately by projecting. The inappropriate use of extension, or projection, occurs when you believe that some emptiness or lack exists in you, and that you can fill it with your own ideas instead of truth.

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.

These related distortions represent a picture of what actually occurred in the separation, or the "detour into fear." None of this existed before the separation, nor does it actually exist now. Everything God created is like Him. Extension, as undertaken by God, is similar to the inner radiance that the children of the Father inherit from Him. Its real source is internal. This is as true of the Son as of the Father.

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.

In this sense the creation includes both the creation of the Son by God, and the Son's creations when his mind is healed. This requires God's endowment of the Son with free will, because all loving creation is freely given in one continuous line, in which all aspects are of the same order.

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.

All that can literally disappear in the twinkling of an eye because it is merely a misperception.

HLC

FIP Second Edition

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. T II A 14 (22)

This release does not depend on illusions. The knowledge that illuminates not only sets you free, but also shows you clearly that you are free.

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

Once you have learned to consider these questions and to bring them into all your actions, you will have little difficulty in clarifying the means. The means are available whenever you ask.

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.

Men can learn to improve their behavior, and can also learn to become better and better learners.

The ability to learn has no value when change is no longer necessary. The eternally creative have nothing to learn. You can learn to improve your perceptions, and can become a better and better learner.

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.

The miracle turns the defense of Atonement to your real protection, and as you become more and more secure you assume your natural talent of protecting others, knowing yourself as both a brother and a Son.

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.

The Atonement can only be accepted within you by releasing the inner light. Since the separation, defenses have been used almost entirely to defend against the Atonement, and thus maintain the separation.

The Spiritual eye, on the other hand, cannot see the building at all because It has perfect sight.

Spiritual sight, on the other hand, cannot see the structure at all because it is perfect vision.

Both the separation AND the fear are miscreations of the 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.

Both the separation and the fear are miscreations that must be undone for the restoration of the temple, and for the opening of the altar to receive the Atonement. This heals the separation by placing within you the one effective defense against all separation thoughts and making you perfectly invulnerable.

HLC

FIP Second Edition

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.

 T II B 30 (29)

The acceptance of the Atonement by everyone is only a matter of time. This may appear to contradict free will because of the inevitability of the final decision, but this is not so.

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 II B 31 (29)

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 reestablishes 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, and the mind becomes increasingly sensitive to what it would once have regarded as very minor intrusions of discomfort. T II B 32 (29)

This ultimately reawakens spiritual vision, simultaneously weakening the investment in physical sight. The alternating investment in the two levels of perception is usually experienced as conflict, which can become very acute. . But the outcome is as certain as God.

Spiritual vision literally cannot see error, and merely looks for Atonement. All solutions the physical eye seeks dissolve. Spiritual vision looks within and 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 strength of its vision, it brings the mind into its service. This re-establishes the power of the mind and makes it increasingly unable to tolerate delay, realizing that it only adds unnecessary pain. As a result, the mind becomes increasingly sensitive to what it would once have regarded as very minor intrusions of discomfort.

The reason only the mind can create is more obvious than may be immediately apparent. The Soul HAS BEEN created.

Only the mind can create because spirit has already been created, and the body is a learning device for the mind.

Their purpose is merely to facilitate the thinking of the learner.

Their purpose is merely to facilitate learning.

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.

This learning device is not subject to errors of its own, because it cannot create. It is obvious, then, that inducing the mind to give up its miscreations is the only application of creative ability that is truly meaningful.

HLC

FIP Second Edition

However, as a creative act, the miracle need not await the right-mindedness of the receiver. T II C 12 (34)

However, as a correction, the miracle need not await the right-mindedness of the receiver.

The mind, however, can bring ITS illumination TO the body by recognizing that density is the opposite of intelligence, and therefore unamenable to independent learning. It is, however, easily brought into alignment with a mind which has learned to look beyond density toward light.

The mind, however, can bring its illumination to the body by recognizing that it is not the learner, and is therefore unamenable to learning. The body is, however, easily brought into alignment with a mind that has learned to look beyond it toward the light.

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. 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.

Corrective learning always begins with the awakening of spirit, and the turning away from the belief in physical sight. This often entails fear, because you are afraid of what your spiritual sight will show you. I said before that the Holy Spirit cannot see error, and is capable only of looking beyond it to the defense of Atonement. There is no doubt that this may produce discomfort, yet the discomfort is not the final outcome of the perception. . When the Holy Spirit is permitted to look upon the defilement of the altar, He also looks immediately toward the Atonement. Nothing He perceives can induce fear. Everything that results from spiritual awareness is merely channelized toward correction. Discomfort is aroused only to bring the need for correction into awareness.

HLC

FIP Second Edition

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 II D 1 (37)

My control can take over everything that does not matter, while my guidance can direct everything that does, if you so choose. Fear cannot be controlled by me, but it can be self-controlled. Fear prevents me from giving you my control. The presence of fear shows that you have raised body thoughts to the level of the mind. This removes them from my control, and makes you feel personally responsible for them. This is an obvious confusion of levels.

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.

I do not foster level confusion, but you must choose to correct it. You would not excuse insane behavior on your part by saying you could not help it.

When you are fearful you have willed wrongly.

When you are fearful, you have chosen wrongly.

Before you will to do anything, ask me if your will is in accord with mine.

Before you choose to do anything, ask me if your choice is in accord with mine.