Explaining the True Forgiveness Process of ACIM to a non-ACIMer

So what we refer to as life here on earth is really like a dream. And not only is it a dream, but it is ultimately an insignificant dream. The metaphor that Gary uses quite a bit is that when we go to bed at night, we have these dreams; some dreams are pleasant, and others not so pleasant. But neither one is true because it's only a dream. Then when we wake up in the morning, we realize that we never left the bed, and that what we were seeing during the night was not true. And that's what our everyday life is really like. We are all really home with God, dreaming that we are separate from God, but it's not true. Yes, our experience is that we are here, but it's a false experience. (Gary's teachers give a great metaphorical story of how we appeared to arrive here in the dream in the first place, but it's too lengthy to get into here. You can find it in chapter 4 of The Disappearance of the Universe.)

Part of the introduction to A Course in Miracles it says, "The course does not aim at teaching the meaning of love, for that is beyond what can be taught. It does aim, however, at removing the blocks to the awareness of love's presence, which is your natural inheritance." So, we all have these blocks (aka unconscious guilt) otherwise we wouldn't appear to be here, and experiencing separation from God. But these blocks to the awareness of Love's presence, or God, are unconscious, so we are not consciously aware of them. However, these blocks show up to us symbolically in the form of anything that triggers fear or some sort of negative emotion within us. Doesn’t matter what it is, all negative emotions are rooted in fear which is the effect of the unconscious guilt buried in the mind over the seeming separation from God: anger, hatred, annoyance, depression, jealousy, feelings of inferiority or superiority, arrogance, guilt, anxiety, feeling scared, needing to be right, lack of self-confidence, or even just feeling bored or unfulfilled, and what have you are all symbols of these blocks to the awareness of Love’s presence. And the acting out of these blocks is what’s responsible for the all craziness that takes place here on “psycho planet!”

So, as a student of the Course, your job is to become more observant of, and identify these negative emotions instead of continuing to gloss them over and be in denial of them which is what most of the people of the world do; I know, I used to be one of them. As the Course teaches, "No one can escape from illusions unless he looks at them, for not looking is the way they are protected." And I should also note that it doesn’t matter if the negative emotion is the result of being right about something on the level of form and being accurate about the details of your grievances; being right does not bring anybody any lasting peace, only instant gratification at best, while keeping the conflict in the mind unresolved. As the Course says, “Do you prefer you be right or happy?”

The Course also teaches that there are no victims in this world! So once you really understand that the world is coming from you and not at you and that you made up what you are perceiving - albeit on an unconscious level - and that God has nothing to do with this world whatsoever, then you realize that anger is never justified. Doesn’t matter what it is, whether it’s someone cutting you off in traffic or you feel that the government is screwing you in some way, or even if we are talking about the murder of a loved one - you made them up! Now I’m certainly not suggesting that this is always easy to accept, and that appropriate action isn’t sometimes necessary, but it is definitely the truth!

So, when you experience a negative emotion, the first step is to remember that you are dreaming, and that you are really home safe with God. What you are seeing is not true! So for example, say someone is saying something unkind to you and it triggers a negative feeling within you, instead of reacting, your job is to remember that the person being unkind to you is just representing a symbolic aspect of your own unconscious mind that needs healing. At that point, your next step is to change your mind about it. Instead of seeing the other person as an insensitive jerk, we see them as they really are: innocent. They're innocent because they haven't really done anything; it's just a dream. As the Course teaches, "Forgiveness recognizes what you thought your brother did to you has not occurred. It does not pardon sins and make them real. It sees there was no sin. And in that view are all your sins forgiven." So that's the attitude you want to have when presented with a forgiveness opportunity. If you see the other as innocent, then that's how it will register in your unconscious mind about yourself. As the Course teaches, "As you see him, you will see yourself."

Once you take responsibility for your dream instead of being a victim of it, then you have to trust J or the Holy Spirit (whatever you think of it as) to do His job of removing more unconscious guilt (blocks) from the mind as you continue to practice this form of forgiveness. I say you have to trust because the inner peace that is a result of practicing this form of forgiveness doesn't always show up right away. From my experience, sometimes it shows up right away, but sometimes it doesn’t, particular with "slow burn" forgiveness lessons (people or situations that you have to forgive over and over again.) Sometimes this inner peace will just show up from out of nowhere it seems, where I feel totally peaceful for no apparent reason. Another sign that one is making progress with this forgiveness process is that you'll find yourself being able to shrug or laugh at things that in the past would have pissed you off or upset you in some way.

As a fringe benefit of practicing this form of forgiveness, we may sometimes receive inspired guidance as to what to say or do about a particular situation. For me personally, most of the time there is nothing to say or do on the level of the world in association with my forgiveness opportunities, but there have been other times when I felt guided to speak up about something or even make a major life change. The great thing about the Course is that it isn’t about how you behave or what you do in the world (that’s for religions;) it’s about how you look at the world and the people in the world. So you still live a relatively normal, earthly life. Although as Gary points out, some people get into all this and forget how to carry on a normal conversation. Gary says, “Don’t be weird!”

The ironic thing about this spiritual path is that even though it is geared toward returning our awareness to Oneness and the end of separation, on the level of the world, however, we may be guided to separate from certain people or circumstances because the particular forgiveness lessons associated with them have been learned, and then it's time to move on to our next opportunities and adventures. So, sometimes the guidance we receive can show up in the form of life changing events such as feeling inspired to leave your job, move to another town, separate from your spouse, etc. Forgiveness doesn’t mean you have to hang out with those you are forgiving.

Another thing I should add too is that we can still enjoy the things of this world that we enjoy even though it's just a dream. It's just a matter of not making a false idol out of these things; not looking for our peace and happiness outside ourselves from material things and other people. Otherwise, we are psychological attached to it, and losing it will eventually play itself out. So, this forgiveness work is geared toward being able to be happy and at peace regardless of what happens in the world and in our own personal life's circumstances. A simple path yes, but certainly not an easy one. Most of the time J says in the Course that it takes a little willingness, but in the Manual for Teachers section of the Course he says that it takes abundant willingness. So, it's got to be something that you really want, which is why it’s not for everyone, or at least not for everyone all at once. It's not something we can do haphazardly and expect to achieve the goal of the Course.

So, at this point I would refer people to The Disappearance of the Universe and Your Immortal Reality by Gary Renard, and from there they can decide if they want to do the Workbook of the Course to further reinforce the way we need to look at this world in order to attain the lofty goal the Course has to offer. The short term goal is inner peace, but the ultimate goal of the Course is to have the permanent experience of what we really are and where really are; the equivalent of being free and going Home, which has been described as a perfect, indescribable ecstasy that never ceases. Until then, one will remain stuck in the cycle of birth and death. Giddy up!