Guilt is the corne rstone of the ego’s thought system, just as
innocence is the cornerstone of the Holy Spirit’ s.
In projecting guilt onto someon e else, we are attacking ourselv es. Like
an autoimmune disease, the ego insanely attacks that which we are meant to
bless. Given that the power of the mind is literally infinite, it becomes an
instrument of mass destruction more powerful than any we can imagine. I remember having dinner with my daughter when she was about ten
years old. I don’t know how the topic came up, but somehow there was a
mention of nuclear bombs. I remember her putting her little head in her
hands and saying with great intensity , “The fact that they exist is insane .”
She said it with a moral clarity  that only a child can express—simple
and unequivocal. There were not yet mitigating factors, complicated
justifications, or any excuses whatsoever that could veil the absolute truth
in her mind. And she was right. The issue is not that nuclear bombs are good or bad. The issue is that
they are insane . Given  that enough of them  could destroy human
civilization as we know it, or possibly even the species for at least a fewhundred thousand years, the very fact that they exist is an example of how
humanity crucifi es itself. When Gandhi said that the problem of the world is
that humanity is not in its right mind, he was right. Yet we can choo se again. We can be as vigilant against the ego as for it. The resurrection  having already been accomplished, the issue is whether or
not we choose to claim it. Resurrection is a choice. We live in a world in which crucifixion is given more respect than love. We have more faith in the powe r of cancer to kill us than we have in God to
heal us. How much more attention and resources are given to those who
know how to wage war and manufacture the means to do it, than to those
who know how to wage peace and build thriving communities? We literally
give more respe ct to fear than to love. Our collective ego uses all manner of
pseudosophistication to obscure its real intentions. The way of resurrection
is available; it’ s simply too often unchosen. Jesus having already broken the spell of darkness, the resurrection is
now an established fact in the ethers of human consciousness. It’s like a
superpower we just leave lying  on the sidewalk. Saying we believe in the
resurrection yet refusing to live its message, we simply mock Jesus as he
was mocked before. And what is our resistance? Why , with so many professing our desire to
love and to be loved, do we so often not? Surely it is not because love is
unreasonable. According to A Cours e in Miracles , love restores reason and
not the other way around. No, our resistance is about some thing deeper than that. Our resistance is
the fact that the one thing we find scarier than death is the prospect of
having to change. Some people would rather die than change their mind*
(MT-51). If Jesus is real, if he is alive and his power is available to us, then
basically everyth ing we’ve ever been taught about the world is untrue. And
that’s true—but also terrifying to the ego. The ego is terrified of love, and our identification with ego has made us
terrified of love too. The belief that we are separate is so ingrai ned into our
thought system that we fear annihilation without it. That’ s because to the
ego, love is annihilation . Those who profess love as the cure to the world’ s ailments are so often
deemed “not in touch with reality.” The reality we don’t choose  to be in
touch with is a reality that will kill us all. Even more significantly than that,the ego’s reality isn’t even ultimate reality . Humanity is awakeni ng from the
real to the Real. From climate change that could  make the planet uninhabitable for most
people, to prospects of nuclear disaster , our current way of living on this
planet is a slow-moving crucifixion of the human race. But the story isn’ t over . Resurrection is a choice. OceanofPDF .comTomb Time
Sometimes we crucify ourselves, while at other times we’re crucified by
others. We’ve felt at times like we were cast into a darkened cave, our
hopes and dreams having been shattered in front of us. We feel the ego has
won; we’re done; we’re defeated. All hope is lost; the anxiety mounts. Such
is the crucifixion of self. Sometimes the crucifixion is individual, as in the perpetration of a
wrong committed against one person; at other times, the crucifixion is
collective, such as war or genocide committed against a group  of people. The crucifixion is a universal experience. It relates as much to the suffering
of humanity today as it related to the suffering of Jesus on the cross two
thousand years ago. Jesus on the cross is the symbo l of fear’s rampage and the suffering it
produces. Whatever the form or size, the crucifixion is always an example
of the conscious ness of fear seeking to obliterate the consciousness of love. The crucifixion was a sign that apparently fear had won. But only apparently . For the ego’s win was temporary . Three days after
the crucifixion, the women who arrived to retrieve the body of Jesus were
told it was no longer there. They were met by angels who told them, “He is
risen.” His being had been transformed. The three days between the crucifixion and the resurrection are
psychologically significant. They symbolize the time it takes for a pattern of
fear to transform  into a pattern of love. It is the time it takes for forgiveness
to shift our consciousness and rearrange our circumstances. The way we
think  while we are in the middle of a crucifixion determines our power to
invoke the resurrection. If Jesus had closed his heart or lost his faith, the resurrection would not
have occurred. He placed his mind so fully in the hands of God that allpower of God was given unto him. He doubted, perhaps, but he did not
waver . What does it mean to waver? It means to give in to hatred, anger ,
resentment, victimization, revenge, or any other closed-hearted response to
the crucifixions in our lives. Lovelessness deflects the miracle by which the
universe would otherwise self-correct. While such feelings might be
thoroughly valid , even in the midst of our tears we can say, “I am willing to
see this dif ferently .”
Knowing that nothing real can be threatened  and nothing unreal exists
is the thought that casts out darkness . We don’t wait until we feel that way
to embrace the thought; we embrace that thought, which begins to
alchemize our feelings. If some thing is not love, it exists within the three
dimensions yet has no ultimate reality . As we embrace the knowledge of
what’ s Real, what is unreal begins to lose its hold on us. During that time, it makes sense that we’re in grief over the conditions
that hurt us. But knowing the deeper significance of that time period gives
us the power to hasten its end. It gives us faith. It gives us the ability to see
the victo ry that is as yet unseen. It gives us the strength to endure, to know
that “this too shall pass.”
None of this is always easy and sometimes it’ s very hard. It doesn’ t take a lot of work to complain, but it does take a lot of work
sometimes to burn through the pain and hold on to our faith. Faith in things
unseen is like flying on instruments, when a pilot knows the horizon is there
but simply can’t see it through the clouds. Faith is the realization that no
matter what tears we’re crying now, we’re in the process of an awakening
that will lead us to a peaceful place. We can’t see that when our spiritual
eyes are not yet open. Jesus will lend us his, if we ask. In the meantime, we don’t deny  our tears. They are part of the healing
process. Women wept at the feet of the crucified Jesus, and so do we. Tomb time, as my friend Sandhi calls it, is sacred in its own way. It’s
important to surround ourselves at such times with people who have
compassion for our suffering, yet refuse to join in an interpretation of
events that would only prolon g it. It’s the meaning of the Simon &
Garfunkel lyric, “Hello darkness, my old friend, I’ve come to talk with you
again.” Tomb time is often a period of deep sadness—over a divorce, a poor
diagnosis, the loss of a loved one, and so on—and we cannot rush through
it. The time to be heartbroken is when our heart is breaking.There’ s a way in which, given the state of the world today , being
heartbroken—sharing in the sentiment “Jesus wept” in response to the
suffering of the world—is not only legitimate, it is healthy . It is a functional
response to the sorrow of our times, not a dysfunctional one. If anything,
our denying how far off course humanity has swerved—our trying to
suppress the pain and even calling our heartbreak a “syndrome”— that is
pathological. Nothing would be better for humanity right now than if we
could all together have a big, long cry. Good Friday is that, in a way. Or that
is what it should be. Going through the pain of life, even its extreme pain, and allowing
Jesus to impress himself upon your mind while you do, invokes the
resurrection in your life as in his. He will mystically overs hadow you
during your time of heartbreak. He will share his resurrection with you. The fact that you hold on to love while having endured a cruci fixion—
that you are willing to forgive, that you continue to serve, that you have
faith in miracles—is your salvat ion and rebirth. You will literal ly no longer
be who you used to be, having  been transformed and illumined by your
pain. The emoti onal body of your broken self, like the physi cal body of
Jesus, will disappear . The wome n at the tomb being told that his body had
disappeared means your defeated personality will no longer exist. Your
persona will shift. You will become someone new. You will no longer be
who you used to be. He rose, and so shall you. OceanofPDF .comEaster
Christmas and Easter are like existential bookends that hold the psyche
together . They relate not only to events in the past but also to the meaning
of every  moment. In any instan t we can give birth to Christ through the
expression of our love, and in any situation we can overcome the darkness
of the world through the expression of our love. Jesus is the Alpha and the
Omega because his mind is both the beginning and the end of everything. Easter is the good news because it’s the ultimate triumph of spirit over
matter . The purpose of the crucifixion was not to perpetuate suffering but to
end it. Jesus doesn’ t invite you to take up his cross, but to put down yours. It’s not that we are asked to ignore our problems. We should look at our
crucifixions but not dwell on them. If we simply ignore a problem, we’re
not in transcendence but in denial. If we overemphasize the problem,
however , we increase its power over us. The art of living lies in
acknowledging the existence of the crucifixion—the ego, the fear, the
destructiveness it causes—yet denying its power over us. That is the
resurrection: not just the gentleness of love, but also the power of love. The power of the resurrection is a power in each of us; the issue is not
that our power is weak, but that our faith is weak. We often have more faith
in the power of a problem than we have faith in the power of God to solve
it. That’s why faith matters; it is a power of the mind. And miracles arise
from conviction. Conviction is a force multiplier . Standing with conviction
that the power of love is great er than the power of fear creates a portal
through which miracles flow . Jesus did not say he had fixed the world; he said he had overcome it. His consciousness was lifted above attachment to the world, and therefore
its cruelty could not ultimately destroy him. We say to darkness : “Yes, I see
you, but I deny your power to defeat me. I claim the power of theovercoming. Jesus robbed you of your power; therefore you have no power
over me.”
Because all minds are joined, when anyone achieves anything, then
their achievement becomes an available option for everyone. Jesus having
broken the ego’s spell, it is now broken for anyone who chooses to place
their mind under his guidance. The ego is literally a misunderst anding. Its biggest falsehood is that our
lives are limited to the life of the body . It is the illusion that we are
temporary beings when the life of the spirit is eternal. Overcoming that
illusion is the miracle that sets us free. In fact, the body is like a suit of clothes. “Physical birth is not a
beginning; it is a continuing” (T-81). And physical death is not an ending; it
is a continuing as well. Death, accordin g to the ego, is proof that we are locked into the body ,
destined to suffer and doomed to die. But if death is in fact not the end of
our lives , then we are liberated from all manner of limited beliefs. We are
freed from the idea that we are separate, and we are freed from  the belief
that we are tied to the limitations of the mortal plane. The ego mind is
trapped within illusions of the material world in ways the mystic mind
transcends. A mystical understanding of Easter is the furthest thing in the world
from a simplisti c, merely symbolic image of hope of better things to come. It is a description of reality more advanced than our minds can yet
comprehend. As our actualized potential, Jesus is ahead of us. He’s showing
us what is possible. He’ s showing us what will yet be ours. There’ s no reason to mimic his suffering when we can celebrate, and
share, his resurrection. He didn’ t come to deliver the bad news, after all. He
is not looking for us to reitera te the suffering that he came to earth to
eradicate. He is looking to us to reflect his teaching that a better way is
possible. Demonstrating what he does through us is how we demonstrate what he
did for us. We teach miracles by working miracles, overcoming  in our own
way the wounds that have stricken us, the forces that would limit us, and
the fears that would stymie us. As we rise above our own crucifixions, he
continues to overcome through us. OceanofPDF .comViolence Against God
Crucifixion is the ego’s violence against God, against love, again st you. It
takes many forms, often subtle and difficult to decipher . In a phrase used in
Alcoholics Anonymous, it is both “cunning and baffling.” It is your own
mind turned against you. We all know that thievery , violence, murder , and so forth are evil and
wrong. What we don’t necessarily realize is that snarkiness, derision,
purposeful disrespect, arrogance, self-righteousness, selfis hness, and
condescension are nests in which such evils fester . The fact that the vast
majority of people would never steal, behave violently , or murder is
obviously not enough to create a world in which such things do not occur . The only way to defeat evil is to stop it at its source. The ethers of the world
are saturated with the origins of the most horrible things imaginable. We are living at a time when some of the most horrible things
imaginable have  now become commonplace. They appear to be distinct and
separate incidents, unrelated to each other , and on the material plane
perhaps they are. But tracing their cause goes back to underlying collective
issues. Cruelty leveled against a child can lead in time to cruelty on the part
of the adult they become. A traumatized child is likely to become a
traumatized adult. The crucified give pain because they are in pain* (T-
424). Since all minds are joined, each of us in every moment has the chance
to purify  the ethers of the world. We ourselves, in our own lives, help
invoke the resurrection that helps uplift the world. There is no large or small
contribution to the purification of the collective. The macro matters, and the
micro matters too; spiritually they are all the same. Mirac les are not
quantifiable, for they emer ge from a realm beyond time and space. As such,
they affect situations we will never even know about* (T-6). When youforgive someone  in one part of the world, you could be affecting  a situation
thousands of miles away . The closer we grow to God, the closer we grow to our natural desire to
help heal others. No serious spiritual path gives anyone a pass on
addressing the suffering of other  sentient beings. We don’t get to say, “Well,
the world is screwed, but all I can do is heal my one little life, and that’s
enough.” All of us are responsible for all of us, since all of us ar e all of us. The crucifixion relates as much to the suffering of humanity today as it
related to the suffering of Jesus on the cross two thousand years ago. He
didn’ t resurrect just for you or for me; he resurrected for the world. OceanofPDF .comThe Christ in You Cannot Be Crucified
Since only love is real and nothing else exists, the real you cannot be
crucified. The Christ in you is invulnerable to the machinations of the ego,
in others or even in yourself. Perfect love is unassailable. The body can be destroyed, but the spirit cannot. Your ego can be
bruised, but your spirit cannot be touched. That is why clarity about who we
are is the key to our experience of life. Several years ago, I went to see a one-woman play in which the writer
and actor made a rude remark about me as part of her perform ance. I was
shocked, because I’d had no idea such a thing was coming. I had actually
thought I was attending the play to be supportive. My feelings were hurt,
and I felt publicly humiliated. As I walked out of the theater , a friend I was with said, “Please call me
this week if you want to process this. I know you must feel terribly hurt.” I
did, and it was important that I not deny that feeling—but as I began to
respond to my friend’ s offer, this quote from the Course  popped clearly into
my head: “It is not Christ that can be crucified”* (WB-451). Yes, Marianne, your human personality can get all bent out of shape
about this. You can even milk it if you want to. Gee, you can even post
about it! But my spirit literally could not have cared less, for the spirit is
untouched by lovelessness. I could drag this out or I could rise right now. I
could identify with victimhood, or I could identify with victory . My choice
was whether to identify with my Self or with my ego. Remembering that the spirit can’t be crucified, I realized I had a choice
how to move through my hurt feelings. I had learned there’ s a difference
between feeling  our feelings and coddling them. I surrendered the
experience, including my hurt and humiliation, to God.I walked  back into the theater to head to the ladies’  room before we left,
and in the hallway I ran into a woman I hadn’ t seen in a while. “Hi!” I said. “Good to see you!”
“Good to see you too!” she said. “I produced the play . Did you like it?”
“Well, actually , no,” I demurred. “That line about me really hurt my
feelings . . .” I didn’ t say it as an attack. I was just honestly answering her
question. “I don’t blame you,” she said. “I had asked her to take out that line. I’m
sorry .”
I appreciated her understanding and asked what she thought I should do. She told me she thought I should send an email to the writer/actor of the
play. I lived with the hurt for a bit, but also stayed prayerful and asked God
to help me see this differently . After a day or two I did feel moved to write
the email. Everything we do is infused with the consciousness with which we do
it, and I knew that if I communicated from my wound then I would
exacerbate the wound. If I communicated like a victim, I would only fortify
my victimization. “The sole responsibility of the miracle worker is to accept
the atonement for himself”* (T-25). Our first and most important work in
any situation is to correct our own perception. Making God our primary relationship puts us in our right mind; only
then can we heal with others. This wasn’ t about her lesson; it was about
mine. In writing to her, I was very careful not to blame or attack. I simply
shared my hurt and said that the slight seemed to me gratuitous and
unnecessary . It was one of those situations where I read the email to a
friend, draft after draft, until he said, “Yep, you’ve got it now. No barbs. Okay to send.”
Linda kindly wrote back and apologized, something I don’t think would
have occurred had I gone on the attack. Most important, she changed the
script. That situation was a bit of a miracle in my life—a small one perhaps,
and personal to me, but when we see such principles in action we learn to
apply them more universally . All of us get our feelings hurt sometimes, and it’s not an experience to
suppress or gloss over. But neither is it a feeling we have to make more of
than it is. The way of the miracle worker is to place such feeling in the
hands of God. A spiritual alchemy then lifts us above the lower emotions
that would perpetuate the cycle of pain.Often we feel we’re hurt because of what someone else did when their
hearts were closed to us. But in reality , what happened was that their having
closed their heart to us then tempted us to close our heart to them. And that
is what hurts. I saw an interv iew with a Tibetan monk who had been
tortured and imprisoned by agen ts of the Chinese government. When asked
what his greatest fear had been, he said it was that he would give in to his
tempta tion to hate those who tortured him. Redemption lies in refusing to
close our hearts to anyone, even when they have closed their heart to us. No
matter what other people choose to do, our power lies in how we choose to
interpret what they do. When we see lovelessness as a call for love, we rise. The consciousness of a mind surrendered to God, even for a moment,
has the power to work miracles. Jesus did not speak of hate for his accusers
or blame  those around him. He loved even those who hated him. His mind
was so purely aligned with the unconditionally loving spirit of God that all
the power of God was given unto him. We don’t have to be spiritual masters to diminish the ego’s power in our
lives. Each of us is responsibl e for what we choose to think. If I only
identify with my body , then I’m identifying with my weakne ss and will
interpret the world in a way that fortifies my weakness. If I identify with my
spirit, then I am identifying with my strength and will interpret the world in
a way that fortifies my strength. This was one of so many times in my life when I’ve been serve d by the
thought, Oh, Marianne, get over yourself. Your life will be so much better if
you do . OceanofPDF .comSickness
The Christ in you is not a body . The body , when properly perceived, is
seen as a suit of clothes. The spirit is eternal, while the body is dust to dust. Overidentification with the body  puts a stress on the body that it was not
meant to carry . The most powe rful view of the body is one in which we
realize that it’ s not the ultimate reality of who we are. Understanding right relationship between body and mind is a key
element in the spiritual evolution of the planet. The body is meant to be
servant to the mind, not the other way around. When in right relationship,
the spirit enlivens the body and supports the healthy functioning of the
immune system. It is literally our life force. Jesus is like a carpenter ’s balance, aligning our perceptions in such a
way as to support our highest functioning while on earth. The Holy Spirit
enters into the realm of the body at the level of our receptivity , through
medicine and other physical modalities that support our health. Sickness is one of the most painful crucifixions we experience as
humans. Prayer and meditation  are powerful tools in the prevention of
disease, as well as the ameliorat ion of its effects, because they lift the mind
above the body . The body heals  best when we’re not looking at it* (T-401). As our minds rise to a realm above the body , the body has more of a chance
to relax and restore itself. We should treat the body with great gratitude and
respect, for it is a priceless material gift. But the body is not who we are. MEDIT ATION FOR PHYSICAL  WELLNESS
Close your eyes and see yourself lying on a flat white marble slab in
front of Jesus. See him as he lifts his hands above you.See the emanati on of a great light pouring forth from his hands and
covering your body , then entering into it. Watch the light as its power is concentrated on any woun d or
wounded ar ea in your body . Allow the light from his hands to move through your blood, restoring
every cell, every or gan, every muscle, every bone. Continuing to relax, breathing deeply , surrender your body to the
Holy Spirit. Ask that He use your hands, your feet, every aspect of
your physical self to aid Him in His healing of the world. Hold this meditation for at least two minutes, a minimum of five if
possible. If done daily , this meditation will do you extraor dinary good. OceanofPDF .comDeath
I have a friend who had a near-death experience due to anaphylactic shock,
in which she was looking down on her body and heard the doctor say, “We
lost her.” In the realm to which she was delivered during that experience,
she saw clearly that her body was not her real Self. Others have reported
similar instances of near-death experience, commonly reporting that they
lost all fear of death because they know that they lived through it. The life of the body is precious, and nothing in the teaching  of the
Course  minimizes its magnificence. It is a beautiful lesson in communion. The message of the Course  is not that the body is bad, but that in a way it is
nothing. All our tribulations in life are due to an attac hment and
overidentification with the life of the body . In truth, we have the most
powerful, mean ingful, and joyful experience of the body when we know
that it is not who we are. As I write this I am nearing my seventieth birthday , as shocked as I’m
sure everyone is when they find themselves facing that particular milestone. All of us carry around a secret hope that somehow age will not apply to us. I remember it wasn’t until I was about twenty-five that it seriously dawned
on me that, yes, I too would one day die. Carl Jung said that a failure to deal with the subject of death robs the
second half of life of its meanin g. I can see where that’s true. I’m surprised
by peop le who are aging with what seems to be a prejudice against talking
about death, as though if we ignore it, it will magically disappear . I don’t
know how anyone is handling all the chaos in the world today without a
spiritual connec tion. I certainly can’t understand how anyone faces death
without one. Given that the spirit is eternal, death is like taking off a suit of clothes. Knowing there is a truer truth than the one we perceive with our physical
senses, the idea of no longer perceiving with those senses is not all thatfrightening a thought. The message of Jesus is that in reality there is no
death. I’m at an age where a lot of people who have been closest to me have
passed through the veil of death. They now seem to be standing on the other
side of it gazing into my soul as I am gazing into theirs. And having been
present at many deathbeds, both personally and professionally , I have seen
the power of life overwhelm the fear of death, so great was the love that
was present. According to A Course in Miracles , one day death will be seen not as
the punishment, but as the reward for a life well lived. The light we see
around each other will be so great that the body itself will appear as mere
shadow , and the removal of the shadow will mean nothing more than the
removal of a belief in limits. To say death shall be the last enemy is to say
that one day we will see that it simply isn’t an enemy , for in truth it doesn’ t
exist. The only real death is the death of love, and we triumph over that in any
moment when we choose love instead of fear. Jesus has demonstrated that
death does not exist, and in any moment when we rise as he rose we share
in his resurrection and increase its blessing on all the world. MEDIT ATION ON DEA TH
Dear God,
We surr ender the soul of our beloved ________ to Y ou. May he (or she) be lifted gently into the r egions of heaven. May those of us still her e be comforted in our grief. We see a golden cor d that ties the heart of one who has passed
to the heart of those still her e who love them. We see Jesus as he puts his hands upon this cor d,
thus we see the eternal natur e of life and love. For whom God hath br ought together , nothing, not even death itself,
can put asunder . And so it is. So gr eat is God. Amen
OceanofPDF .comThe Crucified World
We are living in a crucified world, humanity hanging on a cross of our
own making. With our attachment to the illusions of separation, our mental
imprisonment by thoughts of fear, our constant attacks on ourselves and
each other , our planet is teetering on the brink of destruction. The message of the crucifixion is that this need not be. Childr en don’t
have to be committing suici de in an effort to escape the pain of
adolescence; people don’t have  to be drowning themselves in drugs and
alcohol to avoid the pain of surviving; countries don’t need to be spending
more of their resources on ways to kill each other than on ways to heal each
other; and the health of the planet doesn’ t have to decline precipitously
under the weight of our greed and exploitation. None of this need be. It is our mindset, our worldview , our thought system that has created the
hell we’re enduring and that so threatens our future. But for the world to
change, we must be willing to change. We must be willing to put everything
on the altar; all that we are, all that we have, and all that we do must be
brought up for review . We cannot bring the light to the darkne ss; we must
bring our darkness to the light. If we remain the same, then so will the world. And the world is moving
in a direction that does not produce hope. Hope is born of hopef ul solutions,
and the only real hopeful solution is that we be willing to love each other as
God so loves us. As we do, a field of possibility will open up before us—miraculous in
scope, historic in nature, summing up all the hopes and all the dreams of a
world that now seems so bound. OceanofPDF .comChapter Five
Resurrection
Very simply , the resurr ection is the overcoming or surmounting of death. It is a reawakening or
a rebirth; a change of mind about the meaning of the world. It is the acceptance of the Holy
Spirit’ s interpretation of the world’ s purpose; the acceptance of the Atonement for oneself. It is
the end of dreams of misery , and the glad awar eness of the Holy Spirit’ s final dream. It is the
recognition of the gifts of God. It is the dream in which the body functions perfectly , having no
function except communication. It is the lesson in which learning ends, for it is consummated
and surpassed with this. It is the invitation to God to take His final step. It is the relinquishment
of all other purposes, all other interests, all other wishes and all other concerns. It is the single
desir e of the Son for the Father . * (MT -68)
AT THIS HIST ORIC time of phase transition, an entire era of human history is
passing away . What this period will be replaced by is complete ly up to us:
things will either get very dark or very light. Accumulated layers of fear—
evidenced politically , economically , and socially—have now reached a
point where they will destroy us if we do not intervene on our own behalf. While free will is always operative, there is a limit beyond which our
wrong-minded attitudes and behavior simply become unworkable. We are
called upon now to be both death doulas to a world that is no longer
working and birth doulas to a world that is struggling to be born. Nothing
less than fundamental pattern disruption will lead to a sustainable future. Many are diagnosed today with an “anxiety disorder .” An anxiety
disorder isn’t just an individual’ s diagnosis, however; it’s the state of the
world today . Looking at this only as an individual’ s problem distracts us
from the larger issue of spiritual suffering, not just on the part of an
individual but on the part of our society . All of us are influenced by the fear-based thinking of the world, but
seeing ourselves as victims of it only perpetuates the insanity . The world issaturated by the ego’s malignant mentality , and without the medicine of
spiritual understanding, it easily crawls into our psyche. There’ s nothing new there. We know what the ego has to say; now it’s
time for the ego to hear what we have to say. Crucifixion allud es to our
madness, and the resurrection is the return of sanity . It is a change of heart
among us so powerful that the world itself will be transformed. The world we live in today is an anxiety disorder , for the very reason
that love does not guide the world. It is not the organizing principle for our
civilization. The ego’s thought system is allowed to run roughsh od over the
human heart, a constant generator of fear and anxiety , and the only solution
to the problem is the dismantling of this thought system. Jesus  is a model
for and guide to right-minded thinking, sending ego thoughts back to the
nothingness whence they came. I have asked audiences around the country if anyone in the room had
either said, or heard a young person say, that under normal circumstances
they would consider having children but that the state of the world today
makes them hesitate. In every audience, a significant numbe r of people
raised their hand. This should not be considered normal. Perhaps if we face
the malfunction ing of the world we have made for ourselves , we might
consider whether God has a better way . Millions of people, perhaps more, have held Jesus at bay because of the
traditional religious constructs that have grown up around him. But as we
take an evolutio nary stride toward an enlightened view of the world, we are
beginning to see him with new eyes. His resurrection is not just some
theological dogma. It is the activation of new life within us. The mind when unaligned with God is the cause of all suffering; the
mind when aligned with Him is the cause of suffering’ s end. Jesus is a
portal to a field of unspeakable love and power . Yet the portal means
nothing if we don’t walk throug h it. The aspiration of the miracle worker is
to lift our consciousness so close to God’ s that we become masters, not
slaves, of the mortal world. We gaze into the eyes of Jesus that he might show us another world. OceanofPDF .comThe Alchemy of Easter
Such is your resurr ection, for your life is not a part of anything you see. It stands beyond the
body and the world, past every witness for unholiness, within the Holy , holy as Itself. * (WB-279)
The meaning of Easter is what happens in any moment when love and
forgiveness overcome the fear -laden powers of the world. There’ s an obvious intensification on the planet now of both darkness
and light, both forces of planeta ry destruction and planetary enlightenment. The question of how to break the chain of darkness could not be more
relevant than it is today . Environmental degradation, rising
authoritarianism, and endless war are the stuff of our collective crucifixion. The air is so saturated with toxicity now that our minds, our bodies, our
entire civilization is feeling the dis-ease. Even those of faith, of serious and
committed spiritual practice, are having to work overtime to keep a
creeping despair at bay . Humanity can’t stop the madn ess, because humanity is the madness. What is needed on the planet now is a collective resurrection, a divine
intercession from a thought system beyond our own. So what will happen now? Will darkness and fear, or light and love, win
the struggle for the future? If we simply give up and surrender , darkness
most certainly will win. But if we stand up and fight back, then darkness
might also win. As long as we fight, then we’re stuck in the fight. Is there
any other option? Interestingly enough, yes. The other option is resurrection, the evolution
of the human race. This isn’t just about Jesus; it’s about us. Resurrection two thousand
years ago was an overcoming by one man; resurrection today is an
overcoming by each of us, and by the entire species. We ourselves must
become the change, and that is the resurrecti on. God cannot do for us that
which He cannot do through us. We must be willing to be reborn into ahigher version of ourselves if we’re to achieve the miracle of planetary
transformation. The world as it now exists is a reflection of who we have
been; the world of the future will reflect who we choose to become. We can
have the overcoming, but not if we hang on to the cross. Whether it be our attachment to the past, or to our addictions, or to our
judgments, or to our victimizatio n, or to our violent behavior—w e can have
those, or we can have a survivable future. Only if we work to rid the
darkness from our own hearts can we become the conduits of miraculous
change. The resurrection  is the revelation of God’ s eternal imprint on every
moment, in every life. It is the potential for light that exists within even the
deepest darkness. It is the reason to hope when all hope seems lost. It is the
possibility for a new beginning that seems impossible when all has gone
wrong. As a principle, resurrection does not require our recognit ion to exist. But as a pract ical reality , it requires our willingness to become fully
activated in human affairs. Salvation begins when we consider the
possibility that there might be better way* (T-22). This opens the mind to
divine illumination, to a new kind of experience we become less and less
willing to deny . At Easte r, we celebrate our ability to rise above the consciousness of
darkness, ignora nce, and death. Something begins to change within us; our
openness to the deeper meaning  of the resurrection opens doors within the
heart. Jesus died, and then he rose. Now it’ s our turn. We too can radically transform. The crucified self can be transmuted
and turned to light. On this day, may we each rediscover at the deepest level
the meaning of “Hallelujah” and the reason to praise God. In the words of the Course , “Let us not spend this holy week brooding
on the crucifixion of God’ s Son, but happily in the celebration of his
release . For Easter is the sign of peace, not pain”* (T -425). The resurrection is a description of how the universe operates , how it
self-corrects, how life always reasserts itself even when forces of death and
darkness have temporarily prevailed. Like a tiny flower growing through
cracks in broken cement, peace of mind can emer ge at last after periods of
grief have ravaged the heart, and people can fall in love despite having
experienced the cruelest predicaments. Time and time again, love reappears
after even the most crushing events. To embrace the resurrection means torecognize what’ s true; it’s the way of the universe that God will always
have the final say . That is why we cleave to God; because we want to transform our own
circumstances and find victory in our own lives. Spiritual realization affects
us physically , emotionally , and psychologically because it reorients our
relationship to the universe. It reorients our sense of self as well as our
relationship to others. The last thing the spiritual journey does is to distract
us from the practical realities of life. By understanding the underlying
meaning of our life’s journey , we gain power to direct and to redirect its
course. Knowing we are not of this world gives us more power within it. The Messiah is a state of mind, the unconditional love that is a conduit
for our enlighte nment. The question isn’t simply what we need to do; the
question is what quality of personhood we must embody in order to do what
we are asked to do. All of us are being asked right now. In each of our lives
there is some circumstance challenging us to give up a weaker part of
ourselves and emer ge into a stronger place. All of us are wounded by this
world, but it’s our choice wheth er or not to act from the woun d. In acting
from the wound, we perpetuate a wounded world. In choosing to transcend
the wound, we’ll create a world reborn. Jesus wasn’ t putting on some macabre show for the world to witness; he
was changing the molecular structure of the universe. He was opening up
possibilities for change not only for himself but for all the world. Even
those of us who do not relate to his story as Christians can relate to the
metaphysical power of the resurrection and to its transformative effect upon
our lives. Any one person breaking the hold of darkness paves the way for
everyone to break the hold of darkness. And then there is Light. OceanofPDF .comThe Remembrance
The resurrection is the remembrance of who we are. While we’ve been trained by the ego’s thought system to believ e we’re
limited, tempor ary, vulnerable beings within a world of scarcity , in
competition with most everyone and everything, the mystic Jesus means we
are none of those things. We remain who and what God created us to be,
despite any evidence of the material world. No illusion of our guilt, no
disapproval of the world, no mistakes we have made or lies of the earthly
realm can in any way change or nullify the truth as God created it. Whatever our suffering, and whatever its cause, our deliverance from
pain derives from a reinterpretation of reality . Jesus delivers us beyond our
emotional pain by delivering us beyond our mental errors. It is simply an
error in thinking to believe that anything has more power than God. We can
be hurt, wronged, transgressed against, even killed—but the truth of who
we are is not vulnerable to the machinations of the ego, whether our own or
someone else’s. God’ s Truth is the only Truth. The truth of who we are
cannot be hurt and cannot die. As long as our hearts are open to love—as
long as we remember we are one with God—we are miraculously delivered
from the ravages of our crucifixions as Jesus was delivered from his. The point of the crucifixion is not the suffering of Jesus; the point is the
resurrection that followed. The crucifixion was an extreme example of the
ego’s attack on love. The resurrection was God’ s respo nse to the
crucifixion, or the ultimate reappearance of the light after even  the deepest
darkness. Having lived through  the journey of the deepest darkness to the
most glorious light, Jesus looks not for martyrs but for teachers to
demonstrate that same power . We are asked to share in the power of his resurrection now, to bestow its
healing on the world in ways that he directs. We become transformers of thedarkness of the world as we are resurrected from our own crucifixions. God
works miracles for us that we might become miracle workers ourselves. Jesus suffered and then resurrected to demonstrate the spiritual
nullification of suffering. If you or I are going through a terribl e time, let’s
say we’v e been wronged somehow , and Jesus guides us to forgive—telling
us that infinite love will work a miracle in the situation—then had he not
been crucified and resurrected, would we not wonder , But how would you
know? And if a loved one dies and we’re grieving—and Jesus tells us not to
be sorrowful, because the death of their body is not the death of who they
are—then had he not been crucified and resurrected, would we not wonder ,
But how can you be sur e? Delving into the mysteries of any hero’ s journey can unlock secrets
otherwise unavailable to our conscious mind. The crucifixion and
resurrection of Jesus are among  the deepest of mysteries. Where  parts of us
have died, God brings our deadened places to new life. He restores the
cosmic order to situations where even the most horrifying chaos reigned
before. Human suffering is inevitable in a world that is permeated with
illusion and fear, yet through the power of forgiveness we can and do
transform it. With every prayer , every moment of faith, every act of mercy ,
every instant of contrition, every effort at forgiveness, in time we move
beyond our suf fering and find inner peace at last. We die to who we used to be and are reborn as who we are, thus rising
above the consciousness of darkness, ignorance, and death. Each of us goes
through this repeatedly—we all have our own curriculum , our own
crucifixions, our own battles and trials and tribulations. But each of us has
within us as well the potential  for enlightenment and resurrection, as an
indwelling God Who both calls us out of darkness and delivers us to light. There is a lot of talk in our culture today that glorifies the darkness. Mentally as well as physically , we pick apart our problems and dissect their
every vicissitude . But as import ant as it is to own our darkness, we should
also own our light. Jesus is a name for that light. We should not be
mesmerized by the crucifixion. Understand the darkness, but look beyond it
to the light. The resurrected mind is the light of God within us. It is the mind that
understands. It understands that only love is real, and nothing else exists. It
understands that illusions disso lve in the presence of love. It understands
that the power to transform the world lies in our power to think about itdifferently . Understanding anew, we become new. We are not just
improved; we are changed . Three days after the crucifixion  of Jesus, the women who were closest
to him went to the tomb to claim his body . A great earthquake occurred, and
they were told he was no longer there. “Why do you look for the living
among the dead ? He isn’t here,  but has been raised” (Luke 24:5–6, CEB). Once you’ve survived a personal crucifi xion and been resurrected into a
higher level of understanding, the part of your personality that was crucified
by the event no longer exists. That person has been transmuted into who
you are now. You no longer have certain issues, are no longer stuck in
certain patterns of thought and behavior , are no longer blinded  by self, are
no longer chained to the cross of your own self-destructive ego. An internal
earthquake indeed. In psychologica l terms, the resurrection isn’t so much an event as a
process. It is both an awakenin g and a journey , as we emer ge from the
torment of facing our own internal demons into the light of having faced
them down. And the benefits of the journey are cumulative. We become
different because of what we’ve been through. We become wiser , nobler ,
more humble, and more aware. We become more peaceful and more open to
the miracles of life. The holiest work of all is finding this wholeness within,
where all the broken pieces of our selves have conver ged in forgiveness and
love. That wholeness is our holiness. Such is the miracle of redemption:
transformation and rebirth. Having been “saved” from ego consciousness, Jesus now has a role of
savior to those of us still lost within it. And lost we are, while we’re
suffering the illusions of the ego mind. Jesus is someone who, his mind
having been completely healed by the Holy Spirit, has been authorized by
God to help anyone who calls to him to do the same. Jesus’ s mind, joined
with our mind, can shine away the ego. This takes more than “believing in him,” however . It takes joining with
him in miracle-minded thought s that are the escape from our mortal hell. The “belief” in God is ultimately meaningless if not matched by lived
experience. According to A Course in Miracles , many conspire with God
who do not yet believe in Him. Where there is love, He is there. Where
there is not love, He is not fooled. It is we who have been fooled. The world of illusion—backed as it is by
a wall of dense material reality— can be as powerful in its effects as is thetruth. But we are beginning to see beyond it. The mortal world is a dream
within which it is our spiritu al task to awaken. Resurrection is our
awakening, for it dissolves the dark illusion of a separated self by
embracing the light of forgiveness and love. God is the Light, and in
cleaving to the light we become transformers of the dark. In darkness, there
is only war and death; in light, there is peace on earth and good will to one
another . OceanofPDF .comIf God Is in the Cockpit
Jesus lived as a man, yes, and was the full manifestation or embodiment of
the Holy Spirit. That is amazing and awe-inspiring. But it is no less
amazing that he lives within us now, no longer embodied but still alive. He
lives in another realm of consciousness and we can meet him there. The crucifixion was the last useless journey into fear, the final
demonstration that the power of love overcomes all other . The message of
the resurrection is that in the presence of love, the ego has no power . The
truth of who you are cannot be crucified. The insults we relate to that need not affect us, the memories we hang
on to that need not torment us, the things we fear that we need not even
think about—think how different your life will be when you’re no longer
held back by the fearful dramas  of this world. The ego has assigned to us
the life of a slave, imprisoned within a tiny cell of our own making,
crouching withi n it and unable  to spread either arms or legs, much less
grow wings. The resurrection is the realization that this need not be. If others lied
about you, it doesn’ t matter . If you failed at something in your past, you can
let it go and be more successful now. If someone doesn’ t want to be with
you any longer , the form of the relationship has changed but the love that
was ever there lives on. That is what it means to grow our wings. It means
we fly above the illusions of this world, to heights from which we can be
more ef fective at helping others to be released from theirs. This isn’t abstra ct, it’s practical. It is the transition from chronic stress to
inner peace. Whenever someon e tells me God is their copilot, I laugh. If
God’ s in the cockpit, as far as I’m concerned He can take the wheel. We can step back and let God lead the way* (WB-291). We can
surrender all we have and all we are, asking to be used for a higher purpose
than our own.We are asked to be His hands and feet; we are the faucets, we’re  not the
water . The awesome power of God is within us but not of us. We’re not its
source; we’re its conduits. Think of the universe as wired for the electricity
of God. All of us are lamps. It doesn’ t matter the shape of the lamp, the
design of the lamp, or how old the lamp is. What matters is whether or not
the lamp is plugged in. With every prayer , we plug in. With every moment of forgiven ess, we
plug in. With every “Jesus, you take this,” we plug in. He is the heart’ s
intelligence, far greater than our own. Our spiritual liberation doesn’ t lie in bursting out but in melting in. Our
gentleness is stronger than our harshness, our humility is strong er than our
arrogance, and our flexibility is stronger than our self-will. Where there is love there cann ot be fear. When the mind summons
Jesus, fear subsides. You literally feel a difference in the energy of your
body when an issue is given over to the intelligence of the heart. Nervousness is replaced by inner peace. I have felt this personally . Havi ng both succeeded and failed at various
things in my life, I’ve had a lot of time to think about the dif ferences. Where I failed, I see that I walked ahead of the truth. I thought I had to
figure everything out. I tried to exert my self-will. I walked ahead of God. Where I succeeded, I surrendere d to something greater than myself, not
as an act of obedience but as an act of power . I remembered that of myself
I’m just one person challenged by powers much greater than mine; in
service to him, I’m aligned with a power beyond the powers of the world. Looking at the world today , one realizes that, as they say in Alcoholics
Anonymous, our best thinking got us here. And as Einstein made clear , the
thinking that got us here is not the thinking that will lead us out of here. That is why there is a spiritual revival on the planet today . It’s why so
many are ready to humble ourse lves before a power greater than our own, a
power that can do for us what we cannot do for ourselves. There is a way. There is a door to a world we want, a world of peace
where we are free to love and to be loved. There are many names on the
door, and one of them is Jesus. If when you look at the door you see his
name, he is ready to swing it open in any moment that you say yes. Put out your hand, and see how easily the door swings open with your one intent to go
beyond it. Angels light the way, so that all darkness vanishes, and you are standing in a light so
bright and clear that you can understand all things you see. A tiny moment of surprise, perhaps,will make you pause befor e you realize the world you see befor e you in the light reflects the truth
you knew , and did not quite for get in wandering away in dr eams. * (W -131)
IMAGINE JESUS
Sit comfortably and imagine Jesus living within you. Literally melt into his
energy and allow his to melt into yours. Breathe in his being. Stay with that visualization for a minimum of five minutes, if you
can . . . As you walk around today , remember that he is closer than your breath
to you. With every conscious thought that he is there, dysfunctional
energies dissolve and melt away . They go back to the nothingness whence
they came. Dear God,
Please do for me what I cannot do for myself. Overrule the darkness and fill me with Y our Light. Help me to see the innocence in everyone. Lift my soul
and r enew my body . Open my eyes that I might see
the love that is always ther e.
Amen
OceanofPDF .comHe Did Not Ignore
How does the entire world evolve  or get saved from the catastrophe of our
collective self-d estruction? It’s lovely to think that we as individuals can
heal our thoughts and thus chan ge our lives. But isn’t there more at stake
than just your salvation or mine? In an age of constant wars, environmental
degradation, and all manner of other global disasters, are we not challenged
collectively to spiritually evolve? Resurrection is a new sensibility  arising on the earth today . It is brought
about by those who sense that there is another world possible and who
know in their deepest being that it’s our purpose to bring it forth . This is not
a religious perspective, althou gh it is a sacred one. People from all
religions, and no religions, are awakening to the truth of the heart today . Humanity is giving birth to a new historical era. Labor happens when it
happens, but the laboring mother still has to push. The creation of a new
world is not always easy, and it is rarely appreciated by the protectors of the
old. Jesus is a mystical aid to both directing and enduring the process. From our collective resurrection will emer ge a transformed world. It
will still be a dream compared to God’ s ultimate reality , but a happy dream
from which awakening occurs more naturally* (T-383). There will be no
war, no poverty , no needless suffering. Humanity having remembered its
identity and purpose, the world will be a different place. Form will be
secondary to the primacy of spirit. Our consciousness rising, unimportant things will mean less to us. The
arc of evolution  is bending in the direction of justice, and we were born to
be its benders. Even if we are so irresponsible as to manifest global
catastrophe, and there are only a very few people left on the planet at the
end of that, those few will look at each other and say, “This time let’s do
things dif ferently .”The mystic is led by the heart, yes. But seeing the body through a
spiritual lens, we gain more physical life force with which to do the heart’ s
bidding. The mystic’ s life is one of neither physical nor intellectual laziness. It is not a life of negative denia l regarding the problems of the world. The
aspirant doesn’ t say that since only love is real and everything else is an
illusion anyway , there’ s nothing  for us to do except to try to heal our own
lives. There is no spiritual justification for ignoring the suffering of the
world. The fact that something  is happening within a realm of illusion
doesn’ t mean it doesn’ t matter . Jesus wept; he did not ignore. Jesus doesn’ t ignore the hungry; he feeds the hungry . He doesn’ t just
talk about peace ; he wages peace. He doesn’ t demonize the poor; he helps
them. All those things will take a miracle, given the ego-driven institutional
resistance to letting such value s lead. But he is with us to provide those
miracles. Miracles don’t seem unreasonable when you know they occur
naturally as expressions of love. OceanofPDF .comThe Mountain
Jesus proclaimed, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”
“On earth as it is in heaven” means on the material plane as we know it
should be in our hearts. It’s now time for us to repent—to think again—to atone for what was
wrong in the past and imagine what is possible. A new world is at hand, if
we are willing to rethink the one we are living in now . The life of the miracle worker isn’t just determined by what we do but
by who we are. Having reached  a more peaceful, centered place within our
consciousness, the point then becomes what to do with who we have
become. Jesus called forth the menders of nets, which means people with the
right skill sets to help you. He made his disciples fishermen of men, which
means he will make you a leader—someone who demonstrates how to build
communities based on strong human values. He healed disease and cured
the sickness of a wounded world; he will show you how to use your
energies for the same kind of purposes in our world today . As people began to harken to his words, Jesus went up to the mountain. Just as Moses was called to Mount Nebo, just as Mary was called to the
roof, all of us are called to the higher place—the realms of meditation and
prayer—for only there are we able to hear, to think,  to understand in deeper
and higher ways. The more God’ s power heals your life, the more you want
to pray, the more you want to meditate, the more you want to remember to
give your life to God. The point of your life is that it be used as a platform from which to help
heal the world. Jesus saw the crowds, and so will you. He sat down, which
should remind you to ground yourself. His disciples came to him, and you
too will be joined by like-minded souls. And he began to speak. You too will now be led to take action.No matter what form your activity takes, it can be your ministry . It can be
the way you help improve your corner of the world. It is the spirit of
contribution you put into your work that makes it meaningful—not so much
its form as its content. What’ s important is that we do whatever  we do as a
way of serving love. The Holy Spirit knows exactly who you are and what you’ve been
through. He will tell you exactly where to go and what to do. Your
successes as well as your failur es are all of equal value to Him in healing
the world, as long as you are willing to be used as a conduit for His love. The only real failure is something we failed to learn from. It is our
willingness to be used by Him now that determines our spiritual value as
agents of healing. Jesus is said to have told his disciples to go out into the countryside and
teach the gospel. To teach is to demonstrate, and the gospel is love. He
wasn’ t telling his disciples to go out and hit people over the head with their
book. Nor is he saying that to his disciples today . He is telling us to teach
love and love only, for love is what we are. The disciple isn’t trying to get
his mess age out; we’re trying to get his message in. It’s our inner ear into
which he whispers and reveals all things. The ego plays a zero-sum game, telling you that what you give away
you lose. But on a spiritual plane, you get to keep only what you give away . Jesus was able to multiply the loaves and fishes because he needed them to
feed people. When you live only to feed people in one way or another , all
material abundance you need to support the task will be provided to you as
well. We ask to be guided by Him, and used by Him, to play whatever role
we might best play in His plan for the healing of the world. We can’t see the
whole picture or where we would best fit in, but if we make ourselves
available, God Himself will take us up on our offer. We’ll be directed to
where we might be most helpful. He has perfect faith in us to accomplish
every task on which we are sent, and He will offer us His faith in place of
our doubts. There is a way of living in the world that is not here, although it seems to be. You do not
change appearance, though you smile more frequently . Your forehead is serene; your eyes are
quiet. And the ones who walk the world as you do recognize their own. Yet those who have not
yet perceived the way will recognize you also, and believe that you are like them, as you were
befor e.* (WB-291)His disciples represent the prese nce of an Alternative—a more merciful,
compassionate, and forgiving way of being—in a personal relationship, a
business setting, or even world af fairs. The resurrection  is not a life of sacrifice but a life of joy. It doesn’ t
mean dying for humanity but living for humanity . The only thing we
“sacrifice” are parts of ourselves we come to see were self-sabotaging,
double-edged swords to begin with. We sacrifice being judgmental, we
sacrifice being cowardly , we sacrifice being negative, we sacrifice playing
small. Those are the things we allow to die so that God within us may live. OceanofPDF .comAwakening from the Dream
Your Friend goes with you. You are not alone. No one who calls on Him can call in vain. Whatever troubles you, be certain that He has the answer , and will gladly give it to you, if you
simply turn to Him and ask it of Him. He will not withhold all answers that you need for
anything that seems to trouble you. He knows the way to solve all problems, and resolve all
doubts. His certainty  is yours. You need but ask it of Him, and it will be given you. * (WB-
Epilogue)
The ego is the mind of separation, and as long as we’re living in this
world we will always be prone  to think in terms of separate bodies rather
than unified spirits. But it’s possible to live in this world, even be deeply
grounded in the blessings of this world, yet see the purpose of every day,
and every intera ction, as being a lesson in becoming a more loving human
being. We need to own our errors and be willing to correct them. We need to
acknowledge our defects and surrender them for healing. We need to be
willing to see we’re no better or worse than anyone else. We need to be
willing to step back and let the Holy Spirit lead the way, replaci ng our self-
will with His higher wisdom and knowledge of all things. We need to be
willing to dwell in the present, to let the past go. We need to be willing to
see that only love is real and everything else is illusion. The world is in a state of spiritu al slumber . There has never been a mass
awakening but it’s time for one, for in our sleep the nightmares have come
and they are threatening to destroy the world. We do not go directly , howev er, from a state of sleep to a state of
awakening. Jesus helps us translate the painful dream we’re in now to a
happy dream, a world in which  hunger and poverty and war shall be no
more. “And God Himself shall wipe away all tears”* (WB-450). The world we live in is but a reflection of the people we have been. Our
neglect, even disavowal, of the sacred has led us to where we are. Our lackof revere nce and devotion, for God, for the planet, for each other , and even
for ourselves, is the cause of our individual and collective pain. But God, being perfect Love, has an answer to every problem the
moment the problem occurs. That applies collectively as well as
individually . God’ s response to the challenges the world faces today is a
collective plan for the world’ s redemption. Through it, each of us is infused
with the wisdom to play the role we best might play in the healing of the
world. The plan works within the world much the way our immune system
works within the body . Cells are sent to the wound in order to heal it, and
we, as healers, are similarly sent to heal the wounds of society . As cells in
the body might be assigned to the pancreas, or the liver, or the blood, we
will be assigned to the arts, to education, to business, or to any other area
where we can be of greatest service. We will know what work is ours to do
because we will feel a quickening that informs us. Some endeavors, such as
politics, are a collective assignment. We are sent to where we can be most
helpful. By allowing Jesus to guide our thinking, we are allowing him to guide
our lives . With our rational, mortal mind we do not know what’s going to
happen tomorro w, nor how our path fits into the larger scheme of things. But the Holy Spirit does. The greatest way to serve the unfold ment of the
best possible tomorrow is by settling as deeply as possible into love and
forgiveness today . “Heaven and earth shall be as one” means the day will come when they
will no longer exist as two separate states. Our thoughts will be purified of
fear, so our planet will be purif ied of fear as well. That is our destiny; we
will get there through wisdom or we will get there through pain. How long
it will take, and how much suffering we will have to go through first, is
entirely up to us. But our healin g is foreordained, because God’ s Will has
never not been done.
_OceanofPDF.com_The_Mystic_Jesus_The_Mind_of_Love_-_Marianne_Williamson.txt
Summarize the following text section accurately and concisely. Maintain specific details and numerical information, and use anti-repetition mechanisms:

        Guilt is the corne rstone of the ego’s thought system, just as
innocence is the cornerstone of the Holy Spirit’ s. In projecting guilt onto someon e else, we are attacking ourselv es. Like
an autoimmune disease, the ego insanely attacks that which we are meant to
bless. Given that the power of the mind is literally infinite, it becomes an
instrument of mass destruction more powerful than any we can imagine. I remember having dinner with my daughter when she was about ten
years old. I don’t know how the topic came up, but somehow there was a
mention of nuclear bombs. I remember her putting her little head in her
hands and saying with great intensity, “The fact that they exist is insane. ”
She said it with a moral clarity  that only a child can express—simple
and unequivocal. There were not yet mitigating factors, complicated
justifications, or any excuses whatsoever that could veil the absolute truth
in her mind. And she was right. The issue is not that nuclear bombs are good or bad. The issue is that
they are insane. Given  that enough of them  could destroy human
civilization as we know it, or possibly even the species for at least a fewhundred thousand years, the very fact that they exist is an example of how
humanity crucifi es itself. When Gandhi said that the problem of the world is
that humanity is not in its right mind, he was right. Yet we can choo se again. We can be as vigilant against the ego as for it. The resurrection  having already been accomplished, the issue is whether or
not we choose to claim it. Resurrection is a choice. We live in a world in which crucifixion is given more respect than love. We have more faith in the powe r of cancer to kill us than we have in God to
heal us. How much more attention and resources are given to those who
know how to wage war and manufacture the means to do it, than to those
who know how to wage peace and build thriving communities. We literally
give more respe ct to fear than to love. Our collective ego uses all manner of
pseudosophistication to obscure its real intentions. The way of resurrection
is available; it’ s simply too often unchosen. Jesus having already broken the spell of darkness, the resurrection is
now an established fact in the ethers of human consciousness. It’s like a
superpower we just leave lying  on the sidewalk. Saying we believe in the
resurrection yet refusing to live its message, we simply mock Jesus as he
was mocked before. And what is our resistance. Why, with so many professing our desire to
love and to be loved, do we so often not. Surely it is not because love is
unreasonable. According to A Cours e in Miracles, love restores reason and
not the other way around. No, our resistance is about some thing deeper than that. Our resistance is
the fact that the one thing we find scarier than death is the prospect of
having to change. Some people would rather die than change their mind*
(MT-51). If Jesus is real, if he is alive and his power is available to us, then
basically everyth ing we’ve ever been taught about the world is untrue. And
that’s true—but also terrifying to the ego. The ego is terrified of love, and our identification with ego has made us
terrified of love too. The belief that we are separate is so ingrai ned into our
thought system that we fear annihilation without it. That’ s because to the
ego, love is annihilation. Those who profess love as the cure to the world’ s ailments are so often
deemed “not in touch with reality. ” The reality we don’t choose  to be in
touch with is a reality that will kill us all. Even more significantly than that,the ego’s reality isn’t even ultimate reality. Humanity is awakeni ng from the
real to the Real. From climate change that could  make the planet uninhabitable for most
people, to prospects of nuclear disaster, our current way of living on this
planet is a slow-moving crucifixion of the human race. But the story isn’ t over.
Guilt
What is the core of the ego's thought system?
To transform and resurrect ourselves, and in doing so, to transform the world
What is the ultimate goal of the resurrection?
Infinite
According to the text, what is the power of the mind?
To demonstrate the power of love and forgiveness, and to show that it is possible to overcome fear and darkness
What is the significance of the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus?
To awaken humanity to the reality of their oneness and guide them towards a path of redemption and transformation.
What is the ultimate goal of the Course in Miracles?