ARCIM

Daily Lesson 64 ~
March 5

Let me remember and fulfill my function of forgiveness.

Today’s idea is merely another way of saying, “Let me not wander into temptation.” The purpose of the world you look upon is to obscure the function of forgiveness, and provide those who look upon the world with a justification for forgetting their function. It is the temptation to abandon the Divine and Its Children, as in the body’s eyes these Children take on a physical appearance. It is only this appearance that the body’s eyes can perceive.

Everything that the body’s eyes seem to look upon is merely a form of temptation to misperceive, since this was the purpose of the body itself. Yet the Holy Spirit has another use for all the illusions that have been made, and therefore sees another purpose in them. To the Holy Spirit the world is a place where you learn to forgive yourself for what you think of as your unforgivable mistakes. In the Holy Spirit’s Vision the physical appearance of the temptation to misperceive becomes the spiritual Recognition of awakening.

To review our last few lessons, our function here is to be the Light of the world, a function given by the Divine. It is only the arrogance of the ego that leads anyone to question this, and only the fear of the ego that induces anyone to regard themself as unworthy of the Task assigned to them by the Divine Itself. The world’s awakening awaits the forgiveness of the Children of the Divine because through this forgiveness are they released from all illusions and thus from all temptation to mis-project and misperceive. The Child of the Divine is you.

Let us remember that to forgive means to see beyond the forms and appearances of this world to the Reality that is beyond them all. Through this beholding we invite Reality as the Light of the world to shine through us to bring Peace to every mind, and thus to awaken the world from its feverish dreams.

Only by fulfilling the function given by the Divine can true Happiness that never wavers be found. That is because our function is to be happy by using the means through which Happiness becomes inevitable. There is no other way to find this Happiness. Therefore every time anyone chooses whether or not to fulfill their function, they are really choosing whether to be happy or not. Let us remember this today. Let us remind ourselves of it in the morning and again at night, and all through the day as well.

Prepare yourself in advance for all the decisions you will make today by remembering that they are all really very simple. Each one will lead to Happiness or unhappiness. Can such a simple decision really be difficult to make? Let not the form of the decision deceive you. Complexity of form does not imply complexity of content. It is impossible that any decision on Earth can have a content different from just this one simple choice. That is the only choice the Holy Spirit sees. Therefore it is the only choice there is. Today, then, let us practice these thoughts:

“Let me remember and fulfill my function of forgiveness. Let me not try to substitute one I made up in place of the one my Creator gives me. Let me forgive and be happy.”

At least once today devote ten or fifteen minutes to reflecting on this idea with closed eyes. Related thoughts will come to help you if you remember the crucial importance of your function to you and to the world.

In the frequent applications of today’s idea to be made throughout the day, devote the time you set aside from the world to remember and be with the Divine to reviewing these thoughts, and then to thinking about them and about nothing else. This may be difficult at first, particularly since you are still developing proficiency in the discipline of mind that it requires. You may need to repeat, “Let me remember and fulfill my function of forgiveness,” quite often to help you concentrate.

Two forms of these shorter practice periods are required. At times, do the exercises with your eyes closed, trying to concentrate on the thoughts you are applying. At other times keep your eyes open after reviewing the thoughts and glance slowly and unselectively about you, telling yourself:

“This is the world it is my function to awaken from.”

 

Corresponding Text Section

 

Chapter 3: Oneness and Irreconcilability

 

4. The Timeless Realm of Knowledge

Our focus so far has very much been on perception and very little on Knowledge in Its Own right. This is because a person must get clear about their process of perception before they can know anything. To know is to be certain beyond a shadow of a doubt. Uncertainty merely means that you don’t yet know. Knowledge is Power because It is certain, and Certainty is Strength.

Perception is temporary. It is an attribute of the space-time belief, and is therefore subject to either fear or Love. Fear comes about through misperception, and Love is beheld through true perception. Neither process generates Certainty because all perception varies. That is why it is not Knowledge. True perception leads to or is the basis for reclaiming Knowledge, but Knowledge Itself is the Affirmation of Truth, Which cannot change.

All human difficulties ultimately stem from the fact that people do not recognize themselves, each other, or the Divine. Note that “recognize” means “know again,” implying that you knew previously. It does not mean “perceive again” as you did previously. You can perceive in many ways because perception can shift and involve different interpretations, and this means it is inherently not Whole, or containing Everything always. When it becomes seeing and does embrace everything in space and time, it is translated to Knowledge, which contains Everything always.

Miracles are a way of right perceiving, not a way of knowing. They are right answers to proper questions, but when you know you do not need to ask questions at all. Questioning delusions is the first step in undoing them. The miracle, or the right answer, corrects them. Since perceptions change, their dependence on time is obvious. They are subject to transitory states, and this by definition implies variability. How a person perceives at any given time both reflects their thoughts and determines what they do, and actions of this nature must occur in time. (The “action” or deed of creation is of a different dimension.) Knowledge is timeless because Certainty is not questionable. You know when you have ceased to need to ask questions because you already have and recognize the Answer.

The “questioning mind” perceives itself in time and therefore does not know, and seeks for future answers. The unquestioning mind that really still needs to ask questions because it still resides in delusion is closed merely because it believes the present and the future will be the same, just like the past. This establishes an unchanged state, or stasis. This is usually an attempt to counteract an underlying fear that the future will be worse than the present or past, and this fear inhibits the tendency to question at all.

Vision or seeing is the natural perception of the spiritual eye, but visions are still corrections. The “spiritual eye” is a symbolic term to describe a process of true perception. As a symbol and because of its connection to perception it is not a device for knowing. It is, however, a means of right perception, which brings it into the proper domain of the miracle, but not of revelation. Properly speaking, a “vision of the Divine” is a miracle rather than a revelation because of its connection with perception rather than Knowledge. The fact that perception is involved at all removes the experience from Eternity and the Realm of Knowledge. That is why such visions do not last.

All true spiritual paths instruct their followers one way or another to “know yourself,” or to be certain about who you are. True Certainty is always of the Divine. When you love someone with actual Love instead of the semblance of love you have perceived them as they are, and this makes it possible for you to know them. But it is not until you recognize their holy Self, Which you share, that you know them again. Only then are you able to cease needing to ask questions about them because you already have the Answer.

While you still ask questions about the Divine, you are clearly indicating that you do not know It. Certainty does not require action as action is currently understood. When someone says that they are acting on the basis of sure knowledge, they are really confusing perception and knowing. Knowledge is Strength for creation but not for right doing or actions.

Perception, miracles, and action are closely related. Revelation reflects Knowledge, and induces only creative or true Thought. Even in its most spiritualized form, perception involves the body. Knowledge comes from the Altar within, and is timeless because It is certain. To perceive the Truth is not the same as knowing It.

It is worth noting that two people who have different perceptual challenges, for instance one whose perception is steadily moving toward Reality but so tentative that it lacks certainty, and another whose perception swings from sudden but true perception to complete perceptual disorganization, are much better off working together with these differences than they would be if they each experienced similar perceptual challenges. This is because their perceptual differences have the potential of enabling each to understand that the misperceptions of the other are unnecessary, which may lead them to see the same thing about themselves. On the other hand, such differences if not perceived with charity may cause either or both to react with some form of rejection or attack.

Every time there is anything unlovable that crosses your mind recognize immediately that you do not want to hurt your brother or sister or yourself. It may help to say a prayer along the lines of:

Help me see my sisters and brothers as they truly are, and thus release both them and me.

It must be emphasized that those who attack error or reject the one who errs, including through judging either, hurt themselves. It is impossible to love or recognize another when you reject or attack them. Another way of saying this is that rejection or attack can only be made of or on a stranger, never a brother or sister. People are made strangers when they are misperceived, and when they are misperceived as strangers they cannot be known by the one misperceiving. When someone makes another into a stranger, they become afraid of them. Seeing another with true perception allows them to be loved, and known.

Right perception is necessary before the Divine can communicate directly to Its Own Altars Which It has established in Its Children. At the inner Altar the Divine can communicate Certainty, and this Knowledge will bring Peace without question. The Divine is not a stranger to Its Own Children, and the Children of the Divine are not strangers to each other. Knowledge was before both perception and time came about, and will ultimately replace (or correct for) both. This is the real meaning of the Divine as the “Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End.” It also explains Spirit’s Statement, “Before Abraham was, I AM.”

Perception can and must become stable for it to become real, but Knowledge is always timelessly Stable. There are no strangers in the Divine Creation. Sisters and brothers in a human family can misperceive one another, but they rarely maintain that they do not recognize each other. This is possible only if they have forgotten or ceased to accept that they are of the same family. To create as the Divine creates is to create only what you know and accept as yours. The Divine knows Its Children with perfect Certainty. It created them by knowing them. It recognizes them perfectly. Through recognizing each other, the Children recognize their Creator.