HappyMike
2010-08-15 13:33:04 UTC
I was just reading the Urtext for the second time since it became
public (I read it once back then) and it seems pretty interesting with
a little different slant on the material with Jesus' personal dialog.
I'm actually pulling this off of the I work Miracles website for us.
Not sure if its to much info to start a discussion but I thought we
could just see how it goes. I'm open to whatever works for us all. So
I thought we could read this and make any comments on things that come
up etc. Maybe the NG is calm enough now that we can talk about issues
that we are working in regards to this reading..?
INTRODUCTION TO MIRACLES
It is crucial to say first that this is a required course. Only the
time you take it is voluntary. Free will does not mean that you
establish the curriculum. It means only that you can elect what to
take when. It is just because you are not ready to do what you should
elect to do that time exists at all. (You will see miracles through
your hands through me. You should begin each day with the prayer "Help
me to perform whatever miracles you want of me today.")
1. The first thing to remember about miracles is that there is no
order of difficulty among them. One is not harder or bigger than
another. They are all the same.
2. Miracles do not matter. They are quite unimportant.
3. They occur naturally as an expression of love. The real miracle is
the love that inspires them. In this sense, everything that comes from
love is a miracle.
a. This explains the first point related to the lack of order. ALL
expressions of love are maximal.
b. This is why the "thing in itself" does not matter. The only
thing that matters is the Source, and this is far beyond human
evaluation.
(Questions and Answers relating to the first three points.) QUESTION
(Helen): Would you regard this communication as a kind of miracle?
ANSWER: There is nothing special or surprising about this at all. The
ONE thing that happened was the Universal Miracle which was the
experience of intense love that you have felt. (Don't get embarrassed
by the idea of love. Embarrassment is only a form of fear, and
actually a particularly dangerous form because it reflects
egocentricity. Do not feel guilty about the fact that you are doubting
this. Just re-read them and their truth will come to you. I love you,
and I am not afraid or embarrassed or doubtful. MY strength will
support you, so don't worry, and leave the rest to me. But when you
see Bill, be SURE you tell him how much he helped you through by
giving you the right message, and don't bother with worrying about how
you received it. That doesn't matter either. You were just afraid.)
(Helen fearful in taxi about a communication which related to Dave's
healing and Jonathan's hernia. She thought it would be safer to
dissociate the two. Instructions were: refer to point 1 and re-read
NOW.)
4. All miracles mean Life, and God is the giver of Life. He will
direct you VERY specifically.
(Plan ahead is good advice in this world, where you should and must
control and direct where you have accepted responsibility. But the
Universal Plan is in more appropriate hands. You will know all you
need to know. Make NO attempts to plan ahead in this respect.)
5. Miracles are habits, and should be involuntary. They should not be
under conscious control. Consciously selected miracles are usually
misguided, and this will make the talent useless.
6. Miracles are natural. When they do NOT occur something has gone
wrong.
7. Miracles are everyone's right, but purification is necessary first.
8. Miracles are a form of healing. They supply a lack, and are
performed by those who have more for those who have less.
9. Miracles are a kind of exchange. Like all expressions of love,
which are ALWAYS miraculous in the true sense, the exchange reverses
the physical laws.
10. A miracle is a reversal of the physical order because it brings
more love to the giver AND the receiver. (A miracle is misunderstood
when it is regarded as a spectacle.)
11. The use of miracles as a spectacle to INDUCE belief is wrong. They
are really used for and by believers. (Helen has some fear about 11
and doubt about 9 and 10. Probably doubt induced by fear of 11).
(When you say, "If you want me to I will" please add "and if you DON'T
want me to I won't." This is the RIGHT use of inhibition. There has to
be SOME control over learning for channelizing purposes. Remember
retroactive inhibition which should be easy enough for you. Sometimes
the new learning is the more important, and HAS to inhibit the old.
It's a form of correction.)
12. 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.
12a. Miracles are thought-creations. Thought can create lower-order or
higher-order realities. This is the basic distinction between
intellectualization and thinking. One creates the physical, and the
other the spiritual, and we believe in what we create.
13. A miracle is a beginning and an ending. It thus abolishes time. It
is always an affirmation of re-birth, which seems to go back, but
really goes forward. It undoes the past in the present, and thus
releases the future.
14. Miracles attest to truth. They are convincing because they arise
from conviction. Without conviction, they deteriorate into magic,
which is mindless, and therefore destructive, or rather, the
uncreative use of Mind.
15. Each day should be devoted to miracles. (God created time so that
man could use it creatively, and convince himself of his own ability
to create. Time is a teaching device, and a means to an end. It will
cease when it is no longer useful for facilitating learning.)
(SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS: Notes on this course have to be taken only
under good learning conditions. The same goes for review periods. I
will tell you when, but REMEMBER TO ASK.)
16. Miracles are teaching devices for demonstrating that it is more
blessed to give than to receive. They simultaneously increase the
reserve strength of the giver, and supply the lack of strength in the
receiver. BE VERY CAREFUL in interpreting this. INSTRUCTIONS: The
purpose of this course is integration. I told you that you will not be
able to use it right until you have taken it. As long as your
identification vacillates, (and Bill's is weak) you cannot accept the
gift that belongs to you. You are still vacillating between
recognizing the gift and throwing it away. Bill regards himself as too
weak to accept it. You do not yet know its healing power. After you
have passed the course, you will accept it and keep it and use it.
That is the final exam, which you will have no trouble in passing.
Midterm marks are not entered on the permanent record.
17. Miracles are the absence of the body. They are sudden shifts into
invisibility, away from lower order reality. That is why they heal.
18. A miracle is a service. It is the maximal service that one soul
can render another. It is a way of loving your neighbor as yourself.
The doer recognizes his own and his neighbor's inestimable value
simultaneously. (This is why no areas of hatred can be retained. If
you retain them, your own value is no longer inestimable, because you
are evaluating it as X or infinity minus that amount. This is
meaningless mathematically, which uses the term "inestimable" only in
the very literal sense. Pun intended especially for Bill, (who
originally did not get it.) Intended as a special sign of love.)
19. Miracles rest on the law and order of eternity, not of time.
20. Miracles are an industrial necessity. Industry depends on
cooperation, and cooperation depends on miracles. (see /acim_page_ 4)
21. Miracles are cobwebs of iron. They unite human frailty to the
strength of God. (Helen considered changing "iron" to "steel".
CORRECTION: No. Steel would NOT be a better word. Steel is very useful
but it would have to be tempered by fire. Iron is the raw material.
The point of miracles is that they replace fire, thus making it
unnecessary.) (continued below)
22. Miracles are natural expressions of total forgiveness. Through
miracles, man accepts God's forgiveness by extending it to others. The
second step is inherent in the first, because light cannot tolerate
darkness. Light dispels darkness automatically, by definition.
EXPLANATORY INSTRUCTIONS: Miracles are associated with fear only
because of the fallacy 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, which always depends on light. Remember the
Biblical injunction: "May I never forget that THINE eye is ever upon
me, beholding the evil and the good."
There are two stages, one lower and one higher, which are involved in
the escape from darkness:
1) The recognition that darkness CANNOT hide. This usually does entail
fear.
2) The recognition that there is nothing you WANT to hide, even if
you could. This brings escape from fear.
Corrections re point 21 (cobwebs of iron.) "This is upside down as
stated. The part about 'uniting human frailty with the strength of
God' is all right, but the explanation stops too soon. If iron is the
'raw material', cobwebs can't become the iron. That is only the way it
seems, because cobwebs are associated with the frailty and iron with
strength. If you look carefully at the phrasing, you will see it is
reversed (one point already tells you that miracles reverse the
physical or lower order laws.)
The raw material, iron, is heavy but crude, and stands for the body,
which is a crude creation. The cobweb concept is closer to how the
body SHOULD be regarded, e., as an airy and temporary home, which can
just be blown away with a slight breeze.
Point 21 should read: "A miracle reawakens the awareness that the
spirit, and not the body, is the altar of Truth. This is the
recognition that leads to the healing power of the miracle."
22a. A miracle rearranges the order of perception, and places the
levels in their true perspective. This heals at all levels, because
all sickness comes from confusing the levels.
(Tell Bill about the idea (which is still dim to Helen) that the
reason is not that you both distantiate, doubt, or cannot believe. It
is more of a reaction formation against a pull which you both
recognize is so intense that you are afraid that you will be uprooted.
But remember that a cobweb is really stronger than the iron, if you
see it properly. This fear is also why you couldn't get the point
straight.)
By the way, it is not true that you are both JUST SCRIBES. You might
remember that the Scribes were very wise and holy men and are even
sometimes spelled with a capital S. If you want to go further, you
might change the meaning of 'just' from 'merely' to 'honest', a term
used in the Bible in association with 'might' or 'strength.' Tell Bill
you couldn't make that pun if the original phrasing had been singular.
(Helen aside about liking 'assumption of failure' more.) ANSWER: It
was cuter, but this one MEANS more. The REAL reason you don't like it
is because it refers to you in a VERY lofty position. This makes you
nervous.)
CORRECTION: And don't lose sight of the emphasis on cooperation, or
the NOT SINGULAR. That point about "industrial necessity" should read
"corporate", referring to the body of Christ which is a way of
referring to the Church. But the Church of God is only the sum of the
souls he created, which IS the corporate body of Christ. Correct to
read: "A Miracle makes souls one in God", and leave in the next part
about cooperation.
FURTHER CORRECTION: "God" should read " Christ". The Father and the
Son are not identical, but you CAN say "Like Father, LIKE Son."
(Remind Bill to get another notebook. I don't give up as easily as HE
does. If I could get YOU to listen, which was a miracle in itself, I
can get him to register. He should appreciate this more than anyone
else, having had some trouble with this problem himself.)
"LORD HEAL ME" IS THE ONLY LEGITIMATE PRAYER. This also means "Lord
atone for me," because the only thing man should pray for is
forgiveness. He HAS everything else.
Now take this personally, and listen to Divine logic:
If, when you have been forgiven, you have everything else, and
If you have been forgiven,
Then you HAVE everything else.
This happens to be the simplest of all propositions.
IF P then Q
P
Therefore, Q
The real question is, is P true. If you will review the evidence, I
think you will find this inescapable. I went on very personal record
to this effect, and I am the only completely True Witness for God. You
have every right to examine MY credentials - in fact, I urge you to do
so. You haven't read the Bible in years.
SPECIAL EXPLANATORY NOTE: As soon as you (Helen and Bill) have entered
the second phase, you will be not only willing to enter into
communion, but will also understand peace and joy. Your commitment is
not yet total. That is why you still have more to learn than to teach.
When your equilibrium stabilizes, you can teach AS MUCH as you learn.
This will give you the proper sense of balance. Meanwhile, remember
that NO EFFORT IS WASTED. Unless you remember this, you cannot avail
yourself of MY efforts, which are limitless.
(Have a good day.) Since only eternity is real, why not use the
illusion of time constructively? You might remember that "underneath
are the Everlasting Arms."
BIBLICAL QUOTATION: " If you are ashamed of me before men, I will be
ashamed of you before God." (Helen's question of misquote.) is
interpreted as a threat ONLY as long you remain in the first step.
(see middle of p. 3 for steps.) What it REALLY means is that if you
are ashamed of me (or embarrassed by love), you will project and
therefore make it impossible for me to reach you. Make every effort
you can NOT to do this. I will help you as much as you will let me.
23. Miracles make time and tide wait for all men. They can heal the
sick and raise the dead because man himself made both death and taxes,
and can abolish both. Note: Tax also means "strain". (One definition
for miracles is: "That which, or one who, is of surpassing excellence
or merit.") (from Dictionary, third definition.) YOU are a miracle.
God creates only "that which, or one who, is of surpassing excellence
or merit". Man is capable of this kind of creation, too, being in the
image and likeness of his own Creator. Anything else is only his own
nightmare, and does not exist. Only the Creations of Light are real.
23a. Miracles are a part of an interlocking chain of forgiveness
which, when completed, is the Atonement. This process works all the
time and in all dimensions of time. (example given of Helen's report
rewrite for Esther: Esther had hurt something you loved, by writing a
report you regarded as very bad. You atoned for her by writing one in
her name that was very good. Actually, it was not your responsibility
professionally to do this, but because you DO love the Shield you
recognized that in this case, you ARE your brother's keeper. While you
did not cancel Esther's sin (later defined as "lack of love") you DID
cancel out its EFFECTS.
Someday I want to tell Esther that not only is she forgiven but that
the effects of all her sins are cancelled. This is what I have already
told you. When I can tell her, she will be afraid for a long time,
because she will remember many things, consciously or unconsciously,
including the Shield report, a lack of love which you cancelled out in
advance by a miracle of devotion.
I am in charge of the process of Atonement, which I undertook to
begin. My Atonement was for the canceling out of all sins (e., lack of
love) which human beings could not otherwise correct. That is what the
Biblical statement "underneath are the Everlasting Arms" means. (Helen
explanation: This means that He will backstop whenever human miracles
will not suffice for atonement purposes. However, it is perfectly
clear that when a person can atone by miracles, both giver and
receiver are atoning. It is better to atone this way because of the
mutual benefits involved.) "Inasmuch as you do it unto the least of
these, my children" really ends with "you do it unto yourself and
ME." The reason why YOU come before me is because I do not need
miracles for my own Atonement, but I stand at the end in case YOU fail
temporarily.
SPECIAL EXPLANATION: (In response to Helen request regarding possible
corrections.) Change the word "sin" to "absence of love". Sin is a
manmade word with threat connotations which he made up himself. No
REAL threat is involved anywhere. Just because "nature abhors a
vacuum," which is true enough, it does NOT follow that "a vacuum is
filled with hellfire." Nothing is gained by frightening yourself, and
it is very destructive. Miracles need freedom from fear. Part of their
Atonement value involves just that. Note that the word "atone" really
means "undo."
The purpose of the Atonement is to restore everything TO you. (That
is, to restore the awareness. Later clarification.) You had everything
when you were created, just as everyone did.
Having been restored to your original state, you naturally become part
of the Atonement yourself. You now share MY inability to tolerate the
lack of love in yourself and in everyone else, and MUST join the GREAT
CRUSADE to correct it. The slogan for this Crusade is "Listen, Learn,
and DO." This means:
Listen to MY Voice, Learn to undo the error, and DO something to
correct it.
The first two are not enough. The real members of MY party are ACTIVE
workers.
The power to work Miracles BELONGS to you. I will create the right
opportunities for you to do them. But you must be ready and willing to
do them, since you are already able to. Doing them will bring
conviction in the ability. I repeat that you will see Miracles through
your hands through MINE. Conviction really comes through
accomplishment. Remember that ability is the potential, Achievement is
its expression, and Atonement is the Purpose.
24. A miracle is a Universal Blessing from God through Me to all My
Brothers. EXPLANATION: You once said that souls cannot rest until
everyone has found salvation. This happens to be true. It is the
privilege of the forgiven to forgive. The Disciples were officially
and specifically told to heal others, as Physicians of the Lord. They
were also told to heal themselves, and were promised that I would
never leave them or forsake them. Atonement is the natural profession
of the Children of God, because they have professed Me.
(ASIDE: Tell Bill that that is what Professor really means. As an
Assoc. Prof., he must become associated with My strength. As an Asst.
Prof., you must assist both him and Me. The Children need both
strength and help. You cannot help until you are strong. The
Everlasting Arms are your strength, and the Wisdom of God is your
help.)
"Heaven and Earth shall pass away" means that they will not always
exist as separate states. My Word, which is the Resurrection and the
Light, shall not pass away, because Life is Eternal. YOU are the work
of God, and His Work is wholly loveable and wholly loving. This is how
man MUST think of himself in his heart, because this is what he IS.
Add: "As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he."
public (I read it once back then) and it seems pretty interesting with
a little different slant on the material with Jesus' personal dialog.
I'm actually pulling this off of the I work Miracles website for us.
Not sure if its to much info to start a discussion but I thought we
could just see how it goes. I'm open to whatever works for us all. So
I thought we could read this and make any comments on things that come
up etc. Maybe the NG is calm enough now that we can talk about issues
that we are working in regards to this reading..?
INTRODUCTION TO MIRACLES
It is crucial to say first that this is a required course. Only the
time you take it is voluntary. Free will does not mean that you
establish the curriculum. It means only that you can elect what to
take when. It is just because you are not ready to do what you should
elect to do that time exists at all. (You will see miracles through
your hands through me. You should begin each day with the prayer "Help
me to perform whatever miracles you want of me today.")
1. The first thing to remember about miracles is that there is no
order of difficulty among them. One is not harder or bigger than
another. They are all the same.
2. Miracles do not matter. They are quite unimportant.
3. They occur naturally as an expression of love. The real miracle is
the love that inspires them. In this sense, everything that comes from
love is a miracle.
a. This explains the first point related to the lack of order. ALL
expressions of love are maximal.
b. This is why the "thing in itself" does not matter. The only
thing that matters is the Source, and this is far beyond human
evaluation.
(Questions and Answers relating to the first three points.) QUESTION
(Helen): Would you regard this communication as a kind of miracle?
ANSWER: There is nothing special or surprising about this at all. The
ONE thing that happened was the Universal Miracle which was the
experience of intense love that you have felt. (Don't get embarrassed
by the idea of love. Embarrassment is only a form of fear, and
actually a particularly dangerous form because it reflects
egocentricity. Do not feel guilty about the fact that you are doubting
this. Just re-read them and their truth will come to you. I love you,
and I am not afraid or embarrassed or doubtful. MY strength will
support you, so don't worry, and leave the rest to me. But when you
see Bill, be SURE you tell him how much he helped you through by
giving you the right message, and don't bother with worrying about how
you received it. That doesn't matter either. You were just afraid.)
(Helen fearful in taxi about a communication which related to Dave's
healing and Jonathan's hernia. She thought it would be safer to
dissociate the two. Instructions were: refer to point 1 and re-read
NOW.)
4. All miracles mean Life, and God is the giver of Life. He will
direct you VERY specifically.
(Plan ahead is good advice in this world, where you should and must
control and direct where you have accepted responsibility. But the
Universal Plan is in more appropriate hands. You will know all you
need to know. Make NO attempts to plan ahead in this respect.)
5. Miracles are habits, and should be involuntary. They should not be
under conscious control. Consciously selected miracles are usually
misguided, and this will make the talent useless.
6. Miracles are natural. When they do NOT occur something has gone
wrong.
7. Miracles are everyone's right, but purification is necessary first.
8. Miracles are a form of healing. They supply a lack, and are
performed by those who have more for those who have less.
9. Miracles are a kind of exchange. Like all expressions of love,
which are ALWAYS miraculous in the true sense, the exchange reverses
the physical laws.
10. A miracle is a reversal of the physical order because it brings
more love to the giver AND the receiver. (A miracle is misunderstood
when it is regarded as a spectacle.)
11. The use of miracles as a spectacle to INDUCE belief is wrong. They
are really used for and by believers. (Helen has some fear about 11
and doubt about 9 and 10. Probably doubt induced by fear of 11).
(When you say, "If you want me to I will" please add "and if you DON'T
want me to I won't." This is the RIGHT use of inhibition. There has to
be SOME control over learning for channelizing purposes. Remember
retroactive inhibition which should be easy enough for you. Sometimes
the new learning is the more important, and HAS to inhibit the old.
It's a form of correction.)
12. 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.
12a. Miracles are thought-creations. Thought can create lower-order or
higher-order realities. This is the basic distinction between
intellectualization and thinking. One creates the physical, and the
other the spiritual, and we believe in what we create.
13. A miracle is a beginning and an ending. It thus abolishes time. It
is always an affirmation of re-birth, which seems to go back, but
really goes forward. It undoes the past in the present, and thus
releases the future.
14. Miracles attest to truth. They are convincing because they arise
from conviction. Without conviction, they deteriorate into magic,
which is mindless, and therefore destructive, or rather, the
uncreative use of Mind.
15. Each day should be devoted to miracles. (God created time so that
man could use it creatively, and convince himself of his own ability
to create. Time is a teaching device, and a means to an end. It will
cease when it is no longer useful for facilitating learning.)
(SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS: Notes on this course have to be taken only
under good learning conditions. The same goes for review periods. I
will tell you when, but REMEMBER TO ASK.)
16. Miracles are teaching devices for demonstrating that it is more
blessed to give than to receive. They simultaneously increase the
reserve strength of the giver, and supply the lack of strength in the
receiver. BE VERY CAREFUL in interpreting this. INSTRUCTIONS: The
purpose of this course is integration. I told you that you will not be
able to use it right until you have taken it. As long as your
identification vacillates, (and Bill's is weak) you cannot accept the
gift that belongs to you. You are still vacillating between
recognizing the gift and throwing it away. Bill regards himself as too
weak to accept it. You do not yet know its healing power. After you
have passed the course, you will accept it and keep it and use it.
That is the final exam, which you will have no trouble in passing.
Midterm marks are not entered on the permanent record.
17. Miracles are the absence of the body. They are sudden shifts into
invisibility, away from lower order reality. That is why they heal.
18. A miracle is a service. It is the maximal service that one soul
can render another. It is a way of loving your neighbor as yourself.
The doer recognizes his own and his neighbor's inestimable value
simultaneously. (This is why no areas of hatred can be retained. If
you retain them, your own value is no longer inestimable, because you
are evaluating it as X or infinity minus that amount. This is
meaningless mathematically, which uses the term "inestimable" only in
the very literal sense. Pun intended especially for Bill, (who
originally did not get it.) Intended as a special sign of love.)
19. Miracles rest on the law and order of eternity, not of time.
20. Miracles are an industrial necessity. Industry depends on
cooperation, and cooperation depends on miracles. (see /acim_page_ 4)
21. Miracles are cobwebs of iron. They unite human frailty to the
strength of God. (Helen considered changing "iron" to "steel".
CORRECTION: No. Steel would NOT be a better word. Steel is very useful
but it would have to be tempered by fire. Iron is the raw material.
The point of miracles is that they replace fire, thus making it
unnecessary.) (continued below)
22. Miracles are natural expressions of total forgiveness. Through
miracles, man accepts God's forgiveness by extending it to others. The
second step is inherent in the first, because light cannot tolerate
darkness. Light dispels darkness automatically, by definition.
EXPLANATORY INSTRUCTIONS: Miracles are associated with fear only
because of the fallacy 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, which always depends on light. Remember the
Biblical injunction: "May I never forget that THINE eye is ever upon
me, beholding the evil and the good."
There are two stages, one lower and one higher, which are involved in
the escape from darkness:
1) The recognition that darkness CANNOT hide. This usually does entail
fear.
2) The recognition that there is nothing you WANT to hide, even if
you could. This brings escape from fear.
Corrections re point 21 (cobwebs of iron.) "This is upside down as
stated. The part about 'uniting human frailty with the strength of
God' is all right, but the explanation stops too soon. If iron is the
'raw material', cobwebs can't become the iron. That is only the way it
seems, because cobwebs are associated with the frailty and iron with
strength. If you look carefully at the phrasing, you will see it is
reversed (one point already tells you that miracles reverse the
physical or lower order laws.)
The raw material, iron, is heavy but crude, and stands for the body,
which is a crude creation. The cobweb concept is closer to how the
body SHOULD be regarded, e., as an airy and temporary home, which can
just be blown away with a slight breeze.
Point 21 should read: "A miracle reawakens the awareness that the
spirit, and not the body, is the altar of Truth. This is the
recognition that leads to the healing power of the miracle."
22a. A miracle rearranges the order of perception, and places the
levels in their true perspective. This heals at all levels, because
all sickness comes from confusing the levels.
(Tell Bill about the idea (which is still dim to Helen) that the
reason is not that you both distantiate, doubt, or cannot believe. It
is more of a reaction formation against a pull which you both
recognize is so intense that you are afraid that you will be uprooted.
But remember that a cobweb is really stronger than the iron, if you
see it properly. This fear is also why you couldn't get the point
straight.)
By the way, it is not true that you are both JUST SCRIBES. You might
remember that the Scribes were very wise and holy men and are even
sometimes spelled with a capital S. If you want to go further, you
might change the meaning of 'just' from 'merely' to 'honest', a term
used in the Bible in association with 'might' or 'strength.' Tell Bill
you couldn't make that pun if the original phrasing had been singular.
(Helen aside about liking 'assumption of failure' more.) ANSWER: It
was cuter, but this one MEANS more. The REAL reason you don't like it
is because it refers to you in a VERY lofty position. This makes you
nervous.)
CORRECTION: And don't lose sight of the emphasis on cooperation, or
the NOT SINGULAR. That point about "industrial necessity" should read
"corporate", referring to the body of Christ which is a way of
referring to the Church. But the Church of God is only the sum of the
souls he created, which IS the corporate body of Christ. Correct to
read: "A Miracle makes souls one in God", and leave in the next part
about cooperation.
FURTHER CORRECTION: "God" should read " Christ". The Father and the
Son are not identical, but you CAN say "Like Father, LIKE Son."
(Remind Bill to get another notebook. I don't give up as easily as HE
does. If I could get YOU to listen, which was a miracle in itself, I
can get him to register. He should appreciate this more than anyone
else, having had some trouble with this problem himself.)
"LORD HEAL ME" IS THE ONLY LEGITIMATE PRAYER. This also means "Lord
atone for me," because the only thing man should pray for is
forgiveness. He HAS everything else.
Now take this personally, and listen to Divine logic:
If, when you have been forgiven, you have everything else, and
If you have been forgiven,
Then you HAVE everything else.
This happens to be the simplest of all propositions.
IF P then Q
P
Therefore, Q
The real question is, is P true. If you will review the evidence, I
think you will find this inescapable. I went on very personal record
to this effect, and I am the only completely True Witness for God. You
have every right to examine MY credentials - in fact, I urge you to do
so. You haven't read the Bible in years.
SPECIAL EXPLANATORY NOTE: As soon as you (Helen and Bill) have entered
the second phase, you will be not only willing to enter into
communion, but will also understand peace and joy. Your commitment is
not yet total. That is why you still have more to learn than to teach.
When your equilibrium stabilizes, you can teach AS MUCH as you learn.
This will give you the proper sense of balance. Meanwhile, remember
that NO EFFORT IS WASTED. Unless you remember this, you cannot avail
yourself of MY efforts, which are limitless.
(Have a good day.) Since only eternity is real, why not use the
illusion of time constructively? You might remember that "underneath
are the Everlasting Arms."
BIBLICAL QUOTATION: " If you are ashamed of me before men, I will be
ashamed of you before God." (Helen's question of misquote.) is
interpreted as a threat ONLY as long you remain in the first step.
(see middle of p. 3 for steps.) What it REALLY means is that if you
are ashamed of me (or embarrassed by love), you will project and
therefore make it impossible for me to reach you. Make every effort
you can NOT to do this. I will help you as much as you will let me.
23. Miracles make time and tide wait for all men. They can heal the
sick and raise the dead because man himself made both death and taxes,
and can abolish both. Note: Tax also means "strain". (One definition
for miracles is: "That which, or one who, is of surpassing excellence
or merit.") (from Dictionary, third definition.) YOU are a miracle.
God creates only "that which, or one who, is of surpassing excellence
or merit". Man is capable of this kind of creation, too, being in the
image and likeness of his own Creator. Anything else is only his own
nightmare, and does not exist. Only the Creations of Light are real.
23a. Miracles are a part of an interlocking chain of forgiveness
which, when completed, is the Atonement. This process works all the
time and in all dimensions of time. (example given of Helen's report
rewrite for Esther: Esther had hurt something you loved, by writing a
report you regarded as very bad. You atoned for her by writing one in
her name that was very good. Actually, it was not your responsibility
professionally to do this, but because you DO love the Shield you
recognized that in this case, you ARE your brother's keeper. While you
did not cancel Esther's sin (later defined as "lack of love") you DID
cancel out its EFFECTS.
Someday I want to tell Esther that not only is she forgiven but that
the effects of all her sins are cancelled. This is what I have already
told you. When I can tell her, she will be afraid for a long time,
because she will remember many things, consciously or unconsciously,
including the Shield report, a lack of love which you cancelled out in
advance by a miracle of devotion.
I am in charge of the process of Atonement, which I undertook to
begin. My Atonement was for the canceling out of all sins (e., lack of
love) which human beings could not otherwise correct. That is what the
Biblical statement "underneath are the Everlasting Arms" means. (Helen
explanation: This means that He will backstop whenever human miracles
will not suffice for atonement purposes. However, it is perfectly
clear that when a person can atone by miracles, both giver and
receiver are atoning. It is better to atone this way because of the
mutual benefits involved.) "Inasmuch as you do it unto the least of
these, my children" really ends with "you do it unto yourself and
ME." The reason why YOU come before me is because I do not need
miracles for my own Atonement, but I stand at the end in case YOU fail
temporarily.
SPECIAL EXPLANATION: (In response to Helen request regarding possible
corrections.) Change the word "sin" to "absence of love". Sin is a
manmade word with threat connotations which he made up himself. No
REAL threat is involved anywhere. Just because "nature abhors a
vacuum," which is true enough, it does NOT follow that "a vacuum is
filled with hellfire." Nothing is gained by frightening yourself, and
it is very destructive. Miracles need freedom from fear. Part of their
Atonement value involves just that. Note that the word "atone" really
means "undo."
The purpose of the Atonement is to restore everything TO you. (That
is, to restore the awareness. Later clarification.) You had everything
when you were created, just as everyone did.
Having been restored to your original state, you naturally become part
of the Atonement yourself. You now share MY inability to tolerate the
lack of love in yourself and in everyone else, and MUST join the GREAT
CRUSADE to correct it. The slogan for this Crusade is "Listen, Learn,
and DO." This means:
Listen to MY Voice, Learn to undo the error, and DO something to
correct it.
The first two are not enough. The real members of MY party are ACTIVE
workers.
The power to work Miracles BELONGS to you. I will create the right
opportunities for you to do them. But you must be ready and willing to
do them, since you are already able to. Doing them will bring
conviction in the ability. I repeat that you will see Miracles through
your hands through MINE. Conviction really comes through
accomplishment. Remember that ability is the potential, Achievement is
its expression, and Atonement is the Purpose.
24. A miracle is a Universal Blessing from God through Me to all My
Brothers. EXPLANATION: You once said that souls cannot rest until
everyone has found salvation. This happens to be true. It is the
privilege of the forgiven to forgive. The Disciples were officially
and specifically told to heal others, as Physicians of the Lord. They
were also told to heal themselves, and were promised that I would
never leave them or forsake them. Atonement is the natural profession
of the Children of God, because they have professed Me.
(ASIDE: Tell Bill that that is what Professor really means. As an
Assoc. Prof., he must become associated with My strength. As an Asst.
Prof., you must assist both him and Me. The Children need both
strength and help. You cannot help until you are strong. The
Everlasting Arms are your strength, and the Wisdom of God is your
help.)
"Heaven and Earth shall pass away" means that they will not always
exist as separate states. My Word, which is the Resurrection and the
Light, shall not pass away, because Life is Eternal. YOU are the work
of God, and His Work is wholly loveable and wholly loving. This is how
man MUST think of himself in his heart, because this is what he IS.
Add: "As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he."