Lesson 181
I trust my brothers, who are one with me.
The world we see can be used to show us our insanity or our sinlessness. How is it we can come to see our perfection in such a mad world? This, indeed, is possible and the experience we desire today.
Fixating on what is wrong with the world only magnifies what we believe, albeit silently, about ourselves. If we believe in our sinlessness, then that must be the case for our brothers and sisters as well. If we see the sin in others, we thus believe the sin that is possible within us. Yet, we have come to know our Light and our perfection, thus today we erase any blocks that keep us from the vision of sinlessness.
I have shared before that I have gone to places such as Walmart and the mall to merely people watch. I have gone to literally exercise seeing each person as a Child of God. I have sat there and as people came into my view I would say, silently, “You are perfect. You are whole. You are holy. Nothing needs to be fixed about you or me.” And that is the key, that no one, and I mean no one, needs to be fixed.
Often the pitfall in spirituality is the belief that I am perfect but yet I still look out onto a world where people need to be fixed or need this or that. Once more, that is still just pointing to areas where we believe we still need to be fixed….and we do not! Even as I sat in Walmart I observed the judgments I had and thought many times, “If only this person would choose healthier items in their buggy….” or “I bet if that person would notice her child more….” You see, we tend to believe we know what is best for another and that we know everyone’s journey out of suffering. The only journey we know is the one that is meant for ourselves. And in that we can rejoice. We can spare our energy, especially our mental energy, and just see others in their perfection. That no one or no thing needs be fixed at all. Seeing someone as they Truly Are is really the best gift we can give anyone.
Can you look upon your brothers and sisters, even those who are suffering, and see their holy perfection? Albeit their journey may look rocky at the moment, yet their true essence, which is the same as your essence, has never changed. Can you allow this being to have his or her experience?
“Remove your focus on your brother’s sins, and you experience the peace that comes from faith in sinlessness” (ACIM Lesson 181 2:5).
I have a dear friend who has shared with me that her word for this year is “innocence.” Any time something comes up for her or someone she knows, she comes back to this one word and the feeling of her perfection and that of her brothers and sisters washes over her. It is truly something to be in her presence when she goes through this process. You can just see the relief and peace that comes over her body and how her Light brightens.
You are innocent. He is innocent. She is innocent. Your family is innocent. You previous lovers are innocent. Your coworkers are innocent. All are innocent. We are innocent beings who chose to play crazy for a while yet our innocence has remained untouched. Can you allow innocence to still reign even when you notice crazy? That is the gift of releasing someone to his or her journey.
This does not mean that we cannot help those in need. For example, please do not roll down your window at someone holding up a sign for money and say to them, “I’m going to give you something better than money. I see you in this moment as Christ.” Please, see this person as Christ (and it may be appropriate to say that), but if a fellow brother or sister is in need on their journey, and if you feel so inclined, help in whatever way you feel called. Yet know that in your help, you are not doing so because someone is greater than or less than. It is a deed done while seeing your fellow in Light.
“We seek for innocence and nothing else. We seek for it with no concern but now” (ACIM Lesson 181 3:5-6).
Notice how today is not about seeing the potential in another but seeing someone as he or she truly is. It is not about waiting for a future to mirror any such idea nor is it about forgiving a past. It is about this moment. Right Now.
“We look neither ahead nor backwards. We look straight into the present” (ACIM Lesson 181 9:4-5).
As we close today, let us recognize the blocks that keep us from maintaining our practice. It is that of not fully trusting in our perfection and that in our brothers and sisters. True, in this world, we have been shown that we were anything but perfect and often our fellow brothers and sisters have also shown us, all too often, their imperfections. It may lead you to feeling a bit “gun shy” as you approach your practice today. But remember that all those “imperfections” are just calls to remind us of what we truly are. It is the alarm clock going off so that we become wide-awake! And should you forget, and begin to fear failure in this endeavor, know that in believing in anything other than perfection is the voice for ego. Let that voice arise and pass away as you come back to the perfect silence of the Holy Spirit. Come back to the perfect perfection that is You.
I see you. I see your innocence. I see your perfection. I see your purpose. I see your divinity. I see your Light. You have never hid it. It has never gone away. It is as You are, right here, right now.
Namaste.