L e s s o n  335

I choose to see my brother's sinlessness. 
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IAMBIC PENTAMETER 
format from URTEXT by Lee Flynn 

  Forgiveness is a choice. I never see

   my brother as he is, for that is far

   beyond perception. What I see in him

   is merely what I wish to see, because

   it stands for what I want to be the truth.

   It is to this alone that I respond,

   however much I seem to be impelled

   by outside happenings. I choose to see

   what I would look upon, and this I see

   and only this. My brother's sinlessness

   shows me that I would look upon my own.

   And I will see it, having chosen to

   behold my brother in its holy light.

   "What could restore Your memory to me

    except to see my brother's sinlessness?

    His holiness reminds me that he was

    created one with me and like myself.

    In him I find my Self, and in Your Son

    I find the memory of You as well."

         ~ Original Handscript of ACIM 
 

As we approach the end of the year with these lessons, we recall that in the introduction to Part II of the workbook where we are now, we are encouraged to spend "time with Him each morning and at night, as long as makes us happy." Time is to be used "as much as we will need for the result that we desire". We will try to remember the lesson now throughout the day in addition to our morning and evening quiet times and also whenever we are tempted to lose our peace or in the face of any conflict where we are encouraged to step back and question our thoughts and beliefs and rise above the battleground.

Today's lesson is about the choice that we can make in every moment either to see innocence or to see guilt in our brother which is, of course, only what we are seeing in ourselves. All attributes of the ego are the same as are all attributes of our Self. In other words we are the same. We share the same nature. What we see in our brother is what we attribute to ourselves. My mind is the projector which projects onto other bodies attributes which are in me. That is a very helpful concept because it helps us to see the unhealed parts of our own mind. Because we are reluctant to accept responsibility for our own guilt, instead we choose to see what we don't like about ourselves "out there" in "others". But there is no "out there". Everything we see starts in our own mind. "Ideas leave not their source."

Of course there are events that we can describe and do see, but our interpretations of those events and our emotional responses to them is what we can bring awareness to. Our assessments of them as good or bad are based on our concepts and beliefs and judgments of how things should be. That is why perceptions differ among us. We are reminded in this lesson that we NEVER see our brother as he is. Why? Because of our perceptions which are never the truth. We only see in him what we wish to see. And we wish to see our guilt in our brother so that we can let ourselves off the hook for that same guilt. Thus we see him as guilty and our own motives are hidden from us. But I want my judgments of him to be the truth because it reinforces what I believe is reality, which is this state of separation. If I want to awaken to the truth of who I am then I must choose to heal the guilt that I am projecting on my brother.

Yesterday someone spoke to me of his perception of me and I felt hurt because I was offended by what I heard. However, when I was willing to step back from my judgments of what he was saying, then instead of defending myself and making a case as to why he was wrong, I was able to look more deeply at my own self judgments and see that what I was affected by that seemed to come from outside of me, was really my own internal condition.

The good news is that we have the power of choice and thus we can choose to release our blocks to love by taking responsibility for what we judge in our brother as what we have chosen in our own minds. Once we look at it and own it we can give it over for healing. That is what the forgiveness process is.  If we allow forgiveness to enter, then we can use our brothers and sisters as mirrors for what is in our own minds that needs to be released. "You see what you believe is there; and you believe it there because you want it there." (T-25.III.1:3) "When you want only love, love is all you will see" (T-12.VII.8:1).

The gift of forgiveness is the awakening of the memory that is in us that we are truly sinless. The Atonement Principle is the assurance that we can't, and have not, changed ourselves into these guilty sinners. Thus forgiveness undoes the reality of sin and now we are offered the opportunity, through forgiveness, to receive the gift that the Holy Spirit holds out to us rather than all the 'gifts' of the ego which only deliver suffering. Jesus wants us to recognize just how unhappy we are and to see how our choice for him as our teacher of forgiveness will bring more and more peace into our lives.

In any relationship we have lots of opportunities daily to see our projections. I have expectations about the way I want things to be. The ego is always screaming "I want it THUS". It is about believing that things have to be a certain way and people have to meet my requirements and expectations for me to be happy. And when it is not the way I want it, then I feel a lot of impatience. Yet what is being offered in any relationship is the opportunity to look at what is in our own minds. And now we have a choice which is to "choose to see what I would look upon, and this I see, and only this.  My brother's sinlessness shows me that I would look upon my own.  And I will see it, having chosen to behold my brother in its holy light. (1.5-7)

The means for this to happen is through forgiveness. Unless and until we make this choice , we will suffer. It is obvious that our emotional response has nothing to do with what they did. Not everyone would respond the way I do under the same circumstances. I am making a choice as to how I feel. I can choose to look at my unforgiving thoughts and take responsibility for them. Do I want to be right or happy?   As Chapter 28.II says "Nothing at all has happened but that you have put yourself to sleep, and dreamed a dream in which you were an alien to yourself, and but a part of someone else's dream. The miracle does not awaken you, but merely shows you who the dreamer is. It teaches you there is a choice of dreams while you are still asleep, depending on the purpose of your dreaming. Do you wish for dreams of healing, or for dreams of death? A dream is like a memory in that it pictures what you wanted shown to you."

But if I want a change I have to realize that it is I who is doing the dreaming. I have dreamed every situation that I encounter into my life for a purpose. Later he says that I "give myself the consequences that I dream I gave my brother" Now I see attack in my brother's hands. And I experience fear. If we see ourselves as the cause of the attack we fear, then we can choose to take responsibility by realizing it is our dream and now we can ask for the miracle instead so we will realize that we are the dreamer and not the dream figure at the mercy of the world."This world is full of miracles. They stand in shining silence next to every dream of pain and suffering, of sin and guilt. They are the dream's alternative, the choice to be the dreamer, rather than deny the active role in making up the dream".

Do you notice how much we are  into denial as a way to claim our own innocence and see ourselves as a victim of someone's attack. "If he had not said or done that, I would not be so impatient with him". NO! We prefer the innocent victim role to admitting responsibility for everything that seems to happen to us. We are indeed the dreamer of the dream. The good news is that we can then change the dream and no longer be stuck in it. 

What could restore Your memory to me, except to see my brother's sinlessness?  His holiness reminds me that he was created one with me, and like myself.   In him I find my Self, and in Your Son I find the memory of You as well . (2.2-3)  So if we want to wake up to the truth of who we are; if we want enlightenment; if we want to know the love that we are; then we must forgive our brother for our guilt that we have projected on him. We are one Self. We need our brothers to show us all of the unhealed places in our own mind that block us from the truth of who we are. The only way we will remember the truth of who we are is through forgiveness. Again it is through our special relationships which we use as a classroom for undoing the ego.

Love and blessings Sarah

Sarah's Home Page

Quotes in this article are from Foundation for Inner Peace edition; To locate the same quotes in the 'Original Edition', use this link:  http://www.jcim.net/acim_us/Acim.php  
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^{A Course in Miracles 
 MANUAL FOR TEACHERS}

Introduction