4HIP: The Results of True Forgiving

From the book 4 Habits for Inner Peace, Part IV.7.c:

The Results of True Forgiving

           True forgiving results in you releasing yourself from your identification with a personal self. You cannot force this. First you must develop your awareness of the Truth as Truth. Then forgiving will come naturally.
            When you are aware of Truth you are in a forgiving state of mind. This results in you:
            Letting the personal self’s feelings and desires be as you rest in peace within.
            Letting the personal self’s moods be as you rest in peace within.
            Letting the personal self go about its business in the world as you rest in peace within.
            Letting other personal selves be as you rest in peace within.
            Letting the world and its ways and laws be as you rest in peace within.
            Apologizing and making amends with ease because you are not attached to the personal self and its self-image.
            Accepting apologies and amends with ease because you are not attached to the personal self and its self-image.
            Allowing change to occur with an open mind.
            Directing the personal self to take action without an attachment to outcome.
            Trusting that all is unfolding perfectly in the personal self’s story as an effect of your awareness of Truth.           
            When you are in a forgiving state of mind you do not feel a need to change the personal self in your awareness to make it “right” or “good”. You do not feel a need to change others or the world so that you can be at peace. You are honest with yourself about all of the thoughts and feelings passing through your mind. You do not embrace or fight against not-Truth and all of its manifestations. You let them all go.
            For example, say at work someone has taken credit for work that you did. This work was important to your position. So this is not only a matter of you not getting credit for a specific project but it makes it look like you are not fulfilling the responsibilities of your position. This threatens your continuing in this particular job. The personal thought system always responds immediately and emotionally. It will attack, certainly the person who took credit for your work and perhaps others and maybe even you. It will rile against its mistreatment. It will see itself as a victim.
            When you choose to be forgiving you allow the personal thought system to process out its thoughts and feelings without judgment. You observe it, understanding that all personal selves are inherently guilty, fearful, insecure, and defensive. You let the personal thought system have its say then you let it go as you turn to the Truth within.
            When you are aware of the Truth you are not attached to outcomes for the personal self because it is not you. You are at peace and emotionally neutral. In the above scenario when it comes time to go to your superiors with evidence of work done you are able to deal in facts instead of emotions. You lay your side of the story on the table and allow the outcome of your efforts to unfold. You know that whatever the outcome it is the perfect unfolding in form of your awareness of Truth. If there is more action to take, a point to press home, or a fact to highlight, you will know what to do. You will act in confidence, not because you believe that you are “right” or “good”, but because you know that the Truth in you is unchanged by anything that does or does not happen in the world.
            When you are in a forgiving state of mind you do not take what happens in the world personally. You accept the world as it is in the recognition that it is all just passing thoughts. Only the Truth is True and only the Truth is constant. It is in this awareness that you find release and peace.

>>>>>
Learn about the books The ACIM Mentor Articles, The Plain Language A Course in Miracles, and 4 Habits for Inner Peace at www.acimmentor.com.
If you have a question the answer to which you think may help others send it to Liz@acimmentor.com and indicate that you want it answered in the ACIM Mentor Newsletter/Blog.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Committed to the Spiritual Process

If you’ve been reading my blog/newsletter for the past few weeks then you know significant things have occurred in the life of this mind. Four years ago the ego (personal thought system) fell away. I didn’t realize it fully and I spent three and a half years personally in a rather barren place in this mind, though there was peace in the rest of my mind. I did feel done with the world, but I didn’t know what that meant. I just stayed with the feeling, wondering what would come next. The next thing arrived in this mind last summer with a subtle shift from emptiness to a delicious Spaciousness. This was followed by beautiful Golden Light, Love, and Joy filling the Space. Bewilderingly, an effect of this was a romance novel! From there, the Light and the shifts continued. During this time a client in Australia whom I have called Zelda in these articles, but whose real name is Hannah, became a friend as well. We grew closer over several months and began to experience a lot of sync...
Read more

Ask: What is meant by "extend Love"?

I wonder exactly what is meant by "extend love" or how one extends love. Is it a loving intention toward the person, or a wish for them, or what? Can you give an example? – JO “Extending love” means replacing unloving thoughts in your mind with the awareness of Love in your mind. For example, your peace of mind is disturbed while watching something on television. Your peace is gone because you believe that what you see is reality. You extend Love in this situation by turning inward to Truth (God), feeling Love’s Presence within you, and remembering that It, not the images appearing, is What is Real. It may take you a while to accept that only your own thoughts cause you pain. So at first you may feel that you need to extend Love “out there” to the images that seem to be causing you pain. Or you may extend Love to another who is sharing their painful story with you. You can do this by imagining the situation or the person in a Loving Light. Or you may use some other image to ...
Read more

Evolving Practice with ACIM

           The Course was dictated to two who had a sense of Spirit working in their lives. After all, they were taking down the Course itself! The Universal Christ Mind sought to develop and grow their awareness of Spirit through the lessons in the Workbook as well as simply in discussion with them, privately and through the Course . And for those who find the Course and already have an awareness of Spirit, even if only dimly, the Course functions in the same way. Through the practice suggested, they develop their trust in Spirit. But for many who come to the Course , the discernment of Spirit within has not yet occurred. For them, practice is the means of opening to the awareness and experience of Spirit. Those who do not understand this often feel frustrated and even angry with the Course for suggesting that they should be having experiences that they do not yet have. They feel that they fall short when they read the instructions and descriptions ...
Read more