Ask: What does it mean to look at things with the Holy Spirit?


“What does it mean to look at things with Holy Spirit.  What are we actually doing?  You wrote an answer to a person who spoke about being lied to and you said to look at it with Holy Spirit.  How does one do that?  And when we invite Holy Spirit to look at things with us....what are we actually asking for and what is the experience?” – K

            The Holy Spirit (Teacher of Truth) comes from God (Truth) in your mind. It is the thought system in your mind that is aware that only God (Truth) is real. It comes into your awareness to replace the ego (personal thought system) when you decide that you want to return your mind to an awareness of God. It knows that only God is real but it knows that you think that you are a personal self in a body in a world. So it meets you where you think you are, serving as a bridge over Which you can cross to full awareness that only God within you is real.
            You call on the Holy Spirit when you are willing to put aside the ego’s perception of a situation because you are aware that it causes you pain. You think about the situation as always, but with a mind willing to set aside judgment of yourself, others, and the situation. You are open to truly seeing your obstacles to peace. You are open to truly helpful answers from within, even if they are not what you expect.
            A feeling of true openness and willingness will bring the Holy Spirit into your awareness. You don’t need words, but you may use them to remind yourself to be open to the Holy Spirit. “I’m willing to look at this with You,” might be words that accompany your releasing judgment and opening your mind to the Holy Spirit.
            The Holy Spirit comes into your awareness when you are merely open to It rather than through your effort because It comes from What your mind is. It is a thought system that is natural to your mind. It has always been a part of your experience in your perception that you are a personal self in a world, just not one that you were used to identifying as the Holy Spirit. So it is not a foreign experience, just one that you have probably not sorted out from the many experiences of the ego thought system. You may hear It as a still, quiet Voice in your mind. You may receive unformed thoughts or intuitions that you recognize come from a deep, quiet place within you. You may receive answers or help from what seems like sources outside of you, but your recognition of them as the answers and the help that you asked for comes from the Holy Spirit within you.
You know when you experience the Holy Spirit when you feel set free from guilt, fear, or other limitations. You feel “lighter”, both with regard to the darkness lifting from your mind and a weight lifting from your shoulders. The Holy Spirit’s answers are often surprising, redirecting, reframing, or shifting the way that you look at a question or a situation.
Your awareness of the Holy Spirit will evolve over time. At first It may seem “other”; a Teacher, Guide, Advisor, etc. within your mind but not wholly a part of you. You can make It your Constant Companion, a Presence of Which you are always aware and that you can always call on for answers. It can serve as an inner Therapist with Which you discuss what you see as your problems and obstacles to peace. But as your awareness of It grows the line between you and It will fade and It will simply be the “higher” part of your mind. Where once answers seemed to come from an “Other” you will simply know.

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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 will help others send it to Liz@acimmentor.com and indicate that you want it answered here.

Comments

hildebrando castro said…
Hi! I am struggling with this doubt. Where in my mind is the Holy Spirit? In my subconscious, together with the ego? I ask this because you mentioned "A feeling of true openness and willingness will bring the Holy Spirit into your awareness.", meaning that He is not in my conscious level, well of course He is not. The same applies to the ego, or doesn´t it? The decision maker, the one who chooses the Holy Spirit or the ego, is in the conscious level, choosing between two teachers that are in my unconscious level. Is it so?
10:31 AM
ACIM Mentor said…
Hildebrando, when you first start ACIM or another such teaching pretty much only the ego is in your conscious awareness. You are not even aware of yourself as a decision-maker (which would show up as you being aware that you are mind). You may also have moments of being conscious of the Holy Spirit, whether or not you identify It as such. So It would be in your subconscious. But as you grow your awareness of Truth you become consciously aware of yourself as the decision-maker (as a mind) and of the Holy Spirit.
11:26 AM
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