Ask: Why do babies continue to be born to learn and grow?

“…I have been studying ACIM for 6 years now and I understand and have accepted that some things just have to be taken on faith.  I want to get your views on this: Given that this world of form is illusion – given that the ego is typically in charge here and that we have maintained this mode of thought because we rebelled against a god and created this mistaken experience; What is the best way to wrap my mind around the idea that babies continue to be born (Souls) coming to Earth School – to learn lessons and grow in knowledge and divinity.  That is one avenue of thought that I have always heard.  Does this make sense because the Holy Spirit uses our errors and mistakes to further God’s Divine purpose for us?  That Souls continue to be reincarnated and come to Earth to gather experience, or so that God can experience through us?   Sometimes it feels like this doesn't make sense to me – simplistic, then again – I have not found an answer on my own.” – AG

You do not have to take anything in A Course in Miracles on faith. It is a course in the practical application of the ideas in it that will lead to an awareness of Truth. It does not ask you to accept concepts but to open yourself to experiencing God (True Being) as Reality. God is not a concept but an experience.
There has been no rebellion against a god. The word “illusion” means you are experiencing something that is not real. Only the ego (personal thought system) in your mind tells you that you are guilty for leaving or attacking or killing a god. The central teaching of ACIM is that this has not occurred. You are in God (True Being, not a power-over) now, only you are unaware of this when you think that the universe of form is reality. If you want to be at peace this lack of awareness of Truth is all that you need to correct.
The universe of form is the idea of the opposite of God. It does not come from God, it has nothing to do with God, and God has nothing to do with it. Nothing in it has a God-given purpose. It is simply the idea of the opposite of Reality, which is why it is an illusion. So there is no ultimate reason “why” anything happens in the world, including babies being born. What happens in form is just the way the story goes.
The idea of time is the illusion on which all other illusions rest. The idea of time makes it seems as though you left God long ago and that you will be with God in some indefinite future. But really you are in God now. So the story for the world is just an idea unfolding in your mind now. This is why ACIM emphasizes the Holy Instant. In this Holy Instant you turn away from the story and rest in God now. Then when your mind returns to the story of time it brings the awareness of God with it. And the story of time is less and less enthralling as you realize that only God is real.
The importance of practicing the Holy Instant cannot be over-emphasized. It is the central, transforming practice of ACIM.
There is no such thing as “souls” or individual spirits. There is one Spirit, Which is called “God” in ACIM. Since God is the only Being individuality is part of the idea of the opposite of God. Only God within any mind is real. Everything else is an illusion. Reincarnation is an ego-concept meant to give reality and meaning and purpose to the ego, none of which it has in Reality.

God is whole and complete and does not need to learn anything or to perfect Itself. So it does not need to experience anything through you. The world has no purpose to God. Only when one believes in ego do the ideas of “error” and “correction” or of “learning” or “perfecting” have meaning. They are not real. One finds they experience themselves as form, the experience becomes painful or they sense that there is Something more, and they may unconsciously or consciously call on Truth to help them. If they accept the help offered the Holy Spirit (the awareness of Truth in their mind) will use their experiences in form to grow their awareness of Truth. And ultimately what one learns is that God within them is already whole and complete. They “need do nothing” for “salvation”. What seeks to learn or grow or correct or perfect or attain divinity will never attain these. Your belief in it is your obstacle to God. You only need to release (forgive) it for your mind to be in its natural state of wholeness (God) and to be at peace.

>>>>>
Learn about the books The ACIM Mentor Articles, The Plain Language A Course in Miracles, 4 Habits for Inner Peace, and Releasing Guilt 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 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