Ask: Can you explain this quote in ACIM about God creating distinct beings?

“I was doing my morning reading of the Course when I came upon this statement in  Text-4.7.5: 'God Who encompasses all being, nevertheless created distinct beings who have everything individually, but who want to share it to increase their joy. Nothing that is real can be increased except by sharing it.' This confuses me a bit...thinking we need to lose the individual…” – JW

Yes, it is a confusing quote out of context and seems to contradict much that A Course in Miracles says about Oneness. And it certainly contradicts the experience of Oneness! Oneness means one and the same throughout. There is no distinction to be made in What is One. The conversational nature of ACIM, especially in the first few chapters, also makes it confusing because there is an implied understanding between the Voice and Helen so there is a lack of helpful elaboration for the rest of us. But that quote is understandable if you remember that in ACIM “to create” means “to extend” rather than “to bring into being”. You can read the quote as: “God Who encompasses all being, nevertheless extends Himself to seemingly-distinct beings who have everything individually but who want to share it to increase their joy…”

In my translation of ACIM into plain language (The Message of A Course in Miracles) I translated it as:

“Even in your perceived separated state you have not stopped being One with God’s Being, in Which you have Everything, and in Which you increase God’s Being to increase your Joy…”

>>>> 
A mentor is someone who is walking the path ahead of you and can teach you from their experience. If you are interested in speaking with someone who has attained lasting peace email me at Liz@acimmentor.com to set up a telephone appointment. Learn more at www.acimmentor.com.


If you have a question the answer to which you think will help others, email it to me at Liz@acimmentor.com and indicate that you want it answered in the newsletter/blog.

Comments

ANNA said…
AT THE END OF YOUR ARTICLE ON SPLIT MINDS... YOU MENTIONED YOU HAVE NEVER STUDIED KEN WAPNICK... IT REALLY SURPRISED ME... NOT THAT YOU SHOULD HAD BUT I GUESS I WAS UNDER THE IMPRESSION THAT ALL STUDENTS OF THE COURSE READ KENNETH WAPNICKS BOOKS... NOW I KNOW MY ASSUMPTION IS WRONG.. NO WONDER MY GOOD FRIEND WHO HAS BEEN MY MENTOR DID NOT LIKE HOW YOU TEACH THE COURSE.. I COULDN'T SEE WHY BUT NOW I UNDERSTAND ITS BECAUSE YOU DON'T SOUND LIKE KENNETH'S TEACHINGS... I FIND THIS VERY INTERESTING... AND ENLIGHTENING.. (CHUCKLE)
7:39 PM
Anonymous said…
Thanks for the reminder of what “to create” means - extension. I read the section mentioned in this week’s newsletter and reading it with that in mind also helped to shed light on text 4-7-3.6, “Creation and communication are synonymous “.
9:05 AM
Anonymous said…
I take this as referring to people (like Helen, for example), who have developed particular abilities that were much needed in our time, to bring forth the sharing of ACIM with the world. Not many could have done that service!
All through history, there have been such servers of humanity, called when needed and when they were "ready", or in Helen's case, who did this amazing service when she was not quite ready. So the need for such as she, must have been great indeed!
This passage SEEMS confusing only when read in isolation and apart from earlier comments in Chapter One, (much of which got left out of the published version), and so certain parts became further misinterpreted.
By year 2000, I had studied the Course for 22 years (since 1978). But when we got the UR-text (in 2000), it became a whole new ball game for me. I recommend looking at the earlier versions when possible. For my study, I made a 3-way comparison between the UR-text/HLC/and WV, which has given me a deeper look at the teachings.
Blessings to all, Lenore
11:41 AM
Christine said…
I really think Liz's not having read/studied Kenneth Wapnick's books, writings, videos, etc, is a helpful example how our relationship/learning can be directly with the Holy Spirit...not seemingly needing to have a "go between", but we all came to this study differently, and finding it seemed to me like a familiar path I had taken in the woods somewhere, like, "oh yes, this, I remember!"...I actually heard Marianne Williamson on Oprah first, but was into Christian Science then and didn't research the Course at all....later, I was given the textbook by my sister who was given it by her realtor....
10:37 AM
Anonymous said…
On the one hand, Liz's lack of familiarity with Ken Wapnick - who many revere as some kind of Pope of acim - means that she's her own person and self-taught. On the other hand if you want to discuss with her other teachers, methods, approaches, books etc. dealing with spirituality you will get little or more likely no response.
5:57 AM
ACIM Mentor said…
Clients often send me links or quotes from other teachers that they want to discuss. My reading usually differs from theirs. What I've found is that what's important is how the client reads the teaching, not the words on the page. It's their interpretation that causes their fear or discomfort or confusion. In other words, their own mind is the issue, not the words of the teacher.

Of course it also happens with my own writing, quite often. How it's read can be very different from what I meant. This is why I prefer teaching one on one. The back and forth of conversation leads to greater clarity for both of us. Of course, I've also had many times when people have correctly quoted back to me my words, but their understanding is way off from what I meant to convey! Again, it's what is going on in their mind that is the issue. And one on one conversation helps us clarify and go deeper.
7:42 AM
Chandresh Desai said…
This makes complete sense to me.

I have read Course in Miracles, as well as many other teachings. And practised it.

The one breaks into multiplicity to be able to experience itself outside of itself.

When one shares joy... the others start experiencing the good vibe, which in turn makes them be pleasant among others who they come across later on
11:36 AM
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