Divinity is Here, Not Potential

            Some say that the purpose of the material life for everyone is to realize their Divinity (Christ/Spirit/Truth). I would say that they are sensing what I call the Atonement, the term I get from A Course in Miracles which means correction of the perception of separation from God, which is what time and consciousness are. And they are an illusion.

Often, the same teacher will say that your Divine Self is already whole and perfect and that you do not attain It. This is correct, but there’s a contradiction here. Either you are whole and perfect Divinity, or you are that which seeks to attain It. You cannot be both, which is why one must be an illusion.

The Atonement is an expression of an idea that is already over. The idea of not-God arose and was undone simultaneously by God’s All-encompassing nature. Only within the idea does it seem like that instant unfolds over time like a story. Your Divinity is your Reality. That in your mind which seems to be reaching for Divinity is the expression of the Atonement and it is not you.

No one must realize their Divinity and clearly not everyone will. Your consciousness includes your conscious awareness, your subconscious, and your unconscious. Your Divinity is always in your unconscious if not in your subconscious or conscious awareness. What many want, of course, is to have It in their conscious awareness full time—to realize It as their Reality. But that is not everyone’s role to play. The Atonement in the material expression is a collective attainment over time. Everyone seems to be part of one mind reaching for Atonement, no matter what consciousness they express. This would be unfair if it were real, but it is not real.

What is fair is no one can fail to play their part perfectly. It is predetermined. And Reality—Divinity—is fair because It is universal. It is in every mind now. A story of Atonement, of reaching for Divinity, runs alongside this fact, but does not change it one iota. Awareness of this is what the Course calls forgiveness.

To deal with the obvious fact that not everyone will realize their Divinity, some turn to the idea that they will perfect themselves over lifetimes. What is this but a way to make the illusion real? What participates in the story of Atonement is not you. There is no individual you to reincarnate. That is the illusion. 

“The sole responsibility of God's teacher is to accept the Atonement for himself.” (M-18.4)

 

As a student of the Course, your role is to accept correction of the perception that you are separate from God.  One tool for this is the holy instant, in which you step into your Timeless Divinity for a moment and the Atonement is complete. In fact, you realize it is not necessary. To what degree this unfolds in your conscious awareness in the material unfolding is determined by the expression of the Atonement. But no matter, your Divinity is always intact, even if you reject this whole idea.

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