Jackie Lora Jones and Bruce Rawles continue their conversations about A Course In Miracles (ACIM) in this video about the emphasis on UNdoing rather than doing in ACIM; there are 105 instances of the word “undo” (or its variations) in the Course! So there is plenty of precedent for exploring why we need to shift our mind’s emphasis from mindless preoccupation with “doing” in the world – with the mostly unchallenged assumption that we can “fix” our dysfunctional dreams – to gentle, mindful, patient vigilance for Holy Spirit’s calmly dispassionate response to everything in the world that seems to demand our attention. To avoid “level confusion” the “level correction” is that to become more peaceful we don’t have to change anything on the level of form or behavior – the undo process is only about undoing on the level of mind, not the body or the world. (Note: I have made all instances of undo (or its variations) in bold in this post, but these words are not in bold type in the original Course quotes.)
We look (with the decision-making faculty in our mind listening to our Inner Kindness Teacher) and see that our “evil, sinful, wicked,” fearful dreams don’t need to be repaired at the dream level … We merely need to see them (as Ken Wapnick points out consistently) as silly, forgivable dreams to identify with the dreamer instead of the dream figure. This eventually wakes us up from our dualistic dreams altogether. We undo the belief in separation by bringing all our specific worldly issues to the decision-making part of our mind – outside the dream of space and time – that sees the foolish insanity of taking misguided misinterpretations seriously and we outgrow, transcend, and simply wake up from those neutral (from the perspective of Truth) nightmares. We undo illusion not by fixing the dream, and not even by fighting against the ego (the cause of the dream) but by changing the real cause: our persistent choice to want to believe in ego’s crazy dream of separation.
“In lightness and in laughter is sin gone, because its quaint absurdity is seen.” (ACIM, W-156.6:4)
The Course asks us to bring the symbols of duality in our mind (every particular grievance, annoyance, depression, jealousy, outrage, or discomfort of any seeming variety or amplitude) to our Appointed (non-dual) Friend (fortunately a built-in irrevocable feature of everyone’s mind) for dismantling (undoing) what we thought we made, but only appeared to terrorize us in seemingly separate dreams. We can’t just jump straight to Oneness due to our enormous resistance, so we need to undo one grievance, etc. at a time until we slowly but surely begin to generalize the forgiveness (undoing) practice in our minds, moment … to moment … to moment.
A favorite Course quote about undoing our assumed needs – starting with looking calmly at the specific conditions, situations, and outcomes in the world that our personal (ego) selves demand must be crucial to our happiness:
“The secret of true prayer is to forget the things you think you need.” (ACIM, S-1.I.4:1)
The purification of mind that ACIM notes as a prerequisite to peace doesn’t require doing anything but rather releasing our investment in thoughts that divide our identity and therefore undoing our attachments and aversions by seeing how the divisiveness of specialness (dividing perfection into duality, thereby introducing imagined “impurities”) seems to “do” things that require undoing. Fortunately, merely awakening from a dream absolves us from the need to resolve problems that seem to have arisen in the dream.
“The necessary condition for the holy instant does not require that you have no thoughts that are not pure. But it does require that you have none that you would keep.” (ACIM, T-15.IV.9:1-2)
Another aid to undoing our judgments is by more and more consistently seeing that – because even within our space-time dreams our sensory data is so pathetically limited (like atoms trying to fathom galaxies) and we further distort and misinterpret basically everything – we don’t have any hope for accurately assessing and/or judging anything:
“The aim of our curriculum, unlike the goal of the world’s learning, is the recognition that judgment in the usual sense is impossible. ²This is not an opinion but a fact. ³In order to judge anything rightly, one would have to be fully aware of an inconceivably wide range of things; past, present and to come. ⁴One would have to recognize in advance all the effects of his judgments on everyone and everything involved in them in any way. ⁵And one would have to be certain there is no distortion in his perception, so that his judgment would be wholly fair to everyone on whom it rests now and in the future. ⁶Who is in a position to do this? ⁷Who except in grandiose fantasies would claim this for himself?” (ACIM, M-10.3:1-7)
There’s actually an entire chapter (28) in the text entitled: The Undoing of Fear (ACIM, T-28.I) although it uses that word directly only one other time in that chapter, right at the beginning:
“The miracle does nothing. ²All it does is to undo. ³And thus it cancels out the interference to what has been done. ⁴It does not add, but merely takes away. ⁵And what it takes away is long since gone, but being kept in memory appears to have immediate effects. ⁶This world was over long ago. ⁷The thoughts that made it are no longer in the mind that thought of them and loved them for a little while. ⁸The miracle but shows the past is gone, and what has truly gone has no effects. ⁹Remembering a cause can but produce illusions of its presence, not effects.” (ACIM, T-28.I.1:1-9)
Chapter 28 does give plenty of explanation and examples about why and how undoing the sick thought system of nightmarish separation, differences, denial, and discomfort is vital to the Course’s curriculum of Atonement – undoing the belief in separation, duality, and our countless substitutions of specialness; here are the chapter 28 section titles and some important ideas from each:
- The Present Memory (ACIM, T-28.I) – Guilt’s (ego’s) effects are already over in eternity – whew! – and therefore are already undone… now – but only when we deny ego’s denial of the eternal truth of everyone’s innocence.
- Reversing Effect and Cause (ACIM, T-28.II) – Any effect made by a false (dualistic, divisive) dream premise is automatically undone as we awaken when we want to see things differently (from the perspective of eternal guiltlessness, despite appearances in space-time to the contrary)
- The Agreement to Join (ACIM, T-28.III) – To undo any seemingly insurmountable problem, we merely need to join with our Holy Spirit (our Inner Kindness Teacher) which represents the awareness that our problems have already been solved seen from above the battleground of separation.
- The Greater Joining (ACIM, T-28.IV) – By not sharing anyone else’s nightmares (which reflect our own calls for help via lovingkindness) we automatically undo the apparent terror and mindless oblivion as we open our minds to true empathy and compassion – only possible from Holy Spirit’s infinitely patient, forgiving vision. … “To look upon the fear of God does need some preparation. Only the sane can look on stark insanity and raving madness with pity and compassion, but not with fear. For only if they share in it does it seem fearful, and you do share in it until you look upon your brother with perfect faith and love and tenderness.”
- The Alternate to Dreams of Fear (ACIM, T-28.V) – When we question our separating, divisive, cruel, selfish, and special thoughts, we suspend the projection and sharing of insanity, clearing the way for peace to be restored, our natural state of mind, undoing the seeming chaos we thought we made by challenging Oneness.
- The Secret Vows (ACIM, T-28.VI) – Looking (without condemnation) at ego’s persistent attempts to either identify with victims or victimizers (either one makes separation seem real) is the foundation for undoing our misery (and since minds are joined) our projections onto everyone else.
- The Ark of Safety (ACIM, T-28.VII) – Identifying with our real (complete, All-Inclusive nature) we automatically undo the belief in lack, deficiency, isolation, abandonment, uncertainty, loneliness, and fear.
Looking at each and every special relationship in our mind with everyone and everything is a particularly important part of ACIM’s undo ( = atonement = forgiveness = awakening = salvation = true perception) slow-but-crucial process detailed here:
“Dreams show you that you have the power to make a world as you would have it be, and that because you want it you see it.²And while you see it you do not doubt that it is real.³Yet here is a world, clearly within your mind, that seems to be outside.⁴You do not respond to it as though you made it, nor do you realize that the emotions the dream produces must come from you.⁵It is the figures in the dream and what they do that seem to make the dream.⁶You do not realize that you are making them act out for you, for if you did the guilt would not be theirs, and the illusion of satisfaction would be gone.⁷In dreams these features are not obscure.⁸You seem to waken, and the dream is gone.⁹Yet what you fail to recognize is that what caused the dream has not gone with it.¹⁰Your wish to make another world that is not real remains with you.¹¹And what you seem to waken to is but another form of this same world you see in dreams.¹²All your time is spent in dreaming.¹³Your sleeping and your waking dreams have different forms, and that is all.¹⁴Their content is the same.¹⁵They are your protest against reality, and your fixed and insane idea that you can change it.¹⁶In your waking dreams, the special relationship has a special place.¹⁷It is the means by which you try to make your sleeping dreams come true.¹⁸From this, you do not waken.¹⁹The special relationship is your determination to keep your hold on unreality, and to prevent yourself from waking.²⁰And while you see more value in sleeping than in waking, you will not let go of it.” (ACIM, T-18.II.5:1-20)
Here are just a few more of the 105 instances of undo in ACIM:
“A major step in the Atonement plan is to undo error at all levels.” (ACIM, T-2.IV.2:1)
Another favorite and particularly handy, logical, and simple:
“Decision cannot be difficult. ²This is obvious, if you realize that you must already have decided not to be wholly joyous if that is how you feel. ³Therefore, the first step in the undoing is to recognize that you actively decided wrongly, but can as actively decide otherwise. ⁴Be very firm with yourself in this, and keep yourself fully aware that the undoing process, which does not come from you, is nevertheless within you because God placed it there. ⁵Your part is merely to return your thinking to the point at which the error was made, and give it over to the Atonement in peace. ⁶Say this to yourself as sincerely as you can, remembering that the Holy Spirit will respond fully to your slightest invitation:
⁷I must have decided wrongly, because I am not at peace.
⁸I made the decision myself, but I can also decide otherwise.
⁹I want to decide otherwise, because I want to be at peace.
¹⁰I do not feel guilty, because the Holy Spirit will undo all the consequences of my wrong decision if I will let Him.
¹¹I choose to let Him, by allowing Him to decide for God for me.”(ACIM, T-5.VII.6:1-11)
A particularly comforting idea in the Course is that the impossible crime of sin (and the resulting guilt and fear – ego’s entire thought system) is completely undoable. Our egos would maintain that our “crime” of trashing Perfect Oneness (a.k.a. “throwing God or Jesus under the bus” – only to realize they keep re-appearing next to us, metaphorically to the chagrin of the ego, but the relief of our right mind) doesn’t require any intervention from Truth. The only actual “need” I have is to see through the eyes of my Inner Mind Repair Technician (not the dream repair technician I made up) who provides me with the correction in my mind – the undoing of an easily fixable error in vision – as I forgive the dreamer of separation – which is whoever is reading this, and that would be me!
“Son of God, you have not sinned, but you have been much mistaken.” (ACIM, T-10.V.6:1)
This video recording was recorded on Tuesday, December 12, 2023.
Here are related programs by Ken Wapnick entitled “Separation and Forgiveness: The Four Splits and Their Undoing”
If you want a reminder about undoing that you can wear, here is a t-shirt with a QR code linking directly to the 105 instances of the word “UNDO“ or variations of that word in ACIM:
… and a related eraser reflecting ACIM’s Atonement principle – that nothing happened in Truth – with the phrase “Once I thought I was wrong, but I was mistaken.” … and the same “UNDO” QR code on the other side. Thanks to fellow Course student Vickie in Colorado for supporting and reminding me of this inspiration! Actually, we all thought that Holy Spirit was wrong and ego was right, but were unhappily mistaken.
A fun and thoughtful (2-season) TV series about undoing our beliefs about time is Undone.
A related catchy song is “Erase and Rewind” by the Cardigans.
Check out Jackie’s True Forgiveness Teachings podcast here. These readings provide a platform to discuss a variety of helpful ideas and practices from the non-dual metaphysics of A Course in Miracles. Jackie has conducted insightful video interviews with Gary Renard and numerous others. She and her sister, Cindy Lora-Renard, facilitate classes on ACIM in addition to equally highly-regarded workshops on “The Course.” Jackie’s first book, All Peace, No Pieces – now available in audiobook form – is a valuable addition to any Course student’s library, regardless of their level of familiarity with the Course’s ideas, with some particularly fun and insightful metaphors from the Wizard of Oz movie. Here are more ACIM-related conversations with Jackie Lora Jones and Bruce Rawles.
New ACIM Audio app!
I’ve enjoyed being a beta-tester for this superb new ACIM app that has audio for all 3 volumes (text, workbook, manual) plus both supplements (Psychotherapy: Purpose, Process, Practice and The Song of Prayer (ACIM, Suppl.Preface.1:1) and much more; lots of new features (such as “tap to read along” to see each word highlighted when read aloud) with lovely photos, intuitive navigation; superb for Course students wanting to have the entire Course handy in audio format for both individual and group use! Another new feature (of many new ones I appreciate) is the new ability to pick up where you left off in each of the 5 sections (text, workbook, manual and 2 supplements) independently.
