In this video, we look at the underlying bedrock, the foundation, the basis, the frame of reference of the two thought systems contrasted in A Course In Miracles. Those two – and only two, familiar to every Course student – are ego and Holy Spirit, fear and love, exclusion and inclusion, and countless other ways of describing the misery of the belief in separation in all its forms – and the gentle correction of forgiveness. (This conversation – part of the “escape from fear” Tuesday theme in early 2024 – was facilitated by Bruce Rawles as part of the School For A Course In Miracles (SFACIM) curriculum hosted by Lyn Corona and Tim Wise.)
There are 56 instances of the word “foundation” in ACIM. Here are 3 of them in one paragraph:
“I have said that the ego does not know what a real question is.²Lack of knowledge of any kind is always associated with unwillingness to know, and this produces a total lack of knowledge simply because knowledge is total.³Not to question your littleness therefore is to deny all knowledge, and keep the ego’s whole thought system intact.⁴You cannot retain part of a thought system, because it can be questioned only at its foundation.⁵And this must be questioned from beyond it, because within it its foundation does stand.⁶The Holy Spirit judges against the reality of the ego’s thought system merely because He knows its foundation is not true.⁷Therefore, nothing that arises from it means anything.⁸He judges every belief you hold in terms of where it comes from.⁹If it comes from God, He knows it to be true.¹⁰If it does not, He knows that it is meaningless.” (ACIM, T-9.VII.7:1-10)
The foundation of both thought systems is always and only in the mind. ACIM is always and only concerned with the mind. The mind’s decision for the ego (the belief in separation) is what we’re choosing over … and over … and over again, equivocating, vacillating and being wishy-washy … until we choose the peace-bearing certainty of a shared, timeless Identity that is completely inclusive … and innocent.
Ken and Gloria Wapnick chose the lighthouse (for Foundation for A Course In Miracles) as a symbol of what doesn’t change, but quietly, steadfastly shines its light of “Course correction” for all to see, including all of us metaphorically “lost at sea” in ego’s complexity, delusion, disorientation, and lack of real purpose, focus and direction. All these life-saving and tranquility-restoring benefits automatically appear when we simply choose the illuminating basis of unalterable Truth rather than ego’s unstable, ever-shifting fickle “foundation” which can change a dozen times a minute when the perceived “needs” of our silly seemingly separate selves shift, and morph and change; allies become enemies, tides turn, and the minds weather goes dark and stormy unless we lock our metaphoric gaze on the lighthouse of Truth. We’ve shared in other ACIMblog posts how a GPS receiver offers a similar helpful metaphor for trusting what does not change instead of attempting to guide ourselves with what is a perpetually moving and unreliable target.
Lyn Corona read “The Appointed Friend” which gives a real, unchanging, steady, stable foundation for trust and how we can undo illusion – trusting our “Inner Kindness Teacher” the one Appointed Friend that is eternally trustworthy and reminds us of our single, shared Identity:
“1. Anything in this world that you believe is good and valuable and worth striving for can hurt you, and will do so. ²Not because it has the power to hurt, but just because you have denied it is but an illusion, and made it real. ³And it is real to you. ⁴It is not nothing. ⁵And through its perceived reality has entered all the world of sick illusions. ⁶All belief in sin, in power of attack, in hurt and harm, in sacrifice and death, has come to you. ⁷For no one can make one illusion real, and still escape the rest. ⁸For who can choose to keep the ones that he prefers, and find the safety that the truth alone can give? ⁹Who can believe illusions are the same, and still maintain that even one is best?
2. Lead not your little life in solitude, with one illusion as your only friend. ²This is no friendship worthy of God’s Son, nor one with which he could remain content. ³Yet God has given him a better Friend, in Whom all power in earth and Heaven rests. ⁴The one illusion that you think is friend obscures His grace and majesty from you, and keeps His friendship and forgiveness from your welcoming embrace. ⁵Without Him you are friendless. ⁶Seek not another friend to take His place. ⁷There is no other friend. ⁸What God appointed has no substitute, for what illusion can replace the truth?
3. Who dwells with shadows is alone indeed, and loneliness is not the Will of God. ²Would you allow one shadow to usurp the throne that God appointed for your Friend, if you but realized its emptiness has left yours empty and unoccupied? ³Make no illusion friend, for if you do, it can but take the place of Him Whom God has called your Friend. ⁴And it is He Who is your only Friend in truth. ⁵He brings you gifts that are not of this world, and only He to Whom they have been given can make sure that you receive them. ⁶He will place them on your throne, when you make room for Him on His.” (ACIM, T-26.VI.1:1–3:6)
Forgiveness heals (our belief in) time as Myra reminded us. It also heals our minds of our belief in space – which is almost completely empty, both microscopically and macroscopically. In my high school physics class, my teacher explained that if we made the nucleus of an atom the size of a soccer ball, the NEAREST electron would be about 4 miles away! The distances between planets, stars and galaxies is equally staggeringly void and desolate; what a silly dream that makes separation (both in terms of time and space) seem almost unquestionable!
Our world is just perpetuated by our constant self-hypnosis, as this silly Monty Python skit shows. The Real Alternative is completely stable, secure, and sound; choosing that thought system reminds us that everyone is truly (not necessarily on the level of form or behavior) our long, lost best friend, since everyone – with the proper perspective (true perception) becomes a mirror of our mind and either reflects the Christ mind to us (an expression of certainty of lovingkindness) or a call for it. In either case, our response of lovingkindness is always appropriate.
“We have been emphasizing perception, and have said very little about knowledge as yet. ²This is because perception must be straightened out before you can know anything. ³To know is to be certain. ⁴Uncertainty means that you do not know. ⁵Knowledge is power because it is certain, and certainty is strength. ⁶Perception is temporary. ⁷As an attribute of the belief in space and time, it is subject to either fear or love. ⁸Misperceptions produce fear and true perceptions foster love, but neither brings certainty because all perception varies. ⁹That is why it is not knowledge. ¹⁰True perception is the basis for knowledge, but knowing is the affirmation of truth and beyond all perceptions.” (ACIM, T-3.III.1:1-10)
…
“The Bible tells you to know yourself, or to be certain. ²Certainty is always of God. ³When you love someone you have perceived him as he is, and this makes it possible for you to know him. ⁴Until you first perceive him as he is you cannot know him. ⁵While you ask questions about him you are clearly implying that you do not know God. ⁶Certainty does not require action. ⁷When you say you are acting on the basis of knowledge, you are really confusing knowledge with perception. ⁸Knowledge provides the strength for creative thinking, but not for right doing. ⁹Perception, miracles and doing are closely related. ¹⁰Knowledge is the result of revelation and induces only thought. ¹¹Even in its most spiritualized form perception involves the body. ¹²Knowledge comes from the altar within and is timeless because it is certain. ¹³To perceive the truth is not the same as to know it.” (ACIM, T-3.III.5:1-13)
Metaphorically, “brick by brick” or thought by thought, I’m either building ego’s asylum/prison or Holy Spirit’s classroom, and as we gradually shift our identification from insanity to sanity, we eventually completely dismantle the dismal asylum/prison and finish the brilliant freeing classroom of forgiveness that Holy Spirit provides – the framework, foundation and certain basis of our shared Identity that supports consistent, reliable peace.
There are 71 instances of the word “frame” in ACIM; here’s one that looks at our frame of reference:
“God knows you now. ²He remembers nothing, having always known you exactly as He knows you now. ³The holy instant reflects His knowing by bringing all perception out of the past, thus removing the frame of reference you have built by which to judge your brothers. ⁴Once this is gone, the Holy Spirit substitutes His frame of reference for it. ⁵His frame of reference is simply God. ⁶The Holy Spirit’s timelessness lies only here. ⁷For in the holy instant, free of the past, you see that love is in you, and you have no need to look without and snatch love guiltily from where you thought it was.” (ACIM, T-15.V.9:1-7)
A complete, sure foundation encompasses all, so there is no lack; a pure non-dual Identity leaves no one out, so there’s not any need to look “without” for someone or something to complete us, and therefore no basis or valid premise for guilt, since no possibility for crime remains when otherness disappears.
Here are couple more paragraphs that show where a reliable frame of reference is found in our mind… beyond despair, deception, distortion, and disorientation:
“7. The bridge itself is nothing more than a transition in the perspective of reality. ²On this side, everything you see is grossly distorted and completely out of perspective. ³What is little and insignificant is magnified, and what is strong and powerful cut down to littleness. ⁴In the transition there is a period of confusion, in which a sense of actual disorientation may occur. ⁵But fear it not, for it means only that you have been willing to let go your hold on the distorted frame of reference that seemed to hold your world together. ⁶This frame of reference is built around the special relationship. ⁷Without this illusion there could be no meaning you would still seek here.
8. Fear not that you will be abruptly lifted up and hurled into reality. ²Time is kind, and if you use it on behalf of reality, it will keep gentle pace with you in your transition. ³The urgency is only in dislodging your mind from its fixed position here. ⁴This will not leave you homeless and without a frame of reference. ⁵The period of disorientation, which precedes the actual transition, is far shorter than the time it took to fix your mind so firmly on illusions. ⁶Delay will hurt you now more than before, only because you realize it is delay, and that escape from pain is really possible. ⁷Find hope and comfort, rather than despair, in this: You could not long find even the illusion of love in any special relationship here. ⁸For you are no longer wholly insane, and you would soon recognize the guilt of self-betrayal for what it is.” (ACIM, T-16.VI.7:1–8:8)
One way to see which foundation we’re building at any moment is to notice if we’re denying our experiences (forgiveness classroom correction opportunities) in the world that we think we’re in:
“The body is merely part of your experience in the physical world. ⁹Its abilities can be and frequently are overevaluated. ¹⁰However, it is almost impossible to deny its existence in this world. ¹¹Those who do so are engaging in a particularly unworthy form of denial. ¹²The term “unworthy” here implies only that it is not necessary to protect the mind by denying the unmindful. ¹³If one denies this unfortunate aspect of the mind’s power, one is also denying the power itself.” (ACIM, T-2.IV.3:8-13)
If we let ego “hijack our amygdala” we’re building the decrepit, fear-mongering institute for the criminally insane in our mind, rather than letting each moment (under Holy Spirit’s gentle guidance) restore our Merry (A)mygdala(n). Thanks to Mimi for the first brain-tickling phrase.
If we have a real foundation – a real basis (48 instances in ACIM), a real frame of reference, a real thought system that depends and relies on what does not change, we have certainty and sureness that allows and affords a state of mind where we can relax (5 instances in ACIM), rest (362 instances in ACIM), and feel genuine, trustworthy, unwavering support (38 instances in ACIM); we can let Holy Spirit’s complete surety hold (483 instances in ACIM) us up, carry (67 instances in ACIM) us through our challenges in our dream world with ease (9 instances in ACIM).
Of 67 instances of the word “carry” in the Course, here’s an example that demonstrates the unfailing support that Holy Spirit gives us as we meet his infinitely patient help with our own willingness:
“To your most holy Self all praise is due for what you are, and for what He is Who created you as you are. ²Sooner or later must everyone bridge the gap he imagines exists between his selves. ³Each one builds this bridge, which carries him across the gap as soon as he is willing to expend some little effort on behalf of bridging it. ⁴His little efforts are powerfully supplemented by the strength of Heaven, and by the united will of all who make Heaven what it is, being joined within it. ⁵And so the one who would cross over is literally transported there.” (ACIM, T-16.III.8:1-5)
We concluded with the next paragraph:
“Your bridge is builded stronger than you think, and your foot is planted firmly on it. ²Have no fear that the attraction of those who stand on the other side and wait for you will not draw you safely across. ³For you will come where you would be, and where your Self awaits you.” (ACIM, T-16.III.9:1-3)
(This YouTube video recording was made on May 7, 2024.)
