A Course In Miracles: CHAPTER 15: THE HOLY INSTANT (Summary)
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CHAPTER 15: THE HOLY INSTANT
I. The Two Uses of Time
“Can you imagine what it means to have no cares, no worries, no anxieties, but merely to be perfectly calm and quiet all the time? Yet that is what time is for; to learn just that and nothing more.” (1:1-2)
“One source of perceived discouragement from which you may suffer is your belief that this takes time, and that the results of the Holy Spirit’s teaching are far in the future. This is not so. For the Holy Spirit uses time in His Own way, and is not bound by it.” (2:1-3)
“The ego, like the Holy Spirit, uses time to convince you of the inevitability of the goal and end of teaching. To the ego the goal is death, which is its end. But to the Holy Spirit the goal is life, which has no end.” (2:7-9)
“No one who follows the ego’s teaching is without the fear of death.” (4:7)
“How bleak and despairing is the ego’s use of time! And how terrifying!” (6:1-2)
“The only way in which the ego allows the fear of hell to be experienced is to bring hell here, but always as a foretaste of the future.” (6:6)
“The Holy Spirit teaches thus: There is no hell. Hell is only what the ego has made of the present.” (7:1-2)
“The Holy Spirit would undo all of this now. Fear is not of the present, but only of the past and future, which do not exist.” (8:1-2)
“Each instant is a clean, untarnished birth, in which the Son of God emerges from the past into the present. And the present extends forever.” (8:4-5)
“This lesson takes no time. For what is time without at past and future?” (9:1-2)
“Begin to practice the Holy Spirit’s use of time as a teaching aid to happiness and peace. Take this very instant, now, and think of it as all there is of time. Nothing can reach you here out of the past, and it is here that you are completely absolved, completely free and wholly without condemnation.” (9:4-6)
“If you are tempted to be dispirited by thinking how long it would take to change your mind so completely, ask yourself, “How long is an instant?” Could you not give so short a time to the Holy Spirit for your salvation?” (11:1-2)
“You will never give this holy instant to the Holy Spirit on behalf of your release while you are unwilling to give it to your brothers on behalf of theirs.” (12:1)
“Remember, then, when you are tempted to attack a brother, that his instant of release is yours. Miracles are the instants of release you offer, and will receive. They attest to your willingness to be released, and to offer time to the Holy Spirit for His use of it.” (12:3-5)
“How long is an instant? As long as it takes to re-establish perfect sanity, perfect peace and perfect love for everyone, for God and for yourself.” (14:1-2)
“Offer the miracle of the holy instant through the Holy Spirit, and leave His giving it to you to Him.” (15:11)
In summary, section 1: “The Two Uses of Time” is saying:
The ego uses time for stress and worry; it is the aspect of our mind concerned with the past and future, rarely pausing to rest in the present moment. The Holy Spirit uses time for only living in the present moment, which is actually eternity. It feels restful to be present, because you have stepped out of time, and into eternity; which feels like heaven. It takes but an instant to do this; the amount of time it takes to decide to release everyone from all the mistakes you perceive in them. It is a miracle to exchange attack for release; it is a miracle to release your past and future thoughts about all the things people are doing with their bodies that you are unhappy with. Release them as you would have yourself be released. Do this, and you offer time to the Holy Spirit Who will use it to bring you only happiness and peace in the present.
II. The End of Doubt
“The Atonement is in time, but not for time.” (1:1)
“In the blessed instant you will let go all your past learning, and the Holy Spirit will quickly offer you the whole lesson of peace.” (1:7)
“Do not be concerned with time, and fear not the instant of holiness that will remove all fear. For the instant of peace is eternal because it is without fear.” (2:1-2)
“How long can it take to be where God would have you? For you are where you have forever been and will forever be. All that you have, you have forever. The blessed instant reaches out to encompass time, as God extends Himself to encompass you. You who have spent days, hours and even years in chaining your brothers to your ego in an attempt to support it and uphold its weakness, do not perceive the Source of strength.” (3:1-5)
“You do not realize how much you have misused your brothers by seeing them as sources of ego support. As a result, they witness to the ego in your perception, and seem to provide reasons for not letting it go.” (4:1-2)
“And because of this, you have not given a single instant completely to the Holy Spirit.” (4:10)
“You will doubt until you hear one witness whom you have wholly released through the Holy Spirit. And then you will doubt no more.” (4:13-14)
“Start now to practice your little part in separating out the holy instant. You will receive very specific instructions as you go along.” (6:1-2)
“Fear not that you will not be given help in this.” (6:4)
“It is only your weakness that will depart from you in this practice, for it is the practice of the power of God in you. Use it but for one instant, and you will never deny it again. Who can deny the Presence of what the universe bows to, in appreciation and gladness? Before the recognition of the universe that witnesses to It, your doubts must disappear.” (6:6-9)
In summary, section 2: “The End of Doubt” is saying:
Currently, we doubt the Atonement is real; we doubt that we are One. This is self-evident in how we treat one another. If we truly believed in our unity, we would love each other as we love ourself. The “blessed instant” is the instant we let go of all past ideas we hold of one another and reach only for the truth of God’s holy Light within us. This is the instant we cease to abuse our brothers by seeing them as evidence the ego is real. And because what we believe is what we see, they in turn will then show us the Light of God within them. It may sound impossible to achieve this level of vision but fear not! We are promised much help in this! God Himself supports our thoughts whenever we practice the holy instant and allow ourselves to let go of all doubt that we are not what He created us to be. If we can manage to see beyond our doubts for even a single instant, all our doubts will be forever gone.
III. Littleness versus Magnitude
“Be not content with littleness. But be sure you understand what littleness is, and why you could never be content with it.” (1:1)
“Everything in this world is little because it is a world made out of littleness, in the strange belief that littleness can content you. When you strive for anything in this world in the belief that it will bring you peace, you are belittling yourself and blinding yourself to glory.” (1:5-6)
“Choose littleness and you will not have peace, for you will have judged yourself unworthy of it. And whatever you offer as a substitute is much too poor a gift to satisfy you. It is essential that you accept the fact, and accept it gladly, that there is no form of littleness that can ever content you. You are free to try as many as you wish, but all you will be doing is to delay your homecoming.” (2:2-5)
“The lesson may seem hard at first, but you will learn to love it when you realize that it is true and is but a tribute to your power. You who have sought and found littleness, remember this: Every decision you make stems from what you think you are, and represents the value that you put upon yourself.” (3:2-3)
“All your striving must be directed against littleness, for it does require vigilance to protect your magnitude in this world. To hold your magnitude in perfect awareness in a world of littleness is a task the little cannot undertake.” (4:4-5)
“Nor is it asked of you alone. The power of God will support every effort you make on behalf of His dear Son.” (4:7-6)
“In this season (Christmas) which celebrates the birth of holiness into this world, join with me who decided for holiness for you. It is our task together to restore the awareness of magnitude to the host whom God appointed for Himself.” (7:1-2)
“For God would give Himself through you.” (7:4)
“Learn that you must be worthy of the Prince of Peace, born in you in honor of Him Whose host you are.” (8:4)
“Holy child of God, when will you learn that only holiness can content you and give you peace?” (9:1)
“If you are wholly willing to leave salvation to the plan of God and unwilling to attempt to grasp for peace yourself, salvation will be given you.” (11:1)
“Call forth in everyone only the remembrance of God, and of the Heaven that is in him. For where you would have your brother be, there will you think you are.” (12:1-2)
In summary, section 3: “Littleness versus Magnitude” is saying:
“Littleness” is simply another word to describe your separate physical ego-self, which is not eternal. “Magnitude” describes your magnified, expanded eternal Self; the “you” God created and will therefore exist forever. Our bodies, and everything that exists in the world of form is considered “littleness.” Our spirit, and all that exists eternally is considered “magnitude.” Deep down, we have an inner knowing that we belong only in the world of magnitude. This awareness causes our ego to be forever dissatisfied with everything it attains in this world, knowing it can never become everlasting. Littleness will never satisfy us. Therefore, be vigilant against thoughts of littleness; thoughts about the ego’s wanting for this world; and learn to see only magnitude in everyone and everything, and Heaven is where you will find yourself.
IV. Practicing the Holy Instant
“This course is not beyond your immediate learning, unless you believe that what God wills takes time. And this means only that you would rather delay the recognition that His Will is so. The holy instant is this instant and every instant.” (1:1-3)
“Yet you cannot bring it into glad awareness while you do not want it, for it holds the whole release from littleness.” (1:9)
“Your practice must therefore rest upon your willingness to let all littleness go. The instant in which magnitude dawns upon you is but as far away as your desire for it.” (2:1-2)
“I call you to fulfill your holy part in the plan that He has given to the world for its release from littleness.” (3:4)
“You can claim the holy instant any time and anywhere you want it. In your practice, try to give over every plan you have accepted for finding magnitude in littleness. It is not there. Use the holy instant only to recognize that you alone cannot know where it is, and can only deceive yourself.” (4:4-7)
“I stand within the holy instant, as clear as you would have me. And the extent to which you learn to accept me is the measure of the time in which the holy instant will be yours.” (5:1-2)
“The reason this course is simple is that truth is simple.” (6:1)
“The simple reason, simply stated, is this: The holy instant is a time in which you receive and give perfect communication. This means, however, that it is a time in which your mind is open, both to receive and give. It is the recognition that all minds are in communication. It therefore seeks to change nothing, but merely to accept everything.” (6:5-8)
“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.” (9:1-2)
“You will not be able to accept perfect communication as long as you would hide it from yourself.” (9:6)
“In your practice, then, try only to be vigilant against deception, and seek not to protect the thoughts you would keep to yourself. Let the Holy Spirit’s purity shine them away, and bring all your awareness to the readiness for purity He offers you. Thus will He make you ready to acknowledge that you are host to God, and hostage to no one and to nothing.” (9:8-10)
In summary, section 4: “Practicing the Holy Instant” is saying:
The holy instant is something that we must practice, being a state of mind completely opposite to the ego’s way of thinking. It is a state of mind in which you willingly extend yourself in total communication with all living things. “Communication” is another word for God’s Love, Who is in a constant state of communication, or “communion” with us at all times – His Love is connected to us in an unceasing and unbreakable flow. The holy instant is the instant you accept that this love is real, and you recognize you share in it with all living things. And not only do you share in it, but you can extend it willingly from your mind to the minds of others. Practice the holy instant then, by watching your thoughts. Thoughts of separation are of the ego, and must be given over to the Holy Spirit the instant you notice them, and thoughts of the holy instant are peaceful thoughts in alignment with our shared unity in God’s Love.
V. The Holy Instant and Special Relationships
“The holy instant is the Holy Spirit’s most useful learning device for teaching you love’s meaning. For its purpose is to suspend judgement entirely.” (1:1-2)
“The past is the ego’s chief learning device, for it is in the past that you learned to define your own needs and acquired methods for meeting them on your own terms.” (2:1)
“To believe that special relationships, with special love, can offer you salvation is the belief that separation is salvation.” (3:3)
“How can you decide that special aspects of the Sonship can give you more than others?” (3:5)
“Because of guilt, all special relationships have elements of fear in them. This is why they shift and change so frequently. They are not based on changeless love alone.” (4:1-3)
“In His function as Interpreter of what you made, the Holy Spirit uses special relationships, which you have chosen to support the ego, as learning experiences that point to truth. Under His teaching, every relationship becomes a lesson in love.” (4:5-6)
“There is no substitute for love. If you would attempt to substitute one aspect of love for another, you have placed less value on one and more on the other. You have not only separated them, but you have also judged against both.” (6:2-4)
“Everyone on earth has formed special relationships, and although this is not so in Heaven, the Holy Spirit knows how to bring a touch of Heaven to them here.” (8:1)
“In the holy instant, you see in each relationship what it will be when you perceive only the present.” (8:5)
“God knows you now.” (9:1)
“The 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. Once this is gone, the Holy Spirit substitutes His frame of reference for it. His frame of reference is simply God.” (9:3-5)
“The meaning of love is the meaning God gave to it. Give to it any meaning apart from His, and it is impossible to understand it. God loves every brother as He loves you; neither less nor more.” (10:3-4)
“Yet in the holy instant you unite directly with God, and all your brothers join in Christ. Those who are joined in Christ are in no way separate.” (10:8-9)
“In the holy instant there is no conflict of needs, for there is only one.” (11:4)
In summary, section 5: “The Holy Instant and Special Relationships” is saying;
The ego’s love is fragmented into separate bodies it has given separate roles to, to love us in special ways. And if one of them should fail our ego, it will lash out in pain, for fear its “love” will be withdrawn by the other. In the holy instant, all this is undone, for in the holy instant, love is seen and experienced only as it is now, in the present moment. How angry, hurt or upset could you be with someone if you looked at them as though for the first time, before you had any past experiences with them? Remove this frame of reference, and you are left with nothing but peace. This is how God loves us; as though we have no past – we have done nothing wrong and deserve only His unconditional Love. The holy instant is the moment all “special” relationships dissolve and we know only peaceful unity with God and one another.
VI. The Holy Instant and the Laws of God
“It is impossible to use one relationship at the expense of another and not to suffer guilt.” (1:1)
“And there will be guilt as long as you accept the possibility, and cherish it, that you can make a brother into what he is not, because you would have him so.” (1:6)
“You have so little faith in yourself because you are unwilling to accept the fact that perfect love is in you. And so you seek without for what you cannot find without.” (2:1-2)
“If you seek for satisfaction in gratifying your needs as you perceive them, you must believe that strength comes from another, and what you gain he loses.” (3:3)
“You do not find it difficult to believe that when another calls on God for love, your call remains as strong. Nor do you think that when God answers him, your hope of answer is diminished. On the contrary, you are more inclined to regard his success as witness to the possibility of yours.” (4:1-3)
“In the world of scarcity, love has no meaning and peace is impossible. For gain and loss are both accepted, and so no one is aware that perfect love is in him.” (5:1-2)
“The holy instant thus becomes a lesson in how to hold all of your brothers in your mind, experiencing not loss but completion.” (5:5)
“And this is love, for this alone is natural under the laws of God. In the holy instant the laws of God prevail, and only they have meaning.” (5:7-8)
“Fear not the holy instant will be denied you, for I denied it not.” (6:7)
“It is through us that peace will come.” (7:1)
“In the holy instant God is remembered, and the language of communication with all your brothers is remembered with Him.” (8:1)
“There is no exclusion in the holy instant because the past is gone, and with it goes the whole basis for exclusion.” (8:3)
In summary, section 6: “The Holy Instant and the Laws of God” is saying:
There are only two types of relationships: One of separation through the ego and one of union through God. We cannot experience both simultaneously within our awareness, though only one relationship exists in truth. When we try to make another into something they are not; when we seek relationships with others as separate bodies from us whom we hold responsible for giving us their special love, we sacrifice the experience of our true relationship of unity in God. We place undo expectations on another who’s body-relationship can never give us what God can. God’s law is that there is no loss, and all love is given equally and to all. No exclusions, no exceptions. And in His Love is completion known by us, as we choose to extend our love to all, even as God does.
VII. The Needless Sacrifice
“Beyond the poor attraction of the special love relationship, and always obscured by it, is the powerful attraction of the Father for His Son. There is no other love that can satisfy you, because there is no other.” (1:1-2)
“Being complete, it asks nothing. Being wholly pure, everyone joined in it has everything.” (1:4-5)
“The ego establishes relationships only to get something. And it would keep the giver bound to itself through guilt.” (2:1-2)
“We said before that the ego attempts to maintain and increase guilt, but in such a way that you do not recognize what it would do to you.” (4:1)
“The ego wishes no one well.” (4:3)
“And thus it embarks on an endless, unrewarding chain of special relationships, forged out of anger and dedicated to but one insane belief; that the more anger you invest outside yourself, the safer you become.” (4:6)
“It is this chain that binds the Son of God to guilt, and it is this chain the Holy Spirit would remove from his holy mind.” (5:1)
“It is only by attack without forgiveness that the ego can ensure the guilt that holds all its relationships together.” (7:8)
“Yet they only seem to be together. For relationships, to the ego, mean only that bodies are together. It is always this that the ego demands, and it does not object where the mind goes or what it thinks, for this seems unimportant. As long as the body is there to receive its sacrifice, it is content.” (8:1-4)
“Ideas are basically of no concern, except as they bring the body of another closer or farther.” (8:6)
“Suffering and sacrifice are the gifts with which the ego would “bless” all unions.” (9:1)
“Whenever you are angry, you can be sure that you have formed a special relationship which the ego has “blessed,” for anger is its blessing.” (10:1)
“All anger is nothing more than an attempt to make someone feel guilty, and this attempt is the only basis the ego accepts for special relationships.” (10:3)
“As long as you believe that to be with a body is companionship, you will be compelled to attempt to keep your brother in his body, held there by guilt.” (12:2)
“In the holy instant guilt holds no attraction, since communication has been restored.” (14:2)
“In the protection of your wholeness, all are invited and made welcome. And you understand that your completion is God’s, Whose only need is to have you be complete.” (14:7-8)
In summary, section 7: “The Needless Sacrifice” is saying:
We have a perfect relationship with our Father God, and through Him, we also have a perfect relationship with each other. It is a relationship that asks nothing, because we need nothing, for Love makes no demands. Only the ego-based relationship asks and needs anything of another. It is a relationship based upon the perception of a lack of love. This is the “sacrifice” the ego demands – that no one ever leave us in the physical – ever – or we will suffer a sense of loss of love. To keep others in our life, we often use anger, which seems counter intuitive when looked at with clarity. Yet to the ego anger makes perfect sense; become angry and the other person must feel the risk of losing you. This works only for so long before we tire of this game and break off the relationship, only to begin a new one under the same ego-rules but a different form. To break this cycle and transform all your relationships into holy ones, simply see them as part of your One Self, Whom you can never be parted. There is no needless sacrifice to be made, for we complete one another, and no “body” is needed for us to be complete.
VIII. The Only Real Relationship
“The holy instant does not replace the need for learning, for the Holy Spirit must not leave you as your Teacher until the holy instant has extended far beyond time. For a teaching assignment such as His, He must use everything in this world for your release.” (1:1-2)
“Hear Him gladly, and learn of Him that you have need of no special relationships at all. You but seek in them what you have thrown away.” (2:1-2)
“Let us join together in making the holy instant all that there is, by desiring that it be all that there is.” (2:4)
“Relate only with what will never leave you, and what you can never leave.” (3:1)
“Your relationships are with the universe. And this universe, being of God, is far beyond the petty sum of all the separate bodies you perceive.” (4:4-5)
“Leave, then, what seems to you to be impossible, to Him Who knows it must be possible because it is the Will of God.” (6:4)
“For God created the only relationship that has meaning, and that is His relationship with you.” (6:6)
In summary, section 8: “The Only Real Relationship” is saying:
We do not remember how it feels to be in relationship with God. We have forgotten the peaceful security of His loving unity; the total contentment, sense of ease and joyful bliss that come from the restful knowing of our one Self. Yet deep down, this is the relationship we crave, and so, not knowing any other way, we allow our ego to seek for it through endless relationships with other bodies. We do not realize that what we seek is spiritual. The holy instant is the instant we do realize this and consciously choose to seek it instead. We have a deep abiding relationship of total unconditional love with an entire universe of creation, and yet we know it not. We think it inconceivable to love on such a grand scale. And so, we are asked to leave the impossible to God, Who knows how to love all creation, and Who will teach us all things are possible in Him. Our relationship with God then is the only real relationship we must seek.
IX. The Holy Instant and the Attraction of God
“As the ego would limit your perception of your brothers to the body, so would the Holy Spirit release your vision and let you see the Great Rays shining from them, so unlimited that they reach to God. It is a shift to vision that is accomplished in the holy instant. Yet it is needful for you to learn just what this shift entails, so you will become willing to make it permanent.” (1:1-3)
“Once you have accepted it as the only perception you want, it is translated into knowledge by the part that God Himself plays in the Atonement, for it is the only step in it He understands.” (1:5)
“Our task is but to continue, as fast as possible, the necessary process of looking straight at all the interference and seeing it exactly as it is.” (2:1)
“The body is the symbol of the ego, as the ego is the symbol of the separation. And both are nothing more than attempts to limit communication, and thereby to make it impossible.” (2:3-4)
“In the holy instant, where the Great Rays replace the body in awareness, the recognition of relationships without limits is given you. But in order to see this, it is necessary to give up every use the ego has for the body, and to accept the fact that the ego has no purpose you would share with it.” (3:1-2)
“If you would but let the Holy Spirit tell you of the Love of God for you, and the need your creations have to be with you forever, you would experience the attraction of the eternal. No one can hear Him speak of this and long remain willing to linger here.” (5:1-2)
“You have no conception of the limits you have placed on your perception, and no idea of all the loveliness that you could see.” (6:1)
“And your sight grows weak and dim and limited, for you have attempted to separate the Father from the Son, and limit Their communication. Seek not Atonement in further separation.” (6:5-6)
“When the body ceases to attract you, and when you place no value on it as a means of getting anything then there will be no interference in communication and your thoughts will be as free as God’s. As you let the Holy Spirit teach you how to use the body only for purposes of communication, and renounce its use for separation and attack which the ego sees in it, you will learn you have no need of a body at all. In the holy instant there are no bodies, and you experience only the attraction of God. Accepting it as undivided you join Him wholly, in an instant, for you would place no limits on your union with Him.” (7:1-4)
In summary, section 9: “The Holy Instant and the Attraction of God” is saying:
The holy instant is the moment we let go of all our false perceptions of one another and ourself. It is the moment we no longer accept the body as our identification, and once this belief is undone, the vision of the body lifts; giving way to what Christ sees in us: The Great Rays shining in limitless relationship with all creation. It is a vision of total unity and oneness with all things eternal – all Life as God created It – not as we would hide it behind physical forms. The body limits our perception of our true Self. To see beyond it, we merely have to cease to believe it is our identity. The proof this belief has shifted, will be reflected in how we treat one another. Do we love each other as we love ourself? Do you love your neighbor as Jesus loves you? Do unto others as you would have them do unto you, is truly the “Golden Rule.” It is the gold standard by which we should all live in order to hasten the holy instant. In the holy instant, we will be attracted only to God, and we will see bodies no more.
X. The Time of Rebirth
“It is in your power, in time, to delay the perfect union of the Father and the Son.” (1:1)
“This is the season when you would celebrate my birth into the world. Yet you know not how to do it. Let the Holy Spirit teach you, and let me celebrate your birth through Him.” (1:5-7)
“The holy instant is truly the time of Christ. For in this liberating instant no guilt is laid upon the Son of God, and his unlimited power is thus restored to him. What other gift can you offer me, when only this I choose to offer you? And to see me is to see me in everyone, and offer everyone the gift you offer me.” (2:1-4)
“Learn now that sacrifice of any kind is nothing but a limitation imposed on giving. And by this limitation you have limited acceptance of the gift I offer you.” (2:6-7)
“When you are willing to accept our relationship as real, guilt will hold no attraction for you. For in our union you will accept all of our brothers.” (3:2-4)
“It is in your power to make this season holy, for it is in your power to make the time of Christ be now.” (4:1)
“The idea is simply this: You believe it is possible to be host to the ego or hostage to God.” (5:4)
“You see no other alternatives, for you cannot accept the fact that sacrifice gets nothing.” (5:6)
“Your confusion of sacrifice and love is so profound that you cannot conceive of love without sacrifice. And it is this that you must look upon; sacrifice is attack, not love.” (5:8-9)
“The ego will never let you perceive this, since this recognition would make it homeless.” (6:5)
“Each form will be recognized as but a cover for the one idea that hides behind them all; that love demands sacrifice, and is therefore inseparable from attack and fear.” (6:7)
“You will not succeed in being partial hostage to the ego, for it keeps no bargains and would leave you nothing. Nor can you be partial host to it. You must choose between total freedom and total bondage, for there are no alternatives but these.” (9:1-3)
“And yet it is the recognition of the decision, just as it is, that makes the decision so easy. Salvation is simple, being of God, and therefore very easy to understand.” (9:5-6)
“In you are both the question and the answer, the demand for sacrifice and the peace of God.” (9:8)
In summary, section 10: “The Time of Rebirth” is saying:
During the time of Christmas, we celebrate the birth of God into an ego-body. Let us make this season different. Let us give a gift to God every day in every holy instant: The gift of our rebirth into our true Identity; our Christ-body into God’s Light and Love. We sacrifice the knowing of our Identity in God, through insisting we are ego-bodies instead. Yet this is our choice: To be hostage to the ego or host to God. To recognize that we have only and ever been host to God, is the egos whole undoing. In this recognition, lies our salvation from all forms of sacrifice and suffering, for only the body can be made to sacrifice and suffer. We have it within our power of decision to be reborn into a new Christmas season – the time we choose to give up all attack upon God’s Unity through separation and give birth to seeing only the Light of Christ in all.
XI. Christmas as the End of Sacrifice
“Fear not to recognize the whole idea of sacrifice as solely of your making.” (1:1)
“Your brothers and your Father have become very fearful to you. And you would bargain with them for a few special relationships, in which you think you see some scraps of safety.” (1:3-4)
“The sign of Christmas is a star, a light in darkness. See it not outside yourself, but shining in the Heaven within, and accept it as the sign the time of Christ has come.” (2:1-2)
“And you need but invite Him in Who is there already, by recognizing that His Host is One, and no thought alien to His Oneness can abide with Him there. Love must be total to give Him welcome, for the Presence of Holiness creates the holiness that surrounds it.” (2:7-8)
“This Christmas give the Holy Spirit everything that would hurt you. Let yourself be healed completely that you may join with Him in healing, and let us celebrate our release together by releasing everyone with us.” (3:1-2)
“All pain and sacrifice and littleness will disappear in our relationship, which is as innocent as our relationship with our Father, and as powerful.” (3:4)
“As long as you perceive the body as your reality, so long will you perceive yourself as lonely and deprived. And so long will you also perceive yourself as victim of sacrifice, justified in sacrificing others.” (5:1-2)
“In the holy instant the condition of love is met, for minds are joined without the body’s interference, and where there is communication there is peace. The Prince of Peace was born to reestablish the condition of love by teaching that communication remains unbroken even if the body is destroyed, provided that you see not the body as the necessary means of communication. And if you understand this lesson, you will realize that to sacrifice the body is to sacrifice nothing, and communication, which must be of the mind, cannot be sacrificed.” (7:1-3)
“The lesson I was born to teach, and still would teach to all my brothers, is that sacrifice is nowhere and love is everywhere.” (7:5)
“Let no despair darken the joy of Christmas, for the time of Christ is meaningless apart from joy. Let us join in celebrating peace by demanding no sacrifice of anyone, for so you offer me the love I offer you. What can be more joyous than to perceive we are deprived of nothing? Such is the message of the time of Christ, which I give you that you may give it and return it to the Father, Who gave it to me. For in the time of Christ communication is restored, and He joins us in the celebration of His Son’s creation.” (8:1-5)
“This is the time in which a new year will soon be born from the time of Christ. I have perfect faith in you to do all that you would accomplish. Nothing will be lacking, and you will make complete and not destroy. Say, then, to your brother:
I give you to the Holy Spirit as part of myself.
I know that you will be released, unless I want to use you to imprison myself.
In the name of my freedom I choose your release, because I recognize that we will be released together.”
So will the year begin in joy and freedom.” (10:1-8)
“Accept the holy instant as this year is born, and take your place, so long left unfulfilled, in the Great Awakening. Make this year different by making it all the same. And let all your relationships be made holy for you. This is our will. Amen.” (10:10-14)
In summary, section 11: “Christmas as the End of Sacrifice” is saying:
You light your own inner Christmas star by recognizing the Light of Christ within everyone. Through this inner recognition, you release everyone from the bondages of the ego-body; including yourself. This is the greatest gift you can give – a Christmas gift that can be given through all time and for all time. It is a gift of total unconditional love. It is the gift of the holy instant. So, let us demand that no one be a body – an ego-identity which sacrifices the peace and unity of God, for both identities cannot be experienced at the same time. Give the ego-sight of all bodies over to the Holy Spirit, that He may release them for you. And so, you will begin a new year, a new era of your own joy and freedom from suffering and sacrifice. Join all creation in the Great Awakening as you recognize in the holy instant, all your relationships are holy in God’s Love.
This concludes CHAPTER 15: THE HOLY INSTANT
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