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A Course In Miracles 

CHAPTER 17: FORGIVENESS AND THE HOLY RELATIONSHIP

 

I. Bringing Fantasy to Truth

 

            “The betrayal of the Son of God lies only in illusions, and all his “sins” are but his own imagining.”  (1:1)

 

            “He need not be forgiven but awakened.  In his dreams he has betrayed himself, his brothers and his God.  Yet what is done in dreams has not been really done.”  (1:3-5)

 

            “Only in waking is the full release from them, for only then does it become perfectly apparent that they had no effect upon reality at all, and did not change it.”  (1:7)

 

            “It is, then, only your wish to change reality that is fearful, because by your wish you think you have accomplished what you wish.”  (2:1)

 

            “What you use in fantasy you deny to truth.”  (2:5)

 

            “When you maintain that there must be an order of difficulty in miracles, all you mean is that there are some things you would withhold from truth.”  (3:1)

 

            “Very simply, your lack of faith in the power that heals all pain arises from your wish to retain some aspects of reality for fantasy.”  (3:3)

 

            “As long as you would have it so, so long will the illusion of an order of difficulty in miracles remain with you.”  (4:1)

 

            “Think you that you can bring truth to fantasy, and learn what truth means from the perspective of illusions?”  (5:1)

 

            “When you try to bring truth to illusions, you are trying to make illusions real, and keep them by justifying your belief in them.”  (5:4)

 

            “Be willing, then, to give all you have held outside the truth to Him Who knows the truth, and in Whom all is brought to truth.  Salvation from separation would be complete, or will not be at all.  Be not concerned with anything except your willingness to have this be accomplished.”  (6:1-3)

 

            “But forget not this: When you become disturbed and lose your peace of mind because another is attempting to solve his problems through fantasy, you are refusing to forgive yourself for just this same attempt.”  (6:5)

 

            “As you forgive him, you restore to truth what was denied by both of you.”  (6:7)

 

In summary, section 1: “Bringing Fantasy to Truth” is saying:

 

            The fantasy we have all contrived through the ego, is that we could become something other than the beings of perfection, love and light that God created us as.  We have had a collective fantasy that we could be bodies.  This “sin” is a mere imagining, for what God created cannot be changed.  He creates only what is eternal, good and true.  Therefore, our only task then, is to awaken from the dream that we have done this.  We must be willing to bring our fantasies to the truth to be transformed, for we cannot make illusions true.  And everything in this world is a fantasy; it must all be given over to the Holy Spirit – which is to forgive – for correction, or none of it will be transformed.  If you believe that your problems can be solved through using the means of this world, you are using an illusion to fix an illusion.  Forgive yourself and others for attempting this.  By doing so, you are both released, as you willingly bring fantasy to truth for healing which is the result of forgiveness.

 

II. The Forgiven World

 

            “Can you imagine how beautiful those you forgive will look to you?  In no fantasy have you ever seen anything so lovely.”  (1:1-2)

 

            “For you will see the Son of God.  You will behold the beauty the Holy Spirit loves to look upon, and which He thanks the Father for.”  (1:6-7)

 

            “This loveliness is not a fantasy.  It is the real world, bright and clean and new, with everything sparkling under the open sun.”  (2:1-2)

 

            “The bridge between that world and this is so little and so easy to cross, that you could not believe it is the meeting place of worlds so different.”  (2:4)

 

            “This little step, so small it has escaped your notice, is a stride through time into eternity, beyond all ugliness into beauty that will enchant you, and will never cease to cause you wonderment at its perfection.” (2:6)

 

            “This step, the smallest ever taken, is still the greatest accomplishment of all in God’s plan of Atonement.”  (3:1)

 

            “Fantasies are all undone, and no one and nothing remain still bound by them, and by your own forgiveness you are free to see.”  (3:5)

 

            “The real world is attained simply by the complete forgiveness of the old, the world you see without forgiveness.  The great Transformer of perception will undertake with you the careful searching of the mind that made this world, and uncover to you the seeming reasons for your making it.  In the light of the real reason that He brings, as you follow Him, He will show you that there is no reason here at all.”  (5:1-3)

 

            “For forgiveness literally transforms vision, and lets you see the real world reaching quietly and gently across chaos, removing all illusions that had twisted your perception and fixed it on the past.  The smallest leaf becomes a thing of wonder, and a blade of grass a sign of God’s perfection.”  (6:2-3)

 

            “How much do you want salvation?  It will give you the real world, trembling with readiness to be given you.  The eagerness of the Holy Spirit to give you this is so intense He would not wait, although He waits in patience.  Meet His patience with your impatience at delay in meeting Him.”  (8:1-4)

 

In summary, section 2: “The Forgiven World” is saying:

 

            The forgiven world is the reality we will see whence we have let go of all that our ego shows us now.  Letting go, is simply to change our beliefs – to believe in the opposite of what the ego shows us.  It is to look upon bodies, physicality and everything we see outside of us now and know it is not the truth.  The truth is, nothing is separated by anything.  We are one with all things.  And this truth is gloriously beautiful beyond all comprehension.  The bridge between our world and God’s Reality is small, but it is a giant stride from what disappears in time, to what lasts for all eternity.  Forgiveness of this world, speeds us across the bridge, into the real world.

 

III. Shadows of the Past

 

            “To forgive is merely to remember only the loving thoughts you gave in the past, and those that were given you.  All the rest must be forgotten.”  (1:1-2)

 

            “For the shadow figures you would make immortal are “enemies” of reality.  Be willing to forgive the Son of God for what he did not do.”  (1:4-5)

 

            “It is these shadow figures that would make the ego holy in your sight, and teach you what you do to keep it safe is really love.  The shadow figures always speak for vengeance, and all relationships into which they enter are totally insane.”  (2:1-2)

 

            “That bodies are central to all unholy relationships is evident.  Your own experience has taught you this.”  (2:7)

 

            “Time is indeed unkind to the unholy relationship.”  (4:1)

 

            “The attraction of the unholy relationship begins to fade and to be questioned almost at once.  Once it is formed, doubt must enter in, because its purpose is impossible.  The “ideal” of the unholy relationship thus becomes one in which the reality of the other does not enter at all to “spoil” the dream.”  (4:3-5)

 

            “How can the Holy Spirit bring His interpretation of the body as a means of communication into relationships whose only purpose is separation from reality?  What forgiveness is enables Him to do so.  If all but loving thoughts have been forgotten, what remains is eternal.”  (5:1-3)

 

            “No longer does the past conflict with now.”  (5:5)

 

            “In these loving thoughts is the spark of beauty hidden in the ugliness of the unholy relationship where hatred is remembered; yet there to come alive as the relationship is given to Him Who gives it life and beauty.”  (5:7)

 

            “Let Him uncover the hidden spark of beauty in your relationships, and show it to you.”  (6:7)

 

            “For you will want it more and more, and become increasingly unwilling to let it be hidden from you.”  (6:10)

 

            “God’s Son is one.  Whom God has joined as one, the ego cannot put asunder.”  (7:2-3)

 

            “It is still up to you to choose to join with truth or with illusion.  But remember that to choose one is to let the other go.”  (9:1-2)

 

            “My holy brother, I would enter into all your relationships, and step between you and your fantasies.  Let my relationship to you be real to you, and let me bring reality to your perception of your brothers.”  (10:1-2)

 

In summary, section 3: “Shadows of the Past” is saying:

 

            Our shadows of the past are merely our unloving thoughts.  Our unloving thoughts stem only from all things associated with the body, for what else could cause us to feel unloving?  To forgive and thus heal these shadowy thoughts, is to think only on loving thoughts.  Think how your brothers and sisters have come into these bodies, even as you have, to learn how not to struggle against them.  Have empathy, for we each face the same struggle.  These shadow figures, our bodies, are what we form our unholy relationships around.  And yet, if for a moment, we can forget about the bodies we see, the peace that follows will heal our mind and heart of all pain.  Do not give in to illusions.  God’s Son is One and can never be otherwise.  Join with truth and let Christ’s relationship be real to you.  Let go of the shadow-thoughts of the past and remember our present Oneness.

 

IV. The Two Pictures

 

            “God established His relationship with you to make you happy, and nothing you do that does not share His purpose can be real.”  (1:1)

 

            “Because of His reason for creating His relationship with you, the function of relationships became forever “to make happy.”  And nothing else.”  (1:3-4)

 

            “For nothing God created is apart from happiness, and nothing God created but would extend happiness as its Creator did.  Whatever does not fulfill this function cannot be real.”  (1:6-7)

 

            “I have said repeatedly that the Holy Spirit would not deprive you of your special relationships, but would transform them.  And all that is meant by that is that He will restore to them the function given them by God.  The function you have given them is clearly not to make happy.”  (2:3-5)

 

            “In a sense, the special relationship was the ego’s answer to the creation of the Holy Spirit, Who was God’s Answer to the separation.”  (4:1)

 

            “You have but little difficulty now in realizing that the thought system the special relationship protects is but a system of delusions.  You recognize, at least in general terms, that the ego is insane.”  (6:1-2)

 

            “Every defense operates by giving gifts, and the gift is always a miniature of the thought system the defense protects, set in a golden frame.  The frame is very elaborate, all set with jewels, and deeply carved and polished.  Its purpose is to be of value in itself, and to divert your attention from what it encloses.  But the frame without the picture you cannot have.  Defenses operate to make you think you can.”  (7:4-8)

 

            “The special relationship has the most imposing and deceptive frame of all the defenses the ego uses.”  (8:1)

 

            “Look at the picture.  Do not let the frame distract you.”  (9:1-2)

 

            “You cannot have the frame without the picture.  What you value is the frame, for there you see no conflict.  Yet the frame is only the wrapping for the gift of conflict.”  (9:4-6)

 

            “The holy instant is a miniature of Heaven, sent you from Heaven.  It is a picture, too, set in a frame.  Yet if you accept this gift you will not see the frame at all, because the gift can only be accepted through your willingness to focus all your attention on the picture.  The holy instant is a miniature of eternity.”  (11:1-4)

 

            “Two gifts are offered you.  Each is complete, and cannot be partially accepted.”  (12:1-2)

 

            “You who have tried so hard, and are still trying, to fit the better picture into the wrong frame and so combine what cannot be combined, accept this and be glad:  These pictures are each framed perfectly for what they represent.”  (13:1)

 

            “The dark picture, brought to light, is not perceived as fearful, but the fact that it is just a picture is brought home at last.  And what you see there you will recognize as what it is; a picture of what you thought was real, and nothing more.”  (14:6-7)

 

            “The picture of light, in clear-cut and unmistakable contrast, is transformed into what lies beyond the picture.  As you look on this, you realize that it is not a picture, but a reality.”  (15:1-2)

 

            “The frame fades gently and God rises to your remembrance, offering you the whole of creation in exchange for your little picture, wholly without value and entirely deprived of meaning.”  (15:5)

 

            “As God ascends into His rightful place and you to yours, you will experience again the meaning of relationship and know it to be true.”  (16:1)

 

            “The whole reality of your relationship with Him lies in our relationship to one another.”  (16:7)

 

            “For here is God, and where He is only the perfect and complete can be.”  (16:10)

 

In summary, section 4: “The Two Pictures” is saying:

 

            “The two pictures” are a metaphor representing the two types of relationships we can have:  A special one, of the ego or a holy one, of God.  The picture of the special relationship is framed by a body, and only the body is seen and valued.  The light within, which is the true gift and the only picture that will last for all eternity, is completely overlooked.  Such a relationship is set in an ornate frame of turmoil, conflict and stress; distractions blinding you to the picture of light and goodness within.  The holy relationship is framed in peace.  A frame so delicate that it disappears into the background, allowing only the picture of light to be seen.  When we look upon one another as though we do not see the bodily frame the ego has set us in, we transform what we see into a holy relationship.  And in that relationship a new picture, a new reality, is born.  

 

V. The Healed Relationship

 

            “The holy relationship is the expression of the holy instant in living in this world.”  (1:1)

 

            “The holy relationship, a major step toward the perception of the real world, is learned.”  (2:1)

 

            “The holy relationship is a phenomenal teaching accomplishment.”  (2:3)

 

            “Be comforted in this; the only difficult phase is the beginning.  For here, the goal of the relationship is abruptly shifted to the exact opposite of what it was.”  (2:5-6)

 

            “This is accomplished very rapidly, but it makes the relationship seem disturbed, disjunctive and even quite distressing.”  (3:3)

 

            “Now it seems to make no sense.  Many relationships have been broken off at this point, and the pursuit of the old goal re-established in another relationship.  For once the unholy relationship has accepted the goal of holiness, it can never again be what it was.”  (3:7-9)

 

            “It would not be kinder to shift the goal more slowly, for the contrast would be obscured, and the ego given time to reinterpret each slow step according to its liking.  Only a radical shift in purpose could induce a complete change of mind about what the whole relationship is for.  As this change develops and is finally accomplished, it grows increasingly beneficent and joyous.”  (5:1-3)

 

            “This is the time for faith.  You let this goal be set for you.”  (6:1-2)

 

            “Have faith in your brother in what but seems to be a trying time.  The goal is set.  And your relationship has sanity as its purpose.”  (6:6-8)

 

            “Now the ego counsels thus; substitute for this another relationship to which your former goal was quite appropriate.  You can escape your distress only by getting rid of your brother.”  (7:1-2)

 

            “Hear this not now!  Have faith in Him Who answered you.”  (7:5-6)

 

            “This relationship has been reborn as holy.”  (7:14)

 

            “You will find many opportunities to blame your brother for the “failure” of your relationship, for it will seem at times to have no purpose.”  (8:2)

 

            “For your relationship has not been disrupted.  It has been saved.”  (8:5-6)

 

            “In your newness, remember that you and your brother have started again, together.”  (9:3)

 

            “You undertook, together, to invite the Holy Spirit into your relationship.”  (11:1)

 

            “Have you consistently appreciated the good efforts, and overlooked mistakes?  Or has your appreciation flickered and grown dim in what seemed to be the light of the mistakes?  Perhaps you are now entering upon a campaign to blame him for the discomfort of the situation in which you find yourself.  And by this lack of thanks and gratitude you make yourself unable to express the holy instant, and thus lose sight of it.”  (11:7-10)

 

            “You have received the holy instant, but you may have established a condition in which you cannot use it.”  (13:1)

 

            “You and your brother stand together in the holy presence of truth itself.”  (14:1)

 

            “You are joined in purpose, but remain still separate and divided on the means.  Yet the goal is fixed, firm and unalterable, and the means will surely fall in place because the goal is sure.  And you will share the gladness of the Sonship that it is so.”  (14:7-9) 

 

In summary, section 5: “The Healed Relationship” is saying:

 

            A healed relationship is a holy relationship.  A holy relationship is one that is focused on peace, which is a relationship in which the ego does not impose its will on the other.  The moment either participant decides peace is their goal, the relationship is turned over to the Holy Spirit for healing.  This may initially appear to make the conflict worse.  This happens because the goal of peace is out of accord with the ego’s goal of conflict; disharmony and blame are the result.  Rejoice at this phase and do not lose faith that the goal of peace will be achieved!  For what you have asked the Holy Spirit to heal, will be healed.  Your only task is not to interfere.  You only interfere when you attempt to determine the outcome yourself.  Do not specify in your mind, what the relationship will look like after it is healed.  Accept that you do not know and trust it will be the best possible outcome.  The whole Sonship will share in the joy of your healed relationship, because the Sonship is healed with you.

 

VI. Setting the Goal

 

            “The practical application of the Holy Spirit’s purpose is extremely simple, but it is unequivocal.  In fact, in order to be simple it must be unequivocal.”  (1:1-2)

 

            “The setting of the Holy Spirit’s goal is general.  Now He will work with you to make it specific, for application is specific.”  (1:4-5)

 

            “In any situation in which you are uncertain, the first thing to consider, very simply, is “What do I want to come of this?  What is it for?”  The clarification of the goal belongs at the beginning, for it is this which will determine the outcome.”  (2:1-3)

 

            “The ego does not know what it wants to come of the situation.  It is aware of what it does not want, but only that.  It has no positive goal at all.”  (2:7-9)

 

            “Without a clear-cut, positive goal, set at the outset, the situation just seems to happen, and makes no sense until it has already happened.”  (3:1)

 

            “The value of deciding in advance what you want to happen is simply that you will perceive the situation as a means to make it happen.  You will therefore make every effort to overlook what interferes with the accomplishment of your objective, and concentrate on everything that helps you meet it.”  (4:1-2)

 

“If the situation is used for truth and sanity, its outcome must be peace.”  (5:2)

 

            “If you experience peace, it is because the truth has come to you and you will see the outcome truly, for deception cannot prevail against you.  You will recognize the outcome because you are at peace.”  (5:6-7)

 

            “No one will fail in anything.  This seems to ask for faith beyond you, and beyond what you can give. Yet this is so only from the viewpoint of the ego, for the ego believes in “solving” conflict through fragmentation, and does not perceive the situation as a whole.”  (6:7-9)

 

            “And it will seem to be successful, except that this attempt conflicts with unity, and must obscure the goal of truth.”  (7:2)

 

In summary, section 6: “Setting the Goal” is saying:

 

            At the outset of our day, or any situation we are about to enter, it is important to align your mind with Christ-mindedness.  That is, to set the goal for the situation.  There is only and ever one goal of the Christ-minded and that is peace.  The ego has many goals and they vary greatly in type and difficulty of achievement.  The goals of the ego can also change on a whim, whereas the goal of the Holy Spirit is always constant and unchanging peace.  Only what brings peace is true and what brings conflict is false.  Do not fail to see this as another way of saying that the body is false, because it conflicts with our Eternal Identity given us by God.  This is the truth that brings peace to our mind in this insane world.  We heal our separated ego state of mind, through setting peace as our only goal.

 

VII. The Call for Faith

 

            “The substitutes for aspects of the situation are the witnesses to your lack of faith.”  (1:1)

 

            “The problem was the lack of faith, and it is this you demonstrate when you remove it from its source and place it elsewhere.  As a result, you do not see the problem.”  (1:3-4)

 

            “There is no problem in any situation that faith will not solve.”  (2:1)

 

            “A situation is a relationship, being the joining of thoughts.  If problems are perceived, it is because the thoughts are judged to be in conflict.  But if the goal is truth, this is impossible.  Some idea of bodies must have entered, for minds cannot attack.  The thought of bodies is the sign of faithlessness, for bodies cannot solve anything.”  (3:1-5)

 

            “But remember this; the goal of holiness was set for your relationship, and not by you.”  (4:2)

 

            “Every situation in which you find yourself is but a means to meet the purpose set for your relationship.  See it as something else and you are faithless.”  (5:1-2)

 

            “The goal of illusion is as closely tied to faithlessness as faith to truth.”  (6:1)

 

            “Yet think on this, and learn the cause of faithlessness:  You think you hold against your brother what he has done to you.  But what you really blame him for is what you did to him.”  (8:1-2)

 

            “You call for faith because of Him Who walks with you in every situation.”  (10:1)

 

            “You whose relationship shares the Holy Spirit’s goal are set apart from loneliness because the truth has come.”  (10:4)

 

In summary, section 7: “The Call for Faith” is saying:

 

            Faith here is defined as truth, and what is the truth but that we are not bodies?  Faithlessness is to believe in what you are not, and so you perceive yourself as less.  Faithfulness is to remember the fullness of Who You Are in unity with all creation.  Faith is to believe in the truth.  There is no problem faith cannot solve.  All problems are solved through having faith in our Oneness and overlooking the illusion of our separation.  Oneness is our true relationship and to know it is to be at peace with all you see here in this world.  Your call for faith is to overlook what is not the truth.

 

VIII. The Conditions of Peace

 

            “The holy instant is nothing more than a special case, or an extreme example, of what every situation is meant to be.”  (1:1)

 

            “The holy instant is the shining example, the clear and unequivocal demonstration of the meaning of every relationship and every situation, seen as a whole.  Faith has accepted every aspect of the situation, and faithlessness has not forced any exclusion on it.  It is a situation of perfect peace, simply because you have let it be what it is.”  (1:4-6)

 

            “This simple courtesy is all the Holy Spirit asks of you.  Let truth be what it is.  Do not intrude upon it, do not attack it, do not interrupt its coming.  Let it encompass every situation and bring you peace.”  (2:1-4)

 

            “When you accepted truth as the goal for your relationship, you became a giver of peace as surely as your Father gave peace to you.”  (6:1)

 

            “Your release is certain.  Give as you have received.  And demonstrate that you have risen far beyond any situation that could hold you back, and keep you separate from Him Whose Call you answered.”  (6:5-7) 

 

In summary, section 8: “The Conditions of Peace” is saying:

 

            The conditions for peace are but one thing:  To love without exclusion, understanding your unity with all creation.  To love without conditions is to love as God loves us.  All aspects are accepted; nothing and no one is excluded.  It is a situation of perfect peace, simply because you have let this truth be exactly what it is.  This is the goal of every relationship, this level of loving.  Give peace to others as God has given His peace to you, for He sees you as One in Him.  See your oneness with everyone, and you will have met the conditions of peace.

This concludes CHAPTER 17: FORGIVENESS AND THE HOLY RELATIONSHIP

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