Table of Contents
Good evening. And good evening to everyone listening on the internet as well.
Okay. Start right in.
Fantasy is a distorted form of vision.1
Yes.
Fantasies of any kind are distortions, because they always involve twisting perception into unreality.
Yes. I’m going to interrupt you now.
Fantasy is a distorted form of vision.
In other words, it’s a distorted form of Something Real. It isn’t a separate independent phenomenon. This is important to understand. It’s as I’ve said before, you can’t have a counterfeit of nothing.
Fantasy is a distorted form of vision.
And Vision is Real.
Fantasies of any kind are distortions, because they always involve twisting perception into unreality.
In other words, they always involve twisting the experience of Something Real in a manner that causes it to be perceived as different from What It Really Is. Therefore, you cannot look at anything and say, “This doesn’t exist.” All you can say is, “The way I’m perceiving it is not valid.” And when this is clear, you will understand why I keep saying to give your attention to where you are, give your attention to anything you see, with curiosity to see more than the bias you have applied to Reality causing you to see what you think you see, instead of What Is Really There.
The moment you say, “This is an illusion. This does not exist,” it is logical to assume that to give any further attention to it, is a waste of time. And as a result, you withdraw your attention from the very place that Vision would reveal to you the Kingdom of Heaven. This is so important to understand, so that you don’t become ungrounded in your metaphysics. So that you don’t become ungrounded in your spirituality. So that you don’t become ungrounded in your miracle-readiness. Because if you’re denying the place where the miracle is going to occur for you, you can’t hardly say you’re miracle-ready. So it’s your brother, it’s your sister, it’s your husband, your wife, your child, your friend, as I keep saying, the glass top on the table, the leaf, the blossom–each is the threshold of your abandonment of the bias you have given to the way you’re looking at them, and the opportunity to have Vision restored, so that you can see What Is Really There.
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Actions that stem from distortions are literally the reactions of those who know not what they do.
Yes. When you have a misunderstanding and act on the basis of it, your actions bear no relation to Reality.
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Fantasy is an attempt to control reality according to false needs.
Yes. But where did the false needs come from? The false needs came after the initiation of the fantasy, because until you formulated this fantasy, you were in complete connection with and unity with All of Reality. It wasn’t until the fantasy, the bias, was applied, and you stopped seeing Reality and experiencing your Oneness with it, that a sense of isolation came into the picture; a sense of aloneness, a sense of tininess in the face of infinity. And it wasn’t until then that fear entered and a call for defense to protect yourself against the humongous allness of everything that wasn’t you any longer. You see? And so then, you began to practice control of everything you saw, to keep you safe, which constituted an even greater denial of Reality, because now you’ve not only separated yourself from it, you are seeing it as your enemy and actively defending yourself against it.
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Twist reality in any way and you are perceiving destructively.
Now it’s important to understand here that this isn’t a judgment on you. “You are perceiving destructively. Shame on you.” That’s not what it’s about. When you twist Reality in any way …
Twist reality in any way and you are perceiving destructively.
You are perceiving in a way that doesn’t work. You are perceiving in a way that doesn’t allow you to be in harmony with Reality. You’re perceiving in a way that causes you to be defended against what in the final analysis is All The Rest Of You, and so you are in a constant state of Self-denial. Destructive … it’s not destructive in the sense that anything can be destroyed, because what God has created is unalterable, but it’s destructive in the sense that what it accomplishes is not relieving … it contributes nothing to your being Sane.
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Fantasies are a means of making false associations and attempting to obtain pleasure from them. But although you can perceive false associations, you can never make them real except to yourself. You believe in what you make. If you offer miracles, you will be equally strong in your belief in them. The strength of your conviction will then sustain the belief of the miracle receiver.
Yes. But likewise, the strength of your conviction will also sustain the belief of the receiver of your twisted perception of them. So you must be careful how you think about your Brother. You have a responsibility. You have a responsibility because what you think has its effect, and you cannot get away from that. So obviously, you have a choice. You can offer fantasy, or, you can offer miracles.
Make the choice. And let that be your motto everyday this next week. Make the choice for whether you’re going to offer fantasy or miracles. And if you’re going to offer miracles, you’re going to have to abandon your best judgments, your best reasoning, your best thinking, and ask God, “What’s going on here? What do I need to say? Who is this that I’m looking at?” So that you might experience insight and see more clearly yourself. So that you might offer that Vision. And the strength of your conviction in that Vision, will sustain the belief of the one receiving the Clarity in your mind.
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Reality is “lost” through …
… fantasies become. The sentence before.
The strength of your conviction will then sustain the belief of the miracle receiver.
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Reality is “lost” through usurpation…
Wow.
The next sentence in the second version, the second edition, is:
Fantasies become totally unnecessary as the wholly satisfying nature of reality becomes apparent to both giver and receiver.
[Repeats] Fantasies become totally unnecessary as the wholly satisfying nature of reality becomes apparent to both giver and receiver.
Now continue …
Reality is “lost” through usurpation, which produces tyranny. As long as a single “slave” remains to walk the earth, your release is not complete.
And as I told you before, as long as a single one of you is not Totally Awake, our release, my release, the release of Those Who Are Awake, is not complete. And that is why we stand on your behalf, and stand with you, and stand ready to be in support of your ever-increasing Clarity.
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Complete restoration of the Sonship is the only goal of the miracle-minded.
Yes.
It is really important for me to emphasize the fact that every one of Us Who Is Awake is devoted to your Awakening. And when the idea is expressed that Those Who Are Awake have too many wonderful things to do to be occupied with you poor souls, don’t let that sink in, don’t let that register with you, and reject it outright.
That’s never a thought of yours, of the Ones That Are Awake, and that they feel sorry for us.2
Never.
Never. I didn’t think [it was].
Never. But there is an emptiness that we feel, because you don’t see us. You don’t recognize our Presence. And those who have never heard what I’m sharing, experience no hope at having that–our Presence–confirmed in their lives, and don’t even reach out. So there is an emptiness that we are intent upon filling, or illuminating the fullness of, but it’s not with sadness, and there is never any lesser opinion of you than we have of ourselves. Indeed.
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This is a course in mind training. All learning involves attention and study at some level. Some of the later parts of the course rest too heavily on these earlier sections not to require their careful study. You will also need them for preparation. Without this, you may become much too fearful of what is to come to make constructive use of it. However, as you study these earlier sections, you will begin to see some of the implications that will be amplified later on.
That’s perfectly clear. Not heavily loaded with spirituality. And not requiring much comment. It simply lets you know that there is much to look forward to, and that you are embarking on something that is far from a flight of fancy, that it’s significant, that you will be changing and growing, and that it’s appropriate for it to be graceful, rather than frightening or difficult.
Okay. Continue …
A solid foundation is necessary because of the confusion between fear and awe to which I have already referred, and which is often made. I have said that awe is inappropriate in connection with the Sons of God, because you should not experience awe in the presence of your equals.
And I am your equal, and your Guides are your equals. And as long as you hold me, or any of the Brotherhood Who Are Awake, in an awe-full attitude, it constitutes a means of keeping yourself separate and unequal.
And you know what? You can’t enjoy being with a superior. You can’t relax in the presence of a superior. And even if the so-called superior is behaving in an utterly-simple loving way with you, you will attribute to it characteristics that are also awe-full. Feelings of not deserving it, but being grateful for it, will creep into the picture, and the relationship will lose its Reality. You see?
You need to know that our relationship is Real, that it’s valid, that it is a connection heart-to-heart, and that the only thing that makes it special is that it uncovers to you that you deserve it, which makes it totally un-special, but not insignificant.
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However, it was also emphasized that awe is proper in the presence of your Creator. I have been careful to clarify my role in the Atonement without either over- or understating it. I am also trying to do the same with yours. I have stressed that awe is not an appropriate reaction to me because of our inherent equality. Some of the later steps in this course, however, involve a more direct approach to God Himself. It would be unwise to start on these steps without careful preparation, or awe will be confused with fear, and the experience will be more traumatic than beatific. Healing is of God in the end. The means are being carefully explained to you. Revelation may occasionally reveal the end to you, but to reach it the means are needed.
So now you’ve been given a little bit of a hint that later on a more direct approach to God is in the cards for you. It implies that that could be overwhelming, and therefore each step of the way has value in reducing your fear of your good. But nevertheless, it’s the Father’s good pleasure to give you the Kingdom, and He’s gifting you with it every single moment. And so, I want you to realize that a Connection with God can happen at any moment that you’re undefended against it. And it doesn’t have to be way down the road. And so, I ask you to be willing to allow for that to happen. And don’t say, “Oh. Well, we haven’t gotten to the place in the Course where we’re supposed to have a direct approach [a more direct approach], or a Direct Experience of God.” God is Love and you don’t need to be afraid of it.
God is appearing to you right now. You might say I’m appearing to you right now. But Heaven help you if there’s anything added to the mix, such as “a little bit of me.” Because I am reflecting the Father, and Paul is reflecting the Father consciously, and so you’re in Communion with the Father right now. How frightening is it?
Okay. So, remember that when you look at your Brother, whether your Brother is consciously allowing the Christ expression, which is the Christ allowing God expression, realize that this is, at the bottom line or at the bottom of the barrel, What Your Brother Truly Is, so that you’re not fooled by the presentation of ignorance that your Brother or Sister is presenting.
Let us continue …
Chapter 2
We’re making headway. [audience laughter]
The Separation and the Atonement
That’s like beginning at the beginning.
I. The Origins of Separation
How it came to pass. Continue …
To extend is a fundamental aspect of God which He gave to His Son.
Meaning each of you. Continue …
In the creation, God extended Himself to His creations and imbued them with the same loving Will to create. You have not only been fully created, but have also been created perfect.
That’s the Ultimate Truth. That’s the Fundamental Fact. And there’s no way to change it.
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There is no emptiness in you.
And I would add that, in fact, there is no emptiness in the Brotherhood as a fact that we need to fill, or that we feel as a limitation upon the Wholeness of the Brotherhood. And the fact that you are hearing me right now demonstrates the fact that any emptiness that seems to exist is not a fact set in place by God, and therefore isn’t a fact at all.
You have not only been fully created, but have also been created perfect.
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Because of your likeness to your Creator you are creative. No child of God can lose this ability because it is inherent in what he is, but he can use it inappropriately by projecting. The inappropriate use of extension, or projection, occurs when you believe that some emptiness or lack exists in you, and that you can fill it with your own ideas instead of truth. This process involves the following steps:
First, you believe that what God created can be changed by your own mind.
Ah. By providing a little twist. By squinting your eyes. Of course, you can’t change what you’re looking at. And if you poke your eyeball, you can make strange lights appear around everything, even though no one else sees the lights, but you can become fascinated with it, and thus provide yourself with an interesting experience, but not an Experience of Reality.
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Second, you believe that what is perfect can be rendered imperfect or lacking.
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Third, you believe that you can distort the creations of God, including yourself.
Fourth, you believe that you can create yourself, and that the direction of your own creation is up to you.
Fantastic–and completely false.
Now I want to point out one additional thing. You really can’t accomplish this all by yourself. You can have a false idea, you can have a strange idea, but it doesn’t become anything more than that until you join with another who agrees with your fantastic idea. It’s in the joining with another with commitment to a fantasy that fantasy begins to, or that fantasy achieves a so-called “state of reality.”
Let us continue …
These related distortions represent a picture of what actually occurred in the separation, or the “detour into fear.” None of this existed before the separation, nor does it actually exist now.
I’m going to interrupt you.
The separation was something that two engaged in by mutual agreement to a fantasy. And the fantasy became a mutually-agreed-upon definition.
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Everything God created is like Him. Extension, as undertaken by God, is similar to the inner radiance that the children of the Father inherit from Him.
As I said some time ago, if you are experiencing joy, even without expressing a word, others can’t help but notice it. It radiates.
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Its real source is internal. This is as true of the Son as of the Father. In this sense the creation includes both the creation of the Son by God, and the Son’s creations when his mind is healed.
And when the Son’s mind is healed, the creations that he extends are the Presence of God that he is not blocking from finding its way through him. Again, the Son never becomes an actually independent extender of anything. And that’s why I have used the illustration of everyone being a puppet, either of the Voice for Truth, or, the voice for fear–the puppet of God, or, the puppet of the ego.
In an undefended moment in which revelation occurs and you experience bliss, everyone else can tell, because you extended it spontaneously; you might say automatically. You didn’t say, “Oh, well, I’m going to extend a little bit of bliss here. I’m going to send a lot of it there. And I’m going to send more of it there.” There’s no thought to it. There’s no conscious direction of the extension. When you’re feeling joy, you’re feeling joy. When you’re feeling bliss, you’re feeling bliss. And that exudes from you spontaneously, and that’s your extension. But not an extension of anything you privately, personally originated.
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This requires God’s endowment of the Son with free will, because all loving creation is freely given in one continuous line, in which all aspects are of the same order.
And what is that order? It’s the Order of God, you might say. It’s the Order of the Originator of the Extension, which is God.
And as it illuminates and exudes from every Aspect of What God Is, every Aspect is apparently extending, making the same Gift. And the Gift is Love. And so, this Extension of Love, that you could say goes on and on and on infinitely, expresses the Order, the Character, the Nature, you might say the Scent or Aroma of the Love That God Is. And this Nature and Order and Aroma that finds extension without being altered in any way, because no part of the Sonship is trying to introduce any private little bias to it, keeps the Original Intent unaltered. And so every Aspect of the Creation of God becomes a participant in expressing God.
And the fact is, that’s What All Of You Are at this every instant, even though you’re momentarily preoccupied with personal needs, and personal crises, and personal concerns, etc.
Well, the ego says, “Huh. Some free will that is! God has endowed you with free will to do nothing but reflect Him? [small laugh] Don’t be fooled. That’s not free will. But He did give you free will. You really do have the capacity to think and be, independently from What God Is.” But the fact is that you didn’t originate yourself, and because of that, you never have authority over what you’re going to be in Reality.
And so the only choice you have is to either be the Reflection of God, or, to imagine, to indulge in a fantasy that you have some capacity to be independent. And all that amounts to is that you force yourself to become unconscious of your Function.
So, at the bottom line, you only have two choices. You have the choice to be Conscious of Reality, or, temporarily unconscious of it. That’s the ultimate of your exercise of free will–to embrace or resist the Movement of God. To allow it to consume you and be you, so that you might involuntarily illuminate everyone and everything in your presence with the experience of bliss, or, block it and share with everyone your resistance to it.
I’d like to ask for a little clarification. I think it’s pretty easy for all of us to understand that we did not create ourselves. It’s afterwards that things get a little bit foggy. Because we each have our lives and the circumstances in our lives and the decisions we’ve made along the path that have led us to the point where we are where we think we are.
All of which is fantasy.
And from the perspective of the fantasy, it appears as if we did create the situation, that we did create the place we find ourselves in this point in our existence. A doctor isn’t in medical practice because he didn’t choose to go to school. He did choose to go to school and become a doctor, and looks at himself as the author of his decision to be where he finds himself in this life.
Exactly. But once again, he couldn’t succeed in that if there were not others willing to join in the that mutually-agreed-upon definition of status and office. The fact is that there are many people who do not extend respect to physicians at all, because they do not see the medical practice as wholistic, as natural, and so they don’t join in the mutually-agreed-upon definition. And therefore, the physician does not have the position he thinks he’s gained with that part of society.
You see what I’m saying?
Yes. But it works for all of us, whether it’s something that appears lofty in our society such as a physician, or whether just a housewife who has the nice home she wants and all the accoutrements so it looks good for a party, or …
This is true.
… the guy who’s a clown bending balloons. It’s all the same.
Again, she must have friends in society that have joined in mutual agreement as to those status symbols. It still doesn’t make it Real. It still just makes it, let’s say, “a group insanity.”
So then we are creators of our insane fantasy? So we’re successful in that aspect then?
You are successful to the degree that you and someone else, or you and many someone elses, have made commitment to the validation of those definitions. But that can’t be counted as any kind of real success because the conclusion isn’t valid. It’s just a mutually-agreed-upon consensus opinion.
So even in the positions we find ourselves, we did not create for ourselves the circumstances to put us in these positions? Or these positions just simply don’t exist, so it’s fantasy on top of fantasy?
You created them. But if you haven’t created Something That Is Real, you haven’t created anything. If you haven’t created anything, you haven’t created anything. And therefore, you haven’t been a creator. But that’s the difficult part for the ego. That’s the difficult part in the process of awakening, because it requires a recognition that what you thought you had created, you didn’t succeed in creating. And then abandoning that sense of authorship, and then asking in so many words, “What the hell is really going on?” And becoming inquisitive. So, don’t get hung up on, “Well, we must have really created an illusion. We were creative in some way.” Because if nothing actually was created, then the sense of being a creator is false.
And Sanity is part of the realization that one’s status as a housewife in a beautiful home, or a physician doing miraculous things, can only seem to be a valid perception if there are enough people believing it. And that doesn’t make it Real.
We’ve also read here that when we’re healed, it says, “The Son’s creations …” Let me back up. “This is as true of the Son as of the Father. In this sense the creation includes both the creation of the Son by God, and the Son’s creations when his mind is healed.”
Yes.
So when our minds are healed, we then can create. Is this what I’m …
No. I did address that. When your minds are healed, then your Experience of God’s Extension As You, illuminates you, fills you up, and it shows all over you–not by conscious choice, not by an individual authorization coming from you–but because it overflowed you. You see?
I see. So this would be like a spontaneous feeling of love, or happiness, or joy, or bliss, or revelation, or something of this nature. It’s not like inventing a chair, or a …
Or being in a part of Infinity where God was moving, you might say, and God moving looked like you moving a mountain, or picking up a chair and relocating it, and being an integral, inseparable part of the Glory of the Movement of God.
And what about something like invention? Like Edison inventing a light bulb, or something like that? Something that the world had never seen before. Is that … you know, needless to say, we would say, “Well, that’s creation.” He created something that wasn’t ever, you know…
But you see that is a process of becoming more complete and moving out of a state of less completeness. The invention of the light bulb brought light where it hadn’t been before. It brought light where there was darkness, you might say. But in the Infinite Presence of What God Is Being, there is no lack and so the Movement of Creation is not a means of filling a void. It’s not improvement. It’s not forward movement. It’s more like the hymn goes, “from glory unto glory.” And that’s about the best I can put it into words at the moment.
So if there were no separation, there would be no need for light bulbs?
That is correct.
Okay.
In moments of illumination, an experience that awaits you is for a darkened room to be illuminated by the Light of You, literally the Body of Light that you are, and the Light that is the Substance of everything in the room. You right here in this quote “incarnation” unquote without having ascended. The Energy that you see as the form of your body is pure Light, even though you can’t see it at the moment. I can see it. This room is illuminated far more brightly than the lights display at the moment, just from the Light of You. Right now it’s shining. It isn’t out. You haven’t snuffed it, even though you are not seeing it. That’s the more of you that’s right here now to be experienced if you’ll be curious. It’s happening right now.
But you all have a nice little mutually-agreed definition of yourselves that is that you’re just, you know, human beings doing the best you can, struggling along, and trying to refine your souls and spiritualize yourselves.
And you’re managing to be pretty far out. I mean you’re talking with Jesus. And this is excellent because to whatever degree you let yourself be far out and yet still remain grounded, you make it possible to let go even more, and have experiences of Light illumination.
And when you pray, when you ask the Father to show you something, ask Him to show you a lot. Don’t ask for just a little bit. Ask Him to reveal the maximum that you can bear. Ask Him to reveal the last thing in the world you would expect to experience.
Okay. Microphone.
The invention of the light bulb, or sailing ships, or coats, aren’t those all gifts from Awakened Beings through our consciousness? Aren’t those Expressions of Love?
They are fuller experiences of your Wholeness, fuller experiences of your Birthright of Freedom, fuller experiences of your right to comfort. They are not so much gifts, as they are the little bit more of good that you were willing to be undefended against; a little bit more right to dignity and comfort than you had mutually agreed upon before.
They’re coming from outside of the agreed definitions though.
Of course.
They’re coming from Wholeness. They’re coming from …
They are coming from the Father’s good pleasure to give you All Of What He Is. And they come through the sieve of your current mutually-agreed-upon definitions. It’s like you’re in a dark room, and there’s a door in the room, and outside the room is the world and the sunlight, but the door fits the jamb perfectly, and there’s no light bulb in the room, and so the room is totally dark. And then there’s an earth tremor, and the room shifts, and this little crack of light across the bottom of the door comes through. And you get down and you look at it, and you stand in awe of it. “Wow! This must be a gift from beyond. I’ve never seen anything like it before. It’s an incredible experience!” But it’s just a little bit of the Totality of the World and all of the Light that extends infinitely that’s outside the door.
No one said, “Let’s give them a little bit of Light.” The Light was being gifted in its entirety all along. You see? So it’s always just as much of your good as you’re willing to let in. And so coats and sailing ships and light bulbs seemed to develop, so that lighter coats kept you as warm as the heavy ones, and better means of stitching them together made them last longer, and so on. It’s just a matter of your letting in more of what you felt you deserved than you did before.
So more of The Way Things Are, versus, angels whispering in our ears?
Yes. And remember this. I haven’t just talked about, let’s say, technological improvements, or improvements in fabrics that could be used in the coat, or, let us say, the development of automobiles and airplanes that made ships obsolete as means of transporting you from one place to another. I haven’t talked just about the form, because the form isn’t really where the movement is.
The movement is in your increasing experience of your Integrity, of your Birthright. That’s where the movement is. That’s where the quote “development” is. That’s where the growth is. It isn’t in the inventions. The inventions always have accompanied, let us say, your belief that you didn’t always have to be in the dark, or your clearer understanding that you didn’t always have to be in the dark, and your clearer understanding that you didn’t have to be limited to the transmission of a message that takes three months to get where it’s going and another three months to bring an answer back to you.
So what all of the inventions and all of the developments of objects are, are just representations of the amount of your Birthright that you have been willing to embrace. That’s where it’s happening. That is the happening.
I like that.
That’s a practical response.
Yeah.
Continue …
The Garden of Eden, or the pre-separation condition, was a state of mind in which nothing was needed. When Adam listened to the “lies of the serpent,” all he heard was untruth. You do not have to continue to believe what is not true unless you choose to do so.
Now that’s a very significant statement.
When Adam listened to the “lies of the serpent,” all he heard was untruth.
He was not tempted. He recognized it for what it was–a lie. So he didn’t become subject to the illusion that would have followed if he thought he was hearing truth and accepted it and joined.
Continue …
All that can literally disappear in the twinkling of an eye because it is merely a misperception.
Let’s… I want to emphasize another word here.
You do not have to continue to believe what is not true unless you choose to do so. All that can literally disappear in the twinkling of an eye because it is merely a misperception.
Meaning all that which isn’t True that you had been believing, can disappear in the twinkling of an eye because it is merely a misperception. It’s not an actuality.
Someone the other day said that they were experiencing a fever–Amena–and that she thought that her body was in a process of casting off something unnecessary to it. Well, she’s caught in a mutually-agreed-upon definition about body and how it functions, and doesn’t realize that if she envisions a process by which a certain thing is being accomplished, that she will be stuck with the fever until that time period has passed and what needed to be accomplished could be accomplished, and that the process would move forward on the basis of the manner in which matter operates. It left her with no capacity to be receptive to an instantaneous healing, because she saw a physical process occurring. When the fact is that there’s not one single physical thing there where she sees body. It’s just the Visibility and Tangibility of her Individuality, which is Mind. It’s her Individuality rendered perceptible. But what is perceptible about it, is still of the same Nature and Character as that which it is identifying, which is pure Mind. And not only that. It’s incapable of harboring anything that it would need to go through a process to release.
Therefore, the existence of the fever and the thing that need[s] to be released, that this so-called body is going through a process of releasing, is all a fantasy. And if she realizes that it is a fantasy, then in the twinkling of an eye, it can literally disappear because it’s merely a misperception. You see?
Continue …
What is seen in dreams seems to be very real. Yet the Bible says that a deep sleep fell upon Adam, and nowhere is there reference to his waking up.
Yes.
What is seen in dreams seems to be very real.
Well, all there are to dreams are limited embraces of the Totality of Reality. Important point. Dreams are not an experience of something different from Reality. Dreams are just highly-focused, limited perceptions of the Totality which is Reality. And what is seen in dreams seems to be very real because you make commitment to only seeing a little bit at a time. But it’s your commitment to the limited vision that makes it seem real. It’s your capacity to be focused that makes it real.
In other words, you couldn’t seem to have an illusion if there wasn’t Something Real engaged in observing it, and lending to it (the fantasy) “reality,” you might say–but I’m putting that word “reality” in quotes–by virtue of the Something Real In You that is capable of bringing focused, committed attention to what you choose to give your attention to. So you make the illusion seem real by virtue of bringing your Very Real Divine Capacity to bear upon focusing your attention on a very limited part of Reality and holding it there, and believing that the limitation is real.
You get it?
Yes.
So Adam listened to the lies of the serpent, and in the face of Reality he didn’t believe it because it was obvious that it was all lies. I presume also that Eve listened to the lies of the serpent and was equally un-persuaded because in the face of Reality the lies are apparent.
No, this is not correct.
No. [mild audience amusement]
She did see truth in it, but even so, it did not create an illusion. She then …
It was when they shared.
… sidled up to Adam; said, “Honey, would you consider, just consider looking at it this way?” [mild audience amusement] And he said, “Oh, well, what can it hurt?” And then there were two joined in the bias, in the fantasy.
And that’s the deep sleep that Adam fell into?
Yes. And Eve.
[without mic] And they’re Awake now. [mild audience amusement]
Someone said, “And they’re Awake now.” It’s irrelevant. I’m not going to go into that at the moment.
Okay, let us continue …
The world has not yet experienced any comprehensive reawakening or rebirth. Such a rebirth is impossible as long as you continue to project or miscreate.
Okay. So we’ve come to a point here where, without much emphasis, you’ve been given a clue as to how to break the dream. As long as you continue to project, or miscreate, such a rebirth is impossible. But as soon as you stop projecting and miscreating, such a rebirth is not only possible, but inevitable.
Now you know what? That could really please your ego. But it is your Soul that responds with joy at hearing that, because you are being reminded at a deep level what your Function is. And the experience of that feels good. And I want you not to confuse it for an ego response.
It still remains within you, however, to extend as God extended His Spirit to you.
Your Function has never been lost to you. It has not shriveled up and blown away. You have not lost the capacity. Each one of you is still fully functional as God created you. You are as fully functional as God Is Being you in this moment. You should stop using the word “created.” God did not create you some time in the past. God Is Being you in this instant. “Behold I make all things new.” It still remains within you to extend as God extended His Spirit to you.
Now here’s the zinger again about the free will.
In reality this is your only choice, because your free will was given you for your joy in creating the perfect.
By letting God be All There Is To You so that right where you are, God is finding expression; not a puny, little personality called Fred, or John, or Mary, or whatever. You see?
Wow! And this is where we will break for tonight. I have enjoyed being with you.
Thank you.
And you’re probably going to get tired of hearing this. I haven’t said it a lot but as time goes on, I will be reminding you. Paul is not the special medium through which you can hear me. Whether you’re here in this room, or whether you’re listening from places around the globe on the Internet, I am inseparable from each one of you, just as you are inseparable from All of Us Who Are Awake. So don’t walk out of here anxious to come back next week to hear more from me. Walk out of here curious to see if I have anything to say to you on the way home. So that maybe next Thursday you’re going to be so busy listening to me at home that you won’t have time to come to the Gathering. Got it?
Got it. Yes.
Nevertheless I will enjoy communing with you here, or, at home. Okay. Good night.
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