1. What Is Forgiveness?


Forgiveness recognises what you thought your brother did to you has not occurred. It does not pardon sins and make them real. It sees there was no sin. And in that view are all your sins forgiven. What is sin, except a false idea about God’s Son? Forgiveness merely sees its falsity, and therefore lets it go. What then is free to take its place is now the Will of God.

An unforgiving thought is one which makes a judgement that it will not raise to doubt, although it is not true. The mind is closed, and will not be released. The thought protects projection, tightening its chains, so that distortions are more veiled and more obscure; less easily accessible to doubt, and further kept from reason. What can come between a fixed projection and the aim that it has chosen as its wanted goal?

An unforgiving thought does many things. In frantic action it pursues its goal, twisting and overturning what it sees as interfering with its chosen path. Distortion is its purpose, and the means by which it would accomplish it as well. It sets about its furious attempts to smash reality, without concern for anything that would appear to pose a contradiction to its point of view.

Forgiveness, on the other hand, is still, and quietly does nothing. It offends no aspect of reality, nor seeks to twist it to appearances it likes. It merely looks, and waits, and judges not. He who would not forgive must judge, for he must justify his failure to forgive. But he who would forgive himself must learn to welcome truth exactly as it is.

Do nothing, then, and let forgiveness show you what to do, through Him Who is your Guide, your Saviour and Protector, strong in hope, and certain of your ultimate success. He has forgiven you already, for such is His function, given Him by God. Now must you share His function, and forgive whom He has saved, whose sinlessness He sees, and whom He honours as the Son of God.

What Is Knowledge?

What could God give but Knowledge of Himself?

As you read a variety of scriptures, you begin to become aware that they all sound very much alike. This is because they are all speaking about a holy inner experience that completes us, makes us aware that we are whole. Whatever word or name we use for it – God or Allah, Truth, Love, Life Everlasting, the Tao, or a myriad of others – the Eternal Word, the Eternal Name, remains the same in the realm of that inner experience. For instance:

The kingdom of God is within you. 

In you is all of Heaven;
every leaf that falls is given life in you.
Each bird that ever sang will sing again in you.
And every flower that ever bloomed
has saved its perfume and its loveliness for you.

You will also notice that the word “Knowledge” is used quite frequently in every scripture – and ultimately you will realize that it refers to a very special kind of Knowledge, not merely intellectual information or understanding. If, when you read the word “Knowledge”, you give it a capital “K” and use the phrase “Knowledge of God”, then the scripture will often make more sense.

For instance, from Isaiah 11:9…

They will neither harm nor destroy
in all my holy mountain,
for the earth shall be full
of the Knowledge of the Lord
as the waters cover the sea.

From Chapter 18 in A Course In Miracles – remember to read, “Knowledge of God”…

What could God give but Knowledge of Himself?…

This course will lead to Knowledge, but Knowledge itself is still beyond the scope of our curriculum… The readiness for Knowledge still must be attained.

Love is not learned. Its meaning lies within itself. And learning ends when you have recognised all it is not. That is the interference; that is what needs to be undone. Love is not learned, because there never was a time in which you knew it not. Learning is useless in the Presence of your Creator, Whose acknowledgement of you and yours of Him so far transcend all learning that everything you learned is meaningless, replaced forever by the Knowledge of Love and its one meaning.

To inspire us all (myself included) toward the speedy realization of Knowledge, I put together a book that compares the course’s use of the word “Knowledge” with quotes from many other world scriptures throughout the ages.

If you are interested in learning more about Knowledge, please see my book by that name – Knowledge, The Essence of World Scriptures. You can get it either as an elegant paperback or as a Kindle.  You don’t need to own a Kindle machine to read a Kindle document; you can download the free Kindle program to your computer and read Kindle books on it.

The book Knowledge will provide you with tantalizing new insights into world scriptures and religions. This book makes it very clear that Knowledge of God is your birthright. Knowledge of God is the promise of every scripture.

You will know the Truth
and the Truth will make you free.

 

Epilogue

This course is a beginning, not an end. Your Friend goes with you. You are not alone. No one who calls on Him can call in vain. Whatever troubles you. be certain that He has the answer, and will gladly give it to you, if you simply turn to Him and ask it of Him. He will not withhold all answers that you need for anything that seems to trouble you. He knows the way to solve all problems, and resolve all doubts. His certainty is yours. You need but ask it of Him, and it will be given you.

You are as certain of arriving home as is the pathway of the sun laid down before it rises, after it has set, and in the half-lit hours in between. Indeed, your pathway is more certain still. For it can not be possible to change the course of those whom God has called to Him. Therefore obey your will, and follow Him Whom you accepted as your voice, to speak of what you really want and really need. His is the Voice for God and also yours. And thus He speaks of freedom and of Truth.

No more specific lessons are assigned, for there is no more need of them. Henceforth, hear but the Voice for God and for your Self when you retire from the world, to seek reality instead. He will direct your efforts, telling you exactly what to do, how to direct your mind, and when to come to Him in silence, asking for His sure direction and His certain Word. His is the Word that God has given you. His is the Word you chose to be your own.

And now I place you in His hands, to be His faithful followers, with Him as Guide through every difficulty and all pain that you may think is real. Nor will He give you pleasures that will pass away, for He gives only the eternal and the good. Let Him prepare you further. He has earned your trust by speaking daily to you of your Father and your brother and your Self. He will continue. Now you walk with Him, as certain as is He of where you go; as sure as He of how you should proceed; as confident as He is of the goal, and of your safe arrival in the end.

The end is certain, and the means as well. To this we say “Amen”. You will be told exactly what God wills for you each time there is a choice to make. And He will speak for God and for your Self, thus making sure that hell will claim you not, and that each choice you make brings Heaven nearer to your reach. And so we walk with Him from this time on, and turn to Him for guidance and for peace and sure direction. Joy attends our way. For we go homeward to an open door which God has held unclosed to welcome us.

We trust our ways to Him and say “Amen”. In peace we will continue in His way, and trust all things to Him. In confidence we wait His answers, as we ask His Will in everything we do. He loves God’s Son as we would love him. And He teaches us how to behold him through His eyes, and love him as He does. You do not walk alone. God’s angels hover near and all about. His Love surrounds you, and of this be sure; that I will never leave you comfortless.

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