Change your Mind about the World
A helpful clarification
Posted by aplecompte on January 26th, 2010
David Hoffmeister recently communicated with a friend who was trying to “do good things” in the world and was confused when the Course said, “Seek not to change the world, but choose to change your mind about the world.” T-21.in.1
Here is David’s reply paraphrased:
You and I believe we are physical bodies. Otherwise we would not be communicating in bodies as we are. Our individual perception makes the physical world we see our reality. The Course is built around helping us let go of our accepted reality in physical form. So we stop trying to improve or change the world in a physical context. We seek instead to change it in a way that is beyond the physical—the metaphysical, or spiritual.
In that context we identify with being a Thought of God and we must learn to think only God Thoughts. We make our choices based on what God would “think.” God is Love, and forgiving is the closest we come to expressing that love in the world. So we use forgiveness to change the world.
Usually we perceive an act and, in about a quarter of a second, judge it. To forgive (fore-give) is to give acceptance before we even perceive the act. We go right to the extension of God's Thoughts in the Present, innocence and loving acceptance. In this way we have bypassed the limitations of time. With practice, we come to see that time was only used to hold a brother to the past by projecting on him a future based on the past. Without time and projection, without the need to judge, forgiveness is no longer needed, and we have "changed our mind about the world."
When Jesus was on the cross, one might have expected him to say, "Forgive them Father for doing the worst possible thing on earth; killing your only son!" To the body’s eyes, the act may have appeared a sin. But Jesus, a Thought of God, said, "Forgive them Father for they know not what they do." This phrase makes sense when the metaphysics of forgiveness is understood. Jesus knew the reality of life to be spiritual, not physical. So he did not judge the act. Rather he asked they be forgiven for not knowing what they were doing. Their physical act was meaningless in the spiritual context, a reality of which they were ignorant. Jesus knew what is always true, that we are forgiven by God in all things, all the time. The miracle of forgiveness is a thought based on God's Thought of Innocence in the Present Moment.
When we know we are forgiven by God in all things, all the time, how can we be capable of seeing a world of unforgiven acts and unforgiven people? We can't! We see a forgiven world, a world changed by our state of mind. This leads us to see that the world is changed, not by our actions or by meeting in bodies, but by this Thought, which only leads to the Good in all situations being extended by the Creator of Good.
The question then becomes, "Why would we need to change anything when it's enveloped in Love, sustained by Love and extended by Love?"
I hope that clarifies one of the most quoted phrases in A Course in Miracles. The workbook will be an immense help on your journey when and if you decide to check it out. I'm grateful for the opportunity to talk with you on this question.
~Showers of Love,
David
Tags: Forgiveness
