In the epilogue of the Workbook it states: The Course is a beginning, not an end. —-And now I place you in the hands of the Voice for God and for your Self, to be His faithful follower, with Him as Guide through every difficulty and all pain that you may think is real. ²Nor will He give you pleasures that will pass away, for He gives only the eternal and the good.³Let Him prepare you further (ACIM, W-ep.4:1-3)

Spirit’s Voice is the Voice for our true Self! The other voice is the false ego self we made in our dissociation.—As I have mentioned in previous essays, unless we consciously choose Spirt’s Voice, the default is the ego’s voice, maker of the dream. That was our original choice after our belief in the  separation. Therefore, our ability to recognize what voice we are listening to at any given moment is of paramount importance. Perception is a choice and not a fact. But on this choice depends far more than you may realize as yet. ⁹For on the voice you choose to hear, and on the sights you choose to see, depends entirely your whole belief in what you are (ACIM, T-21.V.1:8-9)

The Holy Spirit is your Guide in choosing. ²He is in the part of your mind that always speaks for the right choice, because He speaks for God. When you chose to leave God He gave you a Voice to speak for Him because He could no longer share His knowledge with you without hindrance. ⁷Direct communication was broken because you had made another voice.

(ACIM, T-5.II.5:6-7)

Once our mind is sufficiently trained to think along the lines the text sets forth, we should have accepted, at least conceptually if not experientially, the Voice for God and for our Self as a trusted Teacher within our mind. Mind is not the brain, it is not physical. ——The Holy Spirit seems to be a Voice, for in that form He speaks God’s Word to you. ⁶He seems to be a Guide through a far country, for you need that form of help. ⁷He seems to be whatever meets the needs you think you have (ACIM, C-6.4:5-7).

We also should have accepted, at least conceptually, that we are dealing with a dream-world not a real world, and that we are the dreamer. —-When the mind elects to be what it is not, and to assume an alien power which it does not have, a foreign state it cannot enter, or a false condition not within its Source, it merely seems to go to sleep a while. ³It dreams of time; an interval in which what seems to happen never has occurred, the changes wrought are substanceless, and all events are nowhere.⁴When the mind awakes, it but continues as it always was. (ACIM, W-167.9:1-4)

Until I accepted the idea I was the dreamer of the dream, that the “world” was my projection, I did not understand the role of forgiveness in the Course. Forgiveness as the Course uses it does not mean that we forgive what has really happened. That would be unjust indeed! The truth is that at the moment I am upset I believe the separation is real, experience guilt which I then project onto the dream-world. Forgiveness removes the projection from the world to my mind where it can be corrected. And in that holy instant my experience shifts from fear to peace regardless of the outcome of the situation in the dream. I cannot prove this to you, but you can prove it to yourself.

By carefully monitoring our thoughts we learn to recognize which voice we are listening to. Before doing or saying anything ask yourself: What is my purpose? What is it for? Notice if peace is in your awareness and always remember you are never upset for the reasons you think.  This does not mean we should pretend we are not upset when we are, however, it does mean we should never justify any negative or fearful experiences. All fearful emotions, a ho hum or rage, anything other than peace, is the sign guilt has entered our mind.

By correctly identifying  the voice we are listening to, all fearful experiences become opportunities to heal our mind and lead to peace.——Trials are but lessons that you failed to learn presented once again, so where you made a faulty choice before you now can make a better one, and thus escape all pain that what you chose before has brought to you (ACIM, T-31.VIII.3:1) ——If you do not experience peace it can only mean you are afraid to listen to Spirit’s Voice.  “Do not fight yourself in this.” (ACIM, T-30.I.1:6)  This awareness will be helpful because you realize you can change your mind when you are ready.

To learn this course requires willingness to question every value that you hold. ²Not one can be kept hidden and obscure but it will jeopardize your learning. (ACIM, T-24.in.2:1-2) — That level of commitment indicates you are willing to challenge your long held beliefs and simply want to know the truth. The Course only seems radical because it is presenting ideas that are in sharp contrast to our long held beliefs. Today, it is so obvious and clear to me that what it is saying is true.  It seems impossible I ever thought otherwise. The section of the preface called “what it says” is a summary of the whole Course. I have read it countless times. Upon first reading, I new it was incredibly powerful and I also knew I did not fully comprehend all it contained. As I worked with the Course my resistance diminished and my experience deepened. I began to realize the magnitude of my mistaken thoughts: Quite literally I realized  that “Everything I  thought I knew was never true!”

The more you experience Spirit’s Voice, the more you will be comforted by it. It is your voice to which you listen as He speaks to you. ²It is your word He speaks. ³It is the Word of freedom and of peace, of unity of will and purpose, with no separation nor division in the single Mind of Father and of Son. ⁴In quiet listen to your Self today, and let Him tell you God has never left His Son, and you have never left your Self. (ACIM, W-125.8:1-4

As we are motivated to move from fearful dreams to  happy (forgiven) dreams,  we can be of good cheer for we are not alone. 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. (ACIM, W-ep.4:6)

In Gratitude and Love, Caryl

As always, please reach out to me directly with any questions or comments related to this essay or any of my essays at: carylbrowne@gmail.com