Only my condemnation injures me.
Injury is impossible. And yet illusion makes illusion. If you can condemn, you can be injured. For you have believed that you can injure, and the right you have established for yourself can be now used against you, till you lay it down as valueless, unwanted and unreal. Then does illusion cease to have effects, and those it seemed to have will be undone. Then are you free, for freedom is your gift, and you can now receive the gift you gave.
Condemn and you are made a prisoner. Forgive and you are freed. Such is the law that rules perception. It is not a law that knowledge understands, for freedom is a part of knowledge. To condemn is thus impossible in truth. What seems to be its influence and its effects have not occurred at all. Yet must we deal with them a while as if they had. Illusion makes illusion. Except one. 0 Forgiveness is illusion that is answer to the rest.
Forgiveness sweeps all other dreams away, and though it is itself a dream, it breeds no others. All illusions save this one must multiply a thousandfold. But this is where illusions end. Forgiveness is the end of dreams, because it is a dream of waking. It is not itself the truth. Yet does it point to where the truth must be, and gives direction with the certainty of God Himself. It is a dream in which the Son of God awakens to his Self and to his Father, knowing They are One.
Forgiveness is the only road that leads out of disaster, past all suffering, and finally away from death. How could there be another way, when this one is the plan of God Himself? And why would you oppose it, quarrel with it, seek to find a thousand ways in which it must be wrong; a thousand other possibilities?
Is it not wiser to be glad you hold the answer to your problems in your hand? Is it not more intelligent to thank the One Who gives salvation, and accept His gift with gratitude? And is it not a kindness to yourself to hear His Voice and learn the simple lessons He would teach, instead of trying to dismiss His words, and substitute your own in place of His?
His words will work. His words will save. His words contain all hope, all blessing and all joy that ever can be found upon this earth. His words are born in God, and come to you with Heaven's love upon them. Those who hear His words have heard the song of Heaven. For these are the words in which all merge as one at last. And as this one will fade away, the Word of God will come to take its place, for it will be remembered then and loved.
This world has many seeming separate haunts where mercy has no meaning, and attack appears as justified. Yet all are one; a place where death is offered to God's Son and to his Father. You may think They have accepted. But if you will look again upon the place where you beheld Their blood, you will perceive a miracle instead. How foolish to believe that They could die! How foolish to believe you can attack! How mad to think that you could be condemned, and that the holy Son of God can die!
The stillness of your Self remains unmoved, untouched by thoughts like these, and unaware of any condemnation which could need forgiveness. Dreams of any kind are strange and alien to the truth. And what but truth could have a Thought which builds a bridge to it that brings illusions to the other side?
Today we practice letting freedom come to make its home with you. The truth bestows these words upon your mind, that you may find the key to light and let the darkness end:
Only my condemnation injures me.
Only my own forgiveness sets me free.
Do not forget today that there can be no form of suffering that fails to hide an unforgiving thought. Nor can there be a form of pain forgiveness cannot heal.
Accept the one illusion which proclaims there is no condemnation in God's Son, and Heaven is remembered instantly; the world forgotten, all its weird beliefs forgotten with it, as the face of Christ appears unveiled at last in this one dream. This is the gift the Holy Spirit holds for you from God your Father. Let today be celebrated both on earth and in your holy home as well. Be kind to Both, as you forgive the trespasses you thought Them guilty of, and see your innocence shining upon you from the face of Christ.
Now is there silence all around the world. Now is there stillness where before there was a frantic rush of thoughts that made no sense. Now is there tranquil light across the face of earth, made quiet in a dreamless sleep. And now the Word of God alone remains upon it. Only that can be perceived an instant longer. Then are symbols done, and everything you ever thought you made completely vanished from the mind that God forever knows to be His only Son.
There is no condemnation in him. He is perfect in his holiness. He needs no thoughts of mercy. Who could give him gifts when everything is his? And who could dream of offering forgiveness to the Son of Sinlessness Itself, so like to Him Whose Son he is, that to behold the Son is to perceive no more, and only know the Father? In this vision of the Son, so brief that not an instant stands between this single sight and timelessness itself, you see the vision of yourself, and then you disappear forever into God.
Today we come still nearer to the end of everything that yet would stand between this vision and our sight. And we are glad that we have come this far, and recognize that He Who brought us here will not forsake us now. For He would give to us the gift that God has given us through Him today. Now is the time for your deliverance. The time has come. The time has come today.
The Following is Forwarded from Pathwaysoflight.org
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Lesson 198
"Only my condemnation injures me."
I am only tempted to condemn what appears to be in a world outside me when I forget that the world is a dream that is coming from my mind. When I make the world of the ego real, it is sinking in clearer and clearer that this is an unforgiveness that is occurring in my mind. This is where forgiveness is needed -- in my own mind. Forgiveness means letting go of the belief in separation. When I get too wrapped up in the dream, I may think that judgment or condemnation of what I see as outside me may help or be the answer. When I make the dream real, I have forgotten that, "Only my condemnation injures me."
It is only when I am willing to quiet my mind and listen for Holy Spirit's perspective of oneness that the pain of condemning something or someone in a world "outside" will subside. Being willing to open to the Holy Spirit is the only answer that will really be successful. The more I recognize this, the quicker I will be to let go of making the dream of separation appear to be real. "To evey apprehension, every care, and evey form of suffering: "I will forgive and this will disappear." (W-pI.193.13:3-4) Forgiveness, or letting go of illusions, is the secret to my freedom from suffering.
The times when I have truly forgiven, truly recognized that there really was nothing to forgive, have brought me deep peace, quiet joy and uplifted me with Love. It was a great relief. I felt free as a feather, floating in a gentle breeze. It astounds me that with these experiences, I don't go searching for all unforgiving thoughts to bring them to the Holy Spirit to be undone so that I can continue to experience the freedom and ecstasy of forgiveness. There is no greater high than true forgiveness. Its a gift that keeps on giving.
And yet there is a part of my mind that does not believe I am worthy of such a gift. And so it goes searching for thoughts of unforgiveness, but not to bring them to healing. Instead it uses these thoughts to further justify condemnation and prove unworthiness. This part of my mind treasures its privacy and isolation. It would rather suffer the pain of guilt from condemnation than join with all Love and lose its special, unique identity. This is the core belief, the core unforgiveness that lies beneath all the layers of unforgiven events and thoughts.
The ego would use the fact that I still have judgmental thoughts, that I still experience guilt as proof that I am weak and deserve condemnation. The Holy Spirit does not believe this one instant. The Holy Spirit sees my true Self and knows that all these other thoughts that I believe I hold are just illusions, and so with a kindly smile, He offers me His hand to give me His strength and remind me that I am not alone. With His strength, I can forgive each unforgiving thought, lay it down and let it go.
With His guidance, I will begin to see the sameness of these mistaken thoughts. At first they are forgiven one by one. But as I begin to see what they all have in common, the forgiveness of a single incident can reverberate through my mind, for I recognize more and more thoughts that are the same and are forgiven as one. The path to freedom accelerates. Today I would remember forgiveness is the only thing I want. And so I will remember forgiveness is the only thing I want to give. It is my own forgiveness that sets me free.
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