ACIM Conversations, Part 7

ACIM Conversations, Part 7
The Mind Which is in Heaven

Student: I’ve been discussing some of the points of our discussions online and am getting some strange comments. Some simply maintain we are not here because the separation did not happen. Instead, we are all fully in heaven.

Teacher: Yes, a source of some ACIM humor centers around the idea we are not here, but some take this literally to the extreme.

Student: What do you say to a guy who is here enough to write or talk to me, but claims he is not here, but in heaven and even says there is no “here”?

Teacher: I think you’ll find that many with this mindset are more interested in expressing with what they consider to be the correct phraseology than in really communicating.

For instance, if we literally go by what some passages in the Course says, we could say that there is no “here” anywhere, neither is there a “place”. The problem is that, even if you accept this, it is impossible to communicate many things in language without using those two words, especially in relation to our world. Even the Course itself has to resort numerous times to referring to “here,” “there” and “place” in relation to the illusion. Sometimes these students correct others in such details in an effort to demonstrate their superior knowledge.

Student: I’ve noticed. But what do you say to a guy who tells me I am wrong for using “here” and “place” by insisting we are not here but safe in heaven?

Teacher: You might tell him that he gets an A for being technically correct, but an F in effective communication. The important thing in discussions like these is not in being right, but in communicating so the two minds become as one, which is our natural state. This is what you and I have been doing.

Student: Yes, it is enjoyable having a discussion where we are just trying to figure out what the Course is really saying rather than proving who is right.

Teacher: That said, let us look at what the Course is really saying when it gives statements that seem to tell us we are in heaven now and not in the dream. The most common one quoted was one we referenced in our last session. Here it is again:

“You dwell not here, but in eternity. You travel but in dreams, while safe at home.” T-13.VII.17

Have you encountered any comment on this quote?

Student: Yes. This is one of those used to support the idea we are not here. Instead, we are really in heaven.

Teacher: Yet, it says we travel in dreams. Who or what is traveling?

Student: Good question, as students just focus on the “not here” part. I guess part of the mind.

Teacher: Many times the Course compares our separation to our dreams here. By comparison, could you say that the you of this world travels in dreams when you sleep at night?

Student: I suppose.

Teacher: And when you travel in dreams at night and having a nightmare are you really in danger or are you safe in your bed?

Student: I’m safe in my bed.

Teacher: Is the you that is safe in your bed asleep or awake?

Student: Asleep.

Teacher: And correspondingly, is your real self in heaven asleep or awake?

Student: I believe the Course tells us we are asleep.

Teacher: The fact that we are in a dreamlike sleep is verified numerous places in the Course. For instance, concerning Adam, who represents the separated Sons, it says:

“Yet the Bible says that a deep sleep fell upon Adam, and nowhere is there reference to his waking up.” T-2.I.3

Then we have this:

“The special ones are all asleep, surrounded by a world of loveliness they do not see. Freedom and peace and joy stand there, beside the bier on which they sleep, and call them to come forth and waken from their dream of death. Yet they hear nothing. They are lost in dreams of specialness.” T-24.III.7

We are definitely in a dreamworld, but the question is, where is our real self?

Student: In a regular dream I am linked to a living body in the outer world, but the life of the body thinks it is in the dreamworld. So, if I use a correspondence, I need to ask what is still in the eternal world that I am connected to? I know there are no bodies there.

Teacher: Good thinking. In this world we appear to live in bodies. What is our dwelling place in heaven?

Student: There are no bodies, so it must be our minds.

Teacher: The Course agrees:

“What has been given you? The knowledge that you are a mind, in Mind and purely mind.” W-pI.158.1

Your “mind is part of creation and part of its Creator.” W-pI.52.5 What is the difference between your mind before and after the separation?

Student: We were awake before, and asleep afterwards.

Teacher: Yes, and what else?

Student: Let me see… The Course tells us our minds were split after the separation.

Teacher: Actually, it tells us that “The separation is merely another term for a split mind.” T-5.III.9

Into what did the mind split?

Student: I know there’s a higher and lower mind. It seems like the Course calls them right and wrong mindedness.

Teacher: We are told that “you have split your mind into what knows and does not know the truth.” W-pI.139.5 and “the mind is split between the ego and the Holy Spirit.” T-3.VI.7

Then it makes this interesting statement:

“Any split in mind must involve a rejection of part of it, and this is the belief in separation.” T-6.II.1

Student: So, one part of our mind rejects the other part. That seems strange.

Teacher: But then we must consider this statement: “It is impossible to see two worlds.” W-pI.130.5

Which world are you seeing now?

Student: This world. I guess you could call it the dream world.

Teacher: And which world are you not seeing?

Student: Unfortunately, that would be the eternal world.

Teacher: And why do you not see heaven?

Student: Your quote says because one part of my mind rejects the other part.

Teacher: So, while part of your mind is dreaming of being an ego and making it seem real, what is the other part doing?

Student: Since we can only see one world, then the real part is rejected and must be asleep.

Teacher: Yes, it’s safe at home but asleep, kind of like your body is safe in bed while you may be having what appears to be a dangerous nightmare.

Student: Would this be why the Course says that God is lonely without us? We see this world but not the world where God is and thus, He cannot communicate with us?

Teacher: Exactly it says that “He is lonely when the minds He created do not communicate fully with Him.” T-4.VII.6

Student: I just found a quote along that same line of thought: “His completeness, is blocked when the Sonship does not communicate with Him as one. So He thought, ‘My children sleep and must be awakened.’” T-6.V.1

Teacher: Since our mind is split and we are just seeing this world, how can we become aware of the eternal world or the mind of God?

Student: That’s the Holy Spirit’s job. He can be our eyes to the true reality if we let him.

Teacher: Yes, it says, “The Holy Spirit mediates higher to lower communication, keeping the direct channel from God to you open for revelation.” T-1.II.5

What then do you conclude from this conversation? Are you really in heaven or not?

Student: Apparently my mind is split and the real part is in heaven, but is asleep and not in full communication with God. The ego part split off and sees this world of illusion and does not see the eternal world. Because the real self is asleep, the Holy Spirit was created and sent to assist us in receiving truth from heaven and waking up.

Teacher: Good summary.

Student: I have found, though, that this whole subject is very complex and has numerous branches that seem to add opposition to our conclusions today. If you settle on what the Course teaches on one point, someone will switch to other quotes that seem to disagree.

Teacher: Can you give me an example?

Student: Even after this dialog is presented, some will say that the separation was over ages ago and we are fully in heaven, but just doing something like watching a rerun of a movie of our lives. They will say we are not even here in the dream, for the dream was over long ago.

Teacher: The Course does give some subtle teachings on this that are subject to numerous interpretations. Again, we have to look at the whole rather than the part. We’ll see what we can do to simplify in another encounter.

Links to The Mysteries of A Course in Miracles:

Read the Introduction HERE, Read Chapter One HERE. Chapter Two HERE, Chapter Three HERE, Chapter Four HERE, Chapter Five HERE Chapter Six HERE, Chapter Seven HERE, Chapter Eight HERE, Chapter Nine HERE, Chapter Ten HERE, Chapter Eleven HERE, Chapter Twelve HERE, Chapter Thirteen HERE, Chapter Fourteen HERE, Fifteen HERE, Sixteen HERE, Seventeen HERE, Eighteen HERE, Nineteen HERE, Twenty HERE, Twenty-One HERE, Twenty-Two HERE, Twenty-Three HERE, Twenty-Four HERE, Twenty-Five HERE, Twenty-Six HERE, Twenty-Seven HERE, Twenty-Eight HERE, Twenty-Nine HERE, Thirty HERE