The First Step to Awakening
I do not recall anyone listing the steps each of us must take to fully awaken and return to the eternal world ACIM calls heaven. In fact, I have had students tell me that there are no steps for we are either awake or asleep so it appears that is the first matter than needs clarification.
Chapter Six talks about four major steps to return and then the Course tells us of others that are steps within steps so if we accept the Course, we need to accept that there are steps. After all, it clearly tells us that it was given to us to “teach us, step by step, how to return to the eternal Self we thought we lost.” W-pI.rV.in.5
One could even say the workbook contains 365 steps leading to our awakening.
The first of the four major steps is mentioned here:
“The first step in the reversal or undoing process is the undoing of the getting concept. Accordingly, the Holy Spirit’s first lesson was ‘To have, give all to all.’” T-6.V.B.3
You’d think the first step would involve forgiveness, judgment or something to do with love, but instead it seems to be a subject less emphasized in the Course. “To have, give all to all.” is only mentioned once, and furthermore what does it mean?
Are we supposed to empty our bank accounts and give all our money away? Should we give away all our possessions, our homes, our vehicles and even our children? If we did that we would not have, but be destitute, so what is really being said here?
As you read on in this chapter you discover that it is telling us that the thought system of the ego needs to be replaced with the true one that exists in heaven. When we give within the ego’s thought system we lose. Here in this world when you give $100 you lose it for you no longer possess it. This giving is considered a sacrifice for “The gifts you offer to the ego are always experienced as sacrifices.” T-7.VII.11 and “sacrifice of any kind is nothing but a limitation imposed on giving.” T-15.X.2 “if there is sacrifice, someone must pay and someone must get.” T-15.X.5
On the other hand, “He (the Holy Spirit) asks no sacrifice of anyone.” T-25.IX.3
How then can we give all to all without any sacrifice or a loss of that which is given?
To understand we must remember that the Course tells us that this world is an illusion and is not real. Anything that seems to happen in it is not even considered a happening from the view of eternity. Therefore, all gifts pertaining to this world do not even exist and are not true gifts at all. From the viewpoint of heaven, when we sacrifice and give physical gifts, nothing has happened and no real giving has occurred.
If giving in this world doesn’t count then how do we give all to all as a first step to returning home?
We have to practice true giving which transcends the material world. In heaven we share all things that are eternal such as ideas, thought, mind, Spirit, love, joy, peace, purpose, creation, identity, and life itself.
The first step then is to realize what true giving is, that it involves no sacrifice for “God’s gifts will never lessen when they are given away. They but increase thereby.” W-pI.105.3.
Ideas for instance are shared gifts in heaven and
“If you share an idea, however, you do not lessen it. All of it is still yours although all of it has been given away. T-5.I.1 In addition “Thoughts increase by being given away.” T-5.I.2
The first step then turns our focus from giving as the ego understands it to giving on earth as it is in heaven, in other words, giving eternal things.
Lesson 108 deals with true giving. The headline says “To give and to receive are one in truth.”
Then it gives this exercise:
“To give is to receive. Today we will attempt to offer peace to everyone, and see how quickly peace returns to us.” W-pI.108.7
So, in the lesson dealing with the first step, we are told “to offer peace to everyone.”
How do we do this? It helps to know that “Peace is the state where love abides, and seeks to share itself.” S-1.II.7
To share peace then we share all eternal values related to love, and we will forgive, not hold a grievance, seek to remove guilt, heal, and resist the temptation to cause conflict with others. It is important to speak kindly so our brothers will not feel they are being attacked or criticized. The greatest enemy to peace is a grievance manifesting in a brother.
Perhaps the most important thing is to be at peace yourself. If this is the case others will sense your peace and be attracted to you just to enjoy the radiation of your presence.
Concerning the first step we are told, “The way out of conflict between two opposing thought systems is clearly to choose one and relinquish the other.” T-6.V.B.5
Letting go of this reality containing the “getting concept” is pretty difficult. For instance, most of us give our time and talents in exchange for money on which to live, and then we give that money in exchange for things that sustain us.
If we were to awake from the dream, we would not be relying on this thought system, yet while we are in it, we find it difficult to let it go, for we try to incorporate both thought systems and “For a time, then, he is receiving conflicting messages and accepting both.” T-6.V.B.4
The real first step then is found in the first lesson which states: “Nothing I see in this room [on this street, from this window, in this place] means anything.”
These things that are related to giving and receiving in this world are part of an illusion with no eternal meaning, and this world must be seen as an illusion before we can let it go and totally embrace the sharing of ideas, love and other qualities eternal. As such sharing increases, the value of giving and receiving of a material nature will decrease.
“A major learning goal this course has set is to reverse your view of giving, so you can receive. For giving has become a source of fear, and so you would avoid the only means by which you can receive. Accept God’s peace and joy, and you will learn a different way of looking at a gift. God’s gifts will never lessen when they are given away. They but increase thereby.” W-pI.105.3
The Second Step
We previously covered the first step which is called “the beginning of the thought reversal.” T-6.V.C.3 In this world we fear giving “all to all” for if we did we would soon be destitute. Thus, our giving is extremely limited because of fear. The first step then is to focus on giving things eternal which are not visible to the eyes of this world such as ideas, thought, mind, Spirit, love, joy, peace, and purpose.
In the first step we realized there are two thought systems with giving and having being central to both. In the ego’s system giving involves sacrifice and is limited. Instead, the Holy Spirit’s giving involves no sacrifice and only brings increase. In this first step we see the two paths and favor the eternal one though we still feel we must deal with the giving and receiving as it plays out in the world. “For a time, then, he is receiving conflicting messages and accepting both.” T-6.V.B.4
The second step then will help remove the conflict.
“The second step is a positive affirmation of what you want. This, then, is a step in the direction out of conflict, since it means that alternatives have been considered, and one has been chosen as more desirable.” T-6.V.B.8
In the first step then we realize that there is an alternative to the ego’s thought system, but it seems too idealistic and too good to be true. The student would like to follow the one from the Holy Spirit, but he is not sure it is possible so he is conflicted. The way out of the conflict is to make “a positive affirmation of what you want.”
In the first step the true thought system seemed nice, but you did not fully embrace it. To do this you must totally desire it because “nothing is difficult that is wholly desired. To desire wholly is to create, and creating cannot be difficult if God Himself created you as a creator.” T-6.V.B.8
To solidify the seeker in the true thought system then he must make positive affirmations of what he wants from that system which would include peace, love, joy and abundance. You want to give freely without sacrifice and have increase rather than loss. This seems too good to be true, but you have the powers of creation so it can be done. Create affirmations in your own words about those things you really want in the true reality. Here are just three of many possible examples:
“I give everything, yet still have everything.
I have the peace of God and share it.
I see the innocent Son of God in all my brothers and sisters.”
To solidify our focus on this second step we are told this:
“To have peace, teach peace to learn it.” T-6.V.B.7
To awaken then we all must become teachers as well as students. For ages we have sought peace, but to completely fulfill this desire we must teach it, for to learn a thing completely always involves teaching of some kind.
Another reason teaching is so important is that we cannot go home alone and “You will not trust the guidance of the Holy Spirit, or believe that it is for you unless you hear it in others.” T-9.II.6
Teach others the path to peace and you will secure it within yourself.
The tendency of many is to seek enlightenment for themselves and let others find their own way, but the Course places strong emphasis on sharing, for we need to take our brothers with us. To teach what we have learned about the path of awakening we need to keep an eye open for others who may be ready to learn. One can start with friends and family. Beyond that he can join groups on the internet and share thoughts.
Finally, it says this about the second step:
“The second step, then, is still perceptual, although it is a giant step toward the unified perception that reflects God’s knowing. As you take this step and hold this direction, you will be pushing toward the center of your thought system, where the fundamental change will occur. At the second step progress is intermittent, but the second step is easier than the first because it follows. Realizing that it must follow is a demonstration of a growing awareness that the Holy Spirit will lead you on.” T-6.V.B.9
Indeed, may we all have that “growing awareness that the Holy Spirit will lead you on.”
Vigilance for the Kingdom
The Third Step to Awakening
“The Holy Spirit’s third lesson is: Be vigilant only for God and His Kingdom.” T-6.V.C.2
We are told that “This is a major step toward fundamental change.” T-6.V.C.3
So, how then are we to be vigilant only for God and His Kingdom?
If you just go by the statement itself one might think it is telling us to be full of zeal as a missionary for ACIM and spread the word like a fundamentalist missionary, but the context reveals this is not the case. The vigilance that is encourages concerns what happens inward, not outward.
What then are we supposed to direct our vigilance toward?
In a nutshell it is toward following the Holy Spirit rather than the ego, or our lower desires.
The problem is that many think they are following the Holy Spirit when they are really following the ego. The Course therefore gives us some additional details of where our vigilance needs to be directed so this mistake can be minimized.
“The Holy Spirit is evaluative, and must be. He sorts out the true from the false in your mind, and teaches you to judge every thought you allow to enter it in the light of what God put there. Whatever is in accord with this light He retains, to strengthen the Kingdom in you. `What is partly in accord with it He accepts and purifies. But what is out of accord entirely He rejects by judging against. This is how He keeps the Kingdom perfectly consistent and perfectly unified.” T-6.V.C.1
The goal then is to keep us “perfectly unified” on earth as it is in heaven. When we watch the interplay of various students arguing about many of the course teachings, we see that many are far from achieving this step. The Holy Spirit will not contradict itself and tell one student that something is true, and then another student something that contradicts, neither will he offer one choice to you and a different one to me.
The union of souls occurs through all receiving the same directions from the same spirit which produces true union among those who have taken this third step.
In taking this step “You create by your true being, but what you are you must learn to remember. The way to remember it is inherent in the third step,” T-6.V.C.5
An important ingredient of this step is that the Holy Spirit “sorts out the true from the false in your mind.” T-6.V.C.1
The main obstacle that prevents students from taking this third step is the belief that truth is different for everyone or that we can awaken with conflicting truth and error in our minds. The Holy Spirit does not even see error, so if any two people receive from Him there will be no conflict, but only agreement.
This lesson of seeing the truth as true is called “the hardest lesson you will ever learn”
“The Holy Spirit, seeing where you are but knowing you are elsewhere, begins His lesson in simplicity with the fundamental teaching that truth is true. This is the hardest lesson you will ever learn, and in the end the only one.” T-14.II.2
Why is this such a hard lesson to learn? Because we see how difficult it seems to be to reach 100% agreement with your bother though the Holy Spirit. This causes us to make excuses for the error that must be involved, but “When you teach anyone that truth is true, you learn it with him. And so you learn that what seemed hardest was the easiest.” T-14.II.5
This quote gives additional clarity:
“Salvation is the recognition that the truth is true, and nothing else is true. This you have heard before, but may not yet accept both parts of it. Without the first, the second has no meaning. But without the second, is the first no longer true. Truth cannot have an opposite. This can not be too often said and thought about. For if what is not true is true as well as what is true, then part of truth is false. And truth has lost its meaning. Nothing but the truth is true, and what is false is false.” W-pI.152.3
The ego does not like this quote for it leads to clarity and away from confusion and conflict. The ego teaches that the truth is different for everyone and you can successfully complete the course by following your own truth and your own interpretation and avoid the oneness with your brother which will happen under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
This third step of receiving truth and being one with the Holy Spirit is a key to remembering who we really are:
“Choosing through the Holy Spirit will lead you to the Kingdom. You create by your true being, but what you are you must learn to remember. The way to remember it is inherent in the third step.” T-6.V.C.5
“The third step is thus one of protection for your mind, allowing you to identify only with the center, where God placed the altar to Himself.” T-6.V.C.7
May we take this third step together.
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