Forgive and be forgiven. As you give you will receive...All the complexities the world has spun of fragile cobwebs disappear before the power and the majesty of the extremely simple statement of the truth.
ACIM-W-122:6
I rambled on and on about the need for "forgiveness" and I think it is important that we are reminded of what forgiveness is.
What is Forgiveness?
Forgiveness is simply releasing self and others from the prison of guilt and fear ego locks us in! It is a correction for mistakes that have been made...yes...but focuses on the mistakes that were made in perception, more than those that were made in deed.
A Mistake in Perception
It is recognizing that when one ego in one body acts unjustly against another...it is not a sin performed by an evil person that deserves punishment that we should focus on. What we look upon is merely a mistake in perception, both in the individual doing the injustice and the one at the receiving end. Ego focuses on the deed, Self on the perception.
If someone steals your car you may have a tendency to look at this person as a "thief", a "sinner" and demand justice from law enforcement because you feel this "evil person", separate from you, has attacked you and must pay. If he doesn't show remorse for this crime ( i.e. guilt) you will want even more vengeance. Right? Ego focuses on the deed and wants vengeance. You will not rest until you get it and you will likely live in anger, fear and frustration for many, many years.
Does this bring you peace, and a sense of safety? No. Does it stop the person from stealing more cars in the future? Statistics shows it doesn't.
A Cure in Undoing
The cure for such an act then isn't vengeance, more defense or counter attack, punishment or guilt...it is forgiveness which is a an undoing of this "misperception". Forgiveness does not use fear to undo fear.
Now let's look at undoing the perception of "That evil thief stole my car!!!"
What has the person really done? The body they are in got into a metallic, engine runned vehicle that is registered to a name you identify as and drove away from the property that is also registered to this name without asking the body you inhabit permission. Doesn't sound quite so gruesome, does it?
Seeing Clearly
This undoing can only happen by seeing clearly. We will never see clearly with these little orbs on our heads that are directed by ego's need for judgment and selective perception. We must go deeper to understand that "they know not what they do."
The body that borrowed your car without permission may have been hungry and at risk of perishing...this body may have been suffering from withdrawals and felt like it would perish if it didn't get some money quick...that body may have been pushed around and beaten down ...that body may have been acting on the direction of an unconscious mind who saw itself as a tiny little me deserving of what it thought you owned, angry and acting out. I highly doubt that that body or that mind that drove away in that car...was aware of who it was beneath this little me it identified with.
The Mind Needs Healing
Forgiveness, then...is asking for the mind to be healed. It is an appeal to God to heal their minds. ACIM-T-2:V:16:4
We will only see clearly when our minds are healed; when we realize who we truly are beneath these egos we assume we are and are able to look out upon the so called "sinner" and the world at large with the unconditionally loving eyes of Self. Then we will see no "wrong-doing" because we see no right or wrong distinction. We will see no evil because we will see no evil/good distinctions. We will see no villain because we will see no victim/villain distinction.
The Judgement
Your ego sees a villain in the other. It sees a wrong-doing. It sees evil. Your mind if it is controlled by ego's vision will make judgments, create story around those "wrong doings" and it will take you from your peace. You will suffer and not because this dude ran away with a car that you perceived as yours but because of how you judged the situation.
You judged the car as a part of you by attaching a "My" to it. You judged it as a loss. You judged the act as a violation against you...you therefore judged yourself as vulnerable. You judged yourself as vulnerable because you judged yourself as a separate little me....merely a body, a personality, a name, what you owned etc. You judged the other as a separate attacker, a threat. You judged the other as an enemy and a villain. You judged the situation as "wrong". You judged it as a "sin" and therefore you judged the need for guilt, and therefore punishment. You judged the world as unsafe. It was your judgment of teh situation that led to this suffering not the fact that another body drove away in a vehicle.
An End To Suffering
If you need a good reason to forgive, this one works...because it will end your suffering.
Forgiveness is a putting down of judgment. You have no idea of the tremendous release and deep peace that comes from meeting yourself and your brothers totally without judgment. When you recognize what you are and what your brothers are, you will realize that judging them in any way is without meaning. ACIM-T-3:VI:3:1-2
One Mind
Forgiveness is a healing of the mind...but not just of the individual mind of the so called "wrong-doer" but of the collective mind. When you give forgiveness, you receive forgiveness.
To offer forgiveness is the only way to have it, for it reflects the law of Heaven that giving and receiving are the same. ACIM-T-preface.
You see that being in that body and mind that drove away in that car is you. You and brother may appear to have separate bodies and separate personalities but who you are at the deepest level is a shared and unified consciousness. This separation is just an illusion. You stole your own car.
Forgiveness is the healing of the perception of separation. Correct perception of your brother is necessary, because ,minds have chosen to see themselves as separate. ACIM-T-3:V:9:1-2
Overlooking
Forgiveness is looking beyond the error to the harmless depth beyond ego. To forgive is to overlook. ACIM-T-9:IV:1:2
So you need to overlook what this body did with this vehicle. Not so easy to do is it? I am not saying you have to let him get away with it...there are social laws and rules we adhere to for a reason. By all means lock your cars at night if that makes you feel safe. Call the police and press charges if someone commits a crime.
Remembering Who You Are
But forgive at the same time. Recognize that they know not what they do...they...which represents humanity at large... actually know not what they are. They have yet to see themselves beyond the fragile little egoic mind to who they truly are. Make forgiveness your teaching mission by remembering first who you are.
Begin by remembering what you are not. You are not the car or the things you own, you therefore will not be diminished without them. You are not a vulnerable body and personality so you cannot be harmed nor can you harm. You are not an ego so you can put it down and be healed.
You may have forgotten who you truly are but there is a way to remember.
Forgiveness is the means by which we will remember. ACIM-preface.
All is well.
ACIM
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