Commentary on ACIM Lesson 289

© 2010 Rev. David Seacord

The past is over. It can touch me not.

There is a line in the 3rd Zen Ancestor that I love: "When a thing can no longer offend, it ceases to exist, in the old way."

Today my intuitively thinking heart recognized that to be 'offended' was of course directly sourced in a base of strong personal identity, with it's equally strong likes and dislikes, and that further, that it is impossible to be offended by anything we are willing to forgive. Which, of course, means that whatever we feel offended by is something we have not forgiven.

Staying in the same direction as the lesson, to come into present time is only possible by letting go of the past. It's not so hard to understand intellectually, but because of the emotionally charged attachment we have to our past sufferings, forgiving the past can be a tough and challenging thing to do. Still, it must be done if we are to live in freedom.

This is where rigorous self-honesty is so incredibly useful to us, if we have developed that habit. Because with it, we can at least begin to create a list of the areas in our lives where the pain triggers are. And then, with that information, we can begin to be responsible for the spiritual work that is not yet done/finished/completed in our lives.

As we begin to be willing to be responsible, our helpers arrive both on the inner and the outer. They are recognized by the way they allow us to feel. Essentially, they allow us to feel 'more whole, more holy'. In other words, they reflect back to us who we actually are, and who we will discover we are as we progress in our purification. They also call us to the journey, coaching us that we can do it, that we can release our pain, our separation. They teach us this by loving us as we are.

As we learn from our teachers, it becomes our turn to demonstrate the same love. Pure love is non-selective, so of course, all are deserving. Unless we opine otherwise.

Why would we do that? Again, to preserve our egoic identity. Nothing but the ego has opinions about anything. Everything but the ego simply experiences reality directly. It is this experience of direct reality that the ego fears, for it annihilates egoic existence, revealing it as the empty falseness that it is.

As our ego's are annihilated, what is there to do? Nothing but to stay present to the presence of love and maintaining affinity with all beings. For love connected to Source, this is just 'not a problem'.

Namaste,

David

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Lesson 289

The past is over. It can touch me not.

Unless the past is over in my mind, the real world must escape my sight. For I am really looking nowhere; seeing but what is not there. How can I then perceive the world forgiveness offers? This the past was made to hide, for this the world that can be looked on only now. It has no past. For what can be forgiven but the past, and if it is forgiven it is gone.

Father, let me not look upon a past that is not there. For You have offered me Your Own replacement, in a present world the past has left untouched and free of sin. Here is the end of guilt. And here am I made ready for Your final step. Shall I demand that You wait longer for Your Son to find the loveliness You planned to be the end of all his dreams and all his pain?