28 Jul 2013 Comments Off on Special Relationships
Special Relationships
“Everyone on earth has formed special relationships, and although this is not so in Heaven, the Holy Spirit knows how to bring a touch of Heaven to them here.” (T-15.V.8:1)
A Course in Miracles students are often very afraid that their special relationships will be torn from them if they put ACIM principles into practice. Or they mistakenly believe they are supposed to stop having special relationships and, finding this impossible, beat themselves up for continuing to relate to certain people in their lives as special and more important than others. Rest assured that Jesus will neither tear away your special relationships, nor expect you to give them up. All he asks is that we give our belief in special relationships to the Holy Spirit.
“Bring, then, all forms of suffering to Him Who knows that every one is like the rest. He sees no differences where none exists, and He will teach you how each one is caused.” (T-27.VIII.12:1-2)
When we unconsciously believe in specialness, which is the source of the “life” we lead, we project that belief outward, and are convinced there are people in a world ruled by a cruel ego-god. Even if we have a poor opinion of ourselves, even if we are atheists, even if we are obviously the innocent victims of other people’s viciousness, we are still unconsciously subscribing to the tiny, mad idea that we are special–different from God and from our brothers.
“Specialness is the idea of sin* made real.” (T-24.II.3:1)
We start on the personal level, looking within the ego self we think we are, working with what seems to be our individual sense of sin and guilt (even if it seems the “other guy” is guilty–not us). Little by little, as we learn to practice forgiveness, and clear the guilt from our personal relationships, we discover there is nothing personal to forgive. First it seems as though we draw our projections back into our personal selves, like a spider devouring its own web. This leads to a miraculous shift in perception and we realize that “I” is one ego mind, all-inclusive of every single brother in the whole wide world.
“And you will understand that miracles reflect this simple statement, ‘I have done this thing, and it is this I would undo.’” (T-27.VIII.11:6)
This “I” is the original thought of separation itself–what we now call “ego.” The “undoing” is a change of mind from believing in specialness (that we could leave God’s Mind to be “my self”) to a gentle laugh at the absurdity of such an impossible idea. And here are all special relationships left behind, not with grief and mourning, but with joy and liberation from a false identity that bred only war, slaughter, and revenge.
“We had a wish that God would fail to have the Son whom He created for Himself. We wanted God to change Himself, and be what we would make of Him. And we believed that our insane desires were the truth. Now we are glad that this is all undone, and we no longer think illusions true. The memory of God is shimmering across the wide horizons of our minds. A moment more, and it will rise again. A moment more, and we who are God’s Sons are safely home, where He would have us be.” (W-pII.Intro.9:1-7)
* “Sin” in A Course in Miracles means the belief in separation and serves the ego brilliantly in that the ego views sin as an unforgiveable crime to be punished. The Holy Spirit disarms the ego’s purpose for sin by reframing sin as a mistake, a mere error to be corrected and healed with unconditional Love. Thus, we release the ego’s plan for salvation (sin, guilt and fear; kill or be killed) and embrace God’s plan for salvation instead (Sameness, Innocence and Unity; Love and Be Loved).
Copyright © 2013 Amy Torres. All rights reserved worldwide.
As a child, I felt terrified at the idea of death. No one had spoken with me about death, and no one close to me had died. Yet there was a 
As I faced my fear of death, spiritual wisdom came my way. Rather than comforting myself reading novels about lonely people, I started reading mystical literature. “If there is any death, it is that of death itself, for life will not die,” said the great Sufi teacher, Hazrat Inayat Khan. Such elegant logic. How can life die?
. If God is Loving, how could He create death? But what did “if God created bodies” mean? Where did bodies come from, if not God?
Australian Aboriginals believe in “dreamtime,” an infinite spiritual belief about the time of creation. The “Dreaming” is eternal and life exists before a person is born and after the individual person ends.
And you may be interested in my Facebook page devoted to body issues: 
It is a common misinterpretation of the Course to believe that body illness is an indication of giving in to the ego.*
As a yoga teacher, I find this important because it keeps students centered and calm, and keeps the practice balanced as we hold a pose on the right side of the body, and then switch to the left. Many yoga teachers hurry a little and the second side gets short shrift.
Q: I stopped doing ACIM and have just come back to it. One thing I am having such a hard time with is “letting go” to God because I am afraid that if I “give up” and “surrender” to God that means that He may want me to have a mediocre life and just be happy with very little. I was raised Catholic and have sort of gotten stuck on this notion that to be good in God’s eyes, you have to be willing to be treated badly/take what life gives you and not be wealthy AND (this is the kicker) be happy about all those things! If you have any thoughts on that, I’d appreciate it.
A: Your question is relevant to many people. It is a common fear that surrendering to God means to be happy with very little, and glad of it! Many Course students are afraid that surrendering to the Holy Spirit’s guidance will result in being stripped of our creature comforts, and the people and places we love.
Despite impending danger, I felt devoid of fear and quiet of mind. Glancing up, I saw several people headed toward me. I was aware that in the past, I would have felt mortified at being so clumsy, disruptive, and in need of help. My style of perfectionism was to remain unnoticed, and a smooth quick death under the wheels of oncoming traffic would have almost been preferable to being noticed and helped. At this moment, however, their approach produced a warm feeling in me. There was the merest twinkle of embarrassment and then it evaporated as a thought arose, “It’s my turn.”
One face in particular came close to mine and asked, “Are you okay?” “I don’t know,” I replied honestly, rather than stoically brushing him off and finding out later whether I was, indeed, okay. “Would you like me to stay with you a bit?” he offered. “Yes, please,” I replied. The circle of people which had gathered around me melted away as he took over. I had felt their love as they gathered, and I felt their love as they dispersed. Everyone and everything felt caring. The world was at my disposal–I was Loved.
with what was happening exactly as it was. I fell down. I lay there. I judged not. I assigned no interpretation. I held no opinions. Thoughts stopped. And the whole world, in concert, came to my rescue.
Easter is here and A Course in Miracles invites us to celebrate this holiday without the church as middleman. Jesus tells us, “Let us give redemption to each other and share in it, that we may rise as one in resurrection, not separate in death.”
The crucifixion was quite an event–what a shame if we entirely miss the point! As Jesus says, “The only message of the crucifixion is that you can overcome the cross. Until then you are free to crucify yourself as often as you choose. This is not the gospel I intended to offer you.” (T-intro.3:8-10) and “You cannot crucify yourself alone. … Whenever you consent to suffer pain, to be deprived, unfairly treated or in need of anything, you but accuse your brother of attack upon God’s Son. … The Holy Spirit offers you, to give to him, a picture of yourself in which there is no pain and no reproach at all. And what was martyred to his guilt becomes the perfect witness to his innocence.” (T-27.I.1:5 and 3:1 and 5)
A: It is your ego that has convinced you that the shame you feel now is the result of those traumatic and shameful abusive experiences of your childhood. That way, the problem remains in the past, never really capable of being undone. But you are not alone in thinking this way. This is the purpose of the world, to keep our focus away from the real problem in the mind, the original and only source of guilt and shame, and on events in our lives that have happened to us and cannot be reversed.
Connect with Amy