The Message of the Crucifixion

The message of the crucifixion has been interpreted by the world as a message of sacrifice. That is not the lesson Jesus intended it to be. His lesson is one of resurrection rather than crucifixion.

The message the crucifixion was intended to teach was that it is not necessary to perceive any form of assault in persecution, because you cannot be persecuted. If you respond with anger, you must be equating yourself with the destructible, and are therefore regarding yourself insanely.

Later the church, confused the manner of his death, which didn’t  matter, as a call to sacrifice and suffer for God. That was incorrect. Jesus said there was no death, and that the body was nothing.

The message of the crucifixion is perfectly clear: Teach only love, for that is what you are. If you interpret the crucifixion in any other way, you are using it as a weapon for assault rather than as the call for peace for which it was intended.

Remembering that, all you need to do is understand the real lesson of it and apply it, through your forgiveness attitude, to your own body and your own personal life’s circumstances.

It’s just as important to forgive the little things as the apparently big things. Anything that disturbs your peace of mind is disturbing your peace of mind, and that’s not the peace of God. You have to be willing to forgive everything equally.

That’s why the nails didn’t hurt Jesus as they were being driven into his flesh. Being guiltless, his mind could not suffer—and someday you will attain the condition where you cannot suffer. That is the destiny the Holy Spirit holds out to you when you forgive the episodic fantasies of your bodily addicted ego.

Why wait for Heaven? Those who seek the light are merely covering their eyes. The light is in them now. You have work to do along with the Holy Spirit to uncover your eyes and get your mind into the condition where you can awaken from the dream and become aware of what you really are, and where you really are.

No matter how hard it may be for you to believe in your present condition, all your lifetimes have been just one big, gigantic mind trip going nowhere. The world feels solid to you because fear binds it.

Lucky for you, the Course turns you on to the fact that it was only a dream. The universe itself and everything in it, including all the idols you covet, were projected by you from another level—just as surely as you engage in projection on this level. The ego is trying to get you to see the guilt as being outside of you by projecting the reason for it onto an illusory image. The ego thought system is trying to put some distance in between yourself and the guilt, and any suitable object or person who comes along will suffice.

Projection always follows denial. People have to project this repressed guilt onto others, or correctly forgive it. Those are the only two choices that are available, no matter how complex the world may seem. If you want to outplay the ego and successfully turn the tables on it, you have to be alert for that warning sign of discomfort or anger, and then stop reacting and start forgiving. That’s how you’ll win.

When you have forgiven the world, its touch will be no more solid than your dreams are for you at night. To get to the point where that truth becomes your experience, it takes work.

Most of the things that bother you happen suddenly. The ego loves unpleasant surprises, because that’s what the separation was. When the next rude awakening comes your way, here’s another tip that might help. Any kind of an upset, from a mild discomfort to outright anger, is a warning sign. It tells you that your hidden guilt is rising up from the recesses of your unconscious mind and coming to the surface. Think of that discomfort as the guilt that needs to be released by forgiving the symbol you associate with it.

You’ll have bodily concerns as long as you appear to be here. Money won’t buy you happiness, but it will buy you food, shelter, clothing, methods of communication, and a lot of other things that aren’t bad. There’s nothing wrong with making it big either, but why make it real—especially now that you know what’s going on? It’s fun to know the truth! You don’t have to take everything so damn seriously.

Thus you demonstrate that you mean you want the peace of God not with your words, but by your forgiveness. If you really want to pull the plug on psycho planet then you need to do your forgiveness homework which means you practice the Course’s true forgiveness on whatever comes up in front of your face on any given day. Those are the lessons the Holy Spirit would have you learn.

You won’t always do them perfectly, or even well. Sometimes you’ll have to do them later. No problem; memory is just as real an image as any other image. They’re all the same. Forgive them and be free—and save the world at the same time. You save the world by concentrating on your own forgiveness lessons, not somebody else’s.

The purpose of time is to forgive. That is the only viable answer to life. Act accordingly, child of God.

The day will come when you will awaken from the dream. When? When? Let’s just say it will be a hell of a lot faster than it would have been if you weren’t prepared to accept the Course. Eventually the Course’s thought system will be second nature to you, and you’ll be able to apply it with less and less effort. Sometimes there’s no thinking at all; it’s just a way of being. Other times you will have to think about the Course’s ideas, which reinforces your forgiving attitude. It takes the illusion of time and a lot of practice to get to the point where the thought system of the Holy Spirit is just the way you are, and ultimately what  you are.

So do it. Think forgiveness; don’t say it; forgiveness is done silently. Do the Course. Don’t fall into the trap of thinking you can just pray to God and everything will be hunky-dory. That’s a myth. The Course says of the words, “I want the peace of God,” To say these words is nothing. But to mean these words is everything.

We didn’t choose you foolishly. You’re stronger than you know, and wiser than you think. It takes wisdom to choose the right Teacher, and you’re getting more and more into the habit of doing so. Don’t sell yourself short; just do your homework. Forgive, and it must follow, as the night the day, that you will experience love as being what you are. Maybe not that same minute, but it will be more and more in your awareness.