Hi Lawrence, et al,

One thing I always say about ACIM is that the entirety of A Course (I never type "the." It's "A" for a reason.) is summed up in the introduction:

"Nothing real can be threatened.
Nothing unreal exists.
Herein lies the peace of God."

Then we have 1200 pages to help us learn what on earth that means, starting with "Love is real. Fear is unreal." When we start we don't even know what is truly loving and we think fear is real.

Don't worry. I'm getting to the forgiveness part.

"The only lack you need correct is the sense of separation from God."

Forgiveness helps us do that. Judgment pushes others, who are really a part of Our Self, away. "Forgiveness shows us that minds are joined."

Try it. Look at someone you have a judgment about and imagine looking at them without that story, that judgement. You may have an experience of feeling a little closer, a little more connected.

I probably can't explain the whole concept of forgiveness in one post when ACIM takes 1200 pages. I have, however, found another course in miracles in the Work of Byron Katie. It's another method for experiencing forgiveness. I won't digress into that on an ACIM tribe. You can check it out if you feel called.

The Workbook is the core of A Course. Do the lessons and within a few days or a few weeks you will have your own experiences of forgiveness. If you look, you can also find a page with the title Forgiveness in the Workbook that may help. It's between 2 of the sections. I have a searchable ACIM disk, but it's at home.

I'm sure you can find what you are looking for. It's inevitable.

Love & blessings,
Stacy

It sounds like you already got your answer, but just to second the opinion expressed earlier. To put it in my own words, Forgiveness is when you stop yelling at the TV screen just because the actors did something you think is stupid or wrong.

I am primarily Buddhist and follow Dzogchen, though attracted to ACIM for the way it addresses the paricularly western/Christian tradition based belief in sin that Buddhism never had to deal with. I also find the work of Byron Katie to be a very effective, easy to learn, easily applied method for bringing about an experience of forgiveness.

I got a few months into the ACIM Workbook and it was also having a profound effect, and I have studied Dzogchen meditation and philosophy for some time and also find it effective, but to me Katie's work is the most effective in quickly helping me to develop the view of reality that sees that what we call "reality" is more like a dream, one that often includes wrongdoing by the seemingly separate parts against one another, but which isn't something we should cause us to lose our peace and harbor ill-will towards anyone for, since ultimately there was no separation and therefore no wrongdoing can be ultimately real.

Forgiveness says, "It never happened, so how can I hold it against you? You're acting out your part in this script the same as I am and for a moment we agreed to play it out that you were the victimizer and I the victim, but we both stepped into our roles as equal participants and now either of us can choose to step back from our parts and see the projector. We can choose to be entertained, disinterested, whatever response, but how silly to decide to be in hatred, sadness, or anger when it's just an impersonal display of the play of Mind. Don't take it personally. You don't even exist as a separate person, nor do I, so how could it be personal?"

With any of these traditions you eventually get to a place wherein you've let go of your clinging to any of your beliefs about what is real and true. In that space beyond conceptualization there arises an experience of the Truth. That's the miracle of forgiveness. So long as you are not forgiving you are essentially declaring that you believe the separation was real, that there are two separate beings who could wrong one another. Only after you let go of that belief can you experience the miracle of Oneness. So forgiveness clears a major obstacle to the experience of the Truth.

hi lawrence,

i just posted to another thread but it seemed fitting so I am copying it here...

the miracle IS the act of forgiveness. Remember Him saying 'there is no order of difficulty in miracles'. This means that it shouldnt be harder to forgive any one person than another. I know it sounds very simple to say forgive and thats it, but its simple NOT easy. Think of it like this... when you forgive someone for money they owe you, you just wipe away the debt. They no longer owe you. You dont forgive the debt but still have them owe you, or thats not really forgiving the debt is it? That's just compromising. So the trick is that you are not forgiving people for what they do to you, cause then that makes what they did REAL to you and its like they owe you their guilt. The idea here is to use forgiveness to set them free, release them from guilt.

It IS all just perceptions because their guilt is in YOUR mind, not necesarily theirs. So YES a miracle IS a change in perception to where you forgive everything in this world (or wipe it away in a sense) by realizing that its all just an illusion or dream. How can you get mad at a dream??? You can't - that's insane. So when someone does something to you, you are not saying I forgive for doing this to me, you are saying i forgive you because i know you really didn't do this to me, and I am not going to imprison you with guilt, or imprison myself by holding onto judgement. How can you judge an illusion?? You can't and that's the point. The miracle is when you realize this, forgive and release.

This is a miracle because you have learned your lesson! You have come to the conclusion that God is the way and the true Life. Now He can arrange time and space so that you don't continue to be exposed to situations that call for the learning of this lesson anymore, which leaves room for abundance and His purpose to enter your life. See the workings of the ego are a convoluted attempt to keep you so focused on your problems that you forget who you really are which is the Son of God and that you couldnt possibly exist in the egos world. The miracle is when you REMEMBER WHO YOU ARE and that this world of form is just an illusion. Realize that and forgive the shadows of this world, so that you don't get caught up in the ego's translation of things, and can awaken one day to the truth and the Light.

Hope this has helped!

Peace and ONEness,

~Julie Adame

Remember it is always an inside job.
Its primary effect is on you.