ACIM Glossary E-G
E
ego
Root meaning: The individual self, as distinct from other selves or the world. Ego is Latin for "I," and when you say "I" you are referring to a self distinct from others. ACIM: The entire self you think you are, the "I" you think you are. This self is false, was made by you, and is actually only a belief: The belief that you are a separate entity--a separate mind living within a separate body--that you have your own personal history and future, your own will and private thoughts, that you create yourself and sustain yourself. This is not who you are (see Christ and Son of God) and so the ego is a contradiction, an insane belief (see insanity), a mistaken identity. The ego is in direct, fundamental and total opposition to God (see devil). Its basic mood is fear of God, fear that it will disappear into His Love and Oneness. Its single motivation is to protect its "existence" from the "threat" of God and make itself a permanent, eternal reality. Its goal is to conquer and kill God and replace Him on His throne (see authority problem). To do this it must keep your eternal allegiance (as its maker) while at the same time trying to kill you, since you are God's Son. It hopes to attain this paradoxical goal through persuading you to constantly attack. By promising you that attack will bring you pleasure and safety it keeps your allegiance. Yet it knows that attack will really bring death, since attack makes you think you deserve to die for your sins. The ego, however, is merely an idea, and thus has had no effect on who you really are. It has no power over you and can be relinquished whenever you choose, at which time it will simply disappear, be reinterpreted. See separation. See T-4.II, W-pII.12, C-2.
error
Wrong thinking; a mistake. The original error was the separation. All errors are merely splinters or subdivisions of this (see T-18.I.4:3). Errors are not real and call only for correction (see call for love/help). By making them real (see making error real), they appear to be sins that are beyond correction and call for punishment. The ego's plan of forgiveness is to make error real--focus on it, interpret it, evaluate its degree--and then try to forgive it (see T-9.IV.4). True forgiveness simply looks past error in the first place, responding to all errors in the same way and dispelling all with equal ease (see no order of difficulty in miracles).
eternity
Conventional: An endless stretch of time. ACIM: A state which is completely outside of time, which contains no past and no future, no beginning or end, only "always"--the single instant of the limitless present, without direction or change. Because there is no change, no disturbance, eternity is perfect peace. See Heaven, reality and Kingdom of God. See T-9.VI.7:1-3.
extension
The basic law and natural dynamic of the mind whereby ideas in the mind are expressed outward (though without leaving the mind), thus causing effects after their nature and likeness. The mind then looks upon and experiences these effects. Through this process of causing effects, the mind's original ideas are reinforced, completed and increased. In short, the mind's thoughts become its expression and this expression becomes its experience. 1. In Heaven, God extended His Will, His Love, to create His Son, the Christ (see creation). 2. In Heaven, our function is also to extend. 3. On earth we extend or project our thoughts outward. The result is that what we think becomes what we perceive and what we perceive becomes what we believe (see "projection makes perception"). 4. Our function on earth is to extend love, forgiveness and healing to others. Merely perceiving others as forgiven is an extension to them, yet we may also use our body to actively communicate this forgiveness. Through healing them, our own healing becomes reinforced (see giving/receiving, savior and witness). 5. Under the ego, extension is distorted and takes the form of projection. Because of this distortion, we do not see the connection between the thoughts in our minds and what we see without. Extension is the umbrella for many of the Course's ideas. See cause and effect, communication, creations, "ideas leave not their source", laws, making, miracle, sharing, special function, teaching, will.
F
face of Christ
What is seen with Christ's vision, with true perception. The final perception, in which you "see" the Christ. Since the Christ is the true Self in all things, seeing the Christ means seeing Christ in all things. This is an inner experiencing of the innocence and holiness in all things, rather than a seeing of the face of Jesus or any other kind of visual image. Seeing His face means that, since you are still in the realm of perception, you are still looking upon the Christ in all things slightly from the outside, and thus seeing a facade, a surface, a symbol. However, soon after seeing His face you will transcend all perception and, in direct, unmediated awareness, will again know His being. See veil. See W-pII.6.4-5, C-3.
faith
Belief and trust in and loyalty to something or someone, regardless of what appearances may say. 1. God, the Holy Spirit and Jesus all have perfect faith in us. 2. Now we are faithless. This is not a lack of faith but faith in illusions, in nothingness (T-21.III.4). 3. We are asked to withdraw this faith in illusions and give our faith to the truth. Truth will call forth this faith in us if we refuse to use our faithlessness. 4. Faith in the Holy Spirit and in Jesus will give us trust in their teaching, their guidance and their faith in us. 5. In the holy relationship, we are asked to have faith that the relationship will reach the goal of perfect holiness, regardless of how impossible this looks (see T-17.V.6-7). 6. Above all, we are to have faith in our brother, faith in his innocence, his holiness, and in his eventual salvation, no matter what appearances he presents to us. Through this faith we accept the miracle, which then brings witnesses to show us that our faith was justified (see W-pII.13.4). See charity.
fantasy
Conventional: The process of manufacturing an imaginary reality inside our minds, in the hopes that it will meet our psychological needs better than reality, which we assume to be unsatisfying. "...an attempt to control reality according to false needs" (T-1.VII.3:4). ACIM: The Course takes this conventional definition and stretches it to cover all that we normally experience, including our mental life, our perception of the world, and our earthly pursuits (in which we use the body to try to act out fantasies and make them "come true"). All these are attempts to find happiness through inventing our own reality. In fact, our primary means for seeking happiness in this world, the special relationship, is an externalized fantasy process, in which we pursue a fantasy of love, as well as a fantasy of vengeance on past shadow figures. Indeed, all fantasies are a seeking of vengeance (see T-16.VII.4:2). This vengeance is projected outward and produces our (fantasy-based) perception of a world that wants to take vengeance on us (see W-pI.23.3:4). Thus the world's attack on us is simply our own fantasy. We can be free of it simply by valuing reality more than fantasy. See dream. See T-9.IV.10-12.
fear
The expectation of being attacked. The single emotion of the ego, the emotion of separation. Fear is a recoil into separation, away from a perceived source of danger. In contrast, love extends in order to join with a source of happiness. "Everyone draws nigh unto what he loves, and recoils from what he fears" (T-13.V.5:4). Fear and love are thus opposites and are the only two emotions. Fear, however, exists only in relation to love. Fear, in fact, is fear of love, as well as lack of love, denial of love and a call for love (see T-12.I.8-9). Fear is the end result of a chain of emotions and contains implicit within it all the emotions of the chain: First, we feel anger, which is expressed in attack. Then we feel guilt, for we interpret our attack as a sin. Then we fear the punishment and death our guilt says we deserve (see T-5.V.3:6-11). Out of our fear, we attack in self-defense, and the chain starts over. Fear is the ego's goal and its essence. The ego must cause fear to perpetuate itself, yet it must conceal from us how fearful we are (see T-11.V.8-12). For when we truly look at our fear, we will decide that the cost of the ego is too great, and will give it up. See fear of God.
fear of God
The final obstacle to peace (see T-19.IV(D).1-7), the veil across the face of Christ, the only thing that keeps us from God. Our fear of God exists on two distinct levels. 1. The ego fears God as He truly is; it fears His Love, Life, joy and peace. It fears Him because it knows that in His boundless Oneness it would disappear. To keep from disappearing, the ego must give us reason to fear Him also. 2. Therefore, the ego persuades us to condemn our brothers, so that we will feel guilty, so that we will punish ourselves with pain, sickness and death. Then, through projection, we see God as standing at the head of this system of "justice." We think that He is an angry god, Who believes in our guilt and seeks to punish us for our sins, and Who should thus be feared. The fear of God will go as we forgive our brothers, and as we realize that the angry god we envision is our own ego (see W-pI.196.8-12), and that the true God is One of Love. See fear. See T-29.I.1-3, W-pI.170.9-11.
final (or last) step
Our final awakening to Heaven, in which God Himself will lift us home. What fully restores to us the memory of God. Our job, with the Holy Spirit's help, is to attain the state of perfect right-mindedness or true perception in which we retain not a trace of opposition to (or fear of) the heavenly state. Yet even then there will be a gap between our perception and knowledge, which we cannot bridge. It is God Who bridges this gap, reaching down to lift us into Heaven. He will do this the instant we have no resistance to Heaven--we do not have to wait on Him or on our brothers. We play no part in this step, because we did not put ourselves in Heaven in the first place. And lifting us back into Heaven is somehow the same act as bringing us into Heaven in the beginning. Thus, the last step was paradoxically accomplished in the first step--our creation by God (see T-13.VIII.3). See T-7.I.6-7, T-18.IX.10.
forgiveness
Conventional: Releasing another from undergoing the punishment he deserves due to his sin against you. According to the Course, this forgiveness cannot forgive, for it affirms that the other sinned and thus is worthy of condemnation (yours and his own). It also affirms that you are holier than he, because he sinned and you forgave (see T-27.II.2:8). ACIM: Releasing your mind from the wrong perception that another sinned against you and deserves punishment. Releasing another not from what he did, but from "what he did not do" (T-17.III.1:5), from your misinterpretation of what he did. This can forgive, for it frees your mind of resentment and releases the other from the accusation of sin and guilt. The rationale behind forgiveness is that sin is not real. It is a wrong perception of attack. Attack has no power to do real harm (see "mind cannot attack"), because what is real (in you and in your "attacker") cannot be harmed or changed in any way. The ultimate rationale for forgiveness is that "the separation never occurred" (T-6.II.10:7, see Atonement), that "I am as God created me," that "God's Son is guiltless." Attack, then, has no effects. It is a harmless mistake, a call for love. Thus, what caused you to feel hurt was not the other's attack, but your own misperception of his attack. Forgiveness lets this misperception go. As a result, it heals the other person of guilt, and can even heal his body. It also heals your mind of guilt and fear, for these came from your anger and resentment. It also heals you of your sense of separateness, for it takes away the perception of sinfulness that made you recoil from your brother. Forgiveness is the source of extension and the way to joining. Forgiveness is salvation. It is the central theme of the Course, and (according to the Course) of the Holy Spirit's entire plan for salvation. See W-pII.1.
form/content
Two aspects possessed by things in this world; the shape (form) something takes--the words, images or behavior it is clothed in--and the essential meaning (content) which that form is meant to communicate. 1. The ego disregards content, believing that the form is the content, the form is the meaning. Through this it attempts to hide its own meaningless, incoherent content (see T-14.X.7-9). It thinks that problems are matters of form and that the solution lies in changing the form. 2. The Holy Spirit sees the form as neutral, as inherently meaningless and content-free. Because His only concern is the content, He will adapt the form to suit the need. He communicates the same content through all paths (M-1.3), all teachers (see T-14.V) and all lessons (see W-pI.193), regardless of differences in form. 3. Our only concern should also be the content. We must realize that what will save us is not a change of form but a change in content, a change in the meaning we see in things. We must see the same content in all choices, events and situations.
freedom
Root meaning: The ability to express your will without any impediment or obstacle; "to do your will" (T-30.II.2:1). Conventional: The ability of your body to say and do whatever you want without impediment or obstacle (see T-22.VI.1-2). ACIM: The ability of the mind to express its will to love and join, without the obstruction of the ego (which is an alien will). 1. True freedom is our natural state in Heaven, where our wills extend infinitely outward without any hindrance whatsoever (see creation and extension). 2. We are not free to change this native state, only to deny it. 3. This world is a state of imprisonment, in which we seem to be imprisoned by the body (see W-pI.199.1) and by external circumstances. 4. Yet the real imprisonment here is being a slave, a hostage, to the ego; obeying its alien will. Bondage to the ego results in guilt, which is imprisoning, for guilt says we deserve imprisonment. 5. In this world our only remaining freedom is the freedom of choice (see T-12.VII.9:1, C-1.7:1), the choice between the ego and the Holy Spirit. 6. We find our freedom through freeing our brothers from guilt. Conversely, finding our own freedom enables us to free the world.
function
Our function is extension. All guilt and sadness come from not fulfilling this function. 1. In Heaven our function is creation, in which we extend God's function of creation (see T-9.III.8:1-5). 2. On earth our function is healing (see T-12.VII.4:6-9), which comes from extending forgiveness to others. This is how we reach happiness. The Holy Spirit gives us a special form of this extension, which is called our special function. 3. The Holy Spirit's Own function is to heal us, to lead us back to God, to return us to eternity. See teaching. See T-13.IV.1.
G
gap, little gap
The space between reality and your dreams, which God will bridge in the final step. The space between your mind and your brother's, which is a mental space but is symbolized by separate bodies and the physical space between them. In this imagined gap arises the entire world, which is merely a collection of images projected on the fog that fills the gap. The gap is filled with countless idols and is the source of sickness. You try to join your brother by having your bodies meet in the gap. Yet real joining comes from acknowledging that the gap is completely empty and is not even there (see T-28.VI.5:4). See separation. See T-28.III.3-5, T-28.V.7, T-29.I.
gate of Heaven
An image symbolizing the place of transition from perception to knowledge. We reach the lawns before the gate by reaching the real world. Heaven's gate is pictured as always standing open (see T-11.IV.6:5-6, W-pII.14.5:5)) and as being opened by the key of forgiveness (see W-pI.193.13:5).
giving/receiving
Conventional: Giving is the opposite of receiving, for what you give you lose (see sacrifice). Giving, therefore, is usually a subtle way to obligate someone to give you something back, something more valuable than what you gave away (see W-pI.105.1-2). The Course calls this "giving to get" (T-4.II.6:5), and says that what is really given in this case is guilt. ACIM: "...giving and receiving are the same" (this line occurs six times in the Course; see T-25.IX.10:6). The real gift is not the physical thing, which you do lose, but the idea of love behind it. And when you give an idea, you do not lose it (see T-5.I.1-2). Rather, it increases as it is shared with others. Moreover, you will not recognize what you have received until you give it, for giving is the proof of having. Your gift proves that you have an idea and that you deserve to receive it. According to the Course, this is one of its most important and most radical concepts (see W-pI.105.3:10, W-pI.126.1 and M-4.VII.1:6-8). See extension, function, healing, teaching, witness.
God
Root meaning: The supreme Being, the Creator, the Father and the Mother, the Source of all that exists and the Goal of all desire. Christian: The Creator of this world, Who loves His children yet Whose justice demands that He punish them for the sin of turning away from Him, and Who sent his Son to die for their sins. ACIM: The infinite, eternal Mind or Spirit, Who creates only non-material spirit, like Himself and one with Him, and Who is only pure Love, without any anger or attack (see T-29.I.1:5). God has no gender (see he, him), no personality, no form (see T-18.VIII.1:7) and no boundary. But in some sense He is a Person, for He has Thoughts, Will and awareness, and feels Love, peace and joy. However, unlike human faculties and emotions, these are infinite, formless realities that never fluctuate (see Thoughts of God). God only gives and holds nothing back. His children are His joy and He wills only their happiness. To everyone He gives the same gift: all of His Love, all of Himself. This is how He creates, by giving Himself (see creation). His creations receive all their life, their sustenance and their joy from Him. The Will of God is too powerful to have any opposite or obstacle. Thus, His laws cannot be broken. When His children seemed to attack Him and descend into sin and evil (see separation), He did not reciprocate. He knew they merely fell asleep inside His Mind, though He did not know nor understand what they were dreaming nor who they dreamt they were. Instead of retaliating, He simply gave them His Answer, the Holy Spirit, to guide them home. In the meantime, He waits for them with Open Arms, yearning for their return. He does not hide Himself, but is totally accessible. He can be known in the direct experience called revelation. And when His children have healed their minds and lost all fear of Him He will reach down and lift them home Himself (see final step).
"God's Son is guiltless"
The Course's own summary of its message, a phrase it calls the central theme of the universal course (M-1.3:5), the one message given to all teachers of God (T-14.V.2:1), and the Holy Spirit's only judgment (M-10.2:9). It means that forgiveness is always unconditionally deserved. Even though it seems that everyone is guilty of leaving God and attacking his brothers, no sin occurred and so no guilt is justified. Thus, every person is still part of God's one Son, at one with God and with each other, within the safety of His transcendental Kingdom. See Son of God. See T-31.I.7-8.
grace
Root meaning: A pure blessing or a state of pure blessing, given by God, which makes no demand on the receiver, which the receiver must do nothing to contribute to or earn. Christian: An undeserved gift from God that saves or sanctifies us. ACIM: 1. The heavenly state in which everything is freely given us and there are no difficulties, struggles, guilts or burdens (see T-7.XI.1-2). 2. The salvation that we receive in the holy instant (see T-19.I.13). 3. The act of God reaching down and giving us the revelation of His Presence, either a) in the form of a temporary experience of divine union (see W-pI.169.12:2-3), or b) in the form of the final step, in which He permanently awakens us to Heaven. See W-pI.168-169.
gratitude
Appreciation for blessings received. The appropriate response to reality and its gifts. An essential aspect of love, which brings joy to those who give it as well as those who receive it. 1. The state of Heaven, the song of Heaven, which we sing to God in gratitude for our creation and which He sings to us, in gratitude for completing Him. 2. Here on earth, the appropriate response to God, the Holy Spirit and Jesus, which they do not need, but which we do. 3. Our proper response to our brothers for what they are, regardless of their behavior (see T-12.I.6:2). 4. The response to us of those we heal, by which our healing returns to us (see witness). 5. The response of God, the Holy Spirit and Jesus to us for allowing our minds to be saved and for helping them save the world. 6. Under the ego, we are grateful when others sacrifice to us and when we are better off than others. And we demand gratitude from others lest we withdraw the gifts we gave. See W-pI.195, W-pI.197.
Great Rays
The Rays of light and holiness that shine out from the Christ within each person. These are lit by a spark that God placed in each individual at creation. We begin the journey by seeing our brothers as bodies. Then we at some point begin to see the little spark in them. Then we will see the Great Rays shining out from that spark, reaching all the way to God. The body will then fade from our sight and we will give up special relationships for relationships without limit. The body will then disappear and we will again know the light of the Rays in direct knowledge. Note: The Rays are revealed through vision; they are not composed of visible light nor seen through the body's eyes. See T-10.IV.8, T-16.VI.4,6.
guilt
Conventional: The state or status of someone who has broken the legal code, the ethical code or the law of God (we will call this the state of guilt). An inner experience of the state of guilt, a feeling which says you are bad because you sinned (the feeling of guilt). ACIM: The emotional experience of the belief that a) because you committed a sin, b) you have made yourself into a bad person and c) deserve punishment and death. Guilt's ultimate basis is the belief that a) we attacked and separated from God (see separation), thus b) murdered our divine innocence and turned ourselves into egos, who now c) deserve death and hell. This belief is utterly false, for a) we are incapable of sinning or separating, b) cannot remake ourselves and c) cannot die. Hence, there is no such thing as the state of guilt. There is only the unfounded feeling of guilt. Guilt is at the core of our experience here. It maintains linear time, for it rests on past mistakes and demands future punishment (see T-13.I.8-9). It made the physical world, which is why the world constantly seems to be punishing us (see T-13.In.2-4). It is the essence of our perception of the world. It is the sole cause of all pain. We think that feeling guilt is honest humility which motivates us to obey God's laws. Yet guilt is purely an ego device for arrogantly demonstrating that we are separate from God and should fear Him. Guilt maintains the ego's existence. For this reason, the ego is attracted to guilt (see attraction of guilt). Thus, the ego tells us to "sin" in order to obtain certain pleasures, to attack in order to find safety, and to project guilt onto others in order to rid ourselves of guilt. Yet the real motivation behind all of these, and their real result, is the accumulation of more guilt. Since guilt is the only thing that keeps us from God, the journey home consists entirely of teaching and learning the unreality of guilt through forgiveness. See T-5.V.
Return to top | Send Reader Feedback | View Reader Feedback | Printer friendly version
Dear friend: We offer the materials on this website to you in the hope that they can serve you well on your journey home. Your continuing donations support the work of the Circle of Atonement. Thank you.
Click here to make a Donation.
This material is copyrighted by the Circle of Atonement, P.O. Box 4238, W. Sedona, AZ 86340. All rights reserved. The opinions expressed are the personal interpretation and understanding of the author(s).
Please report problems to the webmaster.
