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The End of Death, Volume 1; blog reference
The End of Death, Volume 1; blog reference
Link to audio version of blog article

We’re about to delve deeply into the principles and process of Atonement. This is the forgiveness process, the means through which we exchange our perception of suffering for miracles instead. The Atonement brings about the gradual reversal of all our ego beliefs, values and laws. In short, it is a monumental un-learning accomplishment, because it thoroughly reverses the ego’s cause and effect. This is the undoing of the ego’s world of suffering. 

Only three years ago I discovered the critical principles involved in forgiveness, as Jesus teaches it. Like most Course students, I thought forgiveness would take place automatically when I set my good intentions to forgive. Yet I was clearly missing something; countless futile attempts at forgiveness over the years proved there must be some error or omission on my part. With all my heart, I then asked Jesus to teach me—to show me what he really means by forgiveness and Atonement.

BUCKMAN 136According to Jesus, we spent millions of years teaching our self to separate from God’s Love—and now we need to un-learn or reverse, via the miracle, the destructive illusions we have brought into being. For forgiveness and miracles to take place, there are seven critical principles that must first be accepted. These seven principles contain reality-reversal properties in themselves, but when combined together, they act to bring in the mighty power of God’s Love and healing.

A word of warning: Don’t presume you already know these principles, just because they may sound familiar. Believe me, these are principles that must be learned through consistent application. It’s only in their consistent application that undeniable miracles will unfold. This is how unswerving trust is developed in the power of God’s Love and healing.

You’ve undoubtedly noticed I often repeat certain themes and principles, especially regarding Atonement. It’s because I’m aware of the way our minds work: We understand a concept fully, which might lead us to think we’ve mastered this process. Yet when we are hit with a special challenge, a fear or issue that renders us temporarily insane, we tend to completely forget these principles—no matter how thorough our comprehension. In the frequent repetition of this material, my aim is to allow these concepts to sink in deeply, beyond the surface understanding of the intellect.

 For until these Truths become our natural default, we must be vigilant in our practice. These thought-reversal principles appear so often precisely because we need reminding over and over until they become second nature. Until this happens, please do book mark these pages on the Atonement/forgiveness process. Better still—print them out and keep them handy.

The key to opening to the Atonement is “Self-acceptance” especially when we’re feeling tempted by the appearance of adversity. I am learning to accept my Self but that doesn’t mean I accept the ego’s projection such as conflict, sickness, pain, disaster, etc. The key here is that I express sincere remorse to myself for having BELIEVED in the ego’s projection. For me and probably for many, the stumbling block is self-doubt. And when there is a spike of self-doubt, instead of bullying myself I’m learning to do the opposite. I apologize to myself first by saying, “I’m sorry for believing that thought or belief. Please forgive me. I Love you.”

I have found that this immediately disarms the ego’s critical judgment and opens my heart to accept and receive God’s Love in the form of correcting my perception; the Atonement or forgiveness. It is a declaration stating that I recognize my distorted perception is the singular cause of my distress. And I am genuinely sorry to myself for the upset it caused from having believed that I could be attacked (by another, myself, the body, pain, illness, financial lack, depression, etc).

I want another way of seeing this. Now it can be healed. I am learning to express unconditional Love to myself and this is peace because it undoes unconscious self-resentment as self-attack. No one can Love me unconditionally until I Love myself unconditionally. Until I learn to Love myself unconditionally I won’t allow myself to RECEIVE Love.

The seven basic principles of forgiveness/Atonement are:

1) Apply true denial. Recall there is only one Power, and it is God’s Loving Will. Therefore, steadfastly deny anything not of God’s Love the power to hurt you or anyone else.

2) Place cause and effect in their proper sequence. No matter the form of problem, all cause is in your mind and nowhere else. If you believe the cause is anywhere but in your mind, you will be unable to heal the cause or its seeming symptoms. Recall that unconscious guilt is self-attack projected outward. There is no one to forgive except yourself, for unconsciously using others, the body, the past or the world to attack you.

3) Make healing of your mistaken perception your priority over all else. You must desire to have your perception of the illness or problem healed, more than you want a physical healing, a physical miracle.

4) Look past appearances. Look beyond what your physical senses tell you of reality. The ego sends these senses out to report back exactly what it wants us to see; they will always confirm “proof” of separation and suffering.

5) Remember there is no hierarchy of illusions. One illusion is never truer or bigger than another. They’re all equally illusory. As we accept and practice this principle, we also learn and demonstrate that there is no order of difficulty in miracles. One miracle is not harder or more impossible to achieve than any other. By accepting and demonstrating the illusory nature of illusions, and the maximal power of miracles, we undo everything the ego made to attack us.

6) Accept the Atonement 

In accepting Atonement, we immediately join with and receive God’s certain Will for healing. This unequivocally replaces the ego’s wish to be unfairly treated. This is the miracle! No matter where we see suffering, we must accept the Atonement, the miracle, for our self. If we perceive suffering in another, the past, the body or the world, healing must be accepted in our own mind first. This is the divine undoing of fear and guilt in our perception.

7) Trust in God’s Love and healing with GRATITUDE! It is already done. Doubt and trust are mutually exclusive. If we doubt, we cannot accept healing. Trust also comes together with GRATITUDE. Feeling a sense of gratitude seals our trust completely. 

SHORT VERSION OF FORGIVENESS PRAYER

You can use this in any instant that you feel triggered emotionally or physically. When expressed with heartfelt sincerity, this is an exceptionally powerful prayer that initiates the miracle:

“Holy Spirit, please help me to forgive MYSELF for having unknowingly used___(person, pain, sickness, lack, anxiety, self-judgment, anger, etc)____to attack myself, and to separate from your Love as my Holy Self. Amen.”

 

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