What is Sin?

Our special theme says, “There is no sin. Creation is unchanged.”

What is creation?

You are creation. What you are is what A Course in Miracles means by the word, “creation.”

Let’s revisit yesterday’s analogy:

At the surface of the ocean, waves appear. Each wave is temporary, like the body and the personality. The water in the waves appear to be affected by the weather, just like you seem to be affected by the world and the mind’s thoughts. However, the water that is part of the wave isn’t really affected. It may sometimes appear calm and sometimes appear highly agitated, but it is always water. It doesn’t become blood or seaweed. It is forever unaffected by the weather.

At the same time, at the depth of the ocean, the water is untouched by even the appearance of being affected. The weather at the surface does not reach the depths at all.

In the same way, your true Self is not affected at the surface, where there is the appearance of affected. And the appearance of affected does not exist at all within the depths of your Self. At the depth, there is no judgment, no duality, no ignorance and no outward focus.

As this analogy makes clear, both at the surface and at the depth, you remain what you have always been, life-awareness. You have never not been life-awareness, and you shall always be life-awareness.

Let me remember God created me.

Today, let’s contemplate what “I” and “me” really mean. Typically, when the mind uses these words, it refers to itself. It refers to thought as “I” and “me.”

However, that is not what “I” and “me” really mean. “I” and “me” are pronouns used to refer to one’s self, and thought is not a self.

When the mind uses “I” and “me” to refer to itself, it is a misuse of those terms. When we believe thought is “I” and “me,” we are confused about what we are.

Ramana Maharshi said:

That which rises as “I” in this body is the mind. If one inquires as to where in the body the thought “I” rises first, one would discover that it rises in the heart. … Even if one thinks constantly “I,” “I,” one will be led to that place.

If you have 30 minutes for meditation today, I recommend this meditation:

Self-Inquiry Meditation

What is Sin?

Our special theme says, “There is no sin.” That means, there is no judgment. There is no duality. There is no ignorance. There is no outward focus.

Is that true?

Yes. That is all true for the true Self.

It is very difficult to explain how there is no judgment, duality, ignorance or outward focus for the true Self while also admitting that attention goes out to judgment and duality while ignoring truth.

Let me use an analogy:

The best analogy I know is the analogy of the ocean. At the surface of the ocean, waves appear. Each wave is temporary, like the body and the personality. The water in the waves appear to be affected by the weather, just like you seem to be affected by the world and the mind’s thoughts. However, the water that is part of the wave isn’t really affected. It may sometimes appear calm and sometimes appear highly agitated, but it is always water. It doesn’t become blood or seaweed. It is forever unaffected by the weather.

At the same time, in the depths of the ocean, the water is untouched by even the appearance of being affected. The weather at the surface does not reach the depths at all.

In the same way, your true Self is not affected at the surface, where there is the appearance of affected. And the appearance of affected does not exist at all within the depths of your Self. At the depth, there is no judgment, duality, ignorance or outward focus at all.

Our function now is to return the unaffected attention, which has been at the surface, to the depths of the Self, so it may know itself as it has always been.

Let me remember that there is no sin.

Today we contemplate the depths of the Self. We realize that awakening is realization of the depth as our truth. We accept that at the depth, there never has been judgment; there never has been duality; there never has been ignorance; and there never has been outward focus. The depth of the Self has always been only aware of itself.

If you have 30 minutes for meditation today, I recommend repeating this meditation from yesterday:

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What is Sin?

Our special theme asks, “How long, O Son of God, will you maintain the game of sin?”

Let’s contemplate this question using some of our alternative terms:

How long, O Son of God, will you maintain the game of judgment?

How long, O Son of God, will you maintain the game of duality?

How long, O Son of God, will you maintain the game of ignoring truth?

How long, O Son of God, will you maintain the game of outward focus?

We can answer, “No longer will I play that game.” It is within our power to stop playing the game now. We have the practices that point away from games and towards truth. To stop playing the game, we simply need the desire to live from those practices instead of from old conditioning that is not in harmony with what we want now.

Let me remember that my goal is God.

Today is another opportunity to contemplate what we really want.

Spiritual practice can be forgotten when we are distracted by the personality mind’s “little senseless aims.” However, when we continuously contemplate what we really want, we are naturally drawn to the spiritual practices that lead to Self-realization. We are naturally drawn to those practices, because they are the way to complete our heart’s one true desire.

If you have 30 minutes for meditation today, I recommend this meditation:

AWA Description Z

What is Sin?

Our special theme says, “A madman’s dreams are frightening, and sin appears indeed to terrify. And yet what sin perceives is but a childish game.”

Let’s contemplate this using some of our alternative terms:

A madman’s dreams are frightening, and duality appears indeed to terrify. And yet what judgment perceives is but a childish game.

A madman’s dreams are frightening, and ignorance appears indeed to terrify. And yet what ignorance perceives is but a childish game.

A madman’s dreams are frightening, and outward focus appears indeed to terrify. And yet what outward focus perceives is but a childish game.

Our special theme continues, “The Son of God may play he has become a body, prey to evil and to guilt, with but a little life that ends in death. But all the while his Father shines on him, and loves him with an everlasting Love which his pretenses cannot change at all.”

These words are symbolic. However, they point toward our unaffected truth, which is not symbolic at all. It is very real, and it is present right now.

Today, we begin another day with clarity regarding the problem that “appears indeed to terrify.” That is ignoring truth, focusing outward and believing the mind’s judgments. This clarity reinforces the realization that the solution to the problem is paying attention to awareness, focusing inward for intuitive guidance and ignoring the mind’s judgments by practicing the Loving All Method.

Let me remember what my purpose is.

Today’s lesson says, “If I forget my goal I can be but confused, unsure of what I am, and thus conflicted in my actions.”

This is important to contemplate:

If I am confused about what I am, my actions will be confused also.

How might you act differently as the eternal unaffected Self than you do as an apparent personality-body-mind?

With which identity would you experience more peace?

With which identity would you respond more patiently and lovingly?

With which identity would you feel more secure?

When we were on Lesson 238, we saw that we make decisions based on who we think we are. We could also say that we live from our identity.

Today’s lesson reminds us to focus on our spiritual aspiration so “we may unify our thoughts and actions meaningfully.”

When we remember what we truly want, we are more likely to pay attention to awareness, feel inward for intuitive guidance and practice the Loving All Method. When those habits are our central focus, we are more likely to live from our unaffected Self than from the frantic personality-mind.

If you have 30 minutes for meditation today, I recommend this meditation:

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