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The origin of fear is separation. There was no fear at first, but as a result of us thinking we had separated from God, fear came into being.
Actually, fear only exists as long as we dream we are separate from God. So fear can only be found in a dream of separation.
ACIM tells us that the material this illusion is made of is this very fear (ACIM, T-16.IV.6:3). That’s why in this world nothing is really pleasurable, it just feels so, against the background of pain (ACIM, M-13.4:1–5:8).
But as long as we are asleep, fear feels very real to us, like our private dreams do when we sleep at night.
The Levels of the Mind
Since the seeming separation, our mind is split into the superconscious, conscious and subconscious levels.
The superconscious level is where the divine knowledge is, it’s the light which the ego is afraid of us getting to.
The ego distorts the impulses coming from it by sending them to our unconscious, so that they seem to originate from the body. Thus, for example, the wish to unite with God is misinterpreted as the body’s attraction to other bodies.
This is well explained in the ACIM UrText Volume 1, in the T 3 F Conflict and the Ego chapter.
The conscious level is the domain of the ego:
Consciousness, the level of perception, was the first split introduced into the mind after the separation, making the mind a perceiver rather than a creator. Consciousness is correctly identified as the domain of the ego. The ego is a wrong-minded attempt to perceive yourself as you wish to be, rather than as you are.
The surface level of the mind is the egoic mind that receives impulses both from the superconscious and the subconscious levels.
The upper subconscious is up to us to fill – or not. Most people fill it with ego thoughts, as they don’t guard their conscious minds.
The upper subconscious is what ACIM calls “the unwatched mind”:
The unwatched mind is responsible for the whole content of the unconscious which lies above the miracle level.
This is the level which contains both good and bad impulses, and our ignorance of what’s there prevents us from reaching the level below it – the Christ mind.
The deepest subconscious remains inaccessible for most people because of the thick layer of the upper subconscious. This is the level of the Christ Mind – the level of true salvation, where the healing of the world lies.
We can ask Christ to correct the upper subconscious level, so that all the false perceptions are deleted from there.
Furthermore, we should guard it against stray negative thoughts (by watching our mind so that they don’t sink into the subconscious) and give those thoughts for the Holy Spirit to undo. And we should stop regenerating this layer by not reacting to the dream world negatively.
The ego will always give us problems – that’s how this dream of fear is maintained. But when we start really getting that nothing can hurt us as Spirit, and that the body together with the world is just a dream material… when we really understand this is a dream, we will stop reacting to it fearfully.
When we stop reacting, the thick subconscious mind level of illusions starts getting thinner, and the Christ Mind can shine forth more and more reliably, healing our bodies, restoring our minds, and healing all those whom we reach and who are ready for salvation.
The Christ Mind – The Voice of God
This Christ Mind – the Holy Spirit or the Higher Self, in other words – has been created by God after the separation to lead us home.
Jesus got in touch with It and through Its guidance fully realized the world to be a dream, and therefore was able to return to the Kingdom.
We can do this too, by following these steps:
1. Since the mind never sleeps and continuously creates on some form (COA ACIM T-2.X.2:1-3), we must watch it always. When it thinks unlovingly, we must forgive this by understanding unloving thoughts are not of God and therefore do not exist, and give them for the Holy Spirit to undo.
2. We should not react fearfully to any manifestation, as this will maintain the dream of fear. Instead, like in the previous step, we must forgive this mind-generated illusion, and give it for the Holy Spirit to undo. We should affirm that only Spirit exists, the Kingdom of God, and by forgiving the dream, we will see it.
3. We should will only with God. This means willing only with love. Any even slightly negative intention must be forgiven and given for the Holy Spirit to undo, because this keeps our mind split.
4. We should open all the dark corners of our minds for God to heal. Ask in a prayer for your mind to be filled with light, so that no darkness remains.
Since the separation, we seemingly projected ourselves out of heaven. But in truth, we are only dreaming this happened, and we are safe with God.
But this dream is deep, and we cannot awaken ourselves. That’s why the Holy Spirit was created, the Voice of God, the Higher Self, the Christ Mind.
This call to return, though very silent at first, is always there. The shrieks of the ego are loud, but the voice of God is always in the background, patiently waiting for you to hear.
This Voice, and it alone, can lead us out of this illusion. It’s the voice that encourages us to be peaceful instead of warlike, to forgive rather than to keep the grudge, to let go rather than to grasp. As you listen to this voice, you realize that’s the voice of sanity, and you make it your guide out of the dream of fear.
Listen to the ego, and the Spirit seems not to exist. Listen to the Holy Spirit, and this world becomes dream-like. Fear equals the dream, the illusion. Love equals the reality – God. To the extent you believe in one, another doesn’t exist for you.
React with fear, and you maintain the dream. Side with love, and another version of events will be shown to you – another interpretation, the better dream (CE T-28.II.11-12) which lies beyond the deceptions of the ego and which leads you back to the Kingdom of God.
Your private world is filled with the figures of fear you have invited into it, and all the love your brothers offer you, you do not see.
Final Advice to End fear
Actively deny fearful creations, as this is the only useful employment of denial. This goes against New Age teachings, but ACIM claims that denying illusion helps to dissolve it:
This is the proper use of denial. It is not used to hide anything, but it is used to correct error. It brings all error into the light, and since error and darkness are the same, it abolishes error automatically. True denial is a very powerful protective device. You can and should deny any belief that error can hurt you. This kind of denial is not a concealment device but a correction device. The right mind of the mentally healthy depends on it.
There is no world because it is a thought apart from God, and made to separate the Father and the Son and break away a part of God Himself, and thus destroy His wholeness. Can a world which comes from this idea be real? Can it be anywhere? Deny illusions, but accept the truth. Deny you are a shadow briefly laid upon a dying world. Release your mind, and you will look upon a world released.
Yet every Son of God has the power to deny illusions anywhere in the Kingdom, merely by denying them completely in himself.
It is denial of illusions that calls on truth, for to deny illusions is to recognize that fear is meaningless. Into the holy home where fear is powerless, love enters thankfully, grateful that it is one with you who joined to let it enter.
Fully understand that you didn’t create yourself. The body is not you, it’s the projection of your mind that doesn’t really exist as it was not projected with God but out of the belief in separation. That’s why the body gets sick and dies – because it’s made of the material of illusion.
By seeing yourself as a loving, immortal Spirit, and by denying any other identification, you will help to dissolve the dream of fear.