“What can correct illusions but the truth? And what are errors but illusions that remain unrecognized for what they are? Where truth has entered errors disappear” ACIM,Workbook page 192, Lesson 107.

So many of us are searching for the truth; we read, we study, we practise one form of spirituality or another, in the hope of achieving liberation. We seem to have an innate desire to awaken from the dream of life on earth, even though some of us may not be consciously aware of this. I believe it is our oneness with God that propels us forwards and makes us search constantly for a path that will lead us Home.

The searching that we do is important because it is only the truth that will set us free. According to Lesson 107, the truth undoes the errors in the mind that are caused by the ego. Ever since the mind split, we have had to contend with the erroneous thought system of the ego; unless we overcome this somehow, we will remain in bondage-hence the importance of discovering the truth. For ACIM students, the truth is to be found in the 1300 or so pages of the Course. And it is the eagerness to discover the truth that encourages these students to study and practice the 365 daily lessons of the Workbook.

The main purpose of the lessons in the Workbook is to gradually change our perception of the world; to convince us that the world of the ego is an illusion and that God did not create our physical bodies or the universe and everything in it. God created us by extending himself; as He is perfect, eternal and immortal, we must be too. When we really appreciate the fact that this world is an illusion or a mere mental projection, it becomes easier to detach a little from it and to practice the most important part of the Course: forgiveness. In reality, there is nothing to forgive because we are just figures in a dream. Upon awakening, we will return to our original and only true state, i.e., spirit.

One major illusion that we all share is the belief that we are separate individuals. When we really understand what non-duality means, we will realise that we are all joined at the level of the mind/spirit, which is a key teaching of ACIM.

The errors, mentioned in Lesson 107, refer to the illusions that we cling to. It is only through study and contemplation that we will be able to let them go. Initially, we may find that we have less interest in what is going on in the world than we had before. We may no longer bother to read the newspapers or to support a political party. If it’s all an illusion what is the point of getting worked up about all the terrible things that are going on in our world today, e.g., famine, disease, capital punishment, terrorism, murder, fraud, greed and theft, to name but a few. These things are very upsetting and we have to do everything we can to alleviate suffering in the world. However, the only long-term, lasting solution is to change ourselves, awaken from the dream and help others to do the same. Because when we have all awakened, there will be no more suffering. We will all be living in the “real world” (a peaceful and happy place where everything and everyone has been forgiven, according to ACIM) where all the tragedies that befall us today, will simply slip away, as we overcome the ego. ACIM tells us that this is the last step prior to enlightenment.

When truth corrects all illusions our minds become healed-they are no longer split into wrong mind, ruled by the ego and right mind, where the Holy Spirit dwells. We will just be in our right minds, following the guidance of the Holy Spirit. At this stage we will be loving, forgiving and non-judgemental.

“Without illusions there could be no fear, no doubt and no attack. When truth has come all pain is over, for there is no room for transitory thoughts and dead ideas to linger in your mind. Truth occupies your mind completely, liberating you from all beliefs in the ephemeral….” W192. Eventually, as we overcome the ego, we will free ourselves from the hands of time, because the ego, time and space all go together-a package deal in fact. Actually, it is the ego that created time and space as an alternative to Heaven. Once the ego is conquered, we will be free to regain our immortality, and ACIM tells us that our physical body will no longer exist, as we will have no need for it.

The Course urges us to forgive all illusions, so as to become free of the ego: “All that must be forgiven are the illusions you have held against your brothers….Release your brothers from the slavery of their illusions by forgiving them for the illusions you perceive in them. Thus will you learn that you have been forgiven, for it is you who offered them illusions. In the holy instant (i.e., the instant we forgive) this is done for you in time, to bring you the true condition of Heaven.” T350.

It seems to us that, at times, there is a lot to forgive; someone may have upset us, cheated us, stole from us, spread rumours about us, etc. This may seem like a lot to forgive unless we remember that it isn’t really happening. If we remember that all the people, events and circumstances in our lives are our own mental projections, then we may find it easier to be forgiving. In fact, as the Course points out, we are really only overlooking something that didn’t actually take place. “Salvation, perfect and complete, asks but a little wish that what is true be true; a little willingness to overlook what is not there; a little sigh that speaks for Heaven as a preference to this world that death and desolation seem to rule….” T555