This Need Not Be

This passage in Chapter Four of the Urtext is always helpful to me. I have to reprint it here because every word, if you let it sink into your mind, will heal you of all temptation to believe in your pain. You can apply it to someone or to yourself. It is the key to forgiveness. I like it because it doesn't give me any room for justification of my own insane judgments.

Here it is:

In every case you have thought wrongly about some Soul that God created, and are perceiving images your ego makes in a darkened glass. Think honestly what you have thought that God would NOT have thought, and what you have NOT thought that God would have you think. Search sincerely for what you have done and left undone accordingly. And then change your minds to THINK WITH GOD'S.

How do you change your mind? Just think a new thought. Oh, I am wrong here. I am in pain, so I must be wrong. Period. I want to know what is true about myself and my brother. It is a challenge, but it also is easier than you think.

This may seem hard to you, but it is MUCH easier than trying to think AGAINST it. Your mind IS one with God's. Denying this and thinking otherwise has held your ego together, but has literally split your mind. As a loving brother, I am deeply concerned with your minds, and urge you to follow my example as you look at yourselves and at each other and see in both the glorious Creations of a glorious Father.

I often wonder why the pain is so persistent. But it is just habitual. I actually am enjoying it. I need to decide I don't like what I feel, and make another choice. Here is how Jesus expresses it:

When you are sad, KNOW that this NEED NOT BE. Depression ALWAYS arises ultimately from a sense of being deprived of something you want and do not have. KNOW you are deprived of nothing, except by your own decisions, and then decide otherwise.

When you are anxious, KNOW that all anxiety comes from the capriciousness of the ego, and NEED NOT BE. You can be as vigilant AGAINST the ego's dictates as FOR them.

When you feel guilty, KNOW that your ego has indeed violated the laws of God, but YOU have not. Leave the sins of the ego to me. That is what the Atonement is for. But until you change your mind about those your ego has hurt, the Atonement cannot release you. As long as you feel guilty, your ego is in command, because only the ego CAN experience guilt. THIS NEED NOT BE.

Well, there you have it. In a nutshell. Any emotion that you can conjure up, is addressed in this passage. Jesus really knows you. And now, because you are on this journey without distance, there is no reason to cling to old habitual thinking. There is every reason to let it go. This is not difficult, it is just a completely different way to use the power of your mind. Instead of aligning with falsity, you align with God.

Let me know if this helps you today!

Blessings!