What is meant by a universal experience ? Q #973: I have been reading A Course in Miracles for over twenty years and have never directly experienced the Holy Spirit or Jesus. I never had any visions or heard any voices. The only time I have any experience of Jesus or the Holy Spirit is when I read the words in ACIM . The Introduction to the clarification of terms at the end of the manual says “A universal theology is impossible, but a universal experience is not only possible but necessary” (C.in.2:5). I feel my focus is on what I am not experiencing like not being angry, fearful, or guilty. I recognize not to use the ego thought system to judge or value anything in this world. Can you explain what is meant by a universal experience? A: The universal experience Jesus refers to is that all people would experience in some way that God loves them and has never condemned them. Earlier in the manual, he expressed it this way: “Gods Son is guiltless, and in his innocence is his salvation” (M.1.3:5) . Because of all the cultural, linguistic, and other differences among the people and nations in the world, it is unlikely that there could ever be a theological expression of this that would be accepted by everyone; but that does not matter in the end, Jesus is saying. All that matters is that we experience in whatever way we can, our innocence in Gods sight, and that this innocence extends to everyone, without exception. This does not have to be experienced as a vision or a voice; it could simply be an awareness or a feeling. But Jesus teaches us that we should not try to force ourselves to have this experience. He teaches us, rather, to recognize our commitment to the exact opposite -- our concealed investment in seeing ourselves and/or others as sinful, which is the basis of our guilt, fear, and anger. This investment -- coming from our identification with the ego -- is the interference to our awareness of our eternal innocence; and therefore the focus of the Courses teachings and exercises is on forgiveness. For students who have accepted A Course in Miracles as their path, the practice of forgiveness is what will bring about the universal experience of love. Everyone will eventually arrive at the same place, but the means and paths may all differ. facimoutreach.org/qa/questions/questions196.htm#Q973
Posted on: Tue, 07 Oct 2014 12:27:42 +0000
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