The Circle of Atonement

"The Circle of Atonement has no end. Joy is Its unifying attribute, with no one left outside. The Power of God draws everyone to Its safe embrace of Love and Union. Stand quietly within this Circle, and attract all tortured minds to join with you in the safety of Its Peace and Holiness. Judge not except in this Quietness which is not of you." -- A Course in Miracles

Quietness that is not of me. Quietness that has Joy as its unifying attribute. Quietness that is Love and Oneness ItSelf. This all-embracing, inclusive stillpoint, the Oneness that We Are, is the Atonement. A Course in Miracles tells us that "everyone has a special part to play in the Atonement, but the message given to each one is always the same; God's Son is guiltless. Your only calling here is to devote yourself, with active willingness, to the denial of guilt in all its forms."

There are several unequivocal points here. When it says 'your only calling here,' there is no way this can be misinterpreted. Only means only. And when it says that calling is to devote oneself, devotion means complete and utter commitment. And when it says with active willingness, it closes the backdoor (the con of separating the earthly life from Truth) that the ego likes to keep open. Active willingness means active in all parts of one's imagined life, not just the occasional foray into Truth. So here, in this one sentence, is it all laid out in perfect simplicity and clarity. My only calling in this world is to devote my heart, mind, soul, and strength (and all other imagined resources) to knowing the Innocence and Oneness of All, and thereby remembering God, my One Self. This is the Atonement. And this is why ACIM says over and over and over that forgiveness is my only function here. Only the mind that has released all imagined grievances can see the Truth... that All is One and forever Innocent and Free of anything unlike Love.

So we have the answer to the great preoccupation of the ego: what am I supposed to do? And we are given clear instructions to "judge not except in quietness which is not of you." So we know that our job is the easiest one in the world... to forgive, to release, and to listen to the Voice for God. Everything else is given us.

The hard part is the devotion and active willingness. We have given our devotion and our willingness to the world of illusions for so long it has become an ingrained, conditioned pattern of behavior. And it takes great willingness to shift your entire world; heart, mind, soul, and strength; your entire devotion and all your resources; your entire identity. Again, you don't have to DO it... in fact, who you think you are is incapable of it. As we are told, we DO have to be actively willing to turn our entire world over to the Voice for God, and to devote our world to this. And we DO have to be willing to listen and follow the Voice. The willingness to forgive and release it all and to follow the Voice... this is our only calling and function. Period.

You and I are the hands and feet and voice of the Atonement... every minute of every day we are willing to forgive, release, and listen to the Voice. You don't get a more important purpose and calling than this. Our willingness to be true to this and only this is crucial. Together, we ARE the Circle of Atonement.

"Merely by Being What It Is, does Truth release you from everything that It is not. The Atonement is so gentle you need but whisper to It, and all Its Power will rush to your assistance and support. You are not frail with God beside you. Yet without Him you are nothing." -- A Course in Miracles