The War Against My Self

"Innocence is strength, and nothing else is strong.  No one is strong who has an enemy, and no one can attack unless he thinks he has." -- A Course in Miracles; Chapter 23, Introduction,1:2, 5

The news lately doesn't bear repeating.  There appears to be so much anger and hatred teeming everywhere, so much unfairness and senseless violence. 
My question to myself is, "Who is seeing this?" 
I am seeing both victims and enemies. 
I am seeing both villains and innocents. 
I am seeing this. 
And as ACIM reminds me, no one can attack (and seeing a world like this is an attack on Self, on the Christ that I Am!) unless he believes in enemies and victims.  So how do I give up this War Against My Self? (ACIM Chapter 23)

"Walk you in glory with your head held high, and fear no evil. The innocent are safe, because they share their innocence [see it everywhere, in everyone and everything]. Nothing they see is harmful, for their awareness of the Truth releases everything from the illusion of harmfulness.  And what seemed harmful now stands shining in their innocence, released from sin and fear and happily returned to Love.  They share the strength of Love because they looked on innocence."

To those of us who deeply cherish our belief in suffering and death, this is a challenging section of the Course.  To accept the responsibility that my awareness of the Truth releases everything from the illusion of harmfulness can seem impossible.  But remember, forgiveness (the release of everything from the illusion of harmfulness) is our only function here.  Remember, the Course says very plainly and literally, "I will forgive, and this will disappear."

These are not pretty words to read and then put away.  They are the Truth, and so encompass everyone and everything as the Reality of All.  When we forgive, nothing is really happening.  We are simply letting go of all the seemingly harmful ideas and concepts we held about ourselves and the world around us.  When the concepts are shed, it's like the veil is lifted, and the Beauty and Joy of Truth is revealed as All, literally All that is ever happening.

Awakening to Truth is not escapism, and it is not for those who still think there is truth in the world of images and concepts.  It is the Way given to us by Buddha, by Jesus, by all the Awakened Ones throughout the seemingly endless stories of the world.  In the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna tells his disciple Arjuna, "Fear Not. What is not real, never was and never will be. What is real, always was and cannot be destroyed."  A Course in Miracles says the same thing in the Introduction, where it says quite plainly: "This Course can therefore be summed up very simply in this way:  Nothing Real can be threatened. Nothing unreal exists.  Herein lies the Peace of God." 

While we struggle with judgments about the appearance of things, with stories of villains and victims, of good and bad, we cannot see the Truth.  We are covering the face of Christ with masks and veils, and cannot remember Who We Are. We are valuing our conditioned beliefs over our commitment to knowing the Truth. The good news is that we can forgive literally everything we see, knowing that right where the evil seems to be, there is only our God-Self, only Goodness and Infinite Love.

"Brother, the war against yourself is almost over.  The journey's end is at the place of peace.  Would you not now accept the peace offered you here?  This 'enemy' you fought as an intruder on your peace is here transformed, before your sight, into the giver of your peace.  Your 'enemy' was God HimSelf, to Whom all conflict, triumph, and attack of any kind are all unknown." A Course in Miracles; Chapter 23, Section I, 4:1-5