 We continue today with chapter 6, the lessons of the Holy Spirit, to have peace, teach peace, to learn it. All who believe in separation have a basic fear of retaliation and abandonment. They believe in attack and rejection, so that is what they perceive and teach and learn. These insane ideas are clearly the result of dissociation and projection. What you teach you are, but it is quite apparent that you can teach wrongly and can therefore teach yourself wrong. Many thought I was attacking them, even though it was apparent I was not. An insane learner learns strange lessons. What you must recognize is that when you do not share a thought system, you are weakening it. Those who believe in it, therefore perceive this as an attack on them. This is because everyone identifies himself with his thought system, and every thought system centers on what you believe you are. If the center of the thought system is true, only truth extends from it. But if a lie is at its center, only deception proceeds from it. All good teachers realize that only a fundamental change will last, but they do not begin at that level. Strengthening motivation for change is their first and foremost goal. It is also their last and final one. Increasing motivation for change in the learner is all that a teacher needs to do to guarantee change. Change in motivation is a change of mind, and this will inevitably produce fundamental change because the mind is fundamental. The first step in the reversal or undoing process is the undoing of the getting concept. Accordingly, the Holy Spirit's first lesson was, to have, give all to all. I said that this is apt to increase conflict temporarily, and we can clarify this still further now. At this point, the equality of having and being is not yet perceived. Until it is, having appears to be the opposite of giving. Therefore, the first lesson seems to contain a contradiction, since it is being learned by a conflicted mind. This means conflicting motivation, and so the lesson cannot be learned consistently as yet. Further, the mind of the learner projects its own conflict and thus does not perceive consistently in minds of others, making him suspicious of their motivation. This is the real reason why, in many respects, the first lesson is the hardest to learn. Still strongly aware of the ego in yourself, and responding primarily to the ego in others, you are being taught to react to both as if what you do believe is not true. Upside down, as always, the ego perceives the first lesson as insane. In fact, this is its only alternative, since the other possibility, which would be much less acceptable to it, would obviously be that it is insane. The ego's judgment, here as always, is predetermined by what it is. The fundamental change will still occur with the change of mind in the thinker. Meanwhile, the increasing clarity of the Holy Spirit's voice makes it impossible for the learner not to listen. For a time then, he is receiving conflicting messages and accepting both. The way out of conflict between two opposing thought systems is clearly to choose one and to relinquish the other. If you identify with your thought system, and you cannot escape this, and if you accept two thought systems which are in complete disagreement, peace of mind is impossible. If you teach both, which you will surely do as long as you accept both, you are teaching conflict and learning it. Yet you do want peace, or you would not have called upon the voice for peace to help you. Its lesson is not insane. The conflict is. There could be no conflict between sanity and insanity. Only one is true, and therefore only one is real. The ego tries to persuade you that it is up to you to decide which voice is true. But the Holy Spirit teaches you that truth was created by God, and your decision cannot change it. As you begin to realize the quiet power of the Holy Spirit's voice and its perfect consistency, it must dawn on your mind that you are trying to undo a decision that was irrecoverably made for you. That is why I suggest before that you remind yourself to allow the Holy Spirit to decide for God for you. You are not asked to make insane decisions, although you can think you are. It must, however, be insane to believe that it is up to you to decide what God's creations are. The Holy Spirit perceives the conflict exactly as it is. Therefore, his second lesson is to have peace, teach peace to learn it. This is still a preliminary step, since having and being are still not equated. It is, however, more advanced than the first step, which is really only the beginning of the thought reversal. The second step is a positive affirmation of what you want. This, then, is a step in the direction out of conflict, since it means that alternatives have been considered, and one has been chosen as more desirable. Nevertheless, the term more desirable still implies that the desirable has degrees. Therefore, although this step is essential for the ultimate decision, it is clearly not the final one. Lack of order of difficulty in miracles has not yet been accepted, because nothing is difficult that is wholly desired. To desire wholly is to create, and creating cannot be difficult if God Himself created you as a Creator. The second step, then, is still perceptual, although it is a giant step toward the unified perception that reflects God's knowing. As you take this step and hold this direction, you will be pushing toward the center of your thought system, where the fundamental change will occur. At the second step, progress is intermittent, but the second step is easier than the first, because it follows. Realizing that it must follow is a demonstration of a growing awareness that the Holy Spirit will lead you on. And from the workbook, with God, perception would have replaced knowledge forever in your mind. With this link, with God, perception will become so changed and purified that it will lead to knowledge. That is its function as the Holy Spirit sees it. Therefore, that is its function in truth. In God, you cannot see. Perception has no function in God, and does not exist. Yet in salvation, which is the undoing of what never was, perception has a mighty purpose. Made by the Son of God for an unholy purpose, it must become the means for the restoration of His holiness to His awareness. Perception has no meaning. Yet does the Holy Spirit give it a meaning very close to God's? Heal perception becomes the means by which the Son of God forgives His brother, and thus forgives Himself. You cannot see apart from God, because you cannot be apart from God. Whatever you do, you do in Him, because whatever you think, you think with His mind. If vision is real, and it is real to the extent to which it shares the Holy Spirit's purpose, then you cannot see apart from God. Three five-minute practice periods are required today. One as early, and one as late as possible in the day. The third may be undertaken at the most convenient and suitable time that circumstances and readiness permit. At the beginning of these practice periods, repeat the idea for the day to yourself with eyes open. Then glance around you for a short time, applying the idea specifically to what you see. Four or five subjects for this phase of the practice period are sufficient. You might say, for example, God is my source, I cannot see this desk apart from Him. God is my source, I cannot see that picture apart from Him. Although this part of the exercise period should be relatively short, be sure that you select the subjects for this phase of practice indiscriminately, without self-directed inclusion or exclusion. For the second and longer phase, close your eyes, repeat today's idea again, and then let whatever relevant thoughts occur to you to add to the idea in your own personal way. Thoughts such as, I see through the eyes of forgiveness. I see the world as blessed. The world can show me myself. I see my own thoughts, which are like God's. Any thought related more or less directly to today's idea is suitable. The thoughts need not bear any obvious relationship to the idea, but they should not be in opposition to it. You find your mind wandering if you begin to be aware of thoughts which are clearly out of accord with today's idea, or if you seem to be unable to think of anything, open your eyes, repeat the first phase of the exercise period, and then attempt the second phase again. Do not allow any protected period to occur in which you become preoccupied with irrelevant thoughts. Return to the first phase of the exercises as often as necessary to prevent this. In applying today's idea in the shorter practice periods, the form may vary accordingly to the circumstances and situations in which you find yourself during the day. When you are with someone else, for example, try to remember to tell him silently, God is my source. I cannot see you apart from him. This form is equally applicable to strangers as it is to those you think are closer to you. In fact, try not to make distinctions of this kind at all. Today's idea should also be applied throughout the day to various situations and events that may occur, particularly to those which seem to distress you in any way. For this purpose, apply the idea in this form. God is my source. I cannot see this apart from him. If no particular subject presents itself to your awareness at the time, merely repeat the idea in its original form. Try today not to allow any long periods of time to slip by without remembering today's idea and thus remembering your function. God is my source. I cannot see apart from him. So as we relax today and sink in to the practice, we are easing into the second lesson of the Holy Spirit's three lessons. How beautiful that we can just focus on this lesson today and extend on from our previous lesson of the Holy Spirit, which was to have give all to all. We follow up with this lesson from the early text to have peace, teach peace to learn it as we begin to transfer the lesson to everything that we think, everything that we say, everything that we do. And we use our workbook lesson today to focus our mind. First, on God. God is my source. And secondly, on the transformation of our perception, bringing it to unified perception, one short step away from the vision of Christ that we are offered by the Holy Spirit. We remind ourselves, I cannot see apart from him. Today is the day that we allow our perception to be transformed as we sink deeper and deeper within. The Holy Spirit is our mediator. The Holy Spirit is our bridge. Today, the transition deepens as we see the world anew. We are watching the world. We are not a body or a personality moving through time and space. We are watching our thoughts, watching the seeming world that these thoughts reflect, holding on to the awareness of our source, willing that our perception become so changed and purified that it will lead to knowledge, the knowledge of God, the I am-ness of Christ as identity. Nothing we perceive need be the same as it was in the past. We let go of all past thoughts today. We let go of past desires of all pursuits and rest in a peace and a stillness so deep, so tranquil that nothing can disturb our majestic state of mind. And we thank God for the gifts that he offers us today. The gifts of mind returning to mind, awareness of divine mind at peace forever. So we practice with our lesson. God is my source. I cannot see apart from him.