DENIAL OF ILLUSION:

"2 The acceptance of peace is the denial of illusion, and sickness is an illusion. 3 Yet every Son of God has the power to deny illusions anywhere in the Kingdom, merely by denying them completely in himself." [T-10.III.7. Sentences 2-3]

DENIAL OF EXPERIENCE:

"8 The body is merely part of your experience in the physical world. 9 Its abilities can be and frequently are overevaluated. 10 However, it is almost impossible to deny its existence in this world. 11 Those who do so are engaging in a particularly unworthy form of denial. 12 The term "unworthy" here implies only that it is not necessary to protect the mind by denying the unmindful. 13 If one denies this unfortunate aspect of the mind's power, one is also denying the power itself." [T-2.IV.3. Sentences 8-13]

While having the experience of being in a body, I can see illusions for what they are and deny their existence. That's how I allow truth to reveal itself through me. The way I deny their existence is through my forgiveness practice. However, while being in a seeming physical body, denying my experience would be foolish.

An example would be, if someone is dealing with a physical condition, his experience may be that the body is sick. So while he may be prompted to take the medicine, or as The Course reffers to as, "special agents", he can continue practicing the forgiveness process while denying the illusion. In that sense, he sets himself up to experience the peace that passeth understanding. If on the other hand, he denies the experience by pretending that he is not in a body and that the body is not real, he may have to deal with the consequences of a choice that was not made by Spirit but by his own ego.

I know I am not a body, but that does not mean I am going to run in front of a moving truck. As we practice our forgiveness process, and continue on our way to achieving enlightenment, one of two things will take place. One, we could get to a place where Jesus the Christ was able to get to, where he could dispose of the body and return to it by choice, which by the way, I don't know of any master that have achieve that kind of state of enlightenment. Or two, we could simply live a normal life, which is probably the way it will be, except that our love and sense of who we are is so predominant that no matter what happens around us, our peace is unshaken. In that sense, after we have left the body, there is no need for us to incarnate, or should I say, return to the dream again. And our cycle of birth and death has come to an end.

So the question is, do we want to perpetuate this dream? Or do we want to awaken from it? If we do, how long do we want for that process to take place? The answer lies in our willingness to practice forgiveness. As The Course reminds us, "The miracle substitutes for learning that might have taken thousands of years."

Nick Arandes was part of the self-help movement for close to 20 years. Published 4 books, produced CDs and DVDs, wrote countless articles and touched the lives of many people worldwide before becoming homeless, broke and diagnosed with a thyroid tumor. Then something happened that forever changed his life! A miraculous turn of events led him to the teachings of A Course in Miracles. As a result of putting the principles of The Course into practice, and experiencing a powerful inner transformation, he published What Happens When You Let God. To find out more about Nick's work, or to order your copy of the book, simply log on to: www.TruthAndMiracles.com