In reading this section it is helpful to keep in mind that sometimes the Course ‘speaks’ to us within the time/space continuum to enable us to understand the principles and manifest the willingness to put them into practice. At other times the Course is ‘speaking’ to us from the perspective of eternity in which all that comes about, exists for a moment, and then disappears. From the perspective of eternity the separation never occurred, we simply fell asleep, and are dreaming a dream.
a) “The belief in order of difficulties is the basis for the world’s perception.” (ACIM, M-8.1:1)
b) “What the body’s eyes behold is only conflict. ⁷Look not to them for peace and understanding.” (ACIM, M-8.1:6-7) (Observation)
c) “Illusions are always illusions of differences. ²How could it be otherwise? ³By definition, an illusion is an attempt to make something real that is regarded as of major importance, but is recognized as being untrue. ⁴The mind therefore seeks to make it true out of its intensity of desire to have it for itself. ⁵Illusions are travesties of creation; attempts to bring truth to lies.” (ACIM, M-8.2:1-5) (Question)
d) “Where do all these differences come from? ²Certainly they seem to be in the world outside. ³Yet it is surely the mind that judges what the eyes behold. ⁴It is the mind that interprets the eyes’ messages and gives them “meaning.” ⁵And this meaning does not exist in the world outside at all. ⁶What is seen as “reality” is simply what the mind prefers. (Hypothesis) ⁷Its hierarchy of values is projected outward, and it sends the body’s eyes to find it.” ⁸ (ACIM, M-8.3:1-8) (Experiment)
e) “Only the mind evaluates their messages, and so only the mind is responsible for seeing. ¹¹It alone decides whether what is seen is real or illusory, desirable or undesirable, pleasurable or painful.” (ACIM, M-8.3:10-11) (Analysis)
f) “It is in the sorting out and categorizing activities of the mind that errors in perception enter. ²And it is here correction must be made. ³The mind classifies what the body’s eyes bring to it according to its preconceived values, judging where each sense datum fits best. ⁴What basis could be faultier than this? ⁵Unrecognized by itself, it has itself asked to be given what will fit into these categories. ⁶And having done so, it concludes that the categories must be true. ⁷On this the judgment of all differences rests, because it is on this that judgments of the world depend. ⁸Can this confused and senseless “reasoning” be depended on for anything? “(ACIM, M-8.4:1-8) (more Analysis)
g) “There can be no order of difficulty in healing merely because all sickness is illusion. ²Is it harder to dispel the belief of the insane in a larger hallucination as opposed to a smaller one? “(ACIM, M-8.5:1-2)
h) “The one answer to sickness of any kind is healing. ⁹The one answer to all illusions is truth.” (ACIM, M-8.6:8-9)
Consider how the above compares to the contemporary Scientific Method:
The scientific method is a systematic approach to investigating natural phenomena. It typically involves the following steps:
- Observation: Gathering data or noticing something in the natural world.
- Question: Formulating a question or identifying a problem based on the observation.
- Hypothesis: Proposing a testable explanation or prediction.
- Experiment: Designing and conducting experiments to test the hypothesis.
- Analysis: Collecting and analyzing the data to see if they support or refute the hypothesis.
- Conclusion: Drawing conclusions and refining the hypothesis if necessary.
- Repetition: Repeating experiments to ensure reliability and validity of the results.
The method emphasizes objectivity, empirical evidence, and reproducibility.
Let is discuss these subjects and see what happens.