We said before that the abilities which man possesses are only shadows
of his real strengths, and that the intrusion of the ability to
perceive, which is inherently judgemental, was introduced only AFTER the
separation. No-one has been sure of anything since. You will also
remember, however, that I made it clear that the Resurrection was the
means for the RETURN to knowledge, which was accomplished by
the union of my will with the Father’s. We can now make a distinction
which will greatly facilitate clarity in our subsequent statements.

Since the separation, the words “create” and “make” have been greatly
confused. When you make something, you make it out of a sense of lack or
need. Anything that is made is made for a specific purpose, and has no
true generalizability. When you make something to fill a perceived lack,
which is obviously why you would want to make anything, you are tacitly
implying that you believe in separation. Knowing, as we have frequently
observed, does not lead to doing at all.

The confusion between your own creation and what YOU create is so
profound that it has become literally impossible for you to know
anything. Knowledge is always stable, and it is quite evident that human
beings are not. Nevertheless, they ARE perfectly stable as God created
them. In this sense, when their behavior is unstable they are
DISAGREEING with God’s Idea of the Creation. Man can do this if he
chooses, but he would hardly WANT to do it if he were in his right mind.
The problem that bothers you most is the fundamental question which man
continually asks of himself, but which cannot properly be directed to
himself at all. He keeps asking himself what he IS. This implies that
the answer is not only one which he knows, but is also one which is up
to him to supply.

Man CANNOT perceive himself correctly. He has no image. The word “image”
is always perception-related, and NOT a product of learning. Images are
symbolic, and stand for something else. The current emphasis on
“changing your image” merely recognizes the power of perception, but it
also implies that there is nothing to KNOW. Knowing is NOT open to
interpretation. It is possible to “interpret” meaning, but this is
always open to error because it refers to the PERCEPTION of meaning.
Such wholly needless complexities are the result of man’s attempt to
regard himself as both separated and unseparated at the same time. It is
impossible to undertake a confusion as fundamental as this without
engaging in further confusion.

Methodologically man’s mind has been very creative, but, as always
occurs when method and content are separated, it has not been utilized
for anything but an attempt to escape a fundamental and entirely
inescapable impasse. This kind of thinking cannot result
in a creative outcome, although it has resulted in considerable
ingenuity. It is noteworthy, however, that this ingenuity has almost
totally divorced him from knowledge. Knowledge does not REQUIRE
ingenuity. When we say “the truth shall set you free,” we mean that all
this kind of thinking is a waste of time, but that you ARE free of the
need to engage in it if you are willing to let it go.

Prayer is a way of asking for something. Prayer is the medium of
miracles, but the only meaningful prayer is for forgiveness, because
those who have been forgiven HAVE everything. Once forgiveness has been
accepted, prayer in the usual sense becomes utterly meaningless.
Essentially, a prayer for forgiveness is nothing more than a request
that we may be able to RECOGNIZE something we already have. In electing
to perceive instead of to know, man placed himself in a position where
he could resemble his Father ONLY by miraculously perceiving. He has
lost the knowledge that he HIMSELF is a miracle. Miraculous creation was
his Source, and also his real function.

“God created man in his Own image and likeness” is correct in meaning,
but the words are open to considerable misinterpretation. This is
avoided, however, if “image” is understood to mean “thought” and
“likeness” is taken as “of a like quality.” God DID create the Soul in
His Own Thought, and of a quality like to His Own. There IS nothing
else. Perception, on the other hand, is impossible WITHOUT a belief in
“more” and “less.” Perception at every level involves selectivity, and
is incapable of organization without it. In all types of perception
there is a continual process of accepting and rejecting, or organizing
and reorganizing, of shifting and changing focus. Evaluation is an
essential part of perception because judgements MUST be made for
selection.

What happens to perceptions if there ARE no judgements and there is
nothing but perfect equality? Perception becomes impossible. Truth can
only be KNOWN. All of it is equally true, and knowing any part of it IS
to know all of it. Only perception involves partial awareness. Knowledge
transcends ALL the laws which govern perception because partial
knowledge is impossible. It is all One and HAS no separate parts. You who
are really one with it need but know YOURSELF, and your knowledge is
complete. To know God’s
Miracle is to know Him.

Forgiveness is the healing of the perception of separation. Correct
perception OF EACH OTHER is necessary, because minds have willed to see
themselves as separate. Each Soul knows God completely. That IS the
miraculous power of the Soul. The fact that each One has this power
completely is a fact that is entirely alien to human thinking, in which
if anyone has everything, there is nothing LEFT. God’s Miracles are as
total as His Thoughts because they ARE His Thoughts.

As long as perception lasts prayer has a place. Since perception rests
on lack, those who perceive have not totally accepted the Atonement and
given themselves over to truth. Perception IS a separated state, and a
perceiver DOES need healing. Communion, not prayer, is the natural state
of those who know. God and His Miracles ARE inseparable. How beautiful
indeed are the Thoughts of God Who live in His Light! Your worth is
beyond perception because it is beyond doubt. Do not perceive yourself
in different lights. KNOW yourself in the One Light where the miracle
that is you is perfectly clear.