A Savior's Dialectic

Reading the first paragraph of today’s lesson, 333, Forgiveness ends the dream of conflict here, I was struck again by Jesus’ simple, clear, precise, step by step guidance in just four sentences: 1) to resolve your conflict, 2) don’t do this, 3) do this, and 4) your apparent conflict will disappear.

Conflict must be resolved. It cannot be
evaded, set aside, denied, disguised,
seen somewhere else, called by another name,
or hidden by deceit of any kind,
if it would be escaped. It must be seen
exactly as it is, where it is thought
to be, in the reality which has
been given it, and with the purpose that
the mind accorded it. For only then
are its defenses lifted, and the truth
can shine upon it as it disappears.

When I came across this phrase, where it is thought to be, this line flashed into my mind:

Sorrow’s springs are the same.

This comes from a poem by Gerard Manley Hopkins (1844-1889) entitled, Spring and Fall: To a Young Child.

Margaret, are you grieving
Over Goldengrove unleaving?
Leaves, like the things of man, you
With your fresh thoughts care for, can you?
Ah! as the heart grows older
It will come to such sights colder
By & by, nor spare a sigh
Though worlds of wanwood leafmeal lie;
And yet you wíll weep & know why.
Now no matter, child, the name:
Sorrow's springs are the same.
Nor mouth had, no nor mind, expressed
What héart héard of, ghóst guéssed:
It is the blight man was born for,
It is Margaret you mourn for.

Margaret may think she is depressed and grieving simply because of what she sees outside of her—the falling, dying leaves, Goldengrove unleaving, and worlds of wanwood leafmeal laying about, and the melancholy of a day in the fall. And the narrator knows that she will grow up, adjust to these sights, become hardened, and come to such sights colder. But he asks in the first sentence, are these external things really what she is upset about? He knows that her sorrow springs always from the same thing, conflicting thoughts that start inside and paint a sad picture outside. He answers his question in the last two lines, saying that this is the blight for which she was born. This is emphasized in rhyming born for and mourn for. The certain result of being born into the human condition is mourning.

To his credit the narrator identifies the problem, the thoughts in her mind, and yet he is incapable of offering a solution.

Right here is where we can engage the narrator and Margaret in a savior’s dialectic. That is what Jesus does throughout His Course in Miracles, and particularly in today’s lesson. (I am grateful to my friend, Jane Wiltshire, who first introduced me to this idea.) Dialectic means “dialogue, the art of arriving at the truth by the exchange of logical arguments.” Although argument has taken on negative connotations—couples argue, parents and children argue, friends argue, the word comes from the Latin, arguere, meaning “to make clear.” With an awakened mind, the mind of the savior, we can engage Margaret in a dialogue that will make clear that she is not who she thinks she is, that her thoughts have no source in reality.

We can demonstrate to her that no matter what she thinks,

What heart heard of, ghost guessed

Forgiveness ends the dream of conflict here.

Margaret, in your separated state you are, indeed, born to mourn, but that is not the truth of what you are. You are the holy child of God, and you can be reborn through forgiveness. As Jesus tells us in today’s lesson, conflict is only thought into existence, and you can learn to change your thoughts.

This brings us back to the beginning, Jesus’ step by step guidance.

1. Conflict must be resolved.

Resolve means “to make a firm decision about.” You have the power of decision to decide between your sorrow, or the peace of God.

2. It cannot be
evaded, set aside, denied, disguised,
seen somewhere else, called by another name,
or hidden by deceit of any kind,
if it would be escaped.

Jesus knows that we will do everything possible to keep the conflict, while all the time refusing to face it directly, engaging in evasive tactics. This ensures that the conflict remains as a defense against the love of God. Margaret, this is what I did in my most recent devastation. I sat down on the couch, grabbed a pen and notebook, and wrote down each thought exactly as it entered my mind—It must be seen exactly as it is. By simply setting down each thought, I faced it head on, not evading it, not setting it aside, and so forth. After filling up four pages, I realized that my inner dialogue disappeared into the nothingness it is, and I was free because it was replaced by my own dialogue with my Self, telling me the truth of what I am, the holy child of God.

3. It must be seen
exactly as it is, where it is thought
to be, in the reality which has
been given it, and with the purpose that
the mind accorded it.

The devastation was simply heightened conflict, and conflict, Margaret, is where it is thought to be, thought into existence, and these thoughts have only one purpose—preoccupying you to such an extent that you will not turn towards the light.

4. For only then
are its defenses lifted, and the truth
can shine upon it as it disappears.

And now as the dark defense lifts by your forgiving thoughts, you can see the glory of autumn as purely a reflection of your Self, shining brightly in everything you look upon.

Father, forgiveness is the light You chose
to shine away all conflict and all doubt,
and light the way for our return to You.
No light but this can end our evil dream.
No light but this can save the world. For this
alone will never fail in anything,
being Your gift to Your beloved Son.


Finally, think of light as understanding.

Understanding is light, and light leads to knowledge.
T-5.111.7:5

Now, you understand that you seemed to be born to mourn, yet you can ask for help to be reborn by changing your mind, forgiving conflicting thoughts, and experiencing the knowledge of peace and joy.