Question: What's Enlightenment?

Thanks for asking the questions which come to your brain, even though they seem "rather peculiar" to you. In Enlightenment all perceived pain has vanished, for what but wrong-mindedness seemed to produce the misperception called pain.

Pain was the illusion that Christ could leave a Loving Creator's Mind. "If pain is real there is no God. If God is real there is no pain."(W-190.3) The latter does work because God doesn't have opposite. Enlightenment entails no pain or displeasure about ANYTHING, for Enlightenment is Pure, Constant Happiness, Peace, Freedom, and Joy. Being Constant, Enlightenment knows not of change. The illusion of vulnerability and fluctuating emotions has gone as well. There's no ego to fall "back into." Spirit Abides in gentle Love. All pain is over Now and nothing remains but a benefit of Stillness.

The Holy Spirit is the reminder that Life is Eternal. The Present Moment is the gateway to Eternity. The entire world of images was an environment of illusion. Images are therefore neutral to the Holy Spirit. They certainly were "neutralized" the instant they seemed to arise.

What does this mean in terms of your next question? You can't kill what's never lived, and in the Holy Spirit's Perspective of forgiveness harm is impossible. Bodies were never born and never die because the world of images is the past. It's impossible to get beginnings and endings in a script that is already written and over long ago. There's no life in images. Here is the meaning of "Hold no graven images prior to the Lord Thy God." All images were built to obscure the Truth from awareness, and they are able to only be forgiven as one illusion. If illusions could be divided up into living and dead, organic and inorganic, animate and inanimate Enlightenment would be impossible.

For what's Enlightenment but Pure Oneness, far beyond the chance of division of any sort? The split mind was the illusion. Seek never to project the split mind to forms and call some forms alive and some forms dead a course in miracles. God knows not form. The split mind seemed to be the "killer" illusion, the Holy Spirit reminds the sleeping mind that what's whole and unified can never BE split. In Heaven Mind is One Spirit, and even with regard to this world forgiveness reflects this Oneness. The forgiven world recognizes the unity of the healed mind and sees that there surely is nothing "outside" of this single mind which dreams softly a pleased, gentle dream. The target of ACIM would be to dream softly of a sinless world. This goal is a lot more than possible, it's inevitable!

As for my seeming diet, "eat what's served" is the Guidance I was handed from the Holy Spirit a long time ago. Join together with your brother and let no concept come between the Love you share. This Guidance hasn't changed. "Dinner" is always a backdrop for sharing the Joy of the Living Moment. What the world calls "breathing" and "eating" and "drinking" and "sleeping" are actually yet in the Enlightened State. The Healed Perspective sees the sameness of things because each of them share exactly the same Purpose: forgiveness. This Perspective isn't "personal," for in unified perception nothing is personal.

God isn't any respecter of persons. I literally cannot "take" an animal's "life" because Life is Spirit and can just only be extended or Given as God Gives. "Take" doesn't have meaning in my mind and since animals have not "lived" it's impossible that they might "die." The belief expressed in the idea "personally take an animal's life" has many underlying assumptions which are false. In right-mindedness it's obvious that ideas are strengthened since they are given away or shared, and "taking" a "life" or anything more doesn't have meaning. All that I give is given to mySelf, and in giving there is no loss, no sacrifice, and nothing is ever recinded from wholeness and unity.

The teacher of God does not want whatever can't be given away. Such is the Joy of miracles! The idea seeds seem to be flung everywhere, yet there is never a good glance back again to see where the seeds land. The seeds are never for an "other," and since giving and receiving are exactly the same the mind receives the gifts it gives. That is truly the feast you seek for beneath the ego's questions.

The only question that need be asked is a question that is certainly not silly at all: Am I ready to know that God's Will and My Own would be the Same? God's Will for Me is for Perfect Happiness. And what but this Will is the Will of Christ? Happily, nothing may change Eternal Love. Thank You God!