Let me remember that sin does not exist.
1. Sin is the one thought that makes the goal of reaching God seem unattainable.I
²What else could keep us from seeing the obvious, and make what is truly strange and distorted appear clearer than what is beyond all doubt?
³What else but sin leads us to attack?
⁴What else but sin is the source of guilt, demanding punishment and pain?
⁵And what else but sin is the source of fear, which darkens God’s Creation and attributes to Love the traits of fear and attack?
2. Father,
today I do not want to be insane.
²I do not want to fear Love,
nor do I want to seek refuge in its opposite.
³For Love can have no opposite.
⁴You are the Source of all that is.
⁵And all that is remains with You and in You.
I Here and now, everything you experience rests upon the idea you hold of yourself. The identity you believe yourself to be becomes the orbital center of your universe, and from it arise your perception and all your beliefs. The only thing that stands between that illusory idea and your true identity is sin.
The notion of sin is one of the mind’s most blasphemous inventions, for it assumes that you—or anyone—can be imperfect and act against the Will of God. But to think it possible to transgress the Creator’s Will is, at best, a deranged delusion. It is to dream of the impossible. You dream that you sin, that others sin against you, and that dream poisons your life. Sin is the lie that sustains your nightmares.
That is why forgiveness is the only way: to cease seeing sin in yourself or in others is to cease dreaming. Every time you look with guilt, you suffer. Every time you believe in sin, you punish yourself. That is mental masochism, the great illness of this world—to harm yourself and then deny it. It is like driving a finger into your own eye and crying out in pain, or like a child who insists on smelling the garbage and then complains of the stench. The problem is not the pain but the lack of honesty: not recognizing that it is you who cause it.
Sin corrects nothing—it aggravates errors. It does not prevent future sins—it multiplies them. It does not heal your mind—it sickens it. It does not lead you to life—it leads you to death. And yet, acknowledging yourself as responsible for your choices—even when you sometimes choose poorly—is a step of immense dignity. More dignified is the one who admits, “Yes, I have chosen this,” than he who deceives himself by pretending to be innocent while repeating the same story. Self-deception is the greatest obstacle. It is not about being “good” or “bad”; what matters is honesty, for from that springs the possibility of change.
Look beyond this life and this body: what matters is not the human biography, but the life of the soul in its long learning. Even those who seem to sink into terrible errors are generating a contrast that will sooner or later lead them to another choice. Time in this world is precious because here you can choose again; here you can change. After death there is vision, but no change, for there is no time. And that is why this instant is precious: here and now you have the opportunity to forgive and be free.
The final message is one of hope: all this has already happened. The return Home is inevitable, for what you are has never changed. Salvation is assured, though for now we entertain ourselves by dreaming. Sin is only a shadow that fades before the honesty of forgiveness. Acknowledge it, release it, and remember: you are perfect because you are the Child of Perfection.
Father, today I choose not to be insane. I do not wish to fear Love nor to seek refuge in its opposite.
Let my mind remember that sin does not exist, and that all I am remains with You and in You.