T. 30. VIII. 1 – 4. Jesus: “Appearances deceive, but can be changed. Reality is changeless! It does not deceive at all, so if you fail to see beyond appearances, it means you are deceived. For everything in the world you see will change, and yet you thought it real before, so now you think it real again!
What is ‘reality’ to you has been reduced to your perception of form, and what is thereby capable of change. Yet reality, beyond all form, is changeless! It is this that makes it real, and keeps it separate from all appearances. It must transcend all form to be itself. It cannot change!
The miracle is a means to demonstrate that all appearances can change, if but because they are only appearances, and cannot have the changelessness reality entails. The miracle attests salvation from appearances is yours by showing how easily they can change.
Your brother has a changelessness in him beyond appearance and deception, both. It is obscured by changing views of him that you may perceive as ‘his reality.’ Though you still are dreaming, the happy dream about him takes the form of the appearance of his perfect health, his perfect freedom from all forms of lack, and safety from disaster of all kinds. The miracle is then your proof your brother is not bound by loss or suffering in any form, because it can so easily be changed. This demonstrates that it was never real, and could not stem from his reality. For that is changeless, and has no effects that anything in Heaven or on earth could ever alter. But mere appearances are shown to be unreal, simply because, with but a change of mind, they change!
What is ‘temptation’ but a wish to make illusions real? It does not seem to be the wish that there be no reality at all. Yet it is an assertion that some forms of idols have a powerful appeal that makes them harder to resist than those you clearly would not want to have reality.
Temptation, then, is nothing more than this; a prayer that the miracle touch not some dreams, but keep their unreality obscure, and thus give to them a ‘degree of reality’ instead. Yet Heaven gives no answer to that prayer, nor can a miracle be given you to heal appearances you do not like. You have established limits on yourself. What you ask is given you, but not of God, Who knows no limits. You have, therefore, simply limited yourself!
Reality is changeless. Miracles but show the mindset you have interposed between reality and your awareness of it is merely unreal, and does not interfere at all. The cost of the belief that there must be some appearances beyond the hope of change, is that the miracle cannot come forth from you consistently.”
The miracle is a means to demonstrate that all appearances can change, if but because they are only appearances, and cannot have the changelessness reality entails. The miracle attests salvation from appearances is yours by showing how easily they can change.
Your brother has a changelessness in him beyond appearance and deception, both. It is obscured by changing views of him that you may perceive as ‘his reality.’ Though you still are dreaming, the happy dream about him takes the form of the appearance of his perfect health, his perfect freedom from all forms of lack, and safety from disaster of all kinds. The miracle is then your proof your brother is not bound by loss or suffering in any form, because it can so easily be changed. This demonstrates that it was never real, and could not stem from his reality. For that is changeless, and has no effects that anything in Heaven or on earth could ever alter. But mere appearances are shown to be unreal, simply because, with but a change of mind, they change!
What is ‘temptation’ but a wish to make illusions real? It does not seem to be the wish that there be no reality at all. Yet it is an assertion that some forms of idols have a powerful appeal that makes them harder to resist than those you clearly would not want to have reality.
Temptation, then, is nothing more than this; a prayer that the miracle touch not some dreams, but keep their unreality obscure, and thus give to them a ‘degree of reality’ instead. Yet Heaven gives no answer to that prayer, nor can a miracle be given you to heal appearances you do not like. You have established limits on yourself. What you ask is given you, but not of God, Who knows no limits. You have, therefore, simply limited yourself!
Reality is changeless. Miracles but show the mindset you have interposed between reality and your awareness of it is merely unreal, and does not interfere at all. The cost of the belief that there must be some appearances beyond the hope of change, is that the miracle cannot come forth from you consistently.”