The Development of Trust | ACIM Satsang with Cay | 8Feb24

A. Development of Trust

3. First, they must go through what might be called “a period of undoing.” ²This need not be painful, but it usually is so experienced. ³It seems as if things are being taken away, and it is rarely understood initially that their lack of value is merely being recognized. ⁴How can lack of value be perceived unless the perceiver is in a position where he must see things in a different light? ⁵He is not yet at a point at which he can make the shift entirely internally. ⁶And so the plan will sometimes call for changes in what seem to be external circumstances. ⁷These changes are always helpful. ⁸When the teacher of God has learned that much, he goes on to the second stage.

4. Next, the teacher of God must go through “a period of sorting out.” ²This is always somewhat difficult because, having learned that the changes in his life are always helpful, he must now decide all things on the basis of whether they increase the helpfulness or hamper it. ³He will find that many, if not most of the things he valued before will merely hinder his ability to transfer what he has learned to new situations as they arise. ⁴Because he has valued what is really valueless, he will not generalize the lesson for fear of loss and sacrifice. ⁵It takes great learning to understand that all things, events, encounters and circumstances are helpful. ⁶It is only to the extent to which they are helpful that any degree of reality should be accorded them in this world of illusion. ⁷The word “value” can apply to nothing else.

5. The third stage through which the teacher of God must go can be called “a period of relinquishment.” ²If this is interpreted as giving up the desirable, it will engender enormous conflict. ³Few teachers of God escape this distress entirely. ⁴There is, however, no point in sorting out the valuable from the valueless unless the next obvious step is taken. ⁵Therefore, the period of overlap is apt to be one in which the teacher of God feels called upon to sacrifice his own best interests on behalf of truth.