Chapter 30 – 8. The New Interpretation
Would God have left the meaning of the world to your interpretation? If He
had, it has no meaning. For it cannot be that meaning changes constantly,
and yet is true. The Holy Spirit looks upon the world as with one purpose,
changelessly established. And no situation can affect its aim, but must be in
accord with it. For only if its aim could change with every situation could
each one be open to interpretation which is different every time you think of
it. You add an element into the script you write for every minute in the day,
and all that happens now means something else. You take away another
element, and every meaning shifts accordingly.
Â
What do your scripts reflect except your plans for what the day should be?
And thus you judge disaster and success, advance, retreat, and gain and loss.
These judgments all are made according to the roles the script assigns. The
fact they have no meaning in themselves is demonstrated by the ease with
which these labels change with other judgments, made on different aspects
of experience. And then, in looking back, you think you see another
meaning in what went before. What have you really done, except to show
there was no meaning there? But you assigned a meaning in the light of
goals that change, with every meaning shifting as they change.
Â
Only a constant purpose can endow events with stable meaning. But it must
accord one meaning to them all. If they are given different meanings, it
must be that they reflect but different purposes. And this is all the meaning
that they have. Can this be meaning? Can confusion be what meaning
means? Perception cannot be in constant flux, and make allowance for
stability of meaning anywhere. Fear is a judgment never justified. Its
presence has no meaning but to show you wrote a fearful script, and are
afraid accordingly. But not because the thing you fear has fearful meaning
in itself.
Â
A common purpose is the only means whereby perception can be stabilized,
and one interpretation given to the world and all experiences here. In this
shared purpose is one judgment shared by everyone and everything you see.
You do not have to judge, for you have learned one meaning has been given
everything, and you are glad to see it everywhere. It cannot change because
you would perceive it everywhere, unchanged by circumstance. And so you
offer it to all events, and let them offer you stability.
Â
Escape from judgment simply lies in this; all things have but one purpose,
which you share with all the world. And nothing in the world can be
opposed to it, for it belongs to everything, as it belongs to you. In single
purpose is the end of all ideas of sacrifice, which must assume a different
purpose for the one who gains and him who loses. There could be no
thought of sacrifice apart from this idea. And it is this idea of different goals
that makes perception shift and meaning change. In one united goal does
this become impossible, for your agreement makes interpretation stabilize
and last.
Â
How can communication really be established while the symbols that are
used mean different things? The Holy Spirit’s goal gives one interpretation,
meaningful to you and to your brother. Thus can you communicate with
him, and he with you. In symbols that you both can understand the sacrifice
of meaning is undone. All sacrifice entails the loss of your ability to see
relationships among events. And looked at separately they have no
meaning. For there is no light by which they can be seen and understood.
They have no purpose. And what they are for cannot be seen. In any thought
of loss there is no meaning. No one has agreed with you on what it means. It
is a part of a distorted script, which cannot be interpreted with meaning. It
must be forever unintelligible. This is not communication. Your dark
dreams are but the senseless, isolated scripts you write in sleep. Look not to
separate dreams for meaning. Only dreams of pardon can be shared. They
mean the same to both of you.
Â
Do not interpret out of solitude, for what you see means nothing. It will
shift in what it stands for, and you will believe the world is an uncertain
place, in which you walk in danger and uncertainty. It is but your
interpretations which are lacking in stability, for they are not in line with
what you really are. This is a state so seemingly unsafe that fear must rise.
Do not continue thus, my brother. We have one Interpreter. And through
His use of symbols are we joined, so that they mean the same to all of us.
Our common language lets us speak to all our brothers, and to understand
with them forgiveness has been given to us all, and thus we can
communicate again.
Would God have left the meaning of the world to your interpretation? If He
had, it has no meaning. For it cannot be that meaning changes constantly,
and yet is true. The Holy Spirit looks upon the world as with one purpose,
changelessly established. And no situation can affect its aim, but must be in
accord with it. For only if its aim could change with every situation could
each one be open to interpretation which is different every time you think of
it. You add an element into the script you write for every minute in the day,
and all that happens now means something else. You take away another
element, and every meaning shifts accordingly.
Â
What do your scripts reflect except your plans for what the day should be?
And thus you judge disaster and success, advance, retreat, and gain and loss.
These judgments all are made according to the roles the script assigns. The
fact they have no meaning in themselves is demonstrated by the ease with
which these labels change with other judgments, made on different aspects
of experience. And then, in looking back, you think you see another
meaning in what went before. What have you really done, except to show
there was no meaning there? But you assigned a meaning in the light of
goals that change, with every meaning shifting as they change.
Â
Only a constant purpose can endow events with stable meaning. But it must
accord one meaning to them all. If they are given different meanings, it
must be that they reflect but different purposes. And this is all the meaning
that they have. Can this be meaning? Can confusion be what meaning
means? Perception cannot be in constant flux, and make allowance for
stability of meaning anywhere. Fear is a judgment never justified. Its
presence has no meaning but to show you wrote a fearful script, and are
afraid accordingly. But not because the thing you fear has fearful meaning
in itself.
Â
A common purpose is the only means whereby perception can be stabilized,
and one interpretation given to the world and all experiences here. In this
shared purpose is one judgment shared by everyone and everything you see.
You do not have to judge, for you have learned one meaning has been given
everything, and you are glad to see it everywhere. It cannot change because
you would perceive it everywhere, unchanged by circumstance. And so you
offer it to all events, and let them offer you stability.
Â
Escape from judgment simply lies in this; all things have but one purpose,
which you share with all the world. And nothing in the world can be
opposed to it, for it belongs to everything, as it belongs to you. In single
purpose is the end of all ideas of sacrifice, which must assume a different
purpose for the one who gains and him who loses. There could be no
thought of sacrifice apart from this idea. And it is this idea of different goals
that makes perception shift and meaning change. In one united goal does
this become impossible, for your agreement makes interpretation stabilize
and last.
Â
How can communication really be established while the symbols that are
used mean different things? The Holy Spirit’s goal gives one interpretation,
meaningful to you and to your brother. Thus can you communicate with
him, and he with you. In symbols that you both can understand the sacrifice
of meaning is undone. All sacrifice entails the loss of your ability to see
relationships among events. And looked at separately they have no
meaning. For there is no light by which they can be seen and understood.
They have no purpose. And what they are for cannot be seen. In any thought
of loss there is no meaning. No one has agreed with you on what it means. It
is a part of a distorted script, which cannot be interpreted with meaning. It
must be forever unintelligible. This is not communication. Your dark
dreams are but the senseless, isolated scripts you write in sleep. Look not to
separate dreams for meaning. Only dreams of pardon can be shared. They
mean the same to both of you.
Â
Do not interpret out of solitude, for what you see means nothing. It will
shift in what it stands for, and you will believe the world is an uncertain
place, in which you walk in danger and uncertainty. It is but your
interpretations which are lacking in stability, for they are not in line with
what you really are. This is a state so seemingly unsafe that fear must rise.
Do not continue thus, my brother. We have one Interpreter. And through
His use of symbols are we joined, so that they mean the same to all of us.
Our common language lets us speak to all our brothers, and to understand
with them forgiveness has been given to us all, and thus we can
communicate again.