The history of man in the world as he sees it has not yet been marked by any
genuine or comprehensive reawakening or rebirth. This is impossible as long as man projects in the spirit of miscreation. It still remains within him, however, to
project as God projected His own Spirit to him. In reality, this is his only choice
because his free will was given him for his own joy in creating the perfect.
All fear is ultimately reducible to the basic misperception that man has the
ability to usurp the power of God. It can only be emphasized that he neither can
nor has been able to do this. In this fact lies the real justification for his escape from
fear. The escape is brought about by his acceptance of the Atonement, which
places him in a position to realize that his own errors never really occurred.
When the “deep sleep” fell upon Adam, he was in a condition to experience
nightmares because he was asleep. If a light is suddenly turned on while someone
is dreaming a fearful dream, he may initially interpret the light itself as a part of his
own dream and be afraid of it. However, when he awakens the light is correctly
perceived as the release from the dream, which is no longer accorded reality.
Michael of Nebadon
A Course in Miracles
The Planetary Curriculum
