In A Course in Miracles Jesus asserts that the entire world of time and space—spanning billions of years and an almost infinite number of miles—has already happened: in one non-linear instant. Moreover, the “Course sees time holographically; namely, that all of it can be found within that original ontological instant: “the tiny tick of time in which the first mistake was made, and all of them within that one mistake” (T-26.V.3:5). In addition, we can see that one’s concept of time depends directly upon one’s understanding of the nature of the world, as Jesus explains:

For time and space are one illusion, which takes different forms. If it has been projected beyond your mind you think of it as time [the temporal universe of history]. The nearer it is brought to where it is, the more you think of it in terms of space [the more personal world of special relationships] (T-26.VIII.1:3-5).

Therefore if, as A Course in Miracles teaches, the world is the final step in the ego’s strategy to render the Son of God mindless, and this is its only ontological meaning, then time serves the same purpose in the ego’s plan to convince the Son of God not to remember his spiritual identity, which returning to his abstract, timeless mind would surely accomplish by his decision maker’s choosing again.

Thus time becomes part of the ego’s cosmic trap, a magician’s plan to trick us into believing that reality is what appearances tell us it is.

This expresses the aforementioned inevitable feeling of Course students as they begin to appreciate the enormity of the ego system, tending to say, “My God, how could this ever be undone?” There is another passage in the text, already partially quoted, which conveys the same message:

Readiness is only the beginning of confidence. You may think this implies that an enormous amount of time is necessary between readiness and mastery, but let me remind you that time and space are under my [Jesus] control (T-2.VII.7:8-9).

The idea mentioned earlier is important here: we do not have to be perfect, and need not have mastered something in order to be ready to perform it. Readiness does not mean mastery.

Very, very few have mastered this thought system, but that does not mean that people are not ready to practice it. However, if we think that undoing our guilt is impossible, or if we feel overwhelmed by this task and think it would take a tremendous amount of time to learn to forgive, Jesus steps in at that point to remind us that time and space are under his control and therefore the miracle has the power to shorten time. In other words, the miracle can help us suddenly shift from the nightmare of the ego to the happy dream of the Holy Spirit. Once again, it seems as if it is an enormous and an impossible task, but that is because we believe that time is real.

Excerpted from “A Vast Illusion: Time according to A Course in Miracles”

Q: This is a very heavy line: “For time you made, and time you can command” [T-22.II.8.7] How many people in this world have ever had an experience of commanding time?

A: Very, very few. That is the purpose behind passages such as these: to teach us the truth that is belied by our experience. We can see again the revolutionary teaching of A Course in Miracles, that literally says that the entire world is an illusion. Our experience of time and space exists only in our minds, and therefore we have the power to change the experience. Thus, there is a deeper metaphysical idea involved here as well, for this means that we can literally change time. The way we learn how to do that is by choosing what appear to be the little miracles in everyday living.

Excerpted from: A Vast Illusion: Time according to “A Course in Miracles”

Q: In the Course, Jesus says that the Atonement works in time, and in all the dimensions of time. Does this mean that there is a “redeemer” figure in different worlds in every dimension of time? I've heard of this idea many years ago, but still know nothing about it. So as well as Jesus appearing in different forms in the Sonship’s dream of living on another world, could this also mean A Course in Miracles has, or will appear in other forms, in other worlds also, not excluding the fact it could also come again into this world in another, even more sophisticated form!

A: You’ve got it! Rather than seeing time in a linear way, picture it holographically (the entire history of the whole physical universe contained within each of our minds), and you can better understand how it is that a “redeemer” figure can be in all places at all times. As the Course states: “The tiny tick of time in which the first mistake was made, and all of them within that one mistake, held also the Correction for that one, and all of them that came within the first” (T-26.V.3:5). There is a hologram of “error,” which contains every possible “sin,” and the ramifications thereof. There is also a hologram of “Correction,” along with its ramifications (redeemer figures, spiritual teachings, etc.). At any time, at any place, we are choosing one of these two holograms.

Gloria and Kenneth Wapnick deal with the nature of the separation and the Course’s view of time in Question 16 of The Most Commonly Asked Questions About A Course in Miracles: “...when the thought of separation is projected “far away” from the mind of the Son, it is expressed in the dimension of time: The past, the seeming present, and the future do appear to reflect the huge gap of billions of years the ego wishes to introduce between the mind's decision to be separate from God and the Holy Spirit, and the Son's experience of himself as a body. When the thought of separation is experienced between an individual and another person—i.e., closer to his experience of himself—then it is known as space, the physical gap we experience between ourselves and others in our special relationships. To state this another way, time (and therefore space as well) was specifically made by the ego to keep cause (the mind and its thoughts) and effect (our pain and suffering) separated.”

And yes, this does mean a more sophisticated form of teaching may appear in the world, and this is dependent upon the Son’s mind being more fully healed. As healing takes place, and a clear understanding and appreciation of the ego’s strategy is accepted, higher teachings are then possible.

Excerpted from Q&A: Detailed Answers to Student-Generated Questions on the Theory and Practice of “A Course in Miracles”

Q: A Course in Miracles mentions a longitudinal and a horizontal plane. Would you please explain these terms?

A: The passage in A Course in Miracles to which you are referring states, “The miracle minimizes the need for time. In the longitudinal or horizontal plane the recognition of the equality of the members of the Sonship appears to involve almost endless time. However, the miracle entails a sudden shift from horizontal to vertical perception” (T-1.II.6:1-3). That passage comes just after Jesus has told us “‘No man cometh unto the Father but by me’ does not mean that I am in any way separate or different from you except in time, and time does not really exist. The statement is more meaningful in terms of a vertical rather than a horizontal axis” (T-1.II.4:1-2).

Jesus uses the terms longitudinal and horizontal to refer to our experience of linear time within a world of form. He chooses these words because they imply something that spans a distance and follows a path from one point to another.

We believe that we were born into a world of form that existed before we did and that will continue to exist after we die. It’s a world in which events seem to follow one another and in which the past led to the present, which in turn will determine our future. Further, we seem to live as bodies, separate from each other with distance between us. So the “horizontal plane” is our seeming everyday reality—a linear, sequential, physical experience, characterized by differences and separation.

But the Course tells us that “Time is a trick, a sleight of hand, a vast illusion … ” (W-pI.158.4:1) and that “ … space is as meaningless as time” (T-1.VI.3:5). Jesus helps us remember that we can listen to an internal Teacher—the Holy Spirit—Who comes from outside of this spatial, temporal dream world we think we are in. The moment we turn away from the ego and turn toward the Holy Spirit as our guide (the miracle), our mind becomes a reflection of the Oneness and timelessness of Heaven. That instant is what Jesus means by “the sudden shift from horizontal to vertical perception.”

The word “vertical” means to rise upright. So the “vertical plane” symbolizes our rising above the world we think we are in (or, as Jesus says, “above the battleground”). This entails returning to the non-linear mind.

The idea that Jesus is no different from us except in time is hardly reassuring from our perspective in which the gulf between our consciousness and his seems insurmountable. To us it seems like we would need millions of years of learning to go from where we are to where he is. But in fact, all we need is an internal shift from the ego, which tells us to move backward or forward (but either way keeps us firmly planted in this world) to the Holy Spirit, Who will gently help us reach the light that lies beyond this illusory world.

A final note; any term Jesus uses in the Course to describe where we are, or the process of returning to our true home in Heaven, is only a symbol. In truth there is no horizontal or vertical plane, just as there is no world. But since virtually every symbol we have placed in this dream world serves to keep us asleep, Jesus uses symbols we can relate to that will help us to awaken.

Excerpted from Q&A: Detailed Answers to Student-Generated Questions on the Theory and Practice of “A Course in Miracles”

Q: With world conditions the way they are, I am reminded of a section in Robert Skutch’s book, Journey Without Distance (p. 60), regarding Helen's asking Jesus what A Course in Miracles was for, and the answer she received: “The world situation is worsening to an alarming degree. People all over the world are being called on to help, and are making their individual contributions as part of an overall prearranged plan. Because of the acute emergency, the usual slow, evolutionary process is being by-passed in what might best be described as a ‘celestial speed-up.’ “Helen could sense the urgency that lay behind this ‘explanation’ … and strongly sensed that what was being conveyed to her was that time was running out.” What does this mean exactly? What is the absolute worst that could happen? Even if we destroyed every living thing on the planet wouldn't we still be alive in spirit? Is there, in reality, anything to worry about?

A: First, a clarification of the “celestial speed-up.” This was Helen’s personal experience; it was a way for her to understand the unsettling experiences that were occurring in her life at that time (1965), without increasing the fear that was already present. She had not yet come across the theory of time as totally illusory, which Jesus would explain much later; that would have been far too upsetting to her in those early months. And so the content of Jesus’ message was expressed in a form that was meaningful to Helen and with which she could be reasonably comfortable. Most likely, Helen would not have expressed the meaning in that form years later, after she had seen the complete picture. Forgetting about this form/content distinction has led many students to take Helen’s “celestial-speedup” explanation literally. When the unreality of time is brought into the discussion, it is obvious that there could not literally be a need to speed things up. The situation in the world can worsen and be cause for concern only if the world is real, and time also is both real and linear. (See Absence from Felicity: The Story of Helen Schucman and Her Scribing of A Course in Miracles, pp. 464-65).

Secondly, destruction of any kind can emanate only from the ego thought system. Just because Planet Earth might no longer exist does not mean that we would have returned to our true Identity as spirit. The pain in our minds tortured with self-hatred does not disappear simply because the planet has been blown up. If we (“Who is the ‘you’ who are living in this world?” [T-4.II.11:8]) destroyed the planet, we might be very much “alive,” but in the guilt of our wrong minds, not in the innocence and purity of spirit, as Christ. We would still be caught up in the dream of sin, guilt, and fear, and their projection. In other words, as minds, we would be perceiving a destroyed planet, and our guilt, which we have not let go of, would then manifest in some other form.

Understanding that the world is not real and that we are not our bodies is a step in the right direction—a major step; but our healing is not yet complete. It is very comforting to be assured that the world and bodies are not real, because we would no longer fear that the end of the planet is the end of “us.” That dimension of our terror subsides, fortunately, which then frees us to move to the next step, which is experiencing ourselves as decision-making minds that are constantly choosing to identify with either the ego’s or the Holy Spirit’s thought system. We must look at our investment in upholding the purpose served by our belief in sin, guilt, and fear. Ultimately, we must reach the level of readiness to let go of all sense of individuality, consciousness, and specialness before we return to our existence as spirit. The interim stage, though, is the right-minded awareness that we are the dreamers of the dream. This is the stage in which we consistently choose to perceive everything from “above the battleground,” confidently assured that all destruction and suffering, all pleasure and excitement, are but the outcome of a mind dreaming it has separated from the Oneness of Heaven.

Excerpted from Q&A: Detailed Answers to Student-Generated Questions on the Theory and Practice of “A Course in Miracles”