The Creator and Its Creation are governed by the Divine Laws of Love and Harmony, because if any aspect of Reality, including the Creator, deviated from these Laws, then the Creation would cease to be Itself, and would thus cease to be. This is an Expression of Creation’s Oneness, which connects and therefore “governs” all things, including the Creator Itself. Because the Divine Laws are an Expression or Extension of the Creator, it would be impossible for It to deviate from these Laws, since this would mean It had deviated from Itself and become something else.
“Every part of Creation is of one Order. This is the Divine’s Will and yours. The Laws of the Divine establish this Order, and the Holy Spirit reminds you of It. When you heal, you are remembering the Laws of the Divine . . .”
The Divine Laws are the true eternal Purpose of each Thing or Being that has been created. In this sense a Thing’s or Being’s true Purpose is Its Divine “Definition,” or how the Divine intended the Thing’s or Being’s Purpose in Its creation. “(The Divine’s) Definitions are Its Laws, for by them It established the Universe as what It is.”
Various Divine Laws are described throughout the Course, for instance, the Law of Creation: “The Law of Creation is that you love your creations as yourself, because they are part of you. Everything that was created is therefore perfectly safe, because the Laws of the Divine protect each creation by Its Love.” “Such is Creation’s Law: that each Idea the mind conceives only adds to its Abundance, and never takes away.” “The Divine’s Law of Creation, in perfect form, does not involve the use of Truth to convince Its Children of Truth. The Extension of Truth, which is the Law of the Realm (of Heaven), rests only on the Knowledge of what Truth is.” “You can think truly of the Divine Family only as One. This is part of the Law of Creation, and therefore governs all Thought.”
The Law of Love, that “Love creates Itself, and nothing except Itself,” is expressed in various forms throughout the Course. As it applies to us, this Law’s Essence is that whatever we give to anyone or anything we give to ourselves, because our true Self – Love or Divine Essence – is everything that is. This is clearly a complement to the Law of Creation.
The Law of Abundance is related to the Law of Love and is also essential for us to understand and work with in the process of awakening: “The Divine only gives by extending Itself forever, which only increases the Abundance of Its Creation and Children. It never takes away.” As this Law applies to us, it is stated that, “There is no way for you to have except by giving. This is the core Law of the Divine, and it has no exceptions. What you deny you lack, not because it is lacking, but because you have denied it in another, and therefore are not aware of it in yourself.”
The world of illusions seems far indeed from the Divine’s Laws. “The Divine’s Laws do not apply directly to a world perception rules, for such a world could not have been created by the Mind to which perception has no meaning. Yet are Its Laws reflected everywhere. Not that the world of illusions where this Reflection is is real. But because Its Children temporarily believe this world is real, the Divine could not let Itself be separate entirely from this world. It could not enter Its Children’s insanity with them, for otherwise Creation would have ceased to be. But It could be sure Its Sanity [the Holy Spirit] went there with them, so that they would not be lost forever in the madness of their wishes.”
The reflections in this world of the Laws of the Divine appear to be the parameters that Spirit imbued this world with (after it was miscreated by us) to give it order and ensure our eventual release. “The Holy Spirit is the Translator of the Laws of the Divine to those who do not yet understand them.” Among these reflections on Earth of the Laws of the Divine are the laws of healing, of perception, and of choice.
“Because all healing is a miracle and all miracles are healing, the laws of healing must be understood before the Purpose of the Course can be accomplished.” “All healing and transfer of learning must proceed in lawful manner, in accord with laws that have been properly perceived and followed. Fear you not the way that you perceive these laws. You are wrong, but there is One within you Who is right.”
The “law on which awakening rests” is connected with healing: “Justice must be done to all if anyone is to be healed. No one can lose, and everyone must benefit.” This is a variation of another Law: “What is the Divine’s [i.e., everything that has Being and thus is Real] belongs to everyone, and is their due.”
“Perception’s fundamental law” is that “You perceive what you believe is there, and you believe it there because you want it there,” and alternatively: “You will rejoice at what you perceive, because you perceive it in order to rejoice.”
“Condemn and you are made a prisoner. Forgive and you are freed. Such is the law that rules perception. It is not a law that Knowledge understands, for Freedom is a part of Knowledge. To condemn is thus impossible in Truth. What seem to be condemnation’s influence and effects have not occurred at all. Yet must we deal with them a while as if they had.”
“What would you perceive? The choice is given you. Simply learn and do not let your mind forget this law of perceiving: You will perceive that which you feel within. If conflict finds a place within your heart, you will perceive a fearful world, held cruelly in death’s sharp-pointed, bony fingers. If you feel the Love of the Divine within you, you will perceive a world of Mercy and of Love.”
“The laws that govern choice you cannot make, no more than you can make alternatives from which to choose. The choosing you can do. Indeed you must. But it is wise to learn the laws you set in motion when you choose, and what alternatives you choose between.”
The Divine’s Laws, though forever the way things truly are, appear to be able to be ignored in the world of illusions. “Fidelity to premises is a Law of the mind, and everything the Divine created is faithful to Its Laws. But for the separated ones, fidelity to other laws is also possible, not because the laws are true, but because they made them up.”
Thus the world of illusions also has its “laws” completely apart from Spirit’s “translations” of the Divine Laws, but these are of chaos and insanity, designed to keep us stuck in nightmares. The laws of division, separation, and “sin” are examples: “Guilt is always disruptive. Anything that engenders fear is divisive, because it obeys the law of division.” “The ‘laws of separation’ have different witnesses, with different strengths. And they attest to different suffering.” “The laws of ‘sin’ or unforgivable error demand a victim. Who it may be makes little difference. But death must be the cost and must ultimately be paid. This is not justice, but insanity. Yet how could justice be defined without insanity in a world where love means hate, and death is perceived as victory and triumph over Eternity and Life?”
The Divine “Conditions” are aspects of the Divine Laws, perceived from this world where it is believed that the Divine Laws can be disregarded. As long as this belief is held, those holding it will also believe that they live in a world apart from the Divine and Its Laws. From that perspective it will be perceived that the Conditions to reestablish our awareness of our true Home will need to be met for our awareness to shift to the Place we thought we left. These Divine Conditions are touched on throughout the Course. For instance:
“Peace is the Condition of Knowledge because It is the Condition of the Realm of Heaven. Knowledge will be restored to you when you meet Its Conditions. This is not a bargain made by the Divine, Who makes no bargains at all. It is merely the result of your misuse of Its Laws on behalf of a will that was not the Divine’s.”
“The Divine’s Peace is the Condition for Its Will.” “Peace is the Condition for the awareness of your Relationship with the Divine. For through guilt you exclude your Creator and your sisters and brothers from yourself. And through Peace you will invite them back, and realize they are where your invitation bids them be.” “If Peace is the Condition of Truth and Sanity, and cannot be present without them, then where Peace is, they must be. Truth comes of Itself. If you experience Peace, it is because the Truth has come to you.”
“In the Holy Instant the Condition of Love is met, for minds are joined without the body’s interference, and where there is true Communication there is Peace.”
“Release your sisters and brothers from the imprisonment of their illusions, and from your own, by forgiving them for the illusions that you perceive in them. Thus will you learn that you have been forgiven, for it is you who offered them illusions. In the Holy Instant this releasing is done for you in time, to bring to you the true Condition of Heaven.”
Part of the Course’s description of Reality to us, so that we can remember what our true Home is, a system of Divine Attributes or Aspects is referred to. One Attribute gives rise to another, one stems from another. The Course touches numerous times on how these Attributes flow from and into each other, for instance:
“Life is as holy as the Holiness by which It was created. The Presence of Holiness lives in everything that lives, for Holiness created Life, and leaves not what It created, holy as Itself.”
“Light reflects Life and is therefore an Aspect of Creation. Creation and darkness cannot coexist, but Light and Life must go together, being simply different Aspects of Creation.”
“Light and Strength are One. . . . Strength comes from Truth, and shines with the Light Its Source has given It.” “True Light is Strength, and Strength is Innocence.” “Knowledge is Power because It is certain, and Certainty is Strength. . . . Knowledge Itself is the Affirmation of Truth.”
“The Power of Love, which is Its Meaning, is in the Strength of the Divine, Which hovers over It and blesses It silently, by enveloping It in healing Wings.”
Two additional important Divine Aspects are occasionally referred in the Course, though not explained. The first is the “Great Rays,” which appear to be the Light or Emanations of the Divine radiating throughout Creation, as the Creation. The second is the “Divine Record (of All Things),” which seems to be similar to “God’s Book (of Remembrance)” mentioned in the Bible, and also to the Akashic Record. The Divine Record, also called simply “the Record,” appears to be a Force that records everything everywhere and guarantees that Balance is always and forever maintained in the Universe.