“As the world judges these things, but NOT as God KNOWS them,
I was betrayed, abandoned, beaten, torn, and finally killed.
It was perfectly clear that this was only
because of the projection of others because I had not harmed
anyone and had healed many.”
Ch6 Sec II, 13

“You are free to perceive yourselves as persecuted if you choose.
You might remember, however, when you DO choose to react that way,
that I WAS persecuted as the world judges
and did NOT share this evaluation for myself.
And because I did not share it, I did not STRENGTHEN it.
I therefore offered a DIFFERENT interpretation of attack
and one which I DO want to share with you.
If you will BELIEVE it, you will help me to TEACH IT.”
Ch6 Sec II, 8

 “I elected both for your sake AND mine
to demonstrate that the most outrageous assault
as judged by the ego did not matter.”
Ch6 Sec II, 13

What if the Na’vi were motivated by the belief in their sinlessness and Oneness of the Sonship instead of seeing themselves as persecuted. If these beliefs were their motivation, what would be the response to the Evil Ones, who are equally sinless and therefore deserving of love and appreciation simply because they are not separate?

The Course in Miracles teaches that the only response to your brother should be one of ‘appreciation’ since a brother is either extending the Love that he IS or CALLING for LOVE and in each instance is deserving of only your appreciation. We appreciate the opportunity to share in the Love they are extending or we appreciate the opportunity to give the love that they are calling for. “With Love in you, you have no need but to extend it.”

“APPRECIATION!”, the world will echo. “Are you saying there should be appreciation for attacking the Na’vi; appreciation for slaughtering them along with their children and destroying their sacred home!?”

I remember, when mentioning to my twin sister, that we were so devastatingly disappointed by James Cameron’s choices as illustrated by the Na’vi, she asked me, “But what could they have done? How could they have responded any other way? Their sacred homes were going to be destroyed?”

She was talking about that pivotal moment in the movie. That moment when we all held our breath as AvatarJake, now a true Na’vi, stood in front of the very connected and harmonious community and announced they would …………ATTACK!

It was the INSTANT in which the hope evaporated, that somehow the ancient memory we all carry in our Souls of our Oneness would be made manifest, if not in our lives then perhaps on this celluloid projection screen. 

Instead, what we saw presented was the idea, as if it were novel, of continuing down the same maze we’ve been going down since the beginning of time BUT this TIME, the cheese would magically be there; or would it? Was it?

What COULD they have done differently? There didn’t seem to be any other choice. The choice of condemnation, blame and punishment is all there is; or is it?

And so, we are presented with the opportunity to choose once again and this time to give the LOVE that is so obviously being called for and thus heal the separation. That’s what the Course in Miracles has to offer us. It offers us a SHIFT in perception, which is the MIRACLE. It is a SHIFT out of the current mind-set of ‘US and THEM’ and back into our Right Minds and into our Oneness.

The one thing my husband and I have noticed as Course in Miracle students is our reluctance and increasing inability to see another brother as an ‘enemy’. Once you recognize the oneness of the Sonship, the concept is meaningless. Colonel Miles Quaritch, the main antagonist of the film,  was appropriately stationed as the Chief of Security of Hell's Gate on the planet Pandora. He was definitely evil personified but what joy could there be in his ‘suffering’ and death when you see him as yourSelf?

So let’s take a look at the ‘dramatic’ situation. What did the Evil Ones want? They wanted the very valuable ore called,  oddly enough, UNOBTAINIUM, from the land of the Na’vi. That ‘material’ was important to the Evil Ones since it represented their PHYSICAL well being. It promised all the things that money could buy. And to get this ore, the Evil Ones had to destroy the sacred habitat of the Na’vi.

And what did the Na’vi cherish? Their Spirits connected so beautifully with the Spirits of the plants and animals and thus they lived almost as One. They chose, however, to build the ‘external’ to house the ‘ETERNAL’. They thought their Identity lay there and thus by thinking that the perishable were real, they were unable to release it.

What if the Na’vi demonstrated that they could NOT ‘BE’ ATTACKED as Jesus demonstrated on the Cross? What if they taught the belief that what is perishable and changeable is not REAL, as Jesus did?

“Anger cannot occur unless you believe that you have been attacked,
that your attack was justified,
and that you are in no way responsible.
Given these three wholly irrational premises,
the equally irrational conclusion that a brother is worthy of attack
rather than love follows.
What can be expected from insane premises
except an insane conclusion?
Ch6 Sec I, 1

‘The Way to undo an insane conclusion
is to consider the sanity of the premises on which it rests.
You cannot be attacked;
attack has no justification;
and you are responsible for what you believe.”
Ch6 Sec I, 2

“The real meaning of the Crucifixion lies in the APPARENT intensity
of the assault of some of the Sons of God upon another.
This of course is impossible
and must be fully understood AS impossibility.”
Ch6 Sec II, 6

“Assault can ultimately be made ONLY on the body.
There is little doubt that one BODY can assault another
and can even destroy it.
Yet if destruction ITSELF is impossible,
then anything that is destructible cannot be REAL.
Therefore its destruction does NOT justify anger.”
Ch6 Sec II, 7

“If you respond with anger, you must be equating yourself
with the destructible
and are therefore regarding yourself insanely.”
Ch6 Sec II, 7

The  experience of the Na’vi resonated so beautifully with us. It was as if we were remembering a time when there was that intimate connection with the Soul of everyOne and everyThing. When they were flying, our Souls were flying too in sheer freedom and remembrance.

WHOLENESS was the belief of the Na’vi and their lives demonstrated the connectedness of everything. That connectedness, however, stopped at the perimeter of their world. “..what you project you disown and therefore DO NOT BELIEVE IS YOURS.” The judgment is that something can be ‘other’ and also that it can be wrong.

But there is HOPE.

And in their defenselessness, their safety lies. Truth needs no defense. What if the Na’vi truly knew where their Treasure lies. They would have no resistance to the Evil Ones. What if they knew that any attack thoughts would only attack their invulnerability! What if they KNEW they are safe and cannot be destroyed. They ARE Eternal Spirit. They are the Light of the World. They are still as God created them – and so are the Evil Ones.

Have you ever witnessed the miracle that comes when there is an attack and yet there is no defense? Attack gets its strength from the defense it engenders. Without that defense, it is impotent.

In the book, “Creating Miracles” written by Carolyn Miller, PhD, there are many examples of those who were in the face of imminent death and yet in that moment they experienced a clarity and a peace and a sense of unconditional love and wholeness that encompassed everything, including the perpetrator. In that moment they became ONE with the perpetrator. The would-be murderer knew that they had been forgiven and released of their guilt and in that Holy Instant they were transformed.

So now it is left to us to leave the movie theatre and dream our own movie. We are the writer and director. What will our screenplay BE?

The choice is ours.