How does what I’ve just read relate to the specific human experience of your having to relate to someone who is unconscious of the Truth of themselves, and who insist upon acting out defense when there is really nothing going on calling for defense -- so that their behavior with you is obtuse, unpleasant, unkind without a cause.

In other words, when … when … when someone is … so unpleasant to be with that being with them and with their behavior constitutes a distraction to you because it is so unpleasant that it is … it is not possible to continue to be in their Presence, where you could be an active agent for change -- where you could be the Presence of Love that heals -- Even more than this: What if this unpleasant someone -- this well-defended someone … who doesn’t see that their behavior is an unpleasant experience for others -- what if they know you have a commitment to the prayer: I wish to see only the evidence of Love. I wish to be only the pl-- evidence of Love. What if this person knows that you have commitment to this, and although they don’t see in what way their behavior is unpleasant, they know that you are experiencing it as unpleasant. And they don’t stop because they know you have a commitment … to be defenseless? 13:16:1 Proofed.

Do you stand there in the hurricane of their … behavior … and not object to it, but instead express the Truth … about them? … … Or do you say to them: … ‘Until you … put the brakes on with this behavior -- until you can settle down and stop being unpleasant, you will have to leave. Until you exert a little self-discipline and self-control … so that I am not having to dodge the bullets that you are sending my way, we are not in a position to communicate, and you can’t remain.’ Does your opting for … the opportunity to be the Presence of Singularity in the face of attack … … something you are supposed to … engage in … … without objection to the setting -- the circumstance -- in which it’s occurring?

Well, I will tell you something: There is a way things work. And the way things work is full of Integrity. And it is full of Kindness … and I will give you an example. If any one of you is angry, defensive, pissed off, and you want to talk to your Guide -- and maybe you’re pissed off at your Guide because your Guide has been pushing your buttons encouraging you to expand beyond … your comfort zone, and you approach your Guide full of emotion, vigor, criticism, judgment -- you will not be able to hear your Guide. Why? Not because your Guide won’t speak to you, but because the willfulness that you are bringing into play in the process of approaching your Guide, in so many words, makes so much static in your mind that you will not hear the answer. And you will not hear the answer until you bring into play a certain amount of self-discipline, and you settle yourself down. And you arrive at a point where, still not having the answer to the thing that was frustrating you, you’re willing to in-- to release the emotion because you know it’s getting in the way. And you choose to set it aside, even though it’s of great importance to you to be able to express it, -- so that you can go into the Silence, where you can hear the answer.

Now, let’s say that you are one of those who has said: I wish to see only the evidence of Love. And I wish to be only the evidence of Love. And you have made commitment to that and someone else knows it, just like Paul knows that I will never stop being here for him. And I will never become upset by his behavior. And I will always respond. And yet this one insists upon acting out their sense of separateness, vulnerability, and a need for defense that they feel, and they insist upon doing it most obtusely. 20:20:2 Proofed.

You might feel that you must answer -- that you must be the Presence of Love in that environment without objection. And you would be wrong. And this is important for you to know. You must -- it’s absolutely necessary for you to say no to that kind of environmental … circumstance. And you must tell them that they must leave if they’re not going to stop. And they cannot come back until they’ve gotten hold of themselves and are willing to go into their peace and choose for it, so that healing of the disturbance can be addressed -- rather than protection from the disturbance needing to be employed. The behavior is a call for correction, right.

You’ve been hearing this ever since we … started reading the Course. The behavior -- the loveless behavior is a call for Love. It is a call for correction. And the first part -- the first part of the correction -- involves modifying the way the call is being made, so that the call for correction … … just a moment … well, I’m going to put it this way: so that the call for correction has a little more Love in it -- a little less lovelessness in it. Now then, you’re in a position of having to wait until that one has come to the point of saying: kay. It’s less important to me to be to express my upsetness -- It’s less important to me -- that is less important to me than being in the place where … a relationship can occur that allows for healing … to happen. And that may be months. It may be years.

Well, now, that seems to take you out of the loop as … as far as your function is concerned, because your function is to be the Presence of Love -- to … to be that Singularity that heals. And now the set up is by virtue of your objecting … to the … uninhibited expression of anger or defense … you’re not in a postion of relating to them in a healing way. Well, you’re not out of the loop because you’ve still got your own mind … in which to be clear, and in which to be the Presence of Clarity that gets extended. In metaphysics, there is such a thing as what is … there is something called absent treatment. It is where healing work is done, and you’re not in the presence of the one who has asked for healing. And so you have the opportunity in your mind -- whenever this individual comes to your attention -- to ask God -- to turn toward the Holy Spirit -- to go within to the Place of Excellence in you -- to ask: ‘What is the Truth about this One?” Not: ’What is the truth about his or her bad behavior?’ -- but: What is the God’s-honest Truth about him or her?’ -- because you want your mind filled with the consciousness of the Truth about them, so that you’re not conflicted -- and so that every time you think about them, you’re sending out messengers that will bring back confirmation of the Truth of them -- to you. 28:05:1 Proofed … It is important to understand this, else you end up being the victim or victims of abuse. And you end up being the victims of abuse because you have an unintelligent concept of what it means to be the Presence of Love. You’re supposed to stand there and turn the other cheek when one cheek has been slapped. No. When … lovelessness is expressed, you don’t give lovelessness another opportunity to be expressed. You don’t come back from the ego place that the slap came from. You come from the other vantage point. You come from the other Voice -- the Voice for Truth. And you say: ‘No. This behavior is unacceptable. The truth that you need to hear right now is that you cannot continue this behavior in my presence. And until this behavior stops, we have no … basis for resolving whatever the distress is that’s causing you to behave this way.’ That is turning the other cheek. It’s coming back from the other Voice -- coming back from the Place of Excellence in you that honors them enough to say: ‘I will not give you permission -- when you‘re with me -- to behave in a way that doesn‘t reflect the Truth about you. ‘And at the same time I respect and honour what’s true about me enough not to join with you in your attitude, and retaliate.’ 28:30:2 Proofed.