When 2 + 2 = 5: Reflecting Love in a Loveless World

The musings of Dostoevsky's famed underground man set the stage for the discussion in this book. The unquestioned equation of 2 + 2 = 4 is shown to symbolize the ego's plan to bind us to its laws. When the hopelessness and sterility of the world's laws dawn, we begin to realize that 2 + 2 = 5, which symbolizes our turning within for answers, accepting that we are "under no laws but God's," as Lesson 76 teaches. This culminates in the undoing of the fundamental mistake of believing that 1 + 1 = 2, which symbolizes the reality of separation and defends against the only true equation: 1 + 1 = 1. This process of our mind's healing leads us to accept the love of Jesus as our guide for living within the world, while not allowing it any power over our inner peace.