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Lesson 37. My holiness blesses the world.

 

Lesson 37. My holiness blesses the world.

This idea contains the first glimmerings of your true function in the world, or
why you are here. Your purpose is to see the world through your own holiness.
Thus are you and the world blessed together. No one loses; nothing is taken away
from anyone; everyone gains through your holy vision. It signifies the end of
sacrifice because it offers everyone his full due. And he is entitled to
everything because it is his birthright as a Son of God.

There is no other way in which the idea of sacrifice can be removed from the
world's thinking. Any other way of seeing will inevitably demand payment of
someone or something. As a result, the perceiver will lose. Nor will he have any
idea why he is losing. Yet is his wholeness restored to his awareness through
your vision. Your holiness blesses him by asking nothing of him. Those who see
themselves as whole make no demands.

Your holiness is the salvation of the world. It lets you teach the world that it
is one with you, not by preaching to it, not by telling it anything, but merely
by your quiet recognition that in your holiness are all things blessed along
with you.

Today's four longer exercise periods, each to involve three to five minutes of
practice, begin with the repetition of the idea for today, followed by a minute
or so of looking about you as you apply the idea to whatever you see:


My holiness blesses this chair.
My holiness blesses that window.
My holiness blesses this body.>

Then close your eyes and apply the idea to any person who occurs to you, using
his name and saying:
My holiness blesses you, [name].">
You may continue the practice period with your eyes closed; you may open your
eyes again and apply the idea for today to your outer world if you so desire;
you may alternate between applying the idea to what you see around you and to
those who are in your thoughts; or you may use any combination of these two
phases of application that you prefer. The practice period should conclude with
a repetition of the idea with your eyes closed, and another, following
immediately, with your eyes open.

The shorter exercises consist of repeating the idea as often as you can. It is
particularly helpful to apply it silently to anyone you meet, using his name as
you do so. It is essential to use the idea if anyone seems to cause an adverse
reaction in you. Offer him the blessing of your holiness immediately, that you
may learn to keep it in your own awareness.




~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The commentary on this lesson (below) is from Kenneth Wapnick's eight volume
series of books, called: "Journey Through the Workbook of A Course in Miracles,"
which can be purchased at the following site:??~ M. Street

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Lesson 37. "My holiness blesses the world."

*This is another lesson that is extremely important in terms of what Jesus is
teaching us, as well as correcting common mistakes made by students of A Course
in Miracles. Jesus obviously is not telling us that we should bless the world
that is outside us. This would directly contradict everything he has been
teaching us so far. Remember, Jesus is teaching us the world is nothing more
than a mirror of our thoughts. Therefore, the lessons <content> is not that we
should bless a chair, stick, clock, or another person. Rather, he is saying that
if we choose his blessing -- within our minds -- and see ourselves as holy
because we have joined with him, that blessing will automatically extend through
us and envelop everything we see. The principle <projection makes perception>
must never be too far away from our thinking. This will become increasingly
manifest as we look at this lesson.*

(1:1-2) "This idea contains the first glimmerings of your true function in the
world, or why you are here. Your purpose is to see the world through your own
holiness."

*This is another way of saying our purpose or function is forgiveness.
<Forgiveness> has not really made an appearance yet in these lessons, but the
process of seeing the world through your own holiness is a wonderfully succinct
description of it. The problem is that we see the world through our own
<un>holiness, as separated egos and bodies whose mission in life is to protect
and preserve our specialness. Thus, a lesson such as this presents the
right-minded thought that undoes the ego's dictum that "my unholiness envelopes
and condemns the world I see." The focus on this lesson, therefore, is not
really on the world at all; it is on our <thoughts.> If our thoughts are rooted
in the holiness of Christ that we are, everything that we perceive must
automatically be its extension. The importance of this idea cannot be
overemphasized.*

(1:3) "Thus are you and the world blessed together."

*The world is only a reflection of my thought, which is one of holiness and
blessing because I am a child of blessing. The world "out there" must share in
that holiness, because it comes from that holiness. In other words, the world I
perceive is rooted in who I am. Another principle that should not be far from
our thoughts is <ideas leave not their source.> In this instance, if my holiness
is the source, the idea of the world must be perceived as holy as well. Indeed,
these two principle -- <projection makes perception> and <ideas leave not their
source> -- are essentially the same; Projection (or its right-minded form of
extension) is the reason ideas leave not their source. The <ideas> that comprise
our <perceptual> world are merely the <projected> self image that has its
<source> in our minds, and what is projected out always remains within. Thus
<source> and <idea> remain one.*


(1:4-6) "No one loses; nothing is taken away from anyone; everyone gains through
your holy vision. It signifies the end of sacrifice because it offers everyone
his full due. And he is entitled to everything because it is his birthright as a
Son of God."

*This is the first time in the lessons that Jesus discusses sacrifice, another
of the key themes in the text, for it is at the heart of the ego's thought
system. The root of sacrifice lies in the principle of <one or the other>, more
graphically stated in the manual, as we have already seen, <kill or be killed>
(M-17.7:11). The ego -- the thought of individuality -- begins with the idea
that it is God or my self. If God is to exist, I cannot exist as a separate
being because there is no separation, individuality, or differentiation in
Heaven. Therefore, if I am to exist as an individual -- the foundation of
everyone's thought system -- God can no longer exist, at least as He truly is.
He would be have to be changed, but if God ceases to be perfect Oneness He
ceases to be. Perfect oneness and individuality cannot coexist. That is the
origin of the thought of sacrifice: someone must lose if another is to win.

Since the sacrifice of God is the foundation of the split mind, when that mind
further splits into billions and billions of fragments, the thought of sacrifice
remains, in accord with the principle <ideas leave not their source>. The <idea>
of a separated, individual world filled with bodies has never left its <source>,
which is the mind's thought that I exist on my own -- at God's expense.

A direct corollary of the thought that I have killed God so I could exist is the
ego's teaching that God is somehow going to rise from the dead and come after
me. Therefore, in order to appease His wrath I have to call again upon the
principle that gave me my existence: <one or the other>, the idea of sacrifice.
This is the same principle, by the way, that has led most world religions to
entertain the strange notion that God demands sacrifice: If I am to exist, I
have to pay God back for what I stole from Him. That concept becomes the
foundation stone of special relationships: If I am to get what I want from you,
I must pay you for it. Thus does the principle of <one or the other>, beginning
with the ontological premise if I am to exist God must die, filters through the
fragmentation process and ends up being the foundation of <everyone's> thought
system.

What we find in the early workbook lesson, then, is the first attempt to
counteract that fundamental line of thinking. If I see a world as nothing more
than a part of me, everything that happens to me happens to the world. If I am
blessed, the world and everyone in it must be blessed, too. In "The Rock of
Salvation," Jesus states that the rock on which salvation rests is that no one
loses and everyone wins (T-25.VII.12), which is the same idea he is presenting
here. Hence I no longer presume that my happiness depends on beating you up,
putting you down, cannibalizing, or stealing from you. I can learn to generalize
this lesson, recognizing that you are part of me; not my individual physical or
psychological self, but the part of me who is the Son of God. If I seek to
exclude you by seeing you as separate from me -- an enemy or object of my
special love -- I am saying the Son of God is fragmented. In truth he cannot be,
so by attacking you I am really attacking my own Identity. However, if I begin
with the premise that my mind is part of God's and I am holy (Lesson 35), I
shall see that <you> must share in that holiness, if indeed holiness is true.
This step marks the end of sacrifice -- the principle of <one or the other>.

There is a series of statements in the text that reflect this correction:

"Salvation is a collaborative venture" (T-4.VI.8:2).

"Together of not at all" (T-19.IV-D.12:8).

"The ark of peace is entered two by two" (T-20.IV.6:5).

"No one can enter Heaven by himself" (W-p1.134.17:7).

None of this means that you literally have to be in a relationship with someone
on a physical level. It does mean, however, that in your <mind> you do not see
that your peace, salvation, or happiness comes at someone else's expense.

The key point of this lesson, therefore, is that "my holiness blesses the world"
because the world is an extension of me. As long as I believe there is someone
"out there," I must believe there is something "in here" who perceives someone
"out there," which means I am into separation, specialness, and individuality, I
then automatically believe in sacrifice; some expression of <one or the other>.*

(2:1) "There is no other way in which the idea of sacrifice can be removed from
the world's thinking."

*In other words, the only way sacrifice can be removed from the world's thinking
is to shift from the ego's thought system of separation, judgment, and hate to
the Holy Spirit's thought system of unity, forgiveness, and healing. This does
<not> mean denying our bodies or other people's bodies, but rather denying the
seeming truth of the <one or the other> principle. That is what this lesson is
all about, reflecting the central teaching of A Course in Miracles.

Again, we do not deny there are bodies, or that there is a body we identify
with. Rather, we look at the <one or the other> principle operating in our minds
and choose to deny its seeming validity. That is the only way the idea of
sacrifice can be undone. I realize you and I are making the same journey home.
It began as a path of insanity away from home, and in my mind I realize that the
way back -- the way of sanity -- is to take your hand. It does not matter
whether you even know who I am or whether you died thirty years ago. We are not
talking about something that happens externally in the world, because all
relationships exist <only> in the mind. We are talking about a relationship I am
still holding onto in my thoughts. If my ego is in charge, the relationship will
reflect <one or the other>, and that is sacrifice. If I put Jesus in charge as
my teacher, however, I shall see my special relationship as an opportunity to
look at my <one or the other> thinking and then ask his help to change it.*

(2:2-3) "Any other way of seeing will inevitably demand payment of someone or
something. As a result, the perceiver will lose."

*I must believe I will lose, because in my mind my existence comes from having
stolen from God, not to mention murdering Him. I will therefore believe, through
the dynamic of projection, that He, along with everyone in my dream are going to
do to me what I believe I did to them, and am still doing. In the end, my guilt
tells me you are going to steal back from me what I stole from you. The
"reasoning" in the ego thought system is once again as follows: Individual
existence is identified with sin, which means I reached where I am by stealing
from you and killing you off, the horrifying <final solution> brought about by
<one or the other> principle. Thus, if everything I see outside mirrors what is
inside, I must believe everyone out there, whom literally I put there, would do
exactly what I believe I have done; i.e., steal and kill. Remember that we are
speaking of the <content> of killing, not its <form>, as reflected in the
statement from Lesson 21 that "a slight twinge of annoyance is nothing but a
veil drawn over intense fury (2:5). The <thought> of murder is the same as the
<thought> of mild annoyance. That is also what is behind the seemingly
outrageous statement in the text, which I cited earlier: "What is not love is
murder" (T-23.IV.1.10). Guilt ultimately rests on our belief that we separated
from God, and so any thought of separation -- be it "a slight twinge of
annoyance" or murder -- recalls to mind this sin of betraying the love that is
<only> perfect oneness.

In light of this, we can understand why death is the central phenomenon in the
physical universe. Death to the ego is God's punishment. That is why, on one
level, the entire Bible rests on the third chapter of Genesis, which tells the
story of Adam and Eve's sin and the punishment from God, Who created death, and
later, the plan of the atonement through suffering and sacrifice. Death, then,
is the final proof that in the end my sin will be punished. Thus it is that
every seemingly separated fragment of the Sonship <must> die, as justified
punishment for <being> separate, which life in the body clearly embodies. This
is the foundation of the statement: "As a result, the perceiver will lose." *

(2:4) "Nor will he have any idea why he is losing."

*I will think I am losing because of what you did to me, or are planning to do
to me. I will not realize that the real reason I am losing is that I am the
dreamer or my own dream; a dream of loss, <one or the other>, and winners and
losers. We see again the efficacy of the ego's strategy of keeping us in a state
of mindlessness. As long as we perceive ourselves to be in a body (and therefore
not in our minds), we <must> believe other bodies are doing to us what is, in
fact, the shadow of what our mind's guilt is bringing about. Thus the following
passage from the text, which cogently describes this dynamic of projection;

"Of one thing you were sure: Of all the many causes you perceived as
bringing pain and suffering to you, your guilt was not among them. Nor did you
in any way request them for yourself. This is how all illusions came about. The
one who makes them does not see himself as making them, and their reality does
not depend on him. Whatever cause they have is something quite apart from him,
and what he sees is separate from his mind. He cannot doubt his dreams' reality,
because he does not see the part he plays in making them and making them seem
real." (T-27.VII.7:4-9).*

(2:5) "Yet is his wholeness restored to his awareness through your vision."

*I not only heal my own mind when I ask Jesus for help and identify with his
holiness, but I serve as a reminder to you. Thus, if we are in a relationship
and I can change my mind, no longer holding <one or the other> as my reigning
principle but rather seeing the relationship as a classroom in which I can
learn the exact opposite, I give you the same message. In other words, verbally
or non-verbally, I tell you that the lesson I have learned, the teacher I have
chosen, is also available inside of you. That is what is meant at the end of the
text when Jesus says that Christ is within us, saying "my brother choose again"
(T-31.VIII.3:2). When we are able to choose again, we become that same
expression of Christ's vision of forgiveness, reflecting His words to our
brother. The manual for teachers offers a wonderful description of how our
brother's "wholeness is restored to [the] awareness" of those who are sick:

"To them God's teachers come, to represent another choice which they had
forgotten. The simple presence of a teacher of God is a reminder. His thoughts
ask for the right to question what the patient has accepted as true. As God's
messengers, His teachers are the symbols of salvation. They ask the patient for
forgiveness for God's Son in his own Name. They stand for the Alternative. With
God's Word in their minds they come in benediction, not to heal the sick but to
remind them of the remedy God has already given them. It is not their hands that
heal. It is not their voice that speaks the Word of God. They merely give what
has been given them. Very gently they call to their brothers to turn away from
death: Behold, you Son of God, what life can offer you. Would you choose
sickness in place of this?" (M-5.III.2).*

(2:6-7) "Your holiness blesses him by asking nothing of him. Those who see
themselves as whole make no demands."

*If you look honestly at your relationships, even as you go through this very
day, you will realize how you are demanding something from everyone. Sometimes
quite obvious, other times it is subtle. This dynamic must be there, though, as
long as you believe you are an individual, which we all clearly do. If you
believe you are an individual, you also believe in the concept of lack, which
can be traced to our very origin: I had to steal from God at the beginning
because something was missing in me. How could it not? As long as the underlying
belief in scarcity (another word for <lack>) remains uncorrected, this inner
perception will generate the continual need to fill up what is missing -- to
"supply a lack" -- in the words of the early miracle principle (T-1.1.8:1).
Consequently, a major aspect of specialness is that I always have to take from
someone else to fill the lack that I perceive in myself.

That is what Jesus is talking about in these passages. When you identify with
holiness, you ask nothing of anyone because you <are> everything and <have>
everything. You are everything, because <having> and <being> are the same (e.g.,
T-6.B.3:4;V-C.5). Vigilance is essential to the process of your learning so that
you become aware that you are making a demand of someone. If you are making
demands and believe in the reality of the attack, that tells you that you do not
believe you are whole. You are unhappy, therefore, not because you did not
receive what you believe you should have gotten from someone, but <solely>
because you have chosen the wrong teacher.*

(3:1) "Your holiness is the salvation of the world."

*Here again, Jesus is not talking about the external world. As discussed
earlier, Jesus uses the language of Christianity, especially in the Easter
season, there is great emphasis on the thought of Jesus saving the world. Yet he
would have us realize in the Course that there is no world out there to be
saved. Saving the world really means saving ourselves from the <belief> there is
a world. Since all minds are joined in the holiness of Christ, if my mind is
healed in any given instant, the Sonship's mind is healed as well.

None of this is understandable from the world's perspective, as I have said.
None of this will make sense within our experience here, and can be understood
only when we lift ourselves above the battleground and be with Jesus in what he
calls the holy instant. From there we look back on the world and see it
differently, realizing what has to be saved are our <thoughts> about the world.
These thoughts, again, result from our thoughts about ourselves. The outer and
the inner are one and the same: <Ideas leave not their source>.*

(3:2) "It lets you teach the world that it is one with you, not by preaching to
it, not by telling it anything, but merely by your quiet recognition that in
your holiness are all things blessed along with you."

*These lines are significant. We change and save the world not by preaching A
Course in Miracles, not by teaching A Course in Miracles (i.e., in form), not by
doing anything with A Course in Miracles except learning it ourselves. In order
for my world to be saved, there is nothing that I have to do or say but to
accept what the lessons are teaching me, which is the meaning of accepting the
Atonement for oneself. These are hardly insignificant lines, for they go to the
heart of the Course's metaphysics, which is the foundation for understanding
Jesus' teachings and their application. If there is no world how can it be
saved? Again, what needs saving, or correcting, is our <minds> that believe
there is a world. Once our minds are healed, we remember that the separation
never happened, and thus a world that arose from that thought of separation
could not have happened either. Moreover, if there were no separation, God's Son
remains perfectly united as <one> Son. Our minds reflect the blessing of our
Creator, and following the oft-repeated principle <ideas leave not their
source>, it must be the case that "all things [are] blessed along with [us]." It
is from this inner blessing that our holiness inevitably extends through us, as
we see in these three parallel passages from the text. All of them highlight the
process of our doing nothing except <un>do the belief in the ego, reflecting the
little willingness that does indeed save the world -- <from our belief in it>:

"You may still think that holiness is impossible to understand, because
you cannot see how it can be extended to include everyone. And you have been
told that it must include everyone to be holy. Concern yourself not with the
extension of holiness, for the nature of miracles you do not understand. Nor do
you do them. It is their extension, far beyond the limits you perceive, that
demonstrates you do not do them. Why should you worry how the miracle extends to
all the Sonship when you do not understand the miracle itself?" (T-16:II.1:3-6)

"Extension of forgiveness is the Holy Spirit's function. Leave this to Him.
Let your concern be only that you give to Him that which can be extended. Save
no dark secrets that He cannot use, but offer Him the tiny gifts He can extend
forever. He will take each one and make of it a potent force for peace."
(T-22.VI.9:2-6)

"The miracle extends without your help, but you are needed that it can
begin. Accept the miracle of healing, and it will go forth because of what it
is. It is its nature to extend itself the instant it is born. And it is born the
instant it is offered and received. ... Leave, then, the transfer of your
learning to the One Who really understands its laws ... Your part is merely to
apply what He has taught you to yourself, and He will do the rest."
(T-27.V.1:2-5;10:1-2).

What makes all this possible of course is our having chosen the right teacher.
Thus, the crucial point to which we constantly return: "Do I have a relationship
with Jesus or do I not?" If not, it is because I have excluded him by excluding
<myself>, and do not want to acknowledge my "sin." That is always the bottom
line.

The next two paragraphs emphasize the lack of difference between our perceptions
and our thoughts, being one and the same:*

(4) "Today's four longer exercise periods, each to involve three to five minutes
of practice, begin with the repetition of the idea for today, followed by a
minute or so of looking about you as you apply the idea to whatever you see:
My holiness blesses this chair.
My holiness blesses that window.
My holiness blesses this body.

Then close your eyes and apply the idea to any person who occurs to you, using
his name and saying:
My holiness blesses you, [name]."

*Note how Jesus has us begin with the "unimportant" -- a chair, window, and the
relatively neutral body -- and then asks us to apply our blessing to a specific
person. Thus he gently eases us into A Course in Miracles' central focus;
forgiveness of our special relationships -- those from whom we would seek to
withhold our blessing.

Jesus' instructions continue, inviting us to practice with eyes open and eyes
closed, as we see fit:*

(5) "You may continue the practice period with your eyes closed; you may open
your eyes again and apply the idea for today to your outer world if you so
desire; you may alternate between applying the idea to what you see around you
and to those who are in your thoughts; or you may use any combination of these
two phases of application that you prefer. The practice period should conclude
with a repetition of the idea with your eyes closed, and another, following
immediately, with your eyes open."

*Even though this practice of eyes open and closed has been an important
emphasis in Jesus' training, he always remains gentle in his approach, as seen
in his use of words such as "you may," "if you so desire, and "that you prefer."
Good teachers never coerce their students, and Jesus wants us to <want> to learn
his lessons; otherwise our learning will be weak.*

(6:1-2) "The shorter exercises consist of repeating the idea as often as you
can. It is particularly helpful to apply it silently to anyone you meet, using
his name as you do so."

*In other words, Jesus is asking us to be vigilant in watching our ego's in
action, especially in relationship to others. He fully expects us to make the
wrong choices, as we shall see in the lessons that follow. A lesson like this,
therefore, is the correction for the mistakes we shall inevitably make. Again,
Jesus is <expecting> us to misperceive and have attack thoughts, and once aware
we have done so, to ask him for help as we try to remember the lesson for the
day.*

(6:3-4) "It is essential to use the idea if anyone seems to cause an adverse
reaction in you. Offer him the blessing of your holiness immediately, that you
may learn to keep it in your own awareness."

*I think 99.9 percent of students who do lessons like this do so almost by rote.
They think all they need do is say to someone with whom they are angry, "I bless
you," and all is healed. That is not what Jesus is talking about: he is talking
about recognizing that our perception of another is coming from our
<mis>perception of ourselves. Simply saying words like "My holiness blesses you"
is going to accomplish nothing. Actually, that is not entirely true; saying
those words will accomplish a great deal: <It will push your ego thoughts down
even further!> The idea is to bring the ego thought to the truth, the darkness
to the light. When you do a lesson like this, therefore, you should do exactly
what Jesus says, but realize also <what he is saying>. Pay attention to your
need to keep this other person separate from you. Above all, be aware of the
need to keep guilt secure in your mind. Only then can Jesus and these exercises
help you to let it go.*


Love and Blessings,

Lyn Johnson
719-369-1822
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