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Lesson 42. God is my strength. Vision is His gift.

Lyn Johnson All Messages By This Member #93040 Lesson 42. God is my strength. Vision is His gift. The idea for today combines two very powerful thoughts, both of major importance. It also sets forth a cause and effect relationship that explains why you cannot fail in your efforts to achieve the goal of the course. You will see because it is the Will of God. It is His strength, not your own, that gives you power. And it is His gift, rather than your own, that offers vision to you. God is indeed your strength, and what He gives is truly given. This means that you can receive it any time and anywhere, wherever you are, and in whatever circumstance you find yourself. Your passage through time and space is not at random. You cannot but be in the right place at the right time. Such is the strength of God. Such are His gifts. We will have two three-to-five-minute practice periods today, one as soon as possible after you wake, and another as close as possible to the time you go to sleep. It is better, however, to wait until you can sit quietly by yourself, at a time when you feel ready, than it is to be concerned with the time as such. Begin these practice periods by repeating the idea for today slowly, with your eyes open, looking about you. Then close your eyes and repeat the idea again, even slower than before. After this, try to think of nothing except thoughts that occur to you in relation to the idea for the day. You might think, for example: Vision must be possible. God gives truly,< or: God's gifts to me must be mine, because He gave them to me.< Any thought that is clearly related to the idea for today is suitable. You may, in fact, be astonished at the amount of course-related understanding some of your thoughts contain. Let them come without censoring unless you find your mind is merely wandering, and you have let obviously irrelevant thoughts intrude. You may also reach a point where no thoughts at all seem to come to mind. If such interferences occur, open your eyes and repeat the thought once more while looking slowly about; close your eyes, repeat the idea once more, and then continue to look for related thoughts in your mind. Remember, however, that active searching for relevant thoughts is not appropriate for today's exercises. Try merely to step back and let the thoughts come. If you find this difficult, it is better to spend the practice period alternating between slow repetitions of the idea with eyes open, then with eyes closed, than it is to strain to find suitable thoughts. There is no limit on the number of short practice periods that would be beneficial today. The idea for the day is a beginning step in bringing thoughts together, and teaching you that you are studying a unified thought system in which nothing is lacking that is needed, and nothing is included that is contradictory or irrelevant. The more often you repeat the idea during the day, the more often you will be reminding yourself that the goal of the course is important to you, and that you have not forgotten it. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 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 42. "God is my strength. Vision is His gift." (1:1-2) "The idea for today combines two very powerful thoughts, both of major importance. It also sets forth a cause and effect relationship that explains why you cannot fail in your efforts to achieve the goal of the course." This "cause and effect relationship" is that if I know God "walks with me" and He is my strength, I shall automatically perceive through the eyes of His Love and Holiness. Christ's vision comes from the thought I am holy and part of God. When I look out, which, as we have learned, has nothing to do with our physical eyes, all I shall see are figures in a dream either expressing love and trying to return home, or still too afraid of love and attempting to attack it. In other words, the <cause> is the vision that sees all people as part of the Sonship, regardless of their disparate forms. (1:3-5) "You will see because it is the Will of God. It is His strength, not your own, that gives you power. And it is His gift, rather than your own, that offers vision to you." Jesus is urging us to trust him that we cannot fail. Illusions of ego strength can have no power over the real Source of strength within us. Jesus now sets out the wonderful consequences of this happy fact: (2:1-2) "God is indeed your strength, and what He gives is truly given. This means that you can receive it any time and anywhere, wherever you are, and in whatever circumstance you find yourself." Since the mind, the home of God's strength, is beyond time (and space), it is <always> available to us. It simply awaits our acceptance. That is why Jesus tells us in the text, already cited, that we need do nothing (T-18.VII). We need do nothing <except> to accept what is already there. Thus our need is to learn to <un>do what the ego has taught us, releasing God's strength to once again be our own. Since this is a process occurring in our <minds>, which are totally under our control, this joyful acceptance can occur anywhere, any time, regardless of external circumstances. This discussion next moves more specifically to the topic of time, which we shall examine much more carefully later on. For now I shall just make some brief comments: (2:3-6) "Your passage through time and space is not at random. You cannot but be in the right place at the right time. Such is the strength of God. Such are His gifts." Jesus is saying that nothing is at random because it is all our dream. The ego chooses our scripts as a way to keep us further and further away from the truth. When we look at these scripts with Jesus, they then become classrooms. But nothing is random. I -- the mind that my current physical identity is but a fragment of -- have chosen my life and what happens in it as a way of reinforcing my individuality and specialness. If I look at any aspect of this with Jesus and ask his help, I see it as the means of learning forgiveness so I may return to an awareness of my true Identity. Thus I am "in the right place at the right place at the right time," for lessons of forgiveness can <always> be learned, regardless of the outer circumstance. For the two longer practice periods today, Jesus encourages us to focus on having <quiet> time. Looking at the instructions for these lessons as a whole, we can see how Jesus has emphasized different aspects of our practice at different times; sometimes focusing on the <form> (the external), other times on the <content> (the internal). The point here, of course, is to help us at our own level of learning, so that we may come to understand that <cause and effect>, <content and form> <inner and outer>, are never separated. (3) "We will have two three-to-five-minute practice periods today, one as soon as possible after you wake, and another as close as possible to the time you go to sleep. It is better, however, to wait until you can sit quietly by yourself, at a time when you feel ready, than it is to be concerned with the time as such." Jesus' weaning us from reliance on the <form> of our practicing is part of his training us not to be slaves to ritual. We previously cited the discussion in the manual for teachers in this regard, and here is the relevant passage: "There are some general rules which do apply, although each one must use them as best he can in his own way. Routines as such are dangerous, because they easily become gods in their own right, threatening the very goals for which they were set up. ... This course is always practical. ... Duration is not the major concern. One can easily sit still an hour with closed eyes and accomplish nothing. One can as easily give God only an instant, and in that instant join with Him completely." (M-16.2:4-5;4:1,4-6). We shall return to this important theme of the <quality> of our time spent with the Holy Spirit, rather than its <quantity>. The fourth paragraph discusses our personal thoughts "in relation to the idea for the day." (4) "Begin these practice periods by repeating the idea for today slowly, with your eyes open, looking about you. Then close your eyes and repeat the idea again, even slower than before. After this, try to think of nothing except thoughts that occur to you in relation to the idea for the day. You might think, for example: Vision must be possible. God gives truly, or: God's gifts to me must be mine, because He gave them to me." Once again we can observe the emphasis Jesus places on bringing <our> thoughts to <his>, and thereby practice bringing them into harmony with his vision of forgiveness and peace. In the next paragraph Jesus plays down the active mind-searching exercises of before, asking us to be quiet, letting his thoughts come to us, rather than our coming to them: (5) "Any thought that is clearly related to the idea for today is suitable. You may, in fact, be astonished at the amount of course-related understanding some of your thoughts contain. Let them come without censoring unless you find your mind is merely wandering, and you have let obviously irrelevant thoughts intrude. You may also reach a point where no thoughts at all seem to come to mind. If such interferences occur, open your eyes and repeat the thought once more while looking slowly about; close your eyes, repeat the idea once more, and then continue to look for related thoughts in your mind." However, if nothing "comes," our gentle teacher instructs us in the next paragraph to become more active again and look for the thoughts. Yet, this looking is <not> the focus here, but rather the letting go of control, allowing his guidance to take over, reminiscent of this statement from the text: "My control can take over everything that does not matter, while my guidance can direct everything that does, if you so choose. ... This is controlled by me automatically as soon as you place what you think under my guidance." (T-2.VI.1:3;2-9) (6:1) "Remember, however, that active searching for relevant thoughts is not appropriate for today's exercises." Jesus is thus saying you do not have to search for God. Once you have removed your negative thoughts, the work of earlier lessons, the resultant blank slate allows the thoughts of love to appear to you. Therefore: (6:2-3) "Try merely to step back and let the thoughts come. If you find this difficult, it is better to spend the practice period alternating between slow repetitions of the idea with eyes open, then with eyes closed, than it is to strain to find suitable thoughts." I might add that in reality the thoughts do not come to us; <we come to them>. It was our mind's decision maker that chose to leave the thought of the Atonement for the thought of separation, and so it is this decision maker than now must make the choice to return to that thought, although our experience may well be that the Atonement and its reflected thoughts come to us. That experience is reflected in this lesson, as is Jesus' emphasis on the gentle and non-coercive nature of this learning. (7) "There is no limit on the number of short practice periods that would be beneficial today. The idea for the day is a beginning step in bringing thoughts together, and teaching you that you are studying a unified thought system in which nothing is lacking that is needed, and nothing is included that is contradictory or irrelevant." This is a point that Jesus makes in many other places as well. Everything you ever need is in this course; there is no need to seek elsewhere. Once you decide A Course in Miracles is your spiritual path, to do anything else will simply confuse you. As Jesus told Helen specifically, in words meant for <all> his students: "You are not making use of the course if you insist on using means which have served others well, neglecting what was made for you." (T.18.VII.6.5) A Course in Miracles contains everything that will help you undo your ego, and therefore everything that will help remind you of who you are. Insisting on "using means which have served others well," will simply defend against accepting the Course's message of forgiveness as your own. (8) "The more often you repeat the idea during the day, the more often you will be reminding yourself that the goal of the course is important to you, and that you have not forgotten it." You need to realize there is a part of you, despite your fear, that does want to learn what this course is teaching, and that its goal is truly important to you. Despite all attempts to cover it with clouds of guilt, there remains the right-minded self that remembers your goal: above all you want to return home. A Course in Miracles, with Jesus as your teacher, will be the means to help you ultimately reach that goal. Love and Blessings, Lyn Johnson 719-369-1822

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