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Lesson 65. My only function is the one God gave me.

 

Lesson 65. My only function is the one God gave me.

(1) The idea for today reaffirms your commitment to salvation. It also reminds
you that you have no function other than that. Both these thoughts are obviously
necessary for a total commitment. Salvation cannot be the only purpose you hold
while you still cherish others. The full acceptance of salvation as your only
function necessarily entails two phases; the recognition of salvation as your
function, and the relinquishment of all the other goals you have invented for
yourself.

(2) This is the only way in which you can take your rightful place among the
saviors of the world. This is the only way in which you can say and mean, "My
only function is the one God gave me." This is the only way in which you can
find peace of mind.

(3) Today, and for a number of days to follow, set aside ten to fifteen minutes
for a more sustained practice period, in which you try to understand and accept
what the idea for the day really means. Today's idea offers you escape from all
your perceived difficulties. It places the key to the door of peace, which you
have closed upon yourself, in your own hands. It gives you the answer to all the
searching you have done since time began.

(4) Try, if possible, to undertake the daily extended practice periods at
approximately the same time each day. Try, also, to determine this time in
advance, and then adhere to it as closely as possible. The purpose of this is to
arrange your day so that you have set apart the time for God, as well as for all
the trivial purposes and goals you will pursue. This is part of the long-range
disciplinary training your mind needs, so that the Holy Spirit can use it
consistently for the purpose He shares with you.

(5) For the longer practice period, begin by reviewing the idea for the day.
Then close your eyes, repeat the idea to yourself once again, and watch your
mind carefully to catch whatever thoughts cross it. At first, make no attempt to
concentrate only on thoughts related to the idea for the day. Rather, try to
uncover each thought that arises to interfere with it. Note each one as it comes
to you, with as little involvement or concern as possible, dismissing each one
by telling yourself:

This thought reflects a goal that is preventing me from accepting my only
function.<

(6) After a while, interfering thoughts will become harder to find. Try,
however, to continue a minute or so longer, attempting to catch a few of the
idle thoughts that escaped your attention before, but do not strain or make
undue effort in doing this. Then tell yourself:

On this clean slate let my true function be written for me.<
You need not use these exact words, but try to get the sense of being willing to
have your illusions of purpose be replaced by truth.

(7) Finally, repeat the idea for today once more, and devote the rest of the
practice period to trying to focus on its importance to you, the relief its
acceptance will bring you by resolving your conflicts once and for all, and the
extent to which you really want salvation in spite of your own foolish ideas
tothe contrary.

(8) In the shorter practice periods, which should be undertaken at least once an
hour, use this form in applying today's idea:

My only function is the one God gave me.
I want no other and I have no other<

Sometimes close your eyes as you practice this, and sometimes keep them open and
look about you. It is what you see now that will be totally changed when you
accept today's idea completely.


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

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 65. "My only function is the one God gave me."

*Whenever we are tempted to think we have a function other than forgiveness, we
should recognize we are involved with a defense. Many of the functions we think
we have seem to be very important: to save the world, family, friends, or job,
be a teacher of A Course in Miracles, etc. Whatever its form, it is not my
function, and God did not give it to us. As we have already discussed, God does
not know about specifics, and the function He "gave" me is simply to remember
who I am as His Son. Forgiveness makes that possible, and that is this lesson's
theme.*

(1:1-2) "The idea for today reaffirms your commitment to salvation. It also
reminds you that you have no function other than that."

*Remember, salvation means being saved from our wrong minds, from believing we
are right and Jesus is wrong. It means undoing the belief we are individuals
acting on our own, necessitating having everyone else be responsible for the
misery we chose for ourselves.*

(1:3) "Both these thoughts are obviously necessary for a total commitment."

* "Both these thoughts" means having the function of salvation, and having no
function but that. It means looking at the positive -- our function to forgive
-- and the negative -- the belief we have another function. In the following
sentences Jesus states even more explicitly our need to be aware of both the
right-minded <and> wrong-minded perception of our function.*

(1:4-5) "Salvation cannot be the only purpose you hold while you still cherish
others. The full acceptance of salvation as your only function necessarily
entails two phases; the recognition of salvation as your function, and the
relinquishment of all the other goals you have invented for yourself."

*Before we can relinquish these other goals, we first have to be aware of them.
That underscores the importance of being honest with ourselves and Jesus
concerning our pursuit of the ego's hidden goals of specialness. One can apply
here his plea to us from the text that comes within the context of asking for
his help. It is a plea we shall hear again:

"Watch carefully and see what it is you are really asking for. Be very
honest with yourself in this, for we must hide nothing from each other."
(T-4.III.8:1-2).

"Think honestly what you have thought that God would not have thought, and
what you have not thought that God would have you think. Search sincerely for
what you have done and left undone accordingly, and then change your mind to
think with God's." (T-4.IV.2:4-5)

To state this another way : To say "yes" to our true function is to say "no" to
the false ones. In "The Last Unanswered Question" in the text, Jesus says to
answer "yes" (to the last of the four questions he poses) is to say "not no"
(T-21.VII.12). We must first look at the ego's denial of the truth -- "no" --
and then say we do not want this anymore -- "<not no>." As he says earlier in
the text, in words that will become increasingly familiar to us: "The task of
the miracle worker thus becomes to <deny the denial of truth>." (T-12.II.1:5).

This entails becoming aware of both the manifest and subtle ways in which we
have established what <we> believe to be our function in life: the purpose for
which we came. We think, in our grandiosity, we were born for some noble
purpose. Not true! We are here to undo the <ignoble> purpose for which the ego
brought us: to blame others for our sin, leaving us free of all responsibility
for how we feel. The undoing of that purpose -- the meaning of forgiveness -- is
our function, and <nothing else>.*

(2:1) "This is the only way in which you can take your rightful place among the
saviors of the world."

*At the beginning of the last section of the text, "Choose Once again," Jesus
asks us to choose whether we would take our place among the saviors of the world
or remain in hell, holding our brothers there (T-31.VIII.1:5). He recalls for us
this significant statement, much as a composer quotes significant themes from
earlier portions of the symphony.*

(2:2-3) "This is the only way in which you can say and mean, "My only function
is the one God gave me." This is the only way in which you can find peace of
mind."

*It is worth noting that <only> is a strong qualifier. Jesus uses it quite
frequently throughout A Course in Miracles, and here he uses it in successive
statements. We have no function other than forgiveness, and the <only> way we
find peace of mind is to fulfill this function, which is to undo our ego's false
functions. These always involve our bodies doing something in the world, thereby
making the state of mindlessness real in our experience and belief. A passage in
the manual for teachers, in the context of anger, describes this process of
attaining peace through forgiveness -- anger being directed from one body to
another, reinforcing mindlessness; while forgiveness returns us to our minds and
the peace of God:

"God's peace can never come where anger is, for anger must deny that peace
exists. Who sees anger as justified in any way or any circumstance proclaims
that peace is meaningless, and must believe that it cannot exist. In this
condition, peace cannot be found. Therefore, forgiveness is the necessary
condition for finding the peace of God. More than this, given forgiveness there
must be peace." (M-20.3:3-7).

Choosing against our anger, or any other expression of the ego's thought system,
is the <only> way we become aware of the Holy Spirit's truth that lies beyond
the ego's defensive cover.*

(3:1-3) "Today, and for a number of days to follow, set aside ten to fifteen
minutes for a more sustained practice period, in which you try to understand and
accept what the idea for the day really means. Today's idea offers you escape
from all your perceived difficulties. It places the key to the door of peace,
which you have closed upon yourself, in your own hands."

*We cannot escape our difficulties until we perceive them. The phrase "perceived
difficulties" means that we believe we have them, even though they are not real.
Thus, we cannot let them go until we first become aware of the ego's thought
system that we have perceived, as a way of denying it in ourselves. This is thus
a re-statement of the first principle of miracles. Looking at our perceived
difficulties with Jesus enables us to recognize them all as smoke screens for
the <only> problem we truly have: our belief in the reality of the separation.
In this way, our perceived difficulties disappear into the one problem, which
the miracle gently corrects.

Further on in Lesson 121 Jesus says that "forgiveness is the key to happiness."
The key to the door of happiness is in our hands. It is not in Jesus' or God's
hands, nor in the hands of A Course in Miracles, let alone anyone else's. <It is
in our hands>, for we alone have the power to keep our minds closed to the truth
or the ego's lies. We are the ones who closed the door on the Holy Spirit,
therefore, we are the only ones who can open it. The Holy Spirit is on the other
side of the door, but He cannot make the choice for us.

Finally, the longer practice periods that Jesus continues to suggest reflects
his wish we reflect more and more seriously on the thoughts he is presenting to
us. This is similar to his injunction to Helen and Bill in the early period of
the Course's scribing that they "study the notes." *

(3:4) "It gives you the answer to all the searching you have done since time
began."

*When Jesus says "<you> have done since time began," he is not referring to the
individual self you think you are, but the collective Son of God. The searching
we have done -- encompassing all levels of existence -- is for happiness, peace,
and the absence of pain. Needless to say, we have failed miserably. Indeed, it
seems these days as if there is no hierarchy in the illusory world of time and
space; yet it certainly seems as if this were the case. It appears we are
denying our egos less and our defenses have become less effective, and so we
search, search, and search for solutions to our pain. We seek but do not find
because we are looking in the wrong place. That is why it is imperative to
remember that forgiveness occurs in the mind, not anywhere else. It manifests
our choice to release our grip on the ego, taking Jesus as our teacher instead.

Once we have chosen sanely, our new teacher helps us realize our searching has
been in vain, since we persistently sought truth and happiness when they could
not be found. As Jesus tells us near the end of the text:

"Real choice is no illusion. But the world has none to offer. All its roads
but lead to disappointment, nothingness and death. There is no choice in its
alternatives. Seek not escape from problems here. The world was made that
problems could not be escaped. Be not deceived by all the different names its
roads are given. They have but one end... All of them will lead to death.
...Think not that happiness is ever found by following a road away from it. This
makes no sense, and cannot be the way... to achieve a goal you must proceed in
its direction, not away from it. And every road that leads the other way will
not advance the purpose to be found... There is a choice that you have power to
make when you have seen the real alternatives." (T-31.IV.2:1-8,11;7:1-4;8:1).*

(4:1-2) "Try, if possible, to undertake the daily extended practice periods at
approximately the same time each day. Try, also, to determine this time in
advance, and then adhere to it as closely as possible."

*As I have mentioned, Jesus provides specific instructions for doing these
lessons, and he tells us here to establish some structure for ourselves,
although he will say presently that this is will not be a permanent arrangement.
His words imply the undisciplined nature of our minds, stemming from the fear of
regaining our mind's power to choose. This fear is so great, that without
structured time periods we would easily all our practicing to be diverted by
fear-induced mind wandering, thus diluting the efficacy of the workbook to help
us choose again. We need external discipline before we can internalize Jesus'
teachings, so that we may learn to think of him and his message as often as
possible.

The structure we are seeking to impose on ourselves also offers the wonderful
opportunity of learning the depth of our resistance as we forget our extended
practice periods, and then seek to rationalize or deny our fear. We shall
discuss this resistance more extensively later on.*

(4:3) "The purpose of this is to arrange your day so that you have set apart the
time for God, as well as for all the trivial purposes and goals you will
pursue."

*Jesus is not telling us to give up our "trivial purposes and goals" but says
instead: "You can have them, but give me a little time, too, and I will help you
structure your day. You are going to spend ten minutes at this time; ten times
another time; twenty minutes still another time. Set up the structure so you do
not have to give up what you want, but also allow some space during the day when
you think of me, and let me spend it with you." After all, he is not asking for
a lot. Jesus is thus providing an example of how we should be with each other
and with ourselves: clear and firm, yet gentle and patient. Truth does not hit
us over the head with itself, but merely reminds us -- within the context of our
illusory lives and values -- what alone is important to us. Recall again that
all-important idea in the text: The Holy Spirit does not deprive us of our
special relationships, He transforms them (T-17.IV.2:3).*

(4:4) "This is part of the long-range disciplinary training your mind needs, so
that the Holy Spirit can use it consistently for the purpose He shares with
you."

*Over and over, Jesus tells us this is a process; a long-range program, which
will become less and structured later on. For now, however, such structure is
extremely important. To think you do not need it reflects the ego's arrogance.*

(5) "For the longer practice period, begin by reviewing the idea for the day.
Then close your eyes, repeat the idea to yourself once again, and watch your
mind carefully to catch whatever thoughts cross it. At first, make no attempt to
concentrate only on thoughts related to the idea for the day. Rather, try to
uncover each thought that arises to interfere with it. Note each one as it comes
to you, with as little involvement or concern as possible, dismissing each one
by telling yourself:

This thought reflects a goal that is preventing me from accepting my only
function."

*Jesus is telling us our assignment is to pay careful attention to the ego
thoughts, for it is these that interfere with our remembering the idea for
today. This careful watching is the focus; for these thoughts are the problem.
The mind-searching emphasis here is reminiscent of the earlier lessons and, in
fact, is a practice that should remain with us for a long, long time. Only by
being vigilant for these thoughts can we truly bring them for undoing to Jesus'
love -- <our only function> -- thus removing the obstacles to accepting our true
Identity. Note also that our looking is to be done as much as possible without
anxiety, guilt, or judgment. This helps us not give these thoughts the power the
ego would like us to believe they have.*

(6:1-2) "After a while, interfering thoughts will become harder to find. Try,
however, to continue a minute or so longer, attempting to catch a few of the
idle thoughts that escaped your attention before, but do not strain or make
undue effort in doing this."

*Jesus wants us to pay close attention to these idle thoughts, even if they are
elusive. It is our <wanting> to find them that is important here, for it
reflects the little willingness he tells us in the text is all the Holy Spirit
requires for our healing (e.g., T-18.IV,V). ... Now comes something of great
importance:*

(6:3-4) "Then tell yourself:
On this clean slate let my true function be written for me."

*Our job us to clean the mind's slate, the overriding emphasis throughout A
Course in Miracles. Our minds are cluttered with thoughts of separation, sin,
attack, suffering, pleasure, specialness, arrogance, and death. This clutter
obscures the lucid expression of the Atonement in our minds. We clean the slate
by paying careful, non-judgmental attention to these idle thoughts, realizing we
have chosen them as a way of keeping Jesus' love away. Our function is choosing
to remove the clutter; the love just beyond will shine in and of itself.*

(6:5) "You need not use these exact words, but try to get the sense of being
willing to have your illusions of purpose be replaced by truth."

*Again, we are not the ones who replace them; that is Jesus' job. Ours is simply
to bring the ego's illusions to him. Jesus thus appeals to our
willingness to have "illusions of purpose" be replaced by our true function of
forgiveness. It is this little willingness -- the motivation to have the
darkness of our mistakes corrected by the light -- to which Jesus is always
appealing.*

(7) "Finally, repeat the idea for today once more, and devote the rest of the
practice period to trying to focus on its importance to you, the relief its
acceptance will bring you by resolving your conflicts once and for all, and the
extent to which you really want salvation in spite of your own foolish ideas to
the contrary."

*We continually try to resolve our conflicts by doing external things that
require sacrifice of others, seeing our world as one of conflicting interests:
ours versus everyone else's. The only real conflict within the dream, however,
is the conflict in our minds between the ego and the Holy Spirit. In truth, of
course, that is an illusion, too. But that conflict is our only problem: "Do I
want the ego or Jesus as my teacher?"

Jesus is appealing to our desire for salvation in spite of our foolish beliefs
of what it is. Thus, as we do these exercises, he urges us to focus on the
insane and foolish ways we believe salvation will come to us; what we believe
will make us happy, as opposed to what will truly make us happy.

Another point, which was made earlier and comes up again in the next lesson, is
that our function is to be happy. The problem -- the arrogance of the ego -- is
that we think we know what happiness is. Humility, on the other hand, says that
we do not understand what will make us happy, but there is One within us Who
does. Thus we see parallel sections in the text -- "The Confusion of Pain and
Joy" (T-7.X) and "The Difference between Imprisonment and Freedom" (T-8.II) --
and the following representative passages:

"The Holy Spirit will direct you only so as to avoid pain. Surely no one
would object to this goal if he recognized it. The problem is not whether what
the Holy Spirit says is true, but whether you want to listen to what He says.
You no more recognize what is painful than you know what is joyful, and are, in
fact, very apt to confuse the two. The Holy Spirit's main function is to teach
you to tell them apart. What is joyful to you is painful to the ego, and as long
as you are in doubt about what you are, you will be confused about joy and
pain." (T-7.X.3:1-6).

"We have said that the Holy Spirit teaches you the difference between pain
and joy. That is the same as saying He teaches you the difference between
imprisonment and freedom. You cannot make this distinction without Him because
you have taught yourself that imprisonment is freedom. Believing them to be the
same, how can you tell them apart? Can you ask the part of your mind that taught
you to believe they are the same, to teach you how they are different?"
(T-8.II.5)*

(8) "In the shorter practice periods, which should be undertaken at least once
an hour, use this form in applying today's idea:
My only function is the one God gave me.
I want no other and I have no other
Sometimes close your eyes as you practice this, and sometimes keep them open and
look about you. It is what you see now that will be totally changed when you
accept today's idea completely."

*Again, we see the emphasis on the <closed eyes-open eyes> exercise, reflecting
that <ideas leave not their source>: Our thoughts (closed eyes) remain within,
despite the attempts of the ego's projection to perceive them outside (open
eyes). That is why our perceptions will be totally changed when we change our
thinking.*


Love and Blessings,

Lyn Johnson
719-369-1822

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