Lesson 86. These ideas are for review today.1.(71) Only God's plan for salvation will work.It is senseless for me to search wildly about for salvation. I have seen it inmany people and in many things, but when I reached for it, it was not there. Iwas mistaken about where it is. I was mistaken about what it is. I willundertake no more idle seeking. Only God's plan for salvation will work. And Iwill rejoice because His plan can never fail.These are some suggested forms for applying this idea specifically:God's plan for salvation will save me from my perception of this.This is no exception in God's plan for my salvation.Let me perceive this only in the light of God's plan for salvation.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~3.(72) Holding grievances is an attack on God's plan for salvation.Holding grievances is an attempt to prove that God's plan for salvation will notwork. Yet only His plan will work. By holding grievances, I amtherefore excluding my only hope of salvation from my awareness. I would nolonger defeat my own best interests in this insane way. I would accept God'splan for salvation, and be happy.Specific applications for this idea might be in these forms:I am choosing between misperception and salvation as I look on this.If I see grounds for grievances in this, I will not see the grounds for mysalvation.This calls for salvation, not attack.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~The commentary on this lesson is from Kenneth Wapnick's eight volume series ofbooks, called: "Journey Through the Workbook of A Course in Miracles," which canbe purchased at the following site:??~ M. Street~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Lesson 86. These ideas are for review today.1.(71) "Only God's plan for salvation will work."*It can only be God's plan for salvation that will work, because no other plancan save us. All others are external and designed to fail, since each woulddistract attention from our minds -- the source of our problem and the Source ofour salvation.*(1:2-3) "It is senseless for me to search wildly about for salvation. I haveseen it in many people and in many things, but when I reached for it, it was notthere."*We senselessly followed the ego's plan of <seek but do not find,> and whereverwe sought for salvation -- our special relationships -- will always fail, sincethey were made for that purpose, being the substitutes for What alone can saveus. Even more to the point, idols were made to keep us in perpetual state ofmindlessness, ensuring we would never exercise the mind's power to choose --salvation instead of slavation.*(1:4-5) "I was mistaken about where it is. I was mistaken about what it is."*The reference is to special relationships, and Jesus' purpose for us is toforgive our special indulgences, to look with him and realize our insanity inwildly looking around for things to make us happy. Thus would we recognize thefutility of specialness as a way of life: <It does not work>. Peace and lovewill never come when we seek for them outside ourselves. Note this summarizingstatement from "Seek Not Outside Yourself" on the hopelessness of pursuing idolsof specialness, and the hope in seeking only God:"An idol cannot take the place of God. Let Him remind you of His Love foryou, and do not seek to drown His Voice in chants of deep despair to idols ofyourself. Seek not outside your Father for your hope. For hope of happiness isnot despair." (T.29.VII.10.4-7).Whenever we look without judgment at our mistaken search for idols, we are freeto make another choice -- salvation in place of specialness.*(1:6-8) "I will undertake no more idle seeking. Only God's plan for salvationwill work. And I will rejoice because His plan can never fail."*Coming to our sanity at last, we pledge no longer to waste time seeking forwhat can never be found, choosing only to follow the path of forgiveness, whichalone will bring us home. In that choice is found our salvation; in that choiceis found our joy.We look now at the first specific application:*(2:2) "God's plan for salvation will save me from my perception of this."*Notice that we are not going to be saved from "this," whatever the "this" is.We do no have to be saved from a situation, but from our perception of it. Thelanguage is quite specific and intentional: "God's plan for salvation will saveme from my perception of the this." When tempted to be upset by something, weneed only realize this is our perception of the problem. It is not what weperceive to be the problem -- something outside; it is the way we see it, whichmeans the teacher with whom we are seeing: Jesus or the ego. If we are upset, weknow we have chosen the ego. God's plan for salvation calls for us to change ourminds, or more to the point, to change our teacher. Again, if we are not happywith how something is going, we need simply realize it is because we chose thewrong voice and its interpretation of the situation.To restate this point: God's plan to save us is to have us choose a new teacher.Looking at the situation through His eyes, we realize this is an opportunity tolook at what is going on within our minds. If we were not upset by what seems tobe external, would have no opportunity to bring it inside and realize it was aprojection. That is why our special relationships are our saviors. They offer usthe chance to reconsider our faulty perceptions. Once we realize the problem iswithin, we are free to make another choice.*(2:3) "This is no exception in God's plan for my salvation."*The principle of forgiveness always works: "There is no order of difficulty inmiracles." There is no perception of difficulty, pain, or discomfort that willnot change when we choose to set aside our grievances and guilt, and accept theAtonement for ourselves. God's plan for salvation is simple. That is why italways works.*3.(72) "Holding grievances is an attack on God's plan for salvation."*Jesus takes us a step further, by introducing the purposive element of anger:it directly attacks the plan of the Atonement, which redirects our focus inward,where the ego's thought system of guilt and attack is undone.*(3:2-4) "Holding grievances is an attempt to prove that God's plan for salvationwill not work. Yet only His plan will work. By holding grievances, I amtherefore excluding my only hope of salvation from my awareness."*The only hope of salvation, again, lies in my accepting full responsibility forthe misery I experience, which reflects my original choice to be a sinful andguilty individual deserving of misery and punishment. Therefore, in an insaneattempt to be free of pain, I choose to project the guilt and attack you for it.I can thus be saved only by returning to the decision-making part of the mindand correcting this mistaken choice. By being angry, however, and justifying myjudgments, I assert the reality of the body and sin --- yours and mine.Moreover, I consciously believe the sin is not in me and that there is no mind-- everything happens only in a world of bodies where grievances are real andnot my responsibility.By saying to Jesus there is something wrong because I am not at peace, I allowhim to teach me that what I am upset about in you is a split-off part of what Iam upset about in me: my guilt for separating from the Love of God. Jesus helpsme realize I am choosing between misperception and salvation as I look on this.I come to understand that my perception is the effect of my choice: the ego'sgrievances or the Holy Spirit's miracle. The former roots me still further inthe world of guilt and attack, while the latter leads me to my mind, the home ofsalvation.*(4:2-4) "I am choosing between misperception and salvation as I look on this.""If I see grounds for grievances in this, I will not see thegrounds for my salvation.""This calls for salvation, not attack."*I am learning that all circumstances in my life -- past, present, oranticipated -- offer me the opportunity of choosing to see differently. Myproblems are <perceptual>, my perceptions come from <thinking>, and my thinkingoriginates in the mind's <decision> for the ego of the Holy Spirit. Theright-minded choice for forgiveness corrects the ego's thinking, which led to mywrong-minded perceptions of grievances and attack. Because I now choose to behappy, I see grounds for forgiveness and salvation in everything. Only bywishing to remain in the pain of my guilt would I choose to see grounds forgrievances. Yet, as Jesus fortunately reminds us (e.g., T-16.VI.8.8), I am nolonger wholly insane and so I call for salvation and not attack.One final point -- salvation does not mean I save you, the situation, or evenmyself. I save the situation in my mind, by <changing my mind.> All situationscall for this inner shift. Remember , "Seek not to change the world, but chooseto change your mind about the world" (T-21.in.1:7).*
Love and Blessings,
Lyn Johnson 719-369-1822
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