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Lesson 347 Anger must come from judgment. Judgment is The weapon I would use against myself, To keep the miracle away from me. Father, I want what goes against my will, and do not want what is my will to have. Straighten my mind, my Father. It is sick. But You have offered freedom, and I choose to claim Your gift today. And so I give all judgment to the One You gave to me to judge for me. He sees what I behold, and yet He knows the truth. He looks on pain, and yet He understands it is not real, and in His understanding it is healed. He gives the miracles my dreams would hide from my awareness. Let Him judge today. I do not know my will, but He is sure it is Your Own. And He will speak for me, and call Your miracles to come to me. Listen today. Be very still, and hear the gentle Voice for God assuring you that He has judged you as the Son He loves. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Below, is from Kenneth Wapnick's commentaries on this lesson, from "Journey Through the Workbook of A Course in Miracles," which can be purchased at the following site: http://www.facim.org/ ~M. Street. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Lesson 347. "Anger must come from judgment. Judgment is The weapon I would use against myself, To keep the miracle away from me." *Lesson 347 is another opportunity for us to realize the insanity of our choices, here exemplified by judging ourselves, the cause of our anger. Thus we again see the importance of recognizing the purpose behind our making the world and judging everything in it. Such judgments hold us in a state of mindlessness, which keeps the Holy Spirit's miracle away from us.* (1:1-3) "Father, I want what goes against my will, and do not want what is my will to have. Straighten my mind, my Father. It is sick." *This passage calls to mind the well-known lament of St. Paul: "Why is it that the good that I would, I do not do, and the evil that I would not do, I do do?" (Romans 7:19) In other words, why I am insane? Why is it that part of me wants to do the right thing, and yet I always end up doing the wrong thing; and the wrong things I do not want to do, are the very things I find myself doing? This is Jesus' point here, making clear to us our insanity in doing the very things that keep us from being happy. We think happiness comes through holding grievances or worshipping the gods of specialness. Yet they only bring us sadness, and our minds are sick to think otherwise. Humility helps us realize this sick insanity, the precursor to letting it go.* (1:4-8) "But You have offered freedom, and I choose to claim Your gift today. And so I give all judgment to the One You gave to me to judge for me. He sees what I behold, and yet He knows the truth. He looks on pain, and yet He understands it is not real, and in His understanding it is healed. He gives the miracles my dreams would hide from my awareness." *Interestingly, in the context of this passage the Holy Spirit sees the world through our eyes. Strictly speaking, of course, He does not see anything; the point being we should not deny what our eyes see, but rather look at the world through different lens. Jesus tells us, for example, that we should look on pain: "Do not deny the existence of wars, floods, and famine, from which people suffer. Do not deny the suffering. But let me help you to look at pain differently. Let me use your perception of suffering to show you that it mirrors your choice for an internal thought of suffering." This, then, is the world's only value -- there is no other way to return to the mind except through the world, because we made it and believe we are here. Though the world is not holy in itself, it can yet serve the holy purpose of reflecting back to us the repressed mind's choices, which correct the purpose served by the ego's dreams of anger, judgment, pain, and death: to hide the fact that we are the mind's decision maker, the dreamer of the dream.* (1:9-11) "Let Him judge today. I do not know my will, but He is sure it is Your Own. And He will speak for me, and call Your miracles to come to me." *I simply

Lesson 346. Today the peace of God envelops me, And I forget all things except His Love. Father, I wake today with miracles correcting my perception of all things. And so begins the day I share with You as I will share eternity, for time has stepped aside today. I do not seek the things of time, and so I will not look upon them. What I seek today transcends all laws of time and things perceived in time. I would forget all things except Your Love. I would abide in You, and know no laws except Your law of love. And I would find the peace which You created for Your Son, forgetting all the foolish toys I made as I behold Your glory and my own. And when the evening comes today, we will remember nothing but the peace of God. For we will learn today what peace is ours, when we forget all things except God's Love. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Below, is from Kenneth Wapnick's commentaries on this lesson, from "Journey Through the Workbook of A Course in Miracles," which can be purchased at the following site: http://www.facim.org/ ~ M. Street. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Lesson 346. "Today the peace of God envelops me, And I forget all things except His Love." *This is another important lesson that can be helpful as you go through your day. Realize how much you forget His Love and seek to remember everything else. If it is His Love you really want to remember, your specialness needs will recede into the background and His Love, as reflected through Jesus' teachings of forgiveness, will come to the foreground. If you realize that the purpose of this day is not to satisfy your ego's needs, but rather to be a classroom in which your only need of forgiveness is satisfied, that purpose will be in the foreground, and the daily events and relationships will reflect that changed purpose. They will thus have become the curriculum in which you learn the lessons that will speed you along your Atonement path. That is the meaning of "I forget all things except His Love." Jesus does not mean that you literally have to think of God's Love throughout the day; but he asks that you think of the gift Love's reflection offers you in very specific ways -- the opportunity of learning lessons in your classroom of forgiveness.* (1:1-2) "Father, I wake today with miracles correcting my perception of all things. And so begins the day I share with You as I will share eternity, for time has stepped aside today." *When I choose the holy instant I am outside time. That is how it has stepped aside. This does not mean I deny that I live in a world of time and space. It simply means that the world recedes into the background, its place taken by the lesson that comes from timelessness -- my reality is outside the dream. I now understand I chose the dream because I desired to keep my special dream figure alive and well, but am ready and willing to learn something else.* (1:3-4) "I do not seek the things of time, and so I will not look upon them. What I seek today transcends all laws of time and things perceived in time." *That is not meant to imply that you do not watch a news program, read a newspaper, or listen to someone's sad story, but that you look at them through Jesus' eyes. Remember that before you realize the perceptual world is an illusion, you first must reverse the perceived figure and ground. You do not want to skip steps, meaning that before you realize the illusory nature of everything, including yourself, you first must pay careful attention to what goes on here, but seen with a different purpose. The world of specialness, instead of being front and center, becomes the background of your new purpose. Thus what emerges in the forefront is Jesus' teaching that will help you realize that you can look on the world another way.* (1:5-7) "I would forget all things except Your Love. I would abide in You, and know no laws except Your law of love. And I would find the peace which You created for Your Son, forgetting all the foolish toys I made as I behold Your glory and my own." *These foolish toys, as we have seen elsewhere, are the

Lesson 345. I offer only miracles today, For I would have them be returned to me. Father, a miracle reflects Your gifts to me, Your Son. And every one I give returns to me, reminding me the law of love is universal. Even here, it takes a form which can be recognized and seen to work. The miracles I give are given back in just the form I need to help me with the problems I perceive. Father, in Heaven it is different, for there, there are no needs. But here on earth, the miracle is closer to Your gifts than any other gift that I can give. Then let me give this gift alone today, which, born of true forgiveness, lights the way that I must travel to remember You. Peace to all seeking hearts today. The light has come to offer miracles to bless the tired world. It will find rest today, for we will offer what we have received. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Below, is from Kenneth Wapnick's commentaries on this lesson, from "Journey Through the Workbook of A Course in Miracles," which can be purchased at the following site: http://www.facim.org/ ~ M. Street. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Lesson 345. "I offer only miracles today, For I would have them be returned to me." *The theme of oneness of giving and receiving is discussed here in the context of miracles. The miracles we offer correct our projected thoughts. They are nothing external; not beautiful, kind, holy, and pure -- not something to brag about. They are but withdrawals of the projection, reflecting the change of mind about our original guilt. They <undo>, reversing what the ego has done. Thus we look upon the ego's dream of devastation -- internal and external -- and smile gently as we accept they are not the truth. It is therefore our right-minded goal to teach each other, by showing that attacks have no effect on our love for those who sought to hurt us. As we teach that miracle to others, we reinforce its truth in ourselves.* (1:1) "Father, a miracle reflects Your gifts to me, Your Son." *God's gift is His Love; the miracle Its reflection. At the beginning of the text Jesus says that the source of miracles is love (T-1.I.3), which means the miracle is not love, but the Holy Spirit's correction principle in our minds -- our right-minded Atonement thought that reflects Heaven's love.* (1:2-4) "And every one I give returns to me, reminding me the law of love is universal. Even here, it takes a form which can be recognized and seen to work. The miracles I give are given back in just the form I need to help me with the problems I perceive." *The law of love is universal, holding for everyone; the Atonement principle is universal, holding for everyone. Yet the specific ways in which we practice the Atonement will differ for each of us, the meaning of Jesus' words at the end of the manual that the curriculum is highly individualized (M-29.2:6). It is what he means here by saying we will experience the correction in the forms we need. Since we wrote our scripts of special relationships, and these differ from the scripts of others, our experiences of undoing the ego will also differ. The underlying principle is always the same, however -- the mind has dreamt the dream, and therefore it is the mind alone that can change it.* (1:5-7) "Father, in Heaven it is different, for there, there are no needs. But here on earth, the miracle is closer to Your gifts than any other gift that I can give. Then let me give this gift alone today, which, born of true forgiveness, lights the way that I must travel to remember You." *Our only need is forgiveness or the miracle, for, as the text states, we already have all that we need as God's Son (T-3.V.6). The miracle reminds us of our prior choice for nothing, which now can be reconsidered in light of truth's reflection of the Everything. In the end, making the right choice is inevitable, as we recall: "Who with the Love of God upholding him could find the choice of miracles or murder hard to make?" (T-23.IV.9:8)* (2) "Peace to all seeking hearts today. The light has come to offer miracles to bless the tired world. It will fi

Lesson 344. Today I learn the law of love; that what I give my brother is my gift to me. This is Your law, my Father, not my own. I have not understood what giving means, and thought to save what I desired for myself alone. And as I looked upon the treasure that I thought I had, I found an empty place where nothing ever was or is or will be. Who can share a dream? And what can an illusion offer me? Yet he whom I forgive will give me gifts beyond the worth of anything on earth. Let my forgiven brothers fill my store with Heaven's treasures, which alone are real. Thus is the law of love fulfilled. And thus Your Son arises and returns to You. How near we are to one another, as we go to God. How near is He to us. How close the ending of the dream of sin, and the redemption of the Son of God. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Below, is from Kenneth Wapnick's commentaries on this lesson, from "Journey Through the Workbook of A Course in Miracles," which can be purchased at the following site: http://www.facim.org/ ~ M. Street. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Lesson 344. "Today I learn the law of love; that what I give my brother is my gift to me." *This reiterates the idea that giving and receiving are the same, both from the wrong-minded and right-minded points of view. It holds for the law of hate <and> for the law of love, and so the guilt I give my brother is the guilt I give to myself, as is the case with forgiveness.* (1:1-2) "This is Your law, my Father, not my own. I have not understood what giving means, and thought to save what I desired for myself alone." *We have a secret place in our minds where we hold onto what we cherish and call our own. We will never give it up, and therefore we can never give love entirely. Whether we are conscious of this thinking or not, it is in all of us. We will not give Jesus or A Course in Miracles everything: we will not give God everything. There remains a piece of our individuality we hold back. That is <our> law, because if we lose this special identity we lose our very selves.* (1:3-4) "And as I looked upon the treasure that I thought I had, I found an empty place where nothing ever was or is or will be. Who can share a dream?" *This is the dream of specialness, beginning with the dream of our own existence. We seek above all to preserve this special existence, even if it means killing one who threatens it. After all, we killed God in order to exist, and this <kill or be killed> mentality is reflected each and every day of our lives. If we do not do it physically, we do it psychologically -- others have what we want, and we must kill to get it. When we succeed, or believe we have, we must continue to protect our treasure by the same hate-filled tactic that seemed to win it in the first place.* (1:4-9) "And what can an illusion offer me? Yet he whom I forgive will give me gifts beyond the worth of anything on earth. Let my forgiven brothers fill my store with Heaven's treasures, which alone are real. Thus is the law of love fulfilled. And thus Your Son arises and returns to You." *The gifts you give me when I forgive are the gifts of remembering my sinlessness. When I forgive you, I realize the light of Christ shines in you as it does in me, and your unkindness is but a call for the love that mirrors my own. We are united in that call for love, as we are united in the love that is our true Self.* (2) "How near we are to one another, as we go to God. How near is He to us. How close the ending of the dream of sin, and the redemption of the Son of God." *We need learn as we make our way home how close we are to each other, and at the journey's end we realize we are not close to each other at all, we <are> each other; not the individual selves we seem to share, but the one Son of God who remained awake within his Father. Recall this passage from The Song of Prayer: "The ladder ends with this, for learning is no longer needed. Now you stand before the gate of Heaven, and your brother stands beside you there. The lawns are deep and still, for here the place appointed for th

Lesson 343. I am not asked to make a sacrifice To find the mercy and the peace of God. The end of suffering can not be loss. The gift of everything can be but gain. You only give. You never take away. And You created me to be like You, so sacrifice becomes impossible for me as well as You. I, too, must give. And so all things are given unto me forever and forever. As I was created I remain. Your Son can make no sacrifice, for he must be complete, having the function of completing You. I am complete because I am Your Son. I cannot lose, for I can only give, and everything is mine eternally. The mercy and the peace of God are free. Salvation has no cost. It is a gift that must be freely given and received. And it is this that we would learn today. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Below, is from Kenneth Wapnick's commentaries on this lesson, from "Journey Through the Workbook of A Course in Miracles," which can be purchased at the following site: http://www.facim.org/ ~ M. Street. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Lesson 343. "I am not asked to make a sacrifice To find the mercy and the peace of God." *Continuing the theme of the unity of giving and receiving, this lesson focuses specifically on sacrifice, which is based on the idea that if I am to receive something, I have to give something away; if I am to receive love, I have to pay for it.* (1:1-4) "The end of suffering can not be loss. The gift of everything can be but gain. You only give. You never take away." *This is our prayer to God, but the ego has us believe the exact opposite: the world's God gives life and takes it away. Funeral services almost always affirm that thinking, and behind it is the idea we stole from God, and now He is justified in taking back from us -- through our death -- the life we believed we stole from Him.* (1:5-11) "And You created me to be like You, so sacrifice becomes impossible for me as well as You. I, too, must give. And so all things are given unto me forever and forever. As I was created I remain. Your Son can make no sacrifice, for he must be complete, having the function of completing You. I am complete because I am Your Son. I cannot lose, for I can only give, and everything is mine eternally." *This corrects the ego thought system that says the way to win God's mercy and peace is to pay Him for it -- the birth of the strange notion that God demands sacrifice. In biblical times God demanded animal sacrifice, then the sacrifice of His Son. Following along, we sacrifice the pleasure of our own bodies. All this makes perfect sense from the ego's view of truth, which knows nothing of such insanity: "Sacrifice is a notion totally unknown to God. It arises solely from fear, and frightened people can be vicious. Sacrificing in any way is a violation of my injunction that you should be merciful even as your Father in Heaven is merciful." (T-3.I.4:1-3) In other words, "God thinks otherwise" (T-23.I.2:7), and so our thought system of guilt and punishment, vengeance and sacrifice, is quietly undone through forgiveness, which restores to our awareness the completion of God's Son. The ego's dream of sacrifice -- <one or the other> -- ends in our embrace of the Holy Spirit's principle -- <together or not at all>. Thus we remember our Identity, the eternal Christ God created like Himself.* (2) "The mercy and the peace of God are free. Salvation has no cost. It is a gift that must be freely given and received. And it is this that we would learn today." *God's Love is total, and is totally present to <all> Sons, who in their delusions believe they are separate. Thus they believe their separation from God must be brought at a price -- the compromise of the Oneness of God and His Son. Yet does Jesus save us from this insanity by gently teaching that reality cannot be compromised, for Heaven's love is not diminished by our belief in the hell of judgment: "Salvation is no compromise of any kind. To compromise is to accept but part of what you want; to take a little and give up the rest. Salvation gives up nothing. It is complete for ever

Lesson 342. I let forgiveness rest upon all things, For thus forgiveness will be given me. I thank You, Father, for Your plan to save me from the hell I made. It is not real. And You have given me the means to prove its unreality to me. The key is in my hand, and I have reached the door beyond which lies the end of dreams. I stand before the gate of Heaven, wondering if I should enter in and be at home. Let me not wait again today. Let me forgive all things, and let creation be as You would have it be and as it is. Let me remember that I am Your Son, and opening the door at last, forget illusions in the blazing light of truth, as memory of You returns to me. Brother, forgive me now. I come to you to take you home with me. And as we go, the world goes with us on our way to God. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Below, is from Kenneth Wapnick's commentaries on the lessons. It is taken from his eight volume work: "Journey Through the Workbook of A Course in Miracles." which can be purchased at the following site: http://www.facim.org/ ~ M. Street. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Lesson 342. "I let forgiveness rest upon all things, For thus forgiveness will be given me." *Lessons 342 through 345 revisit the theme of giving and receiving, so prominent in the workbook, not to mention the text. The fact that giving and receiving are the same undoes the ego's principle of < one or the other > -- if I give you something, you have it and I do not; if I take it from you, you do not have it and I do. Thus to the ego, giving and receiving are <not> the same. This is patently true of the world of materiality, but not in thought, where the equality of giving and receiving holds for both the ego and the Holy Spirit. If I give you my guilt to you and attack, I still receive it. Likewise, when I undo guilt and forgive, I teach myself I am forgiven too: "I let forgiveness rest upon all things. For thus forgiveness will be given me." I therefore learn that my sin of separating from God is undone through recognizing there is no sin in my brother. I begin there because that is where my ego taught me I am -- the attacking world of bodies -- at the bottom of its ladder of guilt and hate: Asking Jesus to help me look differently on my perceptions of separate bodies in relationship, I learn that what I perceived outside is simply what I made real inside, a mistaken choice for separation I can now happily correct through forgiveness -- the gift I both give and receive as one.* (1:1-4) "I thank You, Father, for Your plan to save me from the hell I made. It is not real. And You have given me the means to prove its unreality to me. The key is in my hand, and I have reached the door beyond which lies the end of dreams." *The hell of the external world of suffering and death is not real, and neither is the hell of the internal world of sin, guilt, and fear. Metaphorically speaking, God gives us the means to prove this unreality through the Holy Spirit in our minds. The "key" is not in Jesus' hand, God's Hands, or the Course's hands, it is in <our> hands. It was our choice to leave Heaven, and it is now our choice to return to it. "Forgiveness is the key to happiness" (W-pI.121), but we can only turn the key when our hands are joined with Jesus'. We cannot do it without him, and he cannot do it without us. Patiently, he awaits our decision to have him help us.* (1:5-8) "I stand before the gate of Heaven, wondering if I should enter in and be at home. Let me not wait again today. Let me forgive all things, and let creation be as You would have it be and as it is. Let me remember that I am Your Son, and opening the door at last, forget illusions in the blazing light of truth, as memory of You returns to me." *As he is want to do, Jesus lets us know there is a part of us that is still uncertain this is what we want, for we fear that if we do what he asks, we will lose.* (2) "Brother, forgive me now. I come to you to take you home with me. And as we go, the world goes with us on our way to God." *Jesus says to us, "I cannot help you return home if you still hol

This next section is to be read once a day for the next ten days, for those doing the actual lessons. ~ M. Street 13. What is a Miracle? A miracle is a correction. It does not create, nor really change at all. It merely looks on devastation, and reminds the mind that what it sees is false. It undoes error, but does not attempt to go beyond perception, nor exceed the function of forgiveness. Thus it stays within time's limits. Yet it paves the way for the return of timelessness and love's awakening, for fear must slip away under the gentle remedy it brings. A miracle contains the gift of grace, for it is given and received as one. And thus it illustrates the law of truth the world does not obey, because it fails entirely to understand its ways. A miracle inverts perception which was upside down before, and thus it ends the strange distortions that were manifest. Now is perception open to the truth. Now is forgiveness seen as justified. Forgiveness is the home of miracles. The eyes of Christ deliver them to all they look upon in mercy and in love. Perception stands corrected in His sight, and what was meant to curse has come to bless. Each lily of forgiveness offers all the world the silent miracle of love. And each is laid before the Word of God, upon the universal altar to Creator and creation in the light of perfect purity and endless joy. The miracle is taken first on faith, because to ask for it implies the mind has been made ready to conceive of what it cannot see and does not understand. Yet faith will bring its witnesses to show that what it rested on is really there. And thus the miracle will justify your faith in it, and show it rested on a world more real than what you saw before; a world redeemed from what you thought was there. Miracles fall like drops of healing rain from Heaven on a dry and dusty world, where starved and thirsty creatures come to die. Now they have water. Now the world is green. And everywhere the signs of life spring up, to show that what is born can never die, for what has life has immortality. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Below, is from Kenneth Wapnick's commentaries on this section, from his book set called: "Journey Through the Workbook of A Course in Miracles," which can be purchased at the following site: Foundation for "A Course in Miracles"? ~ M. Street. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 13. What is a Miracle? *This is one of the more important of the 14 summaries in Part II, as the focus of A Course in Miracles is on the miracle, which is why it is part of the Course's title. It will be clear as we go through this, as well as the lessons to come, that Jesus treats the roles of the miracle and forgiveness synonymously. It would be difficult to regard them as significantly different as they are really aspects of the same process of healing. However, more often than not Jesus gives the name <forgiveness> to the process of changing our minds, and the miracle to the realization that our minds are the <cause> of the dream, not its <effect>.* (1:1-3) "A miracle is a correction. It does not create, nor really change at all. It merely looks on devastation, and reminds the mind that what it sees is false." *The passage parallels the first summary, which says forgiveness "is still, and quietly does nothing ... It merely looks, and waits, and judges not" (W-pII.1.4:1,3). In other words, the miracle can be viewed as the process of (1) going above the battleground with Jesus and looking on the world's devastation -- what we believe has victimized us and others -- and understanding that this is the external dream that mirrors our internal dream of devastation -- the belief we attacked and destroyed God; and (2) looking at that belief with a gentle smile, as we realize that what we are looking on -- <form> and <content> -- is false. Thus, the miracle is not about external changes, but solely about a change of mind. It is as if we shifted lenses -- no longer looking at the world through the lens of the ego, but through the lens of the Holy Spirit. Remember that the miracle is not tr

Lesson 341 I can attack but my own sinlessness, And it is only that which keeps me safe. Father, Your Son is holy. I am he on whom You smile in love and tenderness so dear and deep and still the universe smiles back on You, and shares Your Holiness. How pure, how safe, how holy, then, are we, abiding in Your Smile, with all Your Love bestowed upon us, living one with You, in brotherhood and Fatherhood complete; in sinlessness so perfect that the Lord of Sinlessness conceives us as His Son, a universe of Thought completing Him. Let us not, then, attack our sinlessness, for it contains the Word of God to us. And in its kind reflection we are saved. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Commentary on this lesson is by Kenneth Wapnick, from his books: "Journey Through the Workbook of A Course in Miracles." Book set may be purchased at the following site: http://www.facim.org/ ~ M. Street. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Lesson 341 "I can attack but my own sinlessness, And it is only that which keeps me safe." *Beginning with Lesson 341, the next ten lessons differ from what we have been accustomed to seeing in Part II. First, the lesson titles increase, beginning with two lines instead of one, and then shifting to three with Lesson 347. Second, each lesson begins with a prayer to God, the dominant part of the lesson. Thus, the number of words Jesus says to us decreases, while he increases what we say to God in our prayer. In this first lesson is an extension of Lesson 135, "If I defend myself I am attacked." If I see myself as vulnerable and needing defense, I must see myself as separated and sinful. Therefore, when I hold grievances against others, I attack not only their sinlessness but mine as well, since we are one.* (1) "Father, Your Son is holy. I am he on whom You smile in love and tenderness so dear and deep and still the universe smiles back on You, and shares Your Holiness. How pure, how safe, how holy, then, are we, abiding in Your Smile, with all Your Love bestowed upon us, living one with You, in brotherhood and Fatherhood complete; in sinlessness so perfect that the Lord of Sinlessness conceives us as His Son, a universe of Thought completing Him." *This is a lovely rendering of the Oneness of the Sonship as Christ, and Its Oneness with God. God's smile -- a metaphor, of course -- tells us that nothing happened in the separation, for we are the ones who took the tiny mad idea seriously, making a world based upon the ego's mistaken correction. The gentle laughter of the Holy Spirit -- the expression of the Atonement principle -- reflects God's smile that undoes this foolishness, as we see in this important and familiar passage from the text: "In gentle laughter does the Holy Spirit perceive the cause, and looks not to effects. How else could He correct your error, who have overlooked the cause entirely? He bids you bring each terrible effect to Him that you may look together on its foolish cause and laugh with Him a while. You judge effects, but He has judged their cause. And by His judgment are effects removed. Perhaps you come in tears. But hear Him say, "My brother, holy Son of God, behold your idle dream, in which this could occur". And you will leave the holy instant with your laughter and your brother's joined with His." (T-27.VIII.9) * (2) "Let us not, then, attack our sinlessness, for it contains the Word of God to us. And in its kind reflection we are saved." *We attack our sinlessness by attacking our brothers, which is why we attack them: to keep sin intact in our deluded minds, and therefore maintain the reality of the separation. Thus Jesus asks us, again, to choose what we want -- sin or sinlessness, imprisonment or freedom, blindness or vision: "Your question should not be, "How can I see my brother without the body?" Ask only, "Do I really wish to see him sinless?" And as you ask, forget not that his sinlessness is your escape from fear. Salvation is the Holy Spirit's goal. The means is vision. For what the seeing look upon is sinless. No one who loves can judge, and what he sees is free of co

Lesson 340. I can be free of suffering today. Father, I thank You for today, and for the freedom I am certain it will bring. This day is holy, for today Your Son will be redeemed. His suffering is done. For he will hear Your Voice directing him to find Christ's vision through forgiveness, and be free forever from all suffering. Thanks for today, my Father. I was born into this world but to achieve this day, and what it holds in joy and freedom for Your holy Son and for the world he made, which is released along with him today. Be glad today! Be glad! There is no room for anything but joy and thanks today. Our Father has redeemed His Son this day. Not one of us but will be saved today. Not one who will remain in fear, and none the Father will not gather to Himself, awake in Heaven in the Heart of Love. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Below, is from Kenneth Wapnick's commentaries on this lesson, from "Journey Through the Workbook of A Course in Miracles," which can be purchased at the following site: Foundation for A Course in Miracles ? ~ M. Street. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Lesson 340. "I can be free of suffering today." *This lesson provides us with another clear statement of what our experience can be if we choose the Teacher of freedom instead of the teacher of suffering.* (1:1-2) "Father, I thank You for today, and for the freedom I am certain it will bring. This day is holy, for today Your Son will be redeemed." *Our gratitude is not for whatever pain we experience this day -- that would be masochism. We thank our Father for His Love, which, through the Holy Spirit's Presence in our hurtful dream, reminds us that we can choose again. Our suffering is the effect of the mind's mistaken choice for a teacher, but we can change the cause to the Cause that alone will free us from our prison house of pain. Forgiveness is the Holy Spirit's means to liberate us from hell, for it reflects the Will of Heaven, the only Source of joy.* (1:3-6) "His suffering is done. For he will hear Your Voice directing him to find Christ's vision through forgiveness, and be free forever from all suffering. Thanks for today, my Father. I was born into this world but to achieve this day, and what it holds in joy and freedom for Your holy Son and for the world he made, which is released along with him today." *Choosing the Voice of forgiveness instead of the voice of guilt marks the end of suffering. There is no other way to remember our pain-free Self than to recognize that suffering's end comes with the separation's end, expressed through not seeing another's interests as separate from our own -- the essence of forgiveness. As Jesus reminds us in Psychotherapy : "Hear a brother call for help and answer him ... There is no other way to hear His Voice. There is no other way to seek His Son. There is no other way to find your Self." (P-2.V.8:4,6-8)* (2) "Be glad today! Be glad! There is no room for anything but joy and thanks today. Our Father has redeemed His Son this day. Not one of us but will be saved today. Not one who will remain in fear, and none the Father will not gather to Himself, awake in Heaven in the Heart of Love." *The only right-minded purpose for being here is to learn that suffering comes from a wish that in turn gives rise to a thought. This, then, gives rise to a projected experience. Recall these important lines from the text: "Perception seems to teach you what you see. Yet it but witnesses to what you taught. It is the outward picture of a wish; an image that you wanted to be true." (T-24.VII.8.8-10). If I am not happy with my suffering, I can return to my mind's decision maker and say: "I no longer wish this." Yet to say I no longer wish this pain must also mean I no longer wish its cause -- the decision to be on my own and separate from the Love of God. Thus I joyfully allow myself to hear God's loving Judgment on me, His Son: "Holy are you, eternal, free and whole, at peace forever in the Heart of God." (M-15.1:11) * Love and Blessings, Lyn Johnson 719-369-1822 http://www.mlynjohnson.com/ https://www

Lesson 339. I will receive whatever I request. No one desires pain. But he can think that pain is pleasure. No one would avoid his happiness. But he can think that joy is painful, threatening and dangerous. Everyone will receive what he requests. But he can be confused indeed about the things he wants; the state he would attain. What can he then request that he would want when he receives it? He has asked for what will frighten him, and bring him suffering. Let us resolve today to ask for what we really want, and only this, that we may spend this day in fearlessness, without confusing pain with joy, or fear with love. Father, this is Your day. It is a day in which I would do nothing by myself, but hear Your Voice in everything I do; requesting only what You offer me, accepting only Thoughts You share with me. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Below, is from Kenneth Wapnick's commentaries on this lesson, from "Journey Through the Workbook of A Course in Miracles," which can be purchased at the following site: Foundation for A Course in Miracles ? ~ M. Street. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Lesson 339. "I will receive whatever I request." *If I feel pain it is because I chose pain, and I chose it because of its value in keeping God away. The suffering will never cease, therefore, until I change my mind about its purpose.* (1:1-4) "No one desires pain. But he can think that pain is pleasure. No one would avoid his happiness. But he can think that joy is painful, threatening and dangerous." *Jesus discusses this idea at the end of the first and second obstacles to peace (T-19.IV.-A.17:10-12); T-19.IV-B.15). He explains that we really do not understand the difference between pleasure and pain, and that if we believe the body can give us one, it can also give us the other. We are confused because we have taken instruction from a teacher with a vested interest in what we learn -- that we stay in pain but blame someone else for it. This is the ego's insane method of freeing us from guilt. Thus we need a Teacher Who will help us realize that anything of the ego is ultimately painful, and that the only real pleasure is in doing God's Will (T-1.VII.1:4), which in this world entails learning to forgive. Therefore, our real joy is giving up of the ego, which means giving up our individuality and self-importance. To our egos, however, this can only be perceived as painful. Jesus reminds us that babies will cry when the scissors they are playing with are taken from them (T-4.II.5:2). To the caring adult, a baby's enjoyment is courting danger, and so it removes the potential source of harm. Jesus is the caring adult trying to do the same with us, except he does not have the same power to effect change that an adult has over a child. Thus he waits patiently until we change our minds sufficiently to realize that he knows better than we. He is trying to take away our specialness, not by force, but by gently reminding us it will not make us happy.* (1:5-9) "Everyone will receive what he requests. But he can be confused indeed about the things he wants; the state he would attain. What can he then request that he would want when he receives it? He has asked for what will frighten him, and bring him suffering. Let us resolve today to ask for what we really want, and only this, that we may spend this day in fearlessness, without confusing pain with joy, or fear with love." *Once again, we all receive what we want, and we want happiness; but we do not understand that what we think will make us happy brings us only suffering and pain. We need a different definition of happiness, which comes when we step with Jesus outside of the dream -- outside our personal identity, wishes, and specialness -- and let him teach us what alone will give us what we want: the perceptual shift of relationships that forgiveness brings about. Of such is the Kingdom of Heaven on earth, as joy replaces pain, and love takes the place of fear.* (2) "Father, this is Your day. It is a day in which I would do nothing by myself, but hear Your Voice in everything

Lesson 338. I am affected only by my thoughts. It needs but this to let salvation come to all the world. For in this single thought is everyone released at last from fear. Now has he learned that no one frightens him, and nothing can endanger him. He has no enemies, and he is safe from all external things. His thoughts can frighten him, but since these thoughts belong to him alone, he has the power to change them and exchange each fear thought for a happy thought of love. He crucified himself. Yet God has planned that His beloved Son will be redeemed. Your plan is sure, my Father,--only Yours. All other plans will fail. And I will have thoughts that will frighten me, until I learn that You have given me the only Thought that leads me to salvation. Mine alone will fail, and lead me nowhere. But the Thought You gave me promises to lead me home, because it holds Your promise to Your Son. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Below, is from Kenneth Wapnick's commentaries on this lesson, from "Journey Through the Workbook of A Course in Miracles," which can be purchased at the following site: Foundation for A Course in Miracles ? ~ M. Street. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Lesson 338. "I am affected only by my thoughts." *In this lesson and the two that follow, Jesus reminds us how to be free of suffering. Since pain does not originate outside, release from it cannot be sought there. We think we are affected by everything but our thoughts -- weather, germs, insults, the body's deterioration, etc. Yet since this is our dream, we can be affected only by our thoughts. This realization marks the end of pain. As Jesus says in "The Dreamer of the Dream," the way to be free of all suffering is to see the problem as it is, not the way we set it up (T-27.VII.2). Our setup was to attribute the cause of our distress to something external. To see the problem as it is, however, is to accept the internal cause of suffering -- the mind's decision for guilt and unforgiveness.* (1:1-4) "It needs but this to let salvation come to all the world. For in this single thought is everyone released at last from fear. Now has he learned that no one frightens him, and nothing can endanger him. He has no enemies, and he is safe from all external things." *Salvation comes when I understand I am affected only by my thoughts. If the world is nothing but a projection of my thought, when this thought changes, my perception of the world changes, too. Within the dream our bodies are not safe; indeed, they were made to be vulnerable. However, we are not talking about the dream's bodily hero. Jesus' teachings can be understood only when we are able to step outside the dream and no longer see ourselves as figures within it. Being above the battleground with Jesus (T-23.IV), we understand we have brought this on ourselves, for our purpose was to prove we are innocent victims, not sinful victimizers. Thus do we see that we can be affected only by our victimizing thoughts, and nothing else, and therefore are made safe from all threat and released from fear.* (1:5-7) "His thoughts can frighten him, but since these thoughts belong to him alone, he has the power to change them and exchange each fear thought for a happy thought of love. He crucified himself. Yet God has planned that His beloved Son will be redeemed." *God's plan -- the Atonement -- undoes our misthoughts. Our first step is realizing that the problem is not outside, but our <thoughts> about what is outside. That is why A Course in Miracles gives us true hope, for we can do something about our thoughts. Since it is our dream, we can change it, but if we are the victim of another's dream, there is no hope for us -- except attack.* (2) "Your plan is sure, my Father,--only Yours. All other plans will fail. And I will have thoughts that will frighten me, until I learn that You have given me the only Thought that leads me to salvation. Mine alone will fail, and lead me nowhere. But the Thought You gave me promises to lead me home, because it holds Your promise to Your Son." *God's plan is to return t

Lesson 337. My sinlessness protects me from all harm. My sinlessness ensures me perfect peace, eternal safety, everlasting love, freedom forever from all thought of loss; complete deliverance from suffering. And only happiness can be my state, for only happiness is given me. What must I do to know all this is mine? I must accept Atonement for myself, and nothing more. God has already done all things that need be done. And I must learn I need do nothing of myself, for I need but accept my Self, my sinlessness, created for me, now already mine, to feel God's Love protecting me from harm, to understand my Father loves His Son; to know I am the Son my Father loves. You Who created me in sinlessness are not mistaken about what I am. I was mistaken when I thought I sinned, but I accept Atonement for myself. Father, my dream is ended now. Amen. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Below, is from Kenneth Wapnick's commentaries on this lesson, from "Journey Through the Workbook of A Course in Miracles," which can be purchased at the following site: Foundation for A Course in Miracles ? ~ M. Street. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Lesson 337. "My sinlessness protects me from all harm." *The belief that our sinful attack against God will be used against us causes us to walk the world in a state of vulnerability and fear. However, choosing to be sinless helps us to realize there is nothing to fear, because there is no projection of guilt that demands attack in return.* (1:1-4) "My sinlessness ensures me perfect peace, eternal safety, everlasting love, freedom forever from all thought of loss; complete deliverance from suffering. And only happiness can be my state, for only happiness is given me. What must I do to know all this is mine? I must accept Atonement for myself, and nothing more." *I find peace, safety, love, and happiness, not through the world changing or my manipulating others to meet my special needs, but rather by changing my mind's thought system or teacher. Accepting the Holy Spirit's Atonement for myself remains my one and only responsibility." (T-2.V.5:1).* (1:5-6) "God has already done all things that need be done. And I must learn I need do nothing of myself, for I need but accept my Self, my sinlessness, created for me, now already mine, to feel God's Love protecting me from harm, to understand my Father loves His Son; to know I am the Son my Father loves." *To cite the important section from the text: I need do nothing (T-18.VII). All I need do is <undo> what my ego has taught me, which I accepted instead of the Atonement's truth. Reversing my decision allows me to shift my identification from sin to sinlessness, guilt to innocence, and fear to love, for I have accepted Jesus' now-familiar words as truth: "Walk you in glory, with your head held high, and fear no evil. The innocent are safe because they share their innocence. Nothing they see is harmful, for their awareness of the truth releases everything from the illusion of harmfulness. And what seemed harmful now stands shining in their innocence, released from sin and fear and happily returned to love." (T-23.in.3:1-4).* (2:1) "You Who created me in sinlessness are not mistaken about what I am." *This calls to mind Jesus' reassuring statements in the text: "My trust in you is greater than yours in me at the moment ...You are asked to live so as to demonstrate that you are not an ego, and I do not choose God's channels wrongly. The Holy One shares my trust, and accepts my Atonement decisions because my will is never out of accord with His. I have said before that I am in charge of the Atonement. This is only because I completed my part in it as a man, and can now complete it through others. My chosen channels cannot fail, because I will lend them my strength as long as theirs is wanting." (T-4.VI.6:1,3-4) In Jesus' certainty we rest content -- safe from guilt, safe from attack, safe for love.* (2:2-4) "I was mistaken when I thought I sinned, but I accept Atonement for myself. Father, my dream is ended now. Amen." *Once more we see the crucial idea

This article is very much worth reading, though the focus of this specific article is not on taking back ones projections specifically (which is a key piece in observing our ego concepts, while we believe A=B+C).There's much much more in the guidebook.which includes many articles, including the theme of projection and looking at ones own hateful thoughts. Very cool resource. J always offers his hand whenever I think I've fallen and can't get up, Marcy ;-) Miracles or Murder Miracles or Murder A Guidebook to Concepts of A Course in Miracles

Lesson 336. Forgiveness lets me know that minds are joined. Forgiveness is the means appointed for perception's ending. Knowledge is restored after perception first is changed, and then gives way entirely to what remains forever past its highest reach. For sights and sounds, at best, can serve but to recall the memory that lies beyond them all. Forgiveness sweeps away distortions, and opens the hidden altar to the truth. Its lilies shine into the mind, and call it to return and look within, to find what it has vainly sought without. For here, and only here, is peace of mind restored, for this the dwelling place of God Himself. In quiet may forgiveness wipe away my dreams of separation and of sin. Then let me, Father, look within, and find Your promise of my sinlessness is kept; Your Word remains unchanged within my mind, Your Love is still abiding in my heart. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Below, is from Kenneth Wapnick's commentaries on this lesson, from "Journey Through the Workbook of A Course in Miracles," which can be purchased at the following site: Foundation for "A Course in Miracles"? ~ M. Street. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Lesson 336. "Forgiveness lets me know that minds are joined." *In A Course in Miracles, sin and separation are virtually synonymous. Sin is the belief that separation is real, and is deplorable because it was attained through vicious attack. Yet if minds are joined, there can be no separation or differences, and therefore no sin. Indeed, there is nothing but God and Christ. Their Oneness totally unaffected by what never happened. Asking for help in shifting our perception of the world -- the meaning of forgiveness -- allows us to understand we are truly one: in mind and in Mind.* (1:1-2) "Forgiveness is the means appointed for perception's ending. Knowledge is restored after perception first is changed, and then gives way entirely to what remains forever past its highest reach." *We first ask for help to shift from the ego's false perception to the Holy Spirit's true perception. When His vision has cleansed all mistaken thoughts held in our minds, all that remains is for God to take His final step. Thus perception ends, as the clarification of terms says, in a "blazing light," and what takes its place is the changeless knowledge of our Self (C-4.7.)* (1:3) "For sights and sounds, at best, can serve but to recall the memory that lies beyond them all." *The sights and sounds of the perceptual world can serve to help undo illusion. In itself, perception is not true, and when the body has served its function as an instrument of communication and classroom for learning, both disappear. The memory of God dawns on our forgiven minds, and we are at rest.* (1:4) "Forgiveness sweeps away distortions, and opens the hidden altar to the truth." *The hidden altar is within the mind, where the decision maker chooses truth instead of illusion. Forgiveness unveils the altar so we can present the gift of lilies to our self.* (1:5-6) "Its lilies shine into the mind, and call it to return and look within, to find what it has vainly sought without. For here, and only here, is peace of mind restored, for this the dwelling place of God Himself." *The call to return is the call for our decision maker to change its mind; another way of saying we are asked not to look without, but to allow what our eyes perceive to reflect what we have first chosen to see within. Only then can we change our minds about their false perceptions, and open the door to God and His peace.* (2) "In quiet may forgiveness wipe away my dreams of separation and of sin. Then let me, Father, look within, and find Your promise of my sinlessness is kept; Your Word remains unchanged within my mind, Your Love is still abiding in my heart." *God's Word is the Atonement, the acceptance of which undoes the ego thought system. We need first ask Jesus for help that we shift our perception of our brother, which allows our projected sin to be brought back to the mind where it originated. We then look within at the mind's wrong-minded de

Lesson 335. I choose to see my brother's sinlessness. Forgiveness is a choice. I never see my brother as he is, for that is far beyond perception. What I see in him is merely what I wish to see, because it stands for what I want to be the truth. It is to this alone that I respond, however much I seem to be impelled by outside happenings. I choose to see what I would look upon, and this I see, and only this. My brother's sinlessness shows me that I would look upon my own. And I will see it, having chosen to behold my brother in its holy light. What could restore Your memory to me, except to see my brother's sinlessness? His holiness reminds me that he was created one with me, and like myself. In him I find my Self, and in Your Son I find the memory of You as well. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Commentary (an excerpt) on this lesson by Ken Wapnick, from his books: "Journey Through the Workbook of A Course in Miracles." Book set may be purchased at the following site: http://www.facim.org/cgi-bin/facimcart.cgi?a=prod&p=b-23 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Lesson 335. "I choose to see my brother's sinlessness." *This reaffirms what Jesus had us choose at the end of the previous lesson. We now choose the vision of our brother's sinlessness instead of sin, because we choose to see the innocence in ourselves.* (1:1-3) "Forgiveness is a choice. I never see my brother as he is, for that is far beyond perception. What I see in him is merely what I wish to see, because it stands for what I want to be the truth." *Beyond perception is my reality as Christ, yet within the dream I can perceive sin or sinlessness as the truth, depending on the teacher I choose and the lessons I wish to learn: those that reinforce my dream of individuality, or those that help me awaken from it. Thus the way I see you comes from the way I see myself -- <projection makes perception>. What I have judged real and important in my mind is what I will see as real and important outside of me in the body. If I judge my individuality to be valuable, that is what I will see in you; but I will see sin there as well, and not within. As we learned in Lesson 161, the ego had us make the world of specifics precisely so we could have persons onto whom we could project responsibility for our individual and separate existence.* (1:4) "It is to this alone that I respond, however much I seem to be impelled by outside happenings." *This is one of the seminal principles in A Course in Miracles. We seem to be affected by what is outside us; but in truth we are affected only by the mind's decision for the ego's specialness or the Holy Spirit's forgiveness.* (1:5-7) "I choose to see what I would look upon, and this I see, and only this. My brother's sinlessness shows me that I would look upon my own. And I will see it, having chosen to behold my brother in its holy light." *On a practical level, this does not mean we should feel guilty because we see murder, pain, death, and sickness all around us. Remember that perception is an interpretation. (e.g.,M-17.4:1-2). It is not what our eyes "objectively" see that is the issue, but the interpretation of what our eyes see. Thus we do not deny the ego's interpretation, which would be that sin is rampant, either in ourselves or others. The change we want to effect in our minds is to see in ourselves and others expressions of love or calls for love, not sin and evil.* Love and Blessings, Lyn Johnson 719-369-1822 http://www.mlynjohnson.com/ https://www.facebook.com/sweedreamz ACIM Gather for "A Course in Miracles" Students & Teachers

Lesson 334. Today I claim the gifts forgiveness gives. I will not wait another day to find the treasures that my Father offers me. Illusions are all vain, and dreams are gone even while they are woven out of thoughts that rest on false perceptions. Let me not accept such meager gifts again today. God's Voice is offering the peace of God to all who hear and choose to follow Him. This is my choice today. And so I go to find the treasures God has given me. I seek but the eternal. For Your Son can be content with nothing less than this. What, then, can be his solace but what You are offering to his bewildered mind and frightened heart, to give him certainty and bring him peace? Today I would behold my brother sinless. This Your Will for me, for so will I behold my sinlessness. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Commentary on this lesson by Ken Wapnick, from his books: "Journey Through the Workbook of A Course in Miracles." Book set may be purchased at the following site: Foundation for "A Course in Miracles"? ~ M. Street. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Lesson 334. "Today I claim the gifts forgiveness gives." *Lessons 334 through 337 center on the theme of perceiving sinlessness in our brothers, which allows us to realize we are sinless, too. They roughly parallel the two sections that end Chapter 20, "The Consistency of Means and End" and "The Vision of Sinlessness" (T-20.VII,VIII). Forgiveness' gift awakens in us the memory of our innocence, for by undoing the belief in the sin we perceive in others, we give ourselves the opportunity to choose the sinlessness the Holy Spirit offers over the ego's gift of sinfulness.* (1:1) "I will not wait another day to find the treasures that my Father offers me." *Here again, Jesus appeals to us to recognize how unhappy we are living under the ego's guidance, and how happy we would be if we let him be our teacher instead.* (1:2) "Illusions are all vain, and dreams are gone even while they are woven out of thoughts that rest on false perceptions." *In other words, the world is already over. The Atonement principle has never ceased to be, and everything we have ever dreamt, thought, or experienced is an illusion that never happened -- "This world was over long ago" (T-28.1.1:6).* (1:3-6) "Let me not accept such meager gifts again today. God's Voice is offering the peace of God to all who hear and choose to follow Him. This is my choice today. And so I go to find the treasures God has given me." *We saw the importance of choosing the second place, that we may remember that we -- an aspect of God's Son -- are part of the first. If we are unhappy with the ego's gifts of anger, depression, or pain, we need but remember these were our choice, and thus we can choose again.* (2:1) "I seek but the eternal." *The ego will always have us seek after the ephemeral: the world's gifts of specialness. Jesus reminds us that what we truly want, and want alone, is the love that never ends: "Let, then, your dedication be to the eternal, and learn not to interfere with it and make it slave to time." (T-19.1.16:1)* (2:2-5) "For Your Son can be content with nothing less than this. What, then, can be his solace but what You are offering to his bewildered mind and frightened heart, to give him certainty and bring him peace? Today I would behold my brother sinless. This Your Will for me, for so will I behold my sinlessness." *The way we find the eternal in ourselves is to forgive. Jesus, as we have seen repeatedly, has us work backwards. We begin where we think we are -- in special relationships fraught with neediness and grievances. We learn to use these as classrooms under the guidance of our new teacher, in which we come to understand that the sin we perceive around us, or even in our own bodies, is a projection of the mind's belief in sin. Once we return to the source of the error, we can, as the decision maker, choose differently. We begin by asking for help to shift our perception of someone perceived external to us, and gently move to our bewildered mind and frightened heart, there to accept our inhe

Lesson 333. Forgiveness ends the dream of conflict here. (1) Conflict must be resolved. It cannot be evaded, set aside, denied, disguised, seen somewhere else, called by another name, or hidden by deceit of any kind, if it would be escaped. It must be seen exactly as it is, where it is thought to be, in the reality which has been given it, and with the purpose that the mind accorded it. For only then are its defenses lifted, and the truth can shine upon it as it disappears. (2) Father, forgiveness is the light You chose to shine away all conflict and all doubt, and light the way for our return to You. No light but this can end our evil dream. No light but this can save the world. For this alone will never fail in anything, being Your gift to Your beloved Son. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Commentary on this lesson is by Kenneth Wapnick, from his books: "Journey Through the Workbook of A Course in Miracles." Book set may be purchased at the following site: Foundation for "A Course in Miracles"? ~ M. Street. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Lesson 333. "Forgiveness ends the dream of conflict here." This world originated with the thought of fear, the source of the conflict that is the root of all dreams. Thus, for example, I fear someone or something outside of me, their will being to attack, clearly in conflict with my will, which I perceive to be loving and peaceful. Yet it is impossible to be in this world as a body without conflicts of this nature, for the essence of physical life is rooted in the wrong mind's principle of <one or the other> -- an aspect of Darwin's notion of survival of the fittest. It is only when, through forgiveness, we step outside the dream with Jesus that we realize the illusory nature of the ego's thought system of separation and conflict. This lesson is especially important because of its emphasis on resolving the problem of ego conflict in the mind, not in the world or body. (1:1-3) "Conflict must be resolved. It cannot be evaded, set aside, denied, disguised, seen somewhere else, called by another name, or hidden by deceit of any kind, if it would be escaped. It must be seen exactly as it is, where it is thought to be, in the reality which has been given it, and with the purpose that the mind accorded it." Psychodynamic psychologists have focused on what they term <basic conflict>, and every theorist has had a different definition. Jesus, too, has a theory, and defines basic conflict as between illusion and truth. This conflict of the ego with God underlies everything in this world, and Jesus emphasizes that we cannot resolve it outside, but only at its source -- the mind's decision to be right rather than happy, aligning with the ego instead of the Holy Spirit. Thus no conflict is truly resolved in the world, and there will never be a lasting peace here, only hatred, because we are not in touch with its source that lies within the ego thought system shared by parties of every conflict -- past, present, and future. We therefore need to see conflict where it is: in the mind. Once chosen, conflict is dissociated and then -- projected -- is seen in the world. There is then no hope of undoing it. As our teacher, Jesus asks us to let his eyes be ours, that we may learn the true source of conflict; never outside -- between people, governments, religions, and races -- but in the mind that believes it can exist only through conflict, rooted in the belief it has waged war with God, defeated Him, and now must avoid His inevitable retaliation. The process of healing begins with our external perceptions, and, Jesus helps us see that these are but "the outside picture of an inward condition" (T-21.in.1:5) (1:4) "For only then are its defenses lifted, and the truth can shine upon it as it disappears." Conflict ends when we bring its darkness to the light of forgiveness -- <in the mind>. Asking Jesus for help means looking at the situation through his eyes, learning that what we perceive as conflict outside is a projection of conflict inside: our war with God. Only when we look at that thought can

Lesson 332. Fear binds the world. Forgiveness sets it free. (1) The ego makes illusions. Truth undoes its evil dreams by shining them away. Truth never makes attack. It merely is. And by its presence is the mind recalled from fantasies, awaking to the real. Forgiveness bids this presence enter in, and take its rightful place within the mind. Without forgiveness is the mind in chains, believing in its own futility. Yet with forgiveness does the light shine through the dream of darkness, offering it hope, and giving it the means to realize the freedom that is its inheritance. (2) We would not bind the world again today. Fear holds it prisoner. And yet Your Love has given us the means to set it free. Father, we would release it now. For as we offer freedom, it is given us. And we would not remain as prisoners, while You are holding freedom out to us. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Commentary on this lesson is by Ken Wapnick, from his books: "Journey Through the Workbook of A Course in Miracles." Book set may be purchased at the following site: Foundation for "A Course in Miracles"? ~ M. Street ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Lesson 332. "Fear binds the world. Forgiveness sets it free." The world is bound by my fear because the world is my thought. If my mind chooses fear, I will look out on a fear-based world, seeing imprisonment all around me. If it chooses forgiveness, I will look out on a world in which everyone is free and unbound. I may see people having the illusion of being imprisoned, but I will no longer participate in their dream by feeling the effects of their pain. As we practice A Course in Miracles, we are not asked to deny what goes on in the world, but simply asked not to participate in its thought system by giving it power over our minds. To others, we may appear to be participating in illusion, but our minds remain at peace. What thus governs our behavior is peace and forgiveness, not conflict or fear. (1:1-4) "The ego makes illusions. Truth undoes its evil dreams by shining them away. Truth never makes attack. It merely is." Forgiveness does nothing; it merely is. Love does nothing; it merely is. When Jesus was here, he did nothing; he merely was. One who is in the real world and appears to be here does nothing, too, in the sense of actively correcting the ego's mistakes. The love within simply shines away the mistaken thoughts in the mind of God's one Son. (1:5) "And by its presence is the mind recalled from fantasies, awaking to the real." The "mind" here is the decision maker recognizing its mistake. It had identified with fantasies, and now realizes these will not lead to happiness. (1:6-8) "Forgiveness bids this presence enter in, and take its rightful place within the mind. Without forgiveness is the mind in chains, believing in its own futility. Yet with forgiveness does the light shine through the dream of darkness, offering it hope, and giving it the means to realize the freedom that is its inheritance." When we choose to identify with the ego, we choose to be in the imprisoning state of sin, guilt, and fear. When we correct our mistake and choose forgiveness, we undo the ego's thought system by looking at it without judgment. Gone, then is the darkened dream in which we are chained to guilt, its place now taken by freedom's light that is our true inheritance, unaffected by the ego's fantasies of rejection and hate: "Peace is a natural heritage of spirit. Everyone is free to accept his inheritance, but he is not free to establish what his inheritance is." (T-3.VI.10:1-2) (2) "We would not bind the world again today. Fear holds it prisoner. And yet Your Love has given us the means to set it free. Father, we would release it now. For as we offer freedom, it is given us. And we would not remain as prisoners, while You are holding freedom out to us." We realize that what binds the world is not what goes on externally, but what we make real in our minds. We change our imprisoned state by changing teachers, and our world changes accordingly. Enemies become friends, and prison doors seemingly

Lesson 331. There is no conflict, for my will is Yours. How foolish, Father, to believe Your Son could cause himself to suffer! Could he make a plan for his damnation, and be left without a certain way to his release? You love me, Father. You could never leave me desolate, to die within a world of pain and cruelty. How could I think that Love has left Itself? There is no will except the Will of Love. Fear is a dream, and has no will that can conflict with Yours. Conflict is sleep, and peace awakening. Death is illusion; life, eternal truth. There is no opposition to Your Will. There is no conflict, for my will is Yours. Forgiveness shows us that God's Will is One, and that we share it. Let us look upon the holy sights forgiveness shows today, that we may find the peace of God. Amen. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Commentary on this lesson is by Kenneth Wapnick, from his book set, called: "Journey Through the Workbook of A Course in Miracles," and may be purchased at the following site: Foundation for "A Course in Miracles"? ~ M. Street. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Lesson 331. "There is no conflict, for my will is Yours." *In this lesson Jesus focuses on the prominent role conflict plays in the ego thought system. The ego believes it has defied God's Will and remains in opposition to It. That is the basis of all conflict, manifest in the split mind between the ego and the Holy Spirit. This of course is not how He thinks, but is at the core of the ego's thought system that established our identities through conflict, opposition, defiance, and murder -- reflected in a world that thrives on conflict, opposition, defiance, and murder. The ego thus proclaims that conflict is alive and well -- we took from God, Who now will take it back from us -- witnessed to by its worldly shadow of conflict and war. This necessitates our doing something about the imminent threat to our existence, and the end product of this "doing" is the world of attack.* (1:1-5) "How foolish, Father, to believe Your Son could cause himself to suffer! Could he make a plan for his damnation, and be left without a certain way to his release? You love me, Father. You could never leave me desolate, to die within a world of pain and cruelty. How could I think that Love has left Itself?" *The ego tells us that God abandoned us. He created us in bodies and then left us in this world to fend for ourselves, suffer, and finally die. It never tells us that <we> abandoned God, nor the ultimate truth -- there was no abandonment at all, for how could Love leave Itself?* (1:6-9) "There is no will except the Will of Love. Fear is a dream, and has no will that can conflict with Yours. Conflict is sleep, and peace awakening. Death is illusion; life, eternal truth." *You may remember that Lesson 190, "I choose the joy of God instead of pain," concludes with a similar rhythm. The words are different, but the meaning and presentation are the same: "This is the day when it is given you to realize the lesson that contains all of salvation's power. It is this: Pain is illusion; joy, reality. Pain is but sleep; joy is awakening. Pain is deception; joy alone is truth." (W-pI.190.10:3-6) * (1:10-11) "There is no opposition to Your Will. There is no conflict, for my will is Yours." *Our lives as physical, psychological beings -- shadows of the authority problem with God -- are based on opposition and conflict. If we do not defend ourselves, others will attack us and end our existence, and thus we always need to be engaged in self-protection. Finally, however, we realize there is something wrong with this life of attack-defense, and we can choose again, as Jesus now tells us:* (2) "Forgiveness shows us that God's Will is One, and that we share it. Let us look upon the holy sights forgiveness shows today, that we may find the peace of God. Amen." *Forgiveness undoes the false perception of conflict by ending the dream that you and I are separate, kept apart by thoughts of guilt and judgment, pain and sorrow. True perception reveals a world washed clean of sin, as we rememb

for those who are doing the Workbook lessons, this special discussion is to be read each day for the next ten lessons: 12. What Is The Ego? (1) The ego is idolatry; the sign of limited and separated self, born in a body, doomed to suffer and to end its life in death. It is the "will" that sees the Will of God as enemy, and takes a form in which it is denied. The ego is the "proof" that strength is weak and love is fearful, life is really death, and what opposes God alone is true. (2) The ego is insane. In fear it stands beyond the Everywhere, apart from All, in separation from the Infinite. In its insanity it thinks it has become a victor over God Himself. And in its terrible autonomy it "sees" the Will of God has been destroyed. It dreams of punishment, and trembles at the figures in its dreams; its enemies, who seek to murder it before it can ensure its safety by attacking them. (3) The Son of God is egoless. What can he know of madness and the death of God, when he abides in Him? What can he know of sorrow and of suffering, when he lives in eternal joy? What can he know of fear and punishment, of sin and guilt, of hatred and attack, when all there is surrounding him is everlasting peace, forever conflict-free and undisturbed, in deepest silence and tranquility? (4) To know reality is not to see the ego and its thoughts, its works, its acts, its laws and its beliefs, its dreams, its hopes, its plans for its salvation, and the cost belief in it entails. In suffering, the price for faith in it is so immense that crucifixion of the Son of God is offered daily at its darkened shrine, and blood must flow before the altar where its sickly followers prepare to die. (5) Yet will one lily of forgiveness change the darkness into light; the altar to illusions to the shrine of Life Itself. And peace will be restored forever to the holy minds which God created as His Son, His dwelling place, His joy, His love, completely His, completely one with Him. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ This is from Kenneth Wapnick's commentaries from his book set called: "Journey Through the Workbook of A Course in Miracles," which can be purchased at the following site: Foundation for "A Course in Miracles"? ~ M. Street. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 12. What is the ego? (1:1) "The ego is idolatry; the sign of limited and separated self, born in a body, doomed to suffer and to end its life in death." Yet this self is what we continually choose to idolize. An idol is meant to substitute for the true God, with images that take the form of our Creator, Who is abstract and formless. We then worship the idols, taking their <form> as truth, all the while we lose truth's <content> of love. Likewise, we worship the ego in the form of the body, substituting its self for the Self of Christ. The body thus becomes reality for us, the "hero" of the ego's dream, as Jesus tells us in the text: "The body is the central figure in the dreaming of the world. There is no dream without it, nor does it exist without the dream in which it acts as if it were a person to be seen and be believed. It takes the central place in every dream, which tells the story of how it was made by other bodies, born into the world outside the body, lives a little while and dies, to be united in the dust with other bodies dying like itself." (T-27.VIII.1.1-3). In our insanity we actually believe that this moribund body, Hamlet's "mortal coil," is our identity. (1:2) "It is the "will" that sees the Will of God as enemy, and takes a form in which it is denied." The ego's unholy trinity of sin, guilt, and fear leaves us terrified of God, Who has become our mortal enemy -- at war with us because we are secretly at war with Him. Clearly, this has nothing to do with the true God, but with the vengeful deity of the ego's dream. This passage from the manual for teachers dramatically describes the ego's thought system of magic, vengeance, and murder: "A magic thought, by its mere presence, acknowledges a separation from God. It states, in the clearest form possible, that the mind which