开云体育

Lesson 74. There is no will but God's. (1) The idea for today can be regarded as the central thought toward which all our exercises are directed. God's is the only Will. When you have recognized this, you have recognized that your will is His. The belief that conflict is possible has gone. Peace has replaced the strange idea that you are torn by conflicting goals. As an expression of the Will of God, you have no goal but His. (2) There is great peace in today's idea, and the exercises for today are directed towards finding it. The idea itself is wholly true. Therefore it cannot give rise to illusions. Without illusions conflict is impossible. Let us try to recognize this today, and experience the peace this recognition brings. (3) Begin the longer practice periods by repeating these thoughts several times, slowly and with firm determination to understand what they mean, and to hold them in mind: There is no will but God's. I cannot be in conflict.<Then spend several minutes in adding some related thoughts, such as: I am at peace.Nothing can disturb me. My will is God's. My will and God's are one. God wills peace for His Son.< During this introductory phase, be sure to deal quickly with any conflict thoughts that may cross your mind. Tell yourself immediately: There is no will but God's.These conflict thoughts are meaningless.< (4) If there is one conflict area that seems particularly difficult to resolve, single it out for special consideration. Think about it briefly but very specifically, identify the particular person or persons and the situation or situations involved, and tell yourself: There is no will but God's. I share it with Him.My conflicts about ______ cannot be real.< (5) After you have cleared your mind in this way, close your eyes and try to experience the peace to which your reality entitles you. Sink into it and feel it closing around you. There may be some temptation to mistake these attempts for withdrawal, but the difference is easily detected. If you are succeeding, you will feel a deep sense of joy and an increased alertness, rather than a feeling of drowsiness and enervation. (6) Joy characterizes peace. By this experience will you recognize that you have reached it. If you feel yourself slipping off into withdrawal, quickly repeat the idea for today and try again. Do this as often as necessary. There is definite gain in refusing to allow retreat into withdrawal, even if you do not experience the peace you seek. (7) In the shorter periods, which should be undertaken at regular and predetermined intervals today, say to yourself: There is no will but God's.I seek His peace today.< Then try to find what you are seeking. A minute or two every half an hour, with eyes closed if possible, would be well spent on this today. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 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: http://www.facim.org/ ~ M. Street ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Lesson 74. There is no will but God's. (1:1) "The idea for today can be regarded as the central thought toward which all our exercises are directed." *This is Jesus' way of rephrasing for us our sole responsibility, which is to accept the Atonement for ourselves. The tiny, mad idea, once taken seriously by the ego, says the separation from God is a fact, and that the Son has a will separate and distinct from the Will of his Creator. This "will" of the Son can now establish its own reality as an autonomous entity. From that basic premise the ego system logically follows, up to and including the making of the physical universe. The ego is thus a statement that says there is indeed a will apart from God's. This is in contrast to the principle of the Atonement that says there is no will <but> God's. Any other thought is illusory, and therefore has never happened. This idea is succinctly captured in the following lines from the manual for teachers, in the context of the idea of separation: "In time

Lesson 73. I will there be light. (1) Today we are considering the will you share with God. This is not the same as the ego's idle wishes, out of which darkness and nothingness arise. The will you share with God has all the power of creation in it. The ego's idle wishes are unshared, and therefore have no power at all. Its wishes are not idle in the sense that they can make a world of illusions in which your belief can be very strong. But they are idle indeed in terms of creation. They make nothing that is real. (2) Idle wishes and grievances are partners or co-makers in picturing the world you see. The wishes of the ego gave rise to it, and the ego's need for grievances, which are necessary to maintain it, peoples it with figures that seem to attack you and call for "righteous" judgment. These figures become the middlemen the ego employs to traffic in grievances. They stand between your awareness and your brothers' reality. Beholding them, you do not know your brothers or your Self. (3) Your will is lost to you in this strange bartering, in which guilt is traded back and forth, and grievances increase with each exchange. Can such a world have been created by the Will the Son of God shares with his Father? Did God create disaster for His Son? Creation is the Will of Both together. Would God create a world that kills Himself? (4) Today we will try once more to reach the world that is in accordance with your will. The light is in it because it does not oppose the Will of God. It is not Heaven, but the light of Heaven shines on it. Darkness has vanished. The ego's idle wishes have been withdrawn. Yet the light that shines upon this world reflects your will, and so it must be in you that we will look for it. (5) Your picture of the world can only mirror what is within. The source of neither light nor darkness can be found without. Grievances darken your mind, and you look out on a darkened world. Forgiveness lifts the darkness, reasserts your will, and lets you look upon a world of light. We have repeatedly emphasized that the barrier of grievances is easily passed, and cannot stand between you and your salvation. The reason is very simple. Do you really want to be in hell? Do you really want to weep and suffer and die? (6) Forget the ego's arguments which seek to prove all this is really Heaven. You know it is not so. You cannot want this for yourself. There is a point beyond which illusions cannot go. Suffering is not happiness, and it is happiness you really want. Such is your will in truth. And so salvation is your will as well. You want to succeed in what we are trying to do today. We undertake it with your blessing and your glad accord. (7) We will succeed today if you remember that you want salvation for yourself. You want to accept God's plan because you share in it. You have no will that can really oppose it, and you do not want to do so. Salvation is for you. Above all else, you want the freedom to remember Who you really are. Today it is the ego that stands powerless before your will. Your will is free, and nothing can prevail against it. (8) Therefore, we undertake the exercises for today in happy confidence, certain that we will find what it is your will to find, and remember what it is your will to remember. No idle wishes can detain us, nor deceive us with an illusion of strength. Today let your will be done, and end forever the insane belief that it is hell in place of Heaven that you choose. (9) We will begin our longer practice periods with the recognition that God's plan for salvation, and only His, is wholly in accord with your will. It is not the purpose of an alien power, thrust upon you unwillingly. It is the one purpose here on which you and your Father are in perfect accord. You will succeed today, the time appointed for the release of the Son of God from hell and from all idle wishes. His will is now restored to his awareness. He is willing this very day to look upon the light in him and be saved. (10) After reminding yourself of this, and determining to keep your will clearly in mind, tell yourself

Lesson 72. Holding grievances is an attack on God's plan for salvation. (1) While we have recognized that the ego's plan for salvation is the opposite of God's, we have not yet emphasized that it is an active attack on His plan, and a deliberate attempt to destroy it. In the attack, God is assigned the attributes which are actually associated with the ego, while the ego appears to take on the attributes of God. (2) The ego's fundamental wish is to replace God. In fact, the ego is the physical embodiment of that wish. For it is that wish that seems to surround the mind with a body, keeping it separate and alone, and unable to reach other minds except through the body that was made to imprison it. The limit on communication cannot be the best means to expand communication. Yet the ego would have you believe that it is. (3) Although the attempt to keep the limitations that a body would impose is obvious here, it is perhaps not so apparent why holding grievances is an attack on God's plan for salvation. But let us consider the kinds of things you are apt to hold grievances for. Are they not always associated with something a body does? A person says something you do not like. He does something that displeases you. He "betrays" his hostile thoughts in his behavior. (4) You are not dealing here with what the person is. On the contrary, you are exclusively concerned with what he does in a body. You are doing more than failing to help in freeing him from the body's limitations. You are actively trying to hold him to it by confusing it with him, and judging them as one. Herein is God attacked, for if His Son is only a body, so must He be as well. A creator wholly unlike his creation is inconceivable. (5) If God is a body, what must His plan for salvation be? What could it be but death? In trying to present Himself as the Author of life and not of death, He is a liar and a deceiver, full of false promises and offering illusions in place of truth. The body's apparent reality makes this view of God quite convincing. In fact, if the body were real, it would be difficult indeed to escape this conclusion. And every grievance that you hold insists that the body is real. It overlooks entirely what your brother is. It reinforces your belief that he is a body, and condemns him for it. And it asserts that his salvation must be death, projecting this attack onto God, and holding Him responsible for it. (6) To this carefully prepared arena, where angry animals seek for prey and mercy cannot enter, the ego comes to save you. God made you a body. Very well. Let us accept this and be glad. As a body, do not let yourself be deprived of what the body offers. Take the little you can get. God gave you nothing. The body is your only savior. It is the death of God and your salvation. (7) This is the universal belief of the world you see. Some hate the body, and try to hurt and humiliate it. Others love the body, and try to glorify and exalt it. But while the body stands at the center of your concept of yourself, you are attacking God's plan for salvation, and holding your grievances against Him and His creation, that you may not hear the Voice of truth and welcome It as Friend. Your chosen savior takes His place instead. It is your friend; He is your enemy. (8) We will try today to stop these senseless attacks on salvation. We will try to welcome it instead. Your upside-down perception has been ruinous to your peace of mind. You have seen yourself in a body and the truth outside you, locked away from your awareness by the body's limitations. Now we are going to try to see this differently. (9) The light of truth is in us, where it was placed by God. It is the body that is outside us, and is not our concern. To be without a body is to be in our natural state. To recognize the light of truth in us is to recognize ourselves as we are. To see our Self as separate from the body is to end the attack on God's plan for salvation, and to accept it instead. And wherever His plan is accepted, it is accomplished already. (10) Our goal in the longer practice perio

Lesson 71. Only God's plan for salvation will work. (1) You may not realize that the ego has set up a plan for salvation in opposition to God's. It is this plan in which you believe. Since it is the opposite of God's, you also believe that to accept God's plan in place of the ego's is to be damned. This sounds preposterous, of course. Yet after we have considered just what the ego's plan is, perhaps you will realize that, however preposterous it may be, you do believe in it. (2) The ego's plan for salvation centers around holding grievances. It maintains that, if someone else spoke or acted differently, if some external circumstance or event were changed, you would be saved. Thus, the source of salvation is constantly perceived as outside yourself. Each grievance you hold is a declaration, and an assertion in which you believe, that says, "If this were different, I would be saved." The change of mind necessary for salvation is thus demanded of everyone and everything except yourself. (3) The role assigned to your own mind in this plan, then, is simply to determine what, other than itself, must change if you are to be saved. According to this insane plan, any perceived source of salvation is acceptable provided that it will not work. This ensures that the fruitless search will continue, for the illusion persists that, although this hope has always failed, there is still grounds for hope in other places and in other things. Another person will yet serve better; another situation will yet offer success. (4) Such is the ego's plan for your salvation. Surely you can see how it is in strict accord with the ego's basic doctrine, "Seek but do not find." For what could more surely guarantee that you will not find salvation than to channelize all your efforts in searching for it where it is not? (5) God's plan for salvation works simply because, by following His direction, you seek for salvation where it is. But if you are to succeed, as God promises you will, you must be willing to seek there only. Otherwise, your purpose is divided and you will attempt to follow two plans for salvation that are diametrically opposed in all ways. The result can only bring confusion, misery and a deep sense of failure and despair. (6) How can you escape all this? Very simply. The idea for today is the answer. Only God's plan for salvation will work. There can be no real conflict about this, because there is no possible alternative to God's plan that will save you. His is the only plan that is certain in its outcome. His is the only plan that must succeed. (7) Let us practice recognizing this certainty today. And let us rejoice that there is an answer to what seems to be a conflict with no resolution possible. All things are possible to God. Salvation must be yours because of His plan, which cannot fail. (8) Begin the two longer practice periods for today by thinking about today's idea, and realizing that it contains two parts, each making equal contribution to the whole. God's plan for your salvation will work, and other plans will not. Do not allow yourself to become depressed or angry at the second part; it is inherent in the first. And in the first is your full release from all your own insane attempts and mad proposals to free yourself. They have led to depression and anger; but God's plan will succeed. It will lead to release and joy. (9) Remembering this, let us devote the remainder of the extended practice periods to asking God to reveal His plan to us. Ask Him very specifically: What would You have me do?Where would You have me go? What would You have me say, and to whom?< Give Him full charge of the rest of the practice period, and let Him tell you what needs to be done by you in His plan for your salvation. He will answer in proportion to your willingness to hear His Voice. Refuse not to hear. The very fact that you are doing the exercises proves that you have some willingness to listen. This is enough to establish your claim to God's answer. (10) In the shorter practice periods, tell yourself often that God's plan for salvation, and onl

Lesson 70. My salvation comes from me. (1) All temptation is nothing more than some form of the basic temptation not to believe the idea for today. Salvation seems to come from anywhere except from you. So, too, does the source of guilt. You see neither guilt nor salvation as in your own mind and nowhere else. When you realize that all guilt is solely an invention of your mind, you also realize that guilt and salvation must be in the same place. In understanding this you are saved. (2) The seeming cost of accepting today's idea is this: It means that nothing outside yourself can save you; nothing outside yourself can give you peace. But it also means that nothing outside yourself can hurt you, or disturb your peace or upset you in any way. Today's idea places you in charge of the universe, where you belong because of what you are. This is not a role that can be partially accepted. And you must surely begin to see that accepting it is salvation. (3) It may not, however, be clear to you why the recognition that guilt is in your own mind entails the realization that salvation is there as well. God would not have put the remedy for the sickness where it cannot help. That is the way your mind has worked, but hardly His. He wants you to be healed, so He has kept the Source of healing where the need for healing lies. (4) You have tried to do just the opposite, making every attempt, however distorted and fantastic it might be, to separate healing from the sickness for which it was intended, and thus keep the sickness. Your purpose was to ensure that healing did not occur. God's purpose was to ensure that it did. (5) Today we practice realizing that God's Will and ours are really the same in this. God wants us to be healed, and we do not really want to be sick, because it makes us unhappy. Therefore, in accepting the idea for today, we are really in agreement with God. He does not want us to be sick. Neither do we. He wants us to be healed. So do we. (6) We are ready for two longer practice periods today, each of which should last some ten to fifteen minutes. We will, however, still let you decide when to undertake them. We will follow this practice for a number of lessons, and it would again be well to decide in advance when would be a good time to lay aside for each of them, and then adhering to your own decisions as closely as possible. (7) Begin these practice periods by repeating the idea for today, adding a statement signifying your recognition that salvation comes from nothing outside of you. You might put it this way: My salvation comes from me.It cannot come from anywhere else.< Then devote a few minutes, with your eyes closed, to reviewing some of the external places where you have looked for salvation in the past;--in other people, in possessions, in various situations and events, and in self-concepts that you sought to make real. Recognize that it is not there, and tell yourself: My salvation cannot come from any of these things.My salvation comes from me and only from me.< (8) Now we will try again to reach the light in you, which is where your salvation is. You cannot find it in the clouds that surround the light, and it is in them you have been looking for it. It is not there. It is past the clouds and in the light beyond. Remember that you will have to go through the clouds before you can reach the light. But remember also that you have never found anything in the cloud patterns you imagined that endured, or that you wanted. (9) Since all illusions of salvation have failed you, surely you do not want to remain in the clouds, looking vainly for idols there, when you could so easily walk on into the light of real salvation. Try to pass the clouds by whatever means appeals to you. If it helps you, think of me holding your hand and leading you. And I assure you this will be no idle fantasy. (10) For the short and frequent practice periods today, remind yourself that your salvation comes from you, and nothing but your own thoughts can hamper your progress. You are free from all external interference. You are in charge

Lesson 69. My grievances hide the light of the world in me. (1) No one can look upon what your grievances conceal. Because your grievances are hiding the light of the world in you, everyone stands in darkness, and you beside him. But as the veil of your grievances is lifted, you are released with him. Share your salvation now with him who stood beside you when you were in hell. He is your brother in the light of the world that saves you both. (2) Today let us make another real attempt to reach the light in you. Before we undertake this in our more extended practice period, let us devote several minutes to thinking about what we are trying to do. We are literally attempting to get in touch with the salvation of the world. We are trying to see past the veil of darkness that keeps it concealed. We are trying to let the veil be lifted, and to see the tears of God's Son disappear in the sunlight. (3) Let us begin our longer practice period today with the full realization that this is so, and with real determination to reach what is dearer to us than all else. Salvation is our only need. There is no other purpose here, and no other function to fulfill. Learning salvation is our only goal. Let us end the ancient search today by finding the light in us, and holding it up for everyone who searches with us to look upon and rejoice. (4) Very quietly now, with your eyes closed, try to let go of all the content that generally occupies your consciousness. Think of your mind as a vast circle, surrounded by a layer of heavy, dark clouds. You can see only the clouds because you seem to be standing outside the circle and quite apart from it. (5) From where you stand, you can see no reason to believe there is a brilliant light hidden by the clouds. The clouds seem to be the only reality. They seem to be all there is to see. Therefore, you do not attempt to go through them and past them, which is the only way in which you would be really convinced of their lack of substance. We will make this attempt today. (6) After you have thought about the importance of what you are trying to do for yourself and the world, try to settle down in perfect stillness, remembering only how much you want to reach the light in you today,--now! Determine to go past the clouds. Reach out and touch them in your mind. Brush them aside with your hand; feel them resting on your cheeks and forehead and eyelids as you go through them. Go on; clouds cannot stop you. (7) If you are doing the exercises properly, you will begin to feel a sense of being lifted up and carried ahead. Your little effort and small determination call on the power of the universe to help you, and God Himself will raise you from darkness into light. You are in accord with His Will. You cannot fail because your will is His. (8) Have confidence in your Father today, and be certain that He has heard you and answered you. You may not recognize His answer yet, but you can indeed be sure that it is given you and you will yet receive it. Try, as you attempt to go through the clouds to the light, to hold this confidence in your mind. Try to remember that you are at last joining your will to God's. Try to keep the thought clearly in mind that what you undertake with God must succeed. Then let the power of God work in you and through you, that His Will and yours be done. (9) In the shorter practice periods, which you will want to do as often as possible in view of the importance of today's idea to you and your happiness, remind yourself that your grievances are hiding the light of the world from your awareness. Remind yourself also that you are not searching for it alone, and that you do know where to look for it. Say, then: My grievances hide the light of the world in me.I cannot see what I have hidden. Yet I want to let it be revealed to me, for my salvation and the salvation of the world.< Also, be sure to tell yourself: If I hold this grievance the light of the world will be hidden from me,<if you are tempted to hold anything against anyone today. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Lesson 68. Love holds no grievances. (1) You who were created by love like itself can hold no grievances and know your Self. To hold a grievance is to forget who you are. To hold a grievance is to see yourself as a body. To hold a grievance is to let the ego rule your mind and to condemn the body to death. Perhaps you do not yet fully realize just what holding grievances does to your mind. It seems to split you off from your Source and make you unlike Him. It makes you believe that He is like what you think you have become, for no one can conceive of his Creator as unlike himself. (2) Shut off from your Self, which remains aware of Its likeness to Its Creator, your Self seems to sleep, while the part of your mind that weaves illusions in its sleep appears to be awake. Can all this arise from holding grievances? Oh, yes! For he who holds grievances denies he was created by love, and his Creator has become fearful to him in his dream of hate. Who can dream of hatred and not fear God? (3) It is as sure that those who hold grievances will redefine God in their own image, as it is certain that God created them like Himself, and defined them as part of Him. It is as sure that those who hold grievances will suffer guilt, as it is certain that those who forgive will find peace. It is as sure that those who hold grievances will forget who they are, as it is certain that those who forgive will remember. (4) Would you not be willing to relinquish your grievances if you believed all this were so? Perhaps you do not think you can let your grievances go.That, however, is simply a matter of motivation. Today we will try to find out how you would feel without them. If you succeed even by ever so little, there will never be a problem in motivation ever again. (5) Begin today's extended practice period by searching your mind for those against whom you hold what you regard as major grievances. Some of these will be quite easy to find. Then think of the seemingly minor grievances you hold against those you like and even think you love. It will quickly become apparent that there is no one against whom you do not cherish grievances of some sort. This has left you alone in all the universe in your perception of yourself. (6) Determine now to see all these people as friends. Say to them all, thinking of each one in turn as you do so: I would see you as my friend,that I may remember you are part of me and come to know myself.< Spend the remainder of the practice period trying to think of yourself as completely at peace with everyone and everything, safe in a world that protects you and loves you, and that you love in return. Try to feel safety surrounding you, hovering over you and holding you up. Try to believe, however briefly, that nothing can harm you in any way. At the end of the practice period tell yourself: Love holds no grievances.When I let all my grievances go I will know I am perfectly safe.< (7) The short practice periods should include a quick application of today's idea in this form, whenever any thought of grievance arises against anyone, physically present or not: Love holds no grievances.Let me not betray my Self.< In addition, repeat the idea several times an hour in this form: Love holds no grievances.I would wake to my Self by laying all my grievances aside and wakening in Him.< ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 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: Foundation for A Course in Miracles ? ~ M. Street ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Lesson 68. "Love holds no grievances." *As I mentioned before, there are places in the workbook where lessons cluster around a specific theme These next few lessons focus of the role that attack -- holding grievances or judgments -- play in the ego's plan to preserve our individuality and keep the Love of God away. While the term is never found in the workbook, Jesus' discussion of attack and holding grievances is based on the dynamics of spec

Lesson 67. Love created me like itself. (1) Today's idea is a complete and accurate statement of what you are. This is why you are the light of the world. This is why God appointed you as the world's savior. This is why the Son of God looks to you for his salvation. He is saved by what you are. We will make every effort today to reach this truth about you, and to realize fully, if only for a moment, that it is the truth. (2) In the longer practice period, we will think about your reality and its wholly unchanged and unchangeable nature. We will begin by repeating this truth about you, and then spend a few minutes adding some relevant thoughts, such as: Holiness created me holy.Kindness created me kind. Helpfulness created me helpful. Perfection created me perfect.< Any attribute which is in accord with God as He defines Himself is appropriate for use. We are trying today to undo your definition of God and replace it with His Own. We are also trying to emphasize that you are part of His definition of Himself. (3) After you have gone over several such related thoughts, try to let all thoughts drop away for a brief preparatory interval, and then try to reach past all your images and preconceptions about yourself to the truth in you. If love created you like itself, this Self must be in you. And somewhere in your mind It is there for you to find. (4) You may find it necessary to repeat the idea for today from time to time to replace distracting thoughts. You may also find that this is not sufficient, and that you need to continue adding other thoughts related to the truth about yourself. Yet perhaps you will succeed in going past that, and through the interval of thoughtlessness to the awareness of a blazing light in which you recognize yourself as love created you. Be confident that you will do much today to bring that awareness nearer, whether you feel you have succeeded or not. (5) It will be particularly helpful today to practice the idea for the day as often as you can. You need to hear the truth about yourself as frequently as possible, because your mind is so preoccupied with false self-images. Four or five times an hour, and perhaps even more, it would be most beneficial to remind yourself that love created you like itself. Hear the truth about yourself in this. (6) Try to realize in the shorter practice periods that this is not your tiny, solitary voice that tells you this. This is the Voice for God, reminding you of your Father and of your Self. This is the Voice of truth, replacing everything that the ego tells you about yourself with the simple truth about the Son of God. You were created by love like itself. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 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: Foundation for A Course in Miracles ? ~ M. Street ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Lesson 67. "Love created me like itself." (1:1-5) "Today's idea is a complete and accurate statement of what you are. This is why you are the light of the world. This is why God appointed you as the world's savior. This is why the Son of God looks to you for his salvation. He is saved by what you are." *The Son of God is saved by <what> I am because the Son of God <is> what I am. If I am a creation of love, the entire Sonship must be a creation of love because love is one. Thus when we remember Who we truly are, we are remembering for all. You may recall the motto of Dumas' three musketeers: <One for all and all for one.>* (1:6) We will make every effort today to reach this truth about you, and to realize fully, if only for a moment, that it is the truth." *The long-range goal of A Course in Miracles is that we become aware of this truth all the time, not just for a moment. Jesus therefore says to us: "I am willing to accept as our goal for today that we have at least <one> moment of remembering that you are love." We would then understand he is reflecting back to us that this is a process of <gradual

Lesson 66. My happiness and my function are one. (1) You have surely noticed an emphasis throughout our recent lessons on the connection between fulfilling your function and achieving happiness. This is because you do not really see the connection. Yet there is more than just a connection between them; they are the same. Their forms are different, but their content is completely one. (2) The ego does constant battle with the Holy Spirit on the fundamental question of what your function is. So does it do constant battle with the Holy Spirit about what your happiness is. It is not a two-way battle. The ego attacks and the Holy Spirit does not respond. He knows what your function is. He knows that it is your happiness. (3) Today we will try to go past this wholly meaningless battle and arrive at the truth about your function. We will not engage in senseless arguments about what it is. We will not become hopelessly involved in defining happiness and determining the means for achieving it. We will not indulge the ego by listening to its attacks on truth. We will merely be glad that we can find out what truth is. (4) Our longer practice period today has as its purpose your acceptance of the fact that not only is there a very real connection between the function God gave you and your happiness, but that they are actually identical. God gives you only happiness. Therefore, the function He gave you must be happiness, even if it appears to be different. Today's exercises are an attempt to go beyond these differences in appearance, and recognize a common content where it exists in truth. (5) Begin the ten-to-fifteen-minute practice period by reviewing these thoughts: God gives me only happiness. He has given my function to me. Therefore my function must be happiness. Try to see the logic in this sequence, even if you do not yet accept the conclusion. It is only if the first two thoughts are wrong that the conclusion could be false. Let us, then, think about the premises for a while, as we are practicing. (6) The first premise is that God gives you only happiness. This could be false, of course, but in order to be false it is necessary to define God as something He is not. Love cannot give evil, and what is not happiness is evil. God cannot give what He does not have, and He cannot have what He is not. Unless God gives you only happiness, He must be evil. And it is this definition of Him you are believing if you do not accept the first premise. (7) The second premise is that God has given you your function. We have seen that there are only two parts of your mind. One is ruled by the ego, and is made up of illusions. The other is the home of the Holy Spirit, where truth abides. There are no other guides but these to choose between and no other outcomes possible as a result of your choice but the fear that the ego always engenders, and the love that the Holy Spirit always offers to replace it. (8) Thus, it must be that your function is established by God through His Voice, or is made by the ego which you have made to replace Him. Which is true? Unless God gave your function to you, it must be the gift of the ego. Does the ego really have gifts to give, being itself an illusion and offering only the illusion of gifts? (9) Think about this during the longer practice period today. Think also about the many forms the illusion of your function has taken in your mind, and the many ways in which you tried to find salvation under the ego's guidance. Did you find it? Were you happy? Did they bring you peace? We need great honesty today. Remember the outcomes fairly, and consider also whether it was ever reasonable to expect happiness from anything the ego ever proposed. Yet the ego is the only alternative to the Holy Spirit's Voice. (10) You will listen to madness or hear the truth. Try to make this choice as you think about the premises on which our conclusion rests. We can share in this conclusion, but in no other. For God Himself shares it with us. Today's idea is another giant stride in the perception of the same as the same, and the diffe

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 onlyfunction.< (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: Foundation for A Course in Miracles ? ~ 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,

Lesson 64. Let me not forget my function. (1) Today's idea is merely another way of saying "Let me not wander into temptation." The purpose of the world you see is to obscure your function of forgiveness, and provide you with a justification for forgetting it. It is the temptation to abandon God and His Son by taking on a physical appearance. It is this the body's eyes look upon. (2) Nothing the body's eyes seem to see can be anything but a form of temptation, since this was the purpose of the body itself. Yet we have learned that the Holy Spirit has another use for all the illusions you have made, and therefore He sees another purpose in them. To the Holy Spirit, the world is a place where you learn to forgive yourself what you think of as your sins. In this perception, the physical appearance of temptation becomes the spiritual recognition of salvation. (3) To review our last few lessons, your function here is to be the light of the world, a function given you by God. It is only the arrogance of the ego that leads you to question this, and only the fear of the ego that induces you to regard yourself as unworthy of the task assigned to you by God Himself. The world's salvation awaits your forgiveness, because through it does the Son of God escape from all illusions, and thus from all temptation. The Son of God is you. (4) Only by fulfilling the function given you by God will you be happy. That is because your function is to be happy by using the means by which happiness becomes inevitable. There is no other way. Therefore, every time you choose whether or not to fulfill your function, you are really choosing whether or not to be happy. (5) Let us remember this today. Let us remind ourselves of it in the morning and again at night, and all through the day as well. Prepare yourself in advance for all the decisions you will make today by remembering they are all really very simple. Each one will lead to happiness or unhappiness. Can such a simple decision really be difficult to make? Let not the form of the decision deceive you. Complexity of form does not imply complexity of content. It is impossible that any decision on earth can have a content different from just this one simple choice. That is the only choice the Holy Spirit sees. Therefore it is the only choice there is. (6) Today, then, let us practice with these thoughts: Let me not forget my function.Let me not try to substitute mine for God's. Let me forgive and be happy.> At least once devote ten or fifteen minutes today to reflecting on this with closed eyes. Related thoughts will come to help you, if you remember the crucial importance of your function to you and to the world. (7) In the frequent applications of today's idea throughout the day, devote several minutes to reviewing these thoughts, and then thinking about them and about nothing else. This will be difficult, at first particularly, since you are not proficient in the mind discipline that it requires. You may need to repeat "Let me not forget my function" quite often to help you concentrate. (8) Two forms of shorter practice periods are required. At times, do the exercises with your eyes closed, trying to concentrate on the thoughts you are using. At other times, keep your eyes open after reviewing the thoughts, and then look slowly and unselectively around you, telling yourself: <This is the world it is my function to save.> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 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: http://www.facim.org/ ~ M. Street ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Lesson 64. "Let me not forget my function." *Lesson 64 is even more specific about awareness of our function.* (1:1-2) "Today's idea is merely another way of saying "Let me not wander into temptation." The purpose of the world you see is to obscure your function of forgiveness, and provide you with a justification for forgetting it." *In this explicit statement Jesus tells us again that

Lesson 63. The light of the world brings peace to every mind through my forgiveness. How holy are you who have the power to bring peace to every mind! How blessed are you who can learn to recognize the means for letting this be done through you! What purpose could you have that would bring you greater happiness? You are indeed the light of the world with such a function. The Son of God looks to you for his redemption. It is yours to give him, for it belongs to you. Accept no trivial purpose or meaningless desire in its place, or you will forget your function and leave the Son of God in hell. This is no idle request that is being asked of you. You are being asked to accept salvation that it may be yours to give. Recognizing the importance of this function, we will be happy to remember it very often today. We will begin the day by acknowledging it, and close the day with the thought of it in our awareness. And throughout the day we will repeat this as often as we can: The light of the world brings peaceto every mind through my forgiveness. I am the means God has appointed for the salvation of the world.< If you close your eyes, you will probably find it easier to let the related thoughts come to you in the minute or two that you should devote to considering this. Do not, however, wait for such an opportunity. No chance should be lost for reinforcing today's idea. Remember that God's Son looks to you for his salvation. And Who but your Self must be His Son? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 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: Foundation for A Course in Miracles ? ~ M. Street ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Lesson 63. The light of the world brings peace to every mind through my forgiveness. *Lesson 63 returns to the theme of oneness. As we have seen in earlier lessons, Jesus takes a central theme and keeps developing it. Here he is teaching us that when we forgive, peace must extend throughout the Sonship, as we all are one mind. It does not mean, however, that every seeming fragment of the Sonship will accept it immediately. It simply means I now become another symbol or thought in the mind of God's Son, serving as a reminder to make the right choice that alone will bring peace.* (1:1) "How holy are you who have the power to bring peace to every mind?" *Please note that Jesus does not say to every <body>. Forgiveness is not something we physically do with words, for it is a thought we hold as true in our minds. Recall our previously quoted passage from the manual (M-5.III.2) that healing is shared simply by our having chosen it, that choice calling others to make the same one. In this regard we emulate the Holy Spirit, Who merely reminds us of the right choice: "The Holy Spirit calls you both to remember and to forget. You have chosen to be in a state of opposition in which opposites are possible. As a result, there are choices you must make. ... Choosing depends on a split mind. The Holy Spirit is one way of choosing. ... [His Voice] merely reminds. It is compelling only because of what it reminds you of. It brings to your mind the other way, remaining quiet even in the midst of the turmoil you may make." (T.5.II.6.1-3,6-7.7.4-6) We thus remind our brothers, as we remind ourselves, that peace is a decision, and one which unites us all as one Son. I might also point out the similarity in <form> and <content> between this lesson's first sentence and the opening of "For They Have Come": in the text: "Think but how holy you must be from whom the Voice for God calls lovingly unto your brother, that you may awake in him the Voice that answers to your call!" (T.26.IX.1.1) The symphonic hand of our composer is every-where present in his masterwork.* (1:2-3) "How blessed are you who can learn to recognize the means for letting this be done through you! What purpose could you have that would bring you greater happiness?" *Again, Jesus is reminding us that forgiveness is the

Lesson 62. Forgiveness is my function as the light of the world. (1) It is your forgiveness that will bring the world of darkness to the light. It is your forgiveness that lets you recognize the light in which you see. Forgiveness is the demonstration that you are the light of the world. Through your forgiveness does the truth about yourself return to your memory. Therefore, in your forgiveness lies your salvation. (2) Illusions about yourself and the world are one. That is why all forgiveness is a gift to yourself. Your goal is to find out who you are, having denied your Identity by attacking creation and its Creator. Now you are learning how to remember the truth. For this attack must be replaced by forgiveness, so that thoughts of life may replace thoughts of death. (3) Remember that in every attack you call upon your own weakness, while each time you forgive you call upon the strength of Christ in you. Do you not then begin to understand what forgiveness will do for you? It will remove all sense of weakness, strain and fatigue from your mind. It will take away all fear and guilt and pain. It will restore the invulnerability and power God gave His Son to your awareness. (4) Let us be glad to begin and end this day by practicing today's idea, and to use it as frequently as possible throughout the day. It will help to make the day as happy for you as God wants you to be. And it will help those around you, as well as those who seem to be far away in space and time, to share this happiness with you. (5) As often as you can, closing your eyes if possible, say to yourself today: Forgiveness is my function as the light of the world.I would fulfill my function that I may be happy.< Then devote a minute or two to considering your function and the happiness and release it will bring you. Let related thoughts come freely, for your heart will recognize these words, and in your mind is the awareness they are true. Should your attention wander, repeat the idea and add: I would remember this because I want to be happy.< ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 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: Foundation for A Course in Miracles ? ~ M. Street ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Lesson 62. "Forgiveness is my function as the light of the world." *The theme of replacing the ego's image of ourselves for Jesus' vision continues in this and the next lesson. He begins to clarify what it means to say that our function is to forgive. As we know from our study of the text, and from what we have already seen in our discussions of the workbook, forgiveness is a process that does not occur between two people, but in our <minds>, within the context of a relationship between ourselves and someone else. It is not really that I forgive you; but rather that I forgive the projection of my self-concept of guilt I placed on you. That is indeed all I can forgive, for everything else in my perceptual world is a projection of this guilt.* (1) "It is your forgiveness that will bring the world of darkness to the light. It is your forgiveness that lets you recognize the light in which you see. Forgiveness is the demonstration that you are the light of the world. Through your forgiveness does the truth about yourself return to your memory. Therefore, in your forgiveness lies your salvation." *Here again, Jesus articulates for us the crucial theme of bringing darkness to the light. We "recognize the light in which we see" because forgiveness removes the veils of darkness that prevent our vision. It has nothing to do about the light, but simply removes the interferences to seeing the light. Once done, the light is what remains in our awareness. As we have seen many, many times, A Course in Miracles is not about the light or the truth. Its ongoing and consistent focus is on recognizing the darkness, with the help of Jesus or the Holy Spirit -- the essence of forgiveness. We are thus not saved <for> the light, but

Lesson 61. I am the light of the world. (1) Who is the light of the world except God's Son? This, then, is merely a statement of the truth about yourself. It is the opposite of a statement of pride, of arrogance, or of self-deception. It does not describe the self-concept you have made. It does not refer to any of the characteristics with which you have endowed your idols. It refers to you as you were created by God. It simply states the truth. (2) To the ego, today's idea is the epitome of self-glorification. But the ego does not understand humility, mistaking it for self-debasement. Humility consists of accepting your role in salvation and in taking no other. It is not humility to insist you cannot be the light of the world if that is the function God assigned to you. It is only arrogance that would assert this function cannot be for you, and arrogance is always of the ego. (3) True humility requires that you accept today's idea because it is God's Voice which tells you it is true. This is a beginning step in accepting your real function on earth. It is a giant stride toward taking your rightful place in salvation. It is a positive assertion of your right to be saved, and an acknowledgment of the power that is given you to save others. (4)You will want to think about this idea as often as possible today. It is the perfect answer to all illusions, and therefore to all temptation. It brings all the images you have made about yourself to the truth, and helps you depart in peace, unburdened and certain of your purpose. (5) As many practice periods as possible should be undertaken today, although each one need not exceed a minute or two. They should begin with telling yourself: I am the light of the world.That is my only function. That is why I am here.< Then think about these statements for a short while, preferably with your eyes closed if the situation permits. Let a few related thoughts come to you, and repeat the idea to yourself if your mind wanders away from the central thought. (6) Be sure both to begin and end the day with a practice period. Thus you will awaken with an acknowledgment of the truth about yourself, reinforce it throughout the day, and turn to sleep as you reaffirm your function and your only purpose here. These two practice periods may be longer than the rest, if you find them helpful and want to extend them. (7) Today's idea goes far beyond the ego's petty views of what you are and what your purpose is. As a bringer of salvation, this is obviously necessary. This is the first of a number of giant steps we will take in the next few weeks. Try today to begin to build a firm foundation for these advances. You are the light of the world. God has built His plan for the salvation of His Son on you. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 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: Foundation for A Course in Miracles ? ~ M. Street ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "I am the light of the world." *The lesson's title is taken from the gospels, specifically where Jesus tells his disciples: "You are the light of the world" (Matthew 5:14). Here, as in many other places in A Course in Miracles, we see how Jesus takes an idea from traditional Christianity and gives it a totally different interpretation. The gospel understanding was that the disciples' function was to bring that light to the world -- literally, to the physical world. It is easy for students of A Course in Miracles who are unaware of its underlying teaching to mistake this gospel exhortation for what Jesus means in this lesson. He is <not> saying we should bring the light into the world, because <there is no world>. By saying we are the light of the world he refers to the light of Christ shining in our minds. Because the mind of God's Son is one (a subsidiary theme in these lessons, yet a continually recurring one), that light is shared by the Sonship as a whole. We are not asked to be spiritually special p

Lesson 60. These ideas are for today's review. 1. God is the Love in which I forgive. God does not forgive because He has never condemned. The blameless cannot blame, and those who have accepted their innocence see nothing to forgive. Yet forgiveness is the means by which I will recognize my innocence. It is the reflection of God's Love on earth. It will bring me near enough to Heaven that the Love of God can reach down to me and raise me up to Him.God is the Love in which I forgive. 2. God is the strength in which I trust. It is not my own strength through which I forgive. It is through the strength of God in me, which I am remembering as I forgive. As I begin to see, I recognize His reflection on earth. I forgive all things because I feel the stirring of His strength in me. And I begin to remember the Love I chose to forget, but Which has not forgotten me. 3. There is nothing to fear. How safe the world will look to me when I can see it! It will not look anything like what I imagine I see now. Everyone and everything I see will lean toward me to bless me. I will recognize in everyone my dearest Friend. What could there be to fear in a world that I have forgiven, and that has forgiven me? 4. God's Voice speaks to me all through the day. There is not a moment in which God's Voice ceases to call on my forgiveness to save me. There is not a moment in which His Voice fails to direct my thoughts, guide my actions and lead my feet. I am, walking steadily on toward truth. There is nowhere else I can go, because God's Voice is the only voice and the only guide that has been given to His Son. 5. I am sustained by the Love of God. As I listen to God's Voice, I am sustained by His Love. As I open my eyes, His Love lights up the world for me to see. As I forgive, His Love reminds me that His Son is sinless. And as I look upon the world with the vision He has given me, I remember that I am His Son. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 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: Foundation for A Course in Miracles ? ~ M. Street ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Lesson 60. "These ideas are for today's review." *This final lesson returns to forgiveness, the central theme in Jesus' symphony of love and truth.* (1:1) (46) "God is the Love in which I forgive." (1:2-3) "God does not forgive because He has never condemned. The blameless cannot blame, and those who have accepted their innocence see nothing to forgive. *The fact that God does not forgive becomes the basis for our forgiveness in the dream. Forgiveness is necessary only as the correction for condemnation. When judgment of ourselves is withdrawn, our judgment of others is withdrawn as well: the <idea> of judgment can never leave its <source>. We are thus asked by Jesus to accept our past mistakes, thereby accepting the light-filled innocence that rests in peace just beyond the darkness of our belief in sin. With condemnation gone, nothing remains to forgive.* (1:4-6) "Yet forgiveness is the means by which I will recognize my innocence. It is the reflection of God's Love on earth. It will bring me near enough to Heaven that the Love of God can reach down to me and raise me up to Him.God is the Love in which I forgive." *That is the problem: We do not want to be lifted up to Heaven, for then our individuality disappears. Recognizing our innocence allows us to realize how sinful and guilty we believed we were, because we wanted to be apart from such a belief, we can make the choice for sanity. No longer afraid of God's <last step>, which ends the process that our decision to forgive our brother began, we allow His Love to lift us back from earth to Heaven. Another important theme in these five lessons, not to mention throughout A Course in Miracles, is that we do not forgive on our own, as we now see:* (2:1) (47) "God is the strength in which I trust." (2.2-3) "It is not my own strength through which I forgive. It is through the strengt

Lesson 59. The following ideas are for review today: 1. God goes with me wherever I go. How can I be alone when God always goes with me? How can I be doubtful and unsure of myself when perfect certainty abides in Him? How can I be disturbed by anything when He rests in me in absolute peace? How can I suffer when love and joy surround me through Him? Let me not cherish illusions about myself. I am perfect because God goes with me wherever I go. 2. God is my strength. Vision is His gift. Let me not look to my own eyes to see today. Let me be willing to exchange my pitiful illusion of seeing for the vision that is given by God. Christ's vision is His gift, and He has given it to me. Let me call upon this gift today, so that this day may help me to understand eternity. 3. God is my Source. I cannot see apart from Him. I can see what God wants me to see. I cannot see anything else. Beyond His Will lie only illusions. It is these I choose when I think I can see apart from Him. It is these I choose when I try to see through the body's eyes. Yet the vision of Christ has been given me to replace them. It is through this vision that I choose to see. 4. God is the light in which I see. I cannot see in darkness. God is the only light. Therefore, if I am to see, it must be through Him. I have tried to define what seeing is, and I have been wrong. Now it is given me to understand that God is the light in which I see. Let me welcome vision and the happy world it will show me. 5. God is the Mind with which I think. I have no thoughts I do not share with God. I have no thoughts apart from Him, because I have no mind apart from His. As part of His Mind, my thoughts are His and His Thoughts are mine. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 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: Foundation for A Course in Miracles ? ~ M. Street ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ *In Lesson 59 we again find the theme of who we are as God's Son, and the wonderful and wondrous effects of coming to understand and accept its truth.* (1:1) (41) "God goes with me wherever I go." (1:2-7) "How can I be alone when God always goes with me? How can I be doubtful and unsure of myself when perfect certainty abides in Him? How can I be disturbed by anything when He rests in me in absolute peace? How can I suffer when love and joy surround me through Him? Let me not cherish illusions about myself. I am perfect because God goes with me wherever I go." *It is not that God literally walks with us. Rather, Jesus teaches that God is with us because His Love is in our minds, which is where we are. It is this Love -- our Self -- that is the basis for undoing the thought of separation: the home of all illusions of suffering and pain. All that is needed for this Love to return to awareness is calling upon the power of our minds to choose, one of A Course in Miracles' most important themes, to which we now return: * (2:1-2) (42) "God is my strength. Vision is His gift." (2:3-6) "Let me not look to my own eyes to see today. Let me be willing to exchange my pitiful illusion of seeing for the vision that is given by God. Christ's vision is His gift, and He has given it to me. Let me call upon this gift today, so that this day may help me to understand eternity." *We always have a choice about the thought system with which we identify, made possible once we remember that our feelings of dis-ease and disturbance emanate from the mind's mistaken choice, and from nowhere else. Thus do we exchange the ego's misperceptions for the vision of Christ, exclusion for unity, separation for forgiveness, and time for eternity.* (3:1-2) (43) "God is my Source. I cannot see apart from Him." (3:3-7)" I can see what God wants me to see. I cannot see anything else. Beyond His Will lie only illusions. It is these I choose when I think I can see apart from Him. It is these I choose when I try to see through the body's eyes." *Again, all misperceptions stem fro

Lesson 58. These ideas are for review today: 1. My holiness envelops everything I see. From my holiness does the perception of the real world come. Having forgiven, I no longer see myself as guilty. I can accept the innocence that is the truth about me. Seen through understanding eyes, the holiness of the world is all I see, for I can picture only the thoughts I hold about myself. 2. My holiness blesses the world. The perception of my holiness does not bless me alone. Everyone and everything I see in its light shares in the joy it brings to me. There is nothing that is apart from this joy, because there is nothing that does not share my holiness. As I recognize my holiness, so does the holiness of the world shine forth for everyone to see. 3. There is nothing my holiness cannot do. My holiness is unlimited in its power to heal, because it is unlimited in its power to save. What is there to be saved from except illusions? And what are all illusions except false ideas about myself? My holiness undoes them all by asserting the truth about me. In the presence of my holiness, which I share with God Himself, all idols vanish. 4. My holiness is my salvation. Since my holiness saves me from all guilt, recognizing my holiness is recognizing my salvation. It is also recognizing the salvation of the world. Once I have accepted my holiness, nothing can make me afraid. And because I am unafraid, everyone must share in my understanding, which is the gift of God to me and to the world. 5. I am blessed as a Son of God. Herein lies my claim to all good and only good. I am blessed as a Son of God. All good things are mine, because God intended them for me. I cannot suffer any loss or deprivation or pain because of Who I am. My Father supports me, protects me, and directs me in all things. His care for me is infinite, and is with me forever. I am eternally blessed as His Son. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 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: Foundation for A Course in Miracles ? ~ M. Street ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Lesson 58. "These ideas are for review today:" *This next series of lessons is about our holiness, the other side of our minds that is kept hidden by the ego and the unholiness of its thought system.* (1:1) (36) "My holiness envelops everything I see." (1:2) "From my holiness does the perception of the real world come." *When we make the internal shift and identify with Jesus' love instead of the ego's hate, his love extends through us. We may perceive the exact same world -- the dream in <form> does not necessarily change -- but now it is perceived through the love that is within ourselves. This marks the birth of true compassion. We do not feel sorry for people's bodies, but for the real source of pain: the belief they are orphaned and will never return home. In that compassionate vision are <all> people recognized as sharing the same suffering.* (1:3-5) "Having forgiven, I no longer see myself as guilty. I can accept the innocence that is the truth about me. Seen through understanding eyes, the holiness of the world is all I see, for I can picture only the thoughts I hold about myself." *This is a succinct summary of forgiveness. We first shift our perception so that by looking differently at another's sin -- recognizing it is but a projection of a belief about ourselves -- we accept the illusory nature of the ego's thought system of separation and attack. This allows the innocence of the Atonement to return to our awareness and then become the basis of our new perception of the world. Innocent or true perception is all-inclusive, as we now see:* (2:1) (37) "My holiness blesses the world." (2:2-5) "The perception of my holiness does not bless me alone. Everyone and everything I see in its light shares in the joy it brings to me. There is nothing that is apart from this joy, because there is nothing that does not share my holiness. As I recognize my holiness,

Lesson 57. Today let us review these ideas: 1. I am not the victim of the world I see. How can I be the victim of a world that can be completely undone if I so choose? My chains are loosened. I can drop them off merely by desiring to do so. The prison door is open. I can leave simply by walking out. Nothing holds me in this world. Only my wish to stay keeps me a prisoner. I would give up my insane wishes and walk into the sunlight at last. 2. I have invented the world I see. I made up the prison in which I see myself. All I need do is recognize this and I am free. I have deluded myself into believing it is possible to imprison the Son of God. I was bitterly mistaken in this belief, which I no longer want. The Son of God must be forever free. He is as God created him, and not what I would make of him. He is where God would have him be, and not where I thought to hold him prisoner. 3. There is another way of looking at the world. Since the purpose of the world is not the one I ascribed to it, there must be another way of looking at it. I see everything upside down, and my thoughts are the opposite of truth. I see the world as a prison for God's Son. It must be, then, that the world is really a place where he can be set free. I would look upon the world as it is, and see it as a place where the Son of God finds his freedom. 4. I could see peace instead of this. When I see the world as a place of freedom, I realize that it reflects the laws of God instead of the rules I made up for it to obey. I will understand that peace, not war, abides in it. And I will perceive that peace also abides in the hearts of all who share this place with me. 5. My mind is part of God's. I am very holy. As I share the peace of the world with my brothers, I begin to understand that this peace comes from deep within myself. The world I look upon has taken on the light of my forgiveness, and shines forgiveness back at me. In this light I begin to see what my illusions about myself kept hidden. I begin to understand the holiness of all living things, including myself, and their oneness with me. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 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: Foundation for A Course in Miracles ? ~ M. Street ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 1. (31) "I am not the victim of the world I see." (1:2-9) "How can I be the victim of a world that can be completely undone if I so choose? My chains are loosened. I can drop them off merely by desiring to do so. The prison door is open. I can leave simply by walking out. Nothing holds me in this world. Only my wish to stay keeps me a prisoner. I would give up my insane wishes and walk into the sunlight at last." *We find this compelling because we feel we are victims. If this is a world we made, which is what Jesus has been teaching us from the beginning, the world is not the problem. <The fact that we made it is the problem> -- "How can [we] be the victim of a world that can be completely undone if [we] so choose?" We have to be willing to admit we have been wrong about everything. What makes us believe we are right is our experience of being victimized by everything else. Remember, the "everything else" is not only others' bodies, but our own as well. The body is exclusively outside the mind, the source of our true identity. The analogy to a prisoner walking into the sunlight refers to Plato's famous Allegory of the Cave in <The Republic>. It is worth summarizing -- albeit briefly -- as Jesus makes more specific references to it in the text. The allegory is set in a cave, where prisoners are chained in such a fashion that they can see only the interior wall of the cave, unknowing of the opening behind them, through which streams the sun's rays, casting shadows onto the wall, of the passers-by along the road that runs past the mouth of the cave. Thus the prisoners believe that the shadows are the reality, since they know of nothing else. One of the pr

Lesson 56. Our review for today covers the following: 1. My attack thoughts are attacking my invulnerability. How can I know who I am when I see myself as under constant attack? Pain, illness, loss, age and death seem to threaten me. All my hopes and wishes and plans appear to be at the mercy of a world I cannot control. Yet perfect security and complete fulfillment are my inheritance. I have tried to give my inheritance away in exchange for the world I see. But God has kept my inheritance safe for me. My own real thoughts will teach me what it is. 2. Above all else I want to see. Recognizing that what I see reflects what I think I am, I realize that vision is my greatest need. The world I see attests to the fearful nature of the self-image I have made. If I would remember who I am, it is essential that I let this image of myself go. As it is replaced by truth, vision will surely be given me. And with this vision, I will look upon the world and on myself with charity and love. 3. Above all else I want to see differently. The world I see holds my fearful self-image in place, and guarantees its continuance. While I see the world as I see it now, truth cannot enter my awareness. I would let the door behind this world be opened for me, that I may look past it to the world that reflects the Love of God. 4. God is in everything I see. Behind every image I have made, the truth remains unchanged. Behind every veil I have drawn across the face of love, its light remains undimmed. Beyond all my insane wishes is my will, united with the Will of my Father. God is still everywhere and in everything forever. And we who are part of Him will yet look past all appearances, and recognize the truth beyond them all. 5. God is in everything I see because God is in my mind. In my own mind, behind all my insane thoughts of separation and attack, is the knowledge that all is one forever. I have not lost the knowledge of Who I am because I have forgotten it. It has been kept for me in the Mind of God, Who has not left His Thoughts. And I, who am among them, am one with them and one with Him. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 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: Foundation for A Course in Miracles ? ~ M. Street ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ (1:1)(26) "My attack thoughts are attacking my invulnerability." (1:2) "How can I know who I am when I see myself as under constant attack?" *I have to see myself as under constant attack because I am attacking everyone else. That is why the lesson is entitled "My attack thoughts are attacking my invulnerability." I am truly invulnerable as God's Son, but in identifying with the ego I see myself as vulnerable, because guilt demands punishment and I feel victimized by God's counterattack. If I believe everyone else is going to attack me, I cannot be as God created me -- innocent and invulnerable. Thus, the ego reasons to me, if it can prove that God's Son <is> truly vulnerable -- the purpose of the body -- then how could I be God's Son? This reasoning is clearly presented in the following passage from "What is the Body?" to which we shall return much, much later in this series: "For the Son of God's impermanence is "proof" his fences [bodies] work, and do the task his mind assigns to them. For if his oneness still remained untouched, who could attack and who could be attacked? Who could be victor? Who could be his prey? Who could be victim? Who the murderer? And if he did not die, what "proof" is there that God's eternal Son can be destroyed?" (W-pII.5.2:3-9).* (1:3) "Pain, illness, loss, age and death seem to threaten me." *Again, it is essential to realize we are living in a world of pain, illness, loss, age, and death; a world deliberately chosen by our egos to prove that its thought system of separation is right and the Holy Spirit's Atonement is wrong.* (1:4-5) "All my hopes and wishes and plans appear to be at the mercy of a world I cannot contro

Lesson 55. Today's review includes the following: 1. I am determined to see things differently. What I see now are but signs of disease, disaster and death. This cannot be what God created for His beloved Son. The very fact that I see such things is proof that I do not understand God. Therefore I also do not understand His Son. What I see tells me that I do not know who I am. I am determined to see the witnesses to the truth in me, rather than those which show me an illusion of myself. 2.What I see is a form of vengeance. The world I see is hardly the representation of loving thoughts. It is a picture of attack on everything by everything. It is anything but a reflection of the Love of God and the love of His Son. It is my own attack thoughts that give rise to this picture. My loving thoughts will save me from this perception of the world, and give me the peace God intended me to have. 3. I can escape from this world by giving up attack thoughts. Herein lies salvation, and nowhere else. Without attack thoughts I could not see a world of attack. As forgiveness allows love to return to my awareness, I will see a world of peace and safety and joy. And it is this I choose to see, in place of what I look on now. 4. I do not perceive my own best interests. How could I recognize my own best interests when I do not know who I am? What I think are my best interests would merely bind me closer to the world of illusions. I am willing to follow the Guide God has given me to find out what my own best interests are, recognizing that I cannot perceive them by myself. 5. I do not know what anything is for. To me, the purpose of everything is to prove that my illusions about myself are real. It is for this purpose that I attempt to use everyone and everything. It is for this that I believe the world is for. Therefore I do not recognize its real purpose. The purpose I have given the world has led to a frightening picture of it. Let me open my mind to the world's real purpose by withdrawing the one I have given it, and learning the truth about it. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The commentary on this lesson (below) is from Kenneth Wapnick's eight volume series of books, called: "Journey Through the Workbook of A Course in Miracles," which can be purchased at the following site: Foundation for A Course in Miracles ? ~ M. Street ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ (1:1) (21) "I am determined to see things differently." *Jesus is now appealing directly to the power of our minds to choose.* (1:2.) "What I see now are but signs of disease, disaster and death." *In deference to Helen, I like to point out alliteration when it appears. Note the three d's. <disease, disaster and death>. Again, it is important we perceive disease, disaster and death all around us, not love, hope, and joy, for there is none. Indeed, the world was made <not> to be a place of love, hope, or joy. If we do not recognize this, we will have no motivation for changing our mind. We will believe in our arrogance that we have already changed it by virtue of our having perceived light instead of death. We believe what our egos have programmed us to believe, which is why we need to question the value of having chosen the ego as our teacher.* (1:3-5) "This cannot be what God created for His beloved Son. The very fact that I see such things is proof that I do not understand God. Therefore I also do not understand His Son." *This at least is a good initial step, because if we think we are looking on a world of light, peace, and joy, we will believe we understand God, Jesus, and, unfortunately, his course. Acknowledging that what we see "are the signs of disease, disaster and death" is the beginning of the humility that reaches to Wisdom. We begin by denying the ego's thought system of denial, and gradually, step by step, we are led by Jesus to understand that spirit and ego are mutually exclusive states, and so are love and hate, life and death, joy and pain. To make one real is to deny the other.* (1:6-7) "What I see tells me that I do not know who I am. I am determined to see the witness