[acimlessons_list] Lesson 232 - August 20

Thu Aug 19 06:11:25 EDT 2004

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
+ COMMENTARIES ON LESSONS FROM THE WORKBOOK OF A COURSE IN MIRACLES
+ by Allen Watson, with Practice Summaries by Robert Perry, 
+ of The Circle of Atonement
+ Visit our website at <http://www.circleofa.com>
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Lesson 232 - August 20

"Be in my mind, my Father, through the day."

PRACTICE SUMMARY 

Purpose: To take the last few steps to God. To wait for Him to take the
final step.

Morning/Evening Quiet Time: as long as needed.

Read the written lesson.

Use idea and prayer to introduce time of quiet. Do not depend on the words.
Use them as a simple invitation to God to come to you.

Sit silently and wait for God. Wait in quiet expectancy for Him to reveal
Himself to you. Seek only direct, deep, wordless experience of Him. Be
certain of His coming, and unafraid. For He has promised that when you
invite Him, He will come. You ask only that He keep His ancient promise,
which He wills to keep. These times are your gift to Him.

Hourly Remembrance: Do not forget.

Give thanks to God that He has remained with you and will always be there to
answer your call to Him.

Frequent Reminder: As often as possible, even every minute.

Remember the idea. Dwell with God, let Him shine on you.

Response To Temptation: When you are tempted to forget your goal.

Use idea as a call to God and all temptation will disappear.

Reading: preceding one of the day's moments of practice.

Slowly read "What is...?" section.

Think about it a while.

Overall Remarks: Now, in this final part of the year that you and Jesus have
spent together, you begin to reach the goal of practicing and of the course.
Jesus is so close that you cannot fail. You have come far along the road. Do
not look back. Fix you eyes on the journey's end. You could not have come
this far without realizing that you want to know God. And this is all He
requires to come to you.

(See Part II Practice Summary, and also Part II Introduction)

COMMENTARY

When I wake, God is in my mind; His Presence is with me and in my awareness.
His Love, and the joy and peace of knowing God are with me; they take
precedence over any other thoughts. Physical discomfort, and concerns about
scheduling the day arise, but none of these displace the peace of God; it is
my bedrock, my foundation, and my first concern. It is a constant awareness,
like the background hum of an air conditioner, always there, often
unnoticed, but ready to be noticed any time I turn my attention to it.

"Let every minute be a time in which I dwell with You." Here <is> my desire!
To dwell with God every minute of the day. It reminds me of John 15 in the
New Testament: "Abide in me, and I in you." Or the Old Testament expression
of the same idea: The eternal God my resting place, and underneath me, the
everlasting arms (Deut. 33:27). Let me remember today, each hour, to say,
"Thank You for being with me today. Thank You for <always> being with me."

"As evening comes, let all my thoughts be still of You and of Your Love. And
let me sleep sure of my safety, certain of Your care, and happily aware I am
Your Son." Sure of my safety. Thus, free of all fear. For the most part, our
lives are run by fears of various kinds; the ego is driven by fear. Peace is
the absence of fear. And since fear is only the absence of love, peace and
love are interdependent. When I am loving, I am peaceful. When I am
peaceful, I am loving. Where I am sure of my safety, knowing the Presence of
God in every moment, I am at peace and love flows through me.

"This is as every day should be." This is the goal for life in this world:
to live every day with God in my mind. To wake in His Presence, to walk in
His shining Love, and to sleep in His care and protection. To so live that
His Presence becomes our foreground and all else, the hum and bustle of the
world, becomes background.

What is a day like for someone who has learned what the Course is teaching?
Simply this:

To constantly practice the end of fear. To walk with faith in Him Who is my
Father, trusting all things to Him, letting Him reveal all things to me, and
in everything to be undismayed because I am His Son (W-pII.232.2).

WHAT IS SALVATION? (Part 2)

How does salvation work? The essence of it is stated here in a single
sentence: "God's Word is given every mind which thinks that it has separate
thoughts, and will replace these thoughts of conflict with the Thought of
peace" (1:4). The instant our mind had a thought of conflict, God's Word was
implanted in our mind as well. Before disaster could even begin, the Answer
was given.

You and I, who think of ourselves as separate entities, are such minds,
which think that they have separate thoughts. But God's Word has been
implanted in us; the Truth lies beneath all our self-deception. From within,
the Thought of God is quietly working, waiting, moving to replace all our
thoughts of conflict. The thoughts of conflict are myriad, taking thousands
of forms, each in conflict with the universe and most in conflict with each
other. The Thought of peace is one. It is the one remedy to every thought of
conflict, whether it be hatred, anger, despair, frustration, bitterness, or
death. The Thought of God heals them all.

The remedy lies within me, now. This is salvation: To turn within to the
Thought of peace, and find it there within myself.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
+ Commentary by Allen Watson
+ Practice Summary: Robert Perry
+ Available in book format from The Circle
+ of Atonement (Vol. 1 reprint due by end of 2004, write us for info)
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