[acimlessons_list] Lesson 357 - December 23

Wed Dec 22 07:32:11 EST 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 <http://www.circleofa.com/>
>
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Lesson 357 - December 23

"Truth answers every call we make to God, 
Responding first with miracles, and then 
Returning unto us to be itself."

PRACTICE SUMMARY

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

COMMENTARY

An idea is conveyed here, one that is a running theme through the Course, is
that we find our way to God through others; we see Christ first in our
brothers, and then in ourselves (1:2). When we call to God, Truth always
responds (Title). The first response is "miracles," which we offer to others
through our forgiveness. Then, Truth returns to us "to be itself." "Your
holy Son is pointed out to me, first in my brother; then in me" (1:2).

This is the way of ACIM. "As I look upon Your Son today" (1:4), that is, as
I see the Christ in those around me, "I hear Your Voice instructing me to
find the way to You, as You appointed that the way shall be" (1:4). We hear
the Voice that directs us to God as we look on Christ in others. Another way
of stating this theme is that we see the face of Christ, and then remember
God.

The two stages of the answer are: (1) miracles, and (2) the apprehension of
Truth as Itself.

Miracles, in the form of forgiveness offered to my brothers, are only a
symbol of the Truth. Forgiveness is only "truth's reflection" (1:1). In the
miracle I see the Son of God, first in my brother and then in myself.

As miracles accumulate and our mind is trained, Truth Itself begins to dawn,
which is the realization of our Identity with God. That isn't our worry,
says the Course. We don't need to work to make that happen. Concentrate on
the first step, and the second will come of itself. It is God's gift to us.

Many spiritual paths, I think, make a mistake in focusing on God-realization
directly. The effort may eventually work because the purpose is right, but
it takes a long time, and enormous effort (see T-18.VII.4:9-11). The effort
to do what is un-doable, to make happen what has already happened, to find
what we have never lost, can become a struggle of endless frustration, a
perfect vehicle for the continuation of the ego. This kind of spiritual
seeking results in the type of person who is "too heavenly minded to be of
any earthly use." Here you find the Pharisee who passes by the injured
traveller because he does not want to be tainted. The religious bigot. The
self-righteous fundamentalist. His prayers are so important that he ignores
his family and its needs.

The Course is saying that the path to heaven is "through forgiveness here"
(W-pII.256.1:1). Don't get lost in the search for an abstract experience of
union with God. Rather, practice forgiveness. Pay attention to the
practical. Concentrate on union with your brother, and union with God will
be given you. Work with the material given you, the relationships that are
at hand. Don't try to run away in some spiritual retreat; it will fail. You
will be attempting to apprehend something you are not capable of
apprehending. You can't skip over this process. The way to God is through
your brother; he is your Savior. There is no other way.

The path of ACIM is anything but narcissistic or solitary. It teaches us
quite clearly that we cannot find God alone; we cannot find God in ourselves
alone; and we cannot find God anywhere unless we find Him everywhere. "He is
approached through the appreciation of His Son" (T-11.IV.7:2). By learning
to see those around us as the Son of God, as God's perfect creation, we
learn that we are part of that creation as well. This leads us to the memory
of God Himself. The way to God lies through the person next to you:

"'Behold his sinlessness, and be you healed.'"

WHAT AM I? (Part 7)

W-pII.14.4:1-3

This passage is reminiscent of the paragraph in the Review V:

"Let this review be then your gift to me. For this alone I need; that you
will hear the words I speak, and give them to the world. You are my voice,
my eyes, my feet, my hands through which I save the world. The Self from
which I call to you is but your own. To Him we go together. Take your
brother's hand, for this is not a way we walk alone. In him I walk with you,
and you with me. Our Father wills His Son be one with Him. What lives but
must not then be one with you?" (W-pI.rV.in.9:1-9)

Christ sees through our eyes. Our ears are those that hear the Voice for
God. Our minds are the minds that join together. As bringers of salvation,
we have only one, single function: to hear the words Jesus speaks, and give
them to the world. And what is the kernel of those words? Seeing the world
with no thought of sin; hearing the message that the world is sinless;
joining in union to bless the world.

Am I a blessing to those around me? Or a burden? Do I lift guilt from them,
or do I lay it on them? I am not really grasping the message of the Course
until I have begun to realize that I am here to be a channel of God's grace
to the world, to release everyone I come in contact with from their guilt,
and most especially from the guilt that I have laid upon them.

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+ 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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