[acimlessons_list] Lesson 358--December 24

Thu Dec 23 06:55:05 EST 2004

Lesson 358

"No call to God can be unheard nor left Unanswered. And of this I can be
sure; His answer is the one I really want."

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

COMMENTARY

The ego is constantly working to convince us that we want many different
things, things that often compete with one another. We have listened to
our egos for so long that we are quite confused about what we want. An
early Workbook lesson tells us, "I do not perceive my own best
interests" (Lesson 24).

Since I am so confused about what I really want, it is far better to
leave that choice in the hands of the Voice for God. "You Who remember
what I really am alone remember what I really want" (1:1). I need to
remind myself of this fairly often--usually any time I get caught up in
thinking that I want something very much. "I want that new computer." "I
want a loving, intimate, and committed sexual relationship." "I want a
better job." I need to remind myself, "Wait a minute, Allen. Remember!
You don't clearly remember who you really are, so how can you know what
you really want?"

Part of the learning the Course is taking us through is learning to
listen to the Holy Spirit. And part of that lesson is realizing that He
speaks <for us>, and not just for God. I may think that what I want
conflicts with what He seems to be wanting for me, and I need to realize
that what He wants for me is what I really want, even if my ego is
telling me differently. "Your Voice, my Father, then is mine as well,
and all I want is what You offer me, in just the form You choose that it
be mine" (1:4).

So often I am inclined to think that I want what God wants to give, but
then I dictate the form in which that must come to me. I hear that God's
will for me is perfect happiness, and then I decide the form that
happiness must take. I need to take it a step further, as this lesson
does: I want what God wants, and whether I can see it or not at the
moment, I what it in just the form He chooses to give it, and not the
form I think it must take.

I am reminded, as a parent, of many times when I tried to convince one
of my sons that they didn't really want what they thought they wanted.
Perhaps he was saying, "I want the red gumball!" And I would say, "No,
Ben, the red one isn't sweet; it's hot cinnamon and you won't like it."
And he would say, "I want the red one!!" We do exactly the same sort of
thing with God, far more often than we care to admit.

"Let me remember all I do not know, and let my voice be still,
remembering" (1:5). Let me realize, when I think I know what I want,
that I don't really know. And let me simply shut up and stop throwing a
tantrum; let me be quiet, and listen to my Father's Voice. He speaks for
me as well as for God; He knows what I really want, and wisdom is taking
His advice. He loves us; He cares for us; He has promised always to be
with us. Let me trust Him even when I don't understand, knowing that
(Oh! It seems awful sometimes to say these words; so belittling!) Father
knows best.

"Let me not forget myself is nothing, but my Self is all" (1:7).

The little, individual, ego "I" is nothing; Who I really am is
everything. The Holy Spirit always speaks from the perspective of that
larger Self. He does not seek to benefit and coddle the little "I." He
is always working with us to bring us to full awareness of Self. At
times what He gives may go contrary to the little "I," while leading us
on to full realization of the Self. That is why our picture of what we
want is so often distorted, and what He wants for us seems at times to
be something we do not want. We are confused about who we are. He is
not. So let us trust His wisdom, be still, and know that He is God.

WHAT AM I? (Part 8)

W-pII.14.4:4

"And from the oneness that we have attained we call to all our brothers,
asking them to share our peace and consummate our joy."

We attain oneness gradually. In reality we don't strictly "attain"
oneness, we remember it, we become aware of what has always been. But,
in time, it <seems> as though we attain it bit by bit. We begin with
very brief holy instants, flashes of remembrance, like a forgotten dream
we are struggling to recall. Those moments of memory come more and more
frequently, more and more clearly, and last longer and longer, until,
one day, we remember fully and forever. Each instant we are in that
oneness, we recognize that we are not there alone, and cannot be there
alone. We experience peace and joy, and yet our joy cannot be
<consummated> until everyone shares it with us, and wakes up to the
reality of who and what they are. So we call to them, we reach out to
them.

The state of mind we are seeking, which we might call the enlightened
state of mind, is one which perceives its connection to all of God's
creations, and is moved irresistibly to re-establish the full
communication of that perfect oneness in all its parts. As the
"bodhisattva" of Buddhist tradition foregoes Nirvana to save others,
being unwilling to pass into that state of perfect bliss until "every
blade of grass is enlightened," so the right-minded continually call out
to all their brothers, asking them to share their peace. Jesus
exemplifies this attitude as he speaks in "The Circle of Atonement,"
T-14.V.9:4-10, and 8:6:

"I stand within the circle, calling you to peace. Teach peace with me,
and stand with me on holy ground. Remember for everyone your Father's
power that He has given him. Believe not that you cannot teach His
perfect peace. Stand not outside, but join with me within. Fail not the
only purpose to which my teaching calls you. Restore to God His Son as
He created him, by teaching him his innocence."

"Stand quietly within this circle, and attract all tortured minds to
join with you in the safety of its peace and holiness."

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

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Portions from Clarification of Terms (c) Copyright 1975, Psychotherapy:
Purpose, Process and Practice, (c) 1976, The Song of Prayer, (c) 1978, are
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