[acimlessons_list] Lesson 365 - December 31

[Susan Carrier]

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+ 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 365 - December 31-


"This holy instant would I give to You. 
Be You in charge. For I would follow You, 
Certain that Your direction gives me peace."

PRACTICE SUMMARY

FINAL LESSONS

PURPOSE: To receive the gift that God promised His Son. To dedicate your
mind to following in the way of truth and leading your brothers there. To
forgive the world and so hasten the ending of the dream that God appointed.

MORNING/EVENING QUIET TIME: as long as needed

* Use the words only at the beginning, and only to remind yourself you are
trying to go beyond them.

* Leave the rest of the lesson to the Holy Spirit. Put Him in charge.
Whatever you need, be it a thought, a word, or stillness and tranquility, He
will give it to you.

HOURLY REMEMBRANCE

No specific instructions

FREQUENT REMINDER

No specific instructions

RESPONSE TO TEMPTATION

No specific instructions

COMMENTARY

The last lesson of the year! But certainly not, I hope, our last holy
instant. I find myself, as the New Year approaches, thinking of this lesson
in terms of, "This holy <year> would I give to You." Ah, I really feel that
resonating within, finding a common tone echoing from a deep, perpetual
longing.

The Epilogue, as I was saying yesterday, talks about how our journey
continues after the formal study of the Workbook with a continuing walk with
the Holy Spirit as Guide through what may yet be a very long journey. The
second point that the Epilogue makes strongly is that the end of the journey
is certain: "You are as certain of arriving home as is the pathway of the
sun laid down before it rises, after it has set, and in the half-lit hours
in between. Indeed, your pathway is more certain still" (2:1-2).

We can "walk with Him, as certain as is He of where you go; as sure as He of
how you should proceed; as confident as He is of the goal, and of your safe
arrival in the end" (4:6). I think that often my feelings of, "How much
longer is this going to take?" really translate into suppressed fears of,
"Am I ever going to arrive home?" We convert the length of time into a
witness to the idea that we'll never make it. If I <really knew> that my
pathway is as certain as the sun, and more, I could "travel light and
journey lightly," as the Course says in Chapter 13 of the Text, no matter
how long it takes.

I think the attitude the Course encourages in us is:

1) to hold on to this certainty that arriving home is guaranteed,

2) while at the same time being completely unconcerned with how long it may
take.

The Text tells us that how long is only a matter of time, and time is just
an illusion. It asks us not to be restless, and points out that being
restless on a journey to peace is rather inconsistent.

"The end is certain, and the means as well. To this we say 'Amen'" (5:1-2).
Let <me> say "Amen" as well. "Yes, so be it, and so it is." Why is the end
so sure? We have the Holy Spirit with us. "And He will speak for God and for
your Self, thus making sure that hell will claim you not, and that each
choice you make brings Heaven nearer to your reach" (5:4). He is the
guarantee. His presence makes the ending sure. And He is certain because He
knows the end depends on us, and nothing is more certain than a Son of God.

"We go homeward to an open door which God has held unclosed to welcome us"
(5:7). Ah, what a beautiful picture! I could have called my booklet, "The
Journey Home," by that title: "Homeward to an Open Door." Thank You, God,
for the open door.

"God's angels hover near and all about. His Love surrounds you, and of this
be sure; that I will never leave you comfortless" (6:7-8).

What more do we need? The Holy Spirit is in us. Angels hover near and all
about. God's Love surrounds us, and Jesus promises: I will never leave you
comfortless. Can you get a sense of that as this year comes to a close? Can
you close your eyes for a moment and feel Them all around you? Can you
realize the holiness of this moment, the birth of Christ in you now moving
out into the world to transform it with light? They are here, and they are
watching, and as Jesus often says in the Course, they give you thanks for
your willingness to open to the Light. "Thank God! I'm free at last!"

 
 
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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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