[acimlessons_list] Part II Practice Instructions (Save for rest of year)

[Allen Watson]

Part II Practice instructions

Purpose: The introduction to Part II talks as if, in the remaining
part of this year, we are trying to reach the end of our spiritual
journey: "This year has brought us to eternity" (10:8). However, the
Manual, in Section 16 ("How Should the Teacher of God Spend His
Day?") implies a more modest goal: to reach a place where we practice
because of our own motivation and inspiration, rather than because a
book is telling us to. This would transform our practicing from a
special assignment into a way of life. Part II of the Workbook, with
its absence of daily practice instructions, is an important step in
this direction. If here, in the relatively formless landscape of Part
II, your practice can blossom, rather than wither, you are close to
graduating from the Workbook.

I think we need to combine these two goals: We should aim for
eternity, realizing that by aiming high we will carry ourselves
farther than if we didn't, even though we may only get as far as
weaning ourselves from the Workbook's support. In other words, we
should aim to graduate from time and space, <so that> we can reach
the more realistic goal of graduating from the Workbook.

Reading the lesson: The lessons in Part II take a very different form
than in Part I. After the day's idea, we find just two paragraphs,
both worded in the first person, which expand and comment on the
idea. This makes the Part II lessons look much like what we see in
most of the reviews, where the idea for the day is followed by a
series of "related comments" (W-pI.rI.In.2:3; 3:3) which are worded
in the first person and expand on the idea. In the reviews, these
related comments become part of the exercises. We read them over
several times, we think about them, we repeat them to ourselves, we
savor each word. We make them our own, which is why they are worded
<as if> they are our own. We so fully engage them that reading them
becomes more like a practice than a simple act of reading.

It makes sense that we should use the comments in the Part II lessons
in the same way that we used the comments in the reviews, simply
because the two are so similar. And the introduction hints at this.
For it speaks of our reading of those paragraphs as an "exercise"
(2:1) that is meant to induct us (1:4) into "the periods of wordless,
deep experience which should come afterwards" (11:2). Let's look at
how we can turn the reading of those two paragraphs into a genuine
exercise.

First, the< commentary paragraphs> (the nonitalicized paragraphs). I
recommend that you read these over slowly, perhaps several times, and
imagine that these really are your own thoughts (which is how they are
worded). To facilitate this, you may want to emphasize words like "I,"
"me," "my," and "mine."

Second, the< prayers>. These read as if you yourself are praying them
to God, and I recommend doing just that. Fix one sentence at a time in
your mind and then close your eyes and say that sentence to God. Try
to really mean it and expect Him to hear you. These appear to be
designed to carry you into the meditative state, and many of them
virtually say that. Lesson 307 says of its prayer, "And with this
prayer we enter silently into a state where conflict cannot come"
(W-pII.307.2:1). To enhance this effect, you may want to pray the
prayer several times.

Morning/evening quiet time: As long as you need for the effect you
want.

The longer practice periods are meant to consist of Open Mind
Meditation. Begin by repeating the idea for the day, but in a special
way: as an invitation to God to come to you. "We say the words of
invitation that His Voice suggests, and then we wait for Him to come
to us" (4:6). After repeating these words, go into a time of
expectant, wordless waiting (the word "wait" here occurs six times).
To wait normally means to stay physically still in anticipation of
some event. Here it means to stay <mentally> still in anticipation of
a wondrous event: the dawning of God on your mind. Wait as if holding
your breath for this event. Wait with an attitude that "the memory of
God is shimmering across the wide horizons of our minds" (9:5). Your
waiting, then, though motionless, should be very much alive. It
should be filled with expectancy: "We...expect our Father to reveal
Himself, as He has promised" (3:3). The basis for your expectancy, in
other words, is your trust that God will keep His promises. He
promised to come to you when you asked. You are asking; He will come.
Hold this state without the aid of repeating words. However, whenever
your mind wanders, you should use words--repeat the idea to draw
yourself back to this nonverbal waiting. "We will use that
thought...to calm our minds at need" (3:1).

If you find Open Mind Meditation either too challenging or too
unrewarding, I would recommend using either of the other two methods
the Workbook has taught: Down-and-Inward Meditation or Name of God
Meditation. In fact, Lesson 222 clearly instructs you to use Name of
God Meditation: <"Father, we have no words except Your Name upon our
lips and in our minds, as we come quietly into Your Presence now">
(W-pII.222.2:1).

Hourly remembrance: One or two minutes as the hour strikes (reduce if
circumstances do not permit).

Do a miniature version of the morning practice. Repeat the idea as an
invitation to God, and then wait in wordless silence for Him to come
to you.

Frequent reminder: As often as possible within each hour.

"Repeat [the idea], and allow your mind to rest a little time in
silence and in peace" (W-pI.rIII.In.10:5).

Response to temptation: When you are tempted to let upset cause you
to forget your goal.

Repeat the idea as a way of calling on God to dispel your upset (see
2:9 and 10:2).

Reading the "What Is" section: Before one of the day's practice
periods (not necessarily the morning one), read the relevant "What
Is" section. Don't just read it casually. Read it slowly and think
about it "a little while" (11:4).

* * *

LET US PRAY (by Robert Perry)

What are we supposed to do with the prayers in Part II of the
Workbook for <A Course in Miracles>? There are 140 of them, one for
each lesson. This has puzzled many a Course student who, upon
reaching Part II, finds himself confronted each day with an
italicized prayer directed at God. Is this prayer offered by the
author of the Course on our behalf? Do we simply read it? Do we
actually pray it? If so, why?

Actually, I am only <assuming> that this issue has puzzled Course
students. I have never really heard much discussion about these
prayers. They sit there on the page, staring at us every day for five
straight months, but we don't seem to talk much about them. The only
perspective I recall hearing is that they must be metaphorical
because God can't hear our prayers.

Having done the Workbook several times, I too didn't know what to do
with these prayers. Yet, to be honest, I hadn't really confronted the
question. I would just dutifully open my book and read the prayer
attached to that day's lesson. The prayers generally struck me as
being a kind of Course word salad: a series of typical Course
words--Christ, peace, joy, Heaven, etc.--tossed together as one would
toss a salad.

Then one day a few years ago, all that changed for me. I was on a
short retreat and, for some reason, the first thing I did was sit
down and try to discover what the Course wants us to do with its
prayers. Having spent many years studying the Workbook's practice
instructions, I had learned that virtually all our questions about
practice are answered right in the Workbook, if we pay careful
attention. Now, for the first time, it occurred to me that this ought
to be true for those prayers; we should expect there to be
instructions for what to do with them.

The logical place for those instructions was the introduction to Part
II, since that is where we find the practice instructions for the
entirety of Part II, where the prayers are found. Within minutes I
found two sentences that ended my search and changed my relationship
with the Course and with God. Here they are:

We say some simple words of welcome, and expect our Father to reveal
Himself, as He has promised. (WpII.In.3:3)

We say the words of invitation that His Voice suggests, and then we
wait for Him to come to us. (WpII.In.4:6)

>From these sentences and the paragraphs around them I obtained the
following picture:

The Course has given us words (from the Holy Spirit) which we are to
say to God as words of invitation and welcome. Once we invite Him
with these words, we sit in a state of silent expectancy, waiting for
Him to come and reveal Himself to us in direct wordless experience.

What are these "words"? In this context, they are definitely the
thought for the day, the lesson title. But are they confined to that?
Don't these "simple words of welcome" also sound like they could be
the prayers? After all, like these words, the prayers are words given
us by the Course which are written as if we are saying them to God.

So I turned the page and looked at the first prayers in Part II. They
resoundingly confirmed what I was thinking. This is how the first
prayer begins:

<Father, I come to You today to seek the peace that You alone can
give. I come in silence>. (W-pII.221.1:1-2)

Just as the introduction described, in this prayer we state our
intention to have an encounter with God in the silence of our minds.
The comments that follow this prayer continue along the same lines:
"Now [that we have said this prayer] do we wait in quiet....We wait
with one intent...[for God] to reveal Himself unto His Son"
(W-pII.221.2:1, 6). Here is exactly what the introduction said: Once
we say these words of welcome, we wait in silence for God to reveal
Himself to us.

The next prayer was very similar. In it we state our intention to
silently enter into an experience of God's Presence:

<Father, we have no words except Your Name upon our lips and in our
minds, as we come quietly into Your Presence now, and ask to rest
with You in peace a while>. (W-pII.222.2:1)

This was a very intellectual process of detective work, but its
results were extremely practical: At last I felt I knew what to do
with those prayers! I am to say them directly to God as preparation
for a direct wordless encounter with Him.

So I immediately tried this out. I spent the next hour or so going
through the first twenty prayers in Part II, praying them as I had
just discovered I should. I will never forget that time. It was a
pivotal moment in my journey with the Course. Until that moment, I
had no idea how much richness was in those prayers. What seemed like
word salad when read as information became a wealth of emotional
experience when repeated as prayer, when spoken to God.

I was astonished by the sense of loving intimacy with God that shone
through these prayers. I had never realized that <this> was how the
Course wanted me to think about God. God came across not as a remote
metaphysical abstraction, an impersonal essence that is completely
unaware of us. Instead, He came across as near and dear, as the most
attentive, loving Father one could possibly imagine, always there,
always listening, always answering, wanting only to lavish all of His
Love upon us. "He covers me with kindness and with care"
(W-pII.222.1:4), one of the lessons said. And that is exactly how I
felt, blanketed in His kindness and care.

Since that day, these prayers have become a staple in my daily life.
There are few things I enjoy doing more than sitting down and
spending time with them. They have literally transformed my
relationship with God. My sense of God before was somewhat remote and
abstract. Yet increasingly these prayers have implanted in me <their>
sense of God, so that my feeling for Him has become a deep well of
sustenance and comfort that I draw from daily.

As time went on, I fell into the habit of using these prayers before
my meditation time, because I found them to be the ideal way to
prepare my mind for seeking God in meditation. They gathered the
scattered and chaotic threads of my thought into a single desire to
be with God. After I had been using them in this way for some time, I
remembered something: <This is exactly what they are for>. This is
what the instructions in the Workbook say is their purpose. We are to
use the words of these prayers to prepare our minds for a direct,
wordless encounter with God. I can attest to the fact that they serve
their intended purpose very well indeed.

I therefore encourage every student of the Course to avail him- or
herself of the great benefit of these prayers. Try them out and see
if you are not drawn to return to them. Here are some tips for
getting the most out of them:

1. <Focus on one line at a time>. Dwell on each line and let it sink
in before going on to the next.

2. <Say it directly to God>. When the prayer says "Father," have a
sense of speaking directly to God, and of Him in some sense hearing
you.

3. <Make it from you>. When the prayer says "I" or "me," have a sense
of you being the one saying the prayer.

4. <Mean it>, as much as you can. Try to make it the prayer of your
own heart.

5. <Make it specific>. For instance, when the prayer we will use
below says "a something I have called by many names," list some of
the names you have given what you seek.

6. <Feel free to elaborate> on the prayer as it evokes additional
thoughts and feelings in you.

To try out this method of using these prayers, I would like to
utilize the following prayer from Lesson 231, "Father, I will but to
remember You." My suggestion is for you to repeat each line slowly,
with concentration and sincerity. Try to see the fullness of meaning
contained in each line. Try also to go through the prayer twice or
more.

<1. What can I seek for, Father, but Your Love?

2. Perhaps I think I seek for something else; a something I have
called by many names.

3. Yet is Your Love the only thing I seek, or ever sought.

4. For there is nothing else that I could ever really want to find.

5. Let me remember You.

6. What else could I desire but the truth about myself>?

What was your experience in repeating these lines? Was it an
experience you want more of? I sincerely hope that the prayers in the
Workbook will become the blessing in your life that they continue to
be in mine.
-- 
Your companion on the journey,
Allen Watson

The Circle of Atonement, P.O. Box 4238, W. Sedona, AZ 86340
<http://www.circleofa.org/index.php>
"You cannot enter into real relationships with any of God's Sons unless you
love them all and equally. Love is not special" (A Course in Miracles,
T-13.X.11:1-2).