[acimlessons_list] Lesson 38 - February 7

[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 38 - February 7


"There is nothing my holiness cannot do."

PRACTICE SUMMARY

Purpose: "to begin to instill in you a sense that you have dominion over all
things because of what you are" (5:5).

Longer: 4 times, preferably for 5 full minutes
*	Repeat the idea then close your eyes. 
*	Search your mind for any suffering or difficulty, whether in your
life or someone else's. Do your best to treat these two as the same. For
problems of your own, say, "In the situation involving_______in which I see
myself, there is nothing my holiness cannot do." For problems of others,
say, "In the situation involving_______in which_______sees himself, there is
nothing my holiness cannot do." 
*	Periodically, feel free to add thoughts of your own that are related
to today's idea. Stay close to the idea; don't go too far afield. These
thoughts will serve to make that idea more real to you. This is the first
occurrence of the important practice of letting related thoughts come, which
you will receive more instruction in later.

Frequent reminders: frequent
Repeat the idea.

Response to temptation: Whenever a specific problem-your own or someone
else's-presents itself or comes to mind, use the specific form from the
longer practice period.

COMMENTARY

Toward the end of the lesson there is this informative line: "The purpose of
today's exercises is to begin to instill in you a sense that you have
dominion over all things because of what you are" (5:5). In a much later
lesson (190) the same idea is echoed:

"There is nothing in the world that has the power to make you ill or sad, or
weak or frail. But it is you who have the power to dominate all things you
see by merely recognizing what you are." (W-pI.190.5:6)

Now, if you are like me, you probably don't feel as though you have the
power to dominate all things or that you are "unlimited in power." You
probably don't feel as though the power of God is made manifest through your
holiness, that because of what you are you can "remove all pain, can end all
sorrow, and can solve all problems" (2:4). If you did feel that way, you'd
probably suspect in some part of your mind that you were suffering from
delusions of grandeur.

That's exactly why we need this kind of lesson. What we are, in reality, is
so far above what we normally think we are that when we hear words like this
lesson there is a part of us that whispers, "This is getting a little freaky
here." We have no idea of the power of our minds, which were created by God
and given the same creative power as His. When we get hints of how powerful
we are, it scares us, and we try to forget about it.

What we really are is "beyond every restriction of time, space, distance and
limits of any kind" (1:2). We really do have the power to solve all
problems, our own and anyone else's. If practicing today's lesson simply
<begins> to instill this sense in us, it has been successful.

When I face a situation that is troubling me and repeat, "In this situation,
there is nothing that my holiness cannot do," even if 90% of my mind is
protesting against the idea, something shifts within me. A little faith is
generated. Maybe the percentage shifts from 10% belief to 11% belief. And
when I do it again, 12%. We've all read stories of people who overcame
unbelievable odds just because they believed in themselves; that only hints
at what the Course is talking about but illustrates the principle.

The Course is talking about the power of belief, but much more as well; it
is talking about the power of what we honest-to-God <are>. And it is talking
about the power of our holiness, not just belief. You and I are made out of
God-stuff. When we actually get that, we can change the world.

"True learning is constant, and so vital in its power that a Son of God can
recognize his power in one instant and change the world in the next"
(T-7.V.7:5). 
 
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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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