[acimlessons_list] Lesson 053--February 22

[Allen Watson]

    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>

Lesson 53 - February 22 (Review I)


Review of Lessons 11 to 15.

"My meaningless thoughts are showing me a meaningless world."

"I am upset because I see a meaningless world."

"A meaningless world engenders fear."

"God did not create a meaningless world."

"My thoughts are images that I have made."


PRACTICE SUMMARY

Purpose: to review the lessons and therefore let them sink in a notch
deeper. Also, to see how they interrelated they are and how cohesive the
thought system is that they are leading you to.

Exercise: as often as possible (suggestion: every hour on the hour), for at
least 2 minutes * Alone in a quiet place, read one of the five lessons and
the related comments. Notice that the comments are written as if they are
your own thoughts about the idea. Try to imagine that they are. It will help
if you frequently insert your name. This will set you up for the next phase,
in which you generate similar thoughts of your own. * Close your eyes and
think about the idea and the comments. Think particularly about the central
point of the commentary paragraph. Reflect on it. Let related thoughts come
(utilizing the training you've received in that practice). If your mind
wanders, repeat the idea and then get back to your reflection. This is the
same basic exercise as in Lesson 50, in which you actively think about ideas
in order to let them sink more deeply into your mind. Remarks:
* At the beginning and end of the day read all five lessons.  * Thereafter,
cover one lesson per practice period, in no particular order.  * Cover each
lesson at least once.
* Beyond that, concentrate on a particular lesson if it appeals to you most.


REMARKS:

* At beginning and end of day read all five lessons.

* Thereafter, cover one lesson per practice period, in no particular order.

* Concentrate on one if it appeals to you more than others.

* But cover each one at least once.

COMMENTARY

Today's review carries enormous impact for me. In each of the short review
paragraphs are sentences that convey to me the awesome power of my own mind:
its power to choose its thoughts, and thus choose the world that it sees.

"I have real thoughts as well as insane ones. I can therefore see a real
world, if I look to my real thoughts as my guide for seeing" (1:4-5).

"I am grateful that this world is not real, and that I need not see it at
all unless I choose to value it. And I do not choose to value what is
totally insane and has no meaning" (2:6-7).

"Now I choose to withdraw this belief, and place my trust in reality. In
choosing this, I will escape all the effects of the world of fear, because I
am acknowledging that it does not exist" (3:7-8).

"Let me remember the power of my decision, and recognize where I really
abide" (4:6).

"The images I have made cannot prevail against Him because it is not my will
that they do so. My will is His, and I will place no other gods before Him"
(5:6-7).

If I remember the power of my decision, I can choose not to value what is
insane; I can choose to withdraw my belief in it. I do not have to accept
that the images I have made have power to overcome God's Will; I do not have
to make gods out of them. I can look to my real thoughts and let them guide
my seeing. The words "choose" and "decision" and "will" echo through these
paragraphs. What power has been given to my mind!

I once read these ten lessons of review onto tape; they fit in less than a
30-minute tape, read quite slowly. Recording them had tremendous impact on
me, and listening to the tape several dozen times had even more impact.
These fifty pithy paragraphs are a remarkable overview of the Course's
thought system. And as I read them aloud, I found myself putting deep
feeling into sentences such as, "I cannot live in peace in such a world. I
am grateful that this world is not real. And I do not choose to value what
is totally insane and has no meaning" (2:5-7). Every time I came to a line
that said, "I do not choose" or "I choose," it was as though something deep
within me were shifting. I felt a growing determination, and a sense of
being enabled by God to choose what my mind would think and what my
perception would see. Try reading today's lesson aloud and see how it feels.


The opinions expressed in this commentary are the personal interpretation
and understanding of the author and are not necessarily endorsed by the
copyright holder of A Course in Miracles(r). The author, Allen Watson, and
the book entitled A Course in Miracles, are responsible for the information
and teaching herein.

Portions from A Course in Miracles (r)(c) Copyright 1975, Psychotherapy:
Purpose, Process and Practice, (c) 1976, The Song of Prayer, (c) 1978, are
used by permission of the copyright holder, The Foundation for "A Course in
Miracles," 41397 Buecking Drive, Temecula, CA 92590.

The Workbook Commentaries are Copyright 1995, 2001, 2002 by The Circle of
Atonement, P.O. Box 4238, W. Sedona, AZ 86340. All rights reserved. Please
notify us of any intent to use them beyond the scope of this email list;
write to info at circleofa.com.




    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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+ Practice Summary: Robert Perry
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+ The Workbook Commentaries are Copyright 1995, 2001, 2002, 2003
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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
used by permission of the copyright holder, The Foundation for "A Course in
Miracles," 41397 Buecking Drive, Temecula, CA 92590.


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