[acimlessons_list] Review I, Lesson 58 - February 27

[Sue Roth]

Review I, Lesson 58 - February 27

Review of Lessons 36 to 40

"My holiness envelops everything I see."

"My holiness blesses the world."

"There is nothing my holiness cannot do."

"My holiness is my salvation."

"I am blessed as a Son of God."

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.

COMMENTARY

"Innocence...is the truth about me." (1:4) I don't really believe that. I
<want> to believe it, and I may <say> I believe it, but if I really believed
it I don't think I'd still be here. At the least I would not be seeing the
world the way I do, because the way I see the world derives completely from
the way I see myself. "I can picture only thoughts about myself" (1:5). So
if I really believed that innocence is the truth about me, all I would see,
everywhere, is innocence. Holiness.

This is why accepting the Atonement for myself saves the world. If I can
accept my own innocence, all I will see is innocence. We often allow
confusion to come into our minds about who forgives who first. Do I forgive
others, and then see my own innocence? Or do I forgive myself, thus allowing
me to see others as innocent? The answer to both questions is, "Yes."

How can both questions be answered, "Yes?" Because "myself" and "others" are
not really two; we are one. The sin I see in others is always my own,
projected from my mind (T-31.III.1:5). When I forgive "others" I really am
forgiving my own sins. <Any> act of forgiveness, whether directed outward or
inward, results in everyone being forgiven.

Thus, when I perceive my own holiness, I have blessed the entire world. The
holiness I see in myself, when I see it, is something shared by everyone. As
my own innocence arises in my mind, the holiness of the entire world shines
forth simultaneously.

Innocence, or holiness, is a central theme of the Course. "Everyone has a
special part to play in the Atonement, but the message given to each one is
always the same: <God's Son is guiltless>" (T-14.V.2:1). "But the content of
the [universal] course never changes [no matter its form]. Its central theme
is always, 'God's Son is guiltless, and in his innocence is his salvation'"
(M-1.3:5). It is a message of radical innocence, total innocence, universal
innocence, with no one and nothing left out. No one is condemned. No one is
judged guilty. No one is damned.

"...recognizing my holiness is recognizing my salvation. It is also
recognizing the salvation of the world" (4:2,3). As a Son of God, I am holy,
and thus I am blessed. But if I am a Son of God, so are you, so is everyone,
because I am a Son of God, not by any merit of my own, not by any
achievement that distinguishes me from anyone else, but simply by dint of
the fact that God created me holy. As I recognize this fact about myself I
<must> include everyone God created, or I am excluded with everyone.

My claim on innocence, and on "all good and only good" (5:2), lies in the
fact that I am the Son of God. God willed good things for me, and so I must
have them--not because I earned them in any way, but because He wills to
give them. "His care for me is infinite, and is with me forever. I am
eternally blessed as His Son." (5:7,8)

It does not matter what I think about myself or how badly I may believe I
have screwed things up: I am still His Son. I am still innocent. I am still
holy.

"Remember this; whatever you think about yourself, whatever you may think
about the world, your Father needs you and will call to you until you come
to Him in peace at last" (Song of Prayer, 3.IV.10:7).

"Have faith in only this one thing, and it will be sufficient: God wills you be in Heaven, and nothing can keep you from it, or it from you. Your wildest misperceptions, your weird imaginings, your blackest nightmares all mean nothing. They will not prevail against the peace God wills for you." (T-13.XI.7:1-3).