[acimlessons_list] Lesson 63 - March 4

[Sue Roth]

Lesson 63 - March 4

"The light of the world brings peace to every mind through my forgiveness."

PRACTICE SUMMARY:

Purpose: to get in touch with your power to bring peace to everyone, to
recognize the means by which you can do this, and to experience the
happiness that comes from this.

Exercise: as often as you can (suggestion: every hour on the hour), for 1-2
minutes

* Tell yourself: "The light of the world brings peace to every mind through
my forgiveness. I am the means God has appointed for the salvation of the
world." 

* Then do the practice that you've been doing recently: Think about these
statements and let related thoughts come. If your mind wanders, repeat the
idea.

Remarks: 

The remarks about closing your eyes hold for all the shorter practice
periods in the Workbook (except the open-eyed ones). The principle is simple
 One the one hand, you'll benefit more if you close your eyes, because it
will allow for greater focus. On the other hand, if you wait until the
situation lets you close your eyes, that will hurt the frequency of your
practice. So close your eyes if the situation permits; if not, go ahead and
practice with eyes open.

Just like yesterday we are told to be happy to practice morning, evening,
and throughout the day. That is because this practice will get us in touch
with our function, and our function is the source of our happiness. As with
Lesson 61, the practice periods at the beginning and end of the day can be
longer if you like.

COMMENTARY

Have you ever been the recipient of real forgiveness? There is nothing quite
so liberating, nothing that eases the mind, so much as being truly forgiven.
If I think I may have hurt someone or injured them by what I have said or
done, and they turn around and truly forgive me, letting me know that they
were <not> hurt, that they understand me and see me in a light perhaps even
better than I could see myself, it brings incredible peace to my mind. It
relieves the pangs of guilt. There is a sense of love for the other person,
a joy that our intimacy has not been impaired but perhaps even improved.

You and I have the power to bring that kind of peace to every mind. That is
what our function is. We can allow this to be done through us (1:2). What a
marvellous purpose this gives to our lives--bringing peace to every mind
through our forgiveness. We can liberate everyone around us from the hell of
their own guilt.

"Accept no trivial purpose or meaningless desire in its place, or your will
forget your function and leave the Son of God in hell." (2:4) When we accept
a lesser purpose, we inevitably forget the primary one. Trying to get
someone to act in a way that pleases us, for our personal pleasure, for
instance, --having expectations--can cause us to completely overlook many
opportunities for forgiveness, and instead to heap more guilt upon the
person if they fail to meet our expectations.

We need to practice this idea diligently, as often as we can, to reinforce it in our minds. "I am the means God has appointed for the salvation of the world." Forgiveness flows through me and brings peace to every mind I encounter today; let me remember not to block the flow.