[acimlessons_list] Lesson 75 - March 16

[Sue Roth]

Lesson 75 - March 16

"The light has come."

PRACTICE SUMMARY

Purpose: to set aside your unforgiving perceptions of the world and look
with vision upon the real world. Today is cause for special celebration, for
it will be a new beginning, "the beginning of your vision and the sight of
the real world" (11:2). 

Longer: 2 times, for 10-15 minutes

* Tell yourself, as if announcing "the glad tidings of your release" (5:3),
"The light has come. I have forgiven the world." 

* The rest of the practice period is an exercise in trying to see the world
that vision shows you. Begin by consciously withdrawing all the meanings you
have put on the world. Imagine that your mind is "washed of all past ideas
and clean of every concept you have made" (6:2). Imagine that "you do not
know yet what [the world] looks like" (6:5). This act of wiping off the
meanings you have written on the world is also an act of forgiving the
world, and this is what grants you vision.

* Then wait, with eyes open, to have vision dawn upon you. While doing so,
occasionally repeat, slowly and patiently, "The light has come. I have
forgiven the world." The main attitude to hold while you wait is confidence,
that you will experience vision because "your forgiveness entitles you to
vision" (7:1), and because the Holy Spirit will be there with you and will
not fail to give you the gift of vision. Tell these things to yourself and
to the Holy Spirit while you wait, and thereby give yourself the confidence
you need. And when your confidence fades, repeat again the lines with which
you began, and then continue waiting for vision to dawn.

Frequent reminders: every 15 minutes

Joyfully remind yourself that today is a time to celebrate by saying, "The
light has come. I have forgiven the world." Say it with a sense of
thankfulness to God. Say it as a rejoicing in the healing of your sight. Say
it in the confidence "that on this day there is a new beginning" (9:5).

Response to temptation: Whenever you are tempted to be upset with someone
Do not let this person pull you back to darkness. Say to him instead, "The
light has come. I have forgiven you."

COMMENTARY

In this lesson, as in several others, the Course speaks of me as though I
have accepted its message and have forgiven the world; as though I am ready,
this very day, to see the real world; as though I have attained its goal of
peace. Perhaps today I do not feel quite worthy of such confidence. Yet, if
what we have been reading the past two days is true, any impression that I
may have that my will differs from God's is only an illusion. My true Self,
which in my right mind I am aware of, is exactly as this lesson depicts me.
This lesson is the truth about myself, whether or not I have yet recognized
it.

If I feel a little hypocritical in practicing this lesson exactly as
instructed, so be it. If I have self-doubts that arise when I say, "I have
forgiven the world," I let them be there; I attribute no power to them to
disturb me. I am simply affirming the truth about myself. Today, I am at
peace, and I bring peace with me wherever I go (1:5). "The light has come."
I let myself believe it; I let myself enter into knowing that frame of mind.

Whatever my experience today, this lesson is the truth. I cannot stand
against what is within me; I cannot be other than what God created me to be.
"The outcome is as sure as God," as the Text says (T-2.II.3:18). "Our single
purpose makes the goal inevitable" (4:3). I <will> see the real world; I
will see Heaven's reflection everywhere.

Do I feel I lack the certainty of this lesson's words? That is exactly why I
need to practice saying them. Perhaps if I give my little willingness to
speak them, affirming that this is what I want to be true, the Holy Spirit
will add His strength to my words and make them true for me. Perhaps even
today. "The light has come." It is here, right now, with me, available to
me.

The Holy Spirit "will be with you as you watch and wait. He will show you
what true vision sees. It is His Will, and you have joined with Him. Wait
patiently for Him. He will be there" (7:5-9). So I wait. I wait "patiently"
and not anxiously. It may take time to manifest, but I wait patiently,
confidently, knowing that His promise cannot fail. The vision I seek will
come to me. "He will be there."

We are told to "tell Him you know you cannot fail because you trust in Him"
(8:1). So I say it; I pray, "Holy Spirit, I know I cannot fail because I
trust in You." I affirm my confidence in my Self; I affirm the truth about
me, and put aside the lies I have believed. I can be confident that this day
is a new beginning for me. Something has shifted within me and I know that I
want the peace and the light this lesson speaks of; I know that if I want
it, because of what I am, and because I am joined with the power of the Holy
Spirit in wanting it, in agreement with the Will of God, I cannot fail.

Today is dedicated to serenity (11:1). Today is for celebration of the
beginning of my vision. I accept myself as God created me. "The light has
come."