From sue at circleofa.org Wed Apr 1 06:09:36 2009 From: sue at circleofa.org (Sue Roth) Date: Wed, 1 Apr 2009 06:09:36 -0400 Subject: [acimlessons_list] Lesson 92 - April 2 Message-ID: Lesson 92 - April 2 "Miracles are seen in light, and light and strength are one." PRACTICE SUMMARY Purpose: to experience the light of strength in you, which will reveal to you the miracles that are always there. Longer: 2 times-morning and evening, for 20 minutes This exercise is another meditation, like you've been doing since Lesson 41. That's why the instructions are so brief-it's assumed that you know how to do this. Here, you try to sink to that deep place in your mind where light and strength meet, and where "your Self stands ready to embrace you as Its Own" (9:2). Seek this place and try to rest in the peace that waits for you there. Your sinking should not be all your own effort. "Let yourself be brought" (10:2) there; ask the truth to lead you there (this was emphasized in Lessons 69, 73, and 91). While going there, remember to draw your mind back from wandering as needed, and to carry an attitude of confidence, desire, and determination. Frequent reminders: as often as you can Repeat the idea, recognizing you are being led away from the body's blindness to the light of true sight, in which miracles are seen. Do it with a mindset of "I'm preparing myself for the evening practice period." In this way, you can use the day to prepare yourself for a true holy instant at the end of the day. COMMENTARY The goal of this lesson seems to me to be finding "the meeting place of self and Self," as it is put in 10:4. "It is God's strength in you that is the light in which you see" (3:1). There is Something in me that is as far beyond what I think I am as the sun is beyond a match. There is an unimaginable vastness in me that, by these lessons, I am being led to discover. In the two twenty-minute practice periods today--the morning and evening "meetings" as they are referred to (11:2)--I am attempting to bring self to Self, to bring the match to the sun. I am trying to open the door to infinity within myself. This strength within me is mighty beyond the telling of it. It is "constant, sure as love, forever glad to give itself away" (8:1). Within me, my Self "stands ready to embrace [me] as Its Own" (9:2). I am a Triple-A battery standing next to a nuclear power plant, about to plug in to endless power that ever renews itself. No; that image is too cold, it lacks the "embrace" spoken of. I am a tiny, fearful child, about to be swept up in the arms of the universal, endlessly compassionate and omnipotent Father/Mother/God. I think that perhaps the way a very young child sees its parents--huge, vast, all-knowing, totally worthy of trust, able to do anything--is perhaps a reflection of the truth of our relationship to God, and even our relationship to our own true Self. I find this lesson enormously encouraging. It tells me strength is the truth about me (4:7). Those are words worth many repetitions! Truth gives its strength to everyone who asks, in limitless supply (5:4). This light, this strength, "does not change and flicker and go out" (7:5). "No one can ask in vain to share its sight" (8:2). As a later lesson tells us, "No one can fail who seeks to reach the truth" (Lesson 131). It does not matter how often I have tried and failed, or how long it has been since I have had a flicker of light in my mind, or how weak and puny seem the efforts of my heart; I cannot fail. I have the strength of God in me, and it will lead me to where I want to go. I come to the practice periods today with trust in that strength. God's strength. My strength. I come to allow, just for this brief period, my self to meet my Self. I come to leave the darkness behind and let true vision, in the light, dawn upon my mind. I care not that it may not seem to last. I care not that my mind might seem dark before and dark after; for this instant, let me open to the light, and let It begin Its work of leading me home. I bring my doubts, my fears, my open disbelief and expose them to this light, and in the light they disappear, and my heart floods with joy. I am being "led away from darkness to the light where only miracles can be perceived" (11:3). From sue at circleofa.org Thu Apr 2 06:17:51 2009 From: sue at circleofa.org (Sue Roth) Date: Thu, 2 Apr 2009 06:17:51 -0400 Subject: [acimlessons_list] Lesson 93 - April 3 Message-ID: Lesson 93 - April 3 "Light and joy and peace abide in me." PRACTICE SUMMARY Purpose: To go past your belief that you are sinful and evil, and to experience the sinless Self that God created as you. Longer: every hour on the hour, for 5 minutes * Repeat, "Light and joy and peace abide in me. My sinlessness is guaranteed by God." I find it helpful to pause briefly after each quality ("Light...and joy...and peace...") so that I can appreciate each one separately. * The remainder is a brief meditation, in which you try to reach past the false self that you made, which includes your whole sense of self and all your self-images. Reach deep within to the Self that God created as you, which is filled with light and joy and peace. Try to experience Its unity, and to appreciate Its holiness and Love. "Let It come into Its Own" (9:6). Remember to hold an attitude of confidence, desire, and determination, and to dispel distracting thoughts by repeating the idea. Alternate: on the hour, for at least 1 minute Try to do the hourly five minutes whenever you can. When you are unable or unwilling, at least do the alternate: * Say, "Light and joy and peace abide in me. My sinlessness is guaranteed by God." * Close your eyes and try to realize this is the truth about you. Response to temptation: whenever a situation or person tempts you to be upset 1. If a situation disturbs you, quickly say: "Light and joy and peace abide in me. My sinlessness is guaranteed by God." 2. If a person seems to anger you, tell him silently, "Light and joy and peace abide in you. Your sinlessness is guaranteed by God." Encouragement to practice: Today is the beginning of a bank of lessons in which you are asked to practice five minutes every waking hour. To help you rise to this challenge, these lessons contain a huge amount of encouragement to practice. You can see that encouragement in the final sentences of this lesson, which tell you that by doing today's practice you can aid the world's salvation, bring closer your own part in that salvation, and gain conviction that light and joy and peace really do abide in you. COMMENTARY The lead thought is very positive, reflecting the truth about me; but the first paragraph of the body of the lesson is quite dark, reflecting what the ego has taught me about myself, and taught very well. I think I am "the home of evil, darkness and sin" (1:1). To be sure, not many of us think this about ourselves, and when such thoughts occur we quickly banish them. But the way I respond to myself betrays that this is, indeed, how I think about myself. Why else am I so protective of my "private thoughts," for instance? Why am I apprehensive about self-examination and about looking at my inner motivations? Why am I afraid to leave the body and appear before God, when that possibility crosses my mind? I have deep-seated doubts about my own goodness and worth. Suppose I were to meet someone who could read my mind and know my every thought. Would I feel comfortable around such a person? Suppose everyone I meet could read my every thought. Imagine I had to wear a helmet with a video screen above my forehead that pictured my every thought for anyone to look at. How would I feel? I have no doubt that I would feel very, very uncomfortable and perhaps terrified, because there are many thoughts that cross my mind all the time that I would not care to have written on the wall for everyone to see. Even when I am reasonably confident of the harmlessness of my intentions, there are always sub-currents to my motivation that even I despise. My most benevolent acts are sometimes laced with a certain resentfulness or sense of sacrifice, and mixed with ulterior motives. Sometimes I am quite conscious of not trusting myself in certain situations. Every one of us, in the picture the Course paints, has this basic self-doubt. We secretly suspect, or even consciously believe, that we are not wholly trustworthy and not wholly good and loving. And as the lesson says, it is "difficult" (2:1) to dislodge these beliefs about ourselves, yet that is what the Course is all about--removing those blocks to the awareness of love's presence, which is our natural inheritance (T-Int.1:7) The truth is that, in my innermost Self, I wholly loving and wholly loveable (T-1.III.2:3,4). Light and joy and peace abide in me; I am their home, and they remain with me forever as a creation of God. To begin to question my entrenched negative beliefs about myself (which is one way of defining what the Course calls "guilt"), and to begin to see myself as God created me, I need "a very different reference point" (3:1). I need to attain to a different state of mind. That is what the Holy Spirit does for me; that is what happens in the holy instant. The truth about me is "that all the evil that you think you did was never done, that all your sins are nothing, that you are as pure and holy as you were created, and that light and joy and peace abide in you" (4:1). We resist this message tenaciously, although it is wholly illogical to do so; Spock we're not. Our minds automatically raise up counter-arguments to disprove our own innocence. Or we simply dismiss it as absurd, as "pollyanna," without even seriously considering it. Why? Because we think that to admit the truth of our innocence is death. We are so identified with this guilty self-image that to threaten it is to threaten our very existence, or so it seems. "But it is life" (4:3), not death. When the Spirit presents us with a picture of our innocence it terrifies us because it turns our whole world upside down and uproots our every frame of reference, all based on judgments we have made. It is frightening to think that we have been so totally mistaken about ourselves, even when the mistake has been to condemn ourselves and the unfamiliar truth is our own guiltlessness. One method this lesson uses, very evidently, to help uproot the old, guilty self-image is just to repeat, over and over and over, "Your sinlessness is guaranteed by God." It repeats this seven times in the lesson. Frequent repetition is an excellent way to reprogram the mind, so we are asked to spend five minutes every hour, if we can, repeating these ideas and thinking about them, realizing that they are the truth about ourselves. "Light and joy and peace abide in me. My sinlessness is guaranteed by God." When it says this, the lesson does not mean that God guarantees to take us as poor, sinful creatures and us sinless. That isn't necessary because we were sinless to begin with and retain that quality. I have never sinned; that is what the lesson is telling me. Oh, I I have (and so do people who know me!), I believe I have, I am utterly convinced that I have, but I have never sinned. Mistakes, yes, but not sins, because there is no such thing. "To sin would be to violate reality, and to succeed" (T-19.II.2:2), and that simply is not possible. "The Son of God can be mistaken; he can deceive himself; he can even turn the power of his mind against himself. But he sin. There is nothing he can do that would really change his reality in any way, nor make him really guilty" (T-19.II.3:1-3). My sinlessness is guaranteed because I cannot sin; that's simple logic. If something is impossible for me to do, it is a pretty sure bet that I won't do it and never have done it. The exercises today are attempts to experience this One Self, this reality as God created it. It takes letting the other "self" go. Opening to the immensity of love that is within us, floating in It, being surrounded by It, embraced by It. And then the most amazing thought: "Here you are; This is You" (9:7). is You! This Love, this vastness, this infinite compassion--This is You! If you can, think of the most direct and dramatic experience you have ever had of God's presence, or of the presence of love, and tell yourself, "That which I experienced in that moment, That is Me. That is what I am." From sue at circleofa.org Fri Apr 3 06:07:25 2009 From: sue at circleofa.org (Sue Roth) Date: Fri, 3 Apr 2009 06:07:25 -0400 Subject: [acimlessons_list] Lesson 94 - April 4 Message-ID: Lesson 94 - April 4 "I am as God created me." PRACTICE SUMMARY Purpose: "to feel the truth in you" (3:1); to experience your true Self. Longer: every hour on the hour, for 5 minutes * Say, "I am as God created me. I am His Son eternally." * The remainder is again a brief meditation, in a slightly new format. First, lay aside your self-images.."the list of attributes, both good and bad, you have ascribed to yourself" (4:1). Then "wait in silent expectancy" (4:1) for your true Self to be revealed to you. Wait confidently, knowing that God has promised you this revelation. This waiting means holding your mind in stillness, empty of specifics yet filled with the expectancy that Who you really are will dawn on you. When your mind wanders, repeat the idea to return your mind to this expectant waiting. This appears to me to be the first example of what I call Open Mind meditation, which will become the Workbook's crowning method of meditation. In this technique, you consciously set aside your normal thoughts and beliefs, and then hold your mind in stillness, waiting for the truth to dawn on you. For examples, see the introduction to Review V, paragraph 12, and Lesson 189, paragraph 7. Alternate: on the hour If you do not do the five minutes on the hour, at least repeat, "I am as God created me. I am His Son eternally." This practice of spending a minute or so with the idea, if you can't do the full five minutes, will apply to all the five-minute-per-hour lessons. Frequent reminders: frequently Repeat the idea, in original or expanded form. Response to temptation: whenever someone seems to irritate you Be certain to respond with, "You are as God created you. You are His Son eternally." Encouragement to practice: You are urged to "make every effort to do the hourly exercises today" (5:8). "Each one you do," you are promised, "will be a giant stride toward your release" (5:9). If you let that line sink in, you will find that it is a tremendous motivator to practice. That line also means that this lesson is another of the Workbook's giant strides (the first ones were 61 and 66). This is appropriate because "I am as God created me" is the Workbook's premier lesson. It is repeated in 110, 162, and all through the twenty-day Review VI. COMMENTARY This lesson continues with the thought introduced yesterday: "Salvation requires the acceptance of but one thought;--you are as God created you, not what you made of yourself" (W-pI.93.7:1). The Course places a significant emphasis on this single idea. It is the only idea used as the main theme of more than one lesson; it is the lead thought of this lesson, Lesson 110, and Lesson 162. It was introduced in the Text (31.VIII.5:2). It is a sub-theme in Lessons 132 and 139, and Review VI has us repeating every day for , "I am not a body. I am free. For I am still as God created me." You sort of get the feeling that Jesus wants us to get this idea and get it good. Read over the first paragraph of this lesson and you will see just how important this idea is in the Course's curriculum: it is called "the one idea which brings complete salvation" (1:1). So. Why is this single, simple idea so very important? Just this. Our entire "problem" lies in our belief that, even if God created me whole and complete, somehow I have screwed that up. Somehow I have lost it, blown it, destroyed it, or corrupted myself. "I am as God created me" asserts that none of this is true. God created me whole, and "I am as God created me." I am still whole. I am still holy. I am still sinless and guiltless. To think that we can change what God created and corrupt it is the height of arrogance; it asserts that our power is greater than God's, that we can un-create what He created. If God created us wholly loving and wholly loveable, then we are still that, no matter what we think, no matter what we may believe we have done. We are not what we made of ourselves; we are still what God created. "If you remain as God created you, you must be strong and light must be in you" (2:2). So we "stand in light, strong in the sinlessness in which [we] were created" (2:6). That is the truth about us, and the Course is all about undoing any belief we may have that contradicts it and denies the truth. Today's practice, once again, asks for "the first five minutes of each waking hour" (3:1) as times in which we attempt to feel the truth in ourselves, and to reach the Son of God in ourselves. This practice of five minutes each hour, begun yesterday, is going to continue in another sixteen lessons through Lesson 110, so get used to it. This is probably the most intense extended practice the Workbook demands; after Lesson 110 it settles down to a morning and evening period with shorter hourly remembrances. As you will see, nearly all of these 18 lessons from 93 to 110 are variations on the theme of reaching the Christ within, the true Self, me as God created me. Realize how important this is, and make a real effort to do the hourly practices, rearranging your day as necessary if you can. Remember, though, that yesterday's lesson told us that we may not want, or even be able, to do this, and if our motivation is not so high, it suggested that we at least spend per hour reviewing the idea for the day. Recognize also that the Workbook would hardly include eighteen lessons on the same basic theme and format if it expected you to "get it" perfectly in the first one. Getting in touch with our One Self takes practice, and that is what the lessons are for. The Text refers to the benefits of practicing "the mechanics of the holy instant" (T-15.II.5:4) even when we don't actually "feel the truth in you" (3:1) every time; practicing the mechanics, going through the motions as it were, is what brings the reality of the holy instant closer every time we do it. It asserts our willingness to receive the grace God wants to give us; it breaks down our resistance, which is the only thing keeping the One Self from our awareness. The closing words of the lesson emphasize the importance of this practice: "Make every effort to do the hourly exercises today. Each one you do will be a giant stride toward your release, and a milestone in learning the thought system which this course sets forth." So join me in a serious attempt to do as these lessons tell us to do. Remember the admonitions of the Introduction to the Workbook: "It is doing the exercises that will make the goal of the course possible." "You are merely asked to apply the ideas as you are directed to do. You are not asked to judge them at all. You are asked only to use them. It is their use that will give them meaning to you, and will show you that they are true." "Do not allow yourself to make exceptions in applying the ideas the workbook contains, and whatever your reactions to the ideas may be, use them. Nothing more than that is required." From sue at circleofa.org Sat Apr 4 10:09:44 2009 From: sue at circleofa.org (Sue Roth) Date: Sat, 4 Apr 2009 10:09:44 -0400 Subject: [acimlessons_list] Lesson 95 - April 5 Message-ID: LESSON 95 - April 5 "I am one Self, united with my Creator." PRACTICE SUMMARY Purpose: To attempt again to reach your one Self. "In patience and in hope we try again today" (3:3). Longer: every hour on the hour, for 5 minutes (if you cannot do this, at least do the alternate) * Say with all the certainty you can give, "I am one Self, united with my Creator, at one with every aspect of creation, and limitless in power and in peace." You'll probably need to keep your eyes open in order to read the line. * Close your eyes and repeat, "I am one Self." Say this several times, "slowly and thoughtfully, attempting to allow the meaning of the words to sink into your mind" (11:3). Saying it in this way will allow it to have a much greater effect on you. * The remainder is a meditation in which you try to reach your one Self, which is perfectly united within Itself, perfectly joined with all your brothers, and perfectly at one with God. "Feel this one Self in you, and let It shine away all your illusions and your doubts" (13:3). Draw upon all the training you've received in Workbook meditation. Frequent reminders: as frequently as possible There are two forms of this frequent practice: 1. Repeat the idea. Realize that every time you do, healing enters someone's mind out there. 2. Say silently to everyone you meet, "You are one Self with me, united with our Creator in this Self. I honor you because of What I am, and What He is, Who loves us both as one." Applying the idea to everyone you meet is an important practice, which you have previously done in Lessons 37, 43, and 78. Encouragement to practice: Here on our third day of the five minutes per hour practice, we are given an extended explanation as to why this practice schedule is so important right now. First, you need shorter practice periods. Otherwise, your mind will wander all over the place, which you probably noticed in those 10-15 minute practice periods. Second, you need frequent practice periods. When there were only two longer practice periods a day, you probably tended to forget the shorter ones (frequent reminders and response to temptation). With the longer ones now being more frequent, you will be more likely to remember the shorter ones. Third, you need regular practice periods. Having them scheduled at these fixed, regular intervals will make you more likely to practice, given how resistant you are to practicing. For all these reasons, he urges you to omit as few of these as possible. The key to carrying this out is how you respond when you've missed one. Missing a practice period is simply a mistake, that's all. The way to respond to this mistake is to correct it-which means to get back to your practicing. The danger, however, is that you'll regard this mistake as a real sin. This takes the form of you deciding that you've so hopelessly screwed up that you might as well give up for the day. Sound familiar? This is a subtle ploy of the ego. It is terrified of what your practice will bring: the realization of your Self. Its fear is what caused you to miss that practice period in the first place. Now it has convinced you that since you missed once, you should keep on missing more. It has successfully nullified the threat of your practice by convincing you not to practice. The solution is to regard your initial missed practice period as a mere mistake and forgive yourself for it. It was no big deal, just a moment of weakness. Seeing it as a moment of weakness deprives it of power. Now it no longer has the power to dictate everything that comes after it, to make your day over in its likeness. Now you simply correct it; you just get back to your practice. This, by the way, is the Workbook's consistent counsel on how to deal with missed practice periods. Do your utmost to implement this counsel, starting today. "Do not forget today" (you are told this twice, in 14:1 and 14:6). Heaven needs the healing thoughts you will send out to the world with today's practice. It is confident you will try today, so you can be confident, too. COMMENTARY This lesson is one of my favorites, because it acknowledges both my reality and the lowly image I have made of myself. It affirms my greatness without denying my illusion of weakness. It holds up the exalted picture of my "one Self," "at one with every aspect of creation, and limitless in power and in peace" (11:2). But it does so in the context of speaking about my "lapses in diligence" (8:3) and my "failures to follow the instructions for practicing" (8:3). It makes me realize that, somehow, this lofty vision of my Self is incompatible with my stumbling, bumbling attempts to follow this course. It lets me know that my mistakes do not negate the truth about me. If anyone doubts that what I said yesterday about the overall intent of these next sixteen lessons--to reach inward to an experience of our one Self--and the importance the Workbook attaches to disciplined practice as a means of attaining that experience, let him or her simply read this lesson several times. You can't miss the message, and I can't say it more clearly than the lesson says it. "Structure, then, is necessary for you at this time" (6:1). "Do not forget today...try today...Be vigilant. Do not forget today. Throughout the day do not forget your goal" (paragraph 14). The lesson seems to be talking about two such disparate things. On the one hand, myself as God created me, my perfect unity. On the other hand, the emphasis on regimented, very specific, structured practice, every hour on the hour for five minutes. If I am perfect, why do I need all this discipline? Why not just affirm the truth about myself and be done with it? We need the practice just because we do not believe the truth about ourselves. We have all these hidden warriors in our minds, the subtle and deceitful manipulators of consciousness planted by the ego that keep us from full awareness. Beware of telling yourself you aren't doing the disciplined practice because you don't need it. Show me you don't need it by doing it, and maybe I'll believe you. You don't just sit down at a piano and play Tschaikovsky's Piano Concerto Number 1 right off the bat; you start with scales. Scales aren't great music but they are the necessary way to it. Just so, "Regularity in terms of time [playing scales] is not the ideal requirement for the most beneficial form of practice in salvation [the concerto]. It is advantageous, however, for those whose motivation is inconsistent, and who remain heavily defended against learning" (6:2,3). That's me; I don't know about you, but that's me. The beauty of this kind of repetitive practice is that it discloses all the tricks of the ego that keep us from God. Just do it, like Nike says, and you'll begin to realize how many resistant strains of anti-spiritual virus exist in the maze of your mind, how many ways you have invented to keep you away from knowing your Self. That is one of the primary purposes of the practice: "You have seen the extent of your lack of mental discipline, and of your need for mind training. It is necessary that you be aware of this" (4:4,5). We have to be aware of our need before we can recognize the solution that has already been given us. We have to discover the "self divided into many warring parts" (2:2) before we can acknowledge the "perfect unity" (1:4) of our reality. So this practice will uncover our need, and expose the ego; that's good, that's what it is supposed to do. But that isn't all. Yes, part of the intent is that we learn to forgive ourselves for failures. But the purpose is NOT to fail and then forgive. The purpose is to fail, forgive, and then DO IT. To say to yourself, "Oh, of course I didn't do the practice today; I'm supposed to fail," is just another way to refuse to let your mistake be corrected. It is unwillingness to try again. "To allow a mistake to continue is to make additional mistakes, based on the first and reinforcing it. It is this process that must be laid aside, for it is but another way in which you would defend illusions against the truth" (9:3-5). In other words, accepting failure is not the goal--it is what has to be laid aside. "They are attempts to keep you unaware you are one Self" (10:2) One Self, with one purpose: "To bring awareness of this oneness to all minds, that true creation may extend the Allness and the Unity of God" (12:2). Let me give myself to this process, knowing my true purpose, recognizing I am in training to awaken mankind along with me. Let me take these minutes out of each hour to become aware of Who I am. "It is given you to feel this Self within you" (13:5). I want that, today, Father. I want to let go of my shabby illusions and feel the extent and power of my true Self, given me by You. I want to forget my belief in my littleness, even if only for a few seconds each hour, and to continually bring myself these reminders (since I am so quick to forget) until the awareness dawns in permanence on my mind, never again to be forgotten. So be it. From sue at circleofa.org Sun Apr 5 09:34:35 2009 From: sue at circleofa.org (Sue Roth) Date: Sun, 5 Apr 2009 09:34:35 -0400 Subject: [acimlessons_list] Lesson 96 - April 6 Message-ID: Lesson 96 - April 6 "Salvation comes from my one Self." PRACTICE SUMMARY Purpose: to find the thought of salvation deep within your mind, and let it restore your mind to its true function of blessing all minds. Longer: every hour on the hour, for 5 minutes (if you cannot do this, at least do the alternate) * Say, "Salvation comes from my one Self. Its thoughts are mine to use." * The remainder seems to be a combination of meditation (in which you try to contact your real thoughts, as in Lesson 45) and listening to the Holy Spirit (in which you listen for spiritual teaching, as in Lesson 76). Search deep within your mind for the presence of the Holy Spirit. He is there to speak to you your true thoughts, the thoughts of your true Self; in particular, the thought of salvation. If you succeed, thoughts will come to you telling you that you are saved and you can save. These thoughts are more than just information; they will fill your mind with strength, enabling it to bless all minds. Remember the training you've received both in meditation and in listening to the Holy Spirit: Hold your mind in a state of quiet attentiveness, listen in confidence, and draw your mind back from wandering when necessary. Frequent reminders: as often as possible Repeat the idea. While you do, imagine that you are laying another treasure in your treasure house, a treasure you can claim anytime you want. If you will, go ahead and repeat the idea in this fashion now. Encouragement to practice: You may feel uncertain of success today, but your Self knows you cannot fail. Your practice will bring joy to It, and It will save this joy for you, storing it in your treasure house until you are ready to take it out and experience it. COMMENTARY "Although you are one Self, you experience yourself as two" (1:1). Experiencing ourselves as divided is a universal experience. Even the very practice of these lessons makes it evident to us: on the one hand, we want to do the practice because we want to go to God, we want enlightenment; on the other hand, when the hour comes and it is time to take our five minutes, something in us resists doing it. It seems as if there are two selves in us, one "good" and the other "bad," one wanting the light and the other holding on to the darkness. Most of my life I lived with this, believing my experience was the truth. Something in me, however, told me it was not so. How could I be two selves? How could I have two natures, as my Christian background taught me (flesh and spirit). It didn't make sense. The nature of something, of anything, is always one. The Course explains that one, spirit, is real; the other, the separated self that experiences being a body, is unreal, nothing more than a figment of my imagination. I am not divided, and all evidence to the contrary is a trick of the mind, a self-deception. Based on the illusion of being split into opposites, the mind has "sought many...solutions" (1:3). It has been duped into believing in the reality of this split, and the reality of physical being. Therefore it occupies itself endlessly trying to make things work, and they never do. The mind becomes the servant of the body, trying to devise ways to make the body comfortable, to pleasure it, to make it last forever, to keep it safe from harm. In doing this, the mind has lost its true function. Our one Self is spirit. In its preoccupation with the body the mind has, for the most part, lost sight of spirit. It needs to regain its true function of serving spirit: "Spirit makes use of mind as means to find Its Self expression" (4:1). This is what bring us peace and fills the mind with joy, while serving the body brings it nothing but conflict and pain. The thoughts of spirit seek expression through our minds; that is what minds are for. The Holy Spirit is an agent of divine Help, bringing the mind back to its true function of serving spirit. He is the representative of spirit, of our Self, to our minds, constantly calling us to set aside this futile scrabbling for salvation in the realm of the physical and to open our minds to spirit. "If you are spirit, then the body must be meaningless to your reality" (3:7). Because we have dissociated our minds from their true function, we think we are alone and separate. We need a Helper Who reminds us of our true connection to spirit. Our spirit--our Self--"retains Its thoughts, and they remain within your mind and in the Mind of God" (7:1). We remain, in spirit, as God created us. So we are not trying to change what our minds are, but rather change the purpose they serve. We are seeking, in these exercises, to reconnect to spirit, to set aside for five minutes the thoroughly distracting problems of the physical beings we think we are, and to open ourselves to these thoughts of spirit, to allow our minds to find their function as channels for spirit. "Restored in strength, it [the mind] will again flow out from spirit to the spirit in all things created by the Spirit as Itself. Your mind will bless all things" (10:3,4). That is our function; that is what we were created for. "The extension of God's Being is spirit's only function" (T-7.IX.3:1). So I am rediscovering myself as an extender of God's Being. God is Love and so I love. God creates, so I create, which here on earth is expressed as healing, as restoring creation to its natural state. This "Self" that the Course is talking about is not something apart from me; it me. Talking about seeking the thoughts of my one Self almost makes it seem as if the Self is this separate Being I am seeking to communicate with. But the Self is me. "Here you are; This is You," as it said in Lesson 93.9:7. We are bringing the mind into contact with our spirit, but it is already me; the light is already in me, the thoughts I am "seeking" are my own thoughts I have dissociated right out of my mental awareness. What we are asked to practice here is not described in great detail. You may be asking yourself, "What is it we are waiting for as we sit for five minutes?" And I can't tell you; no one can. You will know when you find it. The lesson recognizes that we may not "connect" today; it uses words like " you succeed" (10:1) and "Perhaps your mind remains uncertain for a while" (11:2) It tells us not to be "dismayed" (11:3) if this is so. Relax with it, be patient. Do the exercises anyway. Every time you do your Self rejoices, even if that joy does not penetrate yet into your conscious mind, and it saves the joy, ready to bring it to you in full awareness when you do "succeed" and become certain of your one Self. From sue at circleofa.org Mon Apr 6 05:54:01 2009 From: sue at circleofa.org (Sue Roth) Date: Mon, 6 Apr 2009 05:54:01 -0400 Subject: [acimlessons_list] Lesson 97 - April 7 Message-ID: Lesson 97 - April 7 "I am spirit." PRACTICE SUMMARY Purpose: To bring reality still closer to your mind. To bring your mind out of the conflict of a split identity into the peace of identifying with your one Self. Longer: every hour on the hour, for 5 minutes (if you cannot do this, at least do the alternate) * Give the practice period happily to the Holy Spirit. Begin by saying, "Spirit am I, a holy Son of God, free of all limits, safe and healed and whole, free to forgive, and free to save the world." * The remainder appears to be the same practice as yesterday, a combination of meditation and listening to the Holy Spirit. Sink to the deep place in your mind where the Holy Spirit dwells. If you reach this place, "He will speak to you, reminding you that you are spirit" (8:2). He will help you understand Who you really are. Keep in mind that He will be using your practice period to carry healing around the world. The deeper you go, the more healing He can distribute. Frequent reminders: as often as you can Say, "Spirit am I, a holy Son of God, free of all limits, safe and healed and whole, free to forgive, and free to save the world." Then take a moment and listen for the Holy Spirit's assurance that these words are true. Response to temptation: whenever you are tempted to yield to the belief that you are not spirit Repeat, "Spirit am I, a holy Son of God, free of all limits, safe and healed and whole, free to forgive, and free to save the world." Encouragement to practice: Every time you practice your mind comes closer to reality. This lesson makes the amazing claim that in some practice periods you save a thousand years. This is because the Holy Spirit takes the healing thoughts you generate in your exercises and carries them around the world, laying them in every mind that is open to the healing they bring. Each mind that accepts them reinforces them, so that through this process, these thoughts become multiplied in power millions of times. The result is that, when the Holy Spirit gives them back to you, your five minutes can indeed become a thousand years. This is obviously a huge incentive to practice, for you can not only immensely speed your own journey, but you can also bring healing to people across the world. COMMENTARY The one Self the Course speaks of is spirit. To affirm, "I am spirit," is to let go of all illusions of a split identity, of a good and bad self, and of all attempts we might make to somehow reconcile the ego self that is bound to a body with the spiritual self that is unlimited by a body. The "non-dualism" of the Course is not of the nature that says, "Everything is one because all apparent opposites are really opposite poles of a unity." It does not achieve a concept of unity by somehow uniting the opposites, teaching, for example, that evil and pain are somehow all part of the One. Instead, the Course affirms unity by declaring that all that seems to be opposed to holiness and love is nothing more than illusion and does not exist. "That which is all-encompassing can have no opposite," declares the Text Introduction. We are being asked to "know your Self as love which has no opposite in you" (W-pI.99.9:8). "Love can have no opposite" (W-pII.259.2:2). The Course makes great use of repetition; apparently it firmly believes that repeating the same idea over and over can have great benefits. We are told to "Practice this truth as often as you can today" (1:4). Why the emphasis on repetition? Because: "Each time you practice, awareness is brought a little nearer at least" (3:2). You may not achieve astounding breakthroughs; if you are like most people, probably most of the time you won't. But every now and then, "sometimes a thousand years or more are saved" (3:2). For those who think the Course teaches an instant salvation, I'd just like to point out something about that last line. If we can save a thousand years sometimes as we practice, what does that imply about the length of time the whole journey might take? If we are chopping 1000-year segments out of it, how long is the whole thing? It has to be 1000 years and a day, right? I don't mean to be depressing about this; the Course presents itself as a means of saving time, and clearly teaches that any of us could wake up at any moment we choose to do so. But the implication is pretty clear that it can take thousands of years to get us to the point of willingness to wake up. So we should not be expecting overnight enlightenment; neither should we be expecting it. The attitude towards time that is encouraged by the Course is unconcern about it, since it is ultimately part of the illusion. "Atonement might be equated with a total escape from the past and total lack of interest in the future" (M-24.6;3). When we make our little effort of five minutes for God, the Holy Spirit joins all of His strength with us (4:3). He takes the little we give and carries it around the world to every open mind. The gifts we give to Him are multiplied by Him ten million times (a thousandfold and tens of thousands more, 6:1). Take that literally or as a figure of speech, it doesn't matter, the meaning is the same; what we give to Him is multiplied and spread to millions of minds because all minds are joined. When I practice, I am not practicing for myself alone; my awakening mind stirs every mind. When you sit quietly for five minutes, you are saving the world. For each little bit we give, we receive it back multiplied ten million times; "it will surpass in might the little gift you gave as much as does the radiance of the sun outshine the tiny gleam a firefly makes" (6:2). Does this sort of practice matter? You bet it does! When I remember what this lesson says, my time spent remembering, "Spirit am I, a holy Son of God," seems so much more meaningful and important. It isn't just little me struggling to do my meager practice; it is the Son of God remembering Himself. It is the awakening of the Christ in all mankind. From sue at circleofa.org Tue Apr 7 05:43:50 2009 From: sue at circleofa.org (Sue Roth) Date: Tue, 7 Apr 2009 05:43:50 -0400 Subject: [acimlessons_list] Lesson 98 - April 8 Message-ID: Lesson 98 - April 8 "I will accept my part in God's plan for salvation." PRACTICE SUMMARY Purpose: to firmly and happily dedicate yourself to taking your part in God's plan for salvation; to really take a stand on this today. Longer: every hour on the hour, for 5 minutes (if you cannot do this, at least do the alternate) This practice strikes me as similar to the practice you did in Lesson 77. There, you repeated "I am entitled to miracles" and then waited for the Holy Spirit to give His assurance that these words are true. Here, in this lesson, you repeat "I will accept my part in God's plan for salvation" and then expect the Holy Spirit to infuse your words with His certainty, so that you really do accept your part. Throughout the practice period, keep repeating the idea, and let Him make every repetition a total dedication, made with deep conviction, sincerity, certainty, and full understanding. Let Him turn a mere repeating of "I will accept my part in God's plan for salvation" into an actual accepting of your part. That is your goal for today, to use these practice periods to take a stand, to use them to accept your part in God's plan. Frequent reminders: often Repeat the idea. Try to think of each hour as preparation time for your next five-minute practice period. "Repeat [the idea] often, and do not forget each time you do so, you have let your mind be readied for the happy time to come" (10:3). Encouragement to practice: Paragraphs 5 and 6 are a rousing pep talk. They ask the question: Is it not worth five minutes an hour to receive a limitless reward? I recommend reading these paragraphs over slowly and thoughtfully, letting their questions and promises do their intended work in you. Paragraphs 2 through 4 also contain wonderful encouragement. They tell us that by embracing our part in God's plan-which is the point of today's practice-we can lay aside all our doubts and find true certainty of purpose. They tell us that those who have done that will be with us in our practice, helping us to take the same stand they did. And they tell us that our stand will help others in taking theirs, which will in turn reinforce ours (as we were told in yesterday's lesson). COMMENTARY "Today is a day of special dedication. We take a stand on but one side today. We side with truth and let illusions go. We will not vacillate between the two, but take a firm position with the One..." (1:1-3). "How happy to be certain! All our doubts we lay aside today, and take our stand with certainty of purpose, and with thanks that doubt is gone and surety has come" (2:1-2). Perhaps as I read these lines about certainty, I find myself doubting that very certainty. "Am I certain?" The thought surely arises. Perhaps I feel as if I don't belong with this lesson. My ego reminds me slyly that I am not beyond vacillation. How can I say, "Doubt is gone?" Yet even in the words of the lesson is the recognition of my condition: "All our doubts we lay aside today" (2:2). Yes, doubts are there. Of course they are. Jesus knows that. He is only suggesting that in these five minutes we spend with him, we lay them aside. Just put them down and be without them for a few minutes. See what it is like. You can doubt later if you want; for now, see how happy it is to be certain. Within me there is a place that is always certain. It has never doubted. It cannot doubt because it knows. This is my true Self. The doubts are thoughts that question the reality of that Self, the reality of the part of me that is certain, which is the only real part. I am brought by this lesson to question my questioning. I am brought to listen to the certainty, the eternal silence of spirit which knows. When I am willing, even for a moment, to lay aside my doubts, to still the nattering mind (the "yama yama" as Werner Erhard called it), I encounter a still sureness. It is not a certainty of ideas and words; it is an assurance of being, a majestic calm. The stillness is beyond space and time. It has nothing to do with the drama played on this planet. It is of this we speak today. It is of those who know to touch this eternal calm of which the lesson says, "They rest in quiet certainty that they will do what is given them to do. They do not doubt their ability because they know their function will be filled completely in the perfect time and place" (3:3-4). I take my stand with those who, before me, have come to this place. It is the same place for all of us. It is the same Self we come to know. And I know, in that holy instant, that if one has been here before me, all will come to find it. If one has been here--and I know that many have been here--all will be here, for one could not come unless it were the reality for all. The nature of this place, this quiet certainty, is a shared nature. It could not be here for me if it were not here for you as well. It could not have been there for Jesus if it is not also here for me. "They will be with us; all who took the stand we take today will gladly offer us all that they learned and every gain they made. Those still uncertain, too, will join with us, and, borrowing our certainty, will make it stronger still. While those as yet unborn will hear the call we heard, and answer it when they have come to make their choice again. We do not choose but for ourselves today" (4:1-4). In the center of the storm of doubts and uncertainty there is an eye of calm. The storm rages on. We still can perceive it. Yet here, here, we are calm. We are quiet. We rest. Of course you have doubts and uncertainty. That is what you are supposed to notice as you do this lesson! Just for the moment, be willing to have them disappear. There is One within you who is always certain, and He is you; you have forgotten that. Let yourself, however briefly, identify with His certainty, and let go of your identification with the doubts. Make that choice; this is all that is asked. "He will give the words you use in practicing today's idea the deep conviction and the certainty you lack. His words will join with yours, and make each repetition of today's idea a total dedication, made in faith as perfect and as sure as His in you. His confidence in you will bring the light to all the words you say, and you will go beyond their sound to what they really mean" (7:2-4). "Give Him the words, and He will do the rest" (9:1). Give Him the words, and He will do the rest! He is simply asking you to say your faltering "Yes." You are not being asked to turn your doubt into faith. He will do that. "My part in God's plan" is very simple: acceptance. My part is not an active role, but passive. It is to be willing to receive, and that is all. My part is to say, "OK. Yes. I will accept." Give Him those words; that is all. He will respond with all His faith and joy and certainty that what you say is true. Over and over through the day, over and over throughout life, give Him those words: "I will accept my part. Yes." This is surrender. This is all we do. There is nothing else to do. So simple. So difficult to be so simple. So difficult to stop trying to make it on our own. Let go, and let God. "Yes, God. Yes, Holy Spirit. I accept my part." Tell Him once more that you accept the part that he would have you take and help you fill, and He will make sure you want this choice, which He has made with you and you with Him. Perhaps I'm not sure I want it. But He will make sure I want it. Come to Him just as you are, with all your doubts, all your fears. Just come. Just say, "Yes. I accept." ------------------------------------ (Just a note of interest: If you can recognize iambic pentameter, you'll be able to detect that after the title and first line, most (but not quite all) of today's lesson is written in that meter. Tomorrow's lesson begins the first full lesson in I.P., and the entire rest of the Workbook follows suit.) From sue at circleofa.org Wed Apr 8 06:01:52 2009 From: sue at circleofa.org (Sue Roth) Date: Wed, 8 Apr 2009 06:01:52 -0400 Subject: [acimlessons_list] Lesson 99 - April 9 Message-ID: Lesson 99 - April 9 "Salvation is my only function here." PRACTICE SUMMARY Purpose: to fulfill your only function by letting your dark thoughts be brought out of hiding to meet with the light of God's Thought, so that your darkness is replaced by His light. Longer: every hour on the hour, for 5 minutes (if you cannot do this, at least do the alternate) * Say, "Salvation is my only function here. Salvation and forgiveness are the same." * Then invite the Holy Spirit into your mind and ask Him to search out the dark and secret places in your mind-thoughts, beliefs, and goals that you wish to keep hidden, either from yourself or from others. When one comes to light, repeat the Thought, "God still is Love, and this is not His will." Let the light in this Thought shine away your darkened thought; let it bring you to a forgiveness of that thought. Thus will that darkened place be filled with light. Then begin the process again: Let the Holy Spirit's light search out another dark, hidden thought. Then again repeat, "God still is Love, and this is not His will," and let this Thought forgive and shine away the darkness, replacing it with light. While going through this process, occasionally reflect on the meaning of "God still is Love, and this is not His Will." It means that this world of pain is not His Will. It means that God wills that you are His Son, at one with Him. Frequent reminders: in between hourly practice periods Repeat the idea, realizing that by doing so you invite forgiveness to replace your fears and invite love into your mind, which will reveal to you that you are God's Son. Response to temptation: whenever some appearance tempts you to be give in to fear and doubt Say, "Salvation is my only function here. God still is Love, and this is not His Will." Realize that this special message "has the power to remove all forms of doubt and fear....Remember that appearances can not withstand the truth these mighty words contain" (11:1-2). COMMENTARY Today we will just comment on a few ideas from this lesson. "Unshaken does the Holy Spirit look on what you see: on sin and pain and death, on grief and separation and on loss. Yet does He know one thing must still be true: God is still Love, and this is not His Will" (5:4-5). We see sin and pain and death. We see grief and separation and loss. We think these things are real. What is worse, we believe them to be God's Will. If we attribute this world and its creation to God, these things must be, by implication, God's Will. He created them. If we believe He created the world we must believe that, even if the belief is not conscious. At the very least we believe He willingly created the potential for all this suffering and loss, and somehow planned for us to go through it all. Much Christian teaching has been very explicit about this. A loved one dies prematurely. We are overcome with an agony of grief and loss, and some well-intentioned friend tries to comfort us with the thought, "It was God's Will." What comfort is that? What does it do but place the blame for our agony on God? What does it do but make God into a monster, an object of fear or even hatred? Sin, pain, death, grief, separation and loss are not God's Will. They never have been. Such a belief stems from a covert belief that God has it in for us, that He is punishing us for our sins. To hold such a belief we must also hold a belief that we deserve this awful experience. This is the instant of our belief in separation from God being played out on the stage of the world. You and I have thought that God wanted this for us. He wanted us to be in this world of pain. Sometimes we have agreed with what we thought of Him, agreed that we deserved to suffer. Sometimes we have angrily denied we deserved it, and accused Him of being unfair. Often we have simply been bewildered, pitifully wondering what we did to deserve all this; sure we must have done something, but at a loss as to what it might be. Somehow we have never considered this thought: "All the world of pain is not His Will. Forgive yourself the thought He wanted this for you" (7:4-5). The essence of our anguish, the element that lends it exquisite sharpness, is the underlying thought that God wants it for us. What cuts deepest is the hidden belief that God is the source of this pain. He Whom my heart loves, and loves uncontrollably, has willed this for me. It is my Father Who inflicts this pain. We huddle in our suffering and grief, hopeless and lost because we think it is God's Will. "This is not His Will," Jesus tells us. "Forgive yourself the thought He wanted this for you." How could we think this of God? How could we believe He is so vengeful? We do not yet realize, yet will discover it so if we grant ourselves this forgiveness, that it is only this thought about God that grants to pain all its power over us. When grief tears at us, fear grips us, or a deep sense of loss seems to shred our very soul, if we will allow ourselves to turn to the Holy Spirit and hear Him say, "This is not His Will. God does not want this for you," we will find it possible to forgive ourselves for thinking it was so. The moment we do, the vitality of pain is removed. "God does not want this for me. This is not from Him." The pain becomes--something else. It is not God Who wills this pain for us. It is ourselves. We believe God punishes because we believe we deserve punishment. We experience life as pain because we are unconsciously punishing ourselves. We are not talking here of the event we think has caused our pain or fear: the death of the loved one, the apparent loss of love, the physical suffering. We are talking primarily of the mental-emotional context in which we are holding it. This is an internal thing. This anguish, this pain of grief, this terror--this is not His Will for you. We suffer so incredibly because, all unconscious, we accept most of life as a punishment. A chastisement. A penalty for being the awful thing we think we are. Because we believe the bite of pain is His Will, we cannot take it to Him for comfort. He is its Source, we think, so we flee from Him. We deny ourselves the relief of His loving Presence. In that Presence we can find our Self. We can look on our own essence and "look upon no obstacle to what He wills for you" (8:3). "Then turn to Him Who shares your function here, and let Him teach you what you need to learn to lay all fear aside, and know your Self as love which has no opposite in you" (9:8). "Forgive yourself the thought He wanted this for you." Bring your pain to Jesus. Pain is not God's Will for you. The experience you are going through can become a doorway to infinite release if you let down your defenses against God. His Presence can transform your experience of pain into one of joy. It can be a path to knowing your Self as Love. Such seems impossible to us, but then, miracles always seem impossible. Let down the defenses. God is not angry. He does not want this pain for you. Uncoil from your tight fear of Him. Shrink not from His touch. Forgive yourself the thought that He inflicted this on you. Let Him show you your Self as He sees it, and open to His healing Love. From sue at circleofa.org Thu Apr 9 05:56:37 2009 From: sue at circleofa.org (Sue Roth) Date: Thu, 9 Apr 2009 05:56:37 -0400 Subject: [acimlessons_list] Lesson 100 - April 10 Message-ID: Lesson 100 - April 10 "My part is essential to God's plan for salvation." PRACTICE SUMMARY Purpose: to experience the happiness that is God's Will for you; to understand that infecting others with your happiness is how you fulfill your part in the global plan for salvation. Longer: every hour on the hour, for 5 minutes (if you cannot do this, at least do the alternate) * Repeat the idea. "Then realize your part is to be happy" (7:3); not to make noble sacrifices, just to be happy. * The rest is a meditation exercise in which you try to find the joy that God placed in you. Look deep within you. Sink down and inward to find the Christ in you, the source of joy. As you sink, you will pass by all of your "little thoughts and foolish goals" (8:5). Don't let them hold you back. You might even ask yourself, "What little thought has power to hold me back?" Or you might simply remember that your one intent is to reach that inexhaustible well of joy at the center of your being; your one intent is to reach the Christ in you. Seek Him with confidence. "He will be there. And you can reach Him now" (9:1-2). Throughout the exercise, keep looking deep within for that bottomless well of joy. Frequent reminders: in between hourly practice periods Repeat the idea, remembering that by doing so you are answering your Self's call to you. As usual, I recommend repeating it in this fashion now, so you can see the benefits it brings. COMMENTARY God does not have "a plan for my life." He has His plan, and I am a part of it. There are not billions of separate plans for billions of separate individuals. There is the one Will of God, and each of us has an essential part in It. Part of what is being undone by salvation is "the mad belief in separate thoughts and separate bodies, which lead separate lives and go their separate ways" (1.2) Every one of us has the same purpose, the same function, and in that we are united. Part of the healing of my own mind is the recognition that the other person does indeed share the same purpose with me, and in his reality, wants the same thing. If I look at his ego, I see separate interests--and that may be all that he or she is seeing. But when I give up my interpretation and allow the Holy Spirit to interpret for me, I see that the other person's fear, which is manifesting as attack, is really a call for love and is really a witness to the belief in love within their mind. The result of this is that I see the other person does not need to change to be one with me; they already are one with me! I have a hidden ally in their mind. I have their own secret agreement with me on a common goal. (2.1) The part God has "saved for me" in His plan is designed to restore me to happiness, because happiness is His Will for me. There is something in us--the ego, of course!--that tells us it is wrong to want perfect happiness. But if perfect happiness is God's Will, then to think I don't deserve it is to oppose God's Will! For God's Will to be complete, my joy must be complete, for His Will is perfect joy for everyone! If everyone I meet encounters a face shining with joy, they will hear God calling to them in my happy laughter. (2.6) (3.1) I am essential to God's plan; my joy is essential to His plan. So, today, let me choose the joy of God instead of pain. "Without your smile, the world cannot be saved." "All laughter can but echo yours" (3.4). So my job today, and every day, is to be happy. I cannot be happy if I attack, or judge, or blame, or condemn. I cannot be happy unless I accept; unless I forgive as the Course teaches, looking past all the ego's illusions to see the happy truth in everyone: they want love just as I do. (4) We teach through our happiness. We call all minds to let their sorrows go by our "joy on earth." This is plainly speaking about a manifest joy, one visible on our face through a smile and happy laughter. "God's messengers are joyous, and their joy heals sorrow and despair" (4.3). A good affirmation for the day would be, "My joy heals." The part we all have in God's plan is to demonstrate, by our perfect happiness, that God wills perfect happiness for all who will accept it as a gift from Him. (5) Sadness is a choice, a decision to "play another part, instead of what has been assigned to you by God." It is the ego's mad desire to be independent of any power except its own. When I clamp down on my happiness I fail to show the world what God wills for us all, and thus I fail to recognize the happiness that is already, always mine. (6) "Today we (I) will attempt to understand joy is our (my) function here." Nothing has to change to make this possible. I can be perfectly happy right now, because happiness does not depend on anything outside of my mind. Getting upset with anything or anyone does not change it; only happiness heals. Only happiness brings lasting change. (7) We mistakenly think at times that our happiness somehow enables the error and sin of others. If someone is being cruel and I continue to be happy, it seems to condone cruelty. However, to be upset at cruelty does not heal it; it makes it real. It is far more joyous, and far more healing, to see in the cruelty a groundless fear that masks an appeal for help, that shows by its very obscurity that within that person is a longing she or he shares with me; a longing for God, a longing for His gift of happiness. My happiness in the face of cruelty teaches that the grounds for the cruelty do not exist. It does not attack the symptom of cruelty; it undoes cruelty's source. To be happy is not to lose out, to sacrifice, or to die. It is to live forever. (9) It is our little thoughts and foolish goals that hold us back from happiness. Our mind has chosen to make something more important than happiness, and what that means in deep, metaphysical terms, is that we have made something more important than Christ or God. If we look, He is in us. "He will be there;" that thought is repeated twice (9.1, 10.1). The Christ is in me, waiting to be acknowledged as myself. That is the only true source of happiness, and we all have Him already. (10) My job today is to be His messenger, and to "find what He would have you give." To find happiness in myself and give my happiness to others; that is the reason I am here, that is why this day exists for me. I am essential to God's plan for the salvation of the world. Without my smile, the world cannot be saved. From sue at circleofa.org Fri Apr 10 05:55:53 2009 From: sue at circleofa.org (Sue Roth) Date: Fri, 10 Apr 2009 05:55:53 -0400 Subject: [acimlessons_list] Lesson 101 - April 11 Message-ID: Lesson 101 - April 11 "God's Will for me is perfect happiness." PRACTICE SUMMARY Purpose: to learn that your sins are not real, and therefore that joy is what God wills for you, not punishment. To experience that joy and escape the heavy load you have laid on yourself by believing your sins are real. Longer: every hour on the hour, for 5 minutes (if you cannot do this, at least do the alternate) * Say, "God's Will for me is perfect happiness. There is no sin; it has no consequence." * Then do the same kind of meditation that you did yesterday. Look deep within, seeking to find that place where God's Will for you resides, that place where there is only joy, remembering that "joy is just" (6:2), because you never sinned. Remember to focus all of your intent on reaching that well of joy in you, to draw your mind back when it gets caught up in those "little thoughts and foolish goals," and to seek God's Will in you with confidence, knowing that it will set you free from all the pain you've caused yourself. Frequent reminders: as often as you can Repeat, "God's Will for me is perfect happiness. This is the truth, because there is no sin." Encouragement to practice: "You need the practice periods today" (5:1). For they can teach you that your sins were never real. They can bring you to accepting the Atonement. Your feet are already set on the path to freedom, and today's practice can give you wings to speed you along that path, as well as hope that your speed will continue to increase. Therefore, practice happily. "Give these five minutes gladly" (7:1). COMMENTARY When ACIM speaks of "salvation" it means being happy. How starkly this contrasts with the common view of salvation, which seems to mean some painful purgation of our sins. If we are honest with ourselves we will find the idea of "paying for our sins" deeply imbedded in our consciousness, appearing in obvious and not-so-obvious ways. One of the most subtle, but easiest to detect if you are looking for it, is our guilt over being happy. Haven't you ever noticed that? Somehow it just does not feel right or safe to be "too" happy, or to be happy "too much." We have this weird feeling that if we are "overly" happy something really bad will happen to us. The common saying, "This is too good to last," is just one obvious example of the syndrome. Sondra Ray's Loving Relationships Training used to ask the question, "How good can you stand it?" Interesting question. Or, we may feel guilty about being happy when a friend is sad or upset for some reason; we feel obligated to join them in their misery. And the idea that we could be happy the time just seems too ridiculous to consider. We think misery is a natural part of being alive. Maybe we even thought, with Carly Simon, that "Suffering was the only thing made me feel I was alive." (Listen to her song, "I haven't got time for the pain," with ACIM ears. Wow!) We thought we needed it. We never realize that all of these ideas are directly traceable to our belief in sin and punishment. We don't realize that we are actively choosing our unhappiness. There is no need for penance. There is no price to pay for sin, because there is no sin. Some of us, reading this, will at once think that these ideas are dangerous; if there is no price to pay for sin, then sinners will go wild. Punishment is necessary to control evil, we think. Within the world in which the illusion of bodies seems real, control is sometimes necessary, although perhaps far less often than we think. But debate over how to apply these ideas to social misbehavior (i.e. crime) could distract us for months; this is not the real issue here. We believe it is God Who demands payment for the wrongs we have done to Him. What if we have not done Him any wrong? What if our "sins" are no more to Him than a gnat biting an elephant, affecting Him not at all? How can I be happy if I believe God is angry at me? How can I be attracted to a salvation that comes through pain, killing me slowly, draining the life from me until I am skin and bones (metaphorically speaking)? Hell is not salvation! It is not a God of love Who would demand such things of us. God is not angry; His Will for me is perfect happiness. If sin is real, punishment is real, and if punishment is real I have every reason to flee from God. That is exactly why the ego promotes such a view of God. "There is no sin," says the lesson, and urges us to "practice with this thought as often as we can today." What about justice? "Joy is just" (6:2). That is what justice is: joy! When I think on these ideas I often come down to a very simple application, one that comes up for me almost every day. Whenever I do something I don't approve of, or fail to do something I think I should have done, or find myself thinking judgmental thoughts about someone, I often catch myself thinking that I have to go through a decent period of remorse before I can be happy again. Just because I've realized my mistake and decided to change my mind can't possibly be enough to merit being happy again, can it? Don't I have to "pay for my sin" somehow? Maybe, at the least, spend ten minutes in meditation? What utter nonsense! And yet, the idea keeps coming up. It shows me that I have not rid my mind of this sin-and-punishment idea, that I still think that somehow I have to even the account with God before I can be happy again. What God wants, what God for me in that instant and in every instant, is happiness. "Obey God" means "be happy." It means let go of my self-important penitence and rejoice in the love of God. It means accepting the Atonement for myself. What better way to "renounce sin" than to stop letting it drag me down into snivelling self-abasement, to refuse to acknowledge its power to keep me from happiness? May I, today, refuse to lay the load of guilt on myself. May I lift up my head, smile, and give God glory by the simple act of being happy. The greatest gift I can give to those around me is my happiness. "God's Will for me is perfect happiness. This is the truth, because there is no sin." From sue at circleofa.org Sat Apr 11 09:05:15 2009 From: sue at circleofa.org (Sue Roth) Date: Sat, 11 Apr 2009 09:05:15 -0400 Subject: [acimlessons_list] Lesson 102 - April 12 Message-ID: Lesson 102 - April 12 "I share God's Will for happiness for me." PRACTICE SUMMARY Purpose: to further loosen the hold of your belief that pain buys you something. To realize pain has no benefit, no purpose, and no reality. To realize that what you want is the same perfect happiness God wills for you. Longer: every hour on the hour, for 5 minutes (if you cannot do this, at least do the alternate) * Say, "I share God's Will for happiness for me, and I accept it as my function now." Try to mean it, try to make it an actual act of accepting God's Will. * Then again spend the rest of the time in meditation trying to "reach the happiness God's Will has placed in you" (3:1). This is the practice you did in the previous two days and will continue doing for several more. Remember to seek this place with real desire, for only here do you feel at home, at rest, safe, and at peace. Remember also to seek with confidence, for if you really will with God to reach this place, then quite simply, "you cannot fail to find it" (3:4). Frequent reminders: frequent Repeat, "I share God's Will for happiness for me, and I accept it as my function now." COMMENTARY "I share God's Will for happiness for me." How nice that the Workbook is going to spend several days devoted to "exercises planned to help you reach the happiness God's Will has placed in you" (3:1). I notice that I'm not trying to "make myself happy" but rather trying to reach a preexistent happiness. An American guru (who went at one time by the name Da Free John, but whose name seems to change yearly, so that I've lost track) once said, "You are always already happy." That phrase stuck in my mind, and it is consonant with what the Course is saying about happiness. The Self within me is always happy. It was created happy by God; God's Will "placed" happiness within me. I am not trying to create happiness; I am merely attempting to locate it within myself, to discover it there. Happiness is contrasted with our belief in the merit of suffering. The lesson isn't expecting us to be at the point of total freedom from this belief: "Yet this belief is surely shaken by now, at least enough to let you question it, and to suspect it really makes no sense" (1:3). This belief is what has been superimposed on our native happiness, obscuring it and causing us to experience pain and suffering. Our happiness is hidden under layers of pain only because we believe there is value in the pain. And I know that I do at least this belief. I don't want to suffer; of course I don't. Yet if I do suffer, I have chosen it, not because I want the pain but because I want what I think the pain will get me. The message of the lesson in this regard is: "...pain is purposeless, without a cause and with no power to accomplish anything" (2:1). Not only so, but everything that I think the pain will bring me is equally lacking in existence. The whole thing is a deceptive mirage conjured up by the ego to keep us from our eternal satisfaction in God. So today we declare that we share God's Will for happiness for ourselves. We declare that we will to be happy. Simple what God created is our function. "Be happy, for your only function here is happiness" (5:1). The next line (5:2) speaks of our being less loving to our brothers than God is, and says there is no need for it. Unhappiness is our "excuse" for being less loving than God. How can I open my heart to you in love when I am unhappy? By choosing to be happy I am enabling myself to be wholly loving. The Course always seems to be making these interesting connections between things that would never occur to me, but which seem obvious when it points them out. In happiness, Allen From sue at circleofa.org Sun Apr 12 11:56:20 2009 From: sue at circleofa.org (Sue Roth) Date: Sun, 12 Apr 2009 11:56:20 -0400 Subject: [acimlessons_list] Lesson 104 - April 14 Message-ID: Lesson 104 - April 14 "I seek but what belongs to me in truth." "And joy and peace are my inheritance." PRACTICE SUMMARY Purpose: to clear a place in your mind where God's gifts of joy and peace are welcome and experienced. Longer: every hour on the hour, for 5 minutes (if you cannot do this, at least do the alternate) * Begin with, "I seek but what belongs to me in truth. And joy and peace are my inheritance." * Then again embark on a meditation aimed at experiencing the joy God has placed at the center of your being. This lesson speaks of going to the holy altar within you, the deep place in your mind that contains your fundamental devotions (you may want to visualize this altar). You have covered this altar with the meaningless gifts of the world, thereby obscuring God's gifts. In your meditation, try to clear these gifts away. "We clear a holy place within our minds before His altar" (4:2). Then seek the gifts of joy and peace that God has laid on this altar for you. They are already there, even though you do not see them yet. Ask to recognize them. While seeking them, hold above all else an attitude of confidence, trusting that God's gifts are your inheritance, that they belong to you, that they have always been yours, and that you can claim them now. Frequent reminders: as often as you can Repeat, "I seek but what belongs to me in truth. God's gifts of peace and joy are all I want." Doing so frequently will keep you from losing sight of God's gifts in between your hourly practice periods. COMMENTARY Today I set aside the complex and focus on two very simple things: joy, and peace of mind. For today I will not concern myself with profound metaphysical truths, nor the invisible reality of my Self. Today I simply seek to know the peace and joy that are mine by right of what I am. I forget about the urgency of my self-made goals, the self-imposed importance of everything I think that I must do. I ignore the man-made standards by which I so often judge myself or let others judge me. Today I center on the only things that are truly important: joy, and peace of mind. What could be of more value than these? If I lived in a palace, had unlimited wealth, and the partnership of the most perfect mate in the world, and had not peace of mind and joy, I would still be poor. If I lived in a hovel with peace of mind and joy, I would be rich. And I can have these things; they are my right because of what I am. Joy is my divine right. Peace is my divine right. They are within reach of everyone, regardless of background, regardless of education, regardless of income. Today, in the times I pause to remember, this is what I want to remember. I open myself with gratitude to God Who gave me these gifts; I honor Him by enjoying them. I honor Him by being joyful and peaceful in these five minute periods, and I will not forget in between. I recall a seminar I did years ago in which we engaged in deep self-searching, attempting to ferret out some of the lies we had been telling ourselves, the negative, self-depreciating thoughts that dragged down our lives. We then distilled these down into what seemed, for each individual, the fundamental lie we were telling ourselves about ourselves. Next, we were asked to take that lie and reverse it, turn it into an affirmation. And finally, we walked about the room, introducing ourselves to one another, and stating our "eternal truth." I will never forget one woman, although I forget her name so I will simply call her Carol. She walked up to me, looked me directly in the eyes, and smiled a radiant smile. "Hi!" she said. "I'm Carol, and my joy heals." And you know what? It did. Right in that instant. Something clicked within my mind, and I have never forgotten her, never forgotten her joy. She had discovered a truth about herself. Joy heals! When I am joyful, those around me are healed. Haven't you ever noticed that about other people who are joyful, truly joyful? Their joy heals you. What could be of more value than joy such as that? Peace heals, too. One peaceful person in a room full of agitated individuals can bring calm to everyone. I choose to be that person today, because it is my right. I settle down in each practice time and "clear a place within [my] mind before His altar" (4:2). I clear that place to receive the eternal gifts, the joy and peace God wants to give me. "Nothing else belongs to us in truth" (4:4). None of the other things I think I want belong to me in the way that joy and peace belong to me. These are "possessions" that bless the world, instead of taking from it. No one loses because I have joy and peace; everyone gains. I already have these gifts! "I seek but what belongs to me in truth." Joy belongs to me; peace belongs to me. Thank You, God. Thank You. From sue at circleofa.org Sun Apr 12 18:24:02 2009 From: sue at circleofa.org (Sue Roth) Date: Sun, 12 Apr 2009 18:24:02 -0400 Subject: [acimlessons_list] Lesson 103 - April 13 Message-ID: Lesson 103 - April 13 "God, being Love, is also happiness." PRACTICE SUMMARY Purpose: to try again to correct our false belief that God is not fearful. To realize instead that, since God is Love, He must be a giver of pure joy. Longer: every hour on the hour, for 5 minutes (if you cannot do this, at least do the alternate) * Say, "God, being Love, is also happiness. To fear Him is to be afraid of joy." * Then, just as in previous days, enter into a meditation aimed at finding the happiness God placed in you. Seek this holy place in you filled with anticipation, expecting God's joy to take the place of your pain. Realize you cannot fail, because you seek what is already yours. Also seek this place filled with a sense of welcoming the happiness that will surely come to you. And remember to draw your mind back when it drifts off to thinking about all the false promises held out to you by the world's definition of happiness. Frequent reminders: frequent Reinforce your expectation that you will find God's joy by saying, "God, being Love, is also happiness. And it is happiness I seek today. I cannot fail, because I seek the truth." By bolstering your expectancy, this will enhance the depth of your hourly practice periods. Response to temptation: whenever you feel any form of fear Quiet all your fears with these words, "God, being Love, is also happiness. And it is happiness I seek today. I cannot fail, because I seek the truth." COMMENTARY "God, being Love, is also happiness." There's one I never heard in church! "God is happiness." (Well, the Westminster Catechism of the Presbyterian Church did say that man's chief end is to love God and to Him forever. But you didn't hear "enjoying God" talked about very often.) Yet the way the lesson logically presents it, the idea is obvious and inescapable. Without love, no one could be happy. If love was absent, happiness would be absent also. That seems so simple to understand. Happiness must be an attribute of love; they go or come together. God is Love. "Love has no limits, being everywhere" (2:4). Because that is true, happiness or joy must also be everywhere, just as God is. So God is happiness, as well as love. The denial of happiness, then, is the denial of God. As a matter of fact the Text says something very much like that in Chapter 10, when it says that depression is blasphemy (T-10.V.12:3,4). Careful, though; the point of saying this is not to make us guilty about being sad or depressed. The Course's point is to guilt, not create it. It is pointing out the cause of our sadness and depression to us. It is saying, "You're hurting because you are turning your back on God, on love, on Happiness Itself. It isn't something outside of you, out of your control, that is doing this to you. You have the power to change this, to choose again and lift that depression." We are sad and depressed because we think that what we have made is real (2:1). We think there are "gaps in love," that it is not everywhere and always. We are sad because we believe we are, to some degree at least, outside of God's love, beyond its "limits." And we are not; we cannot be outside of His Love. If we knew that in the core of our being, we could never be unhappy. Because I believe love has limits, I have come to be afraid of it: afraid it will be withdrawn, afraid of its conditions, afraid that what seems to be love is only a tease, a tantalizing promise that threatens to disappear if I misbehave. That fear, that constant anxiety over love's potential for disappearance is the source of my lack of joy. How can I be joyful, even when things are "good," if love may be withdrawn at any moment? This is the error of our minds we are practicing to uncover, bring to the light, and let go of. Right now, this moment, I am encircled by His embrace. Right now, without a single thing changing, the Love of God radiates to me without limit and without reservation or question. To know this is happiness, and it is this I seek today. From sue at circleofa.org Tue Apr 14 05:56:04 2009 From: sue at circleofa.org (Sue Roth) Date: Tue, 14 Apr 2009 05:56:04 -0400 Subject: [acimlessons_list] Lesson 105 - April 15 Message-ID: Lesson 105 - April 15 "God's peace and joy are mine." PRACTICE SUMMARY Purpose: to accept God's gifts of peace and joy, and understand that in doing so you actually increase His peace and joy, rather than taking them from Him. Thus, you "learn a different way of looking at a gift" (3:3). Longer: every hour on the hour, for 5 minutes (if you cannot do this, at least do the alternate) * Think of those to whom you denied God's peace and joy, for thus you denied them to yourself. Say to each one, "My brother, peace and joy I offer you, that I may have God's peace and joy as mine." By giving God's gifts where you withheld them, you will now feel entitled to claim them as your own. Doing this preparatory step well will guarantee your success in the following step. * Then close your eyes and say, "God's peace and joy are mine," and try to find those gifts deep in your mind. Let yourself experience the joy and peace that belong to you. Let God's Voice assure you that God's peace and joy really are yours. This appears to be another meditation aimed at making contact with the happiness God placed in you. Alternate: on the hour If you cannot do the five minutes on the hour, don't think that doing a shortened version is worthless. At least repeat, "God's peace and joy are mine," realizing that by doing so you invite Him to give you the happiness He wills for you. Response to temptation: whenever you are tempted to deny God's gift to someone Be grateful to this person for providing you with another chance to receive God's peace and joy by giving them away. Channel your gratitude into this blessing: "My brother, peace and joy I offer you, that I may have God's peace and joy as mine." COMMENTARY Today's lesson adds to yesterday's emphasis on peace and joy. It reiterates much of what was in that lesson, but adds the thought that we receive these gifts by giving them. "A major learning goal this course has set is to reverse your view of giving, so you can receive" (3:1). This idea, that we receive by giving, runs all through the Course, and is given considerable importance, but this is the only place I know of that learning this lesson is specifically identified as "a major learning goal" of the Course. We noted yesterday that peace and joy are gifts that increase by being shared. To share my peace with you increases it rather than diminishing it. This lesson makes the rather startling assertion that when I receive peace and joy from God, God's joy grows (4:1). By accepting peace and joy as mine, I am allowing God to "complete Himself as He defines completion" (5:1).Through my experience of this, I learn what my own completion must be (5:3).Even the psalmist of the Old Testament knew something of this when he wrote: "What shall I render to the Lord for all His benefits toward me? I will take the cup of salvation, and call upon the name of the Lord" (Psalm 116:12,13, KJV). What gift can I give to God to thank Him for His blessing? I can give Him the gift of receiving His salvation and calling on His love. I take the gifts of joy and peace, and "He will thank [me] for [my] gift to Him" (5:6). We have all experienced this in some small way, at least. We know the joy of giving. We know that when we give love, and it is received, our love is strengthened, not weakened. Shared love is a great joy. Love received is far richer than love unacknowledged. Even receiving the joy of a child over a new toy or a new pet visibly adds to the child's joy. These are small reflections of how God's giving works, and we are meant to be part of it. This kind of giving, the giving of things that increase by being given away, is how we create ("True giving is creation," (4:2)) and how we complete ourselves. The exercises today prepare us to receive peace and joy, and the preparation is consciously giving them away to those to whom we have denied them in the past. Our "enemies." The people who, in our eyes, have not to have peace and joy. We did not realize that in denying the gift to them, we were denying it to ourselves in equal measure. If what we give increases in us, then if we withhold it we are withholding from ourselves as well. To truly say, and to experience, that "God's peace and joy are mine," we must open our hearts to share peace and joy with the world. It begins with that person to whom my heart has been closed. "My brother, peace and joy I offer you." If I will open my heart to allow love to flow out, it will also flow in. As I open my heart, allowing peace, joy and love to flow out to those around me, what I am doing is "letting what cannot contain itself fulfill its aim of giving everything it has away, securing it forever for itself" (4:5). What is it that "cannot contain itself?" My Self, my own Being. This irrepressible Giver is me. From sue at circleofa.org Wed Apr 15 06:36:11 2009 From: sue at circleofa.org (Sue Roth) Date: Wed, 15 Apr 2009 06:36:11 -0400 Subject: [acimlessons_list] Lesson 106 - April 16 Message-ID: Lesson 106 - April 16 "Let me be still and listen to the truth." PRACTICE SUMMARY Purpose: to lay aside the ego's voice, still your mind, and listen to your Father's Voice, and to then offer Him your voice to speak to all who need to hear His Word. Longer: every hour on the hour, for 5 minutes (if you cannot do this, at least do the alternate) * Say, "I will be still and listen to the truth. What does it mean to give and to receive?" * Spend the rest of the time waiting for your answer from the Holy Spirit. It is important, however, to understand what you are really asking. You are asking to receive from God - to hear His Voice and receive His Word, to be filled up from within - so that you can give to your brothers, which in turn will make your receiving even more full and complete. It is important, then, to offer Him your willingness to give what you receive. This giving will apparently happen both within the practice period, as your mind goes out to other minds, and after the practice period, as what you experience today inspires you to actually "begin the ministry for which you came" (8:3). While you wait for your answer, remember the training you received in earlier lessons: Hold your mind in silent readiness, drawing it back when it lapses into listening to the ego's voice. Listen with confidence: "expect an answer" (8:1). And periodically repeat your question, to renew your posture of expectant waiting. Frequent reminders: as often as possible Say, "Let me be still and listen to the truth. I am the messenger of God today, My voice is His, to give what I receive." This will reinforce your choice to receive His Word, which prepares you to give. Encouragement to practice: Be aware that your practice is not an act of solitary self-indulgence. Rather, by sitting down and doing your practice, you will literally be releasing minds all over the world. "For each five minutes spent in listening, a thousand minds are opened to the truth and they will hear the holy Word you hear" (9:2). COMMENTARY At first today's lesson does not seem to follow yesterday's theme on giving and receiving, but midway through it switches back to that theme. It seems like an abrupt switch, perhaps. The first part of the lesson, speaking of stilling our minds to listen to God's Voice, doesn't seem to lead naturally into thoughts of giving and receiving. Yet this is what we are listening for; this is what we hear. We are learning of our true nature. This is the message of salvation: "When everything is yours and everything is given away, it will remain with you forever" (7:1). What am I in this world for? According to this lesson, it is to hear the Voice for God telling me of God's eternal gift to me, the gift of Christ, the gift of my Self--God's "dear Son, whose other name is you" (4:7). And to extend that same message to the world. This is "the ministry for which you came, and which will free the world from thinking giving is a way to lose" (8:3). God's Voice and for it are as inextricably linked in this lesson as are giving and receiving. If I truly hear the Voice, I will give Him my voice to speak through me. If I receive the Word, I will share it, because the message sharing. God's Word to me is that I am a savior, a healer, and a bringer of truth. I am His Son, His offspring, like Him, extending healing, offering peace and joy to everyone, letting them know they are His offspring as well. Sometimes I think we take the Course too seriously and need to lighten up. At other times I think we take it too lightly, and need to take it more seriously. For instance, this lesson tells me that every time I pause for five minutes to be still and listen to the truth, are opened to the truth (9:2). Suppose I took that seriously? Suppose I paused every hour, as instructed. In the course of the day, fifteen thousand minds would open to the truth. Suppose everyone reading these comments did that (about 600 people)? Then nine million minds would open to the truth! I don't take this kind of thing seriously enough. I shrug if off, thinking that if I only practice once or twice during the day, it's enough. Recently on TV, they played the old Charleton Heston movie, "The Ten Commandments." I watched a few minutes of it, enough to remember a line from it that always impressed me. Moses, suffering setbacks in the early days of trying to get Pharoah to release the Hebrews, prays to God, saying, "Lord, forgive me for my weak use of Thy great power." When I read today's lesson I thought about that line. I thought about how I treated these practice times, many days, as if they don't really matter. I imagine myself as of little consequence in His plan, at least most of the time. But if I take this lesson seriously, I could be instrumental today in bringing light into fifteen thousand minds! I'm not trying to lay guilt on anyone, least of all myself. I am trying to raise my own consciousness concerning the power God has placed into my hands--or, more properly, into my mind. Each of us who connects with the truth in our minds today, listening to the truth, is contributing to the elevation of consciousness on...I was going to say, "on this planet," but it is far more than that, it is the arousal of Christ-consciousness in the whole universe. That little five minutes, in which, perhaps, nothing seems to happen; in which you may be fighting a wandering mind; or which seems at times to be interminable as your ego prods you to "get back to work" or whatever you are doing--that little five minutes is a very significant contribution to the salvation of the world. "Let me be still and listen to the truth. I am the messenger of god today, My voice is His, to give what I receive." From sue at circleofa.org Thu Apr 16 06:12:06 2009 From: sue at circleofa.org (Sue Roth) Date: Thu, 16 Apr 2009 06:12:06 -0400 Subject: [acimlessons_list] Lesson 107 - April 17 Message-ID: Lesson 107 - April 17 "Truth will correct all errors in my mind." PRACTICE SUMMARY Purpose: to let Christ lead you to an experience of the truth, so that you can join Him in His function of bringing truth to the world. Longer: every hour on the hour, for 5 minutes (if you cannot do this, at least do the alternate) * Start by asking your Self, the Christ, to go with you-which makes sense for you can never be apart from Him. While asking, also pledge to Him "to let His function [of saving the world] be fulfilled through you" (9:2). That is the point of today's exercise, to let Him fill you with the truth, so you can bring it to the world (this is very similar to yesterday's exercise). * Then ask that the truth come into your mind. Ask with confidence, with certainty of success. Count on truth to be there, for it belongs to you. State your request this way: "Truth will correct all errors in my mind, and I will rest in Him Who is my Self" (9:5). * "Then let Him lead you gently to the truth, which will envelop you and give you peace so deep and tranquil that you will return to the familiar world reluctantly" (9:6). This appears to be a meditation much like those in 69, 73, and 91 in which you rely upon a strength beyond your own to carry you to your inner goal. Frequent reminders: do not forget today Repeat the idea with confidence, realizing that you are speaking for yourself (for your own desire for release), for the world (for its desire for release), and for Christ, "Who would release the world" (11:2). Encouragement to practice: Be aware that by letting truth into your mind you will indeed benefit the world. During the practice period, the truth will go out from your mind to other minds to correct their errors. And then after the practice period, the truth will go with you as you are sent to those in need to give them the gift of truth. COMMENTARY This is the promise that gives courage! Errors are only errors, not flaws. "What are errors but illusions that remain unrecognized for what they are?" An illusion that is not recognized as illusion causes us to react as if it were real. If I see an illusory enemy and respond with attack, that does not make me bad or stupid. The reaction was appropriate, given what I believed to be the truth. I can recall many evenings in the past where I was sitting at home feeling lonely and world-weary. Something in me saw an illusion and believed it to be true. I saw some loneliness or weariness, a need to be comforted, and so I sought comfort in television and in staying up late. What I was not the mistake; the mistake was believing the illusion was real. When I look at the illusion, it vanishes. The holy instant is a state of mind without illusions, a moment of unquestioned peace, "when you were certain you were loved and safe" (2:3). It is a foretaste of "the state your mind will rest in when truth has come" (3:1). It is my true state. I can find that true state any time I am willing to look at my illusions and to let them go. So often, late at night, I used to feel disconnected, unfulfilled, empty somehow, and I tried to fill that emptiness with fantasy, television, reading, or food. The emptiness is illusion. When I feel that emptiness let me remember it is not real; let me affirm my fullness. The state of mind that stays exactly as it always was, without shifting and changing, still seems so far away from me. Jesus says, "It will be yours; it already is yours. It is guaranteed." "It is impossible that anyone could seek it truly, and would not succeed" (6:4). The seeming shifts and changes I go through now are all part of the illusion; they are not real, they are not truly happening. I am safe; I am steady; I am whole. When the shifting and faltering seem to occur, let me remind myself they are only a dream. They mean nothing, they change nothing. Let me not accord them strength to disturb my peace. Let me not make the mistake of identifying with that shift and change and thinking it is me that is shifting and changing. I am fixed and unalterable. The errors in my mind are those that tell me I could be apart from Jesus, the Christ. He is my Brother. We are the same. He is my Self. How can I be apart from my Self? Let me take regular times today to return to this center, to recognize that Jesus and I are One Self. Today I will bring any thought that tells me different to him for correction. Any thought that tells me I am something other than this calm, serene, fearless, wholly fulfilled Being. Let me watch my mind for thoughts that say otherwise and bring them fearlessly to the light of truth. Jesus, help me to break the connection, the identification with any thought of weakness or emptiness or disconnectedness. Let me lean on your strong arm and trust in you. Let the demons scream and rant and rave around me; though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for Thou art with me; Thy rod and Thy staff, they comfort me (Psalm 23). You are the Strong One in me, and You are my Self. From sue at circleofa.org Fri Apr 17 05:58:19 2009 From: sue at circleofa.org (Sue Roth) Date: Fri, 17 Apr 2009 05:58:19 -0400 Subject: [acimlessons_list] Lesson 108 - April 18 Message-ID: Lesson 108 - April 18 "To give and to receive are one in truth." PRACTICE SUMMARY Purpose: to offer peace to everyone and feel peace return to you. To thereby learn the unity of cause and effect-that giving (cause) and receiving (effect) are the same. Longer: every hour on the hour, for 5 minutes (if you cannot do this, at least do the alternate) * Say, "To give and to receive are one in truth. I will receive what I am giving now." * Close your eyes and offer everyone those inner states and qualities that you would like to receive. Say, for example: "To everyone I offer peace of mind. To everyone I offer gentleness." "Say each one slowly, and then pause a while, expecting to receive the gift you gave" (9:1). Trust it to come back in the amount that you gave. You may want to single out one person as the one you give your gifts to, understanding that through giving to him you give to everyone. Frequent reminders: often Repeat the idea, realizing that each repetition makes your learning "faster and more sure" (10:3). Encouragement to practice: Try to think of today's exercises as "quick advances in your learning" (10:3), revealing to you the nature of cause and effect, and heightening the speed of your progress. COMMENTARY The early part of the lesson describes the state of one-mindedness, where all opposites have been resolved into "one concept which is wholly true" (1:3). When that occurs, the concept will disappear because "the Thought behind it will appear instead to take its place. And now you are at peace forever, for the dream is over then" (1:4-5). This is Heaven; attaining this state is beyond the scope of the Course. But it is our eventual goal, a place where perception and concepts have vanished, and only knowledge remains. That "state of mind that has become so unified that darkness cannot be perceived at all" (2:2) is within me. It is the Christ mind, and from it comes my peace of mind; from it comes single perception. It is this I call upon or tap into, drawing it into myself until it takes me over. It is where I am always and what I am forever, but which I have forgotten. One of the best and most useful lessons we can learn while drawing on this state of mind is that giving and receiving are one and the same. Like all opposites, they are not truly opposite at all; they are part of a unified spectrum of reality. Neither precedes the other; both occur together. Through actual experience with this particular example of the resolution of opposites we can begin to learn how all opposites are reconciled. We can produce an experience of this resolution at will. It is an experiment that always works. Sit quietly, and mentally begin to send peace to everyone. Think of specific persons, and say to them in your mind, "I offer you quietness. I offer you peace of mind. I offer you gentleness" (8:6-8). Go through your list of friends and relations mentally, sending peace to each and every one of them. Offer it to the world at large. What we find as we do this is that, as we offer peace to others, we experience it ourselves. Quite literally, what we give, we receive. Immediately. There is no pause, no delay for feedback. Our act of giving is quite literally also an act of receiving. There is one act and it contains both things, because there are not two things, only one. The generalization of this lesson is that "Cause and effect are one in truth" (my interpretation of 10:2-3). It leads us to realize that my thought of attack on another is literally an attack on myself, at that very moment. We think of cause and effect in a linear fashion, as if what I do today will impact on me tomorrow and in the future. That is an incomplete picture. In fact, there is no time delay at all. My thought of attack impacts on me now, just as my thoughts offering peace immediately make me peaceful. Thought and action are likewise the same. I am constantly sourcing the universe of my experience. In reality, there is nothing outside my mind, nothing but these thoughts. The world we see is just our thought given form. It has never left our mind in truth. From sue at circleofa.org Sat Apr 18 08:09:51 2009 From: sue at circleofa.org (Sue Roth) Date: Sat, 18 Apr 2009 08:09:51 -0400 Subject: [acimlessons_list] Lesson 109 - April 19 Message-ID: Lesson 109 - April 19 PRACTICE INSTRUCTIONS Purpose: To rest in God, untouched by the storms of the world. Longer: Every hour on the hour, for five minutes (if you cannot do this, at least do the alternate). This exercise is a meditation in which you sink into stillness by using the line "I rest in God." Let that line draw you into a rest in which you have "no cares and no concerns" (5:1), and in which the turmoil of the outer world cannot touch you. While in this state, call to all your brothers, "your distant brothers and your closest friends" (8:3), and welcome them into the holy temple within where you rest with God. Realize that their rest will deepen and complete yours. Frequent reminders: Often. Repeat the idea, realizing that you are not only reminding yourself of your resting place, but reminding all Sons of God of their resting place, including those no longer in the body and those not yet born. Try repeating the idea now while holding in mind the sense that "I am reminding every mind of its true resting place." Response to temptation: Whenever you face a problem or experience suffering. Repeat the idea, knowing it has power to heal all suffering, solve all problems, and carry you past storms and strife into the peace of God. Encouragement to practice: Incredible power is ascribed to your practice of today's idea (see especially the first three paragraphs), not only for you, but for everyone. Repeating today's idea has power to call every mind to rest along with you, including those who came in the past or haven't come yet (see 2:5 and 9:5). Paragraphs 6 and 7 relate an inspiring scenario. Your five minutes bring healing to an injured bird and a dry stream. Then, a tired mind, so weary that he's not sure he can carry on in life, hears the bird start singing and sees the stream start flowing. And witnessing this rebirth gives that mind the strength and hope to carry on. Whether or not we think this specific scenario will happen, we need to realize that our practice has the power to spark effects like these. COMMENTARY This lesson epitomizes what so many of the lessons are trying to get me to do: simply to take a little time out of my day to rest in God. To be quiet. To be at peace. To sense the stillness that lies at the depths of my being, placed there in creation by God. To do this not just once in the morning, but often during the day, repeatedly reminding myself that this peace, this serenity of being, is my natural state, while the frenzy of distractedness, the ping-pong of opposing thoughts that so habitually occupies my mind, is what is unnatural. What has seemed to me to be "normal" has been nothing but "frantic fantasies [that] were but the dreams of fever that has passed away" (5:5). There is a place in you where this whole world has been forgotten; where no memory of sin and of illusion lingers still. There is a place in you which time has left, and echoes of eternity are heard. There is a resting place so still no sound except a hymn to Heaven rises up to gladden God the Father and the Son. Where Both abide are They remembered, Both... ...The changelessness of Heaven is in you, so deep within that nothing in this world but passes by, unnoticed and unseen. The still infinity of endless peace surrounds you gently in its soft embrace, so strong and quiet, tranquil in the might of its Creator, nothing can intrude upon the sacred Son of God within. (T-29.V.1:1-4; 2:3-4) And here I rest in God. Here I breathe the air of Heaven. Here I can remember what I am. The lesson tells me of wondrous things that come from my willingness to take these times of rest. These moments of quiet are not for me alone. They are my mission for the world; through them I am bringing peace to every mind. Our practice times are no small thing, to be lightly skipped over; the author places extraordinary importance on them: He says they bring the end of suffering for the entire world (2:5). * He tells us there is no suffering, nor any problem, they cannot solve (3:3-4). * Through these times we are calling all the world to join us in rest (4:5-6). * Every time we rest, we heal the world: We gladden a tired mind, give song to a wounded bird, and give flowing water to dry stream beds (6:1-2). I came to bring the peace of God into the world. This is my "trust" (8:2), my sacred mission, my reason for being. Jesus asks me to "open the temple doors and let them come from far across the world, and near as well; your distant brothers and your closest friends; bid them all enter here and rest with you" (8:3). This is what I am doing each time I stop the mental chatter and sit, quietly, and rest in God. I am like Buddha, casting his compassion on the world. I am Buddha; I am Christ. I envision myself as a cell in a cosmic body, a body that has been invaded by a deadly virus, the virus of antagonism, of disharmony, of hatred, envy, and strife; the virus of bitterness, sorrow, and pain; the virus of despair, depression, and death. As I take my time of rest, it is as if this little cell has discovered how to produce the antitoxin, the remedy for the virus: the peace of God. And the connecting current of our shared thoughts is the bloodstream that carries this antitoxin to other cells, who absorb it and begin, in turn, to produce this healing substance. Peace of mind, the antitoxin for the world. It is for this I have taken birth. It is for this I am here, and nothing else. Through these simple practices, we bring healing to all of time, past and future: Time is not the guardian of what we give today. We give to those unborn and those passed by, to every Thought of God, and to the Mind in which these Thoughts were born and where they rest. And we remind them of their resting place each time we tell ourselves, "I rest in God." (9:4-6) From sue at circleofa.org Sun Apr 19 08:54:59 2009 From: sue at circleofa.org (Sue Roth) Date: Sun, 19 Apr 2009 08:54:59 -0400 Subject: [acimlessons_list] Lesson 110 - April 20 Message-ID: Lesson 110 - April 20 "I am as God created me." PRACTICE SUMMARY Purpose: to cease worshipping false images of who you are and to instead seek and find your true Self. Longer: every hour on the hour, for 5 minutes (if you cannot do this, at least do the alternate) * Say, "I am as God created me. His Son can suffer nothing. And I am His Son." * The rest of the practice period is a meditation which is extremely similar to what you did with the first occurrence of this idea, in Lesson 94 (you may want to go back and read my practice instructions for that lesson). Your whole focus should be on seeking that deep place in your mind where your true self, the Christ, abides. To get there, you need to set aside all your images of who you are-they are the idols and graven images referred to in the lesson. As usual, remember your training in meditation: focus all your intent on sinking down and inward to the center of your mind; draw your mind back from wandering as often as necessary; and approach your Self with desire, for it is your Self Who has the power to save you. Frequent reminders: as often as you can Repeat the idea to remind yourself of your true Identity as the holy Son of God. Encouragement to practice: You are told to "practice today's idea with gratitude" (5:3) because, quite simply, it carries so much power (as you can see from reading the first five paragraphs). This is the Workbook's premier lesson. You are reminded repeatedly today that today's idea is "enough" (1:2, 2:2, 3, 4) to save you, that it is "all you need" (2:1; see also 3:3). COMMENTARY This one thought, we are told, is enough to save not only ourselves, but the world, if we believed it to be true. "Its truth would mean that you Have made no changes in yourself that have reality, nor changed the universe so that what God created was replaced by fear and evil, misery and death" (1:3). This is the primary meaning of this idea for me: nothing I have done has changed anything. Ego thoughts have done nothing, changed nothing. Fear and evil, misery and death have not occurred. I remain as God created me. I have not damaged anything. The tiny, mad idea to replace God on His throne accomplished absolutely nothing. I am still perfect, innocent, golden love. "It is enough to let time be the means for all the world to learn escape from time, and every change that time appears to bring in passing by" (2:4). We tend to see the ravages of time. We see the aging body. We see loved ones come and go. We see decay and death and loss. But time can be the means by which we learn escape from time and all its changes. We learn through time to look beyond the appearances of change to what is unchanging, and we come to learn that only that is real. "Lead me in the way everlasting" (Psalm 139:24). "If you are as God created you, then there has been no separation of your mind from His, no split between your mind and other minds, and only unity within your own" (4:2). No separation, no split, no schizophrenia. I am one Self, united with my Creator, and limitless in power and in love. I can trust my brothers, who are one with me, because I am as God created me and have never split from them. What I find within myself when I listen to the Spirit's quiet voice is what all others are as well. I find within myself the Holy One. I am This; you are This. Let me simply become aware of any thought that says anything different, any picture of myself that creates a false and limited idol, and just drop that thought. "Deep in your mind the holy Christ in you is waiting your acknowledgment as you. And you are lost and do not know yourself while He is unacknowledged and unknown" (9:4-5). From sue at circleofa.org Mon Apr 20 06:45:36 2009 From: sue at circleofa.org (Sue Roth) Date: Mon, 20 Apr 2009 06:45:36 -0400 Subject: [acimlessons_list] Review III: Introduction Message-ID: Review III: Introduction Again a review. Nearly everyone I know, especially when they first do the Workbook, finds the reviews either boring or frustrating. It's an interesting testimony to the orientation of our minds. Apparently we crave constant newness, and the idea of repeating practice with the same ideas, even for just the second time, seems lackluster and mundane. We want to get on to something new and exciting. What we don't seem to grasp is that any one of these ideas could be the breakthrough for us. Toward the end of this review introduction, the reviews are called a "second chance with each of these ideas" (12:3). Now, if you are anything like me, you probably didn't rack up a perfect score in practicing the first time. You forgot the hourly practices, you did only a few each day, and perhaps missed days entirely. So, think of this as a second chance to get the benefits of each lesson. I know I'm thinking of it that way, and I need it. The Review III introduction is one of the most important discussions of Workbook practice in the book. The attitude toward practice portrayed here is extremely informative. First of all, following the instructions literally as given, and doing the two five-minute practices, with short practices on the hour and on the half hour, is considered very, very important. We are "urged" to pay attention to the instructions and "to follow [them] just as closely as you can" (1:3). An attitude that says it doesn't matter how you do the lessons clearly doesn't fit with this admonition. Second, the author is being very reasonable. He recognizes that it may be impossible for us to literally carry out the instructions in an "optimal" way (2:1). For example, a mother caring for very young children may not be able to stop every half hour and close her eyes; a clerk in a retail store may not be able to get away from customers for a minute every half hour. "Learning will not be hampered when you miss a practice period because it is impossible at the appointed time" (2:2). So if you miss because it is impossible to practice, that's okay. Notice, however, the word "impossible." It doesn't say "inconvenient" or "awkward," it says "impossible." The key to whether or not our learning will be hampered is not whether or not we actually do the practice, but why we don't do it. Is it because we can't, or because we don't want to? Notice, also, that we aren't expected to make "excessive efforts to be sure that you catch up in terms of numbers" (2:3). To me that implies that making reasonable efforts to catch up is something that would be proper. So if I miss at noon because I'm talking with my boss, but I'm free at 12:15, it would make sense to stop for a minute and make up that missed practice period. But the goal is not ritual; it isn't about "doing it perfectly." The crux of the matter is our desire and our willingness, not the number of practice periods. We aren't to become obsessive about this stuff. Third, the author obviously understands our ineptitude and resistance in regard to practice. Skipping a practice period because we don't want to do it (or don't "feel like it") will hamper our learning! (3:1). Again I say, this statement is hardly consistent with any thought that following instructions doesn't matter, and that it's enough to just read over the lesson in the morning. He takes particular pains to point out the ways we deceive ourselves, hiding our unwillingness "behind a cloak of situations you cannot control" (3:3). He points out that many of these have been subtly engineered by ourselves to "camouflage.your unwillingness," and urges us to learn to distinguish these from situations that are truly "poorly suited to your practicing" (3:4). I have often found that the times when I "just do it" even when I don't feel like it are often the ones in which I have the deepest awareness of a shift in consciousness occurring. Lest some of you feel offended by all this, let me say that it's perfectly okay to just read over the lesson in the morning and forget about the practice directions. Just be aware that this is what you are doing, and that it is your choice. Don't fight yourself. If you really don't want to do the practice now, don't do it. This type of disciplined practice may not be what you need right now. You may not be ready now, but you will be later. Or perhaps you'll find another spiritual path. But don't think you can pass judgment on the Course and say it didn't work for you, unless you do the lessons as instructed. If you do them, they will work. Notice, too, that practices you deliberately skip because you "did not want to do them, for whatever reason, should be done as soon as you have changed your mind about your goal" (4:1). This kind of missed practice you should try to make up! Why? "Your practicing can offer everything to you" (4:5). The middle part of the introduction gives us fascinating instruction in having faith in our own minds. We are supposed to allow our minds to relate the ideas we are reviewing to our needs, concerns, and problems. The picture you get is almost one of free association, placing the idea in our mind and then seeing where it leads us. Jesus asks us to give faith to our mind that it will use the ideas wisely. This seems to be designed to counteract our self-doubt. Perhaps we think that, left to range freely, our minds will wander off into the forest of ideas and get lost. But we are "helped in [our] decisions by the One Who gave the thoughts to [us]" (6:2), that is, the Holy Spirit. If we wander, He will guide us back. In this kind of exercise we are learning to trust our own inner wisdom. "The wisdom of your mind will come to your assistance" (6:5). If what comes to mind is a paraphrase of the day's idea, let it come. Often, your own paraphrase of the idea will be more effective for you than the original form, and will stick in your memory much better. The final portion of the introduction returns again to general practice instructions and what might be deemed a "pep talk." The emphasis in this part is on bringing the ideas into application in our lives, all day long (9:2-3). "These practice periods are planned to help you form the habit of applying what you learn each day to everything you do" (11:2). "Do not repeat the thought and lay it down" (11:3). Sounds familiar to me! If nothing else, this review superbly exposes all the little tricks our minds have been using to avoid the benefits of the lessons! Don't let that discourage you. Just becoming aware of the devious ploys of the ego's resistance is a major advance in the curriculum. But don't stop there, either; now that you are aware of the ego's tricks, you can turn the situation around and begin to let the ideas of the lessons "serve you in all ways, all times and places, and whenever you need help of any kind" (11:5). And just in case we missed the point, look how the review introduction closes. I've added a little emphasis here to make the point even plainer: Forget them not... (12:2) Do not forget how little you have learned. Do not forget how much you can learn now. Do not forget your Father's need of you, as you review these thoughts He gave to you. (13:1-3) From sue at circleofa.org Mon Apr 20 06:45:42 2009 From: sue at circleofa.org (Sue Roth) Date: Mon, 20 Apr 2009 06:45:42 -0400 Subject: [acimlessons_list] REVIEW III PRACTICE INSTRUCTION Message-ID: REVIEW III PRACTICE INSTRUCTION Purpose: A second chance at the last twenty lessons, in which you can practice them more diligently, and which can carry you so far ahead that you will continue your journey "on more solid ground, with firmer footsteps and with stronger faith" (12:3). Remarks: Please follow the format below as closely as you can. If you miss a practice period (either the longer ones or the every-half-hour ones) because you simply couldn't do it at the appointed time, your progress is not hindered. Don't worry about making those ones up. If, however, you missed because you just didn't want to give the time, your progress is hindered. Those ones should be made up. You missed because you thought some other activity would deliver more. As soon as you remember that "your practicing can offer everything to you" (4:5), do your make-up practice periods as a statement that your real goal is salvation. In deciding if you should make up a practice period, be very honest with yourself. Do not try to pass off "I didn't want to practice" as "I couldn't practice." Learn to discern between situations truly unsuited to practicing and those in which you could practice if you wanted. Longer: Two-one in the morning, one in the hour before sleep (ideally the first and last five minutes of your day), for five minutes (longer if you prefer). * Read over the two ideas and the comments about them, so that the ideas are firmly placed in your mind. * Then close your eyes and begin to think about the ideas and also to let related thoughts come (you should remember both of these practices from earlier lessons). This time, however, there is an important twist. Let your mind search out various needs, problems, and concerns in your life. As each one arises, let your mind come up with thoughts related to the ideas, thoughts which apply the essence of those ideas to the need, problem, or concern. In other words, let your mind creatively apply the ideas so as to dispel your sense of need, problem, or concern. This is a more developed version of letting related thoughts come, in which this technique combines with response to temptation (there were hints of this in Review II-see my comments on response to temptation in my Review II practice instructions). * Remember your training in letting related thoughts come: place the ideas in your mind. Trust your mind's inherent wisdom to generate related thoughts (this trust is a big theme in this review). Don't strain-let your mind come up with thoughts. The thoughts need only be indirectly related to the ideas, though they should not be in conflict. If your mind wanders, or you draw a blank, repeat the ideas and try again. * If you try this and it is just too unstructured for you, I have found the following more structured version to be useful: 1. Let a need, problem, or concern come to mind, and name it to yourself (for example, "I see this conflict with so-and-so as a problem"). 2. Repeat one or both of the ideas for the day (for instance, "I am spirit"). 3. While repeating the idea, watch your mind for any sparks of insight that arise which apply the idea to your need, problem, or concern, and verbalize this insight to yourself (for example, "As spirit, I cannot be hurt. I am totally invulnerable"). 4. Either continue with more such related thoughts, or go on to the next need, problem, or concern. Frequent reminders: On the hour and on the half hour, for a moment. *Repeat the applicable idea (on the hour, the first idea; on the half hour, the second idea). *Allow your mind to rest in silence and peace for a moment. *Afterwards, try to carry the idea with you, keeping it ready for response to temptation. Response to temptation: Whenever your peace is shaken. Repeat the idea (the one you are carrying with you from your last practice period). By applying the idea to the business of the day, you will make that business holy. Remarks: These shorter practice periods (frequent reminders and response to temptation) are at least as important as the longer. By skipping these, which you have tended to do, you have not allowed what you gained in the longer periods to be applied to the rest of your life, where it could show just how great its gifts are. After your longer practice periods, don't let your learning "lie idly by" (10:1). Reinforce it with the frequent reminders every half hour. And after those, do not lay the idea down (11:3). Have it poised and ready to use in response to all your little upsets. In this way, you forge a continuous chain that reaches from your longer practice periods all the way into the hustle and bustle of your day. From sue at circleofa.org Mon Apr 20 06:45:43 2009 From: sue at circleofa.org (Sue Roth) Date: Mon, 20 Apr 2009 06:45:43 -0400 Subject: [acimlessons_list] Review III, Lesson 111 - April 21 Message-ID: Review III, Lesson 111 - April 21 "Miracles are seen in light." "Miracles are seen in light, and light and strength are one." PRACTICE INSTRUCTIONS See Practice Instructions for Review III COMMENTARY I am willing today to open my mind to the light. I am eager to emerge from my darkness, and I will not fear what the light will expose. Nothing I have been hiding can hurt me. I am hungry for the truth. Within me is only innocence, and not what I have feared was there. Within me, in the light, is what I have been longing all my life to find. I am a miracle. The light of God is my strength. I feel unable to rise up to this high calling, but my weakness is the darkness His light dispels. I do not need to be strong to come to the light; the light gives me strength as I approach it. I feel I lack the strength to see with the purity of vision called for by the Course, but God gives me the strength I need, and in His light, I see. Thank You, Father, for the light You shine into my mind today. Thank You for the light right now, in this moment. From sue at circleofa.org Tue Apr 21 06:05:24 2009 From: sue at circleofa.org (Sue Roth) Date: Tue, 21 Apr 2009 06:05:24 -0400 Subject: [acimlessons_list] Review III, Lesson 112 - April 22 Message-ID: Review III, Lesson 112 - April 22 Light and joy and peace abide in me. I am as God created me. PRACTICE INSTRUCTIONS See Practice Instructions for Review III COMMENTARY I am the home of light. My native being is inherently compatible with light. Light belongs with me and in me. I am not the home of darkness. By nature, when unhindered by illusion, I radiate light to everything around me. I am the home of joy. Sorrow and sadness are unnatural to me. When joy enters my mind it feels as if it belongs there. There is nothing in me that is inconsistent with pure joy. There is nothing in me that inhibits an atmosphere of constant joy. By nature, joy emanates from my being and stays with me. I am comfortable with joy, and joy is comfortable with me. I am the home of peace. I am where peace belongs. Peace is native to my mind. Peace is my natural state of mind, when it is set upon the truth. Nothing in me is discordant with a steady state of peace. Peace harmonizes with my being. My natural radiance spreads peace to every mind around me. This is how God created me. This is how I am, and will be forever. I am as changeless as God Himself, one with Him, and He with me. Nothing I have ever done or said or thought has changed this truth about me. What I am cannot change; what I am is eternal and consistent in its being. Today, recognizing the truth about myself, I welcome the light. I welcome pure joy. I welcome God's peace. And I share them with the world. From sue at circleofa.org Wed Apr 22 08:06:31 2009 From: sue at circleofa.org (Sue Roth) Date: Wed, 22 Apr 2009 08:06:31 -0400 Subject: [acimlessons_list] Review III, Lesson 113 - April 23 Message-ID: Review III, Lesson 113 - April 23 "I am one Self, united with my Creator." "Salvation comes from my one Self." PRACTICE SUMMARY See Practice Instructions for Review III COMMENTARY There is something inexpressibly appealing about the idea of being "one Self." Much of modern psychology talks about "integration" of the disparate aspects of our being. So much of the time we feel as if we are made up of varying segments, sometimes cooperating but more often than not conflicting with one another. There is what the Jungian analysts refer to as our "shadow" self, all the dark, repressed tendencies that follow us around as dark figures in our dreams. The Course holds out the vision of a unified Self. It speaks of "a mind at peace within itself" (W-pII.8.3:4). It tells us that because we must be only one self, we cannot be in conflict. The Text talks about our war against ourselves (Chapter 23) and says that the apparent conflict we see in the world around us is nothing but a reflection of the illusion of conflict we all carry within our own minds. It says that "peace begins within the world perceived as different, and leading from this fresh perception to the gate of Heaven and the way beyond" (W-pI.200.8:2). The peace must begin within us, in the serenity and calm of an integrated self, in a mind free of conflict and attack. The Self we are speaking of is more than just a whole individual, however. It is one Self shared by all, "at one with all creation and with God" (1:2). The two are really different aspects of the same thing, for as we free ourselves of conflict within ourselves, our conflict with the world will miraculously disappear. This is why salvation comes from this one Self. When we have consolidated ourselves, recognized the truth of our unified being, this condition of wholeness naturally extends to others. From within the Circle of Atonement (T-14.V) we draw others to their own wholeness, shared with us. Today I still my mind from all its conflicts. I dissociate myself from the dissociation, I separate myself from the separation. I take time in quiet to break my sense of identification with this image of a shattered self, and I let myself sink down into the awareness of "one Self" within me. Who I really am. Conflicting images of myself come and go with startling frequency; they cannot be my reality. Something persists beneath it all, the "hum" of being in which all the flash and drama seems to occur. It is this steadiness that I am, not the ephemeral shooting stars of thought that seem to demand my attention. I embrace this one Self, avidly, saying, "Salvation comes from my one Self. This oneness is my salvation. This oneness is my reality." From sue at circleofa.org Thu Apr 23 06:10:02 2009 From: sue at circleofa.org (Sue Roth) Date: Thu, 23 Apr 2009 06:10:02 -0400 Subject: [acimlessons_list] REVIEW III, Lesson 114 - April 24 Message-ID: REVIEW III, Lesson 114 - April 24 "I am spirit." "I will accept my part in God's plan for salvation." PRACTICE SUMMARY See Practice Instructions for Review III COMMENTARY "No body can contain my spirit" (1:3) or limit it. So often, even when we connect with spiritual reality in some way, we think of ourselves (as someone has said) as human beings having a spiritual experience; it would be more accurate to conceive our ourselves as spiritual beings having a human experience. The first way of looking at it makes our humanness the basic reality, with the spiritual something that comes and goes within that reality. The second way of looking at it realizes that the spiritual is our basic reality, and the "human" experience is something that comes and goes within that reality. "I am spirit." That is what I am. The experience of being a human being in a body is a temporary, passing thing. It does not alter what I am, and it cannot limit what I truly am, although it seems to do so because I believe in limitation. The value of such things as psychic or paranormal experiences lies in the degree to which they help us realize that the limits under which we habitually operate are not firm and fixed. Minds really are joined; space and time are not absolute limits; and so on. We all have many abilities of which we are not aware (M-25.1:3), because we are not bodies but spirit. The transcendence of these limits, while appearing "supernatural" from the bodily perspective, is really completely natural; it is the limits that are unnatural (M-25.2:7,8). Anything that breaks our illusion of being limited to the body and makes that illusion less solid in our perception is useful, to the degree that we use these experiences or powers under the direction of the Holy Spirit. The experiences and powers are not ends in themselves. Our primary purpose is not to develop paranormal abilities, but to fulfill our part in God's plan for salvation, which is simply to accept His Word about "what I am and will forever be" (2:2).In other words, spirit, complete and holy and everlasting. Notice that; my function, my part in the plan, is to the truth about what I am. It may seem as though that has nothing to do with anyone else, but it has everything to do with everyone else, because what I am is a part of everyone and everyone is a part of me. My illusion is that I am separate; the truth is that we all are one. To accept the truth about myself is to accept you as part of me, and us together as part of God. That involves forgiving you, forgiving the world, and forgiving God. To accept the Atonement for myself to extend the Atonement to everyone around me; I cannot find my Self if I exclude you. To accept the fullness of my Self and my own creative power, I must cease to see myself as the victim of anyone or anything--because that is not the truth about what I am. To accept my unsullied integrity of being, I must cease to blame you for anything and realize that I am affected only by my own thoughts. Today, I will relax and let go of bodily limits. I will look at the limits I believe in and remind myself they are unreal. I will cease to "value what is valueless" and let go of my investment in my body. I will care for it as I would any useful possession, but I will try to undo, at least a little, my attachment to it and my feeling of identity with it. It will die. It will cease to be, but I will not, for I am spirit. I will accept this reality about myself because this is my part in God's plan for salvation. From sue at circleofa.org Fri Apr 24 06:41:48 2009 From: sue at circleofa.org (Sue Roth) Date: Fri, 24 Apr 2009 06:41:48 -0400 Subject: [acimlessons_list] Review III, Lesson 115 - April 25 Message-ID: Review III, Lesson 115 - April 25 "Salvation is my only function here." "My part is essential to God's plan for salvation." PRACTICE SUMMARY Purpose: a second chance at the last 20 lessons, in which you can practice them more diligently, and which can carry you so far ahead that you will continue your journey "on more solid ground, with firmer footsteps and with stronger faith" (12:3). Remarks: Please follow the format below as closely as you can. If you miss a practice period (either the longer ones or the every-half-hour ones) because you simply couldn't do it at the appointed time, your progress is not hindered. Don't worry about making those ones up. If, however, you missed because you just didn't want to give the time, your progress is hindered. Those ones should be made up. You missed because you thought some other activity would deliver more. As soon as you remember that "your practicing can offer everything to you" (4:5), do your make-up practice periods as a statement that your real goal is salvation. In deciding if you should make up a practice period, be very honest with yourself. Do not try to pass off "I didn't want to practice" as "I couldn't practice." Learn to discern between situations truly unsuited to practicing and those in which you could practice if you wanted. Longer: 2 - one in the morning, one in the hour before sleep (ideally the first and last 5 minutes of your day), for 5 minutes (longer if you prefer) * Read over the two ideas and the comments about them, so that the ideas are firmly placed in your mind. * Then close your eyes and begin to think about the ideas and also to let related thoughts come (you should remember both of these practices from earlier lessons). This time, however, there is an important twist. Let your mind search out various needs, problems, and concerns in your life. As each one arises, let your mind come up with thoughts related to the ideas, thoughts which apply the essence of those ideas to the need, problem, or concern. In other words, let your mind creatively apply the ideas so as to dispel your sense of need, problem, or concern. This is a more developed version of letting related thoughts come, in which it combines with response to temptation (there were hints of this in Review II-see my response to temptation comments there). * Remember your training in letting related thoughts come: place the ideas in your mind. Trust your mind's inherent wisdom to generate related thoughts (this trust is a big theme in this review). Don't strain-let your mind come up with thoughts. The thoughts need only be indirectly related to the ideas, though they should not be in conflict. If your mind wanders, or you draw a blank, repeat the ideas and try again. * If you try this and it is just too unstructured for you, I have found the following more structured version to be useful: 1. Let a need, problem or concern come to mind, and name it to yourself (for example, "I see this conflict with so-and-so as a problem"). 2. Repeat one or both of the ideas for the day (for instance, "I am spirit"). 3. While repeating the idea, watch your mind for any sparks of insight that arise which apply the idea to your need, problem or concern, and verbalize this insight to yourself (for example, "As spirit, I cannot be hurt. I am totally invulnerable"). 4. Either continue with more such related thoughts, or go on to the next need, problem or concern. Frequent reminders: on the hour and on the half hour, for a moment * Repeat the applicable idea (on the hour, the first idea; on the half hour, the second idea). * Allow your mind to rest in silence and peace for a moment. * Afterwards, try to carry the idea with you, keeping it ready for response to temptation. Response to temptation: whenever your peace is shaken Repeat the idea (the one you are carrying with you from your last practice period). By applying the idea to the business of the day, you will make that business holy. Remarks: These shorter practice periods (frequent reminders and response to temptation) are at least as important as the longer. By skipping these, which you have tended to do, you have not allowed what you gained in the longer periods to be applied to the rest of your life, where it could show just how great its gifts are. After your longer practice periods, don't let your learning "lie idly by" (10:1). Reinforce it with the frequent reminders every half hour. And after those, do not lay the idea down (11:3). Have it poised and ready to use in response to all your little upsets. In this way, you forge a continuous chain that reaches from your longer practice periods all the way into the hustle and bustle of your day. COMMENTARY My job is to forgive the world for all of mistakes (1:2). Unless I have some idea of the Text's teaching about projection I won't have clue as to what this means. Every "sin" I see out there in the world (even things like terrorist bombings) is, in some way, a projection of a judgment I have made on myself. My reluctance to forgive anything or to see it as a call for love which merits a response of healing love is a reflection of the degree to which I haven't forgiven myself. The form I perceive "out there" may be shifted, altered and transmogrified from my own form of "sin" so that I don't recognize it. In fact, so far as the ego is concerned, the more unrecognizable the better. But the content is always the same. I may not blow up children but if I judge those who do as unforgivable I am harboring a belief in vengeance that I haven't forgiven in myself, and my judgment of the bombers is my judgment of myself. Therefore, when I release the world from guilt I have released myself. My only function is to forgive. Not to be a success in the world, not to change anything, just to forgive. It's only when I accept this that I come to real inner peace. My doing this--my part in forgiveness--is essential to the whole process. For the world to find its complete guiltlessness I must stop laying guilt on it. There are people around me today who need guilt lifted from their shoulders, and doing that is why I meet them. It may look like I'm doing business, buying and selling, teaching, mending broken bones or programming computers, but the real reason I am here is to save the world, to forgive, and to release from guilt. From sue at circleofa.org Sat Apr 25 07:27:01 2009 From: sue at circleofa.org (Sue Roth) Date: Sat, 25 Apr 2009 07:27:01 -0400 Subject: [acimlessons_list] Review III, Lesson 116 - April 26 Message-ID: Review III, Lesson 116 - April 26 "God's Will for me is perfect happiness." "I share God's Will for happiness for me." PRACTICE SUMMARY See Practice Instructions for Review III COMMENTARY Somewhere in our collective psyche there is a dark and terrible myth. The myth is that God's Will means suffering and sacrifice, the loss of all that we love, giving up everything that is dear to us for the sake of His Kingdom. Doing God's Will in this myth is a dark and cheerless thing. In one of her books or lectures, Marianne Williamson characterized it as, "I thought I would have to wear grey for the rest of my life." God's Will is happiness. How could Love want anything else for us? Every human being, even the lowest, wants those they love to be happy. How could we have ever imagined that God, the perfect Lover, wanted anything other than perfect happiness for us? All our suffering, then, must come from a belief that there is some "other" will opposing God's that wants to ruin our happiness. We secretly suspect, perhaps, that that will is our own. If not, we know "they" are out there someplace, and they have it in for us. Yet there is no "other" will. There is no malevolent power stalking the universe and targeting us for destruction. There is only God. I share God's Will for happiness for me. I am not incurably self-destructive, with some dark and unfathomable vein of antipathy towards God, the universe, and myself inescapably driving me to death. My real will is one with God's, and I will happiness. "I will there be light," as an earlier lesson said. His Will is really all I want. The Course talks a great deal about the dark foundations of the ego that drive toward death. Those stygian currents do flow within our minds, and they do warp and befoul our experience in this world. But the Course does not leave us there, without hope. It bears the message that although the ego seems very real, it is not us. It has no power over us; it is a mistaken fabrication our minds have made. And because we made it, we can unmake it. Because we chose it, we can choose again. If we stop being afraid of those murky corners of our minds and look at them, we will recognize they have no substance. We will see through them to our true Self. We will see what those dark foundations have been hiding all this time: our own intense and burning love for God, and His for us (T-13.III.2:8). Here, in the foundation of our being, we want what God wants, we love what God loves, and we will what God wills. Today, then, I let myself rest in the happy thought that at the root of my being is an irresistable drive towards truth. Perhaps I do not yet experience "perfect happiness," but I will. I must. Because the heart of my heart wills it, and joins with God in willing it, and there is nothing that stands in the way that has any reality or power to resist. "Nothing can prevent what God would have accomplished from accomplishment. Whatever your reactions to the Holy Spirit's Voice may be, whatever voice you choose to listen to, whatever strange thoughts may occur to you, God's Will done" (T-13.XI.5:3,4). "There is no chance that Heaven will not be yours, for God is sure, and what He wills is as sure as He is" (T-13.XI.8:9). From sue at circleofa.org Sun Apr 26 09:30:00 2009 From: sue at circleofa.org (Sue Roth) Date: Sun, 26 Apr 2009 09:30:00 -0400 Subject: [acimlessons_list] Review III, Lesson 117 - April 27 Message-ID: Review III, Lesson 117 - April 27 "God, being Love, is also happiness." "I seek but what belongs to me in truth." PRACTICE SUMMARY PURPOSE: a second chance at the last 20 lessons, in which you can practice them more diligently, and which can carry you so far ahead that you will continue your journey "on more solid ground, with firmer footsteps and with stronger faith" (12:3). REMARKS: Please follow the format below as closely as you can. If you miss a practice period (either the longer ones or the every-half-hour ones) because you simply couldn't do it at the appointed time, your progress is not hindered. Don't worry about making those ones up. If, however, you missed because you just didn't want to give the time, your progress is hindered. Those ones should be made up. You missed because you thought some other activity would deliver more. As soon as you remember that "your practicing can offer everything to you" (4:5), do your make-up practice periods as a statement that your real goal is salvation. In deciding if you should make up a practice period, be very honest with yourself. Do not try to pass off "I didn't want to practice" as "I couldn't practice." Learn to discern between situations truly unsuited to practicing and those in which you could practice if you wanted. LONGER: 2-one in the morning, one in the hour before sleep (ideally the first and last 5 minutes of your day), for 5 minutes (longer if you prefer) * Read over the two ideas and the comments about them, so that the ideas are firmly placed in your mind. * Then close your eyes and begin to think about the ideas and also to let related thoughts come (you should remember both of these practices from earlier lessons). This time, however, there is an important twist. Let your mind search out various needs, problems, and concerns in your life. As each one arises, let your mind come up with thoughts related to the ideas, thoughts which apply the essence of those ideas to the need, problem, or concern. In other words, let your mind creatively apply the ideas so as to dispel your sense of need, problem, or concern. This is a more developed version of letting related thoughts come, in which it combines with response to temptation (there were hints of this in Review II-see my response to temptation comments there). * Remember your training in letting related thoughts come: place the ideas in your mind. Trust your mind's inherent wisdom to generate related thoughts (this trust is a big theme in this review). Don't strain-let your mind come up with thoughts. The thoughts need only be indirectly related to the ideas, though they should not be in conflict. If your mind wanders, or you draw a blank, repeat the ideas and try again. * If you try this and it is just too unstructured for you, I have found the following more structured version to be useful: 1. Let a need, problem or concern come to mind, and name it to yourself (for example, "I see this conflict with so-and-so as a problem"). 2. Repeat one or both of the ideas for the day (for instance, "I am spirit"). 3. While repeating the idea, watch your mind for any sparks of insight that arise which apply the idea to your need, problem or concern, and verbalize this insight to yourself (for example, "As spirit, I cannot be hurt. I am totally invulnerable"). 4. Either continue with more such related thoughts, or go on to the next need, problem or concern. FREQUENT REMINDERS: on the hour and on the half hour, for a moment * Repeat the applicable idea (on the hour, the first idea; on the half hour, the second idea). * Allow your mind to rest in silence and peace for a moment. * Afterwards, try to carry the idea with you, keeping it ready for response to temptation. RESPONSE TO TEMPTATION: whenever your peace is shaken Repeat the idea (the one you are carrying with you from your last practice period). By applying the idea to the business of the day, you will make that business holy. REMARKS: These shorter practice periods (frequent reminders and response to temptation) are at least as important as the longer. By skipping these, which you have tended to do, you have not allowed what you gained in the longer periods to be applied to the rest of your life, where it could show just how great its gifts are. After your longer practice periods, don't let your learning "lie idly by" (10:1). Reinforce it with the frequent reminders every half hour. And after those, do not lay the idea down (11:3). Have it poised and ready to use in response to all your little upsets. In this way, you forge a continuous chain that reaches from your longer practice periods all the way into the hustle and bustle of your day. COMMENTARY "Let me remember love is happiness, and nothing else brings joy" (1:2). One of the things that over time has convinced me of the truth of the Course is this very experience: I am happiest when I am loving. I don't just mean "I'm happy when I'm in love," in the romantic sense of the word, although that certainly isn't excluded. When love flows through me, whether it is in a closely intimate relationship or in something more "distant" (sitting here writing these notes and thinking of all of you, for instance), I am happy. Loving makes me happy. No, more than that; "love is happiness." (Barry Kaufman wrote a wonderful book called, "To Love Is to Be Happy With." I always thought that was a profound title.) On the other hand, anger is misery. If I think about how I feel when I am angry, I will notice that I don't like the way I feel. As much as the Course is about concepts and about changing our mind, often the change of mind is a decision about feelings: "You can begin to change your mind with this: " (T-30.I.8:1,2). Feelings can be very useful when we think about them, and use them as motivators for changing our mind. Anger makes me miserable; loving makes me happy. Therefore, I will choose love. Is that paying attention to feelings, or is it logic? Or both? Whatever it is, it works. I said that noticing that loving and happiness go together has helped convince me that the Course is true. Here's why. The Course says we are wholly loving and wholly loveable. It says, "Teach only love, for that is what you are" (T-6.I.13:2). Sometimes I don't feel as if I am love. Yet if when I love I am happy, love must be my will; it must be my nature. What is happiness, except the freedom to be myself and to fulfill my nature? If I am happy when I love, then I must love. That is what this line means: "Love is my heritage, and with it joy" (2:2). My heritage; my nature; what I am. Love belongs to me in truth, and with it happiness, since they are the same thing. Today, as often as I can, I intend to remind myself: "Love is happiness" (1:2). And then, in that moment, to just be the love that I am. If I want to be always happy, let me always be loving. And joyous! Oh, the happiness and joy when the heart opens and lets out the love! May I not cause myself pain today by holding it back. God bless you all! From sue at circleofa.org Mon Apr 27 06:05:45 2009 From: sue at circleofa.org (Sue Roth) Date: Mon, 27 Apr 2009 06:05:45 -0400 Subject: [acimlessons_list] Review III, Lesson 118 - April 28 Message-ID: Review III, Lesson 118 - April 28 "God's peace and joy are mine." "Let me be still and listen to the truth." PRACTICE SUMMARY See Review III Practice Instructions COMMENTARY The substitutes that I have made are what stand in the way of my accepting God's peace and joy. I already God's peace and joy, but my ego has decided they are not enough. As the Course says, I want "more than everything" (T-29.VII.2:3); my own wholeness is not enough. That section of the Text actually says that my seeking for "more than everything" is shown by the very fact that I am in this world. "No one who comes here but must still have hope, some lingering illusion, or some dream that there is something outside of himself that will bring happiness and peace to him" (T-29.VII.2:1). "Happiness and peace" is what I am looking for, but outside of myself. I have denied that they are within me, where God placed them. In order to find the peace and joy that are inherently mine, I have to "exchange" all the substitutes I have made. I have to let go of looking for happiness anywhere outside of myself. That isn't easy, in my experience. It seems to happen gradually, over time. Little by little we learn that what we are looking for in the world simply isn't there, not in any lasting way. Little by little, in parallel, we begin to take little tastes of our internal joy and peace. As we begin to weigh the two experiences it starts to become obvious that the peace and joy that come from within are much more reliable and satisfying than that which comes from without. We may try for a time to hold on to both, but it doesn't work. Eventually we will let go, and fall back into the arms of God. Eventually we will simply accept God's peace and joy. My voice keeps trying to declare how things should be. Essentially the Course is telling us to stop listening to our own advice: "Resign now as your own teacher" (T-12.V.8:3), it urges us. We have to stop thinking we are in control, that we know what to do and what is needed, and learn to listen. Like a drowning person, our own efforts to save ourselves are the biggest barrier to our Life Guard. We need to trust Him, to lie back and let go. The best way I know of to learn to do this is to practice doing it. To simply sit down for five, ten, fifteen minutes (whatever the lesson calls for, whatever seems right) and, after very briefly reviewing the idea of the day, just to be quiet. It seems hellaciously difficult, many days, to simply be quiet. The minute I try my mind starts reminding me of things: "Don't forget to make that phone call. You need yogurt from the store. What are you going to do about your relationship with X? You haven't done your laundry this week. You are overweight and you're going to die." I take a deep breath. Another. Another. I repeat the words for the day, "Let me be still and listen to the truth." Or I say, "Help!" to the Holy Spirit. I let the thoughts come and go. I step back and watch them and try not to get drawn in. And I listen; maybe there is some word from my Teacher that will come. And sometimes, there is. Sometimes I just get very quiet, and the chatter of thoughts subsides, if not completely, to a dull, background murmur, like a crowd in a busy restaurant that I'm not really paying attention to. I practice getting quiet and listening. I don't know about you, but I think it is a worthwhile exercise. Sometimes, it even carries over into my day, and I find myself listening to the Voice and not to myself as I move through it. And that's what it's all about. From sue at circleofa.org Tue Apr 28 05:56:07 2009 From: sue at circleofa.org (Sue Roth) Date: Tue, 28 Apr 2009 05:56:07 -0400 Subject: [acimlessons_list] Review III, Lesson 119 - April 29 Message-ID: Review III, Lesson 119 - April 29 "Truth will correct all errors in my mind." "To give and to receive are one in truth." PRACTICE SUMMARY See Review III Practice Instructions COMMENTARY The first idea speaks of the correction of all error. The two explanatory sentences that follow speak on a very high level, defining "error" as any thought that we can be hurt. What I am is spirit. Spirit is eternal and unchanging, created by God like Himself. By the Course's definition, what can be hurt or damaged is not real. That includes our bodies, our woundable psyches, everything we see in the physical universe; all of it has an end. "Nothing real can be threatened," says the Introduction to the Text. What I am learning is the invulnerability of my being, the eternal safety of my Self, at rest in the Mind of God. We are undergoing a very gradual and gentle weaning away from our identification with the ephemeral. What we are, in truth, does not die. We have dreamed a dream, and foolishly have come to believe the dream is us. We are not the dream; we are the dreamer. (The Text speaks at length of this in Chapter 27, Sections VII and VIII.) The Holy Spirit eases us through a transitional phase, changing our terrifying dream into a happy one, so that we will waken softly and joyfully, no longer gripped by terrors of the night. How are we to shift our dream? It is too great a leap to go from a state where pain and hurt and death are bitter realities to us, into an awareness of our eternal nature. So the second idea for today speaks of the means by which we can begin, gently, to shift into the happy dream: forgiveness. We come to recognize our sinlessness, and thus our Self, by forgiving all things around us. We have to to accept the truth in ourselves, and we do so by learning to see past the error in others, until with a start of recognition, we realize that what is beneath the errors of others is Something we share with them. We find ourselves in our brothers and sisters, through forgiveness. What we have learned to give to others has, all the time, been given to ourselves. We awaken by awaking others. We teach peace to learn it. In kindness and mercy towards others, we ourselves fall into the kind and merciful heart of God. From sue at circleofa.org Wed Apr 29 04:49:53 2009 From: sue at circleofa.org (Sue Roth) Date: Wed, 29 Apr 2009 04:49:53 -0400 Subject: [acimlessons_list] Review III, Lesson 120 - April 30 Message-ID: Review III, Lesson 120 - April 30 "I rest in God." "I am as God created me." PRACTICE SUMMARY Purpose: a second chance at the last 20 lessons, in which you can practice them more diligently, and which can carry you so far ahead that you will continue your journey "on more solid ground, with firmer footsteps and with stronger faith" (12:3). Remarks: Please follow the format below as closely as you can. If you miss a practice period (either the longer ones or the every-half-hour ones) because you simply couldn't do it at the appointed time, your progress is not hindered. Don't worry about making those ones up. If, however, you missed because you just didn't want to give the time, your progress is hindered. Those ones should be made up. You missed because you thought some other activity would deliver more. As soon as you remember that "your practicing can offer everything to you" (4:5), do your make-up practice periods as a statement that your real goal is salvation. In deciding if you should make up a practice period, be very honest with yourself. Do not try to pass off "I didn't want to practice" as "I couldn't practice." Learn to discern between situations truly unsuited to practicing and those in which you could practice if you wanted. Longer: 2 - one in the morning, one in the hour before sleep (ideally the first and last 5 minutes of your day), for 5 minutes (longer if you prefer) * Read over the two ideas and the comments about them, so that the ideas are firmly placed in your mind. * Then close your eyes and begin to think about the ideas and also to let related thoughts come (you should remember both of these practices from earlier lessons). This time, however, there is an important twist. Let your mind search out various needs, problems, and concerns in your life. As each one arises, let your mind come up with thoughts related to the ideas, thoughts which apply the essence of those ideas to the need, problem, or concern. In other words, let your mind creatively apply the ideas so as to dispel your sense of need, problem, or concern. This is a more developed version of letting related thoughts come, in which it combines with response to temptation (there were hints of this in Review II - see my response to temptation comments there). * Remember your training in letting related thoughts come: place the ideas in your mind. Trust your mind's inherent wisdom to generate related thoughts (this trust is a big theme in this review). Don't strain - let your mind come up with thoughts. The thoughts need only be indirectly related to the ideas, though they should not be in conflict. If your mind wanders, or you draw a blank, repeat the ideas and try again. * If you try this and it is just too unstructured for you, I have found the following more structured version to be useful: 1. Let a need, problem or concern come to mind, and name it to yourself (for example, "I see this conflict with so-and-so as a problem"). 2. Repeat one or both of the ideas for the day (for instance, "I am spirit"). 3. While repeating the idea, watch your mind for any sparks of insight that arise which apply the idea to your need, problem or concern, and verbalize this insight to yourself (for example, "As spirit, I cannot be hurt. I am totally invulnerable"). 4. Either continue with more such related thoughts, or go on to the next need, problem or concern. Frequent reminders: on the hour and on the half hour, for a moment * Repeat the applicable idea (on the hour, the first idea; on the half hour, the second idea). * Allow your mind to rest in silence and peace for a moment. * Afterwards, try to carry the idea with you, keeping it ready for response to temptation. Response to temptation: whenever your peace is shaken Repeat the idea (the one you are carrying with you from your last practice period). By applying the idea to the business of the day, you will make that business holy. Remarks: These shorter practice periods (frequent reminders and response to temptation) are at least as important as the longer. By skipping these, which you have tended to do, you have not allowed what you gained in the longer periods to be applied to the rest of your life, where it could show just how great its gifts are. After your longer practice periods, don't let your learning "lie idly by" (10:1). Reinforce it with the frequent reminders every half hour. And after those, do not lay the idea down (11:3). Have it poised and ready to use in response to all your little upsets. In this way, you forge a continuous chain that reaches from your longer practice periods all the way into the hustle and bustle of your day. COMMENTARY Every now and then I'm glad my old high school English teacher taught me to diagram sentences. I find myself doing things like noticing the main phrases in a sentence like this: "I rest in God and let Him work...while I rest...". For me, today, what this says is just to relax and trust the process. Just to "let go and let God," as the saying goes. Sunday is traditionally a "day of rest" in the Christian tradition, and for most of us, a day in which it is convenient (more than other days) to practice resting. Periodically it is beneficial to take one day, and consciously make it a day of rest for yourself. That doesn't mean you might not do something productive, but if you do, it will be because it is something you enjoy doing, something you want to do. Today I want to remember PEACE. Sometimes I get so worried I won't make it. I pick at the scabs of my healing mind, wondering when they will heal completely. I fuss and wonder what else I can be doing to make the healing happen faster. Fussing just makes it worse. Fussing is what I am being healed . So let me rest today. Ahhh! As I rest, my Father tells me Who I really am. "The memory of God comes to the quiet mind" (T-23.I.1:1). When I allow myself to settle back in spirit, I find a firm foundation, the bedrock of my Self, as God created me. I'm OK. The turmoil I am so concerned about is nothing but "sick illusions of myself." What I am is just fine, and I don't have to protect It. I am home. I am whole. I am safe. From sue at circleofa.org Thu Apr 30 06:07:01 2009 From: sue at circleofa.org (Sue Roth) Date: Thu, 30 Apr 2009 06:07:01 -0400 Subject: [acimlessons_list] Lesson 121 - May 1 Message-ID: Lesson 121 - May 1 "Forgiveness is the key to happiness." PRACTICE INSTRUCTIONS Purpose: To learn to give forgiveness and see that, when you do, you receive forgiveness. Morning/evening practice: Two times, for ten minutes. * Identify someone to forgive. Think of someone you dislike or despise or find irritable or want to avoid. The one that has already come to your mind will do. * Close your eyes and see him in your mind, and look at him a while. Try to find some little spark of light in your picture of him. You are looking for some loving or true quality in him, or perhaps some kind thought or caring gesture of his - some distant reflection of the light of God in him. Everything hinges on this, so take your time. Once you find something, see it symbolized as a tiny spark of light somewhere in your dark picture of him. Then see this tiny spark slowly expand until it completely covers your picture of him, replacing all the darkness with light. In other words, see him only in light of this one loving quality or act. See this as the only clue to who he really is. If you succeed, he will seem to be a holy person, without a single flaw, radiating light. You might even imagine Great Rays shining out from him. Now look at this changed picture a while. Appreciate how lovely and spotless it is. * Now think of someone you consider a friend. Try to transfer the light you saw around your "enemy" to this friend. This makes the friend seem to be much more than a friend. He is revealed to be your savior, with power to enlighten you with just one glance of his holy eyes. * Now let your savior offer you the light you gave to him. Then let your former enemy unite with him, so that they both offer you this light. Why wouldn't they give this holy gift to you, when you gave it to them, and revealed your holiness in the process? See rays of forgiveness pouring off of them and onto you, absolving you of your "sins," causing you to radiate the same Great Rays that they do. See yourself at one with them, united in the holy light of forgiveness that you have given and received. "Now have you been forgiven by yourself" (13:3). Frequent reminders: Every hour - do not forget. Repeat, "Forgiveness is the key to happiness. I will awaken from the dream that I am mortal, fallible and full of sin, and know I am the perfect Son of God." To understand these lines, it helps to insert "through forgiveness" at the beginning of the second sentence. Remember the old adage "To err is human, to forgive divine"? Forgiveness is what proves to us that we are more than human, that we are divine. One more point: If you are really going to say these lines every hour, you'll need to either spend time memorizing them or have them written down on a card. COMMENTARY The longer I study the Course the more this lesson makes sense. When I first read it, it seemed unlikely to me that forgiveness was the key to happiness. I could see it being a key but not the key. As the Course's explanation of the root of our problems began to sink in, however, I began to see that in one way or another, unforgiveness was behind every problem. Then it began to make sense that forgiveness would solve them all. Look at the litany of ills that comprise this description of "the unforgiving mind" (2:1 - 5:5): * Fear * A cramped, constricted mindset that offers no room for love to grow and thrive * Sadness, suffering, doubt, confusion, anger * The pairs of conflicting fears; the one that speaks to me most eloquently is "afraid of every sound, yet more afraid of stillness" (3:1) * The distortion of perception that results from unforgiveness, making us unable to see mistakes as what they are, and perceiving sins instead * Babbling terror of our own projections (4:2) I recognize myself, or at least memories of myself, in so many of these phrases: "It wants to live, yet wishes it were dead. It wants forgiveness, yet it sees no hope" (4:3 - 4). I've felt like that. These paragraphs describe us all. I think that if someone does not recognize themselves somewhere in here, they are not being honest with themselves. And the most awful thought of all is this one: "It thinks it cannot change" (5:3). Hasn't that fear struck at your own heart at one time or another? I know it has struck at mine. When we admit to ourselves that these descriptions fit us, that we find ourselves in one or another of these states of mind, the very word "forgiveness" sounds like an oasis in the Sahara. Cool, soothing and refreshing. As we were told in Lesson 79, we have to recognize the problem before we realize what the solution really is. "Forgiveness is acquired. It is not inherent in the mind" (6:1 - 2). This states a fundamental principle that explains much of the methodology of the Course, and explains why some sort of transition is necessary between where we think we are and where we already are in truth. If we are already perfect, as God created us, why do we have to learn anything at all? Because the solution to the problem of guilt is forgiveness, and forgiveness was not part of our mind as God created it. There was no need for it. Without a thought of sin the concept of forgiveness is meaningless. Because we taught ourselves the idea of sin, now we must be taught the antidote, forgiveness. Forgiveness has to be acquired. But the unforgiving mind cannot teach itself forgiveness. It believes in the reality of sin, and with that as a basis, forgiveness is impossible. Everything it perceives in the world proves that "all its sins are real" (3:3). Caught in unforgiveness, we are convinced of the correctness of our perception of things. We do not question it. From that perspective there is no way our minds can even conceive of true forgiveness. This is why we need the Holy Spirit: "a Teacher other than yourself, Who represents the other Self in you" (6:3). There has to be a "higher Power" Who represents a different frame of mind. The source of our redemption has to be outside of the ego mindset, apart from it, untainted by it. And so He is. He teaches us to forgive, and through forgiveness, our mind is returned to our Self, "Who can never sin" (6:5). Each person "outside" of us, each representative of that unforgiving mind crowd, "presents you with an opportunity to teach your own [mind] how to forgive itself" (7:1). Our brothers and sisters, manifesting their egos, full of the fear, pain, turmoil, and confusion of the world, snapping at us in their terror, are our saviors. In forgiving them we forgive ourselves in proxy. As we teach salvation we learn it. As we release others from hell, we release ourselves. As we give, we receive. This is what the Course is all about. As we practice today, let's realize that we are engaging in the central exercise of the Course; we are learning "the key to happiness." And let's not think we already know forgiveness; let us come with humility, ready to be taught by One Who knows.