From sue at circleofa.org Sun Feb 1 09:26:12 2009 From: sue at circleofa.org (Sue Roth) Date: Sun, 1 Feb 2009 09:26:12 -0500 Subject: [acimlessons_list] Lesson 33 - February 2 Message-ID: Lesson 33 - February 2 "There is another way of looking at the world." PRACTICE SUMMARY Purpose: to show you that you have the power to change your perception of both the outer and inner world, which are really the same. Longer: 2 times, morning and evening, for 5 full minutes Go back and forth from glancing around your outer world to closing your eyes and observing your inner world. While doing so repeat the idea unhurriedly. Regard both inner and outer worlds with equal casualness, uninvolvement, and detachment, to the point where you feel little transition in shifting between them. Frequent reminders: as often as you can Repeat the idea. Try to be as detached as you were during the longer exercises. Response to temptation: the instant any situation disturbs you When upset, apply the idea specifically, saying, "There is another way of looking at this." Do so immediately, rather than waiting until you have tried to fix things on the outside. If your feelings do not clear up right away, don't give up. Spend a minute or more repeating the sentence over and over, closing your eyes and concentrating on the words you are saying. COMMENTARY This lesson asserts the power of our minds to choose how we see the world. We can shift our perception of the world! That is not only a personally empowering concept, it is, quite literally, a world-changing realization. As we begin to examine our thoughts, we will be amazed at the number of situations in which the idea of "another way" of looking at it has simply never occurred to us. With some things, the idea that we could see them differently may actually be offensive. Without realizing it we may be saying, "My mind is already made up; don't confuse me with facts." That is why following the practice instructions with these lessons is so important. It isn't just the longer five-minute times in the morning and evening; "The shorter exercise periods should be as frequent as possible" (3:1). The more often we bring this idea into our awareness during the day, the more we will become aware of areas of thought that we are protecting from change. From sue at circleofa.org Mon Feb 2 05:52:17 2009 From: sue at circleofa.org (Sue Roth) Date: Mon, 2 Feb 2009 05:52:17 -0500 Subject: [acimlessons_list] Lesson 34 - February 3 Message-ID: Lesson 34 - February 3 "I could see peace instead of this." PRACTICE SUMMARY Purpose: to begin to experience the peace that characterizes true vision. Longer: 3 times, morning, evening, and once in between, for 5 minutes Close your eyes and search your mind for "upsetting" situations, personalities, and events (a typical triad in the Workbook). Repeat the idea slowly as you dispassionately watch the stream of upsets go by. After a couple of minutes, you may run out of upsets. That is all right. Just keep repeating the idea slowly until the five minutes are up. Response to temptation: Make a point of watching your mind today for upsets. Whenever you notice one, apply the idea to it. There are two forms of upset to watch out for, each requiring a slightly different form of practice: 1. If you are upset about a specific situation, apply the idea specifically: "I could see peace in this situation instead of what I now see in it." 2. If your upset is not attached to anything in particular, but consists of a general mood of depression or worry, simply repeat the idea. If needed, take several minutes, repeating the idea until you feel relief. It will help if you add, "I can replace my feelings of depression, anxiety or worry [or my thoughts about this situation, personality or event] with peace." Remarks: The final sentences of this lesson make a very important point, one to remember throughout the Workbook and afterwards. Repeating the idea just once may not do the trick. Your upset may go away only after you've spent several minutes repeating the idea. Repeating the same line again and again may sound like some kind of brainwashing, in which you just drum your mind into submission. However, I find this to be an exercise not in putting my mind to sleep, but in gradually illuminating it. If I have strong negative feelings, the first few repetitions of the idea may simply bounce off. But if I keep it up, each repetition allows the truth to enter in a little bit further, until I finally see the situation entirely differently. I urge you, therefore, to give this longer form of practice a real try today. COMMENTARY The most helpful thought I ever heard in relation to this lesson was this: Notice that it says "I see peace, " and not "I see peace." It is far too easy to take this lesson as another reason for guilt. "Terrible me! I should see peace, but I am seeing this mess instead. What is wrong with me?" That is not how this lesson is meant to be applied. The opening paragraph contains such a wonderful summation of the Course's philosophy of peace: "Peace of mind is clearly an internal matter. It must begin with your own thoughts, and then extend outward. It is from your peace of mind that a peaceful perception of the world arises" (1:2-4). Peace is the motivation for doing this Course (T-24.In.1:1). Our goal is what a later lesson refers to as "a mind at peace within itself" (W-pII.8.3:4). Peace must begin with our thoughts and extend outward from our minds. The focus is on the mind. We can replace our negative feelings and our unloving thoughts with peace. We have that power. We can choose peace if we want peace. Notice that the practice instructions for applying the lesson to "adverse emotions" suggest that we repeat the idea "until you feel some sense of relief" (6:2). This practice is meant to have tangible effects. At times I have found that even in an extremely upsetting situation, repeating these words, "I could see peace instead of this," has a decidedly calming effect on my mind, In a very subtle way, it helps to convince my mind that the awful things I am seeing are not rock solid, immutable reality. I am seeing something other than peace, but if I really see peace instead, then what I am seeing must not be as real as I think. Even that level of relief is worth the time it takes to practice. I used to believe that when upsetting situations occurred, I had to deal with the situation and change things around in order to be at peace. Through the practice of this lesson, I have learned that I can respond to any situation much more effectively if my mind is at peace I have discovered that I can bring my mind to peace without having first "solved" my problems. It really is possible to see peace instead of whatever seems to be upsetting me. And when I do, if response is required, I act calmly and without fear. Panic is not conducive to effectual action; far better to seek peace first, then act. From sue at circleofa.org Tue Feb 3 06:11:45 2009 From: sue at circleofa.org (Sue Roth) Date: Tue, 3 Feb 2009 06:11:45 -0500 Subject: [acimlessons_list] Lesson 35 - February 4 Message-ID: Lesson 35 - February 4 "My mind is part of God's. I am very holy." Practice Summary Purpose: To show you who you really are. You see yourself according to the place you occupy in your environment. Since you think your environment is the physical world, your identity seems to be determined by the part you play in this world, by how you behave in earthly situations. Yet your true environment is not this world, it is God's Mind. Your place there is what determines your real identity. If you truly believed you were part of that environment, you would instantly understand that you are holy. Longer: 3 times, for 5 minutes Repeat the idea, then close your eyes. Search your mind for descriptive terms you would apply to yourself, positive or negative (do not discriminate). Find them by picking up specific situations that occur to you and identifying the term you think applies to you in that situation. Say, "I see myself as [failing, helpless, charitable, etc.]." After each one, add: "But my mind is part of God's. I am very holy." If, after a while, no specific terms occur to you, don't strain to dig up more. Relax and repeat the idea until another comes to mind. For complete instructions, see paragraphs 4-8. Frequent reminders: as often as possible This practice can take one of two forms: 1. Notice the attribute you are applying to yourself in the current situation and plug it into the formula you used in the longer practice ("I see myself as...But my mind is..."). 2. If no attributes occur to you, just repeat the idea slowly with eyes closed. COMMENTARY The Text tells us that "you do not understand how lofty the Holy Spirit's perception of you really is." (T-9.VII.4:2). In the following section of the same chapter, it says: "You did not establish your value and it needs no defense. Nothing can attack it nor prevail over it. It does not vary. It merely Ask the Holy Spirit what it is and He will tell you, but do not be afraid of His answer, because it comes from God. It is an exalted answer because of its Source, but the Source is true and so is Its answer. Listen and do not question what you hear, for God does not deceive. He would have you replace the ego's belief in littleness with His Own exalted Answer to what you are, so that you can cease to question it and know it for what it is" (T-9.VII.11:2-9). As the lesson points out, we do not normally think of ourselves in terms such as "lofty" and "exalted." Notice, though, that the Course is saying this is true of us, not because of anything we have done, but because of our Source (3:2). What makes us what we are is not ourselves, but God. That is why the Course lays so much stress on the idea, "I am as God created me." Our little view of ourselves comes from our attempts to create ourselves; our true grandeur derives from the fact that we are God's creations. Our unwillingness to recognize this connection with our Source is what keeps us locked in our smallness. We resist acknowledging God as our Source because it seems, to our egos, to put us in second place and to make us dependent. It does not us dependent--we dependent. That is not our shame; it is our glory. It is what establishes our grandeur. We have difficulty believing that, "I am very holy." Our refusal to believe it is why we are in this world, in this environment we think we want. We want it because it supports our image of ourselves as separate beings, independent of God. When we look at the world, and look at ourselves living in the world, the things we see do not support the idea of this lesson. And yet the eyes, ears, nose, and touch we use to gather evidence are part of the very image of this world. They exist within the constraints of the world's image which we have constructed, very carefully, NOT to show us our union with God. Of course, they bring us very little evidence to contradict the ego's image of us; we made them to function that way. One very strong emphasis of the Course is on looking directly at our darkness and confronting our fears. The more we look at fear, says the Course, the less we will see it. Simply bringing the darkness into the light dispels the darkness. Looking at our ego, and even the full extent of our hatred, is crucial to our growth, it tells us. But there is another side, sometimes neglected, such as is reflected in this lesson, and that is reminding ourselves, firmly, of the truth of our exalted reality: "My mind is part of God's. It is very holy." In the Text we are told: "Whenever you question your value, say: Remember this when the ego speaks, and you will not hear it" (T-9.VII.8:1-3). Reminding ourselves of the truth about us is another powerful technique the Course recommends for transcending our egos. The list of attributes and terms we use to describe ourselves given in the lesson is just a sample. As you practice the lesson today, try to notice how you think about yourself, and how different all of those thoughts, good and bad both, are from the lesson's statement about you. I could add my some of my own terms to the list: forgetful; disorganized; intelligent; clever; falling behind; skillful at what I do. What terms do you think of? You should have noticed that the lessons are now calling for three longer practice periods of five minutes each. We are getting into "heavier" practice. Some of us, if we have not meditated previously, may find it difficult to sit for five minutes with our eyes closed doing these exercises. I encourage you to do them anyway. Anything new is difficult at first, but becomes easier with practice; that is what the practice is for. From sue at circleofa.org Wed Feb 4 05:56:59 2009 From: sue at circleofa.org (Sue Roth) Date: Wed, 4 Feb 2009 05:56:59 -0500 Subject: [acimlessons_list] Lesson 36 - February 5 Message-ID: Lesson 36 - February 5 "My holiness envelops everything I see." PRACTICE SUMMARY Purpose: to realize that the holiness of your mind must lead to holy sight. Longer: 4 times (evenly spaced out), for 3-5 minutes * Close your eyes and repeat the idea several times. * Open your eyes and look slowly and casually around, specifically applying idea to whatever your glance falls upon. Say, "My holiness envelops [this rug, that wall, that chair, etc.]." Several times during the practice period briefly close your eyes and repeat the idea. Then return to open-eyed practice. Frequent reminders: frequency is important today Repeat the idea with eyes closed, then with eyes open (looking around), then with eyes closed again. Remarks: Note that you are supposed to evenly space out the longer practice periods and do frequent shorter ones in between. The point is obviously to not leave any long gaps in which you are not practicing, so that your mind is protected all day long. Enclosing your day in this finely woven net, that has no big holes, is a major goal of the Workbook. Also, as always, repeat the idea very slowly, casually, and without strain. Doing it this way makes all the difference. COMMENTARY I've always had a fondness for this lesson, because the first time I did it I had a very real sense of how holiness was emanating from me and surrounding everything, first in my room, then my town, then the world, and finally the universe. For a very brief moment I felt like a buddha, sitting and blessing the entire world (that's tomorrow's lesson, by the way). The result was so effective for me that often, when I am simply sitting in meditation and not practicing any particular lesson, I think of this one and allow that sense to steal over me again. Not everyone responds to every lesson, but everyone responds to some of the lessons. Notice the ones that seem particularly effective for you, and remember them. Lesson 194 in the Workbook speaks of building a "problem-solving repertoire" of things that we find helpful: "If you can see the lesson for today as the deliverance it really is, you will not hesitate to give as much consistent effort as you can, to make it be a part of you. As it becomes a thought that rules your mind, a habit in your problem-solving repertoire, a way of quick reaction to temptation, you extend your learning to the world" (W-194.6). In yesterday's lesson the focus was on the perceiver: "I am very holy." Today the holiness extends to what is perceived. Because I am holy, my perception must also be holy. And I am perfectly holy because God created me that way. Holy means "sinless," and you cannot be partly sinless any more than a woman can be "a little" pregnant. The logic here is quite simple and plain: If I am part of God I must be sinless, or part of God would be sinful. If I am without sin I must have holy perception as well. How I see myself affects how I see the world. My holiness envelops the world if I see myself as holy. My awfulness envelops the world if I see myself as awful. If I am willing to see the world enveloped in holiness, I can learn to see myself that way. I know, that sounds like I have it backwards; the order "should be" that I see myself holy first, and then the world. The thing of it is, what keeps me from seeing myself as holy is my unwillingness to see the world that way. >From within the ego mind-set, it seems as if seeing the world as holy will make me unholy by comparison. The ego always thinks in terms of comparison. The fact is that as I see the world, so I see myself, and as I see myself, so I see the world. The ego mind will insist it must be one way or the other because it operates on a presumption of separateness. The Holy Spirit presents it both ways at once because He operates on the presumption of unity. There is no separation between myself and what I see; there is only the one. From sue at circleofa.org Thu Feb 5 06:01:20 2009 From: sue at circleofa.org (Sue Roth) Date: Thu, 5 Feb 2009 06:01:20 -0500 Subject: [acimlessons_list] Lesson 37 - February 6 Message-ID: Lesson 37 - February 6 "My holiness blesses the world." Practice Summary Purpose: to introduce you to your true function (this is the first lesson to deal with the topic of function). You are here to bless, and to make no demands. This blessing involves first acknowledging your own holiness, and then seeing others in its holy light. Try to see today's practice periods in this way, as practice in the reason you are here. Longer: 4 times, for 3-5 minutes * Repeat the idea and, for a minute or so, look about you and apply it to the objects you see, saying, "My holiness blesses [this chair, that window, this body, etc.]." * Close your eyes and apply the idea to any person you think of, saying, "My holiness blesses you, [name]." * For the remainder you may continue with this second phase of practice, go back to the first, or alternate between them. * Conclude by repeating the idea with eyes closed and then once more with eyes open. Frequent reminders: as often as you can This can take one of two forms: 1. Repeat the idea slowly. 2. Apply the idea silently to anyone you meet, using his or her name. Really try to do this. It takes real presence of mind to repeat the idea right when you meet up with someone, but it can be done. Or it can be done after the interaction is over. The Workbook will repeat this practice in several future lessons, which shows the importance it has. This practice has the power to transform an ordinary encounter into a holy encounter. Response to temptation: Whenever you have an adverse reaction to someone Immediately apply the idea to him or her ("My holiness bless you, [name]"). See this as a real act of blessing this person with your holiness. This will keep your holiness in your awareness, while your anger will blot it from your mind. COMMENTARY There is a principle stated in Chapter 13 of the Text that applies to this lesson: "To perceive truly is to be aware of all reality through the awareness of your own" (T-13.VI.1:1). Or, in terms a bit closer to our lesson for today: "Since you and your neighbor are equal members of one family, as you perceive both so you will do to both. You should look out from the perception of your own holiness to the holiness of others" (T-1.III.6:6,7). Unless we recognize our own holiness we will not see the holiness of all of God's creations. What we perceive is, after all, merely the reflection of how we see ourselves. Conversely, how we perceive others us how we must be seeing ourselves. In this lesson, we are told, we see "the first glimmerings of your true function in the world, or why you are here" (1:1). Our job is stated simply but with great profundity: "Your purpose is to see the world through your own holiness" (1:2). Have you ever met someone you would consider very holy? I have. The most remarkable thing about them is that they seem to see everyone as holy. When you are around them, you even feel holy yourself! They seem to be seeing something in you that normally you cannot see; their seeing it draws it out of you. And just exactly that is why we are in the world; just exactly that is what all of us are here to do. We are here to see the world through our own holiness, to draw out of everyone around us their native holiness, to perceive them in such a way that the power of our perception lifts them up out of self-doubt and self-loathing into an awareness of their own magnificence. We have this power! "As you share my unwillingness to accept error in yourself and others, you must join the great crusade to correct it; listen to my voice, learn to undo error and act to correct it. The power to work miracles belongs to you" (T-1.III.1:6,7). "Those who are released must join in releasing their brothers, for this is the plan of the Atonement" (T-1.III.3:3). This is the plan by which we, empowered by God's Spirit within us, can save the world. We release one another by perceiving each other through our own holiness, creating a resonance within them as their own holy nature, long suppressed, responds to our perception of them. "Thus are you and the world blessed together. No one loses; nothing is taken away from anyone; everyone gains through your holy vision" (Lesson 37, 1:3, 4). "My holiness blesses the world;" that is what I am here for. I am here to bring blessing to the world, and the message I bring is--. No one loses; everyone gains. What an incredible outlook this is! This undoes the entire idea of sacrifice because it is a message of total equality. We are here to acknowledge each other, and when we do we have achieved our glorious purpose. Any other way of looking at things winds up demanding sacrifice; somebody, somewhere, has to lose. But with the vision of Christ we can look out at all the world and proclaim, "They are all the same; all beautiful and equal in their holiness" (T-13.VIII.6:1). "Your holiness blesses him by asking nothing of him. Those who see themselves as whole make no demands" (2:6). Oh, that we might learn the lesson of asking nothing, making no demands! Have you ever, even perhaps if only for a brief time, been with someone who was so complete they made no demands on you? They had no need they were, overtly or covertly, asking you to fill. They loved you just as you were; they accepted you without expecting anything from you. Isn't that what we all want in our relationships? Isn't that what unconditional love is? Well, the way to have what you want is to give it away. This is what all of us are destined to do, and will do eventually, even if it seems beyond us now. Aware of your holiness and your own completion, you will stand and bless the world. "Your holiness is the salvation of the world. It lets you teach the world that it is one with you, not by preaching to it, not by telling it anything, but merely by your quiet recognition that in your holiness are all things blessed along with you" (3:1-2). From sue at circleofa.org Fri Feb 6 06:01:16 2009 From: sue at circleofa.org (Sue Roth) Date: Fri, 6 Feb 2009 06:01:16 -0500 Subject: [acimlessons_list] Lesson 38 - February 7 Message-ID: Lesson 38 - February 7 "There is nothing my holiness cannot do." PRACTICE SUMMARY Purpose: "to begin to instill in you a sense that you have dominion over all things because of what you are" (5:5). Longer: 4 times, preferably for 5 full minutes * Repeat the idea then close your eyes. * Search your mind for any suffering or difficulty, whether in your life or someone else's. Do your best to treat these two as the same. For problems of your own, say, "In the situation involving_______in which I see myself, there is nothing my holiness cannot do." For problems of others, say, "In the situation involving_______in which_______sees himself, there is nothing my holiness cannot do." * Periodically, feel free to add thoughts of your own that are related to today's idea. Stay close to the idea; don't go too far afield. These thoughts will serve to make that idea more real to you. This is the first occurrence of the important practice of letting related thoughts come, which you will receive more instruction in later. Frequent reminders: frequent Repeat the idea. Response to temptation: Whenever a specific problem?your own or someone else's?presents itself or comes to mind, use the specific form from the longer practice period. COMMENTARY Toward the end of the lesson there is this informative line: "The purpose of today's exercises is to begin to instill in you a sense that you have dominion over all things because of what you are" (5:5). In a much later lesson (190) the same idea is echoed: "There is nothing in the world that has the power to make you ill or sad, or weak or frail. But it is you who have the power to dominate all things you see by merely recognizing what you are." (W-pI.190.5:6) Now, if you are like me, you probably don't feel as though you have the power to dominate all things or that you are "unlimited in power." You probably don't feel as though the power of God is made manifest through your holiness, that because of what you are you can "remove all pain, can end all sorrow, and can solve all problems" (2:4). If you did feel that way, you'd probably suspect in some part of your mind that you were suffering from delusions of grandeur. That's exactly why we need this kind of lesson. What we are, in reality, is so far above what we normally think we are that when we hear words like this lesson there is a part of us that whispers, "This is getting a little freaky here." We have no idea of the power of our minds, which were created by God and given the same creative power as His. When we get hints of how powerful we are, it scares us, and we try to forget about it. What we really are is "beyond every restriction of time, space, distance and limits of any kind" (1:2). We really do have the power to solve all problems, our own and anyone else's. If practicing today's lesson simply to instill this sense in us, it has been successful. When I face a situation that is troubling me and repeat, "In this situation, there is nothing that my holiness cannot do," even if 90% of my mind is protesting against the idea, something shifts within me. A little faith is generated. Maybe the percentage shifts from 10% belief to 11% belief. And when I do it again, 12%. We've all read stories of people who overcame unbelievable odds just because they believed in themselves; that only hints at what the Course is talking about but illustrates the principle. The Course is talking about the power of belief, but much more as well; it is talking about the power of what we honest-to-God . And it is talking about the power of our holiness, not just belief. You and I are made out of God-stuff. When we actually get that, we can change the world. "True learning is constant, and so vital in its power that a Son of God can recognize his power in one instant and change the world in the next" (T-7.V.7:5). From sue at circleofa.org Sat Feb 7 09:50:10 2009 From: sue at circleofa.org (Sue Roth) Date: Sat, 7 Feb 2009 09:50:10 -0500 Subject: [acimlessons_list] Lesson 39 - February 8 Message-ID: Lesson 39 - February 8 "My holiness is my salvation" Practice Summary Purpose: to get you in touch with your holiness, which is your salvation from the hell of guilt. Longer: 4 times (more are encouraged), for 5 full minutes (longer is encouraged) * Repeat the idea. * Close your eyes and slowly search your mind for unloving thoughts, thoughts with any kind of negative feeling attached to them. This includes specific situations, events or personalities associated with angry, worried, or depressed thoughts. Make no exceptions and try to treat each one the same. With each say, "My unloving thoughts about______are keeping me in hell. My holiness is my salvation." Your unloving thoughts keep you in hell by producing guilt. Your holiness saves you by showing you that your true nature nature is untouched by sin and guilt, and it proves this blessing everything it sees. * Because sustained concentration is hard for you at this stage, you may want to intersperse this practice with several periods of just repeating the the idea slowly, or relaxing and not thinking of anything. You can also introduce variety, which seems to mean varying the wording of the idea. Make sure, however, that you retain its central meaning, that your holiness is your salvation. * Conclude by repeating the idea and asking yourself: "If guilt is hell, what is its opposite?" (For the answer, see 4:2). Frequent reminders: at least 3 or 4 per hour Ask yourself, "If guilt is hell, what is its opposite?" Or repeat the idea. Preferably both. Response to temptation: whenever you are tempted to give in to unloving thoughts Apply the idea specifically: "My holiness is my salvation from this." COMMENTARY The opposite of hell is salvation; the opposite of guilt is holiness. If guilt is hell, then holiness must be salvation. The question is: Do I believe that guilt is hell? Or do I, perhaps, feel that guilt serves a useful function in my life? The Course teaches that guilt is at the root of all our problems, and yet at the beginning we don't even suspect guilt as the cause. We lay the problems at the feet of many different things, but rarely at the feet of guilt. "Of one thing you were sure: Of all the many causes you perceived as bringing pain and suffering to you, your guilt was not among them" (T-27.VII.7:4). Guilt hell. This is part of what the Course is trying to teach us--a large part. "As long as you believe that guilt is justified in any way, in anyone, whatever he may do, you will not look within, where you would always find Atonement. The end of guilt will never come as long as you believe there is a reason for it. For you must learn that guilt is always totally insane, and has no reason" (T-13.X.6:1-3). "All salvation is excape from guilt" (T-14.III.13:4). "Guilt is interference, not salvation, and serves no useful function at all" (T-14.III.1:4). Perhaps we may object. Perhaps it seems that guilt is necessary to keep us from wrong-doing; but that presumes something within us inherently evil and perverse that will always do wrong unless it is kept caged, or punished when it misbehaves. Guilt serves no useful function; guilt is hell. Guilt is what we need to escape from. Guilt does not keep us from wrong-doing; it keeps us locked into it. It is guilt that has driven us insane. As this lesson says, if we wholly believed that guilt is hell, we would immediately understand the entire Text and have no need of a Workbook. We would have salvation, full and complete, for salvation escape from guilt. This is not a part of the Course's message; it is the whole of it. This is why my holiness is my salvation; holiness is freedom from guilt. Notice the emphasis in practice on "unloving thoughts." Unloving thoughts are guilty thoughts; they both stem from guilt and produce more of it. Holiness is lovingness. If my thoughts are unloving, I will be fearful and guilty; my holiness is my salvation from guilt. As we realize that our unloving thoughts are keeping us in hell, we will let them go. Today's practice instructions are fiercely demanding: a minimum of four sessions of five full minutes each, with "longer and more frequent practice sessions...encouraged." Shorter applications "which should be made some three or four times an hour and more if possible." Plus response to temptations. Today's idea must be very important! It must be very hard for our minds to absorb, so that we need to frequently immerse our minds in this thought. From sue at circleofa.org Sun Feb 8 07:36:04 2009 From: sue at circleofa.org (Sue Roth) Date: Sun, 8 Feb 2009 07:36:04 -0500 Subject: [acimlessons_list] Lesson 40 - February 9 Message-ID: Lesson 40 - February 9 "I am blessed as a Son of God." PRACTICE SUMMARY Purpose: to put you in touch with the happy things that you are entitled to as God's Son. Frequent reminders: every 10 minutes is highly desirable Close your eyes (if feasible), repeat the idea and apply to yourself several attributes you associate with being a Son of God. For example: "I am blessed as a Son of God. I am happy, peaceful, loving and contented." Remarks: You can see that he really means us to do this practice today. He urges us to do our best to keep to the schedule (1:3). He reminds us that the practice takes "little time and no effort" (3:1). And he has three provisions for when we do not or cannot do the practice as instructed: 1. When you notice that you have forgotten to practice, even for a long stretch, rather than feeling guilty and giving up, simply get back to your practicing right away. 2. If it is not feasible to close your eyes-which will often be the case-don't let that keep you from practicing. Just practice with eyes open. 3. If there is not enough time to do the exercise as suggested, simply repeat the idea. That takes about four seconds. COMMENTARY There is no escaping the importance the Workbook attachs to actually trying to practice as instructed. In this lesson, whose practice is in one sense a relaxation from yesterday's and in another sense an intensification, you cannot read these words and think that the author believes that it does not matter whether or not we follow the instructions: "No long practice periods are required today, but very frequent short ones are Once every ten minutes would be highly desirable, and you are to attempt this schedule and to If you forget, If there are long interruptions, Whenever you remember, " (1:2-5, my emphasis). Attempt...try...try...try. The more often we can repeat the lesson, the more impact it will have on our mind. How can you have a "course in mind-training" without some kind of mental discipline? You can't; it's that simple. At the same time notice that there is no "guilting" going on here. The author anticipates our indiscipline and expects (or allows for) our forgetting, and for "long interruptions" (1:5). He knows we lack discipline; that is exactly why the practice is so "necessary." But he does not judge us for it. He says, simply, "If you forget, try again." Don't let forgetting, even for long periods of the day, be an excuse to give up for the rest of the day. Every time we remember, we add a link to the "chain of forgiveness which, when completed, is the Atonement" (T-1.I.25:1). He goes to the trouble of pointing out that just because you can't get alone and close your eyes, that is no excuse for not practicing. "You can practice quite well under any circumstances, if you really want to" (2:4). The practice for today is, very simply, making positive affirmations as often as possible. "I am blessed as a Son of God. I am calm, quiet, assured and confident." This might take ten or fifteen seconds, perhaps a little longer to think of a new list of attributes that you might associate with being a Son of God: "I am serene, capable and unshakeable." "I am joyful, radiant, and full of love." Can any of us really consider it a trial to engage in practice like this? Our egos do, and they will resist. I am no longer surprised, but still amazed, at the variety of ways my ego finds to distract me and keep me from practicing my own happiness--for that is all we are doing here. Observing my ego's constant opposition to my happiness is one thing that has convinced me of the truth of that line in the Text, "The ego does not love you" (T-9.VII.3:5). Because of what I am, an extension of God, I am entitled to happiness. The ego to resist that idea because its existence depends upon my believing that I have separated myself from God; therefore the ego wants me to be unhappy. It wants me to believe that I do not deserve to be happy. Maybe it doesn't want me totally miserable--that might prompt me to reconsider everything. Just "a mild river of misery," as Marianne Williamson puts it. Just a vein of sadness and impermanence running through even my best times. Just enough to keep me from listening to The Other Guy Who talks about my union with God. And definitely not HAPPY. Happy is dangerous to the ego. Happy says separation isn't true. And it isn't! From sue at circleofa.org Mon Feb 9 05:57:41 2009 From: sue at circleofa.org (Sue Roth) Date: Mon, 9 Feb 2009 05:57:41 -0500 Subject: [acimlessons_list] Lesson 41 - February 10 Message-ID: Lesson 41 - February 10 "God goes with me wherever I go." PRACTICE SUMMARY Purpose: to get in touch with God's Presence deep within you, so that you experience the fact that He goes with you wherever you go. This is the real cure for all human ills, which are merely symptoms of our illusory separation from God. Longer: 1 time, for 3-5 minutes, as soon as possible after rising * Close your eyes, repeat the idea very slowly. * Then let your mind go blank and focus all your attention on sinking down and inward. Sink past the cloud of insane thoughts on the surface of your mind and toward the Presence of God at the quiet center of your mind. "Try to enter very deeply into your own mind" (6:6). Repeat the idea occasionally if it helps, but spend most of your time gently willing yourself to sink toward the core of your mind, where all is still. Hold in mind the confidence that you can make it, for reaching this place is more natural than anything in this world. When thoughts arise, simply slip past them on your way inward. It will help dispel them if you repeat the idea. Remarks: This is the Workbook's first meditation exercise. It is labeled "our first real attempt" (5:3) to reach the light within. As this quote suggests, this practice is extremely important in the Workbook. Paragraph 8 clearly signals that we will be engaging in "this kind of practice" (8:6) more, receiving more instruction in it, and growing in it, until we reach the point where "it is always successful" (8:5). Frequent reminders: often Repeat the idea according to the instructions in paragraph 9. To get a sense for that, I suggest that you repeat it right now following the instructions below, all of which are drawn from paragraph 9: * Repeat "it very slowly, preferably with eyes closed." * Repeat it again and "think of what you are saying; what the words mean." * Repeat the words again and "concentrate on the holiness that they imply about you." If He goes with you and He is holy, then you are holy. * Repeat them again, concentrating "on the unfailing companionship that is yours." * Repeat them again, concentrating "on the complete protection that surrounds you." Response to temptation: whenever you have fear thoughts Remember the idea. If you really connect with its meaning, you will be able to laugh at the fears that seemed so heavy an instant before. COMMENTARY Innumerable problems seem to have arisen from our perception of ourselves as separate from God. A sense of loneliness and abandonment, depression, anxiety, worry, helplessness, misery, suffering, and intense fear of loss all stem from this root problem. Most of our lives are spent, if we look at things objectively, with various ways of trying to circumvent and overcome these problems. "But the one thing they [we] do not do is to question the reality of the problem. Yet its effects cannot be cured because the problem is not real" (2:2-3). One spiritual teacher once wrote a book subtitled, "The imaginary disease that religion seeks to cure." That is what separation is: an imaginary disease. How can you cure a disease that does not really exist? The answer is obvious; you cannot. There is no cure because there is no disease. This is why all our attempts to "cure" ourselves do not work. We cannot find the way "back" to God because He has never left us; God goes with us wherever we go. All of our strife and drama is just foolishness, "despite the serious and tragic forms it may take" (2:5). "Deep within you is everything that is perfect, ready to radiate through you and out into the world. It will cure all sorrow and pain and fear and loss because it will heal the mind that thought these things were real, and suffered out of its allegiance to them" (3:1-2). We carry the "cure" for our disease deep within us. This cure heals, not by overcoming the "illness" but by healing our belief in the reality of the illness. God is always with us. How could we ever, in any way, ever be separate from the Infinite? How could we ever be apart from All That Is? The very idea is insane and impossible. "We understand that you do not believe all this. How could you, when the truth is hidden deep within, under a heavy cloud of insane thoughts, dense and obscuring, yet representing all you see? Today we will make our first real attempt to get past this dark and heavy cloud, and to go through it to the light beyond" (5:1-3). How reassuring to have our Teacher tell us that he understands we do not believe this as yet. Oh, perhaps we hold an intellectual belief in God's omnipresence, but we do not believe it to the core, in a way that banishes all our fear, sorrow, pain and loss. That is the purpose of this lesson: to get past "this dark and heavy cloud" and to reach the light. This lesson is the Course's first introduction to the practice of what we might call traditional meditation. While the Course does not make such meditation a primary focus, it definitely accords it a place of great importance. Meditation in the Course consists of sitting with eyes closed and making "no effort to think of anything" (6:4), but attempting to enter deeply into our own mind, to sink down inward while trying to keep the mind "clear of any thoughts that might divert your attention" (6:6). The purpose, as has been stated, is to become aware of the light within ourselves. Or, in more traditional terms, to experience a sense of God's presence with us. We are attempting to reach God today. This meditation exercise, says the lesson, can achieve startling results the very first time you try it (8:5). That may not happen for you, the first time, but "sooner or later it is always successful" (8:5). That certainly implies that we are expected to repeat the exercise, and to expect as a result. Clearly, if this idea of God's presence is meant to banish our loneliness, we can expect to develop a very clear and tangible sense of Someone Who is always with us, in every moment. When we begin to develop this sense we may be tempted to think it is our imagination. This is no imagination! It is the of this Presence that is imaginary. "You can indeed afford to laugh at fear thoughts, remembering that God goes with you wherever you go" (10:1). From sue at circleofa.org Wed Feb 11 05:55:15 2009 From: sue at circleofa.org (Sue Roth) Date: Wed, 11 Feb 2009 05:55:15 -0500 Subject: [acimlessons_list] Lesson 42 - February 11 Message-ID: Lesson 42 - February 11 "God is my Strength. Vision is His gift." PRACTICE SUMMARY: Purpose: to realize that vision comes not from you but from the strength of God in you, and that therefore you can receive it under any circumstance and cannot fail to find it eventually. Longer: 2 times, for 3-5 minutes, (early) morning and (late) evening * Repeat the idea slowly, looking about you. Close your eyes and repeat it even slower. * Then step back and let only thoughts related to the idea come to mind. Do not strain or actively try to think them up. "Try merely to step back and let the thoughts come" (6:2). I find it helpful to repeat the idea and watch for the germ of a related thought to spark in my mind somewhere during that repetition. Then I put words to that germ. * If your mind wanders, repeat the idea and try again. If related thoughts stop coming, repeat the idea with eyes open and eyes closed as at the beginning. If no related thoughts come at all, just repeat this beginning phase over and over. Remarks: This is our first lengthy instruction in the practice of letting related thoughts come (which was introduced in Lesson 38). Over time, the Workbook will try to make this practice a habitual part of our overall repertoire. Frequent reminders: the more often the better Repeating this idea, which consists of two parts, will begin to show you that all the parts of the Course come together into a unified whole. It will also remind you that the Course's goal-vision-is a genuine priority for you. COMMENTARY Question: Why can we not fail in our efforts to achieve the goal of this course? Answer: Because God wills us to achieve it. If that answer sounds somewhat demeaning to you, don't be surprised at having such a reaction. With our minds permeated by ego-thinking, it can seem personally insulting to be told that the guarantee of our success is that "God wants it that way," as if we don't have any choice in the matter. But the fact is, we don't. As the Introduction to the Text puts it, "It is a required course. Only the time you take it is voluntary. Free will does not mean that you can establish the curriculum. It means only that you can elect what you want to take at a given time." The curriculum is learning who we are, and we don't have any say in establishing that; we are what God created, and we cannot change that. The only choice is how long it takes us to accept the fact of what we are, instead of trying to be something we are not. The Text talks about how separation took root in our minds when we refused to accept ourselves as creations of God and wanted to create ourselves. We're still fighting that same silly battle. It still seems insulting to be told that the outcome is inevitable; we are what God created and can't be anything else, no matter how much we might wish for it. It is God's Strength and not ours that gives us our power. We can't give ourselves vision, but neither can we forever refuse His gift to us. Even if we resist, eventually we will capitulate. And if we cooperate, our success is guaranteed. Werner Erhard, the founder of "est," once said that it is easier to ride the horse in the direction in which it is going. That is what the Course is asking us to do; to join our will to God's, and to recognize that we really do want exactly what He wants to give us, and has given already. "What He gives is truly given" (2:1). If we can accept that our will and God's are the same, we can enter into spiritual life as a sure thing. We can say, "Vision must be possible. God gives truly" (4:5?6). Or, "God's gifts to me must be mine, because He gave them to me" (4:7). We can walk through life with a calm assurance. "Those who are certain of the outcome can afford to wait, and wait without anxiety" (M-4.VIII.1:1). There is an idea that gets tossed into the middle of this lesson, seemingly unrelated, although it is closely related. "Your passage through time and space is not at random. You cannot but be in the right place at the right time" (2:3?4). The more you go on with this path (and similar ones) the more you know this is absolutely true. There are no random events; everything has a purpose. And you cannot miss! You can't screw it up. You can't help being in the right place at the right time, so you can just relax in life and enjoy the show, instead of being anxious about it all. Why is this so? Because of the strength of God, and His gifts. Your reaching the goal is His Will, and what God wants, God gets. After all, He's . One further comment: In the instructions for practice you are asked to let thoughts occur in relation to today's idea; this kind of rehearsing of related thoughts is another type of meditation that is quite common in the Workbook. Then it says, "You may, in fact, be astonished at the amount of course-related understanding some of your thoughts contain" (5:2). You may, however, instead be very puzzled at what the hell this means! The first time I tried this exercise my mind was virtually blank. Remember that the Workbook often assumes that you have studied-not just read, but studied-the Text before you began these exercises. It isn't a requirement, but it is assumed to be the general case. For anyone who has done that, related thoughts will indeed come easily, or if you are on a repeat pass through the Workbook, same thing. If, after trying for a minute or two to find related thoughts, you find that they do not come easily, take the advice given a little further on in the lesson: "If you find this difficult, it is better to spend the practice period alternating between slow repetitions of the idea with the eyes open, then with eyes closed, than it is to strain to find suitable thoughts" (6:3). The presence of this kind of instruction shows that the lessons can accomodate people who haven't already studied the Text in depth. From sue at circleofa.org Wed Feb 11 05:55:46 2009 From: sue at circleofa.org (Sue Roth) Date: Wed, 11 Feb 2009 05:55:46 -0500 Subject: [acimlessons_list] Lesson 43 - February 12 Message-ID: Lesson 43 - February 12 "God is my Source. I cannot see apart from Him." PRACTICE SUMMARY: Purpose: to remember your function. Longer: 3 times, for 5 minutes each; morning (early as possible), evening (late as possible), and in between (when readiness and circumstances permit), * First phase: Repeat the idea, then glance around you, applying it specifically and indiscriminately to whatever you see. 4?5 subjects will be enough. * Second phase: Close your eyes, repeat the idea, and let related thoughts come to you. Their purpose is to enrich the idea "in your own personal way" (5:2). They don't need to be restatements of it, or even obviously related to it, but they can't contradict it. If your mind is wandering or you begin to draw a blank, repeat the first phase of the exercise and then attempt the second phase again. Don't let the practice period become a mind wandering session, so be determined do this as many times as you need to. Frequent reminders: You have a choice of three forms: 1. When you are with someone, whether friend or "stranger," tell him silently: "God is my Source. I cannot see you apart from Him." 2. Apply the idea to a situation or event, saying: "God is my Source. I cannot see this apart from Him." 3. If no subjects present themselves, merely repeat the idea. Remarks: Try to allow no long gaps in remembering the idea. This is an important training goal for the Workbook. The same thing was urged in Lesson 36 (2:2). Also, do your best to remember to apply the idea to people you encounter. It takes real presence of mind to do this, but it can be done, and it will change the quality of the encounter. Response to temptation: whenever you get distressed about an event or situation Apply the idea specifically: "God is my Source. I cannot see this apart from Him." COMMENTARY All of what we call "seeing" is perception; it is not knowledge. Perception does not show us the truth; at best it shows us a clear symbol of truth. "Knowledge" in the Course is something that belongs to the realm of perfection, of Heaven; it is not possible to have knowledge and to be in this world (T-13.VIII.1), because this world is not true. The entire aim of the Course is to move us from false perception to true perception; when our perception has been cleaned up, we will be ready for the transfer to knowledge. Without the Holy Spirit, perception would have remained false. But because God has placed this link with Himself in all of our minds, perception can be purified so that it will lead us to knowledge. In what Ken Wapnick calls "Level 1," in God, there is no such thing as perception, only knowledge. Perception requires two, a perceiver and the perceived; that is duality and does not exist in truth. Yet "in salvation," or what Ken calls "Level 2," our experience in this world, "perception has a mighty purpose" (2:2?3). Although we made the world for "an unholy purpose" (2:4), to make illusions that we think are real, the Holy Spirit can use it to restore our holiness to our awareness. Remember Lesson 1? "Nothing I see means anything." That is because "Perception has no meaning" (2:5). All of perception is essentially meaningless, "Yet does the Holy Spirit give it a meaning very close to God's" (2:6). Rather than trying to understand what we see, we need to step back and let the Holy Spirit write His meaning on it all. Seen with Him, everything reveals God to us. Without God, we think we see, but we really see nothing. We see nothing that looks like something and we attach our meanings to it all, meanings which deceive us. "I cannot see apart from Him" (Lesson title). I may think I see, but what I seem to see is not seeing; it is hallucinating. With God, I can see truly. With God, I can perceive a clear reflection of truth in everything I look upon. It is that perception of truth that is the means by which I can forgive my brother. If I ask, I will see it. So I cannot see apart from God. But that's a no-brainer, because I cannot apart from God, so the truth is I can't do anything apart from Him. It's like saying, "My hand can't do anything without my body." Of course not; my hand is not separate from my body. "Whatever you do you do in Him" (3:2). To achieve true vision I do not need to part of God or to join with Him, as if I were making a transition of some kind from a separated condition to a unified condition. No, all I really do is to acknowledge, to recognize, that I am already one with Him. As I accept that reality about myself, vision is already mine. It is inherent in my natural condition. What I see when I think I am apart from God must not be sight, because being apart from God is illusion, so the "sight" must also be illusion. "I cannot see this desk apart from Him" (4:8). Once again we are led into a period in which we let relevant related thoughts arise in our minds. The Course is clearly encouraging us to put its ideas into our own words, and to extend them and embellish them for our own personal use. Sometimes, the "altered" form of the lesson will prove more effective for your practice than the original version. We should feel free to do this kind of personalizing in all of the Workbook lessons. It is a tool we are meant to use to make the lessons more personally meaningful. From sue at circleofa.org Thu Feb 12 05:57:24 2009 From: sue at circleofa.org (Sue Roth) Date: Thu, 12 Feb 2009 05:57:24 -0500 Subject: [acimlessons_list] Lesson 44 - February 13 Message-ID: Lesson 44 - February 13 "God is the light in which I see." PRACTICE SUMMARY: Purpose: to contact the light within that allows you to see with true vision. Longer: at least 3 times, for 3-5 minutes (longer is highly recommended if not a strain) * Repeat the idea, close your eyes slowly, repeating the idea several more times. * The rest of the practice involves a single motion of sinking into your mind. I find it helpful to think of this motion as having three aspects: 1. Sink down and inward, past your surface thoughts and toward the light of God deep within your mind. As you do this, "try to think of light, formless and without limit" (10:2). If your meditation is successful, you will experience a feeling of approaching or even entering light. 2. Do not allow yourself to get sidetracked. This is crucial. As you pass by your thoughts, observe them dispassionately, "and slip quietly by them" (7:5). They have no power to hold you back. If resistance arises, repeat the idea. If actual fear arises, open your eyes briefly and repeat the idea. Then return to the exercise. 3. Hold in mind a heightened attitude about what you are doing, a sense that it has great importance, untold value, and is very holy. This attitude is more important than details of technique. Remarks: This is the Workbook's second meditation exercise (the first was Lesson 41), and you can see the immense importance given it here, especially in paragraphs 3-5. We may resist this practice, because it requires discipline our minds don't yet have, and because it means leaving our ego's thoughts and beliefs behind. But these are the very reasons why this practice is so important. Frequent reminders: often-be determined not to forget Repeat the idea with eyes open or closed, as seems best. COMMENTARY The first paragraph presents a rather amazing picture of what this world we see is. It says we made darkness, and then we thought we could see in it. What we call "seeing," then, is simply imagining that we can see in darkness. "In order to see, you must recognize that light is within, not without. You do not see outside yourself, nor is the equipment for seeing outside you" (2:1?2). What we call light is not true light. Light is not outside of us; it is within us. It is not physical, it is spiritual. And we do not see truly with external eyes but with inner vision. The light for true seeing is within us, and the goal of today's lesson is to reach that light. Once again the Workbook takes us into an experiential exercise of meditation. This kind of meditation, and the experience it seeks to produce, is clearly a major component of Course practice. The emphasis placed on it is nothing short of amazing. We are told that it is a form of exercise that "we will utilize increasingly" (3:2). It "represents a major goal of mind training" (3:3). Longer times are "highly recommended" (4:2). We are urged to persist despite "strong resistance" (5:2). It represents a "release from hell" (5:5). We are reminded of "the importance of what you are doing; its inestimable value to you" (8:1), and that "you are attempting something very holy" (8:1). The lesson closes with these words: "But do not forget. Above all, be determined not to forget today" (11:2). There is no mistaking the awareness that Jesus, as the author, considers this kind of meditation practice important. Why is that? There are a few indications within the lesson. In the third paragraph, the lesson notes that this kind of practice--sitting quietly, sinking inward, slipping by our thoughts without being involved in them--"is a particularly difficult form for the undisciplined mind" (3:3). It is difficult because it "requires precisely what the untrained mind lacks" (3:4). It is the very difficulty that proves our need of it, just as getting out of breath when you jog for fifty yards proves that you need aerobic exercise. "This training must be accomplished if you are to see" (3:5). In other words, meditation practice is a requirement for developing inner vision. How can we see with inner vision if we do not know how to find the inner light? These are training exercises. We will find it difficult at first. We will encounter resistance. The exercise is clearly labelled an "attempt" (3:1) at reaching the light, indicating an understanding that we may not do so all at once, any more than we will run a marathon the first few times we begin jogging. It is a of our mind training to reach the light, and we will likely not reach the goal right away, although it is "the most natural and easy [form of practice] for the trained mind" (4:3). We are in the process of acquiring the training that will make reaching the light seem easy and natural, but it is not that way now because our minds are still undisciplined. We are "no longer wholly untrained" (5:1). If we have been following the instructions we have had 43 days of practice leading up to this day. Still, we may "encounter strong resistance" (5:1). To the ego what we are doing seems like "loss of identity and a descent into hell" (5:6). But we are attempting to reach God, Who is the Light in which we can see; that is not a loss. It is escape from darkness. When we begin to build up a history of experiences with the Light, of feeling relaxation, sensing our approach to It, and even being aware of entering into It, we will know what the Course is talking about. And we will crave more. There is nothing like the experience. These holy instants are foretastes of Heaven, glimpses of reality. They will motivate us in our journey like nothing else. There is a sense of reality so real that what seemed real before pales into insubstantial shadows by comparison. When we have entered the Light we will recognize that we have been in darkness, thinking it was light. That is what gives these experiences their "inestimable value." From sue at circleofa.org Fri Feb 13 06:05:57 2009 From: sue at circleofa.org (Sue Roth) Date: Fri, 13 Feb 2009 06:05:57 -0500 Subject: [acimlessons_list] Lesson 45 - February 14 Message-ID: Lesson 45 - February 14 "God is the Mind with which I think." PRACTICE SUMMARY: Purpose: to experience your real thoughts, which you think with the Mind of God. Longer: 3 times, for 5 minutes * Repeat the idea as you close your eyes. Then add 4-5 related thoughts (remember the instruction in letting related thoughts come that you received in Lessons 42 and 43). * Then repeat the idea again and say: "My real thoughts are in my mind. I would like to find them." * Then employ the same meditation technique you were taught in Lessons 41 and 44. Again, it is helpful to think of it as having three aspects: 1. Sink down through the obscuring layer of your senseless, unreal thoughts; reach past that to the eternal, limitless thoughts you think with God. 2. When your mind wanders, draw it back. It will help if you repeat the idea. 3. Above all, hold a certain attitude in mind. Confidence: Don't let your worldly thoughts tell you that you can't make it. You can't fail, because God wants you to make it. Desire: Reaching this place in you is your true heart's desire. Holiness: Approach it as you would a holy altar in which God and His Son think in perfect unison. "Remind yourself that this is no idle game, but an exercise in holiness" (8:7). Frequent reminders: ideally, spend 1-2 minutes Repeat the idea. Then step aside from your usual unholy thoughts and spend some time reflecting on the holiness of your mind. Think about how holy it must be if it thinks with the Mind of God. COMMENTARY The lessons are trying, in a way, to cause extreme disorientation in us. Our real thoughts "are nothing that you think you think, just as nothing that you think you see is related to vision in any way" (1:2). If my thoughts aren't real and what I see isn't real, what do I have to hold on to? Not much at all. This can seem quite frightening, almost what it might be like if I was one of those characters in a suspense thriller who is being attacked by someone trying to drive them insane, causing them to believe that they are hallucinating and imagining things that are not there. Actually, although the attempt to break our mental orientation is similar, the Course's intent is just the reverse. It is trying to drive us not insane. We already are insane. We hallucinating and imagining things that are not there, and the Course is trying to break our obsessive belief in their reality. Underneath the protective layer of delusion we have laid over reality is a wholly sane mind thinking wholly sane thoughts and seeing only truth. Our real thoughts are thoughts we think with the Mind of God, sharing them with Him. Thoughts do not leave the mind, so they must still be there. Our thoughts are God's thoughts, and God's thoughts are eternal. If these thoughts are there we can find them. We can push our feet down through the mushy ooze of our thoughts and find solid bedrock. We may be almost totally out of touch with these original, eternal thoughts, thoughts completely in accord with the Mind of God, but God would have us find them. Therefore we must be capable of finding them. Yesterday we were seeking the Light within ourselves, a very abstract concept. Today we are seeking our own real thoughts. That brings the abstract a little closer to home; not just "the Light" but my own thoughts, something that is part of me and representative of my nature. What would a thought be like that was in perfect harmony with the Mind of God? That is what we are trying to find and experience today. And if we are honest, we will have to admit that the thoughts of which we are mostly aware are not in that league at all. Our thoughts are too riddled with fear, too uncertain, too defensive, too anxious or frantic, and above all too changeable to qualify as a thought we share with God. A thought we share with God must be one of complete harmony, absolute peace, utter certainty, total benevolence, and perfect stability. We are seeking to locate such a thought-center in our minds. We are seeking to find thoughts of this nature Once more we practice the quiet sinking down, going past all the unreal thoughts that cover the truth in our minds, and reaching to the eternal that is within us. This is a holy exercise, and one we should take quite seriously, although not somberly, for it is a joyous exercise. Within me there is a place that never changes, a place that is always at peace, always brilliant with love's shining. And today, O God yes today, I want to find that place! Today I want to touch that solid foundation at the core of my being and know its stability. Today I want to find my Self. From sue at circleofa.org Sat Feb 14 08:35:16 2009 From: sue at circleofa.org (Sue Roth) Date: Sat, 14 Feb 2009 08:35:16 -0500 Subject: [acimlessons_list] Lesson 46 - February 15 Message-ID: Lesson 46 - February 15 "God is the Love in which I forgive." PRACTICE SUMMARY: Longer: at least 3 times, for 5 full minutes * Repeat the idea as you close your eyes. Search your mind for those you have not completely forgiven. This shouldn't be hard-any lack of total love is a sign of unforgiveness. To each one, say, "God is the Love in which I forgive you, [name]." This will "put you in a position to forgive yourself" (5:1). * After a minute or two of this, tell yourself: "God is the Love in which I forgive myself." Then spend the rest of the time letting your mind come up with thoughts related to this idea. They need not be a restatement of it, but don't get too far away from it, either. Draw upon the instruction you have received in letting related thoughts come. * Conclude by repeating the original idea. Frequent reminders: as many as possible Repeat the idea, in original form or in the form of a related thought. Response to temptation: when you have a negative reaction to anyone, "present or not" (7:3) Tell that person silently: "God is the Love in which I forgive you." COMMENTARY The whole of the Course's teaching on the Atonement principle is contained in the first sentence: "God does not forgive because He has never condemned." Over and over the Course emphasizes that God is not a God of vengeance, that God is not angry with us, that He knows nothing of punishment. God does not condemn; He never has. His heart remains eternally open to us all. To me specifically. In this world of illusions, where mutual condemnation has become a way of life (or death?), forgiveness is necessary--not God's forgiveness, but our own. Forgiveness is the way we release ourselves from illusions. All condemnation is self-condemnation; the guilt we see in others is our own reflecting back at us, and as we release others from our condemnation, we are released. "As you condemn only yourself, so do you forgive only yourself." As later lessons will make clear, our whole purpose in this world is to bring forgiveness to it, to release it from the burden of guilt that we have laid upon it. This is what returns our mind to the awareness of God. We find God by liberating those around us, lifting our judgment from them, and acknowledging them as worthy creations of God along with ourselves. "God...is approached through the appreciation of His Son" (T-11.IV.7:2). Lifting the chains of judgment from everyone that I know puts me in a position to forgive myself (5:1). It brings a warm feeling inside when I can say, "God is the Love in which I forgive myself." I may not even be aware of any guilt consciously, but when I bless myself with forgiveness, something melts, and I know that the forgiveness was needed. There is a subliminal self-criticism that is nearly always going on, and when I break into it, picturing the Love of God pouring over me like molten gold, knowing and accepting (maybe just in that moment) His total acceptance of me, I rarely escape the moment without tears of gratitude. From sue at circleofa.org Sun Feb 15 17:15:10 2009 From: sue at circleofa.org (Sue Roth) Date: Sun, 15 Feb 2009 17:15:10 -0500 Subject: [acimlessons_list] Lesson 47 - February 16 Message-ID: Lesson 47 - February 16 "God is the strength in which I trust." PRACTICE SUMMARY: Purpose: "to reach past your own weakness to the Source of real strength" (4:1), so that you gain confidence in the face of all problems and decisions. Longer: 4 times (more are urged), for 5 minutes (longer are urged) * Close your eyes and repeat the idea. * Search your mind for situations about which you have fear. Release each one by saying, "God is the strength in which I trust." Do this for a minute or two. * The remainder is another exercise in meditation. Sink down in your mind, beneath all your worried thoughts, which are based on your sense of inadequacy. Reach down below these to the place in you where nothing is beyond your strength, because the strength of God lives in you. You might imagine you are sinking down beneath the choppy waters on the surface to the peaceful depths where all is still. "You will recognize that you have reached [this place] if you feel a sense of deep peace, however briefly" (7:2). Remember (as previously instructed) to draw your mind back from wandering as often as needed, and to hold in mind an attitude of confidence and desire. Frequent reminders: often Repeat the idea. Response to temptation: when any disturbance arises Repeat the idea, remembering you are entitled to peace because you are trusting in God's strength, not your own. COMMENTARY It is reported in the Gospel of John that Jesus said, "The Son can do nothing of himself, unless it is something He sees the Father doing....I can do nothing on my own initiative, as I hear, I judge" (John 5:19, 30). Basically that is what this lesson is telling us: We cannot do anything by ourselves. When the lesson speaks of "trusting in your own strength" (1:1) it is talking about attempting to do anything by ourselves, as an independent unit, separate from God and His creation. It is talking about operating as an ego. The lesson is saying that it is simply impossible. Another example from the Gospel of John may help. Towards the end of his time on earth, Jesus compared himself to a vine, and his disciples to branches in the vine. He was speaking, I believe, from the perspective of the Christ; or perhaps it would be better to say the Christ was speaking through the man, Jesus. He said: "As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you, unless you abide in me....apart from me you can do nothing" (John 15:4, 5). Think about it. Where does the vine leave off and the branch begin? The branch is the vine. That is its whole existence. It cannot operate independently; it cannot "bear fruit" if it is cut off from the vine. We are parts or aspects of the Sonship, and the Son is one with the Father. "What [God] creates is not apart from Him, and nowhere does the Father end, the Son begin as something separate from Him" (W-pI.132.12:4). Sounds a lot like a vine and its branches, doesn't it? When we try to operate independently we can do nothing. As we normally think of ourselves, what is there we can wholly predict and control? How can we "be aware of all the facets of any problem" and "resolve them in such a way that only good can come of it?" (1:3) Left to ourselves, left to the limited resources of the self as the ego sees it, cut off from everything, we simply cannot do it. We don't have what it takes. "If you are trusting in your own strength, you have every reason to be apprehensive, anxious and fearful" (1:1). The lesson is asking us to recognize that we are not limited to "our own" strength; "God is the strength in which I trust." It is asking us to operate based on our union with God. From where we are at the start of things, it is going to seem as if we are dealing with some kind of external God, a "Voice" that speaks within our minds or operates in circumstances to guide us. "Since you believe that you are separate, Heaven presents itself to you as separate, too. Not that it is in truth, but that the link [the Holy Spirit] that has been given you to join the truth may reach to you through what you understand" (T-25.I.5:1, 2). So it may seem as if we are being asked to "submit" to a superior force, when in fact all we are doing is aligning ourselves with all the rest of our own being, from which we have dissociated ourselves. The Holy Spirit speaks for us, as well as for God, for we are One. (See T-11.1.11:1; T-30.II.1:1,2; W-pI.125.8:1; W-pI.152.12:2) When we realize we cannot live on our own--when we accept our dependence on this Higher Power--God becomes our strength and our safety in every circumstance. His Voice tells us "exactly what to do to call upon His strength and His protection" (3:2). When we fear, in any degree, we must obviously be trusting in our own independent strength, which is non-existant. Simply feeling inadequate for something is a form of fear arising from thinking I am on my own. "Who can put his faith in weakness and feel safe?" (2:3) So when fear arises, let me simply remind myself that I do not trust in my own strength, but God's. That reality can pull me up from fear to a place of deep, abiding peace. To recognize our weakness as independent beings is a necessary beginning (6:1). If we deceive ourselves into believing we can handle everything on our own, without God, without our brothers and sisters, we will crash and burn eventually. But that recognition is not the point at which to stop; we must go beyond that to realize that we have the strength of God, and that confidence in that strength "is fully justified in every respect and in all circumstances" (6:2). Nearly every time I meditate I repeat, silently or aloud, the words that come near the end of this lesson: "There is a place in you where there is perfect peace. There is a place in you where nothing is impossible. There is a place in you where the strength of God abides" (7:4-6). Let us, today, pause frequently to reach down below "all the trivial things that churn and bubble on the surface of [our] mind" (7:3), to find that place. From sue at circleofa.org Mon Feb 16 09:27:20 2009 From: sue at circleofa.org (Sue Roth) Date: Mon, 16 Feb 2009 09:27:20 -0500 Subject: [acimlessons_list] Lesson 48 - February 17 Message-ID: Lesson 48 - February 17 "There is nothing to fear." PRACTICE SUMMARY: Frequent reminders: very frequent, as often as possible This has two forms. Use the longer whenever you can. 1. Repeat the idea. You can do this with eyes open under any circumstance, even while in conversation. It can take as little as two seconds. 2. Take a minute or so, close your eyes and repeat the idea slowly several times. Remarks: The longer practice periods have been cleared away today, so you can focus on frequency. We saw the same thing in Lessons 20, 27, and 40. Today's lesson, therefore, is part of a series designed to teach us the crucial habit of frequent practice. Therefore, rather than taking a rest today, really give it your all. The more you put into it, the more you'll get out of it. Earlier lessons (27, 40) recommended setting a frequency at the beginning of the day and then trying to stick to it. I would recommend doing the same today. What sort of frequency should you set? Let's look at previous lessons that specified a frequency: 20: 2 per hour 27: 2-4 per hour 39: 3-4 per hour 40: 6 per hour The average is 3-4 per hour, but notice also that the frequency goes up as the lessons go up. I would suggest picking a frequency you really think you can maintain, and then setting a firm intention to stick with it, and even taking a moment to imagine yourself doing practicing it frequently under different circumstances. During the day, when you notice you have lapsed, don't be disturbed; it happens to all of us. Simply get back to practicing-immediately and without guilt. Response to temptation: when anything disturbs your peace of mind Repeat the idea immediately. COMMENTARY One can understand this simple thought in at least two ways: 1) Nothing exists of which to be afraid. 2) Fear? Nothing to it! As the third paragraph makes clear, this thought is connected to yesterday's lesson about trusting in God's strength versus trusting in our own strength, apart from Him. "The presence of fear is a sure sign that you are trusting in your own strength" (3:1). As the lesson yesterday said, "Who can put his faith in weakness and feel safe?" (W-pI.47.2:3) So when we trust in our own strength, we feel fear. When we trust in God's strength, we do not. Fear is nothing to be afraid of, however; it is merely a warning sign indicating that our faith is misplaced, and simply calls for correction, not condemnation. That there is nothing to fear is a simple fact, from the perspective of the right mind. God is all there is, and we are part of Him; nothing outside Him exists. Of course there is nothing to fear. Fear is a belief in something other than God, a false god, an idol with power that opposes and overcomes God. We secretly believe that we have done so, and so we fear, but what we are afraid of is ourselves. Yet what we think we have done has never occurred. Therefore there is nothing to fear. "Nothing real can be threatened" (T-In.2:2). If we believe in illusions, fear seems very real, but we are afraid of nothing. The lesson says it is "very easy to recognize" (1:4) that there is nothing to fear; what makes it seem difficult is that (1:5). If they are not true, we are not who we think we are and who we wish to be; we are God's creations, instead, and not our own. So we hold on to the illusions to validate our egos, and in so doing, hold on to the fear. When we allow ourselves to recall that there is nothing to fear, when we consciously remind ourselves of that fact throughout the day, it shows that "somewhere in your mind, though not necessarily in a place you recognize as yet, you have remembered God, and let His strength take the place of your weakness" (3:2). This is what the Text calls the "right mind." There is a part of our minds--really the only part there is--in which we have remembered God! That part of our minds is what is waking us up from our dream. Have you ever wondered how you happened to come upon A Course in Miracles, and why it seems attractive to you? Your right mind has created this experience for you; your true Self is speaking to you through its pages to awaken you. Each time we repeat the thought for today, "There is nothing to fear," we are aligning ourselves with the part of us that is already awake, and has already remembered. Since we are already awake, the outcome is inevitable. But we need this appearance of time to "give ourselves time," so to speak, to dispense with our illusions and to recognize the ever-present truth of our reality. From sue at circleofa.org Tue Feb 17 06:05:27 2009 From: sue at circleofa.org (Sue Roth) Date: Tue, 17 Feb 2009 06:05:27 -0500 Subject: [acimlessons_list] Lesson 49 - February 18 Message-ID: Lesson 49 - February 18 "God's Voice speaks to me all through the day." PRACTICE SUMMARY: Purpose: to tune into and identify with the part of your mind where God's Voice is always speaking to you. Longer: 4 times (more if possible), for 5 minutes This is yet another meditation exercise, like Lessons 41, 44, 45, and 47. After closing your eyes and repeating the idea (not mentioned today, but standard), go into the meditation. Again, I find it helpful to think of it as having three aspects: 1. Sink past the cloud of frantic, insane thoughts that chokes the surface of your mind. Sink down to the part of your mind where stillness reigns, where you are truly at home, and where God's Voice speaks to you. Sinking down to this part also means listening to this part. 2. Draw your mind back from wandering by repeating the idea. 3. Above all, hold in mind the attitude that this is the happiest, holiest thing you could do, and that you are confident you can make it, because God wants you to. Frequent reminders: very frequently There is a range of options, which go from practicing under limiting circumstances to the ideal form of practice. This range applies to all the lessons: 1. Repeat the idea with eyes open when you have to. 2. Repeat it with eyes closed when possible. 3. Whenever you can, sit quietly, close your eyes and repeat the idea. Make this an invitation to God's Voice to speak to you. COMMENTARY "God's Voice speaks to me all through the day." Yes, It does! It may seem like wishful thinking to you when you say this sentence, but it isn't. God's Voice really does speak to us all through the day, every day. "The part of your mind in which truth abides [i.e. the right mind] is in constant communication with God, whether you are aware of it or not" (1:2). There is a "part" of our mind that is in constant communication with God. We aren't usually aware of it, although we could be. Our consciousness simply isn't tuned in. It's like a radio signal. Here in Sedona we have a radio station called KAZM ("chasm," cute, huh?). KAZM is in communication with my radio all through the day, but I may not have my radio tuned to that station. The Holy Spirit is in communication with my mind all through the day, but I may not be tuned in. There is another "part" of our mind that carries on the busy-ness of this world. That is the part we are mostly aware of. I'll label it "wrong mind" so we can tell the "parts" apart. This "part" really does not exist, and the "part" tuned in to God (right mind) is really the only part there is. The wrong mind is an illusion. The right mind is real. The wrong mind is frantic, distraught, filled with a chattering madhouse of "thoughts" that sound like the White Rabbit in Alice in Wonderland. The right mind is "calm, always at rest and wholly certain" (2:1). The right mind is what Lesson 47 spoke of in its last paragraph: "There is a place in you where there is perfect peace." In this place, "stillness and peace reign forever" (2:5). We can choose which voice to listen to, which "part" of our mind to attend to. The frantic voice or the peaceful Voice. Does it seem hard to believe that there is a place in you that is always perfectly peaceful, like the eye in a hurricane? But there is. I found it hard to believe, but when I began looking for it I began finding it. Often when we first try to find this place, the other voice shrieks so loudly that it seems we can't ignore it (as the lesson instructs us to). Just the other day someone was telling me how when they sat in meditation, the onset of peace was so frightening that they had to jump up and get busy with something. Isn't it weird that we find peace so unacceptable? Sit for a few minutes trying to be peaceful and something inside you is screaming, "I can't stand it!" That's the frantic voice. "Try," the lesson says, "not to listen to it" (2:4). It's worth the effort! That place of peace is there in all of us, and when we find it--Ahhh! I still have some days when I can't seem to stop the yama-yama of my mind, but the times when I sink into the peace beyond my thoughts are increasing, for which I am very grateful. You simply have to stop your activity to find it; you can't find it without sitting down, quieting down, and shutting down for a while. The world is far too distracting otherwise, at first. Eventually we can learn to find this peace any time, anywhere, and even to bring it with us into chaotic situations. At first, however, we need to act out the stillness in order to find it, closing our eyes on the world, going past the stormy surface of our minds and into the deep, calm depths, asking God's Voice to speak to us. One more thought. You might think, from this lesson, that if God's Voice speaks to you all through the day, it must be easy to hear it. Wrong. The ego's voice is characterized here as "raucous shrieks" (4:3), "frantic, riotous thoughts and sights and sounds" (4:4), and "constantly distracted" (1:4). Listening to God's Voice, at first, is like trying to meditate in the middle of a riot. It's like trying to compose a new tune while a rock band is tuning up. Or like trying to write a careful letter when three people are shouting different things into your ears. It's hard work. It takes focus and concentration. It takes, above all, willingness. "The Holy Spirit's Voice is as loud as your willingness to listen" (T-8.VIII.8:7). You have to be willing to tune out that other voice. The shrieks of the ego don't just happen without our willingness; they do not stem from some malevolent demon trying to frustrate our efforts to hear God. They are our own unwillingness taking form; that's all. We've spent eons turning on the noisemakers in our own minds. We have to start going around and choosing to turn them off. So hearing the Holy Spirit isn't something that happens overnight--read about it today, start being "divinely guided in all I do" tomorrow. No. It's not that simple. In fact, in the Text, Jesus himself says that learning to listen to that Voice and no other was the final lesson he learned, and that it takes effort and great willingness! "The Holy Spirit is in you in a very literal sense. His is the Voice That calls you back to where you were before and will be again. It is possible even in this world to hear only that Voice and no other. It takes effort and great willingness to learn. It is the final lesson that I learned, and God's Sons are as equal as learners as they are as sons." (T-5.II.3:7-11) So, let us begin today to learn this so-very-important lesson. Let us listen. From sue at circleofa.org Wed Feb 18 06:05:07 2009 From: sue at circleofa.org (Sue Roth) Date: Wed, 18 Feb 2009 06:05:07 -0500 Subject: [acimlessons_list] Lesson 50 - February 19 Message-ID: Lesson 50 - February 19 "I am sustained by the Love of God." PRACTICE SUMMARY: Purpose: to internalize the idea that you are sustained by God's Love, not by the things of the world, and to feel the protection, peace, and safety His Love brings. Longer: 2 times, morning and evening, for 10 minutes Spend these ten minutes repeating the idea and really dwelling on it and thinking about it. Let related thoughts come "to help you recognize its truth" (5:2). Do all this with the goal of letting the idea sink more deeply into your mind. Bask in the idea. Feel the benefits it carries for you. Try to feel God's Love covering you like a blanket of peace and safety. This is not a meditation exercise, but an extended exercise in mentally reflecting on the idea. Your thoughts will tend to wander during lengthy reflection like this. When they do, see those thoughts as intruders that have inappropriately wandered into the temple of the holy mind of God's Son. Repeat the idea to dispel them. Frequent reminders: often Repeat the idea, not just as rote words, but as a real "declaration of independence" (31.4:2)-a declaration that you are free of needing to be sustained by the empty things of this world. Try repeating it once in this spirit right now, and see the effect it has on your mind. Response to temptation: whenever you feel confronted by a problem or challenge Answer what confronts you by repeating the idea. While doing so, remember that "through the Love of God within you, you can resolve all seeming difficulties without effort and in sure confidence" (4:5). COMMENTARY What sustains me? What do I turn to when I feel empty or depleted? God--my eternal Source? Or something else? I have to admit that often it is to something else that I turn for renewal. What would it be like to have a habit of turning to the Love of God? What would it be like to come to rely fully on something so utterly and absolutely dependable? The list of items in the first paragraph of the lesson contains something that fits nearly every one of us. Whatever my personal preference for "sustainer," the whole bunch of them is just "an endless list of forms of nothingness that [we] endow with magical powers" (1:3). When we turn to them, something in us knows that these things are not really solving anything; they are nothing but palliatives, placebos that may dull the symptoms for a while but in the end cure nothing. I think it was Saint Augustine who said that every one of us is born with a God-shaped blank in our heart. We may try to fill it with all sorts of things, but nothing "fits" the blank but the Love of God. We "cherish" the other things because we are trying to preserve our imagined, independent identity as an ego in a body. We are cherishing nothingness to preserve a nothing. Wholeness comes only from union with our Source. The Love of God can "transport you into a state of mind that nothing can threaten, nothing can disturb, and where nothing can intrude upon the eternal calm of the Son of God" (3:3). [Note: a few early printings of the Second Edition had a typographical error, substituting the word "claim" for "calm."] I want a state of mind like that. I want that kind of inner stability, that serenity of consciousness. What else could bring it to me except knowing that I am connected to an unending supply of bottomless benevolence? The Psalmist said it well in the first Psalm. The "godly," those who know they are sustained by God's Love, "shall be like a tree planted by rivers of water, that bringeth forth its fruit in its season. His leaf also shall not wither, and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper." When you become inwardly aware of God's Love sustaining you, it is like being a tree planted by a river, its roots constantly supplied by the water that is always there, always being renewed. Or from the 23rd Psalm: "The Lord is my Shepherd. I shall not want....My cup runneth over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life." "Put all your faith in the Love of God within you; eternal, changeless and forever unfailing. This is the answer to whatever confronts you today" (4:3-4). Again the practice instructions tell us to "sink deep into your consciousness" (5:1). (Note it is for a ten-minute period, morning and evening; the periods of meditation are getting longer.) We are to "allow peace to flow over [us] like a blanket of protection and surety" (5:2). Often I find it helps me establish that sense by visualizing something--being bathed in golden light, being embraced by my spiritual guide, or sinking into a warm jacuzzi. I can let it be a time of rest, ten minutes in which I simply let go, physically and mentally, and allow myself to experience peace. I tell myself: "I am OK. I am safe. I am at home in God. His Love surrounds me and protects me. His Love nourishes me and makes me what I am." From sue at circleofa.org Thu Feb 19 05:51:10 2009 From: sue at circleofa.org (Sue Roth) Date: Thu, 19 Feb 2009 05:51:10 -0500 Subject: [acimlessons_list] PRACTICE INSTRUCTIONS FOR REVIEW I Message-ID: PRACTICE INSTRUCTIONS FOR REVIEW I Purpose: To review the lessons and therefore let them sink in a notch deeper. Also, to see how interrelated they are and how cohesive the thought system is that they are leading you to. Exercise: As often as possible (suggestion: every hour on the hour), for at least two minutes. * Alone in a quiet place, read one of the five lessons and the related comments. Notice that the comments are written as if they are your own thoughts about the idea. Try to imagine that they are. It will help if you frequently insert your name. This will set you up for the next phase, in which you generate similar thoughts of your own. * Close your eyes and think about the idea and the comments. Think particularly about the central point of the commentary paragraph. Reflect on it. Let related thoughts come (utilizing the training you've received in that practice). If your mind wanders, repeat the idea and then get back to your reflection. This is the same basic exercise as in Lesson 50, in which you actively think about ideas in order to let them sink more deeply into your mind. Remarks: * At the beginning and end of the day read all five lessons. * Thereafter, cover one lesson per practice period, in no particular order. * Cover each lesson at least once. * Beyond that, concentrate on a particular lesson if it appeals to you most. From sue at circleofa.org Thu Feb 19 05:51:05 2009 From: sue at circleofa.org (Sue Roth) Date: Thu, 19 Feb 2009 05:51:05 -0500 Subject: [acimlessons_list] REVIEW I INTRODUCTION Message-ID: REVIEW I INTRODUCTION In Review I, the third and fourth paragraphs present a theory of practice that is useful in understanding why the Workbook is structured as it is. In fact, the paragraphs imply a lot about the importance of structure itself, which changes as we progress in our practice. Five degrees of structure are indicated here, moving from highly structured to almost none. 1. Highly Structured with Formal Setting In the beginning of our study, the Course recommends quite highly structured practice, with attention to certain forms. The earlier lessons in the Workbook all go to great lengths spelling out the specific details concerning how the lesson should be practiced. In this review, for instance, we are told that we do not need to review the comments after each of the five daily thoughts in any great detail (3:1). Rather, we are to focus on the central point and think about that, allowing related ideas to come to us as we have been doing in recent lessons. In addition we are told that "the exercises should be done with your eyes closed and when you are alone in a quiet place, if possible" (3:3). This is what I mean when I say it pays attention to form. It deals with where we should be (in a quiet place) and specifically what we should do with our eyes. It adds that this kind of instruction is "emphasized for practice periods at your stage of learning" (4:1), which is obviously understood to be the beginning stage. The idea behind this sort of instruction seems to be that, at the beginning stage, we need structure, and we need physical solitude and quietness. We need to close our eyes to shut out distractions because our minds have not been sufficiently trained to ignore the distractions without doing so. We are training ourselves to have inner peace, and at the beginning it is helpful to encourage that state of mind by arranging our environment. 2. No Special Setting As we advance, it will become necessary to give up the formal setting and structure, so that we can "learn to require no special settings in which to apply what you have learned" (4:2). Initially, to find peace of mind, we need a quiet place, we need to close our eyes. But as we go on, the intent is that we begin to apply our learning in situations that appear to be upsetting. After all, when is peace most needed? Obviously, it is needed when something happens that seems to upset us (4:3). We have begun to advance when we learn to generalize, when we are able to take what we have learned in the "laboratory" of quiet practice and apply it in distressing situations. This will happen almost without conscious volition. Suddenly we will notice that things that used to instantly upset us no longer do so. Or we will find ourselves reacting with love instead of anger. The Workbook practice encourages this "spread" of the lessons into our lives by asking us to remember the thought for the day whenever something happens that upsets us. This takes the lesson out of the laboratory and into our lives. This kind of expanded practice, or "response to temptation," as it is called, is vital if the Course is going to make a noticeable difference in our lives. 3. Bringing Peace with Us As our practice of the first sort continues, and as we begin to respond to upsets by choosing to experience peace instead of the upset, we begin to move into a third stage: we start to bring peace with us into every situation (4:4). In the second stage we are reacting to a situation and choosing peace; here, we are proactively bringing peace with us into distress and turmoil, healing the situations we find. Our quiet practice has established a certain level of peace within our minds, and now we bring the quiet with us as we move through our days. "This is not done by avoiding [distress and turmoil] and seeking a haven of isolation for yourself" (4:5). At this level of development we have ended any attempt at monastic isolation and we are reaching out into the world, bringing healing to it. We may still withdraw periodically to "recharge," as it were, but we are no longer fearful of distress and turmoil; we even begin to actively seek out situations in which our healed mind can bring healing to others. 4. Recognizing Peace Is Part of Us At a higher level still, we begin to realize that peace is not some quality or condition that comes and goes; rather, it is an inherent part of our being (5:1). Here we have realized that peace is not conditional. It does not depend on conditions. It is inherent in our nature; it is what we are. We have become identified with peace so that, simply by being there, we bring peace into every situation in which we find ourselves. We no longer need to get alone or shut our eyes to feel peaceful; we are the peace. Conditions around us do not affect our peace; instead, our peace affects the conditions. 5. Peace Seen Everywhere At the highest level, we will realize that our physical presence is not required to affect any situation. We realize that "there is no limit to where you are, so that your peace is everywhere, as you are" (5:2). This is the state of mind of the advanced teacher of God, or what, in some circles, might be called a realized master. This state of mind will not long abide in a body, because it has transcended bodily limitations. This broad overview of where the Course is taking us can be very encouraging as we struggle with the elementary level. Look at the scope of the Course's program. Starting with a level at which our peace is so vulnerable that we must close our eyes and shut out the world, it moves to transcend the world entirely. We may long to be at the highest level right away; it doesn't work that way. You can't skip steps, as Ken Wapnick often points out. Don't get caught in the trap of thinking, "I ought to be able to experience peace anywhere," and because of that refuse yourself the support of being alone, quiet, and shutting your eyes. At the beginning those props are necessary and even, in the Course's curriculum, emphasized. Don't think you are being untrue to your highest understanding by setting up a formal structure for yourself, perhaps setting an alarm to remember your practice times, writing the lesson on cards and carrying it around, or asking a friend to remind you and check up on you. At the beginning, almost anything that helps you remember is useful. The structure won't last, and should not last. But you need the structure at the start in order to get to where being unstructured will work for you. Try to skip immediately to unstructured practice and you'll end up not practicing at all. Use structure, but don't get attached to it. Don't make an idol of it. The structure is like training wheels on a bicycle: necessary and useful as you are learning, but to be discarded as soon as you have learned to keep upright on your own. From sue at circleofa.org Thu Feb 19 05:51:13 2009 From: sue at circleofa.org (Sue Roth) Date: Thu, 19 Feb 2009 05:51:13 -0500 Subject: [acimlessons_list] Review I, Lesson 51 - February 20 Message-ID: Review I, Lesson 51 - February 20 Review of Lessons 1 to 5 "Nothing I see means anything." "I have given what I see all the meaning it has for me." "I do not understand anything I see." "These thoughts do not mean anything." "I am never upset for the reason I think." PRACTICE SUMMARY REVIEW I Purpose: to review the lessons and therefore let them sink in a notch deeper. Also, to see how they interrelated they are and how cohesive the thought system is that they are leading you to. Exercise: as often as possible (suggestion: every hour on the hour), for at least 2 minutes * Alone in a quiet place, read one of the five lessons and the related comments. Notice that the comments are written as if they are your own thoughts about the idea. Try to imagine that they are. It will help if you frequently insert your name. This will set you up for the next phase, in which you generate similar thoughts of your own. * Close your eyes and think about the idea and the comments. Think particularly about the central point of the commentary paragraph. Reflect on it. Let related thoughts come (utilizing the training you've received in that practice). If your mind wanders, repeat the idea and then get back to your reflection. This is the same basic exercise as in Lesson 50, in which you actively think about ideas in order to let them sink more deeply into your mind. Remarks: * At the beginning and end of the day read all five lessons. * Thereafter, cover one lesson per practice period, in no particular order. * Cover each lesson at least once. * Beyond that, concentrate on a particular lesson if it appeals to you most. COMMENTARY Review of lessons 1 to 5. Note first that we aren't simply to read this review; we are meant to spend time morning and evening reviewing all five ideas, and to spend one two-minute practice period during the day on each of the five. That's five practice periods between the morning and evening, minimum. It will probably take a little planning to schedule those five interim periods, and the planning time is worth the effort. Second, notice that these practice instructions apply to all ten review lessons for the next ten days. The comments on the five lessons given in Lesson 51 link them together so clearly that little comment is really needed. As Review I says in the last sentence, the emphasis of this review is on the relationships between the ideas and the cohesiveness of the entire thought system being presented. If you look at them together, they are lessons in "letting go" (the words "let go" or some variant occur in four of the five reviews). In these first five lessons I am being asked to let go of: 1. What I see 2. My judgments 3. My understanding 4. My thoughts 5. My thought system What we "see" in the normal sense is nothing; we need to realize it is meaningless and let it go, so that vision may take its place. We are not actually seeing things; rather, we are seeing our judgments on them. If we want vision, we have to realize our judgments are invalid, and cease letting them govern our sight. If we have misjudged, surely we have also misunderstood. Our "understanding" of things is based, not on reality, but on our own projections. But we can choose to exchange our misunderstandings for real understanding, based on love rather than judgment. Like what we see, our conscious thoughts are without any real meaning; we need to let them go, along with judgment-based perceptions. They are thoughts of anger and attack, seeing all things as our enemies. These thoughts which are apart from God require constant justification, and our upset is no more than an attempt to justify our our anger with the world and our attacks upon it. As we read over this review, which is written in the first person, we may want to try reading it aloud, and seeing how we resonate with it. I really willing to let go of what I see, my judgments and my understanding of everything, my thoughts, and my very thought system? Can I say, "I am willing to let it go?" From suelegal at gmail.com Fri Feb 20 05:00:52 2009 From: suelegal at gmail.com (Sue Roth) Date: Fri, 20 Feb 2009 05:00:52 -0500 Subject: [acimlessons_list] Review I, Lesson 52 - February 21 Message-ID: Review I, Lesson 52 - February 21 Review of Lessons 6 to 10. "I am upset because I see what is not there." "I see only the past." "My mind is preoccupied with past thoughts." "I see nothing as it is now." "My thoughts do not mean anything." PRACTICE SUMMARY Purpose: to review the lessons and therefore let them sink in a notch deeper. Also, to see how they interrelated they are and how cohesive the thought system is that they are leading you to. Exercise: as often as possible (suggestion: every hour on the hour), for at least 2 minutes * Alone in a quiet place, read one of the five lessons and the related comments. Notice that the comments are written as if they are your own thoughts about the idea. Try to imagine that they are. It will help if you frequently insert your name. This will set you up for the next phase, in which you generate similar thoughts of your own. * Close your eyes and think about the idea and the comments. Think particularly about the central point of the commentary paragraph. Reflect on it. Let related thoughts come (utilizing the training you've received in that practice). If your mind wanders, repeat the idea and then get back to your reflection. This is the same basic exercise as in Lesson 50, in which you actively think about ideas in order to let them sink more deeply into your mind. Remarks: * At the beginning and end of the day read all five lessons. * Thereafter, cover one lesson per practice period, in no particular order. * Cover each lesson at least once. * Beyond that, concentrate on a particular lesson if it appeals to you most. COMMENTARY Remember that the general practice for these reviews is to read all five thoughts and comments twice daily, morning and evening, and to spend at least one two-minute period with each of the five ideas during the day. The thoughts are thick in these reviews, so I offer only a few observations on things that stand out for me. "Reality is never frightening" (1:2). Reality is, of course, what God created. When I feel frightened, I find it useful to remind myself that I must be seeing something that isn't really there. I am the one who makes up frightening illusions. How reassuring to be told that, "Nothing in God's creation is affected in any way by this confusion of mine" (1:7). That is the basis for letting go of guilt. I may be confused, mistaken, deceived, and deceiving, but none of it affects what is real. What's real is real no matter what I do. The sun doesn't go out when I cover my eyes. So all that I have done has had zero real effects! I have nothing of which to feel guilty. "If I see nothing as it is now, it can truly be said that I see nothing" (4:2). A thing is as it is now. It isn't as it was yesterday; it isn't as it will be tomorrow. Things exist NOW. That is the only way I can see them. That is how they are. If I am seeing the past, I'm not seeing anything. The past isn't here. "I have no private thoughts" (5:2). What if everyone in the world could see right into your mind? What if the way you thought about your boss affected the war in Bosnia? Guess what? They can. It does. And yet, "they mean nothing" (5:5). If you think thoughts you believe to be private, they are meaningless. They have effects within the illusion, but they affect nothing real. Only thoughts that are shared have real effects, and the only thoughts that can be truly shared are the thoughts you think with God. From suelegal at gmail.com Sat Feb 21 05:00:53 2009 From: suelegal at gmail.com (Sue Roth) Date: Sat, 21 Feb 2009 05:00:53 -0500 Subject: [acimlessons_list] Review I, Lesson 53 - February 22 Message-ID: Review I, Lesson 53 - February 22 Review of Lessons 11 to 15. "My meaningless thoughts are showing me a meaningless world." "I am upset because I see a meaningless world." "A meaningless world engenders fear." "God did not create a meaningless world." "My thoughts are images that I have made." PRACTICE SUMMARY Purpose: to review the lessons and therefore let them sink in a notch deeper. Also, to see how they interrelated they are and how cohesive the thought system is that they are leading you to. Exercise: as often as possible (suggestion: every hour on the hour), for at least 2 minutes * Alone in a quiet place, read one of the five lessons and the related comments. Notice that the comments are written as if they are your own thoughts about the idea. Try to imagine that they are. It will help if you frequently insert your name. This will set you up for the next phase, in which you generate similar thoughts of your own. * Close your eyes and think about the idea and the comments. Think particularly about the central point of the commentary paragraph. Reflect on it. Let related thoughts come (utilizing the training you've received in that practice). If your mind wanders, repeat the idea and then get back to your reflection. This is the same basic exercise as in Lesson 50, in which you actively think about ideas in order to let them sink more deeply into your mind. Remarks: * At the beginning and end of the day read all five lessons. * Thereafter, cover one lesson per practice period, in no particular order. * Cover each lesson at least once. * Beyond that, concentrate on a particular lesson if it appeals to you most. REMARKS: * At beginning and end of day read all five lessons. * Thereafter, cover one lesson per practice period, in no particular order. * Concentrate on one if it appeals to you more than others. * But cover each one at least once. COMMENTARY Today's review carries enormous impact for me. In each of the short review paragraphs are sentences that convey to me the awesome power of my own mind: its power to choose its thoughts, and thus choose the world that it sees. "I have real thoughts as well as insane ones. I can therefore see a real world, if I look to my real thoughts as my guide for seeing" (1:4-5). "I am grateful that this world is not real, and that I need not see it at all unless I choose to value it. And I do not choose to value what is totally insane and has no meaning" (2:6-7). "Now I choose to withdraw this belief, and place my trust in reality. In choosing this, I will escape all the effects of the world of fear, because I am acknowledging that it does not exist" (3:7-8). "Let me remember the power of my decision, and recognize where I really abide" (4:6). "The images I have made cannot prevail against Him because it is not my will that they do so. My will is His, and I will place no other gods before Him" (5:6-7). If I remember the power of my decision, I can choose not to value what is insane; I can choose to withdraw my belief in it. I do not have to accept that the images I have made have power to overcome God's Will; I do not have to make gods out of them. I can look to my real thoughts and let them guide my seeing. The words "choose" and "decision" and "will" echo through these paragraphs. What power has been given to my mind! I once read these ten lessons of review onto tape; they fit in less than a 30-minute tape, read quite slowly. Recording them had tremendous impact on me, and listening to the tape several dozen times had even more impact. These fifty pithy paragraphs are a remarkable overview of the Course's thought system. And as I read them aloud, I found myself putting deep feeling into sentences such as, "I cannot live in peace in such a world. I am grateful that this world is not real. And I do not choose to value what is totally insane and has no meaning" (2:5-7). Every time I came to a line that said, "I do not choose" or "I choose," it was as though something deep within me were shifting. I felt a growing determination, and a sense of being enabled by God to choose what my mind would think and what my perception would see. Try reading today's lesson aloud and see how it feels. From sue at circleofa.org Mon Feb 23 20:14:59 2009 From: sue at circleofa.org (Sue Roth) Date: Mon, 23 Feb 2009 20:14:59 -0500 Subject: [acimlessons_list] Review I, Lesson 54 - February 23 Message-ID: Review I, Lesson 54 - February 23 Review of Lessons 16 to 20. "I have no neutral thoughts." "I see no neutral things." "I am not alone in experiencing the effects of my seeing." "I am not alone in experiencing the effects of my thoughts." "I am determined to see." PRACTICE SUMMARY Purpose: to review the lessons and therefore let them sink in a notch deeper. Also, to see how they interrelated they are and how cohesive the thought system is that they are leading you to. Exercise: as often as possible (suggestion: every hour on the hour), for at least 2 minutes * Alone in a quiet place, read one of the five lessons and the related comments. Notice that the comments are written as if they are your own thoughts about the idea. Try to imagine that they are. It will help if you frequently insert your name. This will set you up for the next phase, in which you generate similar thoughts of your own. * Close your eyes and think about the idea and the comments. Think particularly about the central point of the commentary paragraph. Reflect on it. Let related thoughts come (utilizing the training you've received in that practice). If your mind wanders, repeat the idea and then get back to your reflection. This is the same basic exercise as in Lesson 50, in which you actively think about ideas in order to let them sink more deeply into your mind. Remarks: * At the beginning and end of the day read all five lessons. * Thereafter, cover one lesson per practice period, in no particular order. * Cover each lesson at least once. * Beyond that, concentrate on a particular lesson if it appeals to you most. COMMENTARY This review links these thoughts together as a powerful motivator for changing my thoughts. My thoughts make the world, either the false world or the real world. The world I see is a "representation of my own state of mind" (2:4). I can contribute to the making of a world of separation, or I can, by awaking my real thoughts, awaken those thoughts in others. What I think and say and do "teaches all the universe" (4:3). By changing my own mind, I can change every mind along with mine. When I realize this, I am filled with a dynamic determination to look upon the real world, to open my mind to the thoughts I share with God, and in so doing, to transform the universe. Archimedes is reputed to have said, "Give me a lever long enough, and I will move the world." I have that lever. It is my mind; "mine is the power of God" (4:6). One man whose mind is wholly transformed will transform all the world. Jesus was such a man, and the impact of his thought is still unfolding, the ripples still spreading in the pond of mind. I can join with him and add the power of my mind to his. I do want to see "love...replace fear, laughter...replace tears" (5:4). I want to let this be done through me. In each situation in which I find myself today, with each person I meet, may this be my aim. "I am here only to be truly helpful. I am here to represent him who sent me" (T-2.V(A).18:2,3). By allowing my mind to be changed, I will bring healing to everyone I meet today. From suelegal at gmail.com Mon Feb 23 20:14:59 2009 From: suelegal at gmail.com (Sue Roth) Date: Mon, 23 Feb 2009 20:14:59 -0500 Subject: [acimlessons_list] Review I, Lesson 55 - February 24 Message-ID: Review I, Lesson 55 - February 24 Review of Lessons 21 to 25. "I am determined to see things differently." "What I see is a form of vengeance." "I can escape from this world by giving up attack thoughts." "I do not perceive my own best interests." "I do not know what anything is for." PRACTICE SUMMARY Purpose: to review the lessons and therefore let them sink in a notch deeper. Also, to see how they interrelated they are and how cohesive the thought system is that they are leading you to. Exercise: as often as possible (suggestion: every hour on the hour), for at least 2 minutes * Alone in a quiet place, read one of the five lessons and the related comments. Notice that the comments are written as if they are your own thoughts about the idea. Try to imagine that they are. It will help if you frequently insert your name. This will set you up for the next phase, in which you generate similar thoughts of your own. * Close your eyes and think about the idea and the comments. Think particularly about the central point of the commentary paragraph. Reflect on it. Let related thoughts come (utilizing the training you've received in that practice). If your mind wanders, repeat the idea and then get back to your reflection. This is the same basic exercise as in Lesson 50, in which you actively think about ideas in order to let them sink more deeply into your mind. Remarks: * At the beginning and end of the day read all five lessons. * Thereafter, cover one lesson per practice period, in no particular order. * Cover each lesson at least once. * Beyond that, concentrate on a particular lesson if it appeals to you most. COMMENTARY The pattern laid down by these lessons becomes clearer with each day of review. The writing in these ten lessons is among the clearest and most straightforward in the entire Course. Of course I am determined to see things differently; "disease, disaster and death" (1:2) are not what I want to see. That I see them proves I do not understand God, and I do not know who I am. The world I see pictures attack thoughts, "attack on everything by everything" (2:3). In this world everything lives by consuming the life of something else; whether it is the life of an animal or a plant makes little difference. Even the lowest life-form lives from the energy given off by the destruction of the Sun. What gives rise to this picture? My own attack thoughts. "My loving thoughts will save me from this perception of the world" (2:6). Changing my mind from attack to love will change the world I see. "It is this I choose to see, in place of what I look on now" (3:5). And no wonder I am confused about my best interests! I don't know who I am; how could I know what I need? I am willing to accept the guidance of One Who knows me; I understand that I can't perceive my best interests by myself. I use everything to sustain my illusions about myself (4:4). What I need is a way to let the world teach me the truth about myself. Seeing it as I see it, the world is frightening; I want to know the truth. The transformation hinges on my willingness to recognize that I do not like what I see, and since what I see comes from what I think, I want to change what I think. I do not know my best interests, and the purpose I have assigned to everything has been twisted to support my ego identity (5:2), so now I am willing to let these ideas go. Confused as I am, how could I teach myself what I do not know? I need a reliable, trustworthy Teacher, and in the Holy Spirit I have that Teacher. My only job is to make myself teachable by letting go of my false thinking, letting go of my attack thoughts. I think they sustain me but they are destroying me. I resolve today to choose differently, and to open my mind to a way of thinking I cannot, as yet, begin to understand. I open my heart to love. From sue at circleofa.org Wed Feb 25 06:06:00 2009 From: sue at circleofa.org (Sue Roth) Date: Wed, 25 Feb 2009 06:06:00 -0500 Subject: [acimlessons_list] Review I, Lesson 57 - February 26 Message-ID: Review I, Lesson 57 - February 26 Review of Lessons 31 to 35 "I am not the victim of the world I see." "I have invented the world I see." "There is another way of looking at the world." "I could see peace instead of this." "My mind is part of God's. I am very holy." PRACTICE SUMMARY Purpose: to review the lessons and therefore let them sink in a notch deeper. Also, to see how they interrelated they are and how cohesive the thought system is that they are leading you to. Exercise: as often as possible (suggestion: every hour on the hour), for at least 2 minutes * Alone in a quiet place, read one of the five lessons and the related comments. Notice that the comments are written as if they are your own thoughts about the idea. Try to imagine that they are. It will help if you frequently insert your name. This will set you up for the next phase, in which you generate similar thoughts of your own. * Close your eyes and think about the idea and the comments. Think particularly about the central point of the commentary paragraph. Reflect on it. Let related thoughts come (utilizing the training you've received in that practice). If your mind wanders, repeat the idea and then get back to your reflection. This is the same basic exercise as in Lesson 50, in which you actively think about ideas in order to let them sink more deeply into your mind. Remarks: * At the beginning and end of the day read all five lessons. * Thereafter, cover one lesson per practice period, in no particular order. * Cover each lesson at least once. * Beyond that, concentrate on a particular lesson if it appeals to you most. COMMENTARY The review today echoes with the word "freedom." "My chains are loosened. I can drop them off merely by desiring to do so. THE PRISON DOOR IS OPEN. I can leave simply by walking out" (1:3-5). "I made up the prison in which I see myself. All I need do is recognize this and I AM FREE" (2:2-3). "The Son of God must be FOREVER FREE" (2:6). "I see the world as a prison for God's Son. It must be, then, that THE WORLD IS REALLY A PLACE WHERE HE CAN BE SET FREE. I would look upon the world as it is, and see it as a place where the Son of God finds his FREEDOM" (3:4-6). "When I SEE THE WORLD AS A PLACE OF FREEDOM, I realize that it reflects the laws of God instead of the rules I made up for it to obey" (4:2). The beauty of acknowledging that I have invented the world I see is that it affirms my freedom to see it differently. Recognize that I have made up my prison, and I am free. And I am free; all of us are free, now, in our own minds. The prison is an illusion. I can choose my thoughts, and that is the ultimate freedom. I can choose to look upon the world as a place where I can be set free, and where you can be set free. I can choose to see the world as a prison, or as a classroom. How I see it is my choice--! I am to make that choice. I can see peace any time I choose to. I am free to do that. These moments I spend in quiet each day, practicing these lessons, are showing me that. I can create peace in my mind any time I choose to do so. To choose peace of mind is the ultimate freedom, and depends on nothing outside of me at all. I begin to understand, as I share this peace with my brothers, that the peace is not coming from outside, but "from deep within myself" (5:2). As my mind changes, the way I see the world changes with it. It witnesses peace back to me. And so "I begin to understand the holiness of all living things, including myself, and their oneness with me" (5:5). Years ago, when I had only begun to study the Course, I sat down one day and tried to answer a question: "What have I learned about life? What am I reasonably sure of?" And the answer that came to me was very simple: "Happiness is a choice I make." I had begun to realize the freedom of my mind to choose. I had begun to realize that my mind was truly autonomous in this choice. It needed nothing from outside to make happiness possible; it was purely a choice. And nothing outside could impede that choice. I am still learning that lesson, building on it, solidifying it within my experience. That is what this review is telling us. We are free to choose. We free, right now. Our minds are all-powerful in this choice. They lack nothing to make it, and there is nothing that can stop us from making it. What is more, God wills that we make it because His Will for us is perfect happiness. Today, let me remember that I want to be happy, and I can choose, in every moment, to be happy. I want to be at peace, and I can choose, in every moment, to be at peace. Happiness peace, for how could I be happy if I am in conflict? Today, I will make this choice! From sue at circleofa.org Thu Feb 26 06:02:45 2009 From: sue at circleofa.org (Sue Roth) Date: Thu, 26 Feb 2009 06:02:45 -0500 Subject: [acimlessons_list] Review I, Lesson 58 - February 27 Message-ID: Review I, Lesson 58 - February 27 Review of Lessons 36 to 40 "My holiness envelops everything I see." "My holiness blesses the world." "There is nothing my holiness cannot do." "My holiness is my salvation." "I am blessed as a Son of God." PRACTICE SUMMARY Purpose: to review the lessons and therefore let them sink in a notch deeper. Also, to see how they interrelated they are and how cohesive the thought system is that they are leading you to. Exercise: as often as possible (suggestion: every hour on the hour), for at least 2 minutes * Alone in a quiet place, read one of the five lessons and the related comments. Notice that the comments are written as if they are your own thoughts about the idea. Try to imagine that they are. It will help if you frequently insert your name. This will set you up for the next phase, in which you generate similar thoughts of your own. * Close your eyes and think about the idea and the comments. Think particularly about the central point of the commentary paragraph. Reflect on it. Let related thoughts come (utilizing the training you've received in that practice). If your mind wanders, repeat the idea and then get back to your reflection. This is the same basic exercise as in Lesson 50, in which you actively think about ideas in order to let them sink more deeply into your mind. Remarks: * At the beginning and end of the day read all five lessons. * Thereafter, cover one lesson per practice period, in no particular order. * Cover each lesson at least once. * Beyond that, concentrate on a particular lesson if it appeals to you most. COMMENTARY "Innocence...is the truth about me." (1:4) I don't really believe that. I to believe it, and I may I believe it, but if I really believed it I don't think I'd still be here. At the least I would not be seeing the world the way I do, because the way I see the world derives completely from the way I see myself. "I can picture only thoughts about myself" (1:5). So if I really believed that innocence is the truth about me, all I would see, everywhere, is innocence. Holiness. This is why accepting the Atonement for myself saves the world. If I can accept my own innocence, all I will see is innocence. We often allow confusion to come into our minds about who forgives who first. Do I forgive others, and then see my own innocence? Or do I forgive myself, thus allowing me to see others as innocent? The answer to both questions is, "Yes." How can both questions be answered, "Yes?" Because "myself" and "others" are not really two; we are one. The sin I see in others is always my own, projected from my mind (T-31.III.1:5). When I forgive "others" I really am forgiving my own sins. act of forgiveness, whether directed outward or inward, results in everyone being forgiven. Thus, when I perceive my own holiness, I have blessed the entire world. The holiness I see in myself, when I see it, is something shared by everyone. As my own innocence arises in my mind, the holiness of the entire world shines forth simultaneously. Innocence, or holiness, is a central theme of the Course. "Everyone has a special part to play in the Atonement, but the message given to each one is always the same: " (T-14.V.2:1). "But the content of the [universal] course never changes [no matter its form]. Its central theme is always, 'God's Son is guiltless, and in his innocence is his salvation'" (M-1.3:5). It is a message of radical innocence, total innocence, universal innocence, with no one and nothing left out. No one is condemned. No one is judged guilty. No one is damned. "...recognizing my holiness is recognizing my salvation. It is also recognizing the salvation of the world" (4:2,3). As a Son of God, I am holy, and thus I am blessed. But if I am a Son of God, so are you, so is everyone, because I am a Son of God, not by any merit of my own, not by any achievement that distinguishes me from anyone else, but simply by dint of the fact that God created me holy. As I recognize this fact about myself I include everyone God created, or I am excluded with everyone. My claim on innocence, and on "all good and only good" (5:2), lies in the fact that I am the Son of God. God willed good things for me, and so I must have them--not because I earned them in any way, but because He wills to give them. "His care for me is infinite, and is with me forever. I am eternally blessed as His Son." (5:7,8) It does not matter what I think about myself or how badly I may believe I have screwed things up: I am still His Son. I am still innocent. I am still holy. "Remember this; whatever you think about yourself, whatever you may think about the world, your Father needs you and will call to you until you come to Him in peace at last" (Song of Prayer, 3.IV.10:7). "Have faith in only this one thing, and it will be sufficient: God wills you be in Heaven, and nothing can keep you from it, or it from you. Your wildest misperceptions, your weird imaginings, your blackest nightmares all mean nothing. They will not prevail against the peace God wills for you." (T-13.XI.7:1-3). From sue at circleofa.org Fri Feb 27 06:03:36 2009 From: sue at circleofa.org (Sue Roth) Date: Fri, 27 Feb 2009 06:03:36 -0500 Subject: [acimlessons_list] Review I, Lesson 59 - February 28 Message-ID: Review I, Lesson 59 - February 28 Review of Lessons 41 to 45 "God goes with me wherever I go." "God is my strength. Vision is His gift." "God is my Source. I cannot see apart from Him." "God is the light in which I see." "God is the Mind with which I think." PRACTICE SUMMARY: Purpose: to review the lessons and therefore let them sink in a notch deeper. Also to see how they interrelated they are and how cohesive the thought system is that they are leading you to. Exercise: as often as possible (suggestion: every hour on the hour)for at least 2 minutes * Alone in a quiet place read one of the five lessons and the related comments. Notice that the comments are written as if they are your own thoughts about the idea. Try to imagine that they are. It will help if you frequently insert your name. This will set you up for the next phasein which you generate similar thoughts of your own. * Close your eyes and think about the idea and the comments. Think particularly about the central point of the commentary paragraph. Reflect on it. Let related thoughts come (utilizing the training you've received in that practice). If your mind wanders repeat the idea and then get back to your reflection. This is the same basic exercise as in Lesson 50 in which you actively think about ideas in order to let them sink more deeply into your mind. Remarks: * At the beginning and end of the day read all five lessons. * Thereafter cover one lesson per practice periodin no particular order. * Cover each lesson at least once. * Beyond that concentrate on a particular lesson if it appeals to you most. COMMENTARY The first emphasis of these five ideas is obviously on God every thought begins with that word. God is always with me. He is my strength my Source my light and the Mind with which I think. As the Bible says"He is not far from each one of us for in Him we live and move and exist" (Acts 17:2728). When I recognize that the environment in which I exist the very energy that forms my life is Godpeace comes to my mind. How could I ever be separate from the Infinite? The Son of God "cannot separate himself from what is in him" (T-13.XI.10:2)and what he is in. The second emphasis I notice here is on my seeing. "Christ's vision is His gift...Let me call upon this gift today" (2:45). "I can see only what God wants me to see. I cannot see anything else" (3:23). "I cannot see in darkness. God is the only light" (4:23). Any seeming vision apart from God cannot be real. Vision is His gift God's Will determines what can be seen and God is the Light by which we see it. Let me be glad to see what He reveals to melet me see as He wills that I see. Throughout there is an emphasis on my unity with God. If I am one with God one with all creation how can I see other than He does? To think I see differently therefore is to deny what I am and to wish I were something else apart from God and separate able to see something He does not. To share His vision and His thoughts is to affirm my true Self as He created me. From sue at circleofa.org Sat Feb 28 08:33:09 2009 From: sue at circleofa.org (Sue Roth) Date: Sat, 28 Feb 2009 08:33:09 -0500 Subject: [acimlessons_list] Review I, Lesson 60 - March 1 Message-ID: Review I, Lesson 60 - March 1 Review of Lesson 46 to 50 "God is the Love in which I forgive." "God is the strength in which I trust." "There is nothing to fear." "God's Voice speaks to me all through the day." "I am sustained by the Love of God." PRACTICE SUMMARY Purpose: to review the lessons and therefore let them sink in a notch deeper. Also, to see how they interrelated they are and how cohesive the thought system is that they are leading you to. Exercise: as often as possible (suggestion: every hour on the hour), for at least 2 minutes * Alone in a quiet place, read one of the five lessons and the related comments. Notice that the comments are written as if they are your own thoughts about the idea. Try to imagine that they are. It will help if you frequently insert your name. This will set you up for the next phase, in which you generate similar thoughts of your own. * Close your eyes and think about the idea and the comments. Think particularly about the central point of the commentary paragraph. Reflect on it. Let related thoughts come (utilizing the training you've received in that practice). If your mind wanders, repeat the idea and then get back to your reflection. This is the same basic exercise as in Lesson 50, in which you actively think about ideas in order to let them sink more deeply into your mind. Remarks: * At the beginning and end of the day read all five lessons. * Thereafter, cover one lesson per practice period, in no particular order. * Cover each lesson at least once. * Beyond that, concentrate on a particular lesson if it appeals to you most. COMMENTARY My dearest friends, I address you that way because of the line in this lesson, "I will recognize in everyone my dearest Friend" (3:5). I was so struck by that line once that for about four or five months every letter I wrote (except to those who probably would not understand) I began with, "My dearest friend [name]." No wonder that the Course tells us, "There are no strangers in God's creation" (T-3.II.7:7). My dearest Friend is in everyone; everyone is, in reality, that Friend. That is their real, albeit hidden, Identity. Speaking of "Those who accept the Holy Spirit's purpose as their own," the Text says, "He sees no strangers; only dearly loved and loving friends" (T-20.II.5:3,5). Imagine seeing the world in that way. Imagine being in love with everyone you met, recognizing each and every one as a dearly loved friend, and knowing that in their heart of hearts they are wholly loving, as you are. Imagine being surrounded by love like that. This is the Course's vision of the real world, the world attained through full forgiveness (T-17.II.5:1; T-30.VI.3:3). "Forgiveness is the means by which I will recognize my innocence" (1:4). And when I recognize my innocence, I will no longer see anything to forgive (1:3). I will see only dearly loved and loving friends. As long as I see something else, something less than that, there is forgiveness work to be done. We are here for one purpose and one purpose only, to forgive the world so completely that we absolutely fall in love with everyone and everything; anything less than that is incomplete forgiveness. What limits our love except some form of unforgiveness? Only by so completely removing every barrier to love will we come to know the fullness of the love we are. The strength of God in me enables me to do this. As I forgive I am remembering that strength in myself, a strength I have forgotten. "I forgive all things because I feel the stirring of His strength in me" (2:4). God's Voice guides me on this path of forgiveness, step by careful step; there is really nowhere else to go. "I am walking steadily on toward truth" (4:4). Sometimes my footsteps seem to falter, but I cannot really go astray. God's Love sustains me. Through listening to its stirrings deep within myself, I come to remember that I am His Son. "Our footsteps have not been unwavering, and doubts have made us walk uncertainly and slowly on the road this course sets forth. But now we hasten on, for we approach a greater certainty, a firmer purpose and a surer goal. "Steady our feet, our Father. Let our doubts be quiet and our holy minds be still, and speak to us. We have no words to give to You. We would but listen to Your Word, and make it ours. Lead our practicing as does a father lead a little child along a way he does not understand. Yet does he follow, sure that he is safe because his father leads the way for him. "So do we bring our practicing to You. And if we stumble, You will raise us up. If we forget the way, we count upon Your sure remembering. We wander off, but You will not forget to call us back. Quicken our footsteps now, that we may walk more certainly and quickly unto You. And we accept the Word You offer us to unify our practicing, as we review the thoughts that You have given us." (W-pI.rV.IN.1:5-3:6)