[acimlessons_list] Lesson 64 - March 5

[Sue Roth]

Lesson 64 - March 5

"Let me not forget my function."

PRACTICE SUMMARY:

Purpose: to remind yourself to constantly choose your happiness by choosing
to fulfill your function. To resist the temptation to let the world you see
lull you into forgetting your function.

Longer: at least 1for 10-15 minutes

* Close your eyes and repeat these thoughts: "Let me not forget my function.
Let me not try to substitute mine for God's. Let me forgive and be happy." 

* Then again do the recent practice of reflecting on these statements. Think
about them. Let related thoughts come (it will help if you remember how
important your function is to you and others).

Remarks: It is easy for lengthy reflection like this to turn into a big mind
wandering-fest for the simple reason that "you are not proficient in the
mind discipline that it requires" (7:2). So be on the lookout for irrelevant
thoughts. When they come repeat the idea (you might even want to repeat all
three statements). Even if you have to do so twenty timesthat is better than
just letting your mind float off into never-never land.

Frequent reminders: frequentlyfor several minutes

At different timesuse one or the other of the following:

1. A shorter version of the longer practice. Repeat the three "let me"
statements and then think only about them. Your mind will wanderwhen it does
repeat the idea to bring it back.

2. Repeat the same statements then look slowly and unselectively about
yousaying: "This is the world it is my function to save."


COMMENTARY

Lesson 62 told me that forgiveness is my function so this lesson expresses a
determination not to forget what I am here for: To forgive the world
bringing peace to every mind.

What causes me to forget? The entire world. Everything my body's eyes see is
"a form of temptation since this was the purpose of the body itself" (2:1).
The ego made the world and the body with a certain purpose in mind:

 1) To obscure my function of forgiveness 
 2) To justify my forgetting my function 
 3) To entice me to abandon God and His Son by taking form in a body.

The ego's continuation depends on my identifying with a bodily form. The
"wickedness" and "incompletion" of the world around me justify my
unwillingness to forgive. My involvement in the worldmaking it the scope of
my goals and even my life obscures my true function (in Heaven creating here
forgiving). The ego's plan seems to have worked pretty well.

The Course's cosmology is fairly unique and extreme. As it says later in the
Workbook the Course's teaching is that "The world was made as an attack on
God" (W-pII.3.2:1). It was not created by God but made by the ego to abandon
Godtaking on physical form to obscure our spiritual reality.

If it seems difficult for me to accept this understandingI am not alone. The
Course is quite aware this is a difficult concept. But when I begin to
detect the way my mind works it becomes a little easier to accept. Because I
begin to notice ways in which my mind uses the world and uses everything I
see with my eyes to maintain the illusion of separation. As I am moved to
forgive I also find something in my mind resisting with tooth and nail
trying to justify withholding forgiveness trying to get me simply to forget
forgiveness entirely. And I begin to recognize that what the Course is
saying here bears a curious similarity to what is going on within my mind.
Perhaps what it is sayingthen expresses truth a truth I am perhaps reluctant
to accept but which seems to be borne out by my own experience.

The Holy Spirit has another purpose however for everything in the world. "To
the Holy Spirit the world is a place where you learn to forgive yourself
what you think of as your sins" (2:3). That's what we're doing as we forgive
"others." Fulfilling this function is what brings us happiness (I can
testify to that!).

The connection between forgiveness and happiness is interesting. If you
think about it for a moment you'll realize that when you are unforgiving you
are unhappy about something. To say "I'm not happy about the way you are
acting in our relationship" for instance is equivalent to saying "I have
judged you and found you wanting I am unforgiving." To forgive someone is to
be happy with them. To forgive means to let go of your justification for
being unhappy. When you forgive "happiness becomes inevitable" (4:2). And
"There is no other way" (4:3). Unforgiveness is precisely a choice to remain
unhappy without forgiveness you cannot be truly happy. That is the reasoning
behind this statement: "Therefore every time you choose whether or not to
fulfill your function [that is to forgive] you are really choosing whether
or not to be happy" (4:4).

The lesson then goes on to point out that every single decision we make in a
day can all be boiled down to this simple choice: Will I be happy or
unhappy? When you can begin to view your choices in life from this
perspective the choice becomes no choice at all. Who would knowingly choose
unhappiness? When you begin to notice yourself actually doing that you begin
to understand why the Course refers to us so often as "insane."

"Let me not forget my function. Let me not try to substitute mine for God's.
Let me forgive and be happy."

Let's try to remember to do the actual practice today (I have to confess
I've been skimping on the practice). One thing to notice is the ten to
fifteen minute practice period that is called for today that's something
new. If nothing else try to fit that one in.