[acimlessons_list] Lesson 101 - April 11

[Sue Roth]

Lesson 101 - April 11

"God's Will for me is perfect happiness."

PRACTICE SUMMARY

Purpose: to learn that your sins are not real, and therefore that joy is
what God wills for you, not punishment. To experience that joy and escape
the heavy load you have laid on yourself by believing your sins are real.

Longer: every hour on the hour, for 5 minutes (if you cannot do this, at
least do the alternate)

*  Say, "God's Will for me is perfect happiness. There is no sin; it has no
consequence."
*  Then do the same kind of meditation that you did yesterday. Look deep
within, seeking to find that place where God's Will for you resides, that
place where there is only joy, remembering that "joy is just" (6:2), because
you never sinned. Remember to focus all of your intent on reaching that well
of joy in you, to draw your mind back when it gets caught up in those
"little thoughts and foolish goals," and to seek God's Will in you with
confidence, knowing that it will set you free from all the pain you've
caused yourself. 

Frequent reminders: as often as you can
Repeat, "God's Will for me is perfect happiness. This is the truth, because
there is no sin."

Encouragement to practice: "You need the practice periods today" (5:1). For
they can teach you that your sins were never real. They can bring you to
accepting the Atonement. Your feet are already set on the path to freedom,
and today's practice can give you wings to speed you along that path, as
well as hope that your speed will continue to increase. Therefore, practice
happily. "Give these five minutes gladly" (7:1).

COMMENTARY

When ACIM speaks of "salvation" it means being happy. How starkly this
contrasts with the common view of salvation, which seems to mean some
painful purgation of our sins. If we are honest with ourselves we will find
the idea of "paying for our sins" deeply imbedded in our consciousness,
appearing in obvious and not-so-obvious ways. One of the most subtle, but
easiest to detect if you are looking for it, is our guilt over being happy.

Haven't you ever noticed that? Somehow it just does not feel right or safe
to be "too" happy, or to be happy "too much." We have this weird feeling
that if we are "overly" happy something really bad will happen to us. The
common saying, "This is too good to last," is just one obvious example of
the syndrome. Sondra Ray's Loving Relationships Training used to ask the
question, "How good can you stand it?" Interesting question.

Or, we may feel guilty about being happy when a friend is sad or upset for
some reason; we feel obligated to join them in their misery. And the idea
that we could be happy <all> the time just seems too ridiculous to consider.
We think misery is a natural part of being alive. Maybe we even thought,
with Carly Simon, that "Suffering was the only thing made me feel I was
alive." (Listen to her song, "I haven't got time for the pain," with ACIM
ears. Wow!) We thought we needed it. We never realize that all of these
ideas are directly traceable to our belief in sin and punishment. We don't
realize that we are actively choosing our unhappiness.

There is no need for penance. There is no price to pay for sin, because
there is no sin. Some of us, reading this, will at once think that these
ideas are dangerous; if there is no price to pay for sin, then sinners will
go wild. Punishment is necessary to control evil, we think. Within the world
in which the illusion of bodies seems real, control is sometimes necessary,
although perhaps far less often than we think. But debate over how to apply
these ideas to social misbehavior (i.e. crime) could distract us for months;
this is not the real issue here. We believe it is God Who demands payment
for the wrongs we have done to Him. What if we have not done Him any wrong?
What if our "sins" are no more to Him than a gnat biting an elephant,
affecting Him not at all?

How can I be happy if I believe God is angry at me? How can I be attracted
to a salvation that comes through pain, killing me slowly, draining the life
from me until I am skin and bones (metaphorically speaking)? Hell is not
salvation! It is not a God of love Who would demand such things of us. God
is not angry; His Will for me is perfect happiness. If sin is real,
punishment is real, and if punishment is real I have every reason to flee
from God. That is exactly why the ego promotes such a view of God. "There is
no sin," says the lesson, and urges us to "practice with this thought as
often as we can today."

What about justice? "Joy is just" (6:2). That is what justice is: joy!

When I think on these ideas I often come down to a very simple application,
one that comes up for me almost every day. Whenever I do something I don't
approve of, or fail to do something I think I should have done, or find
myself thinking judgmental thoughts about someone, I often catch myself
thinking that I have to go through a decent period of remorse before I can
be happy again. Just because I've realized my mistake and decided to change
my mind can't possibly be enough to merit being happy again, can it? Don't I
have to "pay for my sin" somehow? Maybe, at the least, spend ten minutes in
meditation? What utter nonsense!

And yet, the idea keeps coming up. It shows me that I have not rid my mind
of this sin-and-punishment idea, that I still think that somehow I have to
even the account with God before I can be happy again. What God wants, what
God <wills> for me in that instant and in every instant, is happiness. "Obey
God" means "be happy." It means let go of my self-important penitence and
rejoice in the love of God. It means accepting the Atonement for myself.
What better way to "renounce sin" than to stop letting it drag me down into
snivelling self-abasement, to refuse to acknowledge its power to keep me
from happiness?

May I, today, refuse to lay the load of guilt on myself. May I lift up my
head, smile, and give God glory by the simple act of being happy. The
greatest gift I can give to those around me is my happiness.

"God's Will for me is perfect happiness. This is the truth, because there is
no sin."