[acimlessons_list] Lesson 268 - September 25

[Sue Roth]

Lesson 268 - September 25

"LET ALL THINGS BE EXACTLY AS THEY ARE."

PRACTICE INSTRUCTIONS

See complete Part II practice instructions in separate document. 
A short summary:

* READ the commentary paragraph slowly and personally.

* PRAY the prayer, perhaps several times.

* MORNING AND EVENING: Repeat the idea and then spend time in Open Mind
Meditation.

* HOURLY REMEMBRANCE: Repeat the idea and then spend a quiet moment in
meditation.

* FREQUENT REMINDERS: Repeat the idea often within each hour.

* RESPONSE TO TEMPTATION: Repeat the idea whenever upset, to restore peace.

* READ THE "WHAT IS" SECTION slowly and thoughtfully once during the day.

Practice suggestion: When I repeat this idea, I often add an extra word:
<"Let all things be exactly as they> really< are"> (or, making it more
specific, <"Let this thing be exactly as it really is">). The word "really"
emphasizes that accepting things as they are does not mean resigning
ourselves to the "what is" seen by our eyes. Rather, the world we see is
itself our refusal to accept what is, our attempt to be God's critic (1:1),
our projection of separation onto Heaven's unity (1:3). Accepting things as
they really are means <refusing> to accept the world our eyes see, refusing
to accept it as real, and accepting instead only the pristine reality of
Heaven as "what is." This is how we "let all things be exactly as they are,"
and this is how we find our peace.

COMMENTARY

Seen in the light of forgiveness, this lesson teaches us that to criticize
what <is> is to judge and condemn God. To let all things be exactly as they
are is a form of forgiveness. To insist that things be different is to judge
and to be unforgiving. As Paul Ferrini wisely says in his little book <From
Ego To Self>,1 "Only when I resist what is here do I desire what is not."

We are all filled with wishes for how things should be. We are all
discontent with things as they are. Is anybody really perfectly content with
everything in their life?

Yet this is what this lesson counsels. It could seem to be cruel counsel,
both towards myself and towards the world around me. If we are in unpleasant
conditions--sick, trapped in a destructive relationship, dying of an
illness, financially strapped, miserably unhappy--how can we say in any
honesty, "Let all things be exactly as they are"? It seems a horrible thing
to affirm.

If we see horrible conditions around us, in family, friends, or the world,
with people in some condition like the above, how can we say, "Let it be"?

Our reluctance to say these words under such circumstances testifies to our
firm belief that the conditions we see are real. If we believe the suffering
is real, of course we do not wish that it continue! We cannot say it if what
it means to us is "Let my mother be dying in pain," or "Let my husband
continue to drink and beat me." Of course not!

The lesson is really a call to recognize that the conditions of suffering we
see are not real. "Only reality is free of pain" (2:2). It is a call to
recognize that "nothing real can be threatened [and] nothing unreal exists"
(T-In.2:2-3). We cannot say "let it all be" until we first recognize that
"all" means only what is real, only what is of God. The rest is illusion.

To say, "Let all things be exactly as they are" is an affirmation of faith
that what appears to be pain and suffering is not really there. It is a
response to God's call, drawing us up out of the world of conditions and
into unconditional truth. It is a phrase that applies not to the world we
see with physical eyes, but to the world we can see only with the eyes of
Christ. It is an affirmation that we want to see the solid reality behind
all the illusion of pain.

It does not mean that we turn our eyes on a brother in suffering and pain,
see that, and callously say, "Let that be exactly as it is." That is the old
Christian mistake of "It's God's will." It is not God's will that we suffer
and die. To think so is to see the error, make it real, and then blame it on
God.

This lesson is about not seeing the error at all.

<Do not see error>. Do not make it real. Select the loving and forgive the
sin. (S-2.I.3:3-5)

To say, "Let all things be exactly as they are" is an affirmation that
conditions do not need to change for love to be real. Only the love is real,
no matter what the conditions appear to be; that is what this is
proclaiming.

The error, the pain and suffering we see, does not come from God. It is not,
therefore, real. It is only a projection of our collective minds. It is
there because we have allowed ourselves to wish conditions would be
different. Ending the wish for different conditions is the start of
dispelling the illusion. Resigning as creator of the universe is what is
called for. We think we can change this, fix that, patch this up, and the
world will be a better place. It is our interference with reality that has
made it what it is! It is our interference that must stop.

While we are in the world of illusion, we must function there sanely. If I
cut my finger, I don't let it bleed untended because I know the body is not
real. No, I put a Band-Aid on it. Yet as I do that, let me recognize that
what I am doing is "magic." I'm just patching the illusion, and it isn't
really important. It just makes for a more comfortable illusion. Making the
illusion more comfortable is fine, but in the end it is completely
irrelevant.

The same therefore applies to extreme conditions. Suppose I am dying of
cancer. Of course I treat it. How I treat it does not really matter. I may
use medical therapy. I may try to heal myself through diet. I may do
affirmations and mental conditioning. All of it is magic, all of it is
patching the illusion. In the final evaluation, it does not matter if my
body lives or dies. "Let all things be exactly as they are" in this
circumstance means, "What happens to my body is not what counts. Giving and
receiving love counts. I don't need to be free of cancer to be happy; what
happens to my body does not affect who I really am."

If, when ill, I live with a continual insistence that the condition of my
body must change in order for me to be happy, I am merely perpetuating the
error that made me sick in the first place. "Let it be" does not mean I
cease all effort to change conditions, but it does mean I give up all
investment in the outcome. It means that, however the conditions evolve and
manifest, I rest assured that they cannot affect the ultimate good of all
living things.

"I do not perceive my own best interests," says Lesson 24. Saying "let it
be" is the natural outcome of realizing our ignorance. Operating from our
extremely limited viewpoint, we can still attempt to change conditions, but
as we do so, we recognize that there is a lot we don't understand, a lot we
haven't taken into consideration because, from the perspective of a
separated mind, we simply cannot see it. So we do what we see to do, but we
are not attached to the outcome, recognizing that whatever our efforts, the
results are in God's Hands, and God's Hands are good Hands.

Jesus praying in the Garden of Gethsemane is an example of this attitude: He
said, "Let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou
[wilt]" (Mt 26:39). From his perspective as a human individual, Jesus did
not want to be nailed to a cross. From his trust in God, he could still say,
"Let it be unto me as You will."

It is necessary for the teacher of God to realize, not that he should not
judge, but that he cannot. (M10.2:1)

To say "let it be" is to realize this, and to affirm that God's judgment is
perfect. We are not to judge anything that happens. "Today I will judge
nothing that occurs" (W-pII.243.Heading). That means we don't judge anything
bad, and <neither do we judge it good>. We don't judge at all. What is, is.
Period. Let it be.

WHAT IS THE BODY?

PART 8: W-PII.5.4:3-4

How does it work out, practically, when we change the purpose of our bodies
from murder to miracles, from the pursuit of hell to the goal of Heaven?
"The Son of God extends his hand to reach his brother, and to help him walk
along the road with him" (4:3). It's that plain and simple. We reach out and
help a brother. We put our hand under his elbow when he stumbles and help
him walk with us, to God. We allow ourselves to be the first to smile in
welcome. We drop our pride and become the first to seek reconciliation in a
wounded relationship. We visit a sick friend. We <help> one another.

Some people say that since our only responsibility is accepting the
Atonement for ourselves, there is no connection to outward actions. It's all
a mental thing. I say, "Bushwa!" Accepting the Atonement for ourselves is
the sole responsibility of "miracle workers." This means that if you <do>
accept the Atonement, you will work miracles. If you aren't working
miracles--bringing healing to those around you-- you aren't accepting the
Atonement. The two go hand in hand. Read the paragraph in which that "sole
responsibility" statement occurs (T-2.V.5), and notice what follows that
statement. By accepting the Atonement, your errors are healed and then your
mind can only heal. By doing this,

you place yourself in a position to undo the level confusion of others. The
message you then give to them is the truth that their minds are similarly
constructive. (T-2.V.5:4-5; see entire paragraph)

In order to be a miracle worker, you must accept the Atonement for yourself;
to heal the errors of others, you must have your own errors healed first
(see M-18.4).

If you are familiar with Christian theology, this confusion about healing
myself versus healing others is like the old argument about salvation by
grace versus salvation by works. Doing good works will not save you, the
Bible says; salvation is only "by grace through faith." And yet, it also
says that if you <have> faith you will do good works; the good works are the
evidence of the faith. Therefore, "faith without works is dead" (Jas 2:20).
Similarly, accepting the Atonement is all that is necessary, but the
evidence of doing so, the "proof" you have accepted healing for your own
mind, is the extension of miracles of healing to those around you. The
Course repeats this over and over, saying that the way you know you are
healed is by healing others.

That is why miracles offer <you> the testimony that you are blessed. If what
you offer is complete forgiveness you must have let guilt go, accepting the
Atonement for yourself and learning you are guiltless. How could you learn
what has been done for you, unknown to you, unless you do what you would
have to do if it <had> been done for you?" (T-14.I.1:6-8)

So what these sentences are saying (back in "What Is the Body?") is that the
body becomes holy as we use it in service to others. By extending our hands
to help, we bring healing to our own minds. Reaching out instead of drawing
back, seeking to heal rather than to wound, is <how> we accept the
Atonement, or better, how we demonstrate to ourselves that we have accepted
it. The mind that has accepted Atonement can only heal, and by healing, we
know our true Self. Notice here that <the body> "serves to heal the mind"
(4:5). Yes; the mind is what needs healing, but the body serves to heal it,
by acting in healing love towards our brothers.