[acimlessons_list] Review III, Lesson 113 - April 23

[Sue Roth]

Review III, Lesson 113 - April 23

 

"I am one Self, united with my Creator."

 

"Salvation comes from my one Self."

 

 

PRACTICE SUMMARY

 

See Practice Instructions for Review III

 

 

COMMENTARY

 

There is something inexpressibly appealing about the idea of being "one
Self." Much of modern psychology talks about "integration" of the disparate
aspects of our being. So much of the time we feel as if we are made up of
varying segments, sometimes cooperating but more often than not conflicting
with one another. There is what the Jungian analysts refer to as our
"shadow" self, all the dark, repressed tendencies that follow us around as
dark figures in our dreams.

 

The Course holds out the vision of a unified Self. It speaks of "a mind at
peace within itself" (W-pII.8.3:4). It tells us that because we must be only
one self, we cannot be in conflict. The Text talks about our war against
ourselves (Chapter 23) and says that the apparent conflict we see in the
world around us is nothing but a reflection of the illusion of conflict we
all carry within our own minds. It says that "peace begins within the world
perceived as different, and leading from this fresh perception to the gate
of Heaven and the way beyond" (W-pI.200.8:2). The peace must begin within
us, in the serenity and calm of an integrated self, in a mind free of
conflict and attack.

 

The Self we are speaking of is more than just a whole individual, however.
It is one Self shared by all, "at one with all creation and with God" (1:2).
The two are really different aspects of the same thing, for as we free
ourselves of conflict within ourselves, our conflict with the world will
miraculously disappear.

 

This is why salvation comes from this one Self. When we have consolidated
ourselves, recognized the truth of our unified being, this condition of
wholeness naturally extends to others. From within the Circle of Atonement
(T-14.V) we draw others to their own wholeness, shared with us.

 

Today I still my mind from all its conflicts. I dissociate myself from the
dissociation, I separate myself from the separation. I take time in quiet to
break my sense of identification with this image of a shattered self, and I
let myself sink down into the awareness of "one Self" within me. Who I
really am. Conflicting images of myself come and go with startling
frequency; they cannot be my reality. Something persists beneath it all, the
"hum" of being in which all the flash and drama seems to occur. It is this
steadiness that I am, not the ephemeral shooting stars of thought that seem
to demand my attention. I embrace this one Self, avidly, saying, "Salvation
comes from my one Self. This oneness is my salvation. This oneness is my
reality."