[acimlessons_list] Lesson 48 - February 17

[Sue Roth]

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 <we want the illusions
to be true> (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 <already>
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.