Jesus reminds us we are God's children who believe we are bodies and separate from our Source and therefore different from him, but this is not the truth. We are the Christ, not this person we think of as our current self. We are mistaken in our identity. I am the Christ, convinced I am something else. This need not be. "Now would I be as God created me." (W.237)
 
We heal the mistaken perceptions we hold about ourselves by changing our minds. In Chapter 21, there is a much quoted line that says "Therefore, seek not to change the world, but choose to change your mind about the world." (T.21.IN.1.7)(ACIM OE T.21.I) In the same way, we can choose to change our minds about the reactions we have to the way language is reflected in the Course. For example, you may have a negative reaction to the Christian terminology or to symbols like Jesus or Christ or words like salvation. Just like anything else where we have a reaction, we can take these triggers and use them for forgiveness.
 
The important thing we are reminded of in this Lesson is that we are not who we think we are. We have made a choice for the ego and run away from the truth that we are as God created us. This thought frightens us because we have become invested in the self we have made and the world we still value, but it is a choice made by the mind, and the power is in our minds to choose again. "Now would I be as God created me." (W.237)
 
God did not create this body I identify as myself. It is the result of choosing the ego thought system. The truth is that we are the Christ, the Self all of us share as the One Son. We are created in perfection, and we have the means to undo what we have made through forgiveness, so we will come to accept the truth of that statement. The Atonement Principle is our insurance that we simply can't mar our perfection as we were created, no matter what we do or have done. We are simply unaware of our true nature.

The truth seems elusive when we identify with our ego. This world, and our belief in bodies, seems more real and solid than what is truly real. The ego is the choice for sin, guilt and fear reflected in differences, uniqueness, and our specialness that we prize. When we get on the spiritual path, the ego can even make of that experience one of spiritual specialness. We love our uniqueness and love to see ourselves as special, even if that specialness involves suffering. We value our perceptions, our thoughts and our feelings. When we don't put them to doubt or to question, they run our lives. We justify our positions and our perspectives, but this can only be maintained as a result of denial of our reality. Jesus tells us this is not an easy thing to do. He says what we have taught ourselves is an amazing learning feat. "What you have taught yourself is such a giant learning feat it is indeed incredible." (T.31.I.2.7)(ACIM OE T.31.I.2) And since we have achieved such an amazing feat of teaching ourselves we are something we are not,  the simplicity of this Course should be easy for us. Why it is not easy, he says, is because of our twisted thought system. "His message is not indirect, but He must introduce the simple truth into a thought system which has become so twisted and so complex you cannot see that it means nothing." (T.14.I.5.2)(ACIM OE T.13.VI.53)
 
The ego is devious, self-serving, narcissistic, addicted to an external source of happiness, compares itself to others, is convinced it knows where its happiness lies, is afraid of true love and joining, lies, and demonstrates arrogance in being right about the way it has set up its reality. All of this is false. It is all part of our twisted thinking. The only way to release it is to get very, very honest about ourselves. It is to look at the ego with honesty and courage.

We are being invited to release the thoughts that block our awareness of the truth. It takes some introspection and the courage and honesty to admit our motives. What was I trying to gain? For whose benefit was it? What was the purpose? What am I projecting onto others that reflects my own secret sin? Everything that comes up offers us an opportunity to open up to deeper levels of the ego thought system we are holding onto. It all needs to be brought to awareness because we can't heal what we don't acknowledge in ourselves and what we are not willing to take responsibility for.

The turning point for many of us on this spiritual path is when our lives go off track. It may be a divorce, infidelity, car accident, cancer, depression, loss of a loved one, loss of a job, financial loss, general malaise, or betrayal of some kind. At such times, we may initially want to escape into some form of safety or security we believe will mitigate our situation, but these are generally the kind of circumstances that have motivated us to find another way. Such events may be what have brought us to this spiritual path. When we are brought to our knees, we become motivated to find a more solid foundation for our lives delivered in our work with this Course. Our own solutions for our problems only bring more pain and loss. In this place of deep despair is our motivation significantly heightened to find a new direction.

As the dark cornerstones of the ego are turned over to the Holy Spirit we come to know the creation of God we truly are. And as we do so, it is a process of stepping back and allowing "the light in me to shine upon the world throughout the day." (W.237.1.2) It is to allow the glory, the radiance, the love, the light, of who we are, to radiate through us. It is not something we do. It is what we are. There is nothing we need to do to become radiant, as we already are. "The truth in you remains as radiant as a star, as pure as light, as innocent as love itself." (T.31.VI.7.4)(ACIM OE T.31.VI.67) It came with our specifications given by God. There is nothing we can do to change that. Can we really allow this thought to take hold? Can we accept this much grandeur? Can we end this bitter dream of death today?
 
When we enter the silence and connect with the Truth in our minds, we "behold the world that Christ would have me see" (W.237.1.4) and not the one I made. So, today, as every day, we are urged to go beyond the words to experience the love we are. These are not just beautiful thoughts and beautiful words to be contemplated but to be lived. To do that, we not only need to connect with the silence within, but also to apply these thoughts as we are tempted today to forget our reality and to forget who walks with us in every moment.