⁵Reaffirm your determination in the shorter practice periods as well, using the original form of the idea for general application and a more specific form when needed. Some specific forms will be included in the comments. These, however, are merely suggestions. It is not the particular words you use that matter.

In the introduction to this review we are again reminded that it is all about our determination not to be sidetracked in applying these lessons to the people and situations in our lives. We have the power of decision to make a choice to give up the ego by being vigilant in watching the mind for guilt and fear thoughts. We then turn them over to the Holy Spirit for help in releasing them. Our minds are powerful. It is that power that we give our thoughts that keep us in misery when we listen to them.

The original choice for the separation and our individuality and specialness was made when we accepted the ego story into our minds, that we had sinned and now must run away into the body and the world to hide from God. We bought into the belief that we could separate from the love that we are and with this belief came the guilt. We believed that we had done something so horrendous that we could no longer return to our pristine home in God. Now we have made Him a punishing God and we fear what is to come. Not only do we feel that we have done something terribly wrong but that we are wrong in our very being. With this thought comes all of our feelings of unworthiness, shame, depression, anxiety, lack, abandonment, stress, frustration, worry, resentments and disappointments. Who of us don't experience these kinds of feelings? Yet none of them reflect the truth of who we are.

So now we are choosing to listen to the appeal that Jesus makes to us in the course, to see what havoc and suffering have come to our lives as a result of this choice for separation. He is showing us how the ego has led us to believe that we can find some level of happiness in the world and that we should continue to seek outside of ourselves for that happiness. But what the ego does not want us to see is the true source of happiness, which can only come by choosing against the ego and recognizing that it will continually lead us away from our true power, which is in our right minds. We can never find lasting happiness in the things of this world. As long as we look for it outside in the world, instead of turning within our own minds, we will never find what we are looking for. "The freedom to leave behind everything that hurts you and humbles you and frightens you cannot be thrust upon you, but it can be offered you through the grace of God."  (T.11.VI.6.3) No one is going to hurl us into Heaven.  "You have no commander except yourself," (T.6.IV.9.4) but we have a mighty Guide should we wish to turn to Him.

In this lesson Jesus is telling us that our only function is the one God gave us.  And that function is to forgive. We have  many and varied functions in the world, related to goals that we have for our lives and for our daily activities. These goals are about achieving happiness through external events going a certain way. This morning  I had many goals for myself to get some things done, including this commentary. However, a friend called and asked for some of my time. Then when we met, she asked me to do some errands for her. I felt some distress, thinking about the amount of time this would all take and about the goals that I had set for myself. However the prompt was to go with her so I chose to release my investment in what I deemed important. And then I felt peace and joy that came with spending time with my friend. Life becomes much clearer and sweeter when we live in the moment and release the future and our own plans. And the things we feel we need to accomplish so often just take care of themselves.

Having said that, if we respond to a request because we are trying to be nice, or "people-pleasing", then it is not an authentic response but a response based on guilt. We always need to be very discerning as to whether we are listening to the ego or the Holy Spirit when we choose to say "yes" to a request. This is not always easy to see. The important thing is to reflect on what  we are feeling. If I say yes, and mean no, then there will be grievances that I need to look at. On the other hand, sometimes I ask myself  if my salvation depends on saying "no" reminiscent of the reminder to us to do what our brother asks as long as it does not hurt us or our brother. "His very insistence should tell you that he believes salvation lies in it. If you insist on refusing and experience a quick response of opposition, you are believing that your salvation lies in not doing it." (T.12.III.2.2-3) "Do not leave anyone without giving salvation to him and receiving it yourself."(T.8.III.4.7) It is all about discernment which isn't always clear to us.

Our only goal is to be happy, peaceful, content, and totally unaffected by events,   plans, and intentions. How much does my happiness depend on whether I do my shopping, write my commentary, do my income tax, or exercise? Does my salvation depend on these things? Remembering the one important function releases me from making all these goals the reason for my life. It is not that we don't have things that we need to attend to in our lives. What I find for myself is that I just need to use every situation as an opportunity to learn to be at peace. Now peace becomes the priority in all things. It is about remembering that my only function is the one God gave me. And this is where my happiness lies. So when I was not accomplishing what I wanted to get done this morning, I needed to let go of all of that.

Happiness is truly a choice I can make in any moment when I am choosing with the Holy Spirit. And unhappiness is also a decision. It is a decision based on needing to be right about my story with regard to any situation. When we ask for guidance about our day regarding where we are to go and what we are to do, we are no longer relying on ourselves.  We rely on the Holy Spirit rather than our own idle wishes. When we listen to the ego we are doing things out of guilt.    Now we are called to take responsibility for our own lack of peace rather than making someone else responsible for how we feel.

We may think that we can resolve our conflicts by making a decision about which of our goals have priority and that the conflict would then dissipate. However, we will still feel the stress of all of the goals left undone. So Jesus urges us to remember that it is not about reducing conflict in our lives but releasing it all by remembering our true purpose in this world. If our only purpose is to forgive, love, choose happiness and peace in every moment, and to follow the prompts of the Holy Spirit, then our doubts and fears disappear. It all comes about as to whether we give our power to the world or look to our minds to reclaim the power of choice.

So what is our conflict really about? When we have conflicting goals we are torn in two directions. We've all experienced this. The more fundamental these goals are the more painful the situation becomes. Jesus says that it causes all kinds of problems for us. We become uncertain in what to say and what to do; we are filled with doubt and we become distressed. The  conflict for us is whether we choose God's way or the ego's way. This is the fundamental divided condition of our minds. When the conflict in our minds becomes acute, our motivation increases to choose the function God has given us because we recognize that this is where our happiness lies. It lies in my decision to forgive. If I am having an argument of any kind, I would rather lose the argument and win at choosing peace.  Thus it is about choosing our divinity over winning at the hands of the ego that chooses to attack, blame, and hold a grievance. When we blame and hold grievances we just gather more guilt which keeps us further invested in the illusion.  That is what our attraction to guilt is about. The choice for peace seems like the obvious choice  until we are in the battle. And when we are, it seems to us that happiness lies in winning the battle and getting our way.  That is why it is important to prepare our minds with the specific application of the idea for the day because otherwise we will be tempted to forget our function.

"My happiness and my function are one." (3.1)  My only function is an internal change of mind and change of teacher, choosing no longer to listen to the ego and turning instead to the Holy Spirit. The ego tells us that our happiness comes from things going well in the world. But clinging to anything external that we want to go our way will never work and will keep us in the conflict. The external world has only one purpose that is helpful and that is as a reflection of what is going on in our own minds. Now we can see where healing is needed so we can bring our dark thoughts to light. Our happiness comes only through forgiveness. Does this mean that we give up things we think we want in the world? No.  We are only asked to look internally to see what our thoughts are about this situation.

The course is about applying its teaching to every situation in our lives. Jesus is helping us to understand that even though we might get some pleasure in the world, it will be transitory. The only true pleasure is found in our choice for peace. So when something is disturbing our peace, then we are asked to apply the lesson. We will then increasingly see that true happiness comes from letting go of guilt. It is our guilt that must be undone. The things outside that seem to have power over us are illusions that we have given power to. We react to these things as if they are real and we give them power to make us unhappy. Whatever form of upset we experience, we need to recognize that it has no power to impact our happiness. But these lessons are showing us where our happiness truly lies. "I must learn to recognize what makes me happy, if I would find happiness." (3.5) The only thing that can make us happy is to forgive.

The power of our minds to choose forgiveness, to choose to release the belief in the illusion, to bring us the happiness we seek,  is something we are not necessarily yet completely ready for. We still cling to things that we seek in the world for our happiness and still work to strategize how to acquire happiness through the events and people we manipulate in the world. And sometimes it will work temporarily for us but this happiness is neither consistent nor reliable, changing from moment to moment and situation to situation. The idea here is not that we should give up anything we think we want. It is only to see that the course is offering us hope for real happiness. And when we see that, we become increasingly motivated to turn over our way for His way.

So today, as we go through our day, we are asked to stay vigilant with regard to anything that seems to make us unhappy or bring upsets to our minds. If we are doing the work daily by applying our lessons, we will remind ourselves that "nothing, including this, can justify the illusion of happiness apart from my function." (4.4) So today, let forgiveness lead you to the happiness that is within. The peace of God is waiting for your acceptance, which means that anything that gets in the way is another opportunity to release how the ego would have you see it.

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