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*Quotes in this article are from Foundation for Inner Peace edition; To locate the same quotes in the 'Original Edition', use this link:  http://www.jcim.net/acim_us/Acim.php    
Sarah's Commentary:

The review lessons are now very succinct but the intent is powerfully focused on receiving our inheritance that we have from God (Review IV intro 9.2) and really feeling His gratitude, which is really our own, for learning to remember who we really are and what our function is in the world. Jesus reminds us that we did not wander into this world without a plan of any kind, except to wander off into that which is certain (death). (T.22.I.1.7) Our purpose is to use everything in this world as an opportunity for awakening from this dream of separation.

We truly are here for this divine purpose. We are called to heal our own minds so that we can be the purveyors of God's love in the world. We can only do this if we do not block this love with our thoughts of worry, anger, frustration, despair, revenge and specialness. When the fear is released our loving, our peaceful Self, can shine through us. Our minds are preoccupied with past thinking patterns, which are a maze of conflicting thoughts. We use these thinking patterns to 'solve' problems that we believe have come to us from outside of our own minds. We formulate plans that we think will solve our problems. When these problems are part of the ego thought system, then the answer is not possible. Our only problem is separation from the love that we are and the Answer is already given us and is in our minds. The only answer is the healing of our minds, otherwise problems will persist in different forms.

The forms may change, but the world was made to keep us preoccupied with problems that will never be solved. This process keeps us engaged and it keeps us distracted on the world. They keep us in fear so that our attention stays focused on how we might solve similar problems or anticipate similar circumstances to protect ourselves, but with our attention on anticipated circumstances, there can be no peace NOW. It is only by focusing on this very instant, where there is no past or future, that we can create space for God, truth, and our holiness. "My mind holds only what I think with God." This is a process of going back to the mind, where the problem is. What is that problem? It is always a choice for the ego. Forgiveness shines away our false beliefs when we look at them with the Holy Spirit. This means looking without judging ourselves. It is then that peace dawns on the mind. Yes, there are problems to be addressed while we think we are in this world. The important thing is stop and go back to the mind and do the forgiveness work by looking at the ego and bringing it to the light so that there can be true healing of the guilt, which is the cause of all of our distress.

I recognize today how easy it is to fall into these places of fear and confusion and how my belief that it is difficult to let the guilt go keeps me focused on the future. When we hold only what we think with God, we give ourselves a gift of great magnitude, which we can receive only as we give it. Just as I was addressing this lesson, my computer screen froze and then would not reboot. It seemed to die. This has always been a great source of stress for me as it brings up feelings of frustration, impatience, blame, and fear etc. When I take the time to recognize that this world is a classroom, where all events are there to show me unhealed places in my mind, then I can go back to the Source. Everything was resolved when I recognized that the only problem was my inclination to get immediately distressed and try to solve my problem without turning to the real Source of peace within. In this instance, all was resolved with Don's assistance, which brought up such deep gratitude for this process and for my brother. Don took my computer in for repair and then returned home with it to tell me there was nothing wrong with it!! They had put it on the bench to look at it and it simply came back to life!! So what does one make of that? Do miracles show up in form? In any event, the biggest miracle for me was peace of mind regardless of the outcome.

I was listening to Regina Dawn Akers speak about her website being hacked and all of her material was lost. I often visited her website and felt such loss at the idea of not having access to her material. But after she had reported on this happening, she indicated gratitude that the material was gone. She saw it as an opportunity to start afresh. She saw it as a gift. I marveled at how easily she moved on in seeing that this was not a problem but perhaps a sign for her.

Let us commit today to taking time to remind ourselves throughout the day that: "My mind holds only what I think with God," and to spend the time in quiet today clearing away all blocks to love so that we can receive God's word. It means that we must bring awareness to these blocks and turn them over. The miracle is an inner shift that happens through forgiveness. Thus we can reflect His love and know that: "All that I give is given to myself."

We can spend so much of our lives searching for love from other people, but that is a search that will always end in disappointment. Whatever is lacking in any situation is what we have failed to give it. So now, through this teaching, we are encouraged to ask for help to unblock that wellspring of love within us and let this love radiate in the world. As we give this love, we now know it is in us. We need this experience to recognize the truth of who we are. As long as we seek for what we think we lack, we will do as the ego requires, which is "seek but do not find." There is nothing 'out there'. It is a futile search. So uncovering the abundance of love within releases our mind to the truth of who we are.

Today we remind ourselves that God's Word is received in the quiet mind, which means that we must enter that quiet place in our minds by releasing interfering thoughts. We listen to the Voice that has our best interests at heart. It is our own loving Voice, asking no sacrifice and demanding nothing from us. It brings us only the peace, joy, wholeness and unity with the All-That-Is. It is a Voice that is at one with who we are. It is not outside of our own minds. "In quiet I receive God's Word today."

"All that I give is given to myself." There is no separation and no one is outside of our own minds. This lesson reminds us that forgiveness brings peace, release and joy to our minds. We become aware of our unity with each other. We are released from judgment of ourselves and others when we see that nothing is outside of our own minds. What we see in our brothers is some version of that same "sin" in ourselves. Now we have an opportunity presented to us to remove the "unconscious warriors" that we project on our brother, from our own minds. Through forgiveness, we join with our brother and recognize that our interests are the same. This sameness is the reflection of the Oneness of God. This is the gift available to us with the help of the Holy Spirit so that our minds might be transformed.

This Course is only about remembering our true reality, which is love. We do that through forgiveness, so that all events and circumstances in our lives become a classroom for undoing our wrong perceptions. That is why we are here. To use time in any other way is to distract ourselves from our function. Having said that, using time for distraction does not make us guilty. We are the Christ and nothing we do in the illusion will change that fact. In truth, there is nowhere to go and nothing to do. We can truly bloom, where we are, whatever the circumstances. We are where we are supposed to be. The people we need are with us and are brought to us for our healing. It is all part of our script. Our function is to open ourselves to this flow of love that is a part of our creation and extend it so we know it is who we are. We have forgotten who we are, as we were created, but we can't change the truth about ourselves. That is the Atonement Principle. The only thing that we can do is to remove our blocks to awareness of the truth about ourselves. We must do this work ourselves as we are the ones that chose the ego as our teacher. This choice was made outside of this dream, and now we can learn to make another choice for Jesus,the Holy Spirit, as our teacher. To do this we must become as little children, asking to be taught. "This form ("What you project you believe." T.7.II 3.1) implies that you will learn what you are from what you have projected onto others, and therefore believe they are." (T.7.II 3.3)

Begin and end the day with time devoted to the preparation of your mind to learn what each idea can offer you in freedom and in peace. Let us commit today to raising every judgment to doubt. Open your mind and clear it of all thoughts that would deceive.

Let the thought, "My mind holds only what I think with God," engage your mind fully in His word, which is Love. The attributes of His Love are peace and joy. This is what shines through our minds when we let go of the maze of conflicting thoughts. Peace can only come to the quiet mind.

Take the ideas for today, "In quiet I receive God's Word today," and "All that I give is given to myself," and close your eyes. Say them slowly to yourself. Really take your time with these thoughts. Let each word shine with the meaning God has given it. The words were given to you through His Voice. Let the Holy Spirit open their meaning for you and let each idea that you review give you the gift that He has laid in it for you to have of Him.

Use the time today to commune with God. Turn these thoughts into prayers. Do what works. The idea is to go beyond the words themselves and really take the meaning in. Receive the message of His Love for you today.

Close the day as you began and before you sleep, feel God's gratitude surrounding you in the peace where He wills you be forever and are learning now to claim again as your inheritance. Let's be grateful for the powerful Companions and recognize that with our faithfulness the world is restored from darkness to light, our grief turns to joy, pain to peace and sin to holiness. Hourly take a moment of quiet to review the central thought "My mind holds only what I think with God," and then repeat the two review ideas slowly and see the gifts that they contain for you. Let them be received where they were meant to be. Let your day be guided by the Holy Spirit, listening to His Voice. His Love will be reflected in the symbols that are most helpful to you. It will only be 'heard' when you release any blocks to love that show up throughout the day, and remember that you have everything and you are everything.

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