If I really accept that I am Love, then why would I ever need to defend myself? If I feel I need to defend myself, it is because I am asserting that I am vulnerable and weak, that my reality is that of this body and personality, and that I can be attacked and can be hurt. The truth of who I really am is unassailable. Further, if I know myself as Love then I share that experience with the world through my example. What this means is that I must undertake the function of forgiveness so as not to use anyone or anything to attack myself and separate from God's Love. As that Love is extended through me to my brothers, I know that it is in me. Don't mistake this with preaching or proselytizing. It is simply being an example of that Love so that others will want to make the same choice that we have made. It is not something you do, but something that comes through you as the blocks to love are brought to the light. The unifying thought that "God is but Love, and therefore so am I" reflects the one truth of our reality as God's Son. It is a statement of the Atonement Principle, which is that we can't and haven't changed who we are as God's perfect Son.

In the introduction to this review, Jesus appeals to us to take the practice more seriously now by giving more effort and more time as we are preparing for a big shift. (1.4) The effectiveness of the second half of the workbook depends on this effort. We are trying to go beyond the words to the meaning. We are awaiting the experience. We place our faith in the power of this practice. When our minds wander we bring them back with the central thought, "God is but Love, and therefore so am I." Jesus is not pushing us. He is inviting us to make this choice on behalf of our own happiness because he knows that this is our bitter need, to wake up to the glorious truth of who we are.

Our efforts are aimed at reclaiming the knowledge of who we are, the Self we thought we had lost, the Self that alone knows Love. (4.4) What would it be like to really know who we are as Love and nothing else? This is not possible in this world, but God's Love can indeed be reflected here through the miracle. The goal of the Course is to have the experience of the real world of joy and peace. Heaven and the state of knowledge can't be known here, but we come closer to reflecting God's Love when we are willing to accept the sameness in all of our brothers. We are all equal, as Jesus reminds us that he is equal with us. He walks beside us, not ahead nor behind. We are called to do the same with our brothers. We share the same need to remember who we are.

Forgiveness is the closest we come to God's Love in this world. When we have the experience of this Love, we increasingly walk in trust. We have a strong sense of our purpose and our function. We recognize that nothing in the world that we have sought brings joy. We see this world as a classroom where all events and circumstances of our lives are helpful in our awakening. We live by guidance, letting Him lead the way. We recognize that there are no problems except for the problem of separation. We give freely, recognizing that to give and to receive are the same. Our bodies are seen as a vehicle for extending love and thus are used for a holy purpose.

Love can only be known by the Self. (4.4) In other words, it is not the ego that knows love. Though it may try to be loving, the ego's version of love is always to get for itself. It is about filling our needs and lacks and about giving to get. The Christ Self, however, is consistent and never changing, only extending. This is not our consistent experience right now. The personal self is about ever-changing emotions. Our self esteem seems to rise and fall depending on each event, circumstance or person we encounter. When we take any attack personally, or feel that we must defend ourselves, we are making the attack real in the mind. It means that we have lost sight of our true Source, the Christ Self, and now see ourselves as the source. We may feel hurt or slighted and may respond with anger or counterattack, and when we do, we have made the attack (error) real.

By the same token, when we receive praise or approval, our false sense of ourselves may feel elevated. Our self esteem seems to come from the things that happen to us in the world that send us messages about ourselves. It also comes from our own efforts to strengthen those things about us that we think need our attention. We diet, take courses, training, create an image, and work to smooth out the rough edges of our personalities, but the Self that Jesus is talking about is not an image of our own making. It is not an image at all and has absolutely nothing to do with the opinions of others. When those opinions find a place to land in us, then we know that we are holding a judgment against ourselves, and we now have an opportunity to bring it to the light where it is dissolved.

Today we remind ourselves that our worth is not established by anything that we believe is necessary, such as getting things done on time, doing things perfectly, never making mistakes, never being angry, or whatever else we hold up as a virtue. My worth is established by God. As you go through your day, watch your thoughts and be willing to look at them with the light of truth and be willing to maintain vigilance over the ego. The work we do with these lessons, "will shorten time immeasurably." (W.ReviewV.5.3) 

We are given the curriculum and the daily practices. All we need to do is be willing to practice watching our thoughts and be willing to take responsibility for them so we can release them. We do this by recognizing that there is no world outside of our own minds. The world is simply an outside picture of our inward condition. That is what makes it such a useful classroom, which reflects the state of our minds.

Jesus recognizes our wavering, unsteady footsteps on this path and is really encouraging us to move steadily forward and commit to the practice. If we knew that the practice would bring more joy, peace and happiness, until finally we can know the Self that we are, would we not commit to it more diligently? Yes, there is resistance, and fear shows up. None of us likes the self that feels small, defends, attacks, betrays, and suffers, feels needy and lacking. We all want he experience of the innocent, glorious Self that was given us in our creation and has never left our minds, but we have set up blocks to the awareness of who we are. Now we must do the practice in order to undo these blocks and access the truth of our Being. This Course was given in order show us the path of light and provide us with the means to return to the eternal Self we thought we lost.

Jesus says that he takes this journey with us. "For I share your doubts and fears a little while, that you may come to me who recognize the road by which all fears and doubts are overcome." (6.2) Some of us are uncomfortable with the idea of Jesus. We may have some shadow figures projected on him because of our past. This is discussed in The Clarification of Terms where Jesus says that he is not the only helper. There are others even if in reality they are just one. "Jesus became what all of you must be. He led the way for you to follow him." (C.5.3.1-2) He is leading us from the hell we have made. "Some bitter idols have been made of him who would be only brother to the world. Forgive him your illusions, and behold how dear a brother he would be to you." (C.5.5.7-8) He offers to share all of our pain and fear. He is aware of our fears and our illusions. He is a gentle guide and helper, an elder brother who lovingly leads us out because he has finished the journey.

He says that he is renewed each time he leads someone to where the journey ends. It is how we are renewed as we see anyone "getting it," moving forward, or experiencing a miracle. It enriches us all, but Jesus needs our help to release us. He is actually leading us back to that moment when we made the wrong choice so we can now make it differently. "The power of decision is my own." (W.152) Nothing we have chosen is irrevocable.

"For you have barely started to allow your first,  uncertain steps to be directed up the ladder separation led you down. The miracle alone is your concern at present. Here is where we must begin." (T. 28. 111. 1.2-4) The Holy Spirit sees "your bitter need" (W.ReviewV.8.1), even though, in reality, we have no needs, yet He knows that to us this world of illusion is real. Jesus, as a symbol of the Love that we are, joins us in our practice. It is a collaborative venture. "And together we will teach them to our brothers." (8.4) There is no such thing as individual salvation because individual is an illusion. We are one mind.

"Identify with Him, and what has He that you have not? He is your eyes, your ears, your hands, your feet. How gentle are the sights He sees, the sounds He hears. How beautiful His hand that holds His brother's, and how lovingly He walks beside him, showing him what can be seen and heard, and where he will see nothing and there is no sound to hear." (T24.V. 3.4-7).