DAILY LESSON

 

L e s s o n  28

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¹Today we are really giving specific application to the idea for yesterday. In these practice periods, you will be making a series of definite commitments. The question of whether you will keep them in the future is not our concern here. If you are willing at least to make them now, you have started on the way to keeping them. And we are still at the beginning. 

²You may wonder why it is important to say, for example, "Above all else I want to see this table differently." In itself it is not important at all. Yet what is by itself? And what does "in itself" mean? You see a lot of separate things about you, which really means you are not seeing at all. You either see or not. When you have seen one thing differently, you will see all things differently. The light you will see in any one of them is the same light you will see in them all. 

³When you say, "Above all else I want to see this table differently," you are making a commitment to withdraw your preconceived ideas about the table and open your mind to what it is and what it is for. You are not defining it in past terms. You are asking what it is, rather than telling it what it is. You are not binding its meaning to your tiny experience of tables, nor are you limiting its purpose to your little personal thoughts. 

⁴You will not question what we have already defined. And the purpose of these exercises is to ask questions and receive the answers. In saying, "Above all else I want to see this table differently," you are committing yourself to seeing. It is not an exclusive commitment. It is a commitment which applies to the table just as much as to anything else, neither more nor less. 

⁵You could, in fact, gain vision from just that table if you could withdraw all your own ideas from it and look upon it with a completely open mind. It has something to show you-something beautiful and clean and of infinite value, full of happiness and hope. Hidden under all your ideas about it is its real purpose, the purpose it shares with all the universe. 

⁶In using the table as a subject for applying the idea for today, you are therefore really asking to see the purpose of the universe. You will be making this same request of each subject which you use in the practice periods. And you are making a commitment to each of them to let their purpose be revealed to you instead of placing your own judgment upon them. 

⁷We will have six two minute practice periods today in which the idea for the day is stated first and then applied to whatever you see in looking about you. Not only should the subjects be chosen randomly, but each one should be accorded equal sincerity as today's idea is applied to it in an attempt to acknowledge the equal value of them all in their contribution to your seeing. 

⁸As usual, the applications should include the name of the subject which your eyes happen to light on, and you should rest your eyes on it while saying: 

⁹Above all else, I want to see this ______ differently. 

¹⁰Each application should be made quite slowly and as thoughtfully as possible. There is no hurry.  

ACIM Edmonton - Sarah's Reflections 

 LESSON 28   

This lesson follows up on the lesson yesterday but now is asking us to make a series of "definite commitments." (1.2)  Jesus is not asking us to be concerned right now as to whether we are going to keep them. Only that we make them. And it is only the willingness to make them that starts us on the way to keeping them. "The question of whether you will keep them in the future is not our concern here. If you are willing at least to make them now, you have started on the way to keeping them." (1.3-4) He recognizes that this is just a beginning step. So you may wonder, "why would I make this commitment if I won't keep it?"  Think about it, when you make a commitment, even if you don't keep it right away, it is still there waiting for completion. It is setting an intention. So we are simply asked to take this first step.  Clearly we have made a commitment to our false identity and now we are taking a step toward committing to seeing differently. What that does is helps us recognize that we have been wrong in the way we have seen everything and now we make this commitment to open to another way of looking at the world. Jesus recognizes our resistance so he is just asking us to look at our willingness to make this commitment today as a beginning step. Again he does not want us to feel guilty when we break this commitment that we set today. He continues to make this an invitation to us and in no way wants us to feel coerced.

So what are we making a commitment to? We are committing to withdrawing our preconceived ideas about everything we see. It is a recognition how wrong we have been about our perceptions. Incredible as it may seem, if we are able to withdraw our preconceived notions from just one thing, then "you will see all things differently." (2.7) For example, if we withdraw all of our ideas about a table based on our past associations, then it can reveal the truth. How is that possible? Well, it is our ideas about everything that cloud our minds. We have our thoughts about what everything in this world is for. This harkens back to lesson 25 which affirmed that we don't know what anything is for. The purpose of the world is to obscure the truth. It was made as an attack on God. Everything in this illusory world was made to hide the truth of who we are as eternal beings as we were created. It is to keep us focused on the forms of this world, investing them all with our meaning. Thus, everything in the world serves the purpose of keeping us invested in the illusion. But when the veil drawn across our minds is lifted, we see everything through His eyes and not our own. Now we can use everything in the illusion for a different purpose which is to heal our minds.

Right now we don't see that all forms share the same purpose. We think that everything is different from everything else and thus we have different names for everything in the world all with different purposes.   Yet the purpose for everything, when given to the Holy Spirit, is that it can all be used for healing. When we see differences we are making the separation real. "You see a lot of separate things about you, which really means you are not seeing at all."(2.5)  Strange as that may sound, we don't need to understand it. He is just asking that we commit ourselves to seeing. (4.3) How much do I want to see things differently? How much do I want to let go of all of my past associations, all of my ideas, and all of my thoughts about tables or anything else in this world?

It is thinking that we know what everything is for that keeps us from the truth. What is the truth? The truth is that God is in our minds and when our beliefs, values and concepts that we hold, are given over to the Holy Spirit, our way of seeing will be replaced by His vision. Nothing changes outside, but what does change is how we see everything. When we look with the ego, what we see is a world of vengeance. But when we turn to our inner Teacher, our interpretation will be shifted and we will see with vision. Vision is a way of seeing that has nothing to do with the eyes. It is more of an attitude of acceptance, embracing all that is. It is how we see when there is no judgment. 

We are all invested in being right about the way we see things and the way we have set up reality. We have convinced ourselves of the truth of what we have learned to see and believe. We resist giving up our hard-won meanings and to open our minds to what some call a "beginners mind" which is like the mind of a child, open, innocent and full of awe and wonder.  "You are asking what it is, rather than telling it what it is." (3.3)And when we look at a table or anything else in that way he says that "it has something to show you; something beautiful and clean, and of infinite value, full of happiness and hope." (5.7) It is when we look at it that way, that we are asking to see the purpose-not only of the table but of everything!! All forms in the world are different to the ego mind and all have different purposes, but they all have the same purpose on the level of content which is that they can all serve to heal our minds. 

The ways of the world have not encouraged us to seek the ultimate truth. Instead, we are taught by our family and by our culture how to view the world and what the meaning is of everything we see. This, then, becomes our reality. But it is all made-up concepts that we hold to be true. Billions of people may share in those beliefs but it does not make them true.  It is all just thoughts reflecting our values and beliefs.  

As I look around me today I will be asking everything I look at to "let its purpose be revealed to me." To do this I have to withdraw all of my judgments. But of particular importance in doing the lessons today is to apply "equal sincerity" to everything we look at. Everything that we look at is equal in the contribution it makes to my seeing. Everything I have learned about this world, and what everything is for, is what is obscuring the truth. It is my conditioned mind that is full of facts and information, seen in the way that has been programmed in my mind. Letting it go is what humility is about. It is about recognizing that maybe what I have learned is precisely that which keeps me from really knowing Truth.

As I look around me, I see my computer, my calendar, my chair, the grey sky, a picture of me standing on a mountain top, a bookshelf, my course book and in each thing I look at I see a separate purpose. But this lesson is taking us to a shared purpose for everything. It is about stepping back and giving up my usual and automatic responses which I think I know and releasing these preconceived ideas. My thoughts are all about sifting, sorting, categorizing, and labeling everything. If I can commit today to withdrawing these preconceived notions, then I have started the process of opening my mind to be taught.

In fact, you might look at this lesson as a prayer. When he says, "in using the table as a subject for applying the idea for today you are therefore really asking to see the purpose of the universe." (6.1)  We can ask for help to see it differently. "Father, I am willing to withdraw my ideas from what I am seeing. I am willing to withdraw my ideas from any situation or relationship so that You can show me how to see it.  What is its purpose? Show me that I may achieve vision and see the truth. Show me that I can see beyond the forms of this world which block my vision."

Jesus challenges us with the question "would God have left the meaning of the world to your interpretation? If he had, it has no meaning. For it cannot be that meaning changes constantly, and yet is true." (T. 30.VII.1) And that is our experience when we give everything our interpretation, is it not? Meaning does change constantly. Then he says "The Holy Spirit looks upon the world as with one purpose, changelessly established." And that purpose is that everything in the world that we currently see and experience, can be used as a classroom for awakening. It is no wonder we experience great instability in this seemingly shifting world where even the meaning of a table keeps shifting in our experience. Stability comes from only one purpose as does meaning which is established by purpose.

So, in the practice period today we are asked to repeat the idea for today, then look randomly at each subject and let our eyes rest on it long enough to affirm, "above all else I want to see this _____differently." In doing so, remind yourself that the reason you want to withdraw your purpose from it and see the purpose God has given is so that you may achieve vision. If I could withdraw all my ideas from this object and look at it with a completely open mind, it has something beautiful, clean and of infinite value full of happiness and hope to show me. Our purpose is to forgive which means clearing away our judgments. That is where happiness and hope come from, not from the table itself but from the purpose. When we choose Jesus as our teacher, then we choose to bring our preconceived ideas to the light of truth. We are asking to give up being right about who we are and how we have determined what reality is. Make this a sincere and profound prayer.

In the movie, "The Last Samurai"   the wise man said to his prot�g� that if he really SAW the lotus blossom then he would be enlightened. But all we see now are our thoughts about lotus blossoms. So we are asked today to release our perceptions about what we are looking at and to do this lesson for six times for two minutes each time, as thoughtfully as possible rather than hurrying through it.  

Love and blessings, Sarah 

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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    

A Course in Miracles   
TEXT 

Chapter Three

Retraining the Mind

III. Atonement Without Sacrifice 

¹¹ There is another point which must be perfectly clear before any residual fear which may still be associated with miracles becomes entirely groundless. The crucifixion did not establish the Atonement. The resurrection did. This is a point which many very sincere Christians have misunderstood. No one who is free of the scarcity-error could possibly make this mistake. If the crucifixion is seen from an upside-down point of view, it does appear as if God permitted and even encouraged one of his Sons to suffer because he was good. Many ministers preach this every day.

¹² This particularly unfortunate interpretation, which arose out of the combined misprojections of a large number of my would-be followers, has led many people to be bitterly afraid of God. This particularly anti-religious concept enters into many religions, and this is neither by chance nor by coincidence. Yet the real Christian would have to pause and ask, "How could this be?" Is it likely that God Himself would be capable of the kind of thinking which His own words have clearly stated is unworthy of man?

¹³ The best defense, as always, is not to attack another's position but rather to protect the truth. It is unwise to accept any concept if you have to turn a whole frame of reference around in order to justify it. This procedure is painful in its minor applications and genuinely tragic on a mass basis. Persecution is a frequent result, undertaken to justify the terrible misperception that God Himself persecuted His own Son on behalf of salvation. The very words are meaningless.

¹⁴ It has been particularly difficult to overcome this because, although the error itself is no harder to overcome than any other error, men were unwilling to give this one up because of its prominent "escape" value. In milder forms a parent says, "This hurts me more than it hurts you," and feels exonerated in beating a child. Can you believe that the Father really thinks this way? It is so essential that all such thinking be dispelled that we must be very sure that nothing of this kind remains in your mind. I was not punished because you were bad. The wholly benign lesson the Atonement teaches is lost if it is tainted with this kind of distortion in any form.

 ¹⁵ "Vengeance is Mine sayeth the Lord," is a strictly karmic viewpoint. It is a real misperception of truth by which man assigns his own "evil" past to God. The "evil conscience" from the past has nothing to do with God. He did not create it, and He does not maintain it. God does not believe in karmic retribution. His Divine Mind does not create that way. He does not hold the evil deeds of a man even against himself. Is it likely, then, that He would hold against anyone the evil that another did?

¹⁶ Be very sure that you recognize how utterly impossible this assumption really is and how entirely it arises from misprojection. This kind of error is responsible for a host of related errors including the belief that God rejected man and forced him out of the Garden of Eden. It is also responsible for the fact that you may believe from time to time that I am misdirecting you. I have made every effort to use words that are almost impossible to distort, but man is very inventive when it comes to twisting symbols around.

¹⁷ God Himself is not symbolic; He is fact. The Atonement too is totally without symbolism. It is perfectly clear because it exists in light. Only man's attempts to shroud it in darkness have made it inaccessible to the unwilling and ambiguous to the partly willing. The Atonement itself radiates nothing but truth. It therefore epitomizes harmlessness and sheds only blessing. It could not do this if it arose from anything but perfect innocence. Innocence is wisdom because it is unaware of evil, which does not exist. It is, however, perfectly aware of everything that is true.

¹⁸ The Resurrection demonstrated that nothing can destroy truth. Good can withstand any form of evil because light abolishes all forms of darkness. The Atonement is thus the perfect lesson. It is the final demonstration that all of the other lessons which I taught are true. Man is released from all errors if he believes in this. The deductive approach to teaching accepts the generalization which is applicable to all single instances rather than building up the generalization after analyzing numerous single instances separately. If you can accept the one generalization now, there will be no need to learn from many smaller lessons.

¹⁹ Nothing can prevail against a Son of God who commends his Spirit into the hands of his Father. By doing this, the mind awakens from its sleep and remembers its Creator. All sense of separation disappears, and level confusion vanishes. The Son of God is part of the Holy Trinity, but the Trinity itself is One. There is no confusion within its levels because they are of One Mind and One Will. This single purpose creates perfect integration and establishes the peace of God. Yet this vision can be perceived only by the truly innocent.

²⁰ Because their hearts are pure, the innocent defend true perception instead of defending themselves against it. Understanding the lesson of the Atonement, they are without the will to attack, and therefore they see truly. This is what the Bible means when it says, "When He shall appear (or be perceived) we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is."

²¹ Sacrifice is a notion totally unknown to God. It arises solely from fear. This is particularly unfortunate because frightened people are apt to be vicious. Sacrificing another in any way is a clear cut violation of God's own injunction that man should be merciful even as his Father in Heaven. It has been hard for many Christians to realize that this commandment (or assignment) also applies to themselves. Good teachers never terrorize their students. To terrorize is to attack, and this results in rejection of what the teacher offers. The result is learning failure.

²² I have been correctly referred to as "the Lamb of God who taketh away the sins of the world." Those who represent the lamb as blood-stained, an all-too-widespread error, do not understand the meaning of the symbol. Correctly understood, it is a very simple parable which merely speaks of my innocence. The lion and the lamb lying down together refers to the fact that strength and innocence are not in conflict but naturally live in peace. "Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God" is another way of saying the same thing.

²³ There has been some human controversy about the nature of seeing in relation to the integrative powers of the brain. Correctly understood, the issue revolves around the question of whether the body or the mind can see (or understand). This is not really open to question at all. The body is not capable of understanding, and only the mind can perceive anything. A pure mind knows the truth, and this is its strength. It cannot attack the body because it recognizes exactly what the body is. This is what "a sane mind in a sane body" really means. It does not confuse destruction with innocence because it associates innocence with strength, not with weakness.

²⁴ Innocence is incapable of sacrificing anything because the innocent mind has everything and strives only to protect its wholeness. This is why it cannot misproject. It can only honor man because honor is the natural greeting of the truly loved to others who are like them. The lamb taketh away the sins of the world only in the sense that the state of innocence, or grace, is one in which the meaning of the Atonement is perfectly apparent. The innocence of God is the true state of mind of His Son. In this state, man's mind does see God, and because he sees Him as he is, he knows that the Atonement, not sacrifice, is the only appropriate gift to his own altar, where nothing except perfection truly belongs. The understanding of the innocent is truth. That is why their altars are truly radiant.

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