"Nothing real can be threatened. Nothing unreal exists.
Herein Lies the peace of God."
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A
Course in Miracles
TEXT
CHAPTER 3
Retraining the Mind
PAUSED FOR WEEKEND
I. Introduction
1 This is a course in
mind training. All learning involves attention and study at some level. Some of the later parts of the course rest too heavily on these earlier sections not to require their study. You will also need them for preparation. Without this, you may become much too fearful when the unexpected
does occur to make constructive use of it. However, as you study these earlier sections, you will begin to see some of their implications, which will be amplified considerably later on.
2 The reason a solid foundation is necessary is because of the confusion between fear and awe to which we have already referred and which so many people hold. You will remember that we said that awe is inappropriate in connection with the Sons of God because you should not experience awe in the presence of your equals. However, it was also emphasized that awe
is a proper reaction in the Presence of your Creator. I have been careful to clarify my own role in the Atonement, without either over- or understating it. I have also tried to do the same in connection with yours. I have stressed that awe is
not an appropriate reaction to me because of our inherent equality.
3 Some of the later steps in this course, however,
do involve a more direct approach to God Himself. It would be most unwise to start on these steps without careful preparation or awe will be confused with fear, and the experience will be more traumatic than beatific. Healing is of God in the end. The means are being carefully explained to you. Revelation may occasionally
reveal the end to you, but to reach it the means are needed.
II. Special Principles for Miracle Workers
1.
4 The miracle abolishes the need for lower-order concerns. Since it is an out-of-pattern time interval, the ordinary considerations of time and space do not apply. When
you perform a miracle,
I will arrange both time and space to adjust to it.
2.
5 Clear distinction between what
has been created and what
is being created is essential.
All forms of correction (or healing) rest on this
fundamental correction in level perception.
3.
6 Another way of stating the above point is: Never confuse right- with wrong-mindedness. Responding to
any form of miscreation with anything
except a desire to heal (or a miracle) is an expression of this confusion.
4.
7 The miracle is always a
denial of this error and an affirmation of the truth. Only right-mindedness
can create in a way that has any real effect. Pragmatically, what has no real effect has no real existence. Its effect, then, is emptiness. Being without substantial content, it lends itself to projection in the improper sense.
5.
8 The level-adjustment power of the miracle induces the right perception for healing. Until this has occurred, healing cannot be understood. Forgiveness is an empty gesture unless it entails correction. Without this it is essentially judgmental rather than healing.
6.
9 Miraculous forgiveness is
only correction. It has
no element of judgment at all. "Father forgive them for they know not
what they do" in no way evaluates what they do. It is strictly limited to an appeal to God to heal their minds. There is no reference to the outcome of their mis-thought.
That does not matter.
7.
10 The biblical injunction, "Be of one mind" is the statement for revelation-readiness. My
own injunction, "Do this in remembrance of me" is the request for cooperation from miracle workers. It should be noted that the two statements are not in the same order of reality. The latter involves a time awareness since to remember implies recalling the past in the present. Time is under
my direction, but Timelessness belongs to God alone. In time we exist for and with each other. In Timelessness we coexist with God.
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A Course in Miracles
WORKBOOK
Introduction Part I
I. Introduction
1 A theoretical foundation such as the text is necessary as a background to make these exercises meaningful. Yet it is the exercises which will make the goal possible. An untrained mind can accomplish nothing. It is the purpose of these exercises to train the mind to think along the lines which the course sets forth.
2 The exercises are very simple. They do not require more than a few minutes, and it does not matter where or when you do them. They need no preparation. They are numbered, running from 1 to 365. The training period is one year. Do not undertake more than one exercise a day.
3 The purpose of these exercises is to train the mind to a different perception of everything in the world. The workbook is divided into two sections, the first dealing with the undoing of what you see now and the second with the restoration of sight. It is recommended that each exercise be repeated several times a day, preferably in a different place each time and, if possible, in every situation in which you spend any long period of time. The purpose is to train the mind to generalize the lessons, so that you will understand that each of them is as applicable to one situation as it is to another.
4 Unless specified to the contrary, the exercise should be practiced with the eyes open, since the aim is to learn how to see. The only rule that should be followed throughout is to practice the exercises with great specificity. Each one applies to every situation in which you find yourself and to everything you see in it. Each day's exercises are planned around one central idea, the exercises themselves consisting of applying that idea to as many specifics as possible. Be sure that you do not decide that there are some things you see to which the idea for the day is inapplicable. The aim of the exercises will always be to increase the application of the idea to everything. This will not require effort. Only be sure that you make no exceptions in applying the idea.
5 Some of the ideas you will find hard to believe, and others will seem quite startling. It does not matter. You are merely asked to apply them to what you see. You are not asked to judge them, nor even to believe them. You are asked only to use them. It is their use which will give them meaning to you, and show you they are true. Remember only this—you need not believe them, you need not accept them, and you need not welcome them. Some of them you may actively resist. None of this will matter nor decrease their efficacy. But allow yourself to make no exceptions in applying the ideas the exercises contain. Whatever your reactions to the ideas may be, use them. Nothing more than this is required.
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A Course in Miracles
WORKBOOK
Lesson 27
Above all else I want to see.
1 Today's idea expresses something stronger than mere determination. It gives vision priority among your desires. You may feel hesitant about using the idea on the ground that you are not sure you really mean it. This does not matter. The purpose of today's exercises is to bring the time when the idea will be wholly true a little nearer.
2 There may be a great temptation to believe that some sort of sacrifice is being asked of you when you say you want to see above all else. If you become uneasy about the lack of reservation involved, add:
3
Vision has no cost to anyone.
4 If fear of loss still persists, add further:
5
It can only bless.
6 The idea for today needs many repetitions for maximum benefit. It should be used at least every half hour, and more often if possible. You might try for every 15 or 20 minutes. It is recommended that you set a definite time interval for using the idea when you wake or shortly afterwards and attempt to adhere to it throughout the day. It will not be difficult to do this, even if you are engaged in conversation or otherwise occupied at the time. You can still repeat one short sentence to yourself without disturbing anything that is going on.
7 The real question is how often will you remember? How much do you want today's idea to be true? Answer one of these questions, and you have answered the other. You will probably miss several applications and perhaps quite a number. Do not be disturbed by this, but do try to keep on your schedule from then on. If only once during the day you feel that you were perfectly sincere while you were repeating today's idea, you can be sure that you have saved yourself many years of effort.
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ACIM Edmonton
Sarah's Reflections
Lesson 27
Above all else I want to see.
In Lesson 20, we proclaimed,
"I am determined to see."
(W.20) Today, we are expressing something stronger.
"Above all else I want to see."
(W.27) With this, we are saying that having vision is more important than our worldly attachments. It makes waking up from this dream and remembering who we are our primary goal. It means recognizing that we no longer wish to put the ego in charge of our lives. It puts our desire for awakening from this dream in first place.
"It gives vision priority among your desires."
(W.27.1.2)
Clearly, we still have other desires, and Jesus has no intention in making us feel guilty about them. In fact, he says that it does not matter if this is not the absolute truth for us. He acknowledges that he does not expect that we are entirely sincere yet in affirming our desire for vision.
"The purpose of today's exercises is to bring the time when the idea will be wholly true a little nearer."
(W.27.1.5) Our motivation is not yet sufficiently strong. We are still defended against the truth.
"There may be a great temptation to believe that some sort of sacrifice is being asked of you when you say you want to see above all else."
(W.27.2.1) We still believe that we have to pay for our sins, atone for our mistakes, give up something we value, and become such serious students that we give up our idea of happiness and what we deem as our best interests. We really believe that God demands something from us, and so we keep Him out of parts of our lives, even if that brings more suffering. Until we see that God's Will for us is only happiness and we recognize that the ego is attached to suffering, we will resist these Lessons. Jesus wants happiness for us.
He is trying to motivate us to see that our happiness depends on vision, not on reliance on the ego. Happiness is mentioned in the Course almost as many times as forgiveness so it is literally synonymous. It is our own thinking and analyzing that keep us locked into the ego. Doing these Lessons is about surrendering our ideas and letting the thoughts presented here wash over us. It is about opening our minds and our hearts to the truth that is already in us. There is nothing to seek, only to allow.
As Jesus says in the introduction to the Workbook, it does not matter if we currently do not accept these thoughts. We don't need to believe the ideas nor accept or welcome them for the Lessons to have value for us. In fact, he says that we may even resist them; but he says, that will not decrease their efficacy. Practicing them and applying them will bring us closer to the day when this is completely true for us.
The purpose of this Lesson is to strengthen our motivation and our desire for the truth. We have to want to learn what Jesus is teaching us, at least to some extent, or his efforts will fail. It is all about readiness and willingness to learn. Jesus is helping us with this by showing us that our way has not brought the happiness that we have longed for. When we see that our own strategies don't work to bring us the peace and joy we had hoped for, we become more motivated to learn the Lessons that Jesus gives us. However, he knows we have resistance to his teaching, so he keeps reminding us that the reason to learn what he is teaching us is that it will make us blissfully happy.
Jesus tells us,
"The Holy Spirit needs a happy learner, in whom His mission can be happily accomplished. You who are steadfastly devoted to misery must first recognize that you are miserable and not happy. The Holy Spirit cannot teach without this contrast, for you believe that misery is happiness. This has so confused you that you have undertaken to learn to do what you can never do, believing that unless you learn it you will not be happy."
(T.14.II.1.1-4) (ACIM OE T.13.VII.54) It is a process. We will not immediately take this to heart. We still think that we will be sacrificing our own best interests, as we define them, and we still need to be convinced that this journey entails only gain, not loss for us.
We still experience fear in the belief that if we learn his Lessons, we will have to give up something we value. We don't yet recognize that there is nothing in the illusion to value because it is nothing.
"Nothing real can be threatened."
(T.IN.2.2-3) (ACIM OE T.IN.4) If fear comes up and resistance is strong, don't fight yourself. We can simply remind ourselves,
"Vision has no cost to anyone."
(W.27.2.3) And if that is not enough to allay our fears, we are reminded,
"It can only bless."
(W.27.2.5)
Today, we affirm that vision is a gift that will allow us to see beyond the forms of this world to the holiness that is forever shining there as a reflection of the holiness in our minds.
"The desire and the willingness to let it
[the holy instant]
come precede its coming. You prepare your mind for it only to the extent of recognizing that you want it above all else. It is not necessary that you do more; indeed, it is necessary that you realize that you cannot do more."
(T.18.IV.1.3-5) (ACIM OE T.18.V.32) All that is asked is that we practice the Lesson with some degree of willingness and as much sincerity as possible at least every half hour.
Set your intention on the frequency of practice for yourself so that the pressures and demands of the day don't just wash out the Lesson from your awareness. We want to do the practice to the extent that we want vision. Set your goal so that you have a way of assessing the extent of your resistance. Jesus knows that we will likely not stick entirely to our intention, and he does not want us to feel guilty about that. He does not chastise us for forgetting because he already knows we probably will. Beating up on ourselves is not helpful and will probably result in our giving up on the Course. It can also just serve to increase our guilt, which is the last thing we need. Be gentle, but be firm with yourself in the practice. Looking at how much we stayed with our intention is helpful to assess our level of resistance.
"The real question is, how often will you remember? How much do you want today's idea to be true?"
(W.27.4.1-2)
Love and blessings, Sarah
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