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A COURSE IN MIRACLES
CH 18 THE DREAM AND THE REALITY
VI. THE HAPPY DREAM
41 Prepare you now for the undoing of what never was. If you already understood the difference between truth and illusion, the Atonement would have no meaning. The holy instant, your holy relationship, the Holy Spirit's teaching, and all the means by which salvation is accomplished would have no purpose. For they are all but aspects of the plan to change your dreams of fear to happy dreams from which you waken easily to knowledge. Put yourself not in charge of this, for you cannot distinguish between advance and retreat. Some of your greatest advances you have judged as failures, and some of your deepest retreats you have evaluated as success.
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A COURSE IN MIRACLES
WORKBOOK Part I
REVIEW VI
Voice and Music by CIMS SonShip Radio
With this review, we take but one idea
each day, and practice it as often as
is possible. Besides the time we give
morning and evening, which should not be less
than fifteen minutes, and the hourly
remembrances we make throughout the day,
use the idea as often as you can
between them. Each of these ideas alone
would be sufficient for salvation, if
it is learned truly. Each would be enough
to give release to you and to the world
from every form of bondage, and invite
the memory of God to come again.
With this in mind, we start our practicing
in which we carefully review the thoughts
the Holy Spirit has bestowed on us
in our last twenty lessons. Each contains
the whole curriculum, if understood,
practiced, accepted and applied to all
the seeming happenings throughout the day.
One is enough. But for that one there must
be no exceptions made. And so we need
to use them all, and let them blend as one
as each contributes to the whole we learn.
These practice lessons, like our last review,
are centered round a central theme with which
we start and end each lesson. It is this:
"
I am not a body. I am free.
For I am still as God created me."
The day begins and ends with this. And we
repeat it every time the hour strikes,
or we remember, in between, we have
a function that transcends the world we see.
Beyond this and a repetition of
the special thought we practice for the day,
no form of exercise is urged, except
a deep relinquishing of everything
that clutters up your mind, and makes it deaf
to reason, sanity and simple truth.
We will attempt to get beyond all words
and special forms of practicing for this
review. For we attempt this time to reach
a quickened pace along a shorter path
to the serenity and peace of God.
We merely close our eyes, and then forget
all that we thought we saw and understood.
For thus is freedom given us from all
we did not know and failed to understand.
There is but one exception to this lack
of structuring. Permit no idle thought
to go unchallenged. If you notice one,
deny its hold and hasten to assure
your mind that this is not what it would have.
Then gently let the thought which you denied
be given up in sure and quick exchange
for the idea we practice for the day.
When you are tempted, hasten to proclaim
your freedom from temptation, as you say:
"
This thought I do not want. I choose instead..."
And then repeat the idea for the day,
and let it take the place of what you thought.
Beyond such special applications of
each day's idea, we will add but few
formal expressions for specific thoughts
to aid your practicing. Instead we give
these times of quiet to the Teacher Who
instructs in quiet, speaks of peace, and gives
our thoughts whatever meaning they may have.
To Him I offer this review for you.
I place you in His charge, and let Him teach
you what to do and say and think each time
you turn to Him. He will not fail to be
available to you each time you call
to Him to help you. Let us offer Him
the whole review we now begin, and let
us also not forget to Whom it has
been given, as we practice, day by day,
advancing toward the goal He set for us;
allowing Him to teach us how to go,
and trusting Him completely for the way
each practice period can best become
a loving gift of freedom to the world.
~ Original Handscript of ACIM September 1, 1970
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L e s s o n 202
Voice and Music by CIMS SonShip Radio
I am not a body. I am free.
For I am still as God created me.
[182] I will be still a moment and go home.
Why would I choose to stay an instant more
where I do not belong, when God Himself
has given me His Voice to cal me home?
I am not a body. I am free.
For I am still as God created me.
~ Original Handscript of ACIM
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ACIM Edmonton - Sarah's Reflections
LESSON 202 Review VI
[182] I will be still a moment and go home.
Sarah's Commentary:
What a beautiful focus for this day to the choose stillness within. Our minds are restless when in the service of the ego, constantly searching for satisfaction in the world; but today, we are called to rest in God. It is the place within us where all is quiet, where we truly are at home and at peace. This is a place where the world cannot enter. It is where the Holy Child can breathe pure sweet air. It is where we hear the Voice for God calling us to our home.
This aging body is not my home. This world is not my home. I am at home in God, dreaming of exile. Thank you, Father, for your Voice, for the Call You have placed in my mind, so I can remember What I am as One with You. There is nothing in the world that can fulfill me. The moment the choice was made for the separation, Your Answer was given in that same instant. Nothing has happened. We are still at home in God, but we are dreaming of another existence. We now have the power to choose to awaken from this dream. We can choose to remember who we are as eternal beings of light and love. We can dream of separation, but we can't change who we are as we were created. We can only choose to block the truth from our awareness.
The Holy Spirit is now showing us the way home. The bridge we crossed into this world seemed to be detonated by the ego so we would not remember who we are; but the memory of our home has not left us. It is still in the mind instilled in us by God. It is the Call to return to our Selves. Jesus helps us by clearly laying out what our decision for the ego and the separation has given us. We are not victims of the events of our lives. We are the creators of everything that shows up in our script. We will change our minds about our choice for separation when we see clearly how peace and happiness can never be found with the ego. We will then see what it offers us is not in our best interests, because it will only keep bringing more misery and suffering. "The Holy Spirit does not demand you sacrifice the hope of the body's pleasure; it has no hope of pleasure." (T.19.IV.B.3.5) (ACIM OE T.19.V.b.62) When we align with the ego, happiness will always elude us. When we acknowledge the truth of this, we will be highly motivated to choose against it.
I am so thankful to have found this path that leads me home. There is nowhere else to look. There is nothing in this world to find. All paths here lead nowhere. When we are ready, we will choose to connect with our inner Guide and listen to His Voice. Why not NOW? It is all about choice. No one, not even Jesus, will ever interfere with our decision. The power is in our own minds, and when we turn within, we find the truth there. It has never left us. It is our inner Guide we turn to, and we ask in everything: "Where would you have me go? What would you have me do? What would you have me say and to whom?"
I will take the time today to set my intention for the kind of day I want. With every temptation to get invested in things of this world and to lose my peace, I will remember to be still an instant and go home. With every apparent attack and every seeming worry, I will remember this is not my home. I will choose instead the peace of God. I will remember my reality is not a body. I can be free of my belief this body and the world are my reality anytime I choose. "I will be still an instant and go home." (W.202 Review)
Today in meditation repeat the idea and then, with eyes closed, focus on releasing the mental activity going on in your mind, and sit in silent readiness to experience God's Love. It does not mean you have no thoughts, only that you gently pass them by without attaching to them. Be the watcher of those thoughts. Your reality is the observer behind the thoughts. You are the dreamer of this dream, not the figure in the dream. Offer your practice period to Him with desire and passion for the truth and simply be open to the experience of the holy instant where there is no time and no body. If wandering thoughts intrude, watch them go by and willingly let them go. Recognize these thoughts you do not want, but choose instead the idea for the day.
Remind yourself of the truth throughout the day and, if temptations arise today, where you get upset and lose your peace, proclaim your freedom by saying, "This thought I do not want, I choose instead,(W.RVI.6.2) 'I will be still a moment and go home'." (W.202.REVIEW W.182)
Love and Blessings, Sarah
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VI. The Happy Dream
41 Prepare you
now for the undoing of what never was. If you already understood the difference between truth and illusion, the Atonement would have no meaning. The holy instant, your holy relationship, the Holy Spirit's teaching, and all the means by which salvation is accomplished would have no purpose. For they are all but aspects of the plan to change your dreams of fear to happy dreams from which you waken easily to knowledge. Put yourself not in charge of this, for you cannot distinguish between advance and retreat. Some of your greatest advances you have judged as failures, and some of your deepest retreats you have evaluated as success.
42 Never approach the holy instant after you have tried to remove all fear and hatred from your mind. That is
its function. Never attempt to overlook your guilt before you ask the Holy Spirit's help. That is
His function. Your part is only to offer Him a little willingness to
let Him remove all fear and hatred and to
be forgiven. On your little faith, joined with His understanding,
He will build your part in the Atonement and make sure that you fulfill it easily. And with Him you will build a ladder planted in the solid rock of faith and rising even to Heaven. Nor will you use it to ascend to Heaven alone.
43 Through your holy relationship, reborn and blessed in every holy instant which you do not arrange, thousands will rise to Heaven with you. Can you plan for this? Or could you prepare yourselves for such a function? Yet it is possible because God wills it. Nor will He change His Mind about it. The means and purpose both belong to Him. You have accepted one; the other will be provided. A purpose such as this without the means is inconceivable. He will provide the means to anyone who shares His purpose.
44 Happy dreams come true,
not because they are dreams, but only because they are
happy. And so they must be loving. Their message is, "Thy Will be done," and not, "I want it otherwise." The alignment of means and purpose is an undertaking impossible for you to understand. You do not even realize you
have accepted the Holy Spirit's purpose as your own, and you would merely bring unholy means to its accomplishment. The little faith it needed to change the purpose is all that is required to receive the means and
use them.
45 It is no dream to love your brother as yourself. Nor is your holy relationship a dream. All that remains of dreams within it is that it is still a special relationship. Yet it is very useful to the Holy Spirit, Who
has a special function here. It will become the happy dream through which He can spread joy to thousands on thousands who believe that love is fear, not happiness. Let Him fulfill the function that He gave to your relationship by accepting it
for you, and nothing will be wanting that would make of it what He would have it be.
46 When you feel the holiness of your relationship is threatened by anything, stop instantly and offer the Holy Spirit your willingness
in spite of fear to let Him exchange this instant for the holy one which you would rather have. He will never fail in this. But forget not that your relationship is one, and so it must be that whatever threatens the peace of one is an equal threat to the other. The power of joining and its blessing lie in the fact that it is now impossible for either of you to experience fear alone or to attempt to deal with it alone. Never believe that this is necessary or even possible. Yet just as this is impossible, so is it equally impossible that the holy instant come to either of you without the other. And it will come to both at the request of either.
47 Whichever is saner at the time when the threat is perceived should remember how deep is his indebtedness to the other and how much gratitude is due him and be glad that he can pay his debt by bringing happiness to both. Let him remember this, and say:
48
I desire this holy instant for myself
That I may share it with my brother, whom I love.
It is not possible that I can have it without him, or he without me.
Yet it is wholly possible for us to share it now.
And so I choose this instant as the one to offer to the Holy Spirit
That His Blessing may descend on us and keep us both in
peace.
ON LINE SEARCHABLE Original Edition
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