Lesson 208
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Release from All Demands
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A COURSE IN MIRACLES
  CH 19 "BEYOND THE BODY"
I. INTRODUCTION

2 Every situation properly perceived becomes an opportunity to heal the Son of God. And he is healed because you offered faith to him, giving him to the Holy Spirit and releasing him from every demand your ego would make of him. Thus do you see him free, and in this vision does the Holy Spirit share. And since He shares it, He has given it, and so He heals through you. It is this joining Him in a united purpose which makes this purpose real because you make it whole. And this is healing. The body is healed because you came without it and joined the Mind in which all healing rests. 
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AUDIO: TEXT CH 19, I
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A COURSE IN MIRACLES
WORKBOOK Part I
REVIEW VI
Review VI
<AUDIO><VIDEO>
Voice and Music by CIMS SonShip Radio 
 
*IAMBIC PENTAMETER

   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

ACIM OE WORKBOOK REVIEW VI

CIRCLE OF ATONEMENT ~ COMMENTARY on INTRODUCTION

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A COURSE IN MIRACLES
DAILY LESSONS
SonShip Workbook
L e s s o n  208

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I am not a body. I am free.
For I am still as God created me.
  
[188]
The peace of God is shining in me now.

I will be still and let the earth be still
along with me. and in that stillness, we

will find the peace of God. It is within      
my heart, which witnesses to God himself.     

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 
ACIM Edmonton, CA
LESSON 208 Review VI
[188] The peace of God is shining in me now.

  
Sarah's Commentary:
 
Are you feeling peace today? If not, does it seem hard to release the obstacles to peace? Are you feeling sad, guilty, distressed, angry, frustrated, tired, bored, anxious, superior, worried, lacking, wishing, expecting, or desiring? Have you told yourself that it is hard to find peace or that it will take you a very long time? Do you believe that it is hard to release distressing feelings? Whatever we tell ourselves affirms the beliefs and concepts we choose to hold onto, but we can also choose to let them go with the help of the Holy Spirit. Do you notice that sometimes you momentarily let go of these obsessive thoughts and feelings, but then take them back and find them playing in your mind again? Releasing the blocks to love is mostly a process, not an event. We just need to stay focused on our desire to heal and to take accountability for our feelings, rather than blaming anyone for making us feel the way we do.
 
It is true that love can move mountains, and in God's Power, all things are possible. We believe it takes time to heal, it is hard to release our grievances, and we will never get over difficult feelings; but, these are all beliefs held by the wrong mind and thus they are false. Can you see that there is some kind of payoff for holding onto these beliefs? Yes, it does seem odd to think that we actually get "juice" from suffering, yet think about what suffering allows you to do. For example, it may give you the attention you crave, or it may prove that you are right about how you have been wronged, or it may be used to punish someone for what they have seemingly done, or ultimately, it proves your reality is a body, separate from God. Yes, even death is so-called proof that we are real and God is not. Everything we hold onto has a payoff or we would not hold onto it. The ultimate payoff is our desire to keep our individual separate self.
 
We can address this struggle with willingness, openness, and determination to choose the Holy Spirit as our Guide. The mountain of anger, fear, and resistance is the mountain that Love can move. Thus, the miracle shifts our perception from one of form, which is the belief that our reality is a body and personality, to the perception of the truth of who we are, which is eternal Spirit. So today, watch the thoughts and beliefs that come up and be willing to release them to the Holy Spirit. These beliefs are being held to keep you separate from the love you are. Recognize that this is the only purpose for holding onto them, which is to prove you are right about yourself, and thus God is wrong. Be willing to be wrong today. Be willing to look with honesty and courage at everything you are hiding and denying in yourself. For example, we are loath to believe that we attack because we intend to hurt. Our first response is to protect our "face of innocence" and choose to believe that we only attack in self-defense.
 
Today, be willing to bring awareness to these denied aspects of the ego mind that hide behind defenses. Stay with the feelings that arise, rather than run away from them. Simply let these feelings rise up in you without judgment. Allow them to be released without using them to attack anyone. Go on with your day, but keep your attention on what you are thinking and feeling. The more you observe your mind the more the ego cannot hide in the darkness. With the acceptance of what you are feeling, without denying what is coming up, healing can be facilitated. Our part is simply to uncover the feelings. The Holy Spirit does the rest. We just need to surrender our need to fix things and our desire to do anything except to give it over to the Holy Spirit. Put your issues and concerns on the inner altar where the Holy Spirit will do the healing. Allow the miracle to open you up to the truth by taking back your projections and taking full responsibility for them.
 
Become aware of the idle thoughts, the frantic thoughts, the self-attacking thoughts, the concerns, and the wishes for things to be different than they are. All can be brought to awareness without judging ourselves. Look at everything that comes up and let it be released. It is a mistake to believe that you should be beyond such thoughts because you are spiritual. Do not let a current of self-talk carry you through the day. Release it and accept the Peace of God instead. How do we do that? Clearly, we have over-learned the ego program, which rules our experience here in this world. Instructions are given us today for very regular practice throughout the day. A great deal of importance is put on this practice. The words we are given in each of these Lessons can change our experience if we apply them to any distressful situation. Words have importance in the Course only to the extent that they point us to the truth. What is essential is that we take in these words with sincerity and dedication, applying them in our daily lives. A lot of focus is being put on frequency and repetition of the idea throughout the day. It is a reflection of the importance given to the goal.
 
Today, make a firm commitment to the practice of the Lesson. Recognize that the peace of God is in you---now. There is nothing to seek but there are blocks to uncover to peace so the light of our being can shine through us and bring blessing to the world. "I will be still, and let the earth be still along with me. And in that stillness we will find the peace of God. It is within my heart, which witnesses to God Himself." (W.208.1.2-4) It is always such a joy when we can be the witness of the light and peace in all those we encounter. We will then feel its radiance shine back on us. This is what fills our treasure house with unlimited blessings and blesses us immeasurably.

Love and blessings, Sarah 
 
A Course in Miracles
TEXT
ACIM Original Edition
Chapter Nineteen

Beyond the Body
   
   Voice and Music by Martin Weber, CIMS SonShip Radio

I. Introduction    

1 We said before that when a situation has been dedicated wholly to truth, peace is inevitable. Its attainment is the criterion by which the wholeness of the dedication can be safely assumed. Yet we also said that peace without faith will never be attained, for what is wholly dedicated to truth as its only goal is brought to truth by faith. This faith encompasses everyone involved, for only thus the situation is perceived as meaningful and as a whole. And everyone must be involved in it, or else your faith is limited and your dedication incomplete.
 
2 Every situation properly perceived becomes an opportunity to heal the Son of God. And he is healed because you offered faith to him, giving him to the Holy Spirit and releasing him from every demand your ego would make of him. Thus do you see him free, and in this vision does the Holy Spirit share. And since He shares it, He has given it, and so He heals through you. It is this joining Him in a united purpose which makes this purpose real because you make it whole. And this is healing. The body is healed because you came without it and joined the Mind in which all healing rests.
 
 
II. Healing and the Mind

3 The body cannot heal because it cannot make itself sick. It needs no healing. Its health or sickness depends entirely on how the mind perceives it and the purpose which the mind would use it for. And it is obvious that a segment of the mind can see itself as separated from the Universal Purpose. When this occurs, the body becomes its weapon used against this Purpose to demonstrate the "fact" that separation has occurred. The body thus becomes the instrument of illusion, acting accordingly; seeing what is not there, hearing what truth has never said, and behaving insanely, being imprisoned by insanity.
 
4 Do not overlook our earlier statement that faithlessness leads straight to illusions. For faithlessness is the perception of a brother as a body, and the body cannot be used for purposes of union. If, then, you see your brother as a body, you have established a condition in which uniting with him becomes impossible. Your faithlessness to him has separated you from him and kept you both apart from being healed. Your faithlessness has thus opposed the Holy Spirit's purpose and brought illusions centered on the body to stand between you. And the body will seem to be sick, for you have made of it an "enemy" of healing and the opposite of truth.
 
5 It cannot be difficult to realize that faith must be the opposite of faithlessness. Yet the difference in how they operate is less apparent, though it follows directly from the fundamental difference in what they are. Faithlessness would always limit and attack; faith would remove all limitations and make whole. [Faithlessness would destroy and separate; faith would unite and heal.] Faithlessness would interpose illusions between the Son of God and his Creator; faith would remove all obstacles that seem to rise between them. Faithlessness is wholly dedicated to illusions; faith wholly to truth. Partial dedication is impossible. Truth is the absence of illusion; illusion the absence of truth.
 
6 Both cannot be together nor perceived in the same place. To dedicate yourself to both is to set up a goal forever impossible to attain, for part of it is sought through the body, thought of as a means for seeking out reality through attack, while the other part would heal and therefore calls upon the mind and not the body. The inevitable compromise is the belief that the body must be healed, and not the mind. For this divided goal has given both an equal reality, which could be possible only if the mind is limited to the body and divided into little parts of seeming wholeness but without connection. This will not harm the body, but it will keep the delusional thought system in the mind.
 
7 Here then is healing needed. And it is here that healing is. For God gave healing not apart from sickness, nor established remedy where sickness cannot be. They are together, and when they are seen together, all attempts to keep both truth and illusion in the mind, where both must be, are recognized as dedication to illusion and given up when brought to truth and seen as totally irreconcilable with truth in any respect or in any way.
 
8 Truth and illusion have no connection. This will remain forever true, however much you seek to connect them. But illusions are always connected, as is truth. Each is united, a complete thought system, but totally disconnected to each other. Where there is no overlap, there separation must be complete. And to perceive this is to recognize where separation is and where it must be healed. The result of an idea is never separate from its source. The idea of separation produced the body and remains connected to it, making it sick because of its identification with it. You think you are protecting the body by hiding this connection, for this concealment seems to keep your identification safe from the "attack" of truth.
 
9 If you but understood how much this strange concealment has hurt your mind and how confused your own identification has become because of it! You do not see how great the devastation wrought by your faithlessness. For faithlessness is an attack which seems to be justified by its results. For by withholding faith, you see what is unworthy of it and cannot look beyond the barrier to what is joined with you.
 
10 To have faith is to heal. It is the sign that you have accepted the Atonement for yourself and would therefore share it. By faith you offer the gift of freedom from the past, which you received. You do not use anything your brother has done before to condemn him now. You freely choose to overlook his errors, looking past all barriers between your self and his and seeing them as one. And in that one you see your faith is fully justified. There is no justification for faithlessness, but faith is always justified.
 
11 Faith is the opposite of fear, as much a part of love as fear is of attack. Faith is the acknowledgment of union. It is the gracious acknowledgment of everyone as a Son of your most loving Father, loved by Him like you and therefore loved by you as yourself. It is His love that joins you, and for His love you would keep no one separate from yours. Each one appears just as he is perceived in the holy instant, united in your purpose to be released from guilt. You saw the Christ in him, and he was healed because you looked on what makes faith forever justified in everyone.
 
12 Faith is the gift of God, through Him Whom God has given you. Faithlessness looks upon the Son of God and judges him unworthy of forgiveness. But through the eyes of faith, the Son of God is seen already forgiven, free of all the guilt he laid upon himself. Faith sees him only now because it looks not to the past to judge him, but would see in him only what it would see in you. It sees not through the body's eyes nor looks to bodies for its justification. It is the messenger of the new perception sent forth to gather witnesses unto its coming and to return their messages to you. Faith is as easily exchanged for knowledge as is the real world. For faith arises from the Holy Spirit's perception and is the sign you share it with Him. Faith is a gift you offer to the Son of God through Him, and wholly acceptable to his Father as to him. And therefore offered you.
 
13 Your holy relationship, with its new purpose, offers you faith to give unto each other. Your faithlessness had driven you apart, and so you did not recognize salvation in each other. Yet faith unites you in the holiness you see, not through the body's eyes but in the sight of Him Who joined you and in Whom you are united. Grace is not given to a body, but to a mind. And the mind that receives it looks instantly beyond the body and sees the holy place where it was healed. There is the altar where the grace was given, in which it stands. Do you, then, offer grace and blessing to each other, for you stand at the same altar where grace was laid for both of you. And be you healed by grace together, that you may heal through faith.
 
14 In the holy instant, you stand before the altar God has raised unto Himself and both of you. Lay faithlessness aside and come to it together. There will you see the miracle of your relationship as it was made again through faith. And there it is that you will realize that there is nothing faith cannot forgive. No error interferes with its calm sight, which brings the miracle of healing with equal ease to all of them. For what the messengers of love are sent to do they do, returning the glad tidings that it was done to you who stand together before the altar from which they were sent forth.
 
15 As faithlessness will keep your little kingdoms barren and separate, so will faith help the Holy Spirit prepare the ground for the most holy garden which He would make of it. For faith brings peace, and so it calls on truth to enter and make lovely what has already been prepared for loveliness. Truth follows faith and peace, completing the process of making lovely which they begin. For faith is still a learning goal, no longer needed when the lesson has been learned. Yet truth will stay forever.
 
16 Let then your dedication be to the eternal and learn how not to interfere with it and make it slave to time. For what you think you do to the eternal you do to you. Whom God created as His Son is slave to nothing, being lord of all along with his Creator. You can enslave a body, but an idea is free, incapable of being kept in prison or limited in any way except by the mind that thought it. For it remains joined to its source, which is its jailor or its liberator, according to which it chooses as its purpose for itself.

   
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