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    
Sarah's Commentary:

This lesson presents us with a choice between the world we see and a better alternative. Jesus describes our world as merciless, unstable, cruel, unconcerned with us, with no lasting love and no certainty. It is a place where all things end, a place which is "quick to avenge and pitiless with hate." (2.3) How readily do you agree with that statement? Certainly we can agree that all things end. Perhaps that is what is most cruel is that the world is a transitory place. But Jesus reminds us today that there is another choice. He does not leave us with the feeling that there is nothing else available for us but this hopeless world. He says that we need more than just the idea that the world is worthless. We need hope for a better alternative. Otherwise it would leave us depressed if we did not have hope for something better.

The alternative is the real world where "losing is impossible; where love endures forever, hate cannot exist and vengeance has no meaning." (3.1) This is the real world as described in the Course. But it is not a place, but a state of mind. It is revealed to us through forgiveness. When we no longer listen to the voice of the ego and hear only the Holy Spirit, the love that we are is reflected back at us and seen everywhere. It is when the thought system of sin, guilt and fear that brought us to the world are all healed. Now we are in a world where joy and peace are found. "Yet even they (the gifts of the real world) will be exchanged at last for what we cannot speak of (Heaven) for you go from there to where words fail entirely, into a silence where the language is unspoken and yet surely understood." (3.3) This is a place of direct knowledge and is beyond the real world. Thus the lesson covers the three worlds: the ego's world of loss, hate, vengeance, suffering and death; the real world which reflects Heaven's love and is the bridge to Heaven; and Heaven itself, where God takes the last step and lifts us up.

This world of separation can never make us happy and whatever happiness we think we can find in it is only transitory. Oh yes, we can argue that there are lovely things in this world, things to enjoy, beautiful sunsets, mountains, lakes, and flowers, but they are still all subject to time. What this lesson does is to help us recognize that, given the description of what is available to us in the real world, the things of this world fall so very short. And somewhere in our minds we know that. If we choose instead to see this world as wonderful, then we must be denying the guilt we hold in our wrong minds because that is not the nature of this world. Yet when the guilt in our minds is brought for healing, then joy and beauty are indeed reflected everywhere. It is not in the world but only in the mind. It is an outside reflection of our inner condition.
 
The real world is a much more valuable option than the most wonderful things in the world we currently experience. We must be honest and ask ourselves if we really think that this world can offer us something that is filled with joy and capable of offering us peace. (1.3) Clearly this is not a world where "love endures forever, hate cannot exist and vengeance has no meaning." (3.1) We see loss, vengeance, death every day. It is the nature of this world of guilt and fear.

We still hold onto some hope that we might find something of value in the world. We do think that there is something that is worth striving for here. For us to give up the hope of finding value in the world may feel like loss. Jesus anticipates this and says, "What loss can be for you in choosing not to value nothingness?" (6.2) He says that in truth, there is nothing here that we really want. Our real heart's desire lies beyond the things of this world. All we need to do is to realize this. It awaits our choice. Again, as was said yesterday, Jesus is not saying that we must refuse pleasure and resist temptation no matter how appealing it looks to us right now. Instead he is reminding us that it is not where our happiness is. He asks us again, to be very honest about this and to realize that "This world holds nothing that you really want, but what you choose instead you want indeed!" (6.3) Then he urges us not to delay and reminds us that it is just about our choosing. When we seek things that we still think we want in the world, we are delaying this choice. Jesus is urging us not to delay on behalf of our own happiness. He reminds us that all we are sacrificing when we give up the pleasures of this world is our own pain. "Is it a sacrifice to give up pain? Does an adult resent giving up of children's toys?" (M.13.4.2)

There is something even more satisfying awaiting us than the things of this world. The possibility of finding the changeless and eternal is not about anything physical. It is really about connecting with Oneness or Love. We are here to find and experience the eternal. We are slowly letting go of our investment in that which is changeable and to value that which is changeless. When we can do this, we get a sense of the real world that Jesus speaks about.

"Unbind your mind from little things the world sets forth to keep you prisoner." (5.3) Of course in our minds we don't always see things in the world as little things. These are often what we think of as big and important things and it is the value that we put on things in this world that we are being asked to release today. "Value them not, and they will disappear. Esteem them, and they will seem real to you." (5.3-5) Everything here is a reflection of the thought system of the ego. This is a thought system based on guilt and fear, projected out onto the world. So how could we expect anything else reflected back at us except what is projected out? There truly is no world. It is just a massive defense system against the guilt and fear in our minds. It keeps us from seeing that we have a choice and can, indeed, dismiss the ego. It means that God's love holds more value for us than the ego's fear-based specialness of separation and individuality.

We still fear God's love and thus we defend against it. The world has been made as a place we can hide from the wrath of God that we fear because the ego has convinced us that we have sinned and now we are guilty. The world was made to exclude God and to protect the thought, which is in our mind, that said to God that His love was not enough. We wanted more. We wanted specialness, uniqueness, our individuality. Since He can't give us more than everything, we decided to be our own god instead and make a world for ourselves in which we could get everything we think we want. That was what the ego extended to us without telling us of the pain that is part of its' package.

This led to the thought that we don't need God anymore and that is the thought that engenders so much guilt. Now we are terrified that God will get us and destroy us. So, the ego gave us the answer for our guilt. The ego's answer was to make up a world and make up a body where we could hide. Jesus says we think we made a place of safety for ourselves and a power that we think could save us from all the fearful things we see in dreams (M.16.6), yet it is a place which teaches only despair. "Everyone who follows the world's curriculum, and everyone here does follow it until he changes his mind, teaches solely to convince himself that he is what he is not. Herein is the purpose of the world. What else, then, would its curriculum be? Into this hopeless and closed learning situation, which teaches nothing but despair and death, God sends His teachers. And as they teach His lessons of joy and hope, their learning finally becomes complete." (M.4.4)

So we have the power and are given the help to change our minds about where our safety and protection really lie. They do not lie in the world. The things that we think will protect us and bring us pleasure in the world ultimately fail to deliver. We already know that this is true when we look honestly at the outcomes for ourselves. We have a false sense of safety when we take our vitamins, lock our doors, take out insurance policies, count on enduring relationships, and count on our bank accounts. They are all illusions of safety and protection and they all ultimately fail us because they can never protect us from the pain of our own guilt. Jesus asks us to "think a while about what the world calls sacrifice. Power, fame, money, physical pleasure, who is the 'hero' to whom all these things belong. Could they mean anything except to a body?" (M.13) They keep us prisoner to the world. "Value them not and they will disappear. Esteem them and they will seem real to you." (5.4-5) Again we are not asked to give up what we still value. That would seem like a sacrifice and sacrifice is not asked of us. Jesus is only urging us to see that a choice is available to us to see the nothingness of what the ego offers us and to recognize that there is only pain in pursuing what will never deliver us joy and peace.

What makes the world lovely, though, is when we shift our purpose, when we no longer look at the world and body as a place to hide but a classroom in which we learn to look at what we don't want to look at (guilt) in ourselves. The people, events and situations that we encounter in our day allow us to get in touch with our unconscious guilt by mirroring for us what is in our minds that we don't readily see. These unconscious beliefs rule our lives, yet we are unaware of the program that is running in the background of our conscious minds. Healing can only occur when we are willing to look at the darkness with Jesus beside us so we can see it all without judging ourselves. This is the light that makes the world beautiful and holy. If we use the world and our relationships, which are filled with specialness, need, lack, expectations, hate, judgment and pain, as the curriculum, and Jesus the teacher, we have hope of achieving the real world which shines bright with peace and joy.

So our purpose today is to make this choice for what we really want by practicing willingness ten minutes three times today. But don't let this thought escape you throughout the day. Recognize that we can recognize that, "Beyond this world there is a world I want. I choose to see that world instead of this, for here is nothing that I really want."

To give up this world is to give up nothing while gaining everything. It means that we let go of upsets. If we let go of the small upsets as they arise and stay vigilant throughout the day, then when the seemingly big disturbances show up our daily practice will put us in good stead. By giving up our judgments and grievances as they arise, the day proceeds more smoothly. When we give up planning against all the perceived needs we think we have, we increasingly learn to trust and follow the guidance of the Holy Spirit. As we look at things in the world we cherish and withdraw the value we have placed on them, we learn that they don't define us.

Feel the confidence that the Holy Spirit has in you today. "You cannot fail because you trust in Him. And tell yourself you wait in certainty to look upon the world He promised you. From this time forth you will see differently." (W.78.8)

Try to get in touch with your desire to see a world of meaning that is totally harmless, peaceful, benign, and loving, without a trace of pain or loss. Visualize the lights of Heaven shining on your eyelids as you rest beyond the world of darkness. It is a light your eyes cannot behold, but your mind can see plainly. Today is a day of grace.

Whenever you become aware of thoughts of judgment, specialness or attack, bring them to the Holy Spirit and recognize that you can look at any situation with Him and know peace today instead. To keep ego thoughts is to defend against this purpose of forgiveness and awakening from this dream. Ask yourself if you want to use this situation, this event, or this problem, to keep you invested in the illusion or to awaken to who you are.
 

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