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LESSON 214 AUGUST 02 SATURDAY
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Daily Lesson 214
Review VI
Sarah's Reflections
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CHAPTER NINETEEN
"BEYOND THE BODY"
V. "Obstacles to Peace"
a. "The First Obstacle: The Desire to Get Rid of It"  

41 Why would you want peace homeless? What do you think that it must dispossess to dwell with you? What seems to be the cost you are so unwilling to pay? The little barrier of sand still stands between you. Would you reinforce it now? You are not asked to let it go for yourselves alone. Christ asks it of you for Himself. He would bring peace to everyone, and how can He do this except through you? Would you let a little bank of sand, a wall of dust, a tiny seeming barrier, stand between your brothers and salvation? And yet, it is this little remnant of attack you cherish still against each other that is the first obstacle the peace in you encounters in its going forth. This little wall of hatred would still oppose the Will of God and keep it limited.          

DAILY LESSON

SonShip Workbook  

L e s s o n  214

 Voice and Music by CIMS SonShip Radio
<GUIDANCE from ELDER BROTHER>

I am not a body. I am free.
For I am still as God created me.
     

[194] I place the future in the hands of God.   

  

The past is gone; the future is not yet.   
Now am I freed from both. For what God gives
can only be for good. And I accept
but what He gives as what belongs to me.   
  

I am not a body. I am free.
For I am still as God created me.
    

       

~ Original Handscript of ACIM

 
WORKBOOK for STUDENTS  
PART I 
REVIEW VI  
ACIM Review VI  
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   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 ~ September 1, 1970

 

ACIM Edmonton - Sarah's Reflections 

ACIM Edmonton, CA

Lesson 214
Review VI
[194] I place the future in the hands of God. 

*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 
[Use 'Advanced Search' and 'Exact Phrase' option]

Sarah's Commentary:

Chapter 18.VI. "Beyond the Body" describes the ego strategy, very clearly telling us that the ego made up a story of our sin and then told us it was so horrific that we must flee into the body to try to escape from what we have done. "And you have done a stranger thing than you yet realize. You have displaced your guilt to your body from your mind. Yet a body cannot be guilty, for it can do nothing of itself." (T.18.VI.2.4-6) This guilt comes from our belief that we have sinned, but now we try to protect the mind from this thought, which is why the guilt in the mind is projected onto the body. It is all part of a carefully contrived strategy to confuse us about ourselves and to make us believe that we are a body and not a Child of God. The ego does not want us to remember our identity as Christ, because that would be the demise of its thought system and the end of our identity, as we currently know it to be.

Presently we think the body is the problem.  It is not good enough, not smart enough, not healthy enough, seems to make demands on us, gets sick, ages, and dies. But it is not who we are. It was made to put all of our attention outside of the mind making us think we are these bodies. The body was given senses to prove there is a world out there, external to us, and to make us forget that it is nothing, our reality is only mind and this is all a dream. Now we see ourselves as victims of events beyond our control, and over which we have no power. This story of our sin and guilt, which the ego made up, is kept hidden only by our decision not to look at its source in the mind. We can exercise choice only once we become aware of the ego's strategy.

In Chapter 18.VII "I Need Do Nothing," we are told that we still have too much faith in the body as a source of strength. All of our plans, in one way or another, involve the body, its comfort, its protection and its enjoyment. Much time and attention goes into taking care of this body, washing it, feeding it, pampering it, exercising it, resting it, and pleasuring it, that it becomes the focus of all our attention. In this way, the body becomes an end in itself and not the means. It becomes the entire focus of our existence instead of the means as a useful tool for communicating love. What is startling to remember is that the body does not exist in the present moment. It is always remembered or anticipated. That is why when we enter the present, the NOW, the body is forgotten. It is nothing and nowhere. It is in the experience of the holy instant that we have a glimpse of the eternal formless Self that is our reality.

In Chapter 18.VIII. "The Little Garden" Jesus tells us that the body is a limit on love. The belief in limited love was its origin, and it was made to limit the unlimited. It is simply a "tiny fence around a little part of a glorious and complete idea," (T.18.VIII.2.5) and it is only in this complete idea where we join with Truth. It is in our experience of the holy instant, where the body is forgotten.

What keeps us from this experience? We say we want it yet there is resistance, but Jesus tells us, "Release is given you the instant you desire it." (T.18.VII.4.3) It is our desire that determines our release. "Now you must learn that only infinite patience produces immediate effects." (T.5.VI.12.1) It is not something we need to strive for. The truth is that we are, in this very moment, in a state of infinite bliss and love, and the reason we need do nothing is that there is nothing we CAN do to change the truth about ourselves. Who we are is always with us as our reality. We have just forgotten, but we are now preparing our minds to remember. We do that by removing the blocks to love, which is about bringing all of our misperceptions to awareness.

"In silence and in true humility I seek God's glory, to behold it in the Son whom He created as my Self." (W.PI.211.1.2) Humility means that we let go of our plans and our intentions on how to achieve the holy instant. We don't know, and that is a relief. We can leave it all in God's Hands. As Jesus reminds us, "You have been wrong in thinking that it is needful to prepare yourself for Him. It is impossible to make arrogant preparations for holiness, and not believe that it is up to you to establish the conditions for peace." (T.18.IV.4.3-4) "To do nothing is to rest, and make a place within you where the activity of the body ceases to demand attention." (T.18.VII.7.7) It is a "quiet center in the storm." It is a place free of thoughts, free of guilt and free of projection. It is where we simply rest in God. Ahhhh, there is such sweet release from demands we place on ourselves, and such sweet release from our relentless thoughts in the ego mind.

Think about what keeps you out of peace. For me it is these relentless thoughts that go around and around, regurgitating past events, focusing on events that keep me feeling guilty, planning for future events, gnawing on what has seemingly happened or should happen, and strategizing and fantasizing on how I want things to be. It is not a peaceful state. It produces stress as a result of the mind being obsessively occupied.

So what does it mean to place the future in the Hands of God? Fundamental to this is trust. In the Manual for Teachers we are told that trust is the foundation on which our ability to fulfill our function rests. We are told not to trust in the laws that the world made up, and to be governed by the power of God's laws. But we need an experience of this power, in order to develop this trust. Once we do, we will no longer rely as readily on our own petty strength. "Who would attempt to fly with the tiny wings of the sparrow when the mighty power of an eagle has been given him?" (M.4.I.2.2) No matter how impressed we get with our own power to manifest, which reflects our own strong desires, it can never match the power available to us when we join with God's Will.

How do we develop this kind of trust? This section says the process we go through is one of undoing and sorting the valuable from the valueless and that ultimately "it takes great learning to understand that all things, events, encounters and circumstances are helpful." (M.4.I.A.4.5) Does it feel to you, in your life, that all events, encounters and circumstances are helpful? Probably not. Some things seem bad and some we label as good. Yet in the lesson yesterday we learned that "all things are lessons God would have me learn." (W.PI.193) It is the judgments that we make about the events of our lives that hurt us. If we turn the judgments over and learn that forgiveness is the answer to all trials and tribulations, we will experience a miracle. We will see that every experience provides us with an opportunity to heal our thoughts and see that there is a miracle that The Holy Spirit offers us in EVERY situation no matter how it might appear.

In the section called "The Test of Truth", Chapter 14.XI, Jesus tells us how we can tell the difference between the ego and the Holy Spirit. "You have one test, as sure as God, by which to recognize if what you learned is true.  If you are wholly free of fear of any kind, and if all those who meet or even think of you share in your perfect peace, then you can be sure that you have learned God's lesson, and not your own." (T.14.XI.5.1-2) Don't we spend hours trying to figure out what some event or circumstance in our lives means? Don't we look for answers for our lives in every corner of our mind? Yet, the only answer is peace. The only answer is to surrender into God. Every problem will dissipate, or if not, it will look very different to us from this place of release. "Perhaps it will be helpful to remember that no one can be angry at a fact. It is always an interpretation that gives rise to negative emotions, regardless of their seeming justification by what appears as facts." (M.17.4.1-2) Now, whatever situation is there in front of us, if there is something to be done, we will be guided and proceed from a place of peace.

As Jesus reminds us, "Your task is not to seek for love, but merely to seek and find all of the barriers within yourself that you have built against it. It is not necessary to seek for what is true, but it is necessary to seek for what is false." (T.16.IV.6.1-2) It is all about undoing our guilt. It is all about clearing the dark clouds that obscure the truth about ourselves. We must refuse to teach ourselves and instead release ourselves from the belief that we know the answers for our awakening. "You are still convinced that your understanding is a powerful contribution to the truth, and makes it what it is." (T.18.IV.7.5) We must become as little children who don't know and agree to release our own thoughts and to be taught. Whenever our peace is threatened it is helpful to remember, "I do not know what anything, including this, means. And so I do not know how to respond to it. And I will not use my own past learning as the light to guide me now." (T.14.XI.6.7-9)

We need help to set aside our ego thought system and  must be willing to ask. In T. 18.IV "The Little Willingness," Jesus is talking about preparing our minds for the Holy Instant. We do that by recognizing, "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. Do not attempt to give the Holy Spirit what He does not ask, or you will add the ego to Him and confuse the two." (T.18.IV.1.4-6) We think we need to do more. To do more is only to add the ego into the mix.

Today we look at our insane thought system again, where we believe that our sins of the past deserve punishment. Our belief that we deserve suffering is now put to question. As we do the forgiveness work, we are told, "And you will see by our experience that we have laid the past and present in His Hands as well, because the past will punish you no more, and future dread will now be meaningless." (W. PI.194.4-6) Today, we step back from our beliefs and look at them from outside of this dream and see that these beliefs make no sense. If God is love then the ego's lies, that He would bring punishment and death, cannot be true. Being miserable and unhappy is the proof the ego gives that God is behind it all, but it is our own defense against the truth. Now we can look at this with the Holy Spirit, and question how the ego has set all of this up. Then we can make another choice.

 

Love and blessings, Sarah 

huemmert@shaw.ca

 

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    

[Use 'Advanced Search' and Exact Phrase' option]
TEXT Paused for Weekend

A Course in Miracles   
TEXT
 

Chapter Nineteen

Beyond the Body

V. Obstacles to Peace

 a. The First Obstacle:
     The Desire to Get Rid of It        

40 The first obstacle that peace must flow across is your desire to get rid of it. For it cannot extend unless you keep it. You are the center from which it radiates outward to call the others in. You are its home, its tranquil dwelling-place from which it gently reaches out but never leaving you. If you would make it homeless, how can it abide within the Son of God? If it would spread across the whole creation, it must begin with you and from you reach to everyone who calls and bring him rest by joining you.

 

41 Why would you want peace homeless? What do you think that it must dispossess to dwell with you? What seems to be the cost you are so unwilling to pay? The little barrier of sand still stands between you. Would you reinforce it now? You are not asked to let it go for yourselves alone. Christ asks it of you for Himself. He would bring peace to everyone, and how can He do this except through you? Would you let a little bank of sand, a wall of dust, a tiny seeming barrier, stand between your brothers and salvation? And yet, it is this little remnant of attack you cherish still against each other that is the first obstacle the peace in you encounters in its going forth. This little wall of hatred would still oppose the Will of God and keep it limited.

 

42 The Holy Spirit's purpose rests in peace within you. Yet you are still unwilling to let it join you wholly. You still oppose the Will of God, just by a little. And that little is a limit you would place upon the whole. God's Will is One, not many. It has no opposition, for there is none beside it. What you would still contain behind your little barrier and keep separate from each other seems mightier than the universe, for it would hold back the universe and its Creator. This little wall would hide the purpose of Heaven and keep it from Heaven.

 

43 Would you thrust salvation away from the giver of salvation? For such have you become. Peace could no more depart from you than from God. Fear not this little obstacle. It cannot contain the Will of God. Peace will flow across it and join you without hindrance. Salvation cannot be withheld from you. It is your purpose. You cannot will apart from this. You have no purpose apart from each other nor apart from the one you asked the Holy Spirit to share with you. The little wall will fall away so quietly beneath the wings of peace! For peace will send its messengers from you to all the world. And barriers will fall away before their coming as easily as those which you would interpose will be surmounted.

 

44 To overcome the world is no more difficult than to surmount your little wall. For in the miracle of your relationship, without this barrier, is every miracle contained. There is no order of difficulty in miracles, for they are all the same. Each is a gentle winning over from the appeal of guilt to the appeal of love. How can this fail to be accomplished, wherever it is undertaken? Guilt can raise no real barriers against it. And all that seems to stand between you must fall away because of the appeal you answered. For from you who answered, He Who answered you would call. His home is in your holy relationship. Do not attempt to stand between Him and His holy purpose, for it is yours. But let Him quietly extend the miracle of your relationship to everyone contained in it, as it was given.

 

45 There is a hush in Heaven, a happy expectancy, a little pause of gladness in acknowledgment of the journey's end. For Heaven knows you well, as you know Heaven. No illusions stand between you now. Look not upon the little wall of shadows. The sun has risen over it. How can a shadow keep you from the sun? No more can you be kept by shadows from the light in which illusions end. Every miracle is but the end of an illusion. Such was the journey; such its ending. And in the goal of truth which you accepted must all illusions end.

 

46 The little insane wish to get rid of Him Who you invited in and push Him out must produce conflict. As you look upon the world, this little wish, uprooted and floating aimlessly, can land and settle briefly upon anything, for it has no purpose now. Before the Holy Spirit entered to abide with you, it seemed to have a mighty purpose; the fixed and unchangeable dedication to sin and its results. Now it is aimless, wandering pointlessly, causing no more than tiny interruptions in love's appeal.

 

47 This feather of a wish, this tiny illusion, this microscopic remnant of the belief in sin, is all that remains of what once seemed to be the world. It is no longer an unrelenting barrier to peace. Its pointless wandering makes its results appear to be more erratic and unpredictable than before. Yet what could be more unstable than a tightly-organized delusional system? Its seeming stability is its pervasive weakness, which extends to everything. The variability which the little remnant induces merely indicates its limited results.

 

48 How mighty can a little feather be before the great wings of truth? Can it oppose an eagle's flight or hinder the advance of summer? Can it interfere with the effects of summer's sun upon a garden covered by the snow? See but how easily this little wisp is lifted up and carried away, never to return, and part with it in gladness, not regret. For it is nothing in itself and stood for nothing when you had greater faith in its protection. Would you not rather greet the summer sun than fix your gaze upon a disappearing snowflake and shiver in remembrance of the winter's cold?

 

 

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