"Nothing real can be threatened. Nothing unreal exists.
Herein Lies the peace of God."
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A
Course in Miracles
TEXT
CHAPTER 12
The Problem of Guilt
VII. Attainment of the Real World
58
Sit quietly and look upon the world you see, and tell yourself,
59
The real world is not like this. It has no buildings, and there are no streets where people walk alone and separate. There are no stores where people buy an endless list of things they do not need. It is not lit with artificial light, and night comes not upon it. There is no day that brightens and grows dim. There is no loss. Nothing is there but shines, and shines forever.
60
The world
you
see must be
denied,
for sight of it is costing you a different kind of vision.
You cannot see both worlds
, for each of them involves a different kind of seeing and depends on what you cherish. The sight of one is possible
because
you have denied the other. Both are not true, yet either one will seem as real to you as the amount to which you hold it dear. And yet their power is
not
the same because their real attraction to you is unequal.
61
You do not really want the world you see, for it has disappointed you since time began. The homes you built have never sheltered you. The roads you made have led you nowhere, and no city that you built has withstood the crumbling assault of time. Nothing you made but has the mark of death upon it. Hold it not dear, for it is old and tired and ready to return to dust even as you made it. This aching world has not the power to touch the living world at all. You could not give it that, and so although you turn in sadness from it, you cannot find in
it
the road that leads away from it into another world.
62
Yet the real world has the power to touch you even here
because you love it.
And what you call with love
will
come to you. Love
always
answers, being unable to deny a call for help or not to hear the cries of pain that rise to it from every part of this strange world you made but do not want. The only effort you need make to give this world away in glad exchange for what you did not make is willingness to learn
the one you made is false.
63
You
have
been wrong about the world because you have misjudged
yourself
. From such a twisted reference point what
could
you see? All vision starts
with the perceiver
who judges what is true and what is false. And what he judges false
he does not see.
You who would judge reality
cannot
see it, for whenever judgment enters, reality has slipped away. The out of mind is out of sight because what is denied is there but is not
recognized
. Christ is still there, although you know Him not. His Being does not depend upon your recognition. He lives within you in the quiet present and waits for you to leave the past behind and enter into the world He holds out to you in love.
64
No one in this distracted world but has seen some glimpses of the other world about him. Yet while he still lays value on his own, he will
deny
the vision of the other world, maintaining that he loves what he loves not and following not the road that love points out. Love leads so gladly! And as you follow Him, you will rejoice that you have found His company and learned of Him the joyful journey home. You wait but for
yourself.
To give this sad world over and exchange your errors for the peace of God is but
your
will. And Christ will
always
offer you the Will of God in recognition that you share it with Him.
65
It is God's Will that nothing touch His Son except Himself, and nothing else comes nigh unto him. He is as safe from pain as God Himself, Who watches over him in everything. The world about him shines with love because God placed him in Himself where pain is not and love surrounds him without end or flaw. Disturbance of his peace can never be. In perfect sanity he looks on love, for it is all about him and within him. He
must
deny the world of pain the instant he perceives the arms of love around him. And from this point of safety, he looks quietly about him and recognizes that the world is one with him.
66
The peace of God passeth your understanding
only
in the past. Yet here it
is
, and you can understand it
now
. God loves His Son forever, and His Son
returns
his Father's love forever. The real world is the way that leads you to remembrance of this one thing that is wholly true and wholly
yours
. For all else you have lent yourself in time, and it will fade. But this one thing is
always
yours, being the gift of God unto His Son. Your
one
reality was given you, and by it God created you as one with Him.
67
You will first dream of peace and then awaken to it. Your first exchange of what you made for what you want is the exchange of nightmares for the happy dreams of love. In these lie your true perceptions, for the Holy Spirit corrects the world of dreams, where
all
perception is. Knowledge needs no correction. Yet the dreams of love lead
unto
knowledge. In them you see nothing fearful, and because of this, they are the welcome that you
offer
knowledge. Love waits on welcome,
not
on time, and the real world is but your welcome of what always was. Therefore, the call of joy is in it, and your glad response is your awakening to what you have not lost. Praise, then, the Father for the perfect sanity of His most holy Son.
68
Your Father knoweth that you have need of nothing. In Heaven this is so, for what could you need in eternity? In
your
world you
do
need things because it is a world of scarcity in which you find yourself
because
you are lacking. Yet
can
you find yourself in such a world? Without the Holy Spirit, the answer would be no. Yet because of Him, the answer is a joyous
yes
! As Mediator between the two worlds, He knows what you have need of and what will not hurt you. Ownership is a dangerous concept if it is left to you. The ego wants to
have
things for salvation, for possession is its law. Possession for its
own
sake is the ego's fundamental creed, a basic cornerstone in the churches that it builds unto itself. And at
its
altar it demands you lay
all
of the things it bids you get, leaving you no joy in them.
69
Everything that the ego tells you that you need will hurt you. For although the ego urges you again and again to
get
, it leaves you nothing, for what you get, it will
demand
of you. And even from the very hands that grasped it, it will be wrenched and hurled into the dust. For where the ego sees salvation, it sees
separation
, and so you lose whatever you have gotten in its name. Therefore ask not of yourselves what you need, for
you do not know
and your advice unto yourself
will
hurt you. For what you think you need will merely serve to tighten up your world
against
the light and render you unwilling to question the value that this world can really hold for you.
70
Only the Holy Spirit
knows
what you need. For He will give you all things that do not block the way to light. And what else
could
you need? In time He gives you all the things that you need have and will renew them as long as you have need of them. He will take nothing from you as long as you have
any
need of it. And yet He knows that everything you need is temporary and will but last until you step aside from
all
your needs and learn that all of them
have been
fulfilled. Therefore He has no investment in the things that He supplies except to make certain that you will not use them on behalf of lingering in time. He knows that you are not at home there, and He wills no delay to wait upon your joyous homecoming.
71
Leave, then, your needs to Him. He will supply them with no emphasis at all upon them. What comes to you of Him comes safely, for He will ensure it never can become a dark spot, hidden in your mind and kept to hurt you. Under His guidance, you will travel light and journey lightly, for His sight is ever on the journey's end which is His goal. God's Son is not a traveler through
outer
worlds. However holy his perception may become, no world outside himself holds his inheritance. Within himself he
has
no needs, for light needs nothing but to shine in peace and from itself to let the rays extend in quiet to infinity.
72
Whenever you are tempted to undertake a foolish journey that would lead
away
from light, remember what you really want and say,
73
The Holy Spirit leads me unto Christ, and where else would I go? What need have I but to awake in Him?
74
Then follow Him in joy, with faith that He will lead you safely through all dangers to your peace of mind that this world sets before you. Kneel not before the altars to sacrifice and seek not what you will surely lose. Content yourselves with what you will as surely
keep
and be not restless, for you undertake a quiet journey to the peace of God, where He would have you be in quietness.
75
In me you have already overcome
every
temptation that would hold you back. We walk together on the way to quietness that is the gift of God. Hold me dear, for what except your brothers
can
you need? We will restore to you the peace of mind that we must find
together.
The Holy Spirit will teach you to awaken unto us and to yourself. This is the only
real
need to be fulfilled in time. Salvation
from
the world lies only here. My peace I
give
you.
Take
it of me in glad exchange for all the world has offered but to take away. And we will spread it like a veil of light across the world's sad face, in which we hide our brothers
from
the world, and it from them.
76
We cannot sing redemption's hymn alone. My task is not completed until I have lifted every voice with mine. And yet it is
not
mine, for as it is my gift to you, so was it the Father's gift to me, given me through His Spirit. The sound of it will banish sorrow from the mind of God's most holy Son, where it cannot abide. Healing in time
is
needed, for joy cannot establish its eternal reign where sorrow dwells. You dwell not here, but in eternity. You travel but in dreams while safe at home. Give thanks to every part of you that you have taught how to
remember
you. Thus does the Son of God give thanks unto his Father for his purity.
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A Course in Miracles
WORKBOOK
Part I
Review IV
1
Now we review again, this time aware we are preparing for the second part of learning how the truth can be applied. Today we will begin to concentrate on readiness for what will follow next. Such is our aim for this review and for the lessons following. Thus we review the recent lessons and their central thoughts in such a way as will facilitate the readiness which we would now achieve.
2
There is a central theme that unifies each step in the review we undertake, which can be simply stated in these words:
3
My mind holds only what I think with God.
4
This is a fact and represents the truth of what you are and what your Father is. It is this thought by which the Father gave creation to the Son, establishing the Son as co-creator with Himself. It is this thought which fully guarantees salvation to the Son. For in his mind no thoughts can dwell but those his Father shares. Lack of forgiveness blocks this thought from his awareness. Yet it is forever true.
5
Let us begin our preparation with some understanding of the many forms in which the lack of true forgiveness may be carefully concealed. Because they are illusions, they are not perceived to be but what they are—defenses which protect your unforgiving thoughts from being seen and recognized. Their purpose is to show you something else and hold correction off through self-deceptions made to take its place.
6
And yet your mind holds only what you think with God. Your self-deceptions cannot take the place of truth. No more than can a child who throws a stick into the ocean change the coming and the going of the tides, the warming of the water by the sun, the silver of the moon on it by night. So do we start each practice period in this review with readying our minds to understand the lessons that we read and see the meaning which they offer us.
7
Begin each day with time devoted to the preparation of your mind to learn what each idea you will review that day can offer you in freedom and in peace. Open your mind and clear it of all thoughts that would deceive, and let this thought alone engage it fully and remove the rest:
8
My mind holds only what I think with God.
9
Five minutes with this thought will be enough to set the day along the lines which God appointed and to place His Mind in charge of all the thoughts you will receive that day. They will not come from you alone, for they will all be shared with Him. And so each one will bring the message of His Love to you, returning messages of yours to Him. So will communion with the Lord of Hosts be yours, as He Himself has willed it be. And as His own completion joins with Him, so will He join with you who are complete as you unite with Him and He with you.
10
After your preparation, merely read each of the two ideas assigned to you to be reviewed that day. Then close your eyes and say them slowly to yourself. There is no hurry now, for you are using time for its intended purpose. Let each word shine with the meaning God has given it as it was given to you through His Voice. Let each idea that you review that day give you the gift which He has laid in it for you to have of Him. And we will use no format for our practicing but this:
11
Each hour of the day bring to your mind the thought with which the day began and spend a quiet moment with it. Then repeat the two ideas you practice for the day unhurriedly, with time enough to see the gifts which they contain for you, and let them be received where they were meant to be. We add no other thoughts, but let them be the messages they are. We need no more than this to give us happiness and rest and endless quiet, perfect certainty, and all our Father wills that we receive as the inheritance we have of Him.
12
Each day of practicing, as we review, we close as we began, repeating first the thought that made the day a special time of blessing and of happiness for us and through our faithfulness restored the world from darkness to the light, from grief to joy, from pain to peace, from sin to holiness. God offers thanks to you who practice thus the keeping of His Word. And as you give your mind to the ideas for the day again before you sleep, His gratitude surrounds you in the peace wherein He wills you be forever and are learning now to claim again as your inheritance.
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A Course in Miracles
WORKBOOK
Lesson 143
My Mind holds only what I think with God.
[125] In quiet I receive God's Word today.
[126] All that I give is given to myself.
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ACIM Edmonton
Sarah's Reflections
Lesson 143
My mind holds only what I think with God.
Review IV ~ Lesson 125 - 126
The Review Lessons are now very succinct, but the intent is powerfully focused on receiving our inheritance from God (W.RIV.9.2) and feeling His gratitude. This gratitude is really for ourselves for having the motivation to learn to remember who we really are and what our function is in the world. Jesus reminds us,
"It is as though you wandered in without a plan of any kind except to wander off
,
for only that seems certain."
(T.22.I.1.7) (ACIM OE T.22.II.5) Our purpose is to be willing to use everything in this world as an opportunity for awakening from this dream of separation.
We are here for a divine purpose. We are called to do what is required for healing so we can be the purveyors of God's love in the world. We can only do this if we do not block our divine love with thoughts of worry, anger, frustration, despair, revenge, and specialness. When the fear is released, our loving, peaceful Self can shine through us. Our minds are preoccupied with past thinking patterns, which are a maze of conflicting thoughts. We use these thinking patterns to "solve" problems we believe have come to us from outside of our own minds. We formulate plans we think will address our problems. These problems are part of the ego thought system. There are no answers given by the thinking mind. Our only problem is the belief that we have separated from the love we are, and therefore, the answer is not in the world but given us in the mind. The only answer is to accept the Correction; it is to accept our inheritance as the Son of God, outside this dream. Until we accept the Answer, our problems will persist in different forms in the world, and we will continue to look for solutions outside our own mind where they don’t exist.
The world was made to keep us preoccupied with problems that will never be solved. This process keeps us engaged in the world and it keeps us distracted from seeking the only real answer. We experience fear as our attention stays focused on how we might solve similar problems from the past, or anticipate similar circumstances in the future. We keep trying to fix things on the screen where we can have no real effect. We do anything we can to protect ourselves through control and manipulation of circumstances that arise, but our preoccupation with alleviating problems keeps us from the peace available
now
. Only by focusing on this very instant, where there is no past or future, is space made for God, truth, and holiness.
"My mind holds only what I think with God."
(W.RIV.2.2) (ACIM OE W.RIV.3)
It is a process of going back to the mind where the problem can be solved. What is the problem? Our only problem is that we turn to the ego for answers. Whenever we make that decision, we keep ourselves invested in the illusion where there are no answers. When we choose to look at our false beliefs with the Holy Spirit, He invites us to step out of the dream and recognize that the answer to every problem is within. There is a doorway in the mind that we are invited to step through, and when we do, the miracle shows us that there is no problem. This means we are looking at our perceived problems without judging ourselves.
Yes, there are "problems" to be addressed while we think we are in this world. Yet they dissipate when given over to the Holy Spirit. Then, whatever is to be done in the world is guided by His Love and easily addressed.
"There is nothing my holiness cannot do."
(W.38) The important thing is to stop and go back to the mind and do the forgiveness work by looking at the ego and bringing it to the light. Now there can be true healing of the guilt, which is the cause of all of our distress.
I recognize today how easy it is to fall into fear and confusion when I hold the belief that it is difficult to let go of the guilt and fear that keep us focused on the future. Holding onto guilt is painful but only to the degree that we unconsciously cling to it. The clinging to opinions and beliefs that we hold does not serve us and maintains our suffering. When we hold only what we think with God, we give ourselves a gift of great magnitude.
Just as I was writing this Lesson, my computer screen froze and then my computer would not reboot. It seemed to die. This has always been a great source of stress for me, as it brings up feelings of frustration, impatience, blame, and fear. When I take the time to step back, breathe, and recognize that this is showing up for my healing, I can choose to turn my mind back to Source and ask to be shown how to look on this. Everything was resolved when I recognized that the only problem was my inclination to get distressed and to immediately try to figure out what to do in my own way. It was just another learning opportunity to remember to turn to God and ask for peace. The only answer is in Him. How much do we trust that? In this particular instance, as I chose peace, eventually all was resolved with Don's assistance, as we joined in prayer and let Holy Spirit lead the way. Don took my computer in for repair, and then returned home to tell me there was nothing wrong with it! They had put it on the bench to look at it, and it simply came back to life! What does one make of that? Do miracles show up in form? The biggest miracle for me was peace of mind, regardless of the outcome, and deep gratitude for my brother.
I was listening to Regina Dawn Akers speak about her website being hacked and all of her material was lost. I often visited her website and felt a sense of loss at not having access to her material any longer. After she reported on this event, she shared how she felt gratitude that the material was gone. She saw it as an opportunity to let go of the past and start anew. She saw it as a gift. I marveled at how easily she moved on in accepting that there was no problem but rather a sign for her to let go. I like how Byron Katie puts it when she says, "How do you know this should be happening?" And her answer is, "Because it is here for you now. There is nothing wrong. It just is."
Let us commit today to take time to remind ourselves throughout the day,
"My mind holds only what I think with God."
(W.RIV.2.2) (ACIM OE W.RIV.3) Today, we spend as much time as we can in stillness, noticing our blocks to love as they show up, and listening to guidance throughout the day. As we bring awareness to our judgments of what is wrong, how things should be, and what concerns us, we willingly place these thoughts on the inner altar and ask to see the miracle instead. The miracle is an inner shift that happens as we willingly let go of our way and turn toward the truth within.
We spend so much of our lives searching for love from others, but it is a search that will always end in disappointment. Whatever is lacking in any situation is what we have failed to give it. Now, through this teaching, we are encouraged to ask for help to unblock the wellspring of love within us and let this love radiate to the world.
"All that I give is given to myself."
(W.126) As we give love, we now know it is in us. We need this experience to recognize the truth of who we are. As long as we seek for what we think we lack, we will seek but never find. There is nothing "out there." It is a futile search. Through the miracle, the abundance of love within is unveiled. The mind that has been bound in chains is now released.
Today, we remind ourselves that God's Word is received by the quiet mind, as interfering thoughts are released. We listen to the Voice that knows us and has our best interests at heart. It is our own loving Voice, asking no sacrifice and demanding nothing from us. It brings us only the peace, joy, wholeness, and unity of the One Self to our awareness. It is our own Voice. It is not outside our own minds.
"In quiet I receive God's Word today."
(W.125)
"All that I give is given to myself."
(W.126) There is no separation and therefore no one is outside our own minds.
This Lesson reminds us that forgiveness brings peace, release, and joy to our minds. We become aware of our unity with each other. We are released from the judgment of ourselves and others. We see that nothing is outside our own minds. What we see in our brothers is some version of the same "sin" we believe is in ourselves. Now we are given an opportunity to remove the "unconscious warriors" that battle within our minds and that we project onto our brothers. These unconscious warriors are our own self-attacking thoughts. Through forgiveness, we join with our brothers and recognize our interests are the same. This sameness is the reflection of the Oneness of God. This is the gift available to us with the help of the Holy Spirit so our minds might be transformed.
This Course is only about remembering our true reality, which is love. Forgiveness is the means, and all events and circumstances in our lives become a classroom for undoing our wrong perceptions. To use time in any other way is to distract ourselves from our function. Having said that, using time in distractions and pursuits of worldly pleasures does not make us guilty. We are the Christ and nothing we do in the illusion will change that fact. We have been given freedom to choose how to use time. Yet when we become disillusioned with the world and our own pursuits, we will choose the healing available to us in each moment.
In truth, there is nowhere to go and nothing to do. We can truly bloom where we are, whatever the circumstances. We are where we are supposed to be at this moment. The people we need are with us now and are brought to us for our healing. It is all part of our script. Our function is to open ourselves to this flow of love that we are and extend it so that through extension we will know our reality. We have forgotten who we are as we were created, but we can't change the truth about ourselves. The Atonement Principle is the guarantee of our perfection. Our part is to be vigilant only for God and His Kingdom as we watch our minds. We must do this work ourselves, as we are the ones who are constantly choosing the ego as our teacher. The original choice was made outside this dream, but now we can learn to make another choice for the Holy Spirit as our Teacher, reflected in the form of our Brother Jesus, who is always standing by and eager to help us. To do this, we must become as little children, asking to be taught.
"
Outside the Kingdom, the law that prevails inside is adapted to 'What you project you believe'."
(T.7.II 3.1) (ACIM OE T.7.III.14)
This form implies that you will learn what you are from what you have projected onto others, and therefore believe they are."
(T.7.II 3.3) (ACIM OE T.7.III.14) As we take responsibility for our projections by seeing them as our own self-attack thoughts, we are able to see where healing is needed in our own minds.
"Begin each day with time devoted to the preparation of your mind to learn what each idea you will review . . . can offer you in freedom and in peace
.
"
(W.RIV.5.1) (ACIM OE RIV.7) Let us commit today to raise every judgment to doubt. Watch your mind and be willing to give over all thoughts that would deceive.
Let the thought,
"My mind holds only what I think with God,"
(W.RIV.2.2) (ACIM OE W.RIV.3) engage your mind fully in His Word, which is Love. The attributes of His Love are peace and joy. This is what shines through our minds when we let go of the maze of conflicting thoughts. Peace can only come to the quiet mind.
Take the ideas for today,
"In quiet I receive God's Word today,"
(W.125) and
"All that I give is given to myself,"
(W.126) and close your eyes. Say them slowly to yourself. Really take your time with these thoughts.
"Let each word shine with the meaning God has given it, as it was given you through His Voice."
(W.RIV.7.4) (ACIM OE RIV.10) Let the Holy Spirit open their meaning for you and
"Let each idea which you review . . . give you the gift that He has laid in it for you to have of Him."
(W.RIV.7.5) (ACIM OE RIV.10)
Use the time today to commune with God. Turn these thoughts into prayers. Do what works. The idea is to go beyond the words themselves and really take the meaning in. Receive the message of His Love for you today.
Take a moment of quiet, hourly, to review the central thought,
"My mind holds only what I think with God,"
(W.RIV.2.2) (ACIM OE W.RIV.3) and then repeat the two review ideas slowly and
"unhurriedly, with time enough to see the gifts that they contain for you, and let them be received where they were meant to be."
(W.RIV.8.2) Let your day be guided by the Holy Spirit, listening to His Voice. His Love will be reflected in the symbols most helpful to you. It will only be "heard" when you release any blocks to love that show up throughout the day, and remember that you have everything and you are everything.
Then close the day as you began,
"And as you give your mind to the ideas for the day again before you sleep, His gratitude surrounds you in the peace wherein He wills you be forever, and are learning now to claim again as your inheritance."
(W.RIV.10.2) (ACIM OE RIV.12) Let's be grateful for the powerful Companions and recognize, with our faithfulness, that the world is restored
"from darkness to the light, from grief to joy, from pain to peace, from sin to holiness."
Love and blessings, Sarah
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