ACIM
A Course in Miracles

From the Foundation for Inner Peace: A Course In Miracles (ACIM) is a unique spiritual self-study program designed to awaken us to the truth of our oneness with God and Love.

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2024-06-21 15:21:17

Lesson 171
God is but Love, and therefore so am I.
1. (151) All things are echoes of the Voice for God.
²God is but Love, and therefore so am I.
2. (152) The power of decision is my own.
²God is but Love, and therefore so am I.
https://acim.org/acim/review-v/lesson-171/en/s/578

2024-06-20 15:34:40

Lesson 170
There is no cruelty in God and none in me.
1. No one attacks without intent to hurt. ²This can have no exception. ³When you think that you attack in self-defense, you mean that to be cruel is protection; you are safe because of cruelty. ⁴You mean that you believe to hurt another brings you freedom. ⁵And you mean that to attack is to exchange the state in which you are for something better, safer, more secure from dangerous invasion and from fear.
2. How thoroughly insane is the idea that to defend from fear is to attack! ²For here is fear begot and fed with blood, to make it grow and swell and rage. ³And thus is fear protected, not escaped. ⁴Today we learn a lesson which can save you more delay and needless misery than you can possibly imagine. ⁵It is this:
⁶You make what you defend against, and by your own defense against it is it real and inescapable. ⁷Lay down your arms, and only then do you perceive it false.
3. It seems to be the enemy without that you attack. ²Yet your defense sets up an enemy within; an alien thought at war with you, depriving you of peace, splitting your mind into two camps which seem wholly irreconcilable. ³For love now has an “enemy,” an opposite; and fear, the alien, now needs your defense against the threat of what you really are.
4. If you consider carefully the means by which your fancied self-defense proceeds on its imagined way, you will perceive the premises on which the idea stands. ²First, it is obvious ideas must leave their source, for it is you who make attack, and must have first conceived of it. ³Yet you attack outside yourself, and separate your mind from him who is to be attacked, with perfect faith the split you made is real.
5. Next, are the attributes of love bestowed upon its “enemy.” ²For fear becomes your safety and protector of your peace, to which you turn for solace and escape from doubts about your strength, and hope of rest in dreamless quiet. ³And as love is shorn of what belongs to it and it alone, love is endowed with attributes of fear. ⁴For love would ask you lay down all defense as merely foolish. ⁵And your arms indeed would crumble into dust. ⁶For such they are.
6. With love as enemy, must cruelty become a god. ²And gods demand that those who worship them obey their dictates, and refuse to question them. ³Harsh punishment is meted out relentlessly to those who ask if the demands are sensible or even sane. ⁴It is their enemies who are unreasonable and insane, while they are always merciful and just.
7. Today we look upon this cruel god dispassionately. ²And we note that though his lips are smeared with blood, and fire seems to flame from him, he is but made of stone. ³He can do nothing. ⁴We need not defy his power. ⁵He has none. ⁶And those who see in him their safety have no guardian, no strength to call upon in danger, and no mighty warrior to fight for them.
8. This moment can be terrible. ²But it can also be the time of your release from abject slavery. ³You make a choice, standing before this idol, seeing him exactly as he is. ⁴Will you restore to love what you have sought to wrest from it and lay before this mindless piece of stone? ⁵Or will you make another idol to replace it? ⁶For the god of cruelty takes many forms. ⁷Another can be found.
9. Yet do not think that fear is the escape from fear. ²Let us remember what the text has stressed about the obstacles to peace. ³The final one, the hardest to believe is nothing, and a seeming obstacle with the appearance of a solid block, impenetrable, fearful and beyond surmounting, is the fear of God Himself. ⁴Here is the basic premise which enthrones the thought of fear as god. ⁵For fear is loved by those who worship it, and love appears to be invested now with cruelty.
10. Where does the totally insane belief in gods of vengeance come from? ²Love has not confused its attributes with those of fear. ³Yet must the worshippers of fear perceive their own confusion in fear’s “enemy”; its cruelty as now a part of love. ⁴And what becomes more fearful than the Heart of Love Itself? ⁵The blood appears to be upon His Lips; the fire comes from Him. ⁶And He is terrible above all else, cruel beyond conception, striking down all who acknowledge Him to be their God.
11. The choice you make today is certain. ²For you look for the last time upon this bit of carven stone you made, and call it god no longer. ³You have reached this place before, but you have chosen that this cruel god remain with you in still another form. ⁴And so the fear of God returned with you. ⁵This time you leave it there. ⁶And you return to a new world, unburdened by its weight; beheld not in its sightless eyes, but in the vision that your choice restored to you.
12. Now do your eyes belong to Christ, and He looks through them. ²Now your voice belongs to God and echoes His. ³And now your heart remains at peace forever. ⁴You have chosen Him in place of idols, and your attributes, given by your Creator, are restored to you at last. ⁵The Call for God is heard and answered. ⁶Now has fear made way for love, as God Himself replaces cruelty.
13. Father, we are like You. ²No cruelty abides in us, for there is none in You. ³Your peace is ours. ⁴And we bless the world with what we have received from You alone. ⁵We choose again, and make our choice for all our brothers, knowing they are one with us. ⁶We bring them Your salvation as we have received it now. ⁷And we give thanks for them who render us complete. ⁸In them we see Your glory, and in them we find our peace. ⁹Holy are we because Your Holiness has set us free. ¹⁰And we give thanks. ¹¹Amen.
https://acim.org/acim/lesson-170/there-is-no-cruelty-in-god-and-none-in-me/en/s/576

2024-06-19 14:51:38

Lesson 169
By grace I live. By grace I am released.
1. Grace is an aspect of the Love of God which is most like the state prevailing in the unity of truth. ²It is the world’s most lofty aspiration, for it leads beyond the world entirely. ³It is past learning, yet the goal of learning, for grace cannot come until the mind prepares itself for true acceptance. ⁴Grace becomes inevitable instantly in those who have prepared a table where it can be gently laid and willingly received; an altar clean and holy for the gift.
2. Grace is acceptance of the Love of God within a world of seeming hate and fear. ²By grace alone the hate and fear are gone, for grace presents a state so opposite to everything the world contains, that those whose minds are lighted by the gift of grace can not believe the world of fear is real.
3. Grace is not learned. ²The final step must go beyond all learning. ³Grace is not the goal this course aspires to attain. ⁴Yet we prepare for grace in that an open mind can hear the Call to waken. ⁵It is not shut tight against God’s Voice. ⁶It has become aware that there are things it does not know, and thus is ready to accept a state completely different from experience with which it is familiarly at home.
4. We have perhaps appeared to contradict our statement that the revelation of the Father and the Son as one has been already set. ²But we have also said the mind determines when that time will be, and has determined it. ³And yet we urge you to bear witness to the Word of God to hasten the experience of truth, and speed its advent into every mind that recognizes truth’s effects on you.
5. Oneness is simply the idea God is. ²And in His Being, He encompasses all things. ³No mind holds anything but Him. ⁴We say “God is,” and then we cease to speak, for in that knowledge words are meaningless. ⁵There are no lips to speak them, and no part of mind sufficiently distinct to feel that it is now aware of something not itself. ⁶It has united with its Source. ⁷And like its Source Itself, it merely is.
6. We cannot speak nor write nor even think of this at all. ²It comes to every mind when total recognition that its will is God’s has been completely given and received completely. ³It returns the mind into the endless present, where the past and future cannot be conceived. ⁴It lies beyond salvation; past all thought of time, forgiveness and the holy face of Christ. ⁵The Son of God has merely disappeared into his Father, as his Father has in him. ⁶The world has never been at all. ⁷Eternity remains a constant state.
7. This is beyond experience we try to hasten. ²Yet forgiveness, taught and learned, brings with it the experiences which bear witness that the time the mind itself determined to abandon all but this is now at hand. ³We do not hasten it, in that what you will offer was concealed from Him Who teaches what forgiveness means.
8. All learning was already in His Mind, accomplished and complete. ²He recognized all that time holds, and gave it to all minds that each one might determine, from a point where time was ended, when it is released to revelation and eternity. ³We have repeated several times before that you but make a journey that is done.
9. For oneness must be here. ²Whatever time the mind has set for revelation is entirely irrelevant to what must be a constant state, forever as it always was; forever to remain as it is now. ³We merely take the part assigned long since, and fully recognized as perfectly fulfilled by Him Who wrote salvation’s script in His Creator’s Name, and in the Name of His Creator’s Son.
10. There is no need to further clarify what no one in the world can understand. ²When revelation of your oneness comes, it will be known and fully understood. ³Now we have work to do, for those in time can speak of things beyond, and listen to words which explain what is to come is past already. ⁴Yet what meaning can the words convey to those who count the hours still, and rise and work and go to sleep by them?
11. Suffice it, then, that you have work to do to play your part. ²The ending must remain obscure to you until your part is done. ³It does not matter. ⁴For your part is still what all the rest depends on. ⁵As you take the role assigned to you, salvation comes a little nearer each uncertain heart that does not beat as yet in tune with God.
12. Forgiveness is the central theme that runs throughout salvation, holding all its parts in meaningful relationships, the course it runs directed and its outcome sure. ²And now we ask for grace, the final gift salvation can bestow. ³Experience that grace provides will end in time, for grace foreshadows Heaven, yet does not replace the thought of time but for a little while.
13. The interval suffices. ²It is here that miracles are laid; to be returned by you from holy instants you receive, through grace in your experience, to all who see the light that lingers in your face. ³What is the face of Christ but his who went a moment into timelessness, and brought a clear reflection of the unity he felt an instant back to bless the world? ⁴How could you finally attain to it forever, while a part of you remains outside, unknowing, unawakened, and in need of you as witness to the truth?
14. Be grateful to return, as you were glad to go an instant, and accept the gifts that grace provided you. ²You carry them back to yourself. ³And revelation stands not far behind. ⁴Its coming is ensured. ⁵We ask for grace, and for experience that comes from grace. ⁶We welcome the release it offers everyone. ⁷We do not ask for the unaskable. ⁸We do not look beyond what grace can give. ⁹For this we can give in the grace that has been given us.
15. Our learning goal today does not exceed this prayer. ²Yet in the world, what could be more than what we ask this day of Him Who gives the grace we ask, as it was given Him?
³By grace I live. ⁴By grace I am released.
⁵By grace I give. ⁶By grace I will release.
https://acim.org/acim/lesson-169/by-grace-i-live-by-grace-i-am-released/en/s/575

2024-06-18 14:26:16

Lesson 168
Your grace is given me. I claim it now.
1. God speaks to us. ²Shall we not speak to Him? ³He is not distant. ⁴He makes no attempt to hide from us. ⁵We try to hide from Him, and suffer from deception. ⁶He remains entirely accessible. ⁷He loves His Son. ⁸There is no certainty but this, yet this suffices. ⁹He will love His Son forever. ¹⁰When his mind remains asleep, He loves him still. ¹¹And when his mind awakes, He loves him with a never-changing Love.
2. If you but knew the meaning of His Love, hope and despair would be impossible. ²For hope would be forever satisfied; despair of any kind unthinkable. ³His grace His answer is to all despair, for in it lies remembrance of His Love. ⁴Would He not gladly give the means by which His Will is recognized? ⁵His grace is yours by your acknowledgment. ⁶And memory of Him awakens in the mind that asks the means of Him whereby its sleep is done.
3. Today we ask of God the gift He has most carefully preserved within our hearts, waiting to be acknowledged. ²This the gift by which God leans to us and lifts us up, taking salvation’s final step Himself. ³All steps but this we learn, instructed by His Voice. ⁴But finally He comes Himself, and takes us in His Arms and sweeps away the cobwebs of our sleep. ⁵His gift of grace is more than just an answer. ⁶It restores all memories the sleeping mind forgot; all certainty of what Love’s meaning is.
4. God loves His Son. ²Request Him now to give the means by which this world will disappear, and vision first will come, with knowledge but an instant later. ³For in grace you see a light that covers all the world in love, and watch fear disappear from every face as hearts rise up and claim the light as theirs. ⁴What now remains that Heaven be delayed an instant longer? ⁵What is still undone when your forgiveness rests on everything?
5. It is a new and holy day today, for we receive what has been given us. ²Our faith lies in the Giver, not our own acceptance. ³We acknowledge our mistakes, but He to Whom all error is unknown is yet the One Who answers our mistakes by giving us the means to lay them down, and rise to Him in gratitude and love.
6. And He descends to meet us, as we come to Him. ²For what He has prepared for us He gives and we receive. ³Such is His Will, because He loves His Son. ⁴To Him we pray today, returning but the word He gave to us through His Own Voice, His Word, His Love:
⁵Your grace is given me. ⁶I claim it now. ⁷Father, I come to You. ⁸And You will come to me who ask. ⁹I am the Son You love.
https://acim.org/acim/lesson-168/your-grace-is-given-me-i-claim-it-now/en/s/574

2024-06-16 16:26:07

Lesson 167
There is one life, and that I share with God.
1. There are not different kinds of life, for life is like the truth. ²It does not have degrees. ³It is the one condition in which all that God created share. ⁴Like all His Thoughts, it has no opposite. ⁵There is no death because what God created shares His life. ⁶There is no death because an opposite to God does not exist. ⁷There is no death because the Father and the Son are one.
2. In this world, there appears to be a state that is life’s opposite. ²You call it death. ³Yet we have learned that the idea of death takes many forms. ⁴It is the one idea which underlies all feelings that are not supremely happy. ⁵It is the alarm to which you give response of any kind that is not perfect joy. ⁶All sorrow, loss, anxiety and suffering and pain, even a little sigh of weariness, a slight discomfort or the merest frown, acknowledge death. ⁷And thus deny you live.
3. You think that death is of the body. ²Yet it is but an idea, irrelevant to what is seen as physical. ³A thought is in the mind. ⁴It can be then applied as mind directs it. ⁵But its origin is where it must be changed, if change occurs. ⁶Ideas leave not their source. ⁷The emphasis this course has placed on that idea is due to its centrality in our attempts to change your mind about yourself. ⁸It is the reason you can heal. ⁹It is the cause of healing. ¹⁰It is why you cannot die. ¹¹Its truth established you as one with God.
4. Death is the thought that you are separate from your Creator. ²It is the belief conditions change, emotions alternate because of causes you cannot control, you did not make, and you can never change. ³It is the fixed belief ideas can leave their source, and take on qualities the source does not contain, becoming different from their own origin, apart from it in kind as well as distance, time and form.
5. Death cannot come from life. ²Ideas remain united to their source. ³They can extend all that their source contains. ⁴In that, they can go far beyond themselves. ⁵But they can not give birth to what was never given them. ⁶As they are made, so will their making be. ⁷As they were born, so will they then give birth. ⁸And where they come from, there will they return.
6. The mind can think it sleeps, but that is all. ²It cannot change what is its waking state. ³It cannot make a body, nor abide within a body. ⁴What is alien to the mind does not exist, because it has no source. ⁵For mind creates all things that are, and cannot give them attributes it lacks, nor change its own eternal, mindful state. ⁶It cannot make the physical. ⁷What seems to die is but the sign of mind asleep.
7. The opposite of life can only be another form of life. ²As such, it can be reconciled with what created it, because it is not opposite in truth. ³Its form may change; it may appear to be what it is not. ⁴Yet mind is mind, awake or sleeping. ⁵It is not its opposite in anything created, nor in what it seems to make when it believes it sleeps.
8. God creates only mind awake. ²He does not sleep, and His creations cannot share what He gives not, nor make conditions which He does not share with them. ³The thought of death is not the opposite to thoughts of life. ⁴Forever unopposed by opposites of any kind, the Thoughts of God remain forever changeless, with the power to extend forever changelessly, but yet within themselves, for they are everywhere.
9. What seems to be the opposite of life is merely sleeping. ²When the mind elects to be what it is not, and to assume an alien power which it does not have, a foreign state it cannot enter, or a false condition not within its Source, it merely seems to go to sleep a while. ³It dreams of time; an interval in which what seems to happen never has occurred, the changes wrought are substanceless, and all events are nowhere. ⁴When the mind awakes, it but continues as it always was.
10. Let us today be children of the truth, and not deny our holy heritage. ²Our life is not as we imagine it. ³Who changes life because he shuts his eyes, or makes himself what he is not because he sleeps, and sees in dreams an opposite to what he is? ⁴We will not ask for death in any form today. ⁵Nor will we let imagined opposites to life abide even an instant where the Thought of life eternal has been set by God Himself.
11. His holy home we strive to keep today as He established it, and wills it be forever and forever. ²He is Lord of what we think today. ³And in His Thoughts, which have no opposite, we understand there is one life, and that we share with Him, with all creation, with their thoughts as well, whom He created in a unity of life that cannot separate in death and leave the Source of life from where it came.
12. We share one life because we have one Source, a Source from which perfection comes to us, remaining always in the holy minds which He created perfect. ²As we were, so are we now and will forever be. ³A sleeping mind must waken, as it sees its own perfection mirroring the Lord of life so perfectly it fades into what is reflected there. ⁴And now it is no more a mere reflection. ⁵It becomes the thing reflected, and the light which makes reflection possible. ⁶No vision now is needed. ⁷For the wakened mind is one that knows its Source, its Self, its Holiness.
https://acim.org/acim/lesson-167/there-is-one-life-and-that-i-share-with-god/en/s/573

2024-06-16 16:25:40

Lesson 166
I am entrusted with the gifts of God.
1. All things are given you. ²God’s trust in you is limitless. ³He knows His Son. ⁴He gives without exception, holding nothing back that can contribute to your happiness. ⁵And yet, unless your will is one with His, His gifts are not received. ⁶But what would make you think there is another will than His?
2. Here is the paradox that underlies the making of the world. ²This world is not the Will of God, and so it is not real. ³Yet those who think it real must still believe there is another will, and one that leads to opposite effects from those He wills. ⁴Impossible indeed; but every mind that looks upon the world and judges it as certain, solid, trustworthy and true believes in two creators; or in one, himself alone. ⁵But never in one God.
3. The gifts of God are not acceptable to anyone who holds such strange beliefs. ²He must believe that to accept God’s gifts, however evident they may become, however urgently he may be called to claim them as his own, is to be pressed to treachery against himself. ³He must deny their presence, contradict the truth, and suffer to preserve the world he made.
4. Here is the only home he thinks he knows. ²Here is the only safety he believes that he can find. ³Without the world he made is he an outcast; homeless and afraid. ⁴He does not realize that it is here he is afraid indeed, and homeless, too; an outcast wandering so far from home, so long away, he does not realize he has forgotten where he came from, where he goes, and even who he really is.
5. Yet in his lonely, senseless wanderings, God’s gifts go with him, all unknown to him. ²He cannot lose them. ³But he will not look at what is given him. ⁴He wanders on, aware of the futility he sees about him everywhere, perceiving how his little lot but dwindles, as he goes ahead to nowhere. ⁵Still he wanders on in misery and poverty, alone though God is with him, and a treasure his so great that everything the world contains is valueless before its magnitude.
6. He seems a sorry figure; weary, worn, in threadbare clothing, and with feet that bleed a little from the rocky road he walks. ²No one but has identified with him, for everyone who comes here has pursued the path he follows, and has felt defeat and hopelessness as he is feeling them. ³Yet is he really tragic, when you see that he is following the way he chose, and need but realize Who walks with him and open up his treasures to be free?
7. This is your chosen self, the one you made as a replacement for reality. ²This is the self you savagely defend against all reason, every evidence, and all the witnesses with proof to show this is not you. ³You heed them not. ⁴You go on your appointed way, with eyes cast down lest you might catch a glimpse of truth, and be released from self-deception and set free.
8. You cower fearfully lest you should feel Christ’s touch upon your shoulder, and perceive His gentle hand directing you to look upon your gifts. ²How could you then proclaim your poverty in exile? ³He would make you laugh at this perception of yourself. ⁴Where is self-pity then? ⁵And what becomes of all the tragedy you sought to make for him whom God intended only joy?
9. Your ancient fear has come upon you now, and justice has caught up with you at last. ²Christ’s hand has touched your shoulder, and you feel that you are not alone. ³You even think the miserable self you thought was you may not be your Identity. ⁴Perhaps God’s Word is truer than your own. ⁵Perhaps His gifts to you are real. ⁶Perhaps He has not wholly been outwitted by your plan to keep His Son in deep oblivion, and go the way you chose without your Self.
10. God’s Will does not oppose. ²It merely is. ³It is not God you have imprisoned in your plan to lose your Self. ⁴He does not know about a plan so alien to His Will. ⁵There was a need He did not understand, to which He gave an Answer. ⁶That is all. ⁷And you who have this Answer given you have need no more of anything but this.
11. Now do we live, for now we cannot die. ²The wish for death is answered, and the sight that looked upon it now has been replaced by vision which perceives that you are not what you pretend to be. ³One walks with you Who gently answers all your fears with this one merciful reply, “It is not so.” ⁴He points to all the gifts you have each time the thought of poverty oppresses you, and speaks of His Companionship when you perceive yourself as lonely and afraid.
12. Yet He reminds you still of one thing more you had forgotten. ²For His touch on you has made you like Himself. ³The gifts you have are not for you alone. ⁴What He has come to offer you, you now must learn to give. ⁵This is the lesson that His giving holds, for He has saved you from the solitude you sought to make in which to hide from God. ⁶He has reminded you of all the gifts that God has given you. ⁷He speaks as well of what becomes your will when you accept these gifts, and recognize they are your own.
13. The gifts are yours, entrusted to your care, to give to all who chose the lonely road you have escaped. ²They do not understand they but pursue their wishes. ³It is you who teach them now. ⁴For you have learned of Christ there is another way for them to walk. ⁵Teach them by showing them the happiness that comes to those who feel the touch of Christ, and recognize God’s gifts. ⁶Let sorrow not tempt you to be unfaithful to your trust.
14. Your sighs will now betray the hopes of those who look to you for their release. ²Your tears are theirs. ³If you are sick, you but withhold their healing. ⁴What you fear but teaches them their fears are justified. ⁵Your hand becomes the giver of Christ’s touch; your change of mind becomes the proof that who accepts God’s gifts can never suffer anything. ⁶You are entrusted with the world’s release from pain.
15. Betray it not. ²Become the living proof of what Christ’s touch can offer everyone. ³God has entrusted all His gifts to you. ⁴Be witness in your happiness to how transformed the mind becomes which chooses to accept His gifts, and feel the touch of Christ. ⁵Such is your mission now. ⁶For God entrusts the giving of His gifts to all who have received them. ⁷He has shared His joy with you. ⁸And now you go to share it with the world.
https://acim.org/acim/lesson-166/i-am-entrusted-with-the-gifts-of-god/en/s/572

2024-06-14 14:28:21

Lesson 165
Let not my mind deny the Thought of God.
1. What makes this world seem real except your own denial of the truth that lies beyond? ²What but your thoughts of misery and death obscure the perfect happiness and the eternal life your Father wills for you? ³And what could hide what cannot be concealed except illusion? ⁴What could keep from you what you already have except your choice to see it not, denying it is there?
2. The Thought of God created you. ²It left you not, nor have you ever been apart from it an instant. ³It belongs to you. ⁴By it you live. ⁵It is your Source of life, holding you one with it, and everything is one with you because it left you not. ⁶The Thought of God protects you, cares for you, makes soft your resting place and smooth your way, lighting your mind with happiness and love. ⁷Eternity and everlasting life shine in your mind, because the Thought of God has left you not, and still abides with you.
3. Who would deny his safety and his peace, his joy, his healing and his peace of mind, his quiet rest, his calm awakening, if he but recognized where they abide? ²Would he not instantly prepare to go where they are found, abandoning all else as worthless in comparison with them? ³And having found them, would he not make sure they stay with him, and he remain with them?
4. Deny not Heaven. ²It is yours today, but for the asking. ³Nor need you perceive how great the gift, how changed your mind will be before it comes to you. ⁴Ask to receive, and it is given you. ⁵Conviction lies within it. ⁶Till you welcome it as yours, uncertainty remains. ⁷Yet God is fair. ⁸Sureness is not required to receive what only your acceptance can bestow.
5. Ask with desire. ²You need not be sure that you request the only thing you want. ³But when you have received, you will be sure you have the treasure you have always sought. ⁴What would you then exchange for it? ⁵What would induce you now to let it fade away from your ecstatic vision? ⁶For this sight proves that you have exchanged your blindness for the seeing eyes of Christ; your mind has come to lay aside denial, and accept the Thought of God as your inheritance.
6. Now is all doubting past, the journey’s end made certain, and salvation given you. ²Now is Christ’s power in your mind, to heal as you were healed. ³For now you are among the saviors of the world. ⁴Your destiny lies there and nowhere else. ⁵Would God consent to let His Son remain forever starved by his denial of the nourishment he needs to live? ⁶Abundance dwells in him, and deprivation cannot cut him off from God’s sustaining Love and from his home.
7. Practice today in hope. ²For hope indeed is justified. ³Your doubts are meaningless, for God is certain. ⁴And the Thought of Him is never absent. ⁵Sureness must abide within you who are host to Him. ⁶This course removes all doubts which you have interposed between Him and your certainty of Him.
8. We count on God, and not upon ourselves, to give us certainty. ²And in His Name we practice as His Word directs we do. ³His sureness lies beyond our every doubt. ⁴His Love remains beyond our every fear. ⁵The Thought of Him is still beyond all dreams and in our minds, according to His Will.
https://acim.org/acim/lesson-165/let-not-my-mind-deny-the-thought-of-god/en/s/571

2024-06-13 17:22:57

Lesson 164
Now are we one with Him Who is our Source.
1. What time but now can truth be recognized? ²The present is the only time there is. ³And so today, this instant, now, we come to look upon what is forever there; not in our sight, but in the eyes of Christ. ⁴He looks past time, and sees eternity as represented there. ⁵He hears the sounds the senseless, busy world engenders, yet He hears them faintly. ⁶For beyond them all He hears the song of Heaven, and the Voice for God more clear, more meaningful, more near.
2. The world fades easily away before His sight. ²Its sounds grow dim. ³A melody from far beyond the world increasingly is more and more distinct; an ancient call to which He gives an ancient answer. ⁴You will recognize them both, for they are but your answer to your Father’s Call to you. ⁵Christ answers for you, echoing your Self, using your voice to give His glad consent; accepting your deliverance for you.
3. How holy is your practicing today, as Christ gives you His sight and hears for you, and answers in your name the Call He hears! ²How quiet is the time you give to spend with Him, beyond the world. ³How easily are all your seeming sins forgot, and all your sorrows unremembered. ⁴On this day is grief laid by, for sights and sounds that come from nearer than the world are clear to you who will today accept the gifts He gives.
4. There is a silence into which the world can not intrude. ²There is an ancient peace you carry in your heart and have not lost. ³There is a sense of holiness in you the thought of sin has never touched. ⁴All this today you will remember. ⁵Faithfulness in practicing today will bring rewards so great and so completely different from all things you sought before, that you will know that here your treasure is, and here your rest.
5. This is the day when vain imaginings part like a curtain, to reveal what lies beyond them. ²Now is what is really there made visible, while all the shadows which appeared to hide it merely sink away. ³Now is the balance righted, and the scale of judgment left to Him Who judges true. ⁴And in His judgment will a world unfold in perfect innocence before your eyes. ⁵Now will you see it with the eyes of Christ. ⁶Now is its transformation clear to you.
6. Brother, this day is sacred to the world. ²Your vision, given you from far beyond all things within the world, looks back on them in a new light. ³And what you see becomes the healing and salvation of the world. ⁴The valuable and valueless are both perceived and recognized for what they are. ⁵And what is worthy of your love receives your love, while nothing to be feared remains.
7. We will not judge today. ²We will receive but what is given us from judgment made beyond the world. ³Our practicing today becomes our gift of thankfulness for our release from blindness and from misery. ⁴All that we see will but increase our joy, because its holiness reflects our own. ⁵We stand forgiven in the sight of Christ, with all the world forgiven in our own. ⁶We bless the world, as we behold it in the light in which our Savior looks on us, and offer it the freedom given us through His forgiving vision, not our own.
8. Open the curtain in your practicing by merely letting go all things you think you want. ²Your trifling treasures put away, and leave a clean and open space within your mind where Christ can come, and offer you the treasure of salvation. ³He has need of your most holy mind to save the world. ⁴Is not this purpose worthy to be yours? ⁵Is not Christ’s vision worthy to be sought above the world’s unsatisfying goals?
9. Let not today slip by without the gifts it holds for you receiving your consent and your acceptance. ²We can change the world, if you acknowledge them. ³You may not see the value your acceptance gives the world. ⁴But this you surely want; you can exchange all suffering for joy this very day. ⁵Practice in earnest, and the gift is yours. ⁶Would God deceive you? ⁷Can His promise fail? ⁸Can you withhold so little, when His Hand holds out complete salvation to His Son?
https://acim.org/acim/lesson-164/now-are-we-one-with-him-who-is-our-source/en/s/570

2024-06-11 12:40:45

Lesson 162
I am as God created me.
1. This single thought, held firmly in the mind, would save the world. ²From time to time we will repeat it, as we reach another stage in learning. ³It will mean far more to you as you advance. ⁴These words are sacred, for they are the words God gave in answer to the world you made. ⁵By them it disappears, and all things seen within its misty clouds and vaporous illusions vanish as these words are spoken. ⁶For they come from God.
2. Here is the Word by which the Son became his Father’s happiness, His Love and His completion. ²Here creation is proclaimed, and honored as it is. ³There is no dream these words will not dispel; no thought of sin and no illusion which the dream contains that will not fade away before their might. ⁴They are the trumpet of awakening that sounds around the world. ⁵The dead awake in answer to its call. ⁶And those who live and hear this sound will never look on death.
3. Holy indeed is he who makes these words his own; arising with them in his mind, recalling them throughout the day, at night bringing them with him as he goes to sleep. ²His dreams are happy and his rest secure, his safety certain and his body healed, because he sleeps and wakens with the truth before him always. ³He will save the world, because he gives the world what he receives each time he practices the words of truth.
4. Today we practice simply. ²For the words we use are mighty, and they need no thoughts beyond themselves to change the mind of him who uses them. ³So wholly is it changed that it is now the treasury in which God places all His gifts and all His Love, to be distributed to all the world, increased in giving; kept complete because its sharing is unlimited. ⁴And thus you learn to think with God. ⁵Christ’s vision has restored your sight by salvaging your mind.
5. We honor you today. ²Yours is the right to perfect holiness you now accept. ³With this acceptance is salvation brought to everyone, for who could cherish sin when holiness like this has blessed the world? ⁴Who could despair when perfect joy is yours, available to all as remedy for grief and misery, all sense of loss, and for complete escape from sin and guilt?
6. And who would not be brother to you now; you, his redeemer and his savior. ²Who could fail to welcome you into his heart with loving invitation, eager to unite with one like him in holiness? ³You are as God created you. ⁴These words dispel the night, and darkness is no more. ⁵The light is come today to bless the world. ⁶For you have recognized the Son of God, and in that recognition is the world’s.
https://acim.org/acim/lesson-162/i-am-as-god-created-me/en/s/568

2024-06-10 22:06:03

Lesson 161
Give me your blessing, holy Son of God.
1. Today we practice differently, and take a stand against our anger, that our fears may disappear and offer room to love. ²Here is salvation in the simple words in which we practice with today’s idea. ³Here is the answer to temptation which can never fail to welcome in the Christ where fear and anger had prevailed before. ⁴Here is Atonement made complete, the world passed safely by and Heaven now restored. ⁵Here is the answer of the Voice for God.
2. Complete abstraction is the natural condition of the mind. ²But part of it is now unnatural. ³It does not look on everything as one. ⁴It sees instead but fragments of the whole, for only thus could it invent the partial world you see. ⁵The purpose of all seeing is to show you what you wish to see. ⁶All hearing but brings to your mind the sounds it wants to hear.
3. Thus were specifics made. ²And now it is specifics we must use in practicing. ³We give them to the Holy Spirit, that He may employ them for a purpose which is different from the one we gave to them. ⁴Yet He can use but what we made, to teach us from a different point of view, so we can see a different use in everything.
4. One brother is all brothers. ²Every mind contains all minds, for every mind is one. ³Such is the truth. ⁴Yet do these thoughts make clear the meaning of creation? ⁵Do these words bring perfect clarity with them to you? ⁶What can they seem to be but empty sounds; pretty, perhaps, correct in sentiment, yet fundamentally not understood nor understandable. ⁷The mind that taught itself to think specifically can no longer grasp abstraction in the sense that it is all-encompassing. ⁸We need to see a little, that we learn a lot.
5. It seems to be the body that we feel limits our freedom, makes us suffer, and at last puts out our life. ²Yet bodies are but symbols for a concrete form of fear. ³Fear without symbols calls for no response, for symbols can stand for the meaningless. ⁴Love needs no symbols, being true. ⁵But fear attaches to specifics, being false.
6. Bodies attack, but minds do not. ²This thought is surely reminiscent of our text, where it is often emphasized. ³This is the reason bodies easily become fear’s symbols. ⁴You have many times been urged to look beyond the body, for its sight presents the symbol of love’s “enemy” Christ’s vision does not see. ⁵The body is the target for attack, for no one thinks he hates a mind. ⁶Yet what but mind directs the body to attack? ⁷What else could be the seat of fear except what thinks of fear?
7. Hate is specific. ²There must be a thing to be attacked. ³An enemy must be perceived in such a form he can be touched and seen and heard, and ultimately killed. ⁴When hatred rests upon a thing, it calls for death as surely as God’s Voice proclaims there is no death. ⁵Fear is insatiable, consuming everything its eyes behold, seeing itself in everything, compelled to turn upon itself and to destroy.
8. Who sees a brother as a body sees him as fear’s symbol. ²And he will attack, because what he beholds is his own fear external to himself, poised to attack, and howling to unite with him again. ³Mistake not the intensity of rage projected fear must spawn. ⁴It shrieks in wrath, and claws the air in frantic hope it can reach to its maker and devour him.
9. This do the body’s eyes behold in one whom Heaven cherishes, the angels love and God created perfect. ²This is his reality. ³And in Christ’s vision is his loveliness reflected in a form so holy and so beautiful that you could scarce refrain from kneeling at his feet. ⁴Yet you will take his hand instead, for you are like him in the sight that sees him thus. ⁵Attack on him is enemy to you, for you will not perceive that in his hands is your salvation. ⁶Ask him but for this, and he will give it to you. ⁷Ask him not to symbolize your fear. ⁸Would you request that love destroy itself? ⁹Or would you have it be revealed to you and set you free?
10. Today we practice in a form we have attempted earlier. ²Your readiness is closer now, and you will come today nearer Christ’s vision. ³If you are intent on reaching it, you will succeed today. ⁴And once you have succeeded, you will not be willing to accept the witnesses your body’s eyes call forth. ⁵What you will see will sing to you of ancient melodies you will remember. ⁶You are not forgot in Heaven. ⁷Would you not remember it?
11. Select one brother, symbol of the rest, and ask salvation of him. ²See him first as clearly as you can, in that same form to which you are accustomed. ³See his face, his hands and feet, his clothing. ⁴Watch him smile, and see familiar gestures which he makes so frequently. ⁵Then think of this: What you are seeing now conceals from you the sight of one who can forgive you all your sins; whose sacred hands can take away the nails which pierce your own, and lift the crown of thorns which you have placed upon your bleeding head. ⁶Ask this of him, that he may set you free:
⁷Give me your blessing, holy Son of God. ⁸I would behold you with the eyes of Christ, and see my perfect sinlessness in you.
12. And He will answer Whom you called upon. ²For He will hear the Voice for God in you, and answer in your own. ³Behold him now, whom you have seen as merely flesh and bone, and recognize that Christ has come to you. ⁴Today’s idea is your safe escape from anger and from fear. ⁵Be sure you use it instantly, should you be tempted to attack a brother and perceive in him the symbol of your fear. ⁶And you will see him suddenly transformed from enemy to savior; from the devil into Christ.
https://acim.org/acim/lesson-161/give-me-your-blessing-holy-son-of-god/en/s/567

2024-06-08 17:15:26

Lesson 159
I give the miracles I have received.
1. No one can give what he has not received. ²To give a thing requires first you have it in your own possession. ³Here the laws of Heaven and the world agree. ⁴But here they also separate. ⁵The world believes that to possess a thing, it must be kept. ⁶Salvation teaches otherwise. ⁷To give is how to recognize you have received. ⁸It is the proof that what you have is yours.
2. You understand that you are healed when you give healing. ²You accept forgiveness as accomplished in yourself when you forgive. ³You recognize your brother as yourself, and thus do you perceive that you are whole. ⁴There is no miracle you cannot give, for all are given you. ⁵Receive them now by opening the storehouse of your mind where they are laid, and giving them away.
3. Christ’s vision is a miracle. ²It comes from far beyond itself, for it reflects eternal love and the rebirth of love which never dies, but has been kept obscure. ³Christ’s vision pictures Heaven, for it sees a world so like to Heaven that what God created perfect can be mirrored there. ⁴The darkened glass the world presents can show but twisted images in broken parts. ⁵The real world pictures Heaven’s innocence.
4. Christ’s vision is the miracle in which all miracles are born. ²It is their source, remaining with each miracle you give, and yet remaining yours. ³It is the bond by which the giver and receiver are united in extension here on earth, as they are one in Heaven. ⁴Christ beholds no sin in anyone. ⁵And in His sight the sinless are as one. ⁶Their holiness was given by His Father and Himself.
5. Christ’s vision is the bridge between the worlds. ²And in its power can you safely trust to carry you from this world into one made holy by forgiveness. ³Things which seem quite solid here are merely shadows there; transparent, faintly seen, at times forgot, and never able to obscure the light that shines beyond them. ⁴Holiness has been restored to vision, and the blind can see.
6. This is the Holy Spirit’s single gift; the treasure house to which you can appeal with perfect certainty for all the things that can contribute to your happiness. ²All are laid here already. ³All can be received but for the asking. ⁴Here the door is never locked, and no one is denied his least request or his most urgent need. ⁵There is no sickness not already healed, no lack unsatisfied, no need unmet within this golden treasury of Christ.
7. Here does the world remember what was lost when it was made. ²For here it is repaired, made new again, but in a different light. ³What was to be the home of sin becomes the center of redemption and the hearth of mercy, where the suffering are healed and welcome. ⁴No one will be turned away from this new home, where his salvation waits. ⁵No one is stranger to him. ⁶No one asks for anything of him except the gift of his acceptance of his welcoming.
8. Christ’s vision is the holy ground in which the lilies of forgiveness set their roots. ²This is their home. ³They can be brought from here back to the world, but they can never grow in its unnourishing and shallow soil. ⁴They need the light and warmth and kindly care Christ’s charity provides. ⁵They need the love with which He looks on them. ⁶And they become His messengers, who give as they received.
9. Take from His storehouse, that its treasures may increase. ²His lilies do not leave their home when they are carried back into the world. ³Their roots remain. ⁴They do not leave their source, but carry its beneficence with them, and turn the world into a garden like the one they came from, and to which they go again with added fragrance. ⁵Now are they twice blessed. ⁶The messages they brought from Christ have been delivered, and returned to them. ⁷And they return them gladly unto Him.
10. Behold the store of miracles set out for you to give. ²Are you not worth the gift, when God appointed it be given you? ³Judge not God’s Son, but follow in the way He has established. ⁴Christ has dreamed the dream of a forgiven world. ⁵It is His gift, whereby a sweet transition can be made from death to life; from hopelessness to hope. ⁶Let us an instant dream with Him. ⁷His dream awakens us to truth. ⁸His vision gives the means for a return to our unlost and everlasting sanctity in God.
https://acim.org/acim/lesson-159/i-give-the-miracles-i-have-received/en/s/565

2024-06-06 14:56:02

Lesson 157
Into His Presence would I enter now.
1. This is a day of silence and of trust. ²It is a special time of promise in your calendar of days. ³It is a time Heaven has set apart to shine upon, and cast a timeless light upon this day, when echoes of eternity are heard. ⁴This day is holy, for it ushers in a new experience; a different kind of feeling and awareness. ⁵You have spent long days and nights in celebrating death. ⁶Today you learn to feel the joy of life.
2. This is another crucial turning point in the curriculum. ²We add a new dimension now; a fresh experience that sheds a light on all that we have learned already, and prepares us for what we have yet to learn. ³It brings us to the door where learning ceases, and we catch a glimpse of what lies past the highest reaches it can possibly attain. ⁴It leaves us here an instant, and we go beyond it, sure of our direction and our only goal.
3. Today it will be given you to feel a touch of Heaven, though you will return to paths of learning. ²Yet you have come far enough along the way to alter time sufficiently to rise above its laws, and walk into eternity a while. ³This you will learn to do increasingly, as every lesson, faithfully rehearsed, brings you more swiftly to this holy place and leaves you, for a moment, to your Self.
4. He will direct your practicing today, for what you ask for now is what He wills. ²And having joined your will with His this day, what you are asking must be given you. ³Nothing is needed but today’s idea to light your mind, and let it rest in still anticipation and in quiet joy, wherein you quickly leave the world behind.
5. From this day forth, your ministry takes on a genuine devotion, and a glow that travels from your fingertips to those you touch, and blesses those you look upon. ²A vision reaches everyone you meet, and everyone you think of, or who thinks of you. ³For your experience today will so transform your mind that it becomes the touchstone for the holy Thoughts of God.
6. Your body will be sanctified today, its only purpose being now to bring the vision of what you experience this day to light the world. ²We cannot give experience like this directly. ³Yet it leaves a vision in our eyes which we can offer everyone, that he may come the sooner to the same experience in which the world is quietly forgot, and Heaven is remembered for a while.
7. As this experience increases and all goals but this become of little worth, the world to which you will return becomes a little closer to the end of time; a little more like Heaven in its ways; a little nearer its deliverance. ²And you who bring it light will come to see the light more sure; the vision more distinct. ³The time will come when you will not return in the same form in which you now appear, for you will have no need of it. ⁴Yet now it has a purpose, and will serve it well.
8. Today we will embark upon a course you have not dreamed of. ²But the Holy One, the Giver of the happy dreams of life, Translator of perception into truth, the holy Guide to Heaven given you, has dreamed for you this journey which you make and start today, with the experience this day holds out to you to be your own.
9. Into Christ’s Presence will we enter now, serenely unaware of everything except His shining face and perfect Love. ²The vision of His face will stay with you, but there will be an instant which transcends all vision, even this, the holiest. ³This you will never teach, for you attained it not through learning. ⁴Yet the vision speaks of your rememberance of what you knew that instant, and will surely know again.
https://acim.org/acim/lesson-157/into-his-presence-would-i-enter-now/en/s/563

2024-06-04 16:52:20

Lesson 155
I will step back and let Him lead the way.
1. There is a way of living in the world that is not here, although it seems to be. ²You do not change appearance, though you smile more frequently. ³Your forehead is serene; your eyes are quiet. ⁴And the ones who walk the world as you do recognize their own. ⁵Yet those who have not yet perceived the way will recognize you also, and believe that you are like them, as you were before.
2. The world is an illusion. ²Those who choose to come to it are seeking for a place where they can be illusions, and avoid their own reality. ³Yet when they find their own reality is even here, then they step back and let it lead the way. ⁴What other choice is really theirs to make? ⁵To let illusions walk ahead of truth is madness. ⁶But to let illusion sink behind the truth and let the truth stand forth as what it is, is merely sanity.
3. This is the simple choice we make today. ²The mad illusion will remain awhile in evidence, for those to look upon who chose to come, and have not yet rejoiced to find they were mistaken in their choice. ³They cannot learn directly from the truth, because they have denied that it is so. ⁴And so they need a Teacher Who perceives their madness, but Who still can look beyond illusion to the simple truth in them.
4. If truth demanded they give up the world, it would appear to them as if it asked the sacrifice of something that is real. ²Many have chosen to renounce the world while still believing its reality. ³And they have suffered from a sense of loss, and have not been released accordingly. ⁴Others have chosen nothing but the world, and they have suffered from a sense of loss still deeper, which they did not understand.
5. Between these paths there is another road that leads away from loss of every kind, for sacrifice and deprivation both are quickly left behind. ²This is the way appointed for you now. ³You walk this path as others walk, nor do you seem to be distinct from them, although you are indeed. ⁴Thus can you serve them while you serve yourself, and set their footsteps on the way that God has opened up to you, and them through you.
6. Illusion still appears to cling to you, that you may reach them. ²Yet it has stepped back. ³And it is not illusion that they hear you speak of, nor illusion that you bring their eyes to look on and their minds to grasp. ⁴Nor can the truth, which walks ahead of you, speak to them through illusions, for the road leads past illusion now, while on the way you call to them, that they may follow you.
7. All roads will lead to this one in the end. ²For sacrifice and deprivation are paths that lead nowhere, choices for defeat, and aims that will remain impossible. ³All this steps back as truth comes forth in you, to lead your brothers from the ways of death, and set them on the way to happiness. ⁴Their suffering is but illusion. ⁵Yet they need a guide to lead them out of it, for they mistake illusion for the truth.
8. Such is salvation’s call, and nothing more. ²It asks that you accept the truth, and let it go before you, lighting up the path of ransom from illusion. ³It is not a ransom with a price. ⁴There is no cost, but only gain. ⁵Illusion can but seem to hold in chains the holy Son of God. ⁶It is but from illusions he is saved. ⁷As they step back, he finds himself again.
9. Walk safely now, yet carefully, because this path is new to you. ²And you may find that you are tempted still to walk ahead of truth, and let illusions be your guide. ³Your holy brothers have been given you, to follow in your footsteps as you walk with certainty of purpose to the truth. ⁴It goes before you now, that they may see something with which they can identify; something they understand to lead the way.
10. Yet at the journey’s ending there will be no gap, no distance between truth and you. ²And all illusions walking in the way you travelled will be gone from you as well, with nothing left to keep the truth apart from God’s completion, holy as Himself. ³Step back in faith and let truth lead the way. ⁴You know not where you go. ⁵But One Who knows goes with you. ⁶Let Him lead you with the rest.
11. When dreams are over, time has closed the door on all the things that pass and miracles are purposeless, the holy Son of God will make no journeys. ²There will be no wish to be illusion rather than the truth. ³And we step forth toward this, as we progress along the way that truth points out to us. ⁴This is our final journey, which we make for everyone. ⁵We must not lose our way. ⁶For as truth goes before us, so it goes before our brothers who will follow us.
12. We walk to God. ²Pause and reflect on this. ³Could any way be holier, or more deserving of your effort, of your love and of your full intent? ⁴What way could give you more than everything, or offer less and still content the holy Son of God? ⁵We walk to God. ⁶The truth that walks before us now is one with Him, and leads us to where He has always been. ⁷What way but this could be a path that you would choose instead?
13. Your feet are safely set upon the road that leads the world to God. ²Look not to ways that seem to lead you elsewhere. ³Dreams are not a worthy guide for you who are God’s Son. ⁴Forget not He has placed His Hand in yours, and given you your brothers in His trust that you are worthy of His trust in you. ⁵He cannot be deceived. ⁶His trust has made your pathway certain and your goal secure. ⁷You will not fail your brothers nor your Self.
14. And now He asks but that you think of Him a while each day, that He may speak to you and tell you of His Love, reminding you how great His trust; how limitless His Love. ²In your Name and His Own, which are the same, we practice gladly with this thought today:
³I will step back and let Him lead the way, for I would walk along the road to Him.
https://acim.org/acim/lesson-155/i-will-step-back-and-let-him-lead-the-way/en/s/561

2024-06-03 16:40:48

Lesson 154
I am among the ministers of God.
1. Let us today be neither arrogant nor falsely humble. ²We have gone beyond such foolishness. ³We cannot judge ourselves, nor need we do so. ⁴These are but attempts to hold decision off, and to delay commitment to our function. ⁵It is not our part to judge our worth, nor can we know what role is best for us; what we can do within a larger plan we cannot see in its entirety. ⁶Our part is cast in Heaven, not in hell. ⁷And what we think is weakness can be strength; what we believe to be our strength is often arrogance.
2. Whatever your appointed role may be, it was selected by the Voice for God, Whose function is to speak for you as well. ²Seeing your strengths exactly as they are, and equally aware of where they can be best applied, for what, to whom and when, He chooses and accepts your part for you. ³He does not work without your own consent. ⁴But He is not deceived in what you are, and listens only to His Voice in you.
3. It is through His ability to hear one Voice which is His Own that you become aware at last there is one Voice in you. ²And that one Voice appoints your function, and relays it to you, giving you the strength to understand it, do what it entails, and to succeed in everything you do that is related to it. ³God has joined His Son in this, and thus His Son becomes His messenger of unity with Him.
4. It is this joining, through the Voice for God, of Father and of Son, that sets apart salvation from the world. ²It is this Voice which speaks of laws the world does not obey; which promises salvation from all sin, with guilt abolished in the mind that God created sinless. ³Now this mind becomes aware again of Who created it, and of His lasting union with itself. ⁴So is its Self the one reality in which its will and that of God are joined.
5. A messenger is not the one who writes the message he delivers. ²Nor does he question the right of him who does, nor ask why he has chosen those who will receive the message that he brings. ³It is enough that he accept it, give it to the ones for whom it is intended, and fulfill his role in its delivery. ⁴If he determines what the messages should be, or what their purpose is, or where they should be carried, he is failing to perform his proper part as bringer of the Word.
6. There is one major difference in the role of Heaven’s messengers, which sets them off from those the world appoints. ²The messages that they deliver are intended first for them. ³And it is only as they can accept them for themselves that they become able to bring them further, and to give them everywhere that they were meant to be. ⁴Like earthly messengers, they did not write the messages they bear, but they become their first receivers in the truest sense, receiving to prepare themselves to give.
7. An earthly messenger fulfills his role by giving all his messages away. ²The messengers of God perform their part by their acceptance of His messages as for themselves, and show they understand the messages by giving them away. ³They choose no roles that are not given them by His authority. ⁴And so they gain by every message that they give away.
8. Would you receive the messages of God? ²For thus do you become His messenger. ³You are appointed now. ⁴And yet you wait to give the messages you have received. ⁵And so you do not know that they are yours, and do not recognize them. ⁶No one can receive and understand he has received until he gives. ⁷For in the giving is his own acceptance of what he received.
9. You who are now the messenger of God, receive His messages. ²For that is part of your appointed role. ³God has not failed to offer what you need, nor has it been left unaccepted. ⁴Yet another part of your appointed task is yet to be accomplished. ⁵He Who has received for you the messages of God would have them be received by you as well. ⁶For thus do you identify with Him and claim your own.
10. It is this joining that we undertake to recognize today. ²We will not seek to keep our minds apart from Him Who speaks for us, for it is but our voice we hear as we attend Him. ³He alone can speak to us and for us, joining in one Voice the getting and the giving of God’s Word; the giving and receiving of His Will.
11. We practice giving Him what He would have, that we may recognize His gifts to us. ²He needs our voice that He may speak through us. ³He needs our hands to hold His messages, and carry them to those whom He appoints. ⁴He needs our feet to bring us where He wills, that those who wait in misery may be at last delivered. ⁵And He needs our will united with His Own, that we may be the true receivers of the gifts He gives.
12. Let us but learn this lesson for today: We will not recognize what we receive until we give it. ²You have heard this said a hundred ways, a hundred times, and yet belief is lacking still. ³But this is sure; until belief is given it, you will receive a thousand miracles and then receive a thousand more, but will not know that God Himself has left no gift beyond what you already have; nor has denied the tiniest of blessings to His Son. ⁴What can this mean to you, until you have identified with Him and with His Own?
13. Our lesson for today is stated thus:
²I am among the ministers of God, and I am grateful that I have the means by which to recognize that I am free.
14. The world recedes as we light up our minds, and realize these holy words are true. ²They are the message sent to us today from our Creator. ³Now we demonstrate how they have changed our minds about ourselves, and what our function is. ⁴For as we prove that we accept no will we do not share, our many gifts from our Creator will spring to our sight and leap into our hands, and we will recognize what we received.
https://acim.org/acim/lesson-154/i-am-among-the-ministers-of-god/en/s/560

2024-06-02 14:13:51

Lesson 153
In my defenselessness my safety lies.
1. You who feel threatened by this changing world, its twists of fortune and its bitter jests, its brief relationships and all the “gifts” it merely lends to take away again; attend this lesson well. ²The world provides no safety. ³It is rooted in attack, and all its “gifts” of seeming safety are illusory deceptions. ⁴It attacks, and then attacks again. ⁵No peace of mind is possible where danger threatens thus.
2. The world gives rise but to defensiveness. ²For threat brings anger, anger makes attack seem reasonable, honestly provoked, and righteous in the name of self-defense. ³Yet is defensiveness a double threat. ⁴For it attests to weakness, and sets up a system of defense that cannot work. ⁵Now are the weak still further undermined, for there is treachery without and still a greater treachery within. ⁶The mind is now confused, and knows not where to turn to find escape from its imaginings.
3. It is as if a circle held it fast, wherein another circle bound it and another one in that, until escape no longer can be hoped for nor obtained. ²Attack, defense; defense, attack, become the circles of the hours and the days that bind the mind in heavy bands of steel with iron overlaid, returning but to start again. ³There seems to be no break nor ending in the ever-tightening grip of the imprisonment upon the mind.
4. Defenses are the costliest of all the prices which the ego would exact. ²In them lies madness in a form so grim that hope of sanity seems but to be an idle dream, beyond the possible. ³The sense of threat the world encourages is so much deeper, and so far beyond the frenzy and intensity of which you can conceive, that you have no idea of all the devastation it has wrought.
5. You are its slave. ²You know not what you do, in fear of it. ³You do not understand how much you have been made to sacrifice, who feel its iron grip upon your heart. ⁴You do not realize what you have done to sabotage the holy peace of God by your defensiveness. ⁵For you behold the Son of God as but a victim to attack by fantasies, by dreams, and by illusions he has made; yet helpless in their presence, needful only of defense by still more fantasies, and dreams by which illusions of his safety comfort him.
6. Defenselessness is strength. ²It testifies to recognition of the Christ in you. ³Perhaps you will recall the text maintains that choice is always made between Christ’s strength and your own weakness, seen apart from Him. ⁴Defenselessness can never be attacked, because it recognizes strength so great attack is folly, or a silly game a tired child might play, when he becomes too sleepy to remember what he wants.
7. Defensiveness is weakness. ²It proclaims you have denied the Christ and come to fear His Father’s anger. ³What can save you now from your delusion of an angry god, whose fearful image you believe you see at work in all the evils of the world? ⁴What but illusions could defend you now, when it is but illusions that you fight?
8. We will not play such childish games today. ²For our true purpose is to save the world, and we would not exchange for foolishness the endless joy our function offers us. ³We would not let our happiness slip by because a fragment of a senseless dream happened to cross our minds, and we mistook the figures in it for the Son of God; its tiny instant for eternity.
9. We look past dreams today, and recognize that we need no defense because we are created unassailable, without all thought or wish or dream in which attack has any meaning. ²Now we cannot fear, for we have left all fearful thoughts behind. ³And in defenselessness we stand secure, serenely certain of our safety now, sure of salvation; sure we will fulfill our chosen purpose, as our ministry extends its holy blessing through the world.
10. Be still a moment, and in silence think how holy is your purpose, how secure you rest, untouchable within its light. ²God’s ministers have chosen that the truth be with them. ³Who is holier than they? ⁴Who could be surer that his happiness is fully guaranteed? ⁵And who could be more mightily protected? ⁶What defense could possibly be needed by the ones who are among the chosen ones of God, by His election and their own as well?
11. It is the function of God’s ministers to help their brothers choose as they have done. ²God has elected all, but few have come to realize His Will is but their own. ³And while you fail to teach what you have learned, salvation waits and darkness holds the world in grim imprisonment. ⁴Nor will you learn that light has come to you, and your escape has been accomplished. ⁵For you will not see the light, until you offer it to all your brothers. ⁶As they take it from your hands, so will you recognize it as your own.
12. Salvation can be thought of as a game that happy children play. ²It was designed by One Who loves His children, and Who would replace their fearful toys with joyous games, which teach them that the game of fear is gone. ³His game instructs in happiness because there is no loser. ⁴Everyone who plays must win, and in his winning is the gain to everyone ensured. ⁵The game of fear is gladly laid aside, when children come to see the benefits salvation brings.
13. You who have played that you are lost to hope, abandoned by your Father, left alone in terror in a fearful world made mad by sin and guilt; be happy now. ²That game is over. ³Now a quiet time has come, in which we put away the toys of guilt, and lock our quaint and childish thoughts of sin forever from the pure and holy minds of Heaven’s children and the Son of God.
14. We pause but for a moment more, to play our final, happy game upon this earth. ²And then we go to take our rightful place where truth abides and games are meaningless. ³So is the story ended. ⁴Let this day bring the last chapter closer to the world, that everyone may learn the tale he reads of terrifying destiny, defeat of all his hopes, his pitiful defense against a vengeance he can not escape, is but his own deluded fantasy. ⁵God’s ministers have come to waken him from the dark dreams this story has evoked in his confused, bewildered memory of this distorted tale. ⁶God’s Son can smile at last, on learning that it is not true.
15. Today we practice in a form we will maintain for quite a while. ²We will begin each day by giving our attention to the daily thought as long as possible. ³Five minutes now becomes the least we give to preparation for a day in which salvation is the only goal we have. ⁴Ten would be better; fifteen better still. ⁵And as distraction ceases to arise to turn us from our purpose, we will find that half an hour is too short a time to spend with God. ⁶Nor will we willingly give less at night, in gratitude and joy.
16. Each hour adds to our increasing peace, as we remember to be faithful to the Will we share with God. ²At times, perhaps, a minute, even less, will be the most that we can offer as the hour strikes. ³Sometimes we will forget. ⁴At other times the business of the world will close on us, and we will be unable to withdraw a little while, and turn our thoughts to God.
17. Yet when we can, we will observe our trust as ministers of God, in hourly remembrance of our mission and His Love. ²And we will quietly sit by and wait on Him and listen to His Voice, and learn what He would have us do the hour that is yet to come; while thanking Him for all the gifts He gave us in the one gone by.
18. In time, with practice, you will never cease to think of Him, and hear His loving Voice guiding your footsteps into quiet ways, where you will walk in true defenselessness. ²For you will know that Heaven goes with you. ³Nor would you keep your mind away from Him a moment, even though your time is spent in offering salvation to the world. ⁴Think you He will not make this possible, for you who chose to carry out His plan for the salvation of the world and yours?
19. Today our theme is our defenselessness. ²We clothe ourselves in it, as we prepare to meet the day. ³We rise up strong in Christ, and let our weakness disappear, as we remember that His strength abides in us. ⁴We will remind ourselves that He remains beside us through the day, and never leaves our weakness unsupported by His strength. ⁵We call upon His strength each time we feel the threat of our defenses undermine our certainty of purpose. ⁶We will pause a moment, as He tells us, “I am here.”
20. Your practicing will now begin to take the earnestness of love, to help you keep your mind from wandering from its intent. ²Be not afraid nor timid. ³There can be no doubt that you will reach your final goal. ⁴The ministers of God can never fail, because the love and strength and peace that shine from them to all their brothers come from Him. ⁵These are His gifts to you. ⁶Defenselessness is all you need to give Him in return. ⁷You lay aside but what was never real, to look on Christ and see His sinlessness.
https://acim.org/acim/lesson-153/in-my-defenselessness-my-safety-lies/en/s/559

2024-06-01 15:00:15

Lesson 152
The power of decision is my own.
1. No one can suffer loss unless it be his own decision. ²No one suffers pain except his choice elects this state for him. ³No one can grieve nor fear nor think him sick unless these are the outcomes that he wants. ⁴And no one dies without his own consent. ⁵Nothing occurs but represents your wish, and nothing is omitted that you choose. ⁶Here is your world, complete in all details. ⁷Here is its whole reality for you. ⁸And it is only here salvation is.
2. You may believe that this position is extreme, and too inclusive to be true. ²Yet can truth have exceptions? ³If you have the gift of everything, can loss be real? ⁴Can pain be part of peace, or grief of joy? ⁵Can fear and sickness enter in a mind where love and perfect holiness abide? ⁶Truth must be all-inclusive, if it be the truth at all. ⁷Accept no opposites and no exceptions, for to do so is to contradict the truth entirely.
3. Salvation is the recognition that the truth is true, and nothing else is true. ²This you have heard before, but may not yet accept both parts of it. ³Without the first, the second has no meaning. ⁴But without the second, is the first no longer true. ⁵Truth cannot have an opposite. ⁶This can not be too often said and thought about. ⁷For if what is not true is true as well as what is true, then part of truth is false. ⁸And truth has lost its meaning. ⁹Nothing but the truth is true, and what is false is false.
4. This is the simplest of distinctions, yet the most obscure. ²But not because it is a difficult distinction to perceive. ³It is concealed behind a vast array of choices that do not appear to be entirely your own. ⁴And thus the truth appears to have some aspects that belie consistency, but do not seem to be but contradictions introduced by you.
5. As God created you, you must remain unchangeable, with transitory states by definition false. ²And that includes all shifts in feeling, alterations in conditions of the body and the mind; in all awareness and in all response. ³This is the all-inclusiveness which sets the truth apart from falsehood, and the false kept separate from the truth, as what it is.
6. Is it not strange that you believe to think you made the world you see is arrogance? ²God made it not. ³Of this you can be sure. ⁴What can He know of the ephemeral, the sinful and the guilty, the afraid, the suffering and lonely, and the mind that lives within a body that must die? ⁵You but accuse Him of insanity, to think He made a world where such things seem to have reality. ⁶He is not mad. ⁷Yet only madness makes a world like this.
7. To think that God made chaos, contradicts His Will, invented opposites to truth, and suffers death to triumph over life; all this is arrogance. ²Humility would see at once these things are not of Him. ³And can you see what God created not? ⁴To think you can is merely to believe you can perceive what God willed not to be. ⁵And what could be more arrogant than this?
8. Let us today be truly humble, and accept what we have made as what it is. ²The power of decision is our own. ³Decide but to accept your rightful place as co-creator of the universe, and all you think you made will disappear. ⁴What rises to awareness then will be all that there ever was, eternally as it is now. ⁵And it will take the place of self-deceptions made but to usurp the altar to the Father and the Son.
9. Today we practice true humility, abandoning the false pretense by which the ego seeks to prove it arrogant. ²Only the ego can be arrogant. ³But truth is humble in acknowledging its mightiness, its changelessness and its eternal wholeness, all-encompassing, God’s perfect gift to His beloved Son. ⁴We lay aside the arrogance which says that we are sinners, guilty and afraid, ashamed of what we are; and lift our hearts in true humility instead to Him Who has created us immaculate, like to Himself in power and in love.
10. The power of decision is our own. ²And we accept of Him that which we are, and humbly recognize the Son of God. ³To recognize God’s Son implies as well that all self-concepts have been laid aside, and recognized as false. ⁴Their arrogance has been perceived. ⁵And in humility the radiance of God’s Son, his gentleness, his perfect sinlessness, his Father’s Love, his right to Heaven and release from hell, are joyously accepted as our own.
11. Now do we join in glad acknowledgment that lies are false, and only truth is true. ²We think of truth alone as we arise, and spend five minutes practicing its ways, encouraging our frightened minds with this:
³The power of decision is my own. ⁴This day I will accept myself as what my Father’s Will created me to be.
⁵Then will we wait in silence, giving up all self-deceptions, as we humbly ask our Self that He reveal Himself to us. ⁶And He Who never left will come again to our awareness, grateful to restore His home to God, as it was meant to be.
12. In patience wait for Him throughout the day, and hourly invite Him with the words with which the day began, concluding it with this same invitation to your Self. ²God’s Voice will answer, for He speaks for you and for your Father. ³He will substitute the peace of God for all your frantic thoughts, the truth of God for self-deceptions, and God’s Son for your illusions of yourself.
https://acim.org/acim/lesson-152/the-power-of-decision-is-my-own/en/s/558

2024-05-30 13:53:21

Lesson 150
My mind holds only what I think with God.
1(139) I will accept Atonement for myself.
(140) Only salvation can be said to cure.
https://acim.org/acim/review-iv/lesson-150/en/s/556

2024-05-30 00:01:40

Lesson 148
My mind holds only what I think with God.
1(135) If I defend myself I am attacked.
(136) Sickness is a defense against the truth.
https://acim.org/acim/review-iv/lesson-148/en/s/554

2024-05-26 21:10:08

Lesson 146
My mind holds only what I think with God.
1(131) No one can fail who seeks to reach the truth.
(132) I loose the world from all I thought it was.
https://acim.org/acim/review-iv/lesson-146/en/s/552

2024-05-26 21:08:51

Lesson 145
My mind holds only what I think with God.
1(129) Beyond this world there is a world I want.
(130) It is impossible to see two worlds.
https://acim.org/acim/review-iv/lesson-145/en/s/551

2024-05-26 21:08:09

Lesson 144
My mind holds only what I think with God.
1(127) There is no love but God’s.
(128) The world I see holds nothing that I want.
https://acim.org/acim/review-iv/lesson-144/en/s/550

2024-05-13 18:55:40

Lesson 134
Let me perceive forgiveness as it is.
1. Let us review the meaning of “forgive,” for it is apt to be distorted and to be perceived as something that entails an unfair sacrifice of righteous wrath, a gift unjustified and undeserved, and a complete denial of the truth. ²In such a view, forgiveness must be seen as mere eccentric folly, and this course appear to rest salvation on a whim.
2. This twisted view of what forgiveness means is easily corrected, when you can accept the fact that pardon is not asked for what is true. ²It must be limited to what is false. ³It is irrelevant to everything except illusions. ⁴Truth is God’s creation, and to pardon that is meaningless. ⁵All truth belongs to Him, reflects His laws and radiates His Love. ⁶Does this need pardon? ⁷How can you forgive the sinless and eternally benign?
3. The major difficulty that you find in genuine forgiveness on your part is that you still believe you must forgive the truth, and not illusions. ²You conceive of pardon as a vain attempt to look past what is there; to overlook the truth, in an unfounded effort to deceive yourself by making an illusion true. ³This twisted viewpoint but reflects the hold that the idea of sin retains as yet upon your mind, as you regard yourself.
4. Because you think your sins are real, you look on pardon as deception. ²For it is impossible to think of sin as true and not believe forgiveness is a lie. ³Thus is forgiveness really but a sin, like all the rest. ⁴It says the truth is false, and smiles on the corrupt as if they were as blameless as the grass; as white as snow. ⁵It is delusional in what it thinks it can accomplish. ⁶It would see as right the plainly wrong; the loathsome as the good.
5. Pardon is no escape in such a view. ²It merely is a further sign that sin is unforgivable, at best to be concealed, denied or called another name, for pardon is a treachery to truth. ³Guilt cannot be forgiven. ⁴If you sin, your guilt is everlasting. ⁵Those who are forgiven from the view their sins are real are pitifully mocked and twice condemned; first, by themselves for what they think they did, and once again by those who pardon them.
6. It is sin’s unreality that makes forgiveness natural and wholly sane, a deep relief to those who offer it; a quiet blessing where it is received. ²It does not countenance illusions, but collects them lightly, with a little laugh, and gently lays them at the feet of truth. ³And there they disappear entirely.
7. Forgiveness is the only thing that stands for truth in the illusions of the world. ²It sees their nothingness, and looks straight through the thousand forms in which they may appear. ³It looks on lies, but it is not deceived. ⁴It does not heed the self-accusing shrieks of sinners mad with guilt. ⁵It looks on them with quiet eyes, and merely says to them, “My brother, what you think is not the truth.”
8. The strength of pardon is its honesty, which is so uncorrupted that it sees illusions as illusions, not as truth. ²It is because of this that it becomes the undeceiver in the face of lies; the great restorer of the simple truth. ³By its ability to overlook what is not there, it opens up the way to truth, which has been blocked by dreams of guilt. ⁴Now are you free to follow in the way your true forgiveness opens up to you. ⁵For if one brother has received this gift of you, the door is open to yourself.
9. There is a very simple way to find the door to true forgiveness, and perceive it open wide in welcome. ²When you feel that you are tempted to accuse someone of sin in any form, do not allow your mind to dwell on what you think he did, for that is self-deception. ³Ask instead, “Would I accuse myself of doing this?”
10. Thus will you see alternatives for choice in terms that render choosing meaningful, and keep your mind as free of guilt and pain as God Himself intended it to be, and as it is in truth. ²It is but lies that would condemn. ³In truth is innocence the only thing there is. ⁴Forgiveness stands between illusions and the truth; between the world you see and that which lies beyond; between the hell of guilt and Heaven’s gate.
11. Across this bridge, as powerful as love which laid its blessing on it, are all dreams of evil and of hatred and attack brought silently to truth. ²They are not kept to swell and bluster, and to terrify the foolish dreamer who believes in them. ³He has been gently wakened from his dream by understanding what he thought he saw was never there. ⁴And now he cannot feel that all escape has been denied to him.
12. He does not have to fight to save himself. ²He does not have to kill the dragons which he thought pursued him. ³Nor need he erect the heavy walls of stone and iron doors he thought would make him safe. ⁴He can remove the ponderous and useless armor made to chain his mind to fear and misery. ⁵His step is light, and as he lifts his foot to stride ahead a star is left behind, to point the way to those who follow him.
13. Forgiveness must be practiced, for the world cannot perceive its meaning, nor provide a guide to teach you its beneficence. ²There is no thought in all the world that leads to any understanding of the laws it follows, nor the Thought that it reflects. ³It is as alien to the world as is your own reality. ⁴And yet it joins your mind with the reality in you.
14. Today we practice true forgiveness, that the time of joining be no more delayed. ²For we would meet with our reality in freedom and in peace. ³Our practicing becomes the footsteps lighting up the way for all our brothers, who will follow us to the reality we share with them. ⁴That this may be accomplished, let us give a quarter of an hour twice today, and spend it with the Guide Who understands the meaning of forgiveness, and was sent to us to teach it. ⁵Let us ask of Him:
⁶Let me perceive forgiveness as it is.
15. Then choose one brother as He will direct, and catalogue his “sins,” as one by one they cross your mind. ²Be certain not to dwell on any one of them, but realize that you are using his “offenses” but to save the world from all ideas of sin. ³Briefly consider all the evil things you thought of him, and each time ask yourself, “Would I condemn myself for doing this?”
16. Let him be freed from all the thoughts you had of sin in him. ²And now you are prepared for freedom. ³If you have been practicing thus far in willingness and honesty, you will begin to sense a lifting up, a lightening of weight across your chest, a deep and certain feeling of relief. ⁴The time remaining should be given to experiencing the escape from all the heavy chains you sought to lay upon your brother, but were laid upon yourself.
17. Forgiveness should be practiced through the day, for there will still be many times when you forget its meaning and attack yourself. ²When this occurs, allow your mind to see through this illusion as you tell yourself:
³Let me perceive forgiveness as it is. ⁴Would I accuse myself of doing this? ⁵I will not lay this chain upon myself.
⁶In everything you do remember this:
⁷No one is crucified alone, and yet no one can enter Heaven by himself.
https://acim.org/acim/lesson-134/let-me-perceive-forgiveness-as-it-is/en/s/539

2024-05-12 18:45:46

Lesson 133
I will not value what is valueless.
1. Sometimes in teaching there is benefit, particularly after you have gone through what seems theoretical and far from what the student has already learned, to bring him back to practical concerns. ²This we will do today. ³We will not speak of lofty, world-encompassing ideas, but dwell instead on benefits to you.
2. You do not ask too much of life, but far too little. ²When you let your mind be drawn to bodily concerns, to things you buy, to eminence as valued by the world, you ask for sorrow, not for happiness. ³This course does not attempt to take from you the little that you have. ⁴It does not try to substitute utopian ideas for satisfactions which the world contains. ⁵There are no satisfactions in the world.
3. Today we list the real criteria by which to test all things you think you want. ²Unless they meet these sound requirements, they are not worth desiring at all, for they can but replace what offers more. ³The laws that govern choice you cannot make, no more than you can make alternatives from which to choose. ⁴The choosing you can do; indeed, you must. ⁵But it is wise to learn the laws you set in motion when you choose, and what alternatives you choose between.
4. We have already stressed there are but two, however many there appear to be. ²The range is set, and this we cannot change. ³It would be most ungenerous to you to let alternatives be limitless, and thus delay your final choice until you had considered all of them in time; and not been brought so clearly to the place where there is but one choice that must be made.
5. Another kindly and related law is that there is no compromise in what your choice must bring. ²It cannot give you just a little, for there is no in between. ³Each choice you make brings everything to you or nothing. ⁴Therefore, if you learn the tests by which you can distinguish everything from nothing, you will make the better choice.
6. First, if you choose a thing that will not last forever, what you chose is valueless. ²A temporary value is without all value. ³Time can never take away a value that is real. ⁴What fades and dies was never there, and makes no offering to him who chooses it. ⁵He is deceived by nothing in a form he thinks he likes.
7. Next, if you choose to take a thing away from someone else, you will have nothing left. ²This is because, when you deny his right to everything, you have denied your own. ³You therefore will not recognize the things you really have, denying they are there. ⁴Who seeks to take away has been deceived by the illusion loss can offer gain. ⁵Yet loss must offer loss, and nothing more.
8. Your next consideration is the one on which the others rest. ²Why is the choice you make of value to you? ³What attracts your mind to it? ⁴What purpose does it serve? ⁵Here it is easiest of all to be deceived. ⁶For what the ego wants it fails to recognize. ⁷It does not even tell the truth as it perceives it, for it needs to keep the halo which it uses to protect its goals from tarnish and from rust, that you may see how “innocent” it is.
9. Yet is its camouflage a thin veneer, which could deceive but those who are content to be deceived. ²Its goals are obvious to anyone who cares to look for them. ³Here is deception doubled, for the one who is deceived will not perceive that he has merely failed to gain. ⁴He will believe that he has served the ego’s hidden goals.
10. Yet though he tries to keep its halo clear within his vision, still must he perceive its tarnished edges and its rusted core. ²His ineffectual mistakes appear as sins to him, because he looks upon the tarnish as his own; the rust a sign of deep unworthiness within himself. ³He who would still preserve the ego’s goals and serve them as his own makes no mistakes, according to the dictates of his guide. ⁴This guidance teaches it is error to believe that sins are but mistakes, for who would suffer for his sins if this were so?
11. And so we come to the criterion for choice that is the hardest to believe, because its obviousness is overlaid with many levels of obscurity. ²If you feel any guilt about your choice, you have allowed the ego’s goals to come between the real alternatives. ³And thus you do not realize there are but two, and the alternative you think you chose seems fearful, and too dangerous to be the nothingness it actually is.
12. All things are valuable or valueless, worthy or not of being sought at all, entirely desirable or not worth the slightest effort to obtain. ²Choosing is easy just because of this. ³Complexity is nothing but a screen of smoke, which hides the very simple fact that no decision can be difficult. ⁴What is the gain to you in learning this? ⁵It is far more than merely letting you make choices easily and without pain.
13. Heaven itself is reached with empty hands and open minds, which come with nothing to find everything and claim it as their own. ²We will attempt to reach this state today, with self-deception laid aside, and with an honest willingness to value but the truly valuable and the real. ³Our two extended practice periods of fifteen minutes each begin with this:
⁴I will not value what is valueless, and only what has value do I seek, for only that do I desire to find.
14. And then receive what waits for everyone who reaches, unencumbered, to the gate of Heaven, which swings open as he comes. ²Should you begin to let yourself collect some needless burdens, or believe you see some difficult decisions facing you, be quick to answer with this simple thought:
³I will not value what is valueless, for what is valuable belongs to me.
https://acim.org/acim/lesson-133/i-will-not-value-what-is-valueless/en/s/538

2024-05-12 04:58:35

Lesson 132
I loose the world from all I thought it was.
1. What keeps the world in chains but your beliefs? ²And what can save the world except your Self? ³Belief is powerful indeed. ⁴The thoughts you hold are mighty, and illusions are as strong in their effects as is the truth. ⁵A madman thinks the world he sees is real, and does not doubt it. ⁶Nor can he be swayed by questioning his thoughts’ effects. ⁷It is but when their source is raised to question that the hope of freedom comes to him at last.
2. Yet is salvation easily achieved, for anyone is free to change his mind, and all his thoughts change with it. ²Now the source of thought has shifted, for to change your mind means you have changed the source of all ideas you think or ever thought or yet will think. ³You free the past from what you thought before. ⁴You free the future from all ancient thoughts of seeking what you do not want to find.
3. The present now remains the only time. ²Here in the present is the world set free. ³For as you let the past be lifted and release the future from your ancient fears, you find escape and give it to the world. ⁴You have enslaved the world with all your fears, your doubts and miseries, your pain and tears; and all your sorrows press on it, and keep the world a prisoner to your beliefs. ⁵Death strikes it everywhere because you hold the bitter thoughts of death within your mind.
4. The world is nothing in itself. ²Your mind must give it meaning. ³And what you behold upon it are your wishes, acted out so you can look on them and think them real. ⁴Perhaps you think you did not make the world, but came unwillingly to what was made already, hardly waiting for your thoughts to give it meaning. ⁵Yet in truth you found exactly what you looked for when you came.
5. There is no world apart from what you wish, and herein lies your ultimate release. ²Change but your mind on what you want to see, and all the world must change accordingly. ³Ideas leave not their source. ⁴This central theme is often stated in the text, and must be borne in mind if you would understand the lesson for today. ⁵It is not pride which tells you that you made the world you see, and that it changes as you change your mind.
6. But it is pride that argues you have come into a world quite separate from yourself, impervious to what you think, and quite apart from what you chance to think it is. ²There is no world! ³This is the central thought the course attempts to teach. ⁴Not everyone is ready to accept it, and each one must go as far as he can let himself be led along the road to truth. ⁵He will return and go still farther, or perhaps step back a while and then return again.
7. But healing is the gift of those who are prepared to learn there is no world, and can accept the lesson now. ²Their readiness will bring the lesson to them in some form which they can understand and recognize. ³Some see it suddenly on point of death, and rise to teach it. ⁴Others find it in experience that is not of this world, which shows them that the world does not exist because what they behold must be the truth, and yet it clearly contradicts the world.
8. And some will find it in this course, and in the exercises that we do today. ²Today’s idea is true because the world does not exist. ³And if it is indeed your own imagining, then you can loose it from all things you ever thought it was by merely changing all the thoughts that gave it these appearances. ⁴The sick are healed as you let go all thoughts of sickness, and the dead arise when you let thoughts of life replace all thoughts you ever held of death.
9. A lesson earlier repeated once must now be stressed again, for it contains the firm foundation for today’s idea. ²You are as God created you. ³There is no place where you can suffer, and no time that can bring change to your eternal state. ⁴How can a world of time and place exist, if you remain as God created you?
10. What is the lesson for today except another way of saying that to know your Self is the salvation of the world? ²To free the world from every kind of pain is but to change your mind about yourself. ³There is no world apart from your ideas because ideas leave not their source, and you maintain the world within your mind in thought.
11. Yet if you are as God created you, you cannot think apart from Him, nor make what does not share His timelessness and Love. ²Are these inherent in the world you see? ³Does it create like Him? ⁴Unless it does, it is not real, and cannot be at all. ⁵If you are real the world you see is false, for God’s creation is unlike the world in every way. ⁶And as it was His Thought by which you were created, so it is your thoughts which made it and must set it free, that you may know the Thoughts you share with God.
12. Release the world! ²Your real creations wait for this release to give you fatherhood, not of illusions, but as God in truth. ³God shares His Fatherhood with you who are His Son, for He makes no distinctions in what is Himself and what is still Himself. ⁴What He creates is not apart from Him, and nowhere does the Father end, the Son begin as something separate from Him.
13. There is no world because it is a thought apart from God, and made to separate the Father and the Son, and break away a part of God Himself and thus destroy His Wholeness. ²Can a world which comes from this idea be real? ³Can it be anywhere? ⁴Deny illusions, but accept the truth. ⁵Deny you are a shadow briefly laid upon a dying world. ⁶Release your mind, and you will look upon a world released.
14. Today our purpose is to free the world from all the idle thoughts we ever held about it, and about all living things we see upon it. ²They can not be there. ³No more can we. ⁴For we are in the home our Father set for us, along with them. ⁵And we who are as He created us would loose the world this day from every one of our illusions, that we may be free.
15. Begin the fifteen-minute periods in which we practice twice today with this:
²I who remain as God created me would loose the world from all I thought it was. ³For I am real because the world is not, and I would know my own reality.
⁴Then merely rest, alert but with no strain, and let your mind in quietness be changed so that the world is freed, along with you.
16. You need not realize that healing comes to many brothers far across the world, as well as to the ones you see nearby, as you send out these thoughts to bless the world. ²But you will sense your own release, although you may not fully understand as yet that you could never be released alone.
17. Throughout the day, increase the freedom sent through your ideas to all the world, and say whenever you are tempted to deny the power of your simple change of mind:
²I loose the world from all I thought it was, and choose my own reality instead.
https://acim.org/acim/lesson-132/i-loose-the-world-from-all-i-thought-it-was/en/s/537

2024-05-09 05:36:40

Lesson 129
Beyond this world there is a world I want.
1. This is the thought that follows from the one we practiced yesterday. ²You cannot stop with the idea the world is worthless, for unless you see that there is something else to hope for, you will only be depressed. ³Our emphasis is not on giving up the world, but on exchanging it for what is far more satisfying, filled with joy, and capable of offering you peace. ⁴Think you this world can offer that to you?
2. It might be worth a little time to think once more about the value of this world. ²Perhaps you will concede there is no loss in letting go all thought of value here. ³The world you see is merciless indeed, unstable, cruel, unconcerned with you, quick to avenge and pitiless with hate. ⁴It gives but to rescind, and takes away all things that you have cherished for a while. ⁵No lasting love is found, for none is here. ⁶This is the world of time, where all things end.
3. Is it a loss to find a world instead where losing is impossible; where love endures forever, hate cannot exist and vengeance has no meaning? ²Is it loss to find all things you really want, and know they have no ending and they will remain exactly as you want them throughout time? ³Yet even they will be exchanged at last for what we cannot speak of, for you go from there to where words fail entirely, into a silence where the language is unspoken and yet surely understood.
4. Communication, unambiguous and plain as day, remains unlimited for all eternity. ²And God Himself speaks to His Son, as His Son speaks to Him. ³Their language has no words, for what They say cannot be symbolized. ⁴Their knowledge is direct and wholly shared and wholly one. ⁵How far away from this are you who stay bound to this world. ⁶And yet how near are you, when you exchange it for the world you want.
5. Now is the last step certain; now you stand an instant’s space away from timelessness. ²Here can you but look forward, never back to see again the world you do not want. ³Here is the world that comes to take its place, as you unbind your mind from little things the world sets forth to keep you prisoner. ⁴Value them not, and they will disappear. ⁵Esteem them, and they will seem real to you.
6. Such is the choice. ²What loss can be for you in choosing not to value nothingness? ³This world holds nothing that you really want, but what you choose instead you want indeed! ⁴Let it be given you today. ⁵It waits but for your choosing it, to take the place of all the things you seek but do not want.
7. Practice your willingness to make this change ten minutes in the morning and at night, and once more in between. ²Begin with this:
³Beyond this world there is a world I want. ⁴I choose to see that world instead of this, for here is nothing that I really want.
⁵Then close your eyes upon the world you see, and in the silent darkness watch the lights that are not of this world light one by one, until where one begins another ends loses all meaning as they blend in one.
8. Today the lights of Heaven bend to you, to shine upon your eyelids as you rest beyond the world of darkness. ²Here is light your eyes can not behold. ³And yet your mind can see it plainly, and can understand. ⁴A day of grace is given you today, and we give thanks. ⁵This day we realize that what you feared to lose was only loss.
9. Now do we understand there is no loss. ²For we have seen its opposite at last, and we are grateful that the choice is made. ³Remember your decision hourly, and take a moment to confirm your choice by laying by whatever thoughts you have, and dwelling briefly only upon this:
⁴The world I see holds nothing that I want.
⁵Beyond this world there is a world I want.
https://acim.org/acim/lesson-129/beyond-this-world-there-is-a-world-i-want/en/s/534

2024-05-03 05:21:29

Lesson 123
I thank my Father for His gifts to me.
1. Today let us be thankful. ²We have come to gentler pathways and to smoother roads. ³There is no thought of turning back, and no implacable resistance to the truth. ⁴A bit of wavering remains, some small objections and a little hesitance, but you can well be grateful for your gains, which are far greater than you realize.
2. A day devoted now to gratitude will add the benefit of some insight into the real extent of all the gains which you have made; the gifts you have received. ²Be glad today, in loving thankfulness, your Father has not left you to yourself, nor let you wander in the dark alone. ³Be grateful He has saved you from the self you thought you made to take the place of Him and His creation. ⁴Give Him thanks today.
3. Give thanks that He has not abandoned you, and that His Love forever will remain shining on you, forever without change. ²Give thanks as well that you are changeless, for the Son He loves is changeless as Himself. ³Be grateful you are saved. ⁴Be glad you have a function in salvation to fulfill. ⁵Be thankful that your value far transcends your meager gifts and petty judgments of the one whom God established as His Son.
4. Today in gratitude we lift our hearts above despair, and raise our thankful eyes, no longer looking downward to the dust. ²We sing the song of thankfulness today, in honor of the Self that God has willed to be our true Identity in Him. ³Today we smile on everyone we see, and walk with lightened footsteps as we go to do what is appointed us to do.
5. We do not go alone. ²And we give thanks that in our solitude a Friend has come to speak the saving Word of God to us. ³And thanks to you for listening to Him. ⁴His Word is soundless if it be not heard. ⁵In thanking Him the thanks are yours as well. ⁶An unheard message will not save the world, however mighty be the Voice that speaks, however loving may the message be.
6. Thanks be to you who heard, for you become the messenger who brings His Voice with you, and lets It echo round and round the world. ²Receive the thanks of God today, as you give thanks to Him. ³For He would offer you the thanks you give, since He receives your gifts in loving gratitude, and gives them back a thousand and a hundred thousand more than they were given. ⁴He will bless your gifts by sharing them with you. ⁵And so they grow in power and in strength, until they fill the world with gladness and with gratitude.
7. Receive His thanks and offer yours to Him for fifteen minutes twice today. ²And you will realize to Whom you offer thanks, and Whom He thanks as you are thanking Him. ³This holy half an hour given Him will be returned to you in terms of years for every second; power to save the world eons more quickly for your thanks to Him.
8. Receive His thanks, and you will understand how lovingly He holds you in His Mind, how deep and limitless His care for you, how perfect is His gratitude to you. ²Remember hourly to think of Him, and give Him thanks for everything He gave His Son, that he might rise above the world, remembering his Father and his Self.
https://acim.org/acim/lesson-123/i-thank-my-father-for-his-gifts-to-me/en/s/528

2024-04-29 04:32:49

Lesson 119
For morning and evening review:
1. (107) **Truth will correct all errors in my mind.**
²I am mistaken when I think I can be hurt in any way. ³I am God’s Son, whose Self rests safely in the Mind of God.
2. (108) **To give and to receive are one in truth.**
²I will forgive all things today, that I may learn how to accept the truth in me, and come to recognize my sinlessness.
3. On the hour:
²**Truth will correct all errors in my mind.**
³On the half hour:
⁴**To give and to receive are one in truth.**
https://acim.org/acim/review-iii/lesson-119/en/s/524

2024-04-29 04:32:21

Lesson 118
For morning and evening review:
1. (105) **God’s peace and joy are mine.**
²Today I will accept God’s peace and joy, in glad exchange for all the substitutes that I have made for happiness and peace.
2. (106) **Let me be still and listen to the truth.**
²Let my own feeble voice be still, and let me hear the mighty Voice for Truth Itself assure me that I am God’s perfect Son.
3. On the hour:
²**God’s peace and joy are mine.**
³On the half hour:
⁴**Let me be still and listen to the truth.**
https://acim.org/acim/review-iii/lesson-118/en/s/523

2024-04-26 17:10:25

Lesson 117
For morning and evening review:
1. (103) **God, being Love, is also happiness.**
²Let me remember love is happiness, and nothing else brings joy. ³And so I choose to entertain no substitutes for love.
2. (104) **I seek but what belongs to me in truth.**
²Love is my heritage, and with it joy. ³These are the gifts my Father gave to me. ⁴I would accept all that is mine in truth.
3. On the hour:
²**God, being Love, is also happiness.**
³On the half hour:
⁴**I seek but what belongs to me in truth.**
https://acim.org/acim/review-iii/lesson-117/en/s/522

2024-04-26 03:57:49

Lesson 116
For morning and evening review:
1. (101) **God’s Will for me is perfect happiness.**
²God’s Will is perfect happiness for me. ³And I can suffer but from the belief there is another will apart from His.
2. (102) **I share God’s Will for happiness for me.**
²I share my Father’s Will for me, His Son. ³What He has given me is all I want. ⁴What He has given me is all there is.
3. On the hour:
²**God’s Will for me is perfect happiness.**
³On the half hour:
⁴**I share God’s Will for happiness for me.**
https://acim.org/acim/review-iii/lesson-116/en/s/521

2024-04-22 01:30:00

Lesson 112
For morning and evening review:
1. (93) **Light and joy and peace abide in me.**
²I am the home of light and joy and peace. ³I welcome them into the home I share with God, because I am a part of Him.
2. (94) **I am as God created me.**
²I will remain forever as I was, created by the Changeless like Himself. ³And I am one with Him, and He with me.
3. On the hour:
²**Light and joy and peace abide in me.**
³On the half hour:
⁴**I am as God created me.**
https://acim.org/acim/review-iii/lesson-112/en/s/517

2024-04-19 18:13:36

Lesson 110
I am as God created me.
1. We will repeat today’s idea from time to time. ²For this one thought would be enough to save you and the world, if you believed that it is true. ³Its truth would mean that you have made no changes in yourself that have reality, nor changed the universe so that what God created was replaced by fear and evil, misery and death. ⁴If you remain as God created you fear has no meaning, evil is not real, and misery and death do not exist.
2. Today’s idea is therefore all you need to let complete correction heal your mind, and give you perfect vision that will heal all the mistakes that any mind has made at any time or place. ²It is enough to heal the past and make the future free. ³It is enough to let the present be accepted as it is. ⁴It is enough to let time be the means for all the world to learn escape from time, and every change that time appears to bring in passing by.
3. If you remain as God created you, appearances cannot replace the truth, health cannot turn to sickness, nor can death be substitute for life, or fear for love. ²All this has not occurred, if you remain as God created you. ³You need no thought but just this one, to let redemption come to light the world and free it from the past.
4. In this one thought is all the past undone; the present saved to quietly extend into a timeless future. ²If you are as God created you, then there has been no separation of your mind from His, no split between your mind and other minds, and only unity within your own.
5. The healing power of today’s idea is limitless. ²It is the birthplace of all miracles, the great restorer of the truth to the awareness of the world. ³Practice today’s idea with gratitude. ⁴This is the truth that comes to set you free. ⁵This is the truth that God has promised you. ⁶This is the Word in which all sorrow ends.
6. For your five-minute practice periods, begin with this quotation from the text:
²I am as God created me. ³His Son can suffer nothing. ⁴And I **am** His Son.
7. Then, with this statement firmly in your mind, try to discover in your mind the Self Who is the holy Son of God Himself.
8. Seek Him within you Who is Christ in you, the Son of God and brother to the world; the Savior Who has been forever saved, with power to save whoever touches Him, however lightly, asking for the Word that tells him he is brother unto Him.
9. You are as God created you. ²Today honor your Self. ³Let graven images you made to be the Son of God instead of what he is be worshipped not today. ⁴Deep in your mind the holy Christ in you is waiting your acknowledgment as you. ⁵And you are lost and do not know yourself while He is unacknowledged and unknown.
10. Seek Him today, and find Him. ²He will be your Savior from all idols you have made. ³For when you find Him, you will understand how worthless are your idols, and how false the images which you believed were you. ⁴Today we make a great advance to truth by letting idols go, and opening our hands and hearts and minds to God today.
11. We will remember Him throughout the day with thankful hearts and loving thoughts for all who meet with us today. ²For it is thus that we remember Him. ³And we will say, that we may be reminded of His Son, our holy Self, the Christ in each of us:
⁴I am as God created me.
⁵Let us declare this truth as often as we can. ⁶This is the Word of God that sets you free. ⁷This is the key that opens up the gate of Heaven, and that lets you enter in the peace of God and His eternity.
https://acim.org/acim/lesson-110/i-am-as-god-created-me/en/s/514

2024-04-15 17:54:42

Lesson 106
Let me be still and listen to the truth.
1. If you will lay aside the ego’s voice, however loudly it may seem to call; if you will not accept its petty gifts that give you nothing that you really want; if you will listen with an open mind, that has not told you what salvation is; then you will hear the mighty Voice of truth, quiet in power, strong in stillness, and completely certain in Its messages.
2. Listen, and hear your Father speak to you through His appointed Voice, which silences the thunder of the meaningless, and shows the way to peace to those who cannot see. ²Be still today and listen to the truth. ³Be not deceived by voices of the dead, which tell you they have found the source of life and offer it to you for your belief. ⁴Attend them not, but listen to the truth.
3. Be not afraid today to circumvent the voices of the world. ²Walk lightly past their meaningless persuasion. ³Hear them not. ⁴Be still today and listen to the truth. ⁵Go past all things which do not speak of Him Who holds your happiness within His Hand, held out to you in welcome and in love. ⁶Hear only Him today, and do not wait to reach Him longer. ⁷Hear one Voice today.
4. Today the promise of God’s Word is kept. ²Hear and be silent. ³He would speak to you. ⁴He comes with miracles a thousand times as happy and as wonderful as those you ever dreamed or wished for in your dreams. ⁵His miracles are true. ⁶They will not fade when dreaming ends. ⁷They end the dream instead; and last forever, for they come from God to His dear Son, whose other name is you. ⁸Prepare yourself for miracles today. ⁹Today allow your Father’s ancient pledge to you and all your brothers to be kept.
5. Hear Him today, and listen to the Word which lifts the veil that lies upon the earth, and wakes all those who sleep and cannot see. ²God calls to them through you. ³He needs your voice to speak to them, for who could reach God’s Son except his Father, calling through your Self? ⁴Hear Him today, and offer Him your voice to speak to all the multitude who wait to hear the Word that He will speak today.
6. Be ready for salvation. ²It is here, and will today be given unto you. ³And you will learn your function from the One Who chose it in your Father’s Name for you. ⁴Listen today, and you will hear a Voice which will resound throughout the world through you. ⁵The bringer of all miracles has need that you receive them first, and thus become the joyous giver of what you received.
7. Thus does salvation start and thus it ends; when everything is yours and everything is given away, it will remain with you forever. ²And the lesson has been learned. ³Today we practice giving, not the way you understand it now, but as it is. ⁴Each hour’s exercises should begin with this request for your enlightenment:
⁵I will be still and listen to the truth.
⁶What does it mean to give and to receive?
8. Ask and expect an answer. ²Your request is one whose answer has been waiting long to be received by you. ³It will begin the ministry for which you came, and which will free the world from thinking giving is a way to lose. ⁴And so the world becomes ready to understand and to receive.
9. Be still and listen to the truth today. ²For each five minutes spent in listening, a thousand minds are opened to the truth and they will hear the holy Word you hear. ³And when the hour is past, you will again release a thousand more who pause to ask that truth be given them, along with you.
10. Today the holy Word of God is kept through your receiving it to give away, so you can teach the world what giving means by listening and learning it of Him. ²Do not forget today to reinforce your choice to hear and to receive the Word by this reminder, given to yourself as often as is possible today:
³Let me be still and listen to the truth.
⁴I am the messenger of God today, my voice is His, to give what I receive.
https://acim.org/acim/lesson-106/let-me-be-still-and-listen-to-the-truth/en/s/510

2024-04-14 18:38:27

Lesson 105
God’s peace and joy are mine.
1. God’s peace and joy are yours. ²Today we will accept them, knowing they belong to us. ³And we will try to understand these gifts increase as we receive them. ⁴They are not like to the gifts the world can give, in which the giver loses as he gives the gift; the taker is the richer by his loss. ⁵Such are not gifts, but bargains made with guilt. ⁶The truly given gift entails no loss. ⁷It is impossible that one can gain because another loses. ⁸This implies a limit and an insufficiency.
2. No gift is given thus. ²Such “gifts” are but a bid for a more valuable return; a loan with interest to be paid in full; a temporary lending, meant to be a pledge of debt to be repaid with more than was received by him who took the gift. ³This strange distortion of what giving means pervades all levels of the world you see. ⁴It strips all meaning from the gifts you give, and leaves you nothing in the ones you take.
3. A major learning goal this course has set is to reverse your view of giving, so you can receive. ²For giving has become a source of fear, and so you would avoid the only means by which you can receive. ³Accept God’s peace and joy, and you will learn a different way of looking at a gift. ⁴God’s gifts will never lessen when they are given away. ⁵They but increase thereby.
4. As Heaven’s peace and joy intensify when you accept them as God’s gift to you, so does the joy of your Creator grow when you accept His joy and peace as yours. ²True giving is creation. ³It extends the limitless to the unlimited, eternity to timelessness, and love unto itself. ⁴It adds to all that is complete already, not in simple terms of adding more, for that implies that it was less before. ⁵It adds by letting what cannot contain itself fulfill its aim of giving everything it has away, securing it forever for itself.
5. Today accept God’s peace and joy as yours. ²Let Him complete Himself as He defines completion. ³You will understand that what completes Him must complete His Son as well. ⁴He cannot give through loss. ⁵No more can you. ⁶Receive His gift of joy and peace today, and He will thank you for your gift to Him.
6. Today our practice periods will start a little differently. ²Begin today by thinking of those brothers who have been denied by you the peace and joy that are their right under the equal laws of God. ³Here you denied them to yourself. ⁴And here you must return to claim them as your own.
7. Think of your “enemies” a little while, and tell each one, as he occurs to you:
²My brother, peace and joy I offer you, that I may have God’s peace and joy as mine.
³Thus you prepare yourself to recognize God’s gifts to you, and let your mind be free of all that would prevent success today. ⁴Now are you ready to accept the gift of peace and joy that God has given you. ⁵Now are you ready to experience the joy and peace you have denied yourself. ⁶Now you can say, “God’s peace and joy are mine,” for you have given what you would receive.
8. You must succeed today, if you prepare your mind as we suggest. ²For you have let all bars to peace and joy be lifted up, and what is yours can come to you at last. ³So tell yourself, “God’s peace and joy are mine,” and close your eyes a while, and let His Voice assure you that the words you speak are true.
9. Spend your five minutes thus with Him each time you can today, but do not think that less is worthless when you cannot give Him more. ²At least remember hourly to say the words which call to Him to give you what He wills to give, and wills you to receive. ³Determine not to interfere today with what He wills. ⁴And if a brother seems to tempt you to deny God’s gift to him, see it as but another chance to let yourself receive the gifts of God as yours. ⁵Then bless your brother thankfully, and say:
⁶My brother, peace and joy I offer you, that I may have God’s peace and joy as mine.
https://acim.org/acim/lesson-105/gods-peace-and-joy-are-mine/en/s/509

2024-04-11 15:44:44

Lesson 102
I share God’s Will for happiness for me.
1. You do not want to suffer. ²You may think it buys you something, and may still believe a little that it buys you what you want. ³Yet this belief is surely shaken now, at least enough to let you question it, and to suspect it really makes no sense. ⁴It has not gone as yet, but lacks the roots that once secured it tightly to the dark and hidden secret places of your mind.
2. Today we try to loose its weakened hold still further, and to realize that pain is purposeless, without a cause and with no power to accomplish anything. ²It cannot purchase anything at all. ³It offers nothing, and does not exist. ⁴And everything you think it offers you is lacking in existence, like itself. ⁵You have been slave to nothing. ⁶Be you free today to join the happy Will of God.
3. For several days we will continue to devote our periods of practicing to exercises planned to help you reach the happiness God’s Will has placed in you. ²Here is your home, and here your safety is. ³Here is your peace, and here there is no fear. ⁴Here is salvation. ⁵Here is rest at last.
4. Begin your practice periods today with this acceptance of God’s Will for you:
²I share God’s Will for happiness for me, and I accept it as my function now.
³Then seek this function deep within your mind, for it is there, awaiting but your choice. ⁴You cannot fail to find it when you learn it is your choice, and that you share God’s Will.
5. Be happy, for your only function here is happiness. ²You have no need to be less loving to God’s Son than He Whose Love created him as loving as Himself. ³Besides these hourly five-minute rests, pause frequently today, to tell yourself that you have now accepted happiness as your one function. ⁴And be sure that you are joining with God’s Will in doing this.
https://acim.org/acim/lesson-102/i-share-gods-will-for-happiness-for-me/en/s/506

2024-04-10 23:56:19

Lesson 101
God’s Will for me is perfect happiness.
1. Today we will continue with the theme of happiness. ²This is a key idea in understanding what salvation means. ³You still believe it asks for suffering as penance for your “sins.” ⁴This is not so. ⁵Yet you must think it so while you believe that sin is real, and that God’s Son can sin.
2. If sin is real, then punishment is just and cannot be escaped. ²Salvation thus cannot be purchased but through suffering. ³If sin is real, then happiness must be illusion, for they cannot both be true. ⁴The sinful warrant only death and pain, and it is this they ask for. ⁵For they know it waits for them, and it will seek them out and find them somewhere, sometime, in some form that evens the account they owe to God. ⁶They would escape Him in their fear. ⁷And yet He will pursue, and they can not escape.
3. If sin is real, salvation must be pain. ²Pain is the cost of sin, and suffering can never be escaped, if sin is real. ³Salvation must be feared, for it will kill, but slowly, taking everything away before it grants the welcome boon of death to victims who are little more than bones before salvation is appeased. ⁴Its wrath is boundless, merciless, but wholly just.
4. Who would seek out such savage punishment? ²Who would not flee salvation, and attempt in every way he can to drown the Voice which offers it to him? ³Why would he try to listen and accept Its offering? ⁴If sin is real, its offering is death, and meted out in cruel form to match the vicious wishes in which sin is born. ⁵If sin is real, salvation has become your bitter enemy, the curse of God upon you who have crucified His Son.
5. You need the practice periods today. ²The exercises teach sin is not real, and all that you believe must come from sin will never happen, for it has no cause. ³Accept Atonement with an open mind, which cherishes no lingering belief that you have made a devil of God’s Son. ⁴There is no sin. ⁵We practice with this thought as often as we can today, because it is the basis for today’s idea.
6. God’s Will for you is perfect happiness because there is no sin, and suffering is causeless. ²Joy is just, and pain is but the sign you have misunderstood yourself. ³Fear not the Will of God. ⁴But turn to it in confidence that it will set you free from all the consequences sin has wrought in feverish imagination. ⁵Say:
⁶God’s Will for me is perfect happiness.
⁷There is no sin; it has no consequence.
⁸So should you start your practice periods, and then attempt again to find the joy these thoughts will introduce into your mind.
7. Give these five minutes gladly, to remove the heavy load you lay upon yourself with the insane belief that sin is real. ²Today escape from madness. ³You are set on freedom’s road, and now today’s idea brings wings to speed you on, and hope to go still faster to the waiting goal of peace. ⁴There is no sin. ⁵Remember this today, and tell yourself as often as you can:
⁶God’s Will for me is perfect happiness.
⁷This is the truth, because there is no sin.
https://acim.org/acim/lesson-101/gods-will-for-me-is-perfect-happiness/en/s/505

2024-04-09 19:09:37

Lesson 100
My part is essential to God’s plan for salvation.
1. Just as God’s Son completes his Father, so your part in it completes your Father’s plan. ²Salvation must reverse the mad belief in separate thoughts and separate bodies, which lead separate lives and go their separate ways. ³One function shared by separate minds unites them in one purpose, for each one of them is equally essential to them all.
2. God’s Will for you is perfect happiness. ²Why should you choose to go against His Will? ³The part that He has saved for you to take in working out His plan is given you that you might be restored to what He wills. ⁴This part is as essential to His plan as to your happiness. ⁵Your joy must be complete to let His plan be understood by those to whom He sends you. ⁶They will see their function in your shining face, and hear God calling to them in your happy laugh.
3. You are indeed essential to God’s plan. ²Without your joy, His joy is incomplete. ³Without your smile, the world cannot be saved. ⁴While you are sad, the light that God Himself appointed as the means to save the world is dim and lusterless, and no one laughs because all laughter can but echo yours.
4. You are indeed essential to God’s plan. ²Just as your light increases every light that shines in Heaven, so your joy on earth calls to all minds to let their sorrows go, and take their place beside you in God’s plan. ³God’s messengers are joyous, and their joy heals sorrow and despair. ⁴They are the proof that God wills perfect happiness for all who will accept their Father’s gifts as theirs.
5. We will not let ourselves be sad today. ²For if we do, we fail to take the part that is essential to God’s plan, as well as to our vision. ³Sadness is the sign that you would play another part, instead of what has been assigned to you by God. ⁴Thus do you fail to show the world how great the happiness He wills for you. ⁵And so you do not recognize that it is yours.
6. Today we will attempt to understand joy is our function here. ²If you are sad, your part is unfulfilled, and all the world is thus deprived of joy, along with you. ³God asks you to be happy, so the world can see how much He loves His Son, and wills no sorrow rises to abate his joy; no fear besets him to disturb his peace. ⁴You are God’s messenger today. ⁵You bring His happiness to all you look upon; His peace to everyone who looks on you and sees His message in your happy face.
7. We will prepare ourselves for this today, in our five-minute practice periods, by feeling happiness arise in us according to our Father’s Will and ours. ²Begin the exercises with the thought today’s idea contains. ³Then realize your part is to be happy. ⁴Only this is asked of you or anyone who wants to take his place among God’s messengers. ⁵Think what this means. ⁶You have indeed been wrong in your belief that sacrifice is asked. ⁷You but receive according to God’s plan, and never lose or sacrifice or die.
8. Now let us try to find that joy that proves to us and all the world God’s Will for us. ²It is your function that you find it here, and that you find it now. ³For this you came. ⁴Let this one be the day that you succeed! ⁵Look deep within you, undismayed by all the little thoughts and foolish goals you pass as you ascend to meet the Christ in you.
9. He will be there. ²And you can reach Him now. ³What could you rather look upon in place of Him Who waits that you may look on Him? ⁴What little thought has power to hold you back? ⁵What foolish goal can keep you from success when He Who calls to you is God Himself?
10. He will be there. ²You are essential to His plan. ³You are His messenger today. ⁴And you must find what He would have you give. ⁵Do not forget the idea for today between your hourly practice periods. ⁶It is your Self Who calls to you today. ⁷And it is Him you answer, every time you tell yourself you are essential to God’s plan for the salvation of the world.
https://acim.org/acim/lesson-100/my-part-is-essential-to-gods-plan-for-salvation/en/s/504

2024-04-07 15:51:05

Lesson 98
I will accept my part in God’s plan for salvation.
1. Today is a day of special dedication. ²We take a stand on but one side today. ³We side with truth and let illusions go. ⁴We will not vacillate between the two, but take a firm position with the One. ⁵We dedicate ourselves to truth today, and to salvation as God planned it be. ⁶We will not argue it is something else. ⁷We will not seek for it where it is not. ⁸In gladness we accept it as it is, and take the part assigned to us by God.
2. How happy to be certain! ²All our doubts we lay aside today, and take our stand with certainty of purpose, and with thanks that doubt is gone and surety has come. ³We have a mighty purpose to fulfill, and have been given everything we need with which to reach the goal. ⁴Not one mistake stands in our way. ⁵For we have been absolved from errors. ⁶All our sins are washed away by realizing they were but mistakes.
3. The guiltless have no fear, for they are safe and recognize their safety. ²They do not appeal to magic, nor invent escapes from fancied threats without reality. ³They rest in quiet certainty that they will do what it is given them to do. ⁴They do not doubt their own ability because they know their function will be filled completely in the perfect time and place. ⁵They took the stand which we will take today, that we may share their certainty and thus increase it by accepting it ourselves.
4. They will be with us; all who took the stand we take today will gladly offer us all that they learned and every gain they made. ²Those still uncertain, too, will join with us, and, borrowing our certainty, will make it stronger still. ³While those as yet unborn will hear the call we heard, and answer it when they have come to make their choice again. ⁴We do not choose but for ourselves today.
5. Is it not worth five minutes of your time each hour to be able to accept the happiness that God has given you? ²Is it not worth five minutes hourly to recognize your special function here? ³Is not five minutes but a small request to make in terms of gaining a reward so great it has no measure? ⁴You have made a thousand losing bargains at the least.
6. Here is an offer guaranteeing you your full release from pain of every kind, and joy the world does not contain. ²You can exchange a little of your time for peace of mind and certainty of purpose, with the promise of complete success. ³And since time has no meaning, you are being asked for nothing in return for everything. ⁴Here is a bargain that you cannot lose. ⁵And what you gain is limitless indeed!
7. Each hour today give Him your tiny gift of but five minutes. ²He will give the words you use in practicing today’s idea the deep conviction and the certainty you lack. ³His words will join with yours, and make each repetition of today’s idea a total dedication, made in faith as perfect and as sure as His in you. ⁴His confidence in you will bring the light to all the words you say, and you will go beyond their sound to what they really mean. ⁵Today you practice with Him, as you say:
⁶I will accept my part in God’s plan for salvation.
8. In each five minutes that you spend with Him, He will accept your words and give them back to you all bright with faith and confidence so strong and steady they will light the world with hope and gladness. ²Do not lose one chance to be the glad receiver of His gifts, that you may give them to the world today.
9. Give Him the words, and He will do the rest. ²He will enable you to understand your special function. ³He will open up the way to happiness, and peace and trust will be His gifts; His answer to your words. ⁴He will respond with all His faith and joy and certainty that what you say is true. ⁵And you will have conviction then of Him Who knows the function that you have on earth as well as Heaven. ⁶He will be with you each practice period you share with Him, exchanging every instant of the time you offer Him for timelessness and peace.
10. Throughout the hour, let your time be spent in happy preparation for the next five minutes you will spend again with Him. ²Repeat today’s idea while you wait for the glad time to come to you again. ³Repeat it often, and do not forget each time you do so, you have let your mind be readied for the happy time to come.
11. And when the hour goes and He is there once more to spend a little time with you, be thankful and lay down all earthly tasks, all little thoughts and limited ideas, and spend a happy time again with Him. ²Tell Him once more that you accept the part that He would have you take and help you fill, and He will make you sure you want this choice, which He has made with you and you with Him.
https://acim.org/acim/lesson-98/i-will-accept-my-part-in-gods-plan-for-salvation/en/s/502

2024-04-06 15:41:34

Lesson 97
I am spirit.
1. Today’s idea identifies you with your one Self. ²It accepts no split identity, nor tries to weave opposing factors into unity. ³It simply states the truth. ⁴Practice this truth today as often as you can, for it will bring your mind from conflict to the quiet fields of peace. ⁵No chill of fear can enter, for your mind has been absolved from madness, letting go illusions of a split identity.
2. We state again the truth about your Self, the holy Son of God Who rests in you, whose mind has been restored to sanity. ²You are the spirit lovingly endowed with all your Father’s Love and peace and joy. ³You are the spirit which completes Himself, and shares His function as Creator. ⁴He is with you always, as you are with Him.
3. Today we try to bring reality still closer to your mind. ²Each time you practice, awareness is brought a little nearer at least; sometimes a thousand years or more are saved. ³The minutes which you give are multiplied over and over, for the miracle makes use of time, but is not ruled by it. ⁴Salvation is a miracle, the first and last; the first that is the last, for it is one.
4. You are the spirit in whose mind abides the miracle in which all time stands still; the miracle in which a minute spent in using these ideas becomes a time that has no limit and that has no end. ²Give, then, these minutes willingly, and count on Him Who promised to lay timelessness beside them. ³He will offer all His strength to every little effort that you make. ⁴Give Him the minutes which He needs today, to help you understand with Him you are the spirit that abides in Him, and that calls through His Voice to every living thing; offers His sight to everyone who asks; replaces error with the simple truth.
5. The Holy Spirit will be glad to take five minutes of each hour from your hands, and carry them around this aching world where pain and misery appear to rule. ²He will not overlook one open mind that will accept the healing gifts they bring, and He will lay them everywhere He knows they will be welcome. ³And they will increase in healing power each time someone accepts them as his thoughts, and uses them to heal.
6. Thus will each gift to Him be multiplied a thousandfold and tens of thousands more. ²And when it is returned to you, it will surpass in might the little gift you gave as much as does the radiance of the sun outshine the tiny gleam a firefly makes an uncertain moment and goes out. ³The steady brilliance of this light remains and leads you out of darkness, nor will you be able to forget the way again.
7. Begin these happy exercises with the words the Holy Spirit speaks to you, and let them echo round the world through Him:
²Spirit am I, a holy Son of God, free of all limits, safe and healed and whole, free to forgive, and free to save the world.
³Expressed through you, the Holy Spirit will accept this gift that you received of Him, increase its power and give it back to you.
8. Offer each practice period today gladly to Him. ²And He will speak to you, reminding you that you are spirit, one with Him and God, your brothers and your Self. ³Listen for His assurance every time you speak the words He offers you today, and let Him tell your mind that they are true. ⁴Use them against temptation, and escape its sorry consequences if you yield to the belief that you are something else. ⁵The Holy Spirit gives you peace today. ⁶Receive His words, and offer them to Him.
https://acim.org/acim/lesson-97/i-am-spirit/en/s/501

2024-04-06 15:41:03

Lesson 96
Salvation comes from my one Self.
1. Although you are one Self, you experience yourself as two; as both good and evil, loving and hating, mind and body. ²This sense of being split into opposites induces feelings of acute and constant conflict, and leads to frantic attempts to reconcile the contradictory aspects of this self-perception. ³You have sought many such solutions, and none of them has worked. ⁴The opposites you see in you will never be compatible. ⁵But one exists.
2. The fact that truth and illusion cannot be reconciled, no matter how you try, what means you use and where you see the problem, must be accepted if you would be saved. ²Until you have accepted this, you will attempt an endless list of goals you cannot reach; a senseless series of expenditures of time and effort, hopefulness and doubt, each one as futile as the one before, and failing as the next one surely will.
3. Problems that have no meaning cannot be resolved within the framework they are set. ²Two selves in conflict could not be resolved, and good and evil have no meeting place. ³The self you made can never be your Self, nor can your Self be split in two, and still be what It is and must forever be. ⁴A mind and body cannot both exist. ⁵Make no attempt to reconcile the two, for one denies the other can be real. ⁶If you are physical, your mind is gone from your self-concept, for it has no place in which it could be really part of you. ⁷If you are spirit, then the body must be meaningless to your reality.
4. Spirit makes use of mind as means to find its Self expression. ²And the mind which serves the spirit is at peace and filled with joy. ³Its power comes from spirit, and it is fulfilling happily its function here. ⁴Yet mind can also see itself divorced from spirit, and perceive itself within a body it confuses with itself. ⁵Without its function then it has no peace, and happiness is alien to its thoughts.
5. Yet mind apart from spirit cannot think. ²It has denied its Source of strength, and sees itself as helpless, limited and weak. ³Dissociated from its function now, it thinks it is alone and separate, attacked by armies massed against itself and hiding in the body’s frail support. ⁴Now must it reconcile unlike with like, for this is what it thinks that it is for.
6. Waste no more time on this. ²Who can resolve the senseless conflicts which a dream presents? ³What could the resolution mean in truth? ⁴What purpose could it serve? ⁵What is it for? ⁶Salvation cannot make illusions real, nor solve a problem that does not exist. ⁷Perhaps you hope it can. ⁸Yet would you have God’s plan for the release of His dear Son bring pain to him, and fail to set him free?
7. Your Self retains Its Thoughts, and they remain within your mind and in the Mind of God. ²The Holy Spirit holds salvation in your mind, and offers it the way to peace. ³Salvation is a thought you share with God, because His Voice accepted it for you and answered in your name that it was done. ⁴Thus is salvation kept among the Thoughts your Self holds dear and cherishes for you.
8. We will attempt today to find this thought, whose presence in your mind is guaranteed by Him Who speaks to you from your one Self. ²Our hourly five-minute practicing will be a search for Him within your mind. ³Salvation comes from this one Self through Him Who is the Bridge between your mind and It. ⁴Wait patiently, and let Him speak to you about your Self, and what your mind can do, restored to It and free to serve Its Will.
9. Begin with saying this:
²Salvation comes from my one Self. ³Its Thoughts are mine to use.
⁴Then seek Its Thoughts, and claim them as your own. ⁵These are your own real thoughts you have denied, and let your mind go wandering in a world of dreams, to find illusions in their place. ⁶Here are your thoughts, the only ones you have. ⁷Salvation is among them; find it there.
10. If you succeed, the thoughts that come to you will tell you you are saved, and that your mind has found the function that it sought to lose. ²Your Self will welcome it and give it peace. ³Restored in strength, it will again flow out from spirit to the spirit in all things created by the Spirit as Itself. ⁴Your mind will bless all things. ⁵Confusion done, you are restored, for you have found your Self.
11. Your Self knows that you cannot fail today. ²Perhaps your mind remains uncertain yet a little while. ³Be not dismayed by this. ⁴The joy your Self experiences It will save for you, and it will yet be yours in full awareness. ⁵Every time you spend five minutes of the hour seeking Him Who joins your mind and Self, you offer Him another treasure to be kept for you.
12. Each time today you tell your frantic mind salvation comes from your one Self, you lay another treasure in your growing store. ²And all of it is given everyone who asks for it, and will accept the gift. ³Think, then, how much is given unto you to give this day, that it be given you!
https://acim.org/acim/lesson-96/salvation-comes-from-my-one-self/en/s/500

2024-04-05 04:26:57

Lesson 95
I am one Self, united with my Creator.
1. Today’s idea accurately describes you as God created you. ²You are one within yourself, and one with Him. ³Yours is the unity of all creation. ⁴Your perfect unity makes change in you impossible. ⁵You do not accept this, and you fail to realize it must be so, only because you believe that you have changed yourself already.
2. You see yourself as a ridiculous parody on God’s creation; weak, vicious, ugly and sinful, miserable and beset with pain. ²Such is your version of yourself; a self divided into many warring parts, separate from God, and tenuously held together by its erratic and capricious maker, to which you pray. ³It does not hear your prayers, for it is deaf. ⁴It does not see the oneness in you, for it is blind. ⁵It does not understand you are the Son of God, for it is senseless and understands nothing.
3. We will attempt today to be aware only of what can hear and see, and what makes perfect sense. ²We will again direct our exercises towards reaching your one Self, which is united with Its Creator. ³In patience and in hope we try again today.
4. The use of the first five minutes of every waking hour for practicing the idea for the day has special advantages at the stage of learning in which you are at present. ²It is difficult at this point not to allow your mind to wander, if it undertakes extended practice. ³You have surely realized this by now. ⁴You have seen the extent of your lack of mental discipline, and of your need for mind training. ⁵It is necessary that you be aware of this, for it is indeed a hindrance to your advance.
5. Frequent but shorter practice periods have other advantages for you at this time. ²In addition to recognizing your difficulties with sustained attention, you must also have noticed that, unless you are reminded of your purpose frequently, you tend to forget about it for long periods of time. ³You often fail to remember the short applications of the idea for the day, and you have not yet formed the habit of using the idea as an automatic response to temptation.
6. Structure, then, is necessary for you at this time, planned to include frequent reminders of your goal and regular attempts to reach it. ²Regularity in terms of time is not the ideal requirement for the most beneficial form of practice in salvation. ³It is advantageous, however, for those whose motivation is inconsistent, and who remain heavily defended against learning.
7. We will, therefore, keep to the five-minutes-an-hour practice periods for a while, and urge you to omit as few as possible. ²Using the first five minutes of the hour will be particularly helpful, since it imposes firmer structure. ³Do not, however, use your lapses from this schedule as an excuse not to return to it again as soon as you can. ⁴There may well be a temptation to regard the day as lost because you have already failed to do what is required. ⁵This should, however, merely be recognized as what it is; a refusal to let your mistake be corrected, and an unwillingness to try again.
8. The Holy Spirit is not delayed in His teaching by your mistakes. ²He can be held back only by your unwillingness to let them go. ³Let us therefore be determined, particularly for the next week or so, to be willing to forgive ourselves for our lapses in diligence, and our failures to follow the instructions for practicing the day’s idea. ⁴This tolerance for weakness will enable us to overlook it, rather than give it power to delay our learning. ⁵If we give it power to do this, we are regarding it as strength, and are confusing strength with weakness.
9. When you fail to comply with the requirements of this course, you have merely made a mistake. ²This calls for correction, and for nothing else. ³To allow a mistake to continue is to make additional mistakes, based on the first and reinforcing it. ⁴It is this process that must be laid aside, for it is but another way in which you would defend illusions against the truth.
10. Let all these errors go by recognizing them for what they are. ²They are attempts to keep you unaware you are one Self, united with your Creator, at one with every aspect of creation, and limitless in power and in peace. ³This is the truth, and nothing else is true. ⁴Today we will affirm this truth again, and try to reach the place in you in which there is no doubt that only this is true.
11. Begin the practice periods today with this assurance, offered to your mind with all the certainty that you can give:
²I am one Self, united with my Creator, at one with every aspect of creation, and limitless in power and in peace.
³Then close your eyes and tell yourself again, slowly and thoughtfully, attempting to allow the meaning of the words to sink into your mind, replacing false ideas:
⁴I am one Self.
⁵Repeat this several times, and then attempt to feel the meaning that the words convey.
12. You are one Self, united and secure in light and joy and peace. ²You are God’s Son, one Self, with one Creator and one goal; to bring awareness of this oneness to all minds, that true creation may extend the allness and the unity of God. ³You are one Self, complete and healed and whole, with power to lift the veil of darkness from the world, and let the light in you come through to teach the world the truth about yourself.
13. You are one Self, in perfect harmony with all there is, and all that there will be. ²You are one Self, the holy Son of God, united with your brothers in that Self; united with your Father in His Will. ³Feel this one Self in you, and let It shine away all your illusions and your doubts. ⁴This is your Self, the Son of God Himself, sinless as Its Creator, with His strength within you and His Love forever yours. ⁵You are one Self, and it is given you to feel this Self within you, and to cast all your illusions out of the one Mind that is this Self, the holy truth in you.
14. Do not forget today. ²We need your help; your little part in bringing happiness to all the world. ³And Heaven looks to you in confidence that you will try today. ⁴Share, then, its surety, for it is yours. ⁵Be vigilant. ⁶Do not forget today. ⁷Throughout the day do not forget your goal. ⁸Repeat today’s idea as frequently as possible, and understand each time you do so, someone hears the voice of hope, the stirring of the truth within his mind, the gentle rustling of the wings of peace.
15. Your own acknowledgment you are one Self, united with your Father, is a call to all the world to be at one with you. ²To everyone you meet today, be sure to give the promise of today’s idea and tell him this:
³You are one Self with me, united with our Creator in this Self. ⁴I honor you because of What I am, and What He is, Who loves us both as One.
https://acim.org/acim/lesson-95/i-am-one-self-united-with-my-creator/en/s/499

2024-04-03 01:39:23

Lesson 93
Light and joy and peace abide in me.
1. You think you are the home of evil, darkness and sin. ²You think if anyone could see the truth about you he would be repelled, recoiling from you as if from a poisonous snake. ³You think if what is true about you were revealed to you, you would be struck with horror so intense that you would rush to death by your own hand, living on after seeing this being impossible.
2. These are beliefs so firmly fixed that it is difficult to help you see that they are based on nothing. ²That you have made mistakes is obvious. ³That you have sought salvation in strange ways; have been deceived, deceiving and afraid of foolish fantasies and savage dreams; and have bowed down to idols made of dust,—all this is true by what you now believe.
3. Today we question this, not from the point of view of what you think, but from a very different reference point, from which such idle thoughts are meaningless. ²These thoughts are not according to God’s Will. ³These weird beliefs He does not share with you. ⁴This is enough to prove that they are wrong, but you do not perceive that this is so.
4. Why would you not be overjoyed to be assured that all the evil that you think you did was never done, that all your sins are nothing, that you are as pure and holy as you were created, and that light and joy and peace abide in you? ²Your image of yourself cannot withstand the Will of God. ³You think that this is death, but it is life. ⁴You think you are destroyed, but you are saved.
5. The self you made is not the Son of God. ²Therefore, this self does not exist at all. ³And anything it seems to do and think means nothing. ⁴It is neither bad nor good. ⁵It is unreal, and nothing more than that. ⁶It does not battle with the Son of God. ⁷It does not hurt him, nor attack his peace. ⁸It has not changed creation, nor reduced eternal sinlessness to sin, and love to hate. ⁹What power can this self you made possess, when it would contradict the Will of God?
6. Your sinlessness is guaranteed by God. ²Over and over this must be repeated, until it is accepted. ³It is true. ⁴Your sinlessness is guaranteed by God. ⁵Nothing can touch it, or change what God created as eternal. ⁶The self you made, evil and full of sin, is meaningless. ⁷Your sinlessness is guaranteed by God, and light and joy and peace abide in you.
7. Salvation requires the acceptance of but one thought;—you are as God created you, not what you made of yourself. ²Whatever evil you may think you did, you are as God created you. ³Whatever mistakes you made, the truth about you is unchanged. ⁴Creation is eternal and unalterable. ⁵Your sinlessness is guaranteed by God. ⁶You are and will forever be exactly as you were created. ⁷Light and joy and peace abide in you because God put them there.
8. In our longer exercise periods today, which would be most profitable if done for the first five minutes of every waking hour, begin by stating the truth about your creation:
²Light and joy and peace abide in me.
³My sinlessness is guaranteed by God.
⁴Then put away your foolish self-images, and spend the rest of the practice period in trying to experience what God has given you, in place of what you have decreed for yourself.
9. You are what God created or what you made. ²One Self is true; the other is not there. ³Try to experience the unity of your one Self. ⁴Try to appreciate Its Holiness and the love from which It was created. ⁵Try not to interfere with the Self which God created as you, by hiding Its majesty behind the tiny idols of evil and sinfulness you have made to replace It. ⁶Let It come into Its Own. ⁷Here you are; This is You. ⁸And light and joy and peace abide in you because this is so.
10. You may not be willing or even able to use the first five minutes of each hour for these exercises. ²Try, however, to do so when you can. ³At least remember to repeat these thoughts each hour:
⁴Light and joy and peace abide in me.
⁵My sinlessness is guaranteed by God.
⁶Then try to devote at least a minute or so to closing your eyes and realizing that this is a statement of the truth about you.
11. If a situation arises that seems to be disturbing, quickly dispel the illusion of fear by repeating these thoughts again. ²Should you be tempted to become angry with someone, tell him silently:
³Light and joy and peace abide in you.
⁴Your sinlessness is guaranteed by God.
⁵You can do much for the world’s salvation today. ⁶You can do much today to bring you closer to the part in salvation that God has assigned to you. ⁷And you can do much today to bring the conviction to your mind that the idea for the day is true indeed.
https://acim.org/acim/lesson-93/light-and-joy-and-peace-abide-in-me/en/s/497

2024-03-31 16:20:10

Lesson 91
Miracles are seen in light.
1. It is important to remember that miracles and vision necessarily go together. ²This needs repeating, and frequent repeating. ³It is a central idea in your new thought system, and the perception that it produces. ⁴The miracle is always there. ⁵Its presence is not caused by your vision; its absence is not the result of your failure to see. ⁶It is only your awareness of miracles that is affected. ⁷You will see them in the light; you will not see them in the dark.
2. To you, then, light is crucial. ²While you remain in darkness, the miracle remains unseen. ³Thus you are convinced it is not there. ⁴This follows from the premises from which the darkness comes. ⁵Denial of light leads to failure to perceive it. ⁶Failure to perceive light is to perceive darkness. ⁷The light is useless to you then, even though it is there. ⁸You cannot use it because its presence is unknown to you. ⁹And the seeming reality of the darkness makes the idea of light meaningless.
3. To be told that what you do not see is there sounds like insanity. ²It is very difficult to become convinced that it is insanity not to see what is there, and to see what is not there instead. ³You do not doubt that the body’s eyes can see. ⁴You do not doubt the images they show you are reality. ⁵Your faith lies in the darkness, not the light. ⁶How can this be reversed? ⁷For you it is impossible, but you are not alone in this.
4. Your efforts, however little they may be, have strong support. ²Did you but realize how great this strength, your doubts would vanish. ³Today we will devote ourselves to the attempt to let you feel this strength. ⁴When you have felt the strength in you, which makes all miracles within your easy reach, you will not doubt. ⁵The miracles your sense of weakness hides will leap into awareness as you feel the strength in you.
5. Three times today, set aside about ten minutes for a quiet time in which you try to leave your weakness behind. ²This is accomplished very simply, as you instruct yourself that you are not a body. ³Faith goes to what you want, and you instruct your mind accordingly. ⁴Your will remains your teacher, and your will has all the strength to do what it desires. ⁵You can escape the body if you choose. ⁶You can experience the strength in you.
6. Begin the longer practice periods with this statement of true cause and effect relationships:
²Miracles are seen in light.
³The body’s eyes do not perceive the light.
⁴But I am not a body. ⁵What am I?
⁶The question with which this statement ends is needed for our exercises today. ⁷What you think you are is a belief to be undone. ⁸But what you really are must be revealed to you. ⁹The belief you are a body calls for correction, being a mistake. ¹⁰The truth of what you are calls on the strength in you to bring to your awareness what the mistake conceals.
7. If you are not a body, what are you? ²You need to be aware of what the Holy Spirit uses to replace the image of a body in your mind. ³You need to feel something to put your faith in, as you lift it from the body. ⁴You need a real experience of something else, something more solid and more sure; more worthy of your faith, and really there.
8. If you are not a body, what are you? ²Ask this in honesty, and then devote several minutes to allowing your mistaken thoughts about your attributes to be corrected, and their opposites to take their place. ³Say, for example:
⁴I am not weak, but strong.
⁵I am not helpless, but all powerful.
⁶I am not limited, but unlimited.
⁷I am not doubtful, but certain.
⁸I am not an illusion, but a reality.
⁹I cannot see in darkness, but in light.
9. In the second phase of the exercise period, try to experience these truths about yourself. ²Concentrate particularly on the experience of strength. ³Remember that all sense of weakness is associated with the belief you are a body, a belief that is mistaken and deserves no faith. ⁴Try to remove your faith from it, if only for a moment. ⁵You will be accustomed to keeping faith with the more worthy in you as we go along.
10. Relax for the rest of the practice period, confident that your efforts, however meager, are fully supported by the strength of God and all His Thoughts. ²It is from Them that your strength will come. ³It is through Their strong support that you will feel the strength in you. ⁴They are united with you in this practice period, in which you share a purpose like Their Own. ⁵Theirs is the light in which you will see miracles, because Their strength is yours. ⁶Their strength becomes your eyes, that you may see.
11. Five or six times an hour, at reasonably regular intervals, remind yourself that miracles are seen in light. ²Also, be sure to meet temptation with today’s idea. ³This form would be helpful for this special purpose:
⁴Miracles are seen in light. ⁵Let me not close my eyes because of this.
https://acim.org/acim/lesson-91/miracles-are-seen-in-light/en/s/495

2024-03-28 16:00:28

Lesson 88
Today we will review these ideas:
1. (75) **The light has come.**
²In choosing salvation rather than attack, I merely choose to recognize what is already there. ³Salvation is a decision made already. ⁴Attack and grievances are not there to choose. ⁵That is why I always choose between truth and illusion; between what is there and what is not. ⁶The light has come. ⁷I can but choose the light, for it has no alternative. ⁸It has replaced the darkness, and the darkness has gone.
2. These would prove useful forms for specific applications of this idea:
²This cannot show me darkness, for the light has come.
³The light in you is all that I would see, [name].
⁴I would see in this only what is there.
3. (76) **I am under no laws but God’s.**
²Here is the perfect statement of my freedom. ³I am under no laws but God’s. ⁴I am constantly tempted to make up other laws and give them power over me. ⁵I suffer only because of my belief in them. ⁶They have no real effect on me at all. ⁷I am perfectly free of the effects of all laws save God’s. ⁸And His are the laws of freedom.
4. For specific forms in applying this idea, these would be useful:
²My perception of this shows me I believe in laws that do not exist.
³I see only the laws of God at work in this.
⁴Let me allow God’s laws to work in this, and not my own.
https://acim.org/acim/review-ii/lesson-88/en/s/492

2024-03-28 16:00:06

Lesson 87
Our review today will cover these ideas:
1. (73) **I will there be light.**
²I will use the power of my will today. ³It is not my will to grope about in darkness, fearful of shadows and afraid of things unseen and unreal. ⁴Light shall be my guide today. ⁵I will follow it where it leads me, and I will look only on what it shows me. ⁶This day I will experience the peace of true perception.
2. These forms of this idea would be helpful for specific applications:
²This cannot hide the light I will to see.
³You stand with me in light, [name].
⁴In the light this will look different.
3. (74) **There is no will but God’s.**
²I am safe today because there is no will but God’s. ³I can become afraid only when I believe there is another will. ⁴I try to attack only when I am afraid, and only when I try to attack can I believe that my eternal safety is threatened. ⁵Today I will recognize that all this has not occurred. ⁶I am safe because there is no will but God’s.
4. These are some useful forms of this idea for specific applications:
²Let me perceive this in accordance with the Will of God.
³It is God’s Will you are His Son, [name], and mine as well.
⁴This is part of God’s Will for me, however I may see it.
https://acim.org/acim/review-ii/lesson-87/en/s/491

2024-03-26 16:47:28

Lesson 86
These ideas are for review today:
1. (71) **Only God’s plan for salvation will work.**
²It is senseless for me to search wildly about for salvation. ³I have seen it in many people and in many things, but when I reached for it, it was not there. ⁴I was mistaken about where it is. ⁵I was mistaken about what it is. ⁶I will undertake no more idle seeking. ⁷Only God’s plan for salvation will work. ⁸And I will rejoice because His plan can never fail.
2. These are some suggested forms for applying this idea specifically:
²God’s plan for salvation will save me from my perception of this.
³This is no exception in God’s plan for my salvation.
⁴Let me perceive this only in the light of God’s plan for salvation.
3. (72) **Holding grievances is an attack on God’s plan for salvation.**
²Holding grievances is an attempt to prove that God’s plan for salvation will not work. ³Yet only His plan will work. ⁴By holding grievances, I am therefore excluding my only hope of salvation from my awareness. ⁵I would no longer defeat my own best interests in this insane way. ⁶I would accept God’s plan for salvation, and be happy.
4. Specific applications for this idea might be in these forms:
²I am choosing between misperception and salvation as I look on this.
³If I see grounds for grievances in this, I will not see the grounds for my salvation.
⁴This calls for salvation, not attack.
https://acim.org/acim/review-ii/lesson-86/en/s/490

2024-03-23 18:41:16

Lesson 83
Today let us review these ideas:
1. (65) **My only function is the one God gave me.**
²I have no function but the one God gave me. ³This recognition releases me from all conflict, because it means I cannot have conflicting goals. ⁴With one purpose only, I am always certain what to do, what to say and what to think. ⁵All doubt must disappear as I acknowledge that my only function is the one God gave me.
2. More specific applications of this idea might take these forms:
²My perception of this does not change my function.
³This does not give me a function other than the one God gave me.
⁴Let me not use this to justify a function God did not give me.
3. (66) **My happiness and my function are one.**
²All things that come from God are one. ³They come from Oneness, and must be received as one. ⁴Fulfilling my function is my happiness because both come from the same Source. ⁵And I must learn to recognize what makes me happy, if I would find happiness.
4. Some useful forms for specific applications of this idea are:
²This cannot separate my happiness from my function.
³The oneness of my happiness and my function remains wholly unaffected by this.
⁴Nothing, including this, can justify the illusion of happiness apart from my function.
https://acim.org/acim/review-ii/lesson-83/en/s/487

2024-03-22 18:14:33

Lesson 82
We will review these ideas today:
1. (63) **The light of the world brings peace to every mind through my forgiveness.**
²My forgiveness is the means by which the light of the world finds expression through me. ³My forgiveness is the means by which I become aware of the light of the world in me. ⁴My forgiveness is the means by which the world is healed, together with myself. ⁵Let me, then, forgive the world, that it may be healed along with me.
2. Suggestions for specific forms for applying this idea are:
²Let peace extend from my mind to yours, [name].
³I share the light of the world with you, [name].
⁴Through my forgiveness I can see this as it is.
3. (64) **Let me not forget my function.**
²I would not forget my function, because I would remember my Self. ³I cannot fulfill my function if I forget it. ⁴And unless I fulfill my function, I will not experience the joy that God intends for me.
4. Suitable specific forms of this idea include:
²Let me not use this to hide my function from me.
³I would use this as an opportunity to fulfill my function.
⁴This may threaten my ego, but cannot change my function in any way.
https://acim.org/acim/review-ii/lesson-82/en/s/486

2024-03-19 18:15:42

Lesson 78
Let miracles replace all grievances.
1. Perhaps it is not yet quite clear to you that each decision that you make is one between a grievance and a miracle. ²Each grievance stands like a dark shield of hate before the miracle it would conceal. ³And as you raise it up before your eyes, you will not see the miracle beyond. ⁴Yet all the while it waits for you in light, but you behold your grievances instead.
2. Today we go beyond the grievances, to look upon the miracle instead. ²We will reverse the way you see by not allowing sight to stop before it sees. ³We will not wait before the shield of hate, but lay it down and gently lift our eyes in silence to behold the Son of God.
3. He waits for you behind your grievances, and as you lay them down he will appear in shining light where each one stood before. ²For every grievance is a block to sight, and as it lifts you see the Son of God where he has always been. ³He stands in light, but you were in the dark. ⁴Each grievance made the darkness deeper, and you could not see.
4. Today we will attempt to see God’s Son. ²We will not let ourselves be blind to him; we will not look upon our grievances. ³So is the seeing of the world reversed, as we look out toward truth, away from fear. ⁴We will select one person you have used as target for your grievances, and lay the grievances aside and look at him. ⁵Someone, perhaps, you fear and even hate; someone you think you love who angered you; someone you call a friend, but whom you see as difficult at times or hard to please, demanding, irritating or untrue to the ideal he should accept as his, according to the role you set for him.
5. You know the one to choose; his name has crossed your mind already. ²He will be the one of whom we ask God’s Son be shown to you. ³Through seeing him behind the grievances that you have held against him, you will learn that what lay hidden while you saw him not is there in everyone, and can be seen. ⁴He who was enemy is more than friend when he is freed to take the holy role the Holy Spirit has assigned to him. ⁵Let him be savior unto you today. ⁶Such is his role in God your Father’s plan.
6. Our longer practice periods today will see him in this role. ²You will attempt to hold him in your mind, first as you now consider him. ³You will review his faults, the difficulties you have had with him, the pain he caused you, his neglect, and all the little and the larger hurts he gave. ⁴You will regard his body with its flaws and better points as well, and you will think of his mistakes and even of his “sins.”
7. Then let us ask of Him Who knows this Son of God in his reality and truth, that we may look on him a different way, and see our savior shining in the light of true forgiveness, given unto us. ²We ask Him in the holy Name of God and of His Son, as holy as Himself:
³Let me behold my savior in this one You have appointed as the one for me to ask to lead me to the holy light in which he stands, that I may join with him.
⁴The body’s eyes are closed, and as you think of him who grieved you, let your mind be shown the light in him beyond your grievances.
8. What you have asked for cannot be denied. ²Your savior has been waiting long for this. ³He would be free, and make his freedom yours. ⁴The Holy Spirit leans from him to you, seeing no separation in God’s Son. ⁵And what you see through Him will free you both. ⁶Be very quiet now, and look upon your shining savior. ⁷No dark grievances obscure the sight of him. ⁸You have allowed the Holy Spirit to express through him the role God gave Him that you might be saved.
9. God thanks you for these quiet times today in which you laid your images aside, and looked upon the miracle of love the Holy Spirit showed you in their place. ²The world and Heaven join in thanking you, for not one Thought of God but must rejoice as you are saved, and all the world with you.
10. We will remember this throughout the day, and take the role assigned to us as part of God’s salvation plan, and not our own. ²Temptation falls away when we allow each one we meet to save us, and refuse to hide his light behind our grievances. ³To everyone you meet, and to the ones you think of or remember from the past, allow the role of savior to be given, that you may share it with him. ⁴For you both, and all the sightless ones as well, we pray:
⁵Let miracles replace all grievances.
https://acim.org/acim/lesson-78/let-miracles-replace-all-grievances/en/s/481

2024-03-17 16:05:10

Lesson 77
I am entitled to miracles.
1. You are entitled to miracles because of what you are. ²You will receive miracles because of what God is. ³And you will offer miracles because you are one with God. ⁴Again, how simple is salvation! ⁵It is merely a statement of your true Identity. ⁶It is this that we will celebrate today.
2. Your claim to miracles does not lie in your illusions about yourself. ²It does not depend on any magical powers you have ascribed to yourself, nor on any of the rituals you have devised. ³It is inherent in the truth of what you are. ⁴It is implicit in what God your Father is. ⁵It was ensured in your creation, and guaranteed by the laws of God.
3. Today we will claim the miracles which are your right, since they belong to you. ²You have been promised full release from the world you made. ³You have been assured that the Kingdom of God is within you, and can never be lost. ⁴We ask no more than what belongs to us in truth. ⁵Today, however, we will also make sure that we will not content ourselves with less.
4. Begin the longer practice periods by telling yourself quite confidently that you are entitled to miracles. ²Closing your eyes, remind yourself that you are asking only for what is rightfully yours. ³Remind yourself also that miracles are never taken from one and given to another, and that in asking for your rights, you are upholding the rights of everyone. ⁴Miracles do not obey the laws of this world. ⁵They merely follow from the laws of God.
5. After this brief introductory phase, wait quietly for the assurance that your request is granted. ²You have asked for the salvation of the world, and for your own. ³You have requested that you be given the means by which this is accomplished. ⁴You cannot fail to be assured in this. ⁵You are but asking that the Will of God be done.
6. In doing this, you do not really ask for anything. ²You state a fact that cannot be denied. ³The Holy Spirit cannot but assure you that your request is granted. ⁴The fact that you accepted must be so. ⁵There is no room for doubt and uncertainty today. ⁶We are asking a real question at last. ⁷The answer is a simple statement of a simple fact. ⁸You will receive the assurance that you seek.
7. Our shorter practice periods will be frequent, and will also be devoted to a reminder of a simple fact. ²Tell yourself often today:
³I am entitled to miracles.
⁴Ask for them whenever a situation arises in which they are called for. ⁵You will recognize these situations. ⁶And since you are not relying on yourself to find the miracle, you are fully entitled to receive it whenever you ask.
8. Remember, too, not to be satisfied with less than the perfect answer. ²Be quick to tell yourself, should you be tempted:
³I will not trade miracles for grievances. ⁴I want only what belongs to me. ⁵God has established miracles as my right.
https://acim.org/acim/lesson-77/i-am-entitled-to-miracles/en/s/480

2024-03-15 14:53:43

Lesson 75
The light has come.
1. The light has come. ²You are healed and you can heal. ³The light has come. ⁴You are saved and you can save. ⁵You are at peace, and you bring peace with you wherever you go. ⁶Darkness and turmoil and death have disappeared. ⁷The light has come.
2. Today we celebrate the happy ending to your long dream of disaster. ²There are no dark dreams now. ³The light has come. ⁴Today the time of light begins for you and everyone. ⁵It is a new era, in which a new world is born. ⁶The old one has left no trace upon it in its passing. ⁷Today we see a different world, because the light has come.
3. Our exercises for today will be happy ones, in which we offer thanks for the passing of the old and the beginning of the new. ²No shadows from the past remain to darken our sight and hide the world forgiveness offers us. ³Today we will accept the new world as what we want to see. ⁴We will be given what we desire. ⁵We will to see the light; the light has come.
4. Our longer practice periods will be devoted to looking at the world that our forgiveness shows us. ²This is what we want to see, and only this. ³Our single purpose makes our goal inevitable. ⁴Today the real world rises before us in gladness, to be seen at last. ⁵Sight is given us, now that the light has come.
5. We do not want to see the ego’s shadow on the world today. ²We see the light, and in it we see Heaven’s reflection lie across the world. ³Begin the longer practice periods by telling yourself the glad tidings of your release:
⁴The light has come. ⁵I have forgiven the world.
6. Dwell not upon the past today. ²Keep a completely open mind, washed of all past ideas and clean of every concept you have made. ³You have forgiven the world today. ⁴You can look upon it now as if you never saw it before. ⁵You do not know yet what it looks like. ⁶You merely wait to have it shown to you. ⁷While you wait, repeat several times, slowly and in complete patience:
⁸The light has come. ⁹I have forgiven the world.
7. Realize that your forgiveness entitles you to vision. ²Understand that the Holy Spirit never fails to give the gift of sight to the forgiving. ³Believe He will not fail you now. ⁴You have forgiven the world. ⁵He will be with you as you watch and wait. ⁶He will show you what true vision sees. ⁷It is His Will, and you have joined with Him. ⁸Wait patiently for Him. ⁹He will be there. ¹⁰The light has come. ¹¹You have forgiven the world.
8. Tell Him you know you cannot fail because you trust in Him. ²And tell yourself you wait in certainty to look upon the world He promised you. ³From this time forth you will see differently. ⁴Today the light has come. ⁵And you will see the world that has been promised you since time began, and in which is the end of time ensured.
9. The shorter practice periods, too, will be joyful reminders of your release. ²Remind yourself every quarter of an hour or so that today is a time for special celebration. ³Give thanks for mercy and the Love of God. ⁴Rejoice in the power of forgiveness to heal your sight completely. ⁵Be confident that on this day there is a new beginning. ⁶Without the darkness of the past upon your eyes, you cannot fail to see today. ⁷And what you see will be so welcome that you will gladly extend today forever.
10. Say, then:
²The light has come. ³I have forgiven the world.
⁴Should you be tempted, say to anyone who seems to pull you back into darkness:
⁵The light has come. ⁶I have forgiven you.
11. We dedicate this day to the serenity in which God would have you be. ²Keep it in your awareness of yourself and see it everywhere today, as we celebrate the beginning of your vision and the sight of the real world, which has come to replace the unforgiven world you thought was real.
https://acim.org/acim/lesson-75/the-light-has-come/en/s/478

2024-03-13 18:09:10

Lesson 73
I will there be light.
1. Today we are considering the will you share with God. ²This is not the same as the ego’s idle wishes, out of which darkness and nothingness arise. ³The will you share with God has all the power of creation in it. ⁴The ego’s idle wishes are unshared, and therefore have no power at all. ⁵Its wishes are not idle in the sense that they can make a world of illusions in which your belief can be very strong. ⁶But they are idle indeed in terms of creation. ⁷They make nothing that is real.
2. Idle wishes and grievances are partners or co-makers in picturing the world you see. ²The wishes of the ego gave rise to it, and the ego’s need for grievances, which are necessary to maintain it, peoples it with figures that seem to attack you and call for “righteous” judgment. ³These figures become the middlemen the ego employs to traffic in grievances. ⁴They stand between your awareness and your brothers’ reality. ⁵Beholding them, you do not know your brothers or your Self.
3. Your will is lost to you in this strange bartering, in which guilt is traded back and forth, and grievances increase with each exchange. ²Can such a world have been created by the Will the Son of God shares with his Father? ³Did God create disaster for His Son? ⁴Creation is the Will of Both together. ⁵Would God create a world that kills Himself?
4. Today we will try once more to reach the world that is in accordance with your will. ²The light is in it because it does not oppose the Will of God. ³It is not Heaven, but the light of Heaven shines on it. ⁴Darkness has vanished. ⁵The ego’s idle wishes have been withdrawn. ⁶Yet the light that shines upon this world reflects your will, and so it must be in you that we will look for it.
5. Your picture of the world can only mirror what is within. ²The source of neither light nor darkness can be found without. ³Grievances darken your mind, and you look out on a darkened world. ⁴Forgiveness lifts the darkness, reasserts your will, and lets you look upon a world of light. ⁵We have repeatedly emphasized that the barrier of grievances is easily passed, and cannot stand between you and your salvation. ⁶The reason is very simple. ⁷Do you really want to be in hell? ⁸Do you really want to weep and suffer and die?
6. Forget the ego’s arguments which seek to prove all this is really Heaven. ²You know it is not so. ³You cannot want this for yourself. ⁴There is a point beyond which illusions cannot go. ⁵Suffering is not happiness, and it is happiness you really want. ⁶Such is your will in truth. ⁷And so salvation is your will as well. ⁸You want to succeed in what we are trying to do today. ⁹We undertake it with your blessing and your glad accord.
7. We will succeed today if you remember that you want salvation for yourself. ²You want to accept God’s plan because you share in it. ³You have no will that can really oppose it, and you do not want to do so. ⁴Salvation is for you. ⁵Above all else, you want the freedom to remember Who you really are. ⁶Today it is the ego that stands powerless before your will. ⁷Your will is free, and nothing can prevail against it.
8. Therefore, we undertake the exercises for today in happy confidence, certain that we will find what it is your will to find, and remember what it is your will to remember. ²No idle wishes can detain us, nor deceive us with an illusion of strength. ³Today let your will be done, and end forever the insane belief that it is hell in place of Heaven that you choose.
9. We will begin our longer practice periods with the recognition that God’s plan for salvation, and only His, is wholly in accord with your will. ²It is not the purpose of an alien power, thrust upon you unwillingly. ³It is the one purpose here on which you and your Father are in perfect accord. ⁴You will succeed today, the time appointed for the release of the Son of God from hell and from all idle wishes. ⁵His will is now restored to his awareness. ⁶He is willing this very day to look upon the light in him and be saved.
10. After reminding yourself of this, and determining to keep your will clearly in mind, tell yourself with gentle firmness and quiet certainty:
²I will there be light. ³Let me behold the light that reflects God’s Will and mine.
⁴Then let your will assert itself, joined with the power of God and united with your Self. ⁵Put the rest of the practice period under Their guidance. ⁶Join with Them as They lead the way.
11. In the shorter practice periods, again make a declaration of what you really want. ²Say:
³I will there be light. ⁴Darkness is not my will.
⁵This should be repeated several times an hour. ⁶It is most important, however, to apply today’s idea in this form immediately you are tempted to hold a grievance of any kind. ⁷This will help you let your grievances go, instead of cherishing them and hiding them in darkness.
https://acim.org/acim/lesson-73/i-will-there-be-light/en/s/476

2024-03-11 20:09:24

Lesson 71
Only God’s plan for salvation will work.
1. You may not realize that the ego has set up a plan for salvation in opposition to God’s. ²It is this plan in which you believe. ³Since it is the opposite of God’s, you also believe that to accept God’s plan in place of the ego’s is to be damned. ⁴This sounds preposterous, of course. ⁵Yet after we have considered just what the ego’s plan is, perhaps you will realize that, however preposterous it may be, you do believe in it.
2. The ego’s plan for salvation centers around holding grievances. ²It maintains that, if someone else spoke or acted differently, if some external circumstance or event were changed, you would be saved. ³Thus, the source of salvation is constantly perceived as outside yourself. ⁴Each grievance you hold is a declaration, and an assertion in which you believe, that says, “If this were different, I would be saved.” ⁵The change of mind necessary for salvation is thus demanded of everyone and everything except yourself.
3. The role assigned to your own mind in this plan, then, is simply to determine what, other than itself, must change if you are to be saved. ²According to this insane plan, any perceived source of salvation is acceptable provided that it will not work. ³This ensures that the fruitless search will continue, for the illusion persists that, although this hope has always failed, there is still grounds for hope in other places and in other things. ⁴Another person will yet serve better; another situation will yet offer success.
4. Such is the ego’s plan for your salvation. ²Surely you can see how it is in strict accord with the ego’s basic doctrine, “Seek but do not find.” ³For what could more surely guarantee that you will not find salvation than to channelize all your efforts in searching for it where it is not?
5. God’s plan for salvation works simply because, by following His direction, you seek for salvation where it is. ²But if you are to succeed, as God promises you will, you must be willing to seek there only. ³Otherwise, your purpose is divided and you will attempt to follow two plans for salvation that are diametrically opposed in all ways. ⁴The result can only bring confusion, misery and a deep sense of failure and despair.
6. How can you escape all this? ²Very simply. ³The idea for today is the answer. ⁴Only God’s plan for salvation will work. ⁵There can be no real conflict about this, because there is no possible alternative to God’s plan that will save you. ⁶His is the only plan that is certain in its outcome. ⁷His is the only plan that must succeed.
7. Let us practice recognizing this certainty today. ²And let us rejoice that there is an answer to what seems to be a conflict with no resolution possible. ³All things are possible to God. ⁴Salvation must be yours because of His plan, which cannot fail.
8. Begin the two longer practice periods for today by thinking about today’s idea, and realizing that it contains two parts, each making equal contribution to the whole. ²God’s plan for your salvation will work, and other plans will not. ³Do not allow yourself to become depressed or angry at the second part; it is inherent in the first. ⁴And in the first is your full release from all your own insane attempts and mad proposals to free yourself. ⁵They have led to depression and anger; but God’s plan will succeed. ⁶It will lead to release and joy.
9. Remembering this, let us devote the remainder of the extended practice periods to asking God to reveal His plan to us. ²Ask Him very specifically:
³What would You have me do?
⁴Where would You have me go?
⁵What would You have me say, and to whom?
⁶Give Him full charge of the rest of the practice period, and let Him tell you what needs to be done by you in His plan for your salvation. ⁷He will answer in proportion to your willingness to hear His Voice. ⁸Refuse not to hear. ⁹The very fact that you are doing the exercises proves that you have some willingness to listen. ¹⁰This is enough to establish your claim to God’s answer.
10. In the shorter practice periods, tell yourself often that God’s plan for salvation, and only His, will work. ²Be alert to all temptation to hold grievances today, and respond to them with this form of today’s idea:
³Holding grievances is the opposite of God’s plan for salvation. ⁴And only His plan will work.
⁵Try to remember today’s idea some six or seven times an hour. ⁶There could be no better way to spend a half minute or less than to remember the Source of your salvation, and to see It where It is.
https://acim.org/acim/lesson-71/only-gods-plan-for-salvation-will-work/en/s/474

2024-03-08 16:15:30

Lesson 68
Love holds no grievances.
1. You who were created by love like itself can hold no grievances and know your Self. ²To hold a grievance is to forget who you are. ³To hold a grievance is to see yourself as a body. ⁴To hold a grievance is to let the ego rule your mind and to condemn the body to death. ⁵Perhaps you do not yet fully realize just what holding grievances does to your mind. ⁶It seems to split you off from your Source and make you unlike Him. ⁷It makes you believe that He is like what you think you have become, for no one can conceive of his Creator as unlike himself.
2. Shut off from your Self, which remains aware of Its likeness to Its Creator, your Self seems to sleep, while the part of your mind that weaves illusions in its sleep appears to be awake. ²Can all this arise from holding grievances? ³Oh, yes! ⁴For he who holds grievances denies he was created by love, and his Creator has become fearful to him in his dream of hate. ⁵Who can dream of hatred and not fear God?
3. It is as sure that those who hold grievances will redefine God in their own image, as it is certain that God created them like Himself, and defined them as part of Him. ²It is as sure that those who hold grievances will suffer guilt, as it is certain that those who forgive will find peace. ³It is as sure that those who hold grievances will forget who they are, as it is certain that those who forgive will remember.
4. Would you not be willing to relinquish your grievances if you believed all this were so? ²Perhaps you do not think you can let your grievances go. ³That, however, is simply a matter of motivation. ⁴Today we will try to find out how you would feel without them. ⁵If you succeed even by ever so little, there will never be a problem in motivation ever again.
5. Begin today’s extended practice period by searching your mind for those against whom you hold what you regard as major grievances. ²Some of these will be quite easy to find. ³Then think of the seemingly minor grievances you hold against those you like and even think you love. ⁴It will quickly become apparent that there is no one against whom you do not cherish grievances of some sort. ⁵This has left you alone in all the universe in your perception of yourself.
6. Determine now to see all these people as friends. ²Say to them all, thinking of each one in turn as you do so:
³I would see you as my friend, that I may remember you are part of me and come to know myself.
⁴Spend the remainder of the practice period trying to think of yourself as completely at peace with everyone and everything, safe in a world that protects you and loves you, and that you love in return. ⁵Try to feel safety surrounding you, hovering over you and holding you up. ⁶Try to believe, however briefly, that nothing can harm you in any way. ⁷At the end of the practice period tell yourself:
⁸Love holds no grievances. ⁹When I let all my grievances go I will know I am perfectly safe.
7. The short practice periods should include a quick application of today’s idea in this form, whenever any thought of grievance arises against anyone, physically present or not:
²Love holds no grievances. ³Let me not betray my Self.
⁴In addition, repeat the idea several times an hour in this form:
⁵Love holds no grievances. ⁶I would wake to my Self by laying all my grievances aside and wakening in Him.
https://acim.org/acim/lesson-68/love-holds-no-grievances/en/s/471

2024-03-07 15:16:04

Lesson 67
Love created me like itself.
1. Today’s idea is a complete and accurate statement of what you are. ²This is why you are the light of the world. ³This is why God appointed you as the world’s savior. ⁴This is why the Son of God looks to you for his salvation. ⁵He is saved by what you are. ⁶We will make every effort today to reach this truth about you, and to realize fully, if only for a moment, that it is the truth.
2. In the longer practice period, we will think about your reality and its wholly unchanged and unchangeable nature. ²We will begin by repeating this truth about you, and then spend a few minutes adding some relevant thoughts, such as:
³Holiness created me holy.
⁴Kindness created me kind.
⁵Helpfulness created me helpful.
⁶Perfection created me perfect.
⁷Any attribute which is in accord with God as He defines Himself is appropriate for use. ⁸We are trying today to undo your definition of God and replace it with His Own. ⁹We are also trying to emphasize that you are part of His definition of Himself.
3. After you have gone over several such related thoughts, try to let all thoughts drop away for a brief preparatory interval, and then try to reach past all your images and preconceptions about yourself to the truth in you. ²If love created you like itself, this Self must be in you. ³And somewhere in your mind It is there for you to find.
4. You may find it necessary to repeat the idea for today from time to time to replace distracting thoughts. ²You may also find that this is not sufficient, and that you need to continue adding other thoughts related to the truth about yourself. ³Yet perhaps you will succeed in going past that, and through the interval of thoughtlessness to the awareness of a blazing light in which you recognize yourself as love created you. ⁴Be confident that you will do much today to bring that awareness nearer, whether you feel you have succeeded or not.
5. It will be particularly helpful today to practice the idea for the day as often as you can. ²You need to hear the truth about yourself as frequently as possible, because your mind is so preoccupied with false self-images. ³Four or five times an hour, and perhaps even more, it would be most beneficial to remind yourself that love created you like itself. ⁴Hear the truth about yourself in this.
6. Try to realize in the shorter practice periods that this is not your tiny, solitary voice that tells you this. ²This is the Voice for God, reminding you of your Father and of your Self. ³This is the Voice of truth, replacing everything that the ego tells you about yourself with the simple truth about the Son of God. ⁴You were created by love like itself.
https://acim.org/acim/lesson-67/love-created-me-like-itself/en/s/470

2024-03-06 18:18:27

Lesson 66
My happiness and my function are one.
1. You have surely noticed an emphasis throughout our recent lessons on the connection between fulfilling your function and achieving happiness. ²This is because you do not really see the connection. ³Yet there is more than just a connection between them; they are the same. ⁴Their forms are different, but their content is completely one.
2. The ego does constant battle with the Holy Spirit on the fundamental question of what your function is. ²So does it do constant battle with the Holy Spirit about what your happiness is. ³It is not a two-way battle. ⁴The ego attacks and the Holy Spirit does not respond. ⁵He knows what your function is. ⁶He knows that it is your happiness.
3. Today we will try to go past this wholly meaningless battle and arrive at the truth about your function. ²We will not engage in senseless arguments about what it is. ³We will not become hopelessly involved in defining happiness and determining the means for achieving it. ⁴We will not indulge the ego by listening to its attacks on truth. ⁵We will merely be glad that we can find out what truth is.
4. Our longer practice period today has as its purpose your acceptance of the fact that not only is there a very real connection between the function God gave you and your happiness, but that they are actually identical. ²God gives you only happiness. ³Therefore, the function He gave you must be happiness, even if it appears to be different. ⁴Today’s exercises are an attempt to go beyond these differences in appearance, and recognize a common content where it exists in truth.
5. Begin the ten-to-fifteen-minute practice period by reviewing these thoughts:
²God gives me only happiness.
³He has given my function to me.
⁴Therefore my function must be happiness.
⁵Try to see the logic in this sequence, even if you do not yet accept the conclusion. ⁶It is only if the first two thoughts are wrong that the conclusion could be false. ⁷Let us, then, think about the premises for a while, as we are practicing.
6. The first premise is that God gives you only happiness. ²This could be false, of course, but in order to be false it is necessary to define God as something He is not. ³Love cannot give evil, and what is not happiness is evil. ⁴God cannot give what He does not have, and He cannot have what He is not. ⁵Unless God gives you only happiness, He must be evil. ⁶And it is this definition of Him you are believing if you do not accept the first premise.
7. The second premise is that God has given you your function. ²We have seen that there are only two parts of your mind. ³One is ruled by the ego, and is made up of illusions. ⁴The other is the home of the Holy Spirit, where truth abides. ⁵There are no other guides but these to choose between, and no other outcomes possible as a result of your choice but the fear that the ego always engenders, and the love that the Holy Spirit always offers to replace it.
8. Thus, it must be that your function is established by God through His Voice, or is made by the ego which you have made to replace Him. ²Which is true? ³Unless God gave your function to you, it must be the gift of the ego. ⁴Does the ego really have gifts to give, being itself an illusion and offering only the illusion of gifts?
9. Think about this during the longer practice period today. ²Think also about the many forms the illusion of your function has taken in your mind, and the many ways in which you tried to find salvation under the ego’s guidance. ³Did you find it? ⁴Were you happy? ⁵Did they bring you peace? ⁶We need great honesty today. ⁷Remember the outcomes fairly, and consider also whether it was ever reasonable to expect happiness from anything the ego ever proposed. ⁸Yet the ego is the only alternative to the Holy Spirit’s Voice.
10. You will listen to madness or hear the truth. ²Try to make this choice as you think about the premises on which our conclusion rests. ³We can share in this conclusion, but in no other. ⁴For God Himself shares it with us. ⁵Today’s idea is another giant stride in the perception of the same as the same, and the different as different. ⁶On one side stand all illusions. ⁷All truth stands on the other. ⁸Let us try today to realize that only the truth is true.
11. In the shorter practice periods, which would be most helpful today if undertaken twice an hour, this form of the application is suggested:
²My happiness and function are one, because God has given me both.
³It will not take more than a minute, and probably less, to repeat these words slowly and think about them a little while as you say them.
(https://acim.org/acim/en/s/469#1:1-11:3 | W-66.1:1–11:3)

2024-03-04 20:31:00

Lesson 64
Let me not forget my function.
1. Today’s idea is merely another way of saying “Let me not wander into temptation.” ²The purpose of the world you see is to obscure your function of forgiveness, and provide you with a justification for forgetting it. ³It is the temptation to abandon God and His Son by taking on a physical appearance. ⁴It is this the body’s eyes look upon.
2. Nothing the body’s eyes seem to see can be anything but a form of temptation, since this was the purpose of the body itself. ²Yet we have learned that the Holy Spirit has another use for all the illusions you have made, and therefore He sees another purpose in them. ³To the Holy Spirit, the world is a place where you learn to forgive yourself what you think of as your sins. ⁴In this perception, the physical appearance of temptation becomes the spiritual recognition of salvation.
3. To review our last few lessons, your function here is to be the light of the world, a function given you by God. ²It is only the arrogance of the ego that leads you to question this, and only the fear of the ego that induces you to regard yourself as unworthy of the task assigned to you by God Himself. ³The world’s salvation awaits your forgiveness, because through it does the Son of God escape from all illusions, and thus from all temptation. ⁴The Son of God is you.
4. Only by fulfilling the function given you by God will you be happy. ²That is because your function is to be happy by using the means by which happiness becomes inevitable. ³There is no other way. ⁴Therefore, every time you choose whether or not to fulfill your function, you are really choosing whether or not to be happy.
5. Let us remember this today. ²Let us remind ourselves of it in the morning and again at night, and all through the day as well. ³Prepare yourself in advance for all the decisions you will make today by remembering they are all really very simple. ⁴Each one will lead to happiness or unhappiness. ⁵Can such a simple decision really be difficult to make? ⁶Let not the form of the decision deceive you. ⁷Complexity of form does not imply complexity of content. ⁸It is impossible that any decision on earth can have a content different from just this one simple choice. ⁹That is the only choice the Holy Spirit sees. ¹⁰Therefore it is the only choice there is.
6. Today, then, let us practice with these thoughts:
²Let me not forget my function.
³Let me not try to substitute mine for God’s.
⁴Let me forgive and be happy.
⁵At least once devote ten or fifteen minutes today to reflecting on this with closed eyes. ⁶Related thoughts will come to help you, if you remember the crucial importance of your function to you and to the world.
7. In the frequent applications of today’s idea throughout the day, devote several minutes to reviewing these thoughts, and then thinking about them and about nothing else. ²This will be difficult, at first particularly, since you are not proficient in the mind discipline that it requires. ³You may need to repeat “Let me not forget my function” quite often to help you concentrate.
8. Two forms of shorter practice periods are required. ²At times, do the exercises with your eyes closed, trying to concentrate on the thoughts you are using. ³At other times, keep your eyes open after reviewing the thoughts, and then look slowly and unselectively around you, telling yourself:
⁴This is the world it is my function to save.
https://acim.org/acim/lesson-64/let-me-not-forget-my-function/en/s/467

2024-03-03 16:31:52

Lesson 63
The light of the world brings peace to every mind through my forgiveness.
1. How holy are you who have the power to bring peace to every mind! ²How blessed are you who can learn to recognize the means for letting this be done through you! ³What purpose could you have that would bring you greater happiness?
2. You are indeed the light of the world with such a function. ²The Son of God looks to you for his redemption. ³It is yours to give him, for it belongs to you. ⁴Accept no trivial purpose or meaningless desire in its place, or you will forget your function and leave the Son of God in hell. ⁵This is no idle request that is being asked of you. ⁶You are being asked to accept salvation that it may be yours to give.
3. Recognizing the importance of this function, we will be happy to remember it very often today. ²We will begin the day by acknowledging it, and close the day with the thought of it in our awareness. ³And throughout the day we will repeat this as often as we can:
⁴The light of the world brings peace to every mind through my forgiveness. ⁵I am the means God has appointed for the salvation of the world.
4. If you close your eyes, you will probably find it easier to let the related thoughts come to you in the minute or two that you should devote to considering this. ²Do not, however, wait for such an opportunity. ³No chance should be lost for reinforcing today’s idea. ⁴Remember that God’s Son looks to you for his salvation. ⁵And Who but your Self must be His Son?
https://acim.org/acim/lesson-63/the-light-of-the-world-brings-peace-to-every-mind/en/s/466

2024-03-02 18:13:57

Lesson 62
Forgiveness is my function as the light of the world.
1. It is your forgiveness that will bring the world of darkness to the light. ²It is your forgiveness that lets you recognize the light in which you see. ³Forgiveness is the demonstration that you are the light of the world. ⁴Through your forgiveness does the truth about yourself return to your memory. ⁵Therefore, in your forgiveness lies your salvation.
2. Illusions about yourself and the world are one. ²That is why all forgiveness is a gift to yourself. ³Your goal is to find out who you are, having denied your Identity by attacking creation and its Creator. ⁴Now you are learning how to remember the truth. ⁵For this attack must be replaced by forgiveness, so that thoughts of life may replace thoughts of death.
3. Remember that in every attack you call upon your own weakness, while each time you forgive you call upon the strength of Christ in you. ²Do you not then begin to understand what forgiveness will do for you? ³It will remove all sense of weakness, strain and fatigue from your mind. ⁴It will take away all fear and guilt and pain. ⁵It will restore the invulnerability and power God gave His Son to your awareness.
4. Let us be glad to begin and end this day by practicing today’s idea, and to use it as frequently as possible throughout the day. ²It will help to make the day as happy for you as God wants you to be. ³And it will help those around you, as well as those who seem to be far away in space and time, to share this happiness with you.
5. As often as you can, closing your eyes if possible, say to yourself today:
²Forgiveness is my function as the light of the world.
³I would fulfill my function that I may be happy.
⁴Then devote a minute or two to considering your function and the happiness and release it will bring you. ⁵Let related thoughts come freely, for your heart will recognize these words, and in your mind is the awareness they are true. ⁶Should your attention wander, repeat the idea and add:
⁷I would remember this because I want to be happy.
https://acim.org/acim/lesson-62/forgiveness-is-my-function-as-the-light-of-the/en/s/465

2024-03-01 15:38:19

Lesson 61
I am the light of the world.
1. Who is the light of the world except God’s Son? ²This, then, is merely a statement of the truth about yourself. ³It is the opposite of a statement of pride, of arrogance, or of self-deception. ⁴It does not describe the self-concept you have made. ⁵It does not refer to any of the characteristics with which you have endowed your idols. ⁶It refers to you as you were created by God. ⁷It simply states the truth.
2. To the ego, today’s idea is the epitome of self-glorification. ²But the ego does not understand humility, mistaking it for self-debasement. ³Humility consists of accepting your role in salvation and in taking no other. ⁴It is not humility to insist you cannot be the light of the world if that is the function God assigned to you. ⁵It is only arrogance that would assert this function cannot be for you, and arrogance is always of the ego.
3. True humility requires that you accept today’s idea because it is God’s Voice which tells you it is true. ²This is a beginning step in accepting your real function on earth. ³It is a giant stride toward taking your rightful place in salvation. ⁴It is a positive assertion of your right to be saved, and an acknowledgment of the power that is given you to save others.
4. You will want to think about this idea as often as possible today. ²It is the perfect answer to all illusions, and therefore to all temptation. ³It brings all the images you have made about yourself to the truth, and helps you depart in peace, unburdened and certain of your purpose.
5. As many practice periods as possible should be undertaken today, although each one need not exceed a minute or two. ²They should begin with telling yourself:
³I am the light of the world. ⁴That is my only function. ⁵That is why I am here.
⁶Then think about these statements for a short while, preferably with your eyes closed if the situation permits. ⁷Let a few related thoughts come to you, and repeat the idea to yourself if your mind wanders away from the central thought.
6. Be sure both to begin and end the day with a practice period. ²Thus you will awaken with an acknowledgment of the truth about yourself, reinforce it throughout the day, and turn to sleep as you reaffirm your function and your only purpose here. ³These two practice periods may be longer than the rest, if you find them helpful and want to extend them.
7. Today’s idea goes far beyond the ego’s petty views of what you are and what your purpose is. ²As a bringer of salvation, this is obviously necessary. ³This is the first of a number of giant steps we will take in the next few weeks. ⁴Try today to begin to build a firm foundation for these advances. ⁵You are the light of the world. ⁶God has built His plan for the salvation of His Son on you.
https://acim.org/acim/lesson-61/i-am-the-light-of-the-world/en/s/464

2024-02-29 16:02:54

Lesson 60
These ideas are for today’s review:
1. (46) **God is the Love in which I forgive.**
²God does not forgive because He has never condemned. ³The blameless cannot blame, and those who have accepted their innocence see nothing to forgive. ⁴Yet forgiveness is the means by which I will recognize my innocence. ⁵It is the reflection of God’s Love on earth. ⁶It will bring me near enough to Heaven that the Love of God can reach down to me and raise me up to Him.
2. (47) **God is the strength in which I trust.**
²It is not my own strength through which I forgive. ³It is through the strength of God in me, which I am remembering as I forgive. ⁴As I begin to see, I recognize His reflection on earth. ⁵I forgive all things because I feel the stirring of His strength in me. ⁶And I begin to remember the Love I chose to forget, but which has not forgotten me.
3. (48) **There is nothing to fear.**
²How safe the world will look to me when I can see it! ³It will not look anything like what I imagine I see now. ⁴Everyone and everything I see will lean toward me to bless me. ⁵I will recognize in everyone my dearest Friend. ⁶What could there be to fear in a world that I have forgiven, and that has forgiven me?
4. (49) **God’s Voice speaks to me all through the day.**
²There is not a moment in which God’s Voice ceases to call on my forgiveness to save me. ³There is not a moment in which His Voice fails to direct my thoughts, guide my actions and lead my feet. ⁴I am walking steadily on toward truth. ⁵There is nowhere else I can go, because God’s Voice is the only Voice and the only Guide that has been given to His Son.
5. (50) **I am sustained by the Love of God.**
²As I listen to God’s Voice, I am sustained by His Love. ³As I open my eyes, His Love lights up the world for me to see. ⁴As I forgive, His Love reminds me that His Son is sinless. ⁵And as I look upon the world with the vision He has given me, I remember that I am His Son.
https://acim.org/acim/review-i/lesson-60/en/s/463

2024-02-28 15:42:28

Lesson 59
The following ideas are for review today:
1. (41) **God goes with me wherever I go.**
²How can I be alone when God always goes with me? ³How can I be doubtful and unsure of myself when perfect certainty abides in Him? ⁴How can I be disturbed by anything when He rests in me in absolute peace? ⁵How can I suffer when love and joy surround me through Him? ⁶Let me not cherish illusions about myself. ⁷I am perfect because God goes with me wherever I go.
2. (42) **God is my strength.** ²**Vision is His gift.**
³Let me not look to my own eyes to see today. ⁴Let me be willing to exchange my pitiful illusion of seeing for the vision that is given by God. ⁵Christ’s vision is His gift, and He has given it to me. ⁶Let me call upon this gift today, so that this day may help me to understand eternity.
3. (43) **God is my Source.** ²**I cannot see apart from Him.**
³I can see what God wants me to see. ⁴I cannot see anything else. ⁵Beyond His Will lie only illusions. ⁶It is these I choose when I think I can see apart from Him. ⁷It is these I choose when I try to see through the body’s eyes. ⁸Yet the vision of Christ has been given me to replace them. ⁹It is through this vision that I choose to see.
4. (44) **God is the light in which I see.**
²I cannot see in darkness. ³God is the only light. ⁴Therefore, if I am to see, it must be through Him. ⁵I have tried to define what seeing is, and I have been wrong. ⁶Now it is given me to understand that God is the light in which I see. ⁷Let me welcome vision and the happy world it will show me.
5. (45) **God is the Mind with which I think.**
²I have no thoughts I do not share with God. ³I have no thoughts apart from Him, because I have no mind apart from His. ⁴As part of His Mind, my thoughts are His and His Thoughts are mine.
https://acim.org/acim/review-i/lesson-59/en/s/462

2024-02-27 20:13:37

Lesson 58
These ideas are for review today:
1. (36) **My holiness envelops everything I see.**
²From my holiness does the perception of the real world come. ³Having forgiven, I no longer see myself as guilty. ⁴I can accept the innocence that is the truth about me. ⁵Seen through understanding eyes, the holiness of the world is all I see, for I can picture only the thoughts I hold about myself.
2. (37) **My holiness blesses the world.**
²The perception of my holiness does not bless me alone. ³Everyone and everything I see in its light shares in the joy it brings to me. ⁴There is nothing that is apart from this joy, because there is nothing that does not share my holiness. ⁵As I recognize my holiness, so does the holiness of the world shine forth for everyone to see.
3. (38) **There is nothing my holiness cannot do.**
²My holiness is unlimited in its power to heal, because it is unlimited in its power to save. ³What is there to be saved from except illusions? ⁴And what are all illusions except false ideas about myself? ⁵My holiness undoes them all by asserting the truth about me. ⁶In the presence of my holiness, which I share with God Himself, all idols vanish.
4. (39) **My holiness is my salvation.**
²Since my holiness saves me from all guilt, recognizing my holiness is recognizing my salvation. ³It is also recognizing the salvation of the world. ⁴Once I have accepted my holiness, nothing can make me afraid. ⁵And because I am unafraid, everyone must share in my understanding, which is the gift of God to me and to the world.
5. (40) **I am blessed as a Son of God.**
²Herein lies my claim to all good and only good. ³I am blessed as a Son of God. ⁴All good things are mine, because God intended them for me. ⁵I cannot suffer any loss or deprivation or pain because of Who I am. ⁶My Father supports me, protects me, and directs me in all things. ⁷His care for me is infinite, and is with me forever. ⁸I am eternally blessed as His Son.
https://acim.org/acim/review-i/lesson-58/en/s/461

2024-02-26 23:00:52

Lesson 57
Today let us review these ideas:
1. (31) **I am not the victim of the world I see.**
²How can I be the victim of a world that can be completely undone if I so choose? ³My chains are loosened. ⁴I can drop them off merely by desiring to do so. ⁵The prison door is open. ⁶I can leave simply by walking out. ⁷Nothing holds me in this world. ⁸Only my wish to stay keeps me a prisoner. ⁹I would give up my insane wishes and walk into the sunlight at last.
2. (32) **I have invented the world I see.**
²I made up the prison in which I see myself. ³All I need do is recognize this and I am free. ⁴I have deluded myself into believing it is possible to imprison the Son of God. ⁵I was bitterly mistaken in this belief, which I no longer want. ⁶The Son of God must be forever free. ⁷He is as God created him, and not what I would make of him. ⁸He is where God would have him be, and not where I thought to hold him prisoner.
3. (33) **There is another way of looking at the world.**
²Since the purpose of the world is not the one I ascribed to it, there must be another way of looking at it. ³I see everything upside down, and my thoughts are the opposite of truth. ⁴I see the world as a prison for God’s Son. ⁵It must be, then, that the world is really a place where he can be set free. ⁶I would look upon the world as it is, and see it as a place where the Son of God finds his freedom.
4. (34) **I could see peace instead of this.**
²When I see the world as a place of freedom, I realize that it reflects the laws of God instead of the rules I made up for it to obey. ³I will understand that peace, not war, abides in it. ⁴And I will perceive that peace also abides in the hearts of all who share this place with me.
5. (35) **My mind is part of God’s.** ²**I am very holy.**
³As I share the peace of the world with my brothers, I begin to understand that this peace comes from deep within myself. ⁴The world I look upon has taken on the light of my forgiveness, and shines forgiveness back at me. ⁵In this light I begin to see what my illusions about myself kept hidden. ⁶I begin to understand the holiness of all living things, including myself, and their oneness with me.
https://acim.org/acim/review-i/lesson-57/en/s/460

2024-02-21 05:59:13

Lesson 51
The review for today covers the following ideas:
1. (1) **Nothing I see means anything.**
²The reason this is so is that I see nothing, and nothing has no meaning. ³It is necessary that I recognize this, that I may learn to see. ⁴What I think I see now is taking the place of vision. ⁵I must let it go by realizing it has no meaning, so that vision may take its place.
2. (2) **I have given what I see all the meaning it has for me.**
²I have judged everything I look upon, and it is this and only this I see. ³This is not vision. ⁴It is merely an illusion of reality, because my judgments have been made quite apart from reality. ⁵I am willing to recognize the lack of validity in my judgments, because I want to see. ⁶My judgments have hurt me, and I do not want to see according to them.
3. (3) **I do not understand anything I see.**
²How could I understand what I see when I have judged it amiss? ³What I see is the projection of my own errors of thought. ⁴I do not understand what I see because it is not understandable. ⁵There is no sense in trying to understand it. ⁶But there is every reason to let it go, and make room for what can be seen and understood and loved. ⁷I can exchange what I see now for this merely by being willing to do so. ⁸Is not this a better choice than the one I made before?
4. (4) **These thoughts do not mean anything.**
²The thoughts of which I am aware do not mean anything because I am trying to think without God. ³What I call “my” thoughts are not my real thoughts. ⁴My real thoughts are the thoughts I think with God. ⁵I am not aware of them because I have made my thoughts to take their place. ⁶I am willing to recognize that my thoughts do not mean anything, and to let them go. ⁷I choose to have them be replaced by what they were intended to replace. ⁸My thoughts are meaningless, but all creation lies in the thoughts I think with God.
5. (5) **I am never upset for the reason I think.**
²I am never upset for the reason I think because I am constantly trying to justify my thoughts. ³I am constantly trying to make them true. ⁴I make all things my enemies, so that my anger is justified and my attacks are warranted. ⁵I have not realized how much I have misused everything I see by assigning this role to it. ⁶I have done this to defend a thought system that has hurt me, and that I no longer want. ⁷I am willing to let it go.
https://acim.org/acim/review-i/lesson-51/en/s/454

2024-02-17 19:08:01

Lesson 48
There is nothing to fear.
1. The idea for today simply states a fact. ²It is not a fact to those who believe in illusions, but illusions are not facts. ³In truth there is nothing to fear. ⁴It is very easy to recognize this. ⁵But it is very difficult to recognize it for those who want illusions to be true.
2. Today’s practice periods will be very short, very simple and very frequent. ²Merely repeat the idea as often as possible. ³You can use it with your eyes open at any time and in any situation. ⁴It is strongly recommended, however, that you take a minute or so whenever possible to close your eyes and repeat the idea slowly to yourself several times. ⁵It is particularly important that you use the idea immediately, should anything disturb your peace of mind.
3. The presence of fear is a sure sign that you are trusting in your own strength. ²The awareness that there is nothing to fear shows that somewhere in your mind, though not necessarily in a place you recognize as yet, you have remembered God, and let His strength take the place of your weakness. ³The instant you are willing to do this there is indeed nothing to fear.
https://acim.org/acim/lesson-48/there-is-nothing-to-fear/en/s/450

2024-02-14 16:53:53

Lesson 45
God is the Mind with which I think.
1. Today’s idea holds the key to what your real thoughts are. ²They are nothing that you think you think, just as nothing that you think you see is related to vision in any way. ³There is no relationship between what is real and what you think is real. ⁴Nothing that you think are your real thoughts resemble your real thoughts in any respect. ⁵Nothing that you think you see bears any resemblance to what vision will show you.
2. You think with the Mind of God. ²Therefore you share your thoughts with Him, as He shares His with you. ³They are the same thoughts, because they are thought by the same Mind. ⁴To share is to make alike, or to make one. ⁵Nor do the thoughts you think with the Mind of God leave your mind, because thoughts do not leave their source. ⁶Therefore, your thoughts are in the Mind of God, as you are. ⁷They are in your mind as well, where He is. ⁸As you are part of His Mind, so are your thoughts part of His Mind.
3. Where, then, are your real thoughts? ²Today we will attempt to reach them. ³We will have to look for them in your mind, because that is where they are. ⁴They must still be there, because they cannot have left their source. ⁵What is thought by the Mind of God is eternal, being part of creation.
4. Our three five-minute practice periods for today will take the same general form that we used in applying yesterday’s idea. ²We will attempt to leave the unreal and seek for the real. ³We will deny the world in favor of truth. ⁴We will not let the thoughts of the world hold us back. ⁵We will not let the beliefs of the world tell us that what God would have us do is impossible. ⁶Instead, we will try to recognize that only what God would have us do is possible.
5. We will also try to understand that only what God would have us do is what we want to do. ²And we will also try to remember that we cannot fail in doing what He would have us do. ³There is every reason to feel confident that we will succeed today. ⁴It is the Will of God.
6. Begin the exercises for today by repeating the idea to yourself, closing your eyes as you do so. ²Then spend a fairly short period in thinking a few relevant thoughts of your own, keeping the idea in mind. ³After you have added some four or five thoughts of your own to the idea, repeat it again and tell yourself gently:
⁴My real thoughts are in my mind. ⁵I would like to find them.
⁶Then try to go past all the unreal thoughts that cover the truth in your mind, and reach to the eternal.
7. Under all the senseless thoughts and mad ideas with which you have cluttered up your mind are the thoughts that you thought with God in the beginning. ²They are there in your mind now, completely unchanged. ³They will always be in your mind, exactly as they always were. ⁴Everything you have thought since then will change, but the Foundation on which it rests is wholly changeless.
8. It is this Foundation toward which the exercises for today are directed. ²Here is your mind joined with the Mind of God. ³Here are your thoughts one with His. ⁴For this kind of practice only one thing is necessary; approach it as you would an altar dedicated in Heaven to God the Father and to God the Son. ⁵For such is the place you are trying to reach. ⁶You will probably be unable as yet to realize how high you are trying to go. ⁷Yet even with the little understanding you have already gained, you should be able to remind yourself that this is no idle game, but an exercise in holiness and an attempt to reach the Kingdom of Heaven.
9. In the shorter exercise periods for today, try to remember how important it is to you to understand the holiness of the mind that thinks with God. ²Take a minute or two, as you repeat the idea throughout the day, to appreciate your mind’s holiness. ³Stand aside, however briefly, from all thoughts that are unworthy of Him Whose host you are. ⁴And thank Him for the Thoughts He is thinking with you.
https://acim.org/acim/lesson-45/god-is-the-mind-with-which-i-think/en/s/447

2024-02-08 21:27:54

Lesson 39
My holiness is my salvation.
1. If guilt is hell, what is its opposite? ²Like the text for which this workbook was written, the ideas used for the exercises are very simple, very clear and totally unambiguous. ³We are not concerned with intellectual feats nor logical toys. ⁴We are dealing only in the very obvious, which has been overlooked in the clouds of complexity in which you think you think.
2. If guilt is hell, what is its opposite? ²This is not difficult, surely. ³The hesitation you may feel in answering is not due to the ambiguity of the question. ⁴But do you believe that guilt is hell? ⁵If you did, you would see at once how direct and simple the text is, and you would not need a workbook at all. ⁶No one needs practice to gain what is already his.
3. We have already said that your holiness is the salvation of the world. ²What about your own salvation? ³You cannot give what you do not have. ⁴A savior must be saved. ⁵How else can he teach salvation? ⁶Today’s exercises will apply to you, recognizing that your salvation is crucial to the salvation of the world. ⁷As you apply the exercises to your world, the whole world stands to benefit.
4. Your holiness is the answer to every question that was ever asked, is being asked now, or will be asked in the future. ²Your holiness means the end of guilt, and therefore the end of hell. ³Your holiness is the salvation of the world, and your own. ⁴How could you to whom your holiness belongs be excluded from it? ⁵God does not know unholiness. ⁶Can it be He does not know His Son?
5. A full five minutes are urged for the four longer practice periods for today, and longer and more frequent practice sessions are encouraged. ²If you want to exceed the minimum requirements, more rather than longer sessions are recommended, although both are suggested.
6. Begin the practice periods as usual, by repeating today’s idea to yourself. ²Then, with closed eyes, search out your unloving thoughts in whatever form they appear; uneasiness, depression, anger, fear, worry, attack, insecurity and so on. ³Whatever form they take, they are unloving and therefore fearful. ⁴And so it is from them that you need to be saved.
7. Specific situations, events or personalities you associate with unloving thoughts of any kind are suitable subjects for today’s exercises. ²It is imperative for your salvation that you see them differently. ³And it is your blessing on them that will save you and give you vision.
8. Slowly, without conscious selection and without undue emphasis on any one in particular, search your mind for every thought that stands between you and your salvation. ²Apply the idea for today to each of them in this way:
³My unloving thoughts about _________ are keeping me in hell. ⁴My holiness is my salvation.
9. You may find these practice periods easier if you intersperse them with several short periods during which you merely repeat today’s idea to yourself slowly a few times. ²You may also find it helpful to include a few short intervals in which you just relax and do not seem to be thinking of anything. ³Sustained concentration is very difficult at first. ⁴It will become much easier as your mind becomes more disciplined and less distractible.
10. Meanwhile, you should feel free to introduce variety into the exercise periods in whatever form appeals to you. ²Do not, however, change the idea itself as you vary the method of applying it. ³However you elect to use it, the idea should be stated so that its meaning is the fact that your holiness is your salvation. ⁴End each practice period by repeating the idea in its original form once more, and adding:
⁵If guilt is hell, what is its opposite?
11. In the shorter applications, which should be made some three or four times an hour and more if possible, you may ask yourself this question, repeat today’s idea, and preferably both. ²If temptations arise, a particularly helpful form of the idea is:
³My holiness is my salvation from this.
https://acim.org/acim/lesson-39/my-holiness-is-my-salvation/en/s/441

2024-02-06 16:00:52

Lesson 37
My holiness blesses the world.
1. This idea contains the first glimmerings of your true function in the world, or why you are here. ²Your purpose is to see the world through your own holiness. ³Thus are you and the world blessed together. ⁴No one loses; nothing is taken away from anyone; everyone gains through your holy vision. ⁵It signifies the end of sacrifice because it offers everyone his full due. ⁶And he is entitled to everything because it is his birthright as a Son of God.
2. There is no other way in which the idea of sacrifice can be removed from the world’s thinking. ²Any other way of seeing will inevitably demand payment of someone or something. ³As a result, the perceiver will lose. ⁴Nor will he have any idea why he is losing. ⁵Yet is his wholeness restored to his awareness through your vision. ⁶Your holiness blesses him by asking nothing of him. ⁷Those who see themselves as whole make no demands.
3. Your holiness is the salvation of the world. ²It lets you teach the world that it is one with you, not by preaching to it, not by telling it anything, but merely by your quiet recognition that in your holiness are all things blessed along with you.
4. Today’s four longer exercise periods, each to involve three to five minutes of practice, begin with the repetition of the idea for today, followed by a minute or so of looking about you as you apply the idea to whatever you see:
²My holiness blesses this chair.
³My holiness blesses that window.
⁴My holiness blesses this body.
⁵Then close your eyes and apply the idea to any person who occurs to you, using his name and saying:
⁶My holiness blesses you, [name].
5. You may continue the practice period with your eyes closed; you may open your eyes again and apply the idea for today to your outer world if you so desire; you may alternate between applying the idea to what you see around you and to those who are in your thoughts; or you may use any combination of these two phases of application that you prefer. ²The practice period should conclude with a repetition of the idea with your eyes closed, and another, following immediately, with your eyes open.
6. The shorter exercises consist of repeating the idea as often as you can. ²It is particularly helpful to apply it silently to anyone you meet, using his name as you do so. ³It is essential to use the idea if anyone seems to cause an adverse reaction in you. ⁴Offer him the blessing of your holiness immediately, that you may learn to keep it in your own awareness.
https://acim.org/acim/lesson-37/my-holiness-blesses-the-world/en/s/439

2024-02-03 18:29:16

Lesson 34
I could see peace instead of this.
1. The idea for today begins to describe the conditions that prevail in the other way of seeing. ²Peace of mind is clearly an internal matter. ³It must begin with your own thoughts, and then extend outward. ⁴It is from your peace of mind that a peaceful perception of the world arises.
2. Three longer practice periods are required for today’s exercises. ²One in the morning and one in the evening are advised, with an additional one to be undertaken at any time in between that seems most conducive to readiness. ³All applications should be done with your eyes closed. ⁴It is your inner world to which the applications of today’s idea should be made.
3. Some five minutes of mind searching are required for each of the longer practice periods. ²Search your mind for fear thoughts, anxiety-provoking situations, “offending” personalities or events, or anything else about which you are harboring unloving thoughts. ³Note them all casually, repeating the idea for today slowly as you watch them arise in your mind, and let each one go, to be replaced by the next.
4. If you begin to experience difficulty in thinking of specific subjects, continue to repeat the idea to yourself in an unhurried manner, without applying it to anything in particular. ²Be sure, however, not to make any specific exclusions.
5. The shorter applications are to be frequent, and made whenever you feel your peace of mind is threatened in any way. ²The purpose is to protect yourself from temptation throughout the day. ³If a specific form of temptation arises in your awareness, the exercise should take this form:
⁴I could see peace in this situation instead of what I now see in it.
6. If the inroads on your peace of mind take the form of more generalized adverse emotions, such as depression, anxiety or worry, use the idea in its original form. ²If you find you need more than one application of today’s idea to help you change your mind in any specific context, try to take several minutes and devote them to repeating the idea until you feel some sense of relief. ³It will help you if you tell yourself specifically:
⁴I can replace my feelings of depression, anxiety or worry [or my thoughts about this situation, personality or event] with peace.
https://acim.org/acim/lesson-34/i-could-see-peace-instead-of-this/en/s/436

2024-01-31 16:17:29

Lesson 31
I am not the victim of the world I see.
1. Today’s idea is the introduction to your declaration of release. ²Again, the idea should be applied to both the world you see without and the world you see within. ³In applying the idea, we will use a form of practice which will be used more and more, with changes as indicated. ⁴Generally speaking, the form includes two aspects, one in which you apply the idea on a more sustained basis, and the other consisting of frequent applications of the idea throughout the day.
2. Two longer periods of practice with the idea for today are needed, one in the morning and one at night. ²Three to five minutes for each of these are recommended. ³During that time, look about you slowly while repeating the idea two or three times. ⁴Then close your eyes, and apply the same idea to your inner world. ⁵You will escape from both together, for the inner is the cause of the outer.
3. As you survey your inner world, merely let whatever thoughts cross your mind come into your awareness, each to be considered for a moment, and then replaced by the next. ²Try not to establish any kind of hierarchy among them. ³Watch them come and go as dispassionately as possible. ⁴Do not dwell on any one in particular, but try to let the stream move on evenly and calmly, without any special investment on your part. ⁵As you sit and quietly watch your thoughts, repeat today’s idea to yourself as often as you care to, but with no sense of hurry.
4. In addition, repeat the idea for today as often as possible during the day. ²Remind yourself that you are making a declaration of independence in the name of your own freedom. ³And in your freedom lies the freedom of the world.
5. The idea for today is also a particularly useful one to use as a response to any form of temptation that may arise. ²It is a declaration that you will not yield to it, and put yourself in bondage.
https://acim.org/acim/lesson-31/i-am-not-the-victim-of-the-world-i-see/en/s/433

2024-01-30 15:54:40

Lesson 30
God is in everything I see because God is in my mind.
1. The idea for today is the springboard for vision. ²From this idea will the world open up before you, and you will look upon it and see in it what you have never seen before. ³Nor will what you saw before be even faintly visible to you.
2. Today we are trying to use a new kind of “projection.” ²We are not attempting to get rid of what we do not like by seeing it outside. ³Instead, we are trying to see in the world what is in our minds, and what we want to recognize is there. ⁴Thus, we are trying to join with what we see, rather than keeping it apart from us. ⁵That is the fundamental difference between vision and the way you see.
3. Today’s idea should be applied as often as possible throughout the day. ²Whenever you have a moment or so, repeat it to yourself slowly, looking about you, and trying to realize that the idea applies to everything you do see now, or could see now if it were within the range of your sight.
4. Real vision is not limited to concepts such as “near” and “far.” ²To help you begin to get used to this idea, try to think of things beyond your present range as well as those you can actually see, as you apply today’s idea.
5. Real vision is not only unlimited by space and distance, but it does not depend on the body’s eyes at all. ²The mind is its only source. ³To aid in helping you to become more accustomed to this idea as well, devote several practice periods to applying today’s idea with your eyes closed, using whatever subjects come to mind, and looking within rather than without. ⁴Today’s idea applies equally to both.
https://acim.org/acim/lesson-30/god-is-in-everything-i-see-because-god-is-in-my-mind/en/s/432

2024-01-27 19:12:45

Lesson 27
Above all else I want to see.
1. Today’s idea expresses something stronger than mere determination. ²It gives vision priority among your desires. ³You may feel hesitant about using the idea, on the grounds that you are not sure you really mean it. ⁴This does not matter. ⁵The purpose of today’s exercises is to bring the time when the idea will be wholly true a little nearer.
2. There may be a great temptation to believe that some sort of sacrifice is being asked of you when you say you want to see above all else. ²If you become uneasy about the lack of reservation involved, add:
³Vision has no cost to anyone.
⁴If fear of loss still persists, add further:
⁵It can only bless.
3. The idea for today needs many repetitions for maximum benefit. ²It should be used at least every half hour, and more if possible. ³You might try for every fifteen or twenty minutes. ⁴It is recommended that you set a definite time interval for using the idea when you wake or shortly afterwards, and attempt to adhere to it throughout the day. ⁵It will not be difficult to do this, even if you are engaged in conversation, or otherwise occupied at the time. ⁶You can still repeat one short sentence to yourself without disturbing anything.
4. The real question is, how often will you remember? ²How much do you want today’s idea to be true? ³Answer one of these questions, and you have answered the other. ⁴You will probably miss several applications, and perhaps quite a number. ⁵Do not be disturbed by this, but do try to keep on your schedule from then on. ⁶If only once during the day you feel that you were perfectly sincere while you were repeating today’s idea, you can be sure that you have saved yourself many years of effort.
https://acim.org/acim/lesson-27/above-all-else-i-want-to-see/en/s/429

2024-01-26 17:36:22

Lesson 26
My attack thoughts are attacking my invulnerability.
1. It is surely obvious that if you can be attacked you are not invulnerable. ²You see attack as a real threat. ³That is because you believe that you can really attack. ⁴And what would have effects through you must also have effects on you. ⁵It is this law that will ultimately save you, but you are misusing it now. ⁶You must therefore learn how it can be used for your own best interests, rather than against them.
2. Because your attack thoughts will be projected, you will fear attack. ²And if you fear attack, you must believe that you are not invulnerable. ³Attack thoughts therefore make you vulnerable in your own mind, which is where the attack thoughts are. ⁴Attack thoughts and invulnerability cannot be accepted together. ⁵They contradict each other.
3. The idea for today introduces the thought that you always attack yourself first. ²If attack thoughts must entail the belief that you are vulnerable, their effect is to weaken you in your own eyes. ³Thus they have attacked your perception of yourself. ⁴And because you believe in them, you can no longer believe in yourself. ⁵A false image of yourself has come to take the place of what you are.
4. Practice with today’s idea will help you to understand that vulnerability or invulnerability is the result of your own thoughts. ²Nothing except your thoughts can attack you. ³Nothing except your thoughts can make you think you are vulnerable. ⁴And nothing except your thoughts can prove to you this is not so.
5. Six practice periods are required in applying today’s idea. ²A full two minutes should be attempted for each of them, although the time may be reduced to a minute if the discomfort is too great. ³Do not reduce it further.
6. The practice period should begin with repeating the idea for today, then closing your eyes and reviewing the unresolved questions whose outcomes are causing you concern. ²The concern may take the form of depression, worry, anger, a sense of imposition, fear, foreboding or preoccupation. ³Any problem as yet unsettled that tends to recur in your thoughts during the day is a suitable subject. ⁴You will not be able to use very many for any one practice period, because a longer time than usual should be spent with each one. ⁵Today’s idea should be applied as follows:
7. First, name the situation:
²I am concerned about _________.
³Then go over every possible outcome that has occurred to you in that connection and which has caused you concern, referring to each one quite specifically, saying:
⁴I am afraid _________ will happen.
8. If you are doing the exercises properly, you should have some five or six distressing possibilities available for each situation you use, and quite possibly more. ²It is much more helpful to cover a few situations thoroughly than to touch on a larger number. ³As the list of anticipated outcomes for each situation continues, you will probably find some of them, especially those that occur to you toward the end, less acceptable to you. ⁴Try, however, to treat them all alike to whatever extent you can.
9. After you have named each outcome of which you are afraid, tell yourself:
²That thought is an attack upon myself.
³Conclude each practice period by repeating today’s idea to yourself once more.
https://acim.org/acim/lesson-26/my-attack-thoughts-are-attacking-my/en/s/428

2024-01-24 01:37:43

Lesson 23
I can escape from the world I see by giving up attack thoughts.
1. The idea for today contains the only way out of fear that will ever succeed. ²Nothing else will work; everything else is meaningless. ³But this way cannot fail. ⁴Every thought you have makes up some segment of the world you see. ⁵It is with your thoughts, then, that we must work, if your perception of the world is to be changed.
2. If the cause of the world you see is attack thoughts, you must learn that it is these thoughts which you do not want. ²There is no point in lamenting the world. ³There is no point in trying to change the world. ⁴It is incapable of change because it is merely an effect. ⁵But there is indeed a point in changing your thoughts about the world. ⁶Here you are changing the cause. ⁷The effect will change automatically.
3. The world you see is a vengeful world, and everything in it is a symbol of vengeance. ²Each of your perceptions of “external reality” is a pictorial representation of your own attack thoughts. ³One can well ask if this can be called seeing. ⁴Is not fantasy a better word for such a process, and hallucination a more appropriate term for the result?
4. You see the world that you have made, but you do not see yourself as the image maker. ²You cannot be saved from the world, but you can escape from its cause. ³This is what salvation means, for where is the world you see when its cause is gone? ⁴Vision already holds a replacement for everything you think you see now. ⁵Loveliness can light your images, and so transform them that you will love them, even though they were made of hate. ⁶For you will not be making them alone.
5. The idea for today introduces the thought that you are not trapped in the world you see, because its cause can be changed. ²This change requires, first, that the cause be identified and then let go, so that it can be replaced. ³The first two steps in this process require your cooperation. ⁴The final one does not. ⁵Your images have already been replaced. ⁶By taking the first two steps, you will see that this is so.
6. Besides using it throughout the day as the need arises, five practice periods are required in applying today’s idea. ²As you look about you, repeat the idea slowly to yourself first, and then close your eyes and devote about a minute to searching your mind for as many attack thoughts as occur to you. ³As each one crosses your mind say:
⁴I can escape from the world I see by giving up attack thoughts about _________.
⁵Hold each attack thought in mind as you say this, and then dismiss that thought and go on to the next.
7. In the practice periods, be sure to include both your thoughts of attacking and of being attacked. ²Their effects are exactly the same because they are exactly the same. ³You do not recognize this as yet, and you are asked at this time only to treat them as the same in today’s practice periods. ⁴We are still at the stage of identifying the cause of the world you see. ⁵When you finally learn that thoughts of attack and of being attacked are not different, you will be ready to let the cause go.
https://acim.org/acim/lesson-23/i-can-escape-from-the-world-i-see-by-giving-up/en/s/425

2024-01-22 15:20:07

Lesson 22
What I see is a form of vengeance.
1. Today’s idea accurately describes the way anyone who holds attack thoughts in his mind must see the world. ²Having projected his anger onto the world, he sees vengeance about to strike at him. ³His own attack is thus perceived as self defense. ⁴This becomes an increasingly vicious circle until he is willing to change how he sees. ⁵Otherwise, thoughts of attack and counter-attack will preoccupy him and people his entire world. ⁶What peace of mind is possible to him then?
2. It is from this savage fantasy that you want to escape. ²Is it not joyous news to hear that it is not real? ³Is it not a happy discovery to find that you can escape? ⁴You made what you would destroy; everything that you hate and would attack and kill. ⁵All that you fear does not exist.
3. Look at the world about you at least five times today, for at least a minute each time. ²As your eyes move slowly from one object to another, from one body to another, say to yourself:
³I see only the perishable.
⁴I see nothing that will last.
⁵What I see is not real.
⁶What I see is a form of vengeance.
⁷At the end of each practice period, ask yourself:
⁸Is this the world I really want to see?
⁹The answer is surely obvious.
https://acim.org/acim/lesson-22/what-i-see-is-a-form-of-vengeance/en/s/424

2024-01-21 16:51:24

Lesson 21
I am determined to see things differently.
1. The idea for today is obviously a continuation and extension of the preceding one. ²This time, however, specific mind-searching periods are necessary, in addition to applying the idea to particular situations as they may arise. ³Five practice periods are urged, allowing a full minute for each.
2. In the practice periods, begin by repeating the idea to yourself. ²Then close your eyes and search your mind carefully for situations past, present or anticipated that arouse anger in you. ³The anger may take the form of any reaction ranging from mild irritation to rage. ⁴The degree of the emotion you experience does not matter. ⁵You will become increasingly aware that a slight twinge of annoyance is nothing but a veil drawn over intense fury.
3. Try, therefore, not to let the “little” thoughts of anger escape you in the practice periods. ²Remember that you do not really recognize what arouses anger in you, and nothing that you believe in this connection means anything. ³You will probably be tempted to dwell more on some situations or persons than on others, on the fallacious grounds that they are more “obvious.” ⁴This is not so. ⁵It is merely an example of the belief that some forms of attack are more justified than others.
4. As you search your mind for all the forms in which attack thoughts present themselves, hold each one in mind while you tell yourself:
²I am determined to see ____________ [name of person] differently.
³I am determined to see ________________ [specify the situation] differently.
5. Try to be as specific as possible. ²You may, for example, focus your anger on a particular attribute of a particular person, believing that the anger is limited to this aspect. ³If your perception is suffering from this form of distortion, say:
⁴I am determined to see ____________ [specify the attribute] in ____________ [name of person] differently.
https://acim.org/acim/lesson-21/i-am-determined-to-see-things-differently/en/s/423

2024-01-20 15:32:12

Lesson 20
I am determined to see.
1. We have been quite casual about our practice periods thus far. ²There has been virtually no attempt to direct the time for undertaking them, minimal effort has been required, and not even active cooperation and interest have been asked. ³This approach has been intentional, and very carefully planned. ⁴We have not lost sight of the crucial importance of the reversal of your thinking. ⁵The salvation of the world depends on it. ⁶Yet you will not see if you regard yourself as being coerced, and if you give in to resentment and opposition.
2. This is our first attempt to introduce structure. ²Do not misconstrue it as an effort to exert force or pressure. ³You want salvation. ⁴You want to be happy. ⁵You want peace. ⁶You do not have them now, because your mind is totally undisciplined, and you cannot distinguish between joy and sorrow, pleasure and pain, love and fear. ⁷You are now learning how to tell them apart. ⁸And great indeed will be your reward.
3. Your decision to see is all that vision requires. ²What you want is yours. ³Do not mistake the little effort that is asked of you for an indication that our goal is of little worth. ⁴Can the salvation of the world be a trivial purpose? ⁵And can the world be saved if you are not? ⁶God has one Son, and he is the resurrection and the life. ⁷His will is done because all power is given him in Heaven and on earth. ⁸In your determination to see is vision given you.
4. The exercises for today consist in reminding yourself throughout the day that you want to see. ²Today’s idea also tacitly implies the recognition that you do not see now. ³Therefore, as you repeat the idea, you are stating that you are determined to change your present state for a better one, and one you really want.
5. Repeat today’s idea slowly and positively at least twice an hour today, attempting to do so every half hour. ²Do not be distressed if you forget to do so, but make a real effort to remember. ³The extra repetitions should be applied to any situation, person or event that upsets you. ⁴You can see them differently, and you will. ⁵What you desire you will see. ⁶Such is the real law of cause and effect as it operates in the world.
https://acim.org/acim/lesson-20/i-am-determined-to-see/en/s/422

2024-01-15 16:31:39

Lesson 15
My thoughts are images that I have made.
1. It is because the thoughts you think you think appear as images that you do not recognize them as nothing. ²You think you think them, and so you think you see them. ³This is how your “seeing” was made. ⁴This is the function you have given your body’s eyes. ⁵It is not seeing. ⁶It is image making. ⁷It takes the place of seeing, replacing vision with illusions.
2. This introductory idea to the process of image making that you call seeing will not have much meaning for you. ²You will begin to understand it when you have seen little edges of light around the same familiar objects which you see now. ³That is the beginning of real vision. ⁴You can be certain that real vision will come quickly when this has occurred.
3. As we go along, you may have many “light episodes.” ²They may take many different forms, some of them quite unexpected. ³Do not be afraid of them. ⁴They are signs that you are opening your eyes at last. ⁵They will not persist, because they merely symbolize true perception, and they are not related to knowledge. ⁶These exercises will not reveal knowledge to you. ⁷But they will prepare the way to it.
4. In practicing the idea for today, repeat it first to yourself, and then apply it to whatever you see around you, using its name and letting your eyes rest on it as you say:
²This _________ is an image that I have made.
³That _________ is an image that I have made.
⁴It is not necessary to include a large number of specific subjects for the application of today’s idea. ⁵It is necessary, however, to continue to look at each subject while you repeat the idea to yourself. ⁶The idea should be repeated quite slowly each time.
5. Although you will obviously not be able to apply the idea to very many things during the minute or so of practice that is recommended, try to make the selection as random as possible. ²Less than a minute will do for the practice periods, if you begin to feel uneasy. ³Do not have more than three application periods for today’s idea unless you feel completely comfortable with it, and do not exceed four. ⁴However, the idea can be applied as needed throughout the day.
https://acim.org/acim/lesson-15/my-thoughts-are-images-that-i-have-made/en/s/417

2024-01-13 17:55:28

Lesson 13
A meaningless world engenders fear.
1. Today’s idea is really another form of the preceding one, except that it is more specific as to the emotion aroused. ²Actually, a meaningless world is impossible. ³Nothing without meaning exists. ⁴However, it does not follow that you will not think you perceive something that has no meaning. ⁵On the contrary, you will be particularly likely to think you do perceive it.
2. Recognition of meaninglessness arouses intense anxiety in all the separated ones. ²It represents a situation in which God and the ego “challenge” each other as to whose meaning is to be written in the empty space that meaninglessness provides. ³The ego rushes in frantically to establish its own ideas there, fearful that the void may otherwise be used to demonstrate its own impotence and unreality. ⁴And on this alone it is correct.
3. It is essential, therefore, that you learn to recognize the meaningless, and accept it without fear. ²If you are fearful, it is certain that you will endow the world with attributes that it does not possess, and crowd it with images that do not exist. ³To the ego illusions are safety devices, as they must also be to you who equate yourself with the ego.
4. The exercises for today, which should be done about three or four times for not more than a minute or so at most each time, are to be practiced in a somewhat different way from the preceding ones. ²With eyes closed, repeat today’s idea to yourself. ³Then open your eyes, and look about you slowly, saying:
⁴I am looking at a meaningless world.
⁵Repeat this statement to yourself as you look about. ⁶Then close your eyes, and conclude with:
⁷A meaningless world engenders fear because I think I am in competition with God.
5. You may find it difficult to avoid resistance, in one form or another, to this concluding statement. ²Whatever form such resistance may take, remind yourself that you are really afraid of such a thought because of the “vengeance” of the “enemy.” ³You are not expected to believe the statement at this point, and will probably dismiss it as preposterous. ⁴Note carefully, however, any signs of overt or covert fear which it may arouse.
6. This is our first attempt at stating an explicit cause and effect relationship of a kind which you are very inexperienced in recognizing. ²Do not dwell on the concluding statement, and try not even to think of it except during the practice periods. ³That will suffice at present.
https://acim.org/acim/lesson-13/a-meaningless-world-engenders-fear/en/s/415

2024-01-13 06:06:19

Heaven is an awareness of perfect oneness, in which there is no duality.

2024-01-12 16:29:20

Lesson 12
I am upset because I see a meaningless world.
1. The importance of this idea lies in the fact that it contains a correction for a major perceptual distortion. ²You think that what upsets you is a frightening world, or a sad world, or a violent world, or an insane world. ³All these attributes are given it by you. ⁴The world is meaningless in itself.
2. These exercises are done with eyes open. ²Look around you, this time quite slowly. ³Try to pace yourself so that the slow shifting of your glance from one thing to another involves a fairly constant time interval. ⁴Do not allow the time of the shift to become markedly longer or shorter, but try, instead, to keep a measured, even tempo throughout. ⁵What you see does not matter. ⁶You teach yourself this as you give whatever your glance rests on equal attention and equal time. ⁷This is a beginning step in learning to give them all equal value.
3. As you look about you, say to yourself:
²I think I see a fearful world, a dangerous world, a hostile world, a sad world, a wicked world, a crazy world,
and so on, using whatever descriptive terms happen to occur to you. ³If terms which seem positive rather than negative occur to you, include them. ⁴For example, you might think of “a good world,” or “a satisfying world.” ⁵If such terms occur to you, use them along with the rest. ⁶You may not yet understand why these “nice” adjectives belong in these exercises but remember that a “good world” implies a “bad” one, and a “satisfying world” implies an “unsatisfying” one. ⁷All terms which cross your mind are suitable subjects for today’s exercises. ⁸Their seeming quality does not matter.
4. Be sure that you do not alter the time intervals between applying today’s idea to what you think is pleasant and what you think is unpleasant. ²For the purposes of these exercises, there is no difference between them. ³At the end of the practice period, add:
⁴But I am upset because I see a meaningless world.
5. What is meaningless is neither good nor bad. ²Why, then, should a meaningless world upset you? ³If you could accept the world as meaningless and let the truth be written upon it for you, it would make you indescribably happy. ⁴But because it is meaningless, you are impelled to write upon it what you would have it be. ⁵It is this you see in it. ⁶It is this that is meaningless in truth. ⁷Beneath your words is written the Word of God. ⁸The truth upsets you now, but when your words have been erased, you will see His. ⁹That is the ultimate purpose of these exercises.
6. Three or four times is enough for practicing the idea for today. ²Nor should the practice periods exceed a minute. ³You may find even this too long. ⁴Terminate the exercises whenever you experience a sense of strain.
https://acim.org/acim/lesson-12/i-am-upset-because-i-see-a-meaningless-world/en/s/414?wid=toc

2024-01-11 15:10:21

Lesson 11
My meaningless thoughts are showing me a meaningless world.
1. This is the first idea we have had that is related to a major phase of the correction process; the reversal of the thinking of the world. ²It seems as if the world determines what you perceive. ³Today’s idea introduces the concept that your thoughts determine the world you see. ⁴Be glad indeed to practice the idea in its initial form, for in this idea is your release made sure. ⁵The key to forgiveness lies in it.
2. The practice periods for today’s idea are to be undertaken somewhat differently from the previous ones.
²Begin with your eyes closed, and repeat the idea slowly to yourself. ³Then open your eyes and look about, near and far, up and down,—anywhere. ⁴During the minute or so to be spent in using the idea merely repeat it to yourself, being sure to do so without haste, and with no sense of urgency or effort.
3. To do these exercises for maximum benefit, the eyes should move from one thing to another fairly rapidly, since they should not linger on anything in particular. ²The words, however, should be used in an unhurried, even leisurely fashion. ³The introduction to this idea, in particular, should be practiced as casually as possible. ⁴It contains the foundation for the peace, relaxation and freedom from worry that we are trying to achieve. ⁵On concluding the exercises, close your eyes and repeat the idea once more slowly to yourself.
4. Three practice periods today will
probably be sufficient. ²However, if there is little or no uneasiness and an inclination to do more, as many as five may be undertaken. ³More than this is not recommended.
https://acim.org/acim/lesson-11/my-meaningless-thoughts-are-showing-me-a/en/s/413

2024-01-10 16:46:22

Lesson 10
My thoughts do not mean anything.
1. This idea applies to all the thoughts of which you are aware, or become aware in the practice periods. ²The reason the idea is applicable to all of them is that they are not your real thoughts. ³We have made this distinction before, and will do so again. ⁴You have no basis for comparison as yet. ⁵When you do, you will have no doubt that what you once believed were your thoughts did not mean anything.
2. This is the second time we have used this kind of idea. ²The form is only slightly different. ³This time the idea is introduced with “My thoughts” instead of “These thoughts,” and no link is made overtly with the things around you. ⁴The emphasis is now on the lack of reality of what you think you think.
3. This aspect of the correction process began with the idea that the thoughts of which you are aware are meaningless, outside rather than within; and then stressed their past rather than their present status. ²Now we are emphasizing that the presence of these “thoughts” means that you are not thinking. ³This is merely another way of repeating our earlier statement that your mind is really a blank. ⁴To recognize this is to recognize nothingness when you think you see it. ⁵As such, it is the prerequisite for vision.
4. Close your eyes for these exercises, and introduce them by repeating the idea for today quite slowly to yourself. ²Then add:
³This idea will help to release me from all that I now believe.
⁴The exercises consist, as before, in searching your mind for all the thoughts that are available to you, without selection or judgment. ⁵Try to avoid classification of any kind. ⁶In fact, if you find it helpful to do so, you might imagine that you are watching an oddly assorted procession going by, which has little if any personal meaning to you. ⁷As each one crosses your mind, say:
⁸My thought about _________ does not mean anything.
⁹My thought about _________ does not mean anything.
5. Today’s thought can obviously serve for any thought that distresses you at any time. ²In addition, five practice periods are recommended, each involving no more than a minute or so of mind searching. ³It is not recommended that this time period be extended, and it should be reduced to half a minute or less if you experience discomfort. ⁴Remember, however, to repeat the idea slowly before applying it specifically, and also to add:
⁵This idea will help to release me from all that I now believe.
(https://acim.org/acim/en/s/412#1:1-5:5 | W-10.1:1–5:5)

2024-01-09 00:40:02

Lesson 8
My mind is preoccupied with past thoughts.
1. This idea is, of course, the reason why you see only the past. ²No one really sees anything. ³He sees only his thoughts projected outward. ⁴The mind’s preoccupation with the past is the cause of the misconception about time from which your seeing suffers. ⁵Your mind cannot grasp the present, which is the only time there is. ⁶It therefore cannot understand time, and cannot, in fact, understand anything.
2. The one wholly true thought one can hold about the past is that it is not here. ²To think about it at all is therefore to think about illusions. ³Very few have realized what is actually entailed in picturing the past or in anticipating the future. ⁴The mind is actually blank when it does this, because it is not really thinking about anything.
3. The purpose of the exercises for today is to begin to train your mind to recognize when it is not really thinking at all. ²While thoughtless ideas preoccupy your mind, the truth is blocked. ³Recognizing that your mind has been merely blank, rather than believing that it is filled with real ideas, is the first step to opening the way to vision.
4. The exercises for today should be done with eyes closed. ²This is because you actually cannot see anything, and it is easier to recognize that no matter how vividly you may picture a thought, you are not seeing anything. ³With as little investment as possible, search your mind for the usual minute or so, merely noting the thoughts you find there. ⁴Name each one by the central figure or theme it contains, and pass on to the next. ⁵Introduce the practice period by saying:
⁶I seem to be thinking about _________.
5. Then name each of your thoughts specifically, for example:
²I seem to be thinking about [name of a person], about [name of an object], about [name of an emotion],
and so on, concluding at the end of the mind-searching period with:
³But my mind is preoccupied with past thoughts.
6. This can be done four or five times during the day, unless you find it irritates you. ²If you find it trying, three or four times is sufficient. ³You might find it helpful, however, to include your irritation, or any emotion that the idea for today may induce, in the mind searching itself.
(https://acim.org/acim/en/s/410#1:1-6:3 | W-8.1:1–6:3)

2024-01-01 17:25:47

Lesson 1
Nothing I see in this room [on this street, from this window, in this place] means anything.
1. Now look slowly around you, and practice applying this idea very specifically to whatever you see:
²This table does not mean anything.
³This chair does not mean anything.
⁴This hand does not mean anything.
⁵This foot does not mean anything.
⁶This pen does not mean anything.
2. Then look farther away from your immediate area, and apply the idea to a wider range:
²That door does not mean anything.
³That body does not mean anything.
⁴That lamp does not mean anything.
⁵That sign does not mean anything.
⁶That shadow does not mean anything.
3. Notice that these statements are not arranged in any order, and make no allowance for differences in the kinds of things to which they are applied. ²That is the purpose of the exercise. ³The statement should merely be applied to anything you see. ⁴As you practice the idea for the day, use it totally indiscriminately. ⁵Do not attempt to apply it to everything you see, for these exercises should not become ritualistic. ⁶Only be sure that nothing you see is specifically excluded. ⁷One thing is like another as far as the application of the idea is concerned.
4. Each of the first three lessons should not be done more than twice a day each, preferably morning and evening. ²Nor should they be attempted for more than a minute or so, unless that entails a sense of hurry. ³A comfortable sense of leisure is essential.
(https://acim.org/acim/en/s/403#1:1-4:3 | W-1.1:1–4:3)
#ACIM #mindtraining #forgiveness

2024-01-01 05:44:15

Make this year different by making it all the same.
#ACIM #holyinstant #forgiveness #oneness #changelessness

2023-12-29 21:47:58

As you work through the daily ACIM workbook lessons, you should also be read through the ACIM text, which serves as a theoretical foundation or framework to make the exercises in the workbook meaningful.
You can access the text for free here: https://acim.org/acim/text/introduction/en/s/51?wid=toc&fwv=true
You may also want to consider reading through the text in one year, along with the exercises. Here is one plan you can follow to read through the text in a year: https://www.jcim.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/study_guide_2024.pdf
#ACIM #mindtraining #oneness #nonduality

2023-12-25 20:23:40

The time of Christ is the time appointed for the gift of freedom, offered to everyone. And by your acceptance of it, you have offered it to everyone. It is your power to make this season holy, for it is in your power to make the time of Christ be now. (ACIM, Original Edition, T-15.X.94)
#ACIM #Christ #freedom #oneness #holiness

2023-12-24 18:34:27

The lesson I (Jesus) was born to teach and still would teach to all my (his) brothers is that sacrifice is nowhere and love is everywhere. For communication embraces everything, and in the peace it reestablishes, love comes of itself. Let no despair darken the joy of Christmas, for the time of Christ is meaningless apart from joy. (ACIM, Original Edition, T-15.XI.108)
#ACIM #Christmas #joy #Christ #peace #love

2023-12-23 03:39:22

Greetings, #nostr! I am a lifelong student of A Course in Miracles (ACIM), and I created this account to share the wisdom and practical self-study application of #ACIM with the plebs and anyone out there who may be interested in looking inward for #peace and #truth about who we are, why we’re here, and how to return to our Source, which is Love.
ACIM isn’t a religion, a cult, or a spiritual group. It’s a curriculum you can choose to study at your own pace that will teach you about the two thought systems dominant in this world, and which one represents your true self, and which one represents our bodily identification and seeming individuality. In sum, ACIM is mind training, guidance for how to think about yourself and the world that will lead to true peace.
Beginning 1 January, I will be sharing each day the practical lessons from the ACIM Workbook, from Lesson 1 through Lesson 365. You can follow along for free here: https://acim.org/acim/workbook/introduction/en/s/401?wid=toc&fwv=true
Periodically, as I am guided to do so, I will share inspirational quotes from the ACIM Text. You can read the text for yourself at: https://acim.org/acim/text/introduction/en/s/51?wid=toc&fwv=true
Want a good overview to ACIM? This 60 minute video breaks down the A Course in Miracles nicely: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=odZpToxOo8A
Happy Holidays to you all! May you find peace and joy in the warmth of family and friends.
#ACIM #spirituality #nonduality #peace #psychology #forgiveness #spirit #God #ego #mind #nostr