LESSON 70
My salvation comes from me.
All temptation is nothing more than some form of the basic temptation not to believe the idea for today. Salvation seems to come from anywhere except from you. So, too, does the source of guilt. You see neither guilt nor salvation as in your own mind and nowhere else. When you realize that all guilt is solely an invention of your mind, you also realize that guilt and salvation must be in the same place. In understanding this you are saved.
The seeming cost of accepting today's idea is this: It means that nothing outside yourself can save you; nothing outside yourself can give you peace. But it also means that nothing outside yourself can hurt you, or disturb your peace or upset you in any way. Today's idea places you in charge of the universe, where you belong because of what you are. This is not a role that can be partially accepted. And you must surely begin to see that accepting it is salvation.
It may not, however, be clear to you why the recognition that guilt is in your own mind entails the realization that salvation is there as well. God would not have put the remedy for the sickness where it cannot help. That is the way your mind has worked, but hardly His. He wants you to be healed, so He has kept the Source of healing where the need for healing lies.
You have tried to do just the opposite, making every attempt, however distorted and fantastic it might be, to separate healing from the sickness for which it was intended, and thus keep the sickness. Your purpose was to ensure that healing did not occur. God's purpose was to ensure that it did.
Today we practice realizing that God's Will and ours are really the same in this. God wants us to be healed, and we do not really want to be sick, because it makes us unhappy. Therefore, in accepting the idea for today, we are really in agreement with God. He does not want us to be sick. Neither do we. He wants us to be healed. So do we.
We are ready for two longer practice periods today, each of which should last some ten to fifteen minutes. We will, however, still let you decide when to undertake them. We will follow this practice for a number of lessons, and it would again be well to decide in advance when would be a good time to lay aside for each of them, and then adhering to your own decisions as closely as possible.
Begin these practice periods by repeating the idea for today, adding a statement signifying your recognition that salvation comes from nothing outside of you. You might put it this way:
My salvation comes from me. 4 It cannot come from anywhere else.
Then devote a few minutes, with your eyes closed, to reviewing some of the external places where you have looked for salvation in the past;–in other people, in possessions, in various situations and events, and in self-concepts that you sought to make real. Recognize that it is not there, and tell yourself:
My salvation cannot come from any of these things. 8 My salvation comes from me and only from me.
Now we will try again to reach the light in you, which is where your salvation is. You cannot find it in the clouds that surround the light, and it is in them you have been looking for it. It is not there. It is past the clouds and in the light beyond. Remember that you will have to go through the clouds before you can reach the light. 6 But remember also that you have never found anything in the cloud patterns you imagined that endured, or that you wanted.
Since all illusions of salvation have failed you, surely you do not want to remain in the clouds, looking vainly for idols there, when you could so easily walk on into the light of real salvation. Try to pass the clouds by whatever means appeals to you. If it helps you, think of me holding your hand and leading you. And I assure you this will be no idle fantasy.
For the short and frequent practice periods today, remind yourself that your salvation comes from you, and nothing but your own thoughts can hamper your progress. You are free from all external interference. You are in charge of your salvation. You are in charge of the salvation of the world. Say, then:
My salvation comes from me. 7 Nothing outside of me can hold me back. 8 Within me is the world's salvation and my own.
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Lesson 70
“My salvation comes from me.”
As I focused on the thought that salvation is in me, and observed the thoughts that passed through my mind, it was easy for me to accept the “blame” for my reactions to my circumstances. It’s easy for me to see that it is my interpretation and my thoughts about anything that caused distress, dissatisfaction or discomfort of any kind. But I also observed that it seemed difficult for me to accept that I could be my own savior, let alone the salvation of the world.
Here I see the effect of the ego’s campaign to convince me of my powerlessness and unworthiness. The ego is perfectly happy for me to accept the blame for my pain. It is not threatened by that. In fact, it sees it as another tool to reinforce guilt. But the ego is threatened to the core by the possibility that I might accept that I have the power in my mind to change my thoughts and free myself from guilt. This is because were I to accept this power as mine, it would be the end of the ego. This is when it is important for me to remember that it is not the little image I have identified with as me that can bring me salvation. It is that image that I need to release myself from.
It is the strength of God in me which is in my true Self that has the power to release me from the limited image I have made. That Self knows Its unity with God, knows it shares Its worth with God. It is to that Self that I must turn. It will guide me with strength and certainty to the memory of what is true. As I learn to identify with and accept the thoughts of my true Self, the Thoughts I share with God, I free myself from the limited and powerless image that is not me. This is my salvation and the salvation of the world. The strength of God is in me. It is hidden only by clouds of false images that have no substance. My belief in those images is all that gives them power over me. But as I take the hand of my true Self and let this Self guide me, I pass through the clouds with ease and recognize that there is no power but the power I share with God. Only Love is real and I am free.
The answer to my whole awakening lies in this lesson. My heart sings as I read these words. The last 5 days I have had the opportunity to practice what is in this lesson and I am here to say that the process works perfectly. If I ever am sad or frustrated, the process of letting this be changed lies in my mind as I am willing to go to the real Source for the answer. It may take me a little “time.” I may have to sleep on it. But when I am willing to take each perceived problem to the Holy Spirit, it works every time. My joy and confidence that every problem is solved by the Holy Spirit is reinforced.
The solution for any problem does not lie outside me. If the Holy Spirit brought the work to be done, the Holy Spirit will show me how it can be done. The Holy Spirit knows time management very well. Nothing can stop Holy Spirit’s plan if I let it. Everything becomes simple. My mind is filled with joy and excitement. The old ideas disappear when the Light gets turned on. If I focus on the clouds, I get clouds. If I focus on letting my true Self lead me past the clouds to the Light, that is what I get.
It’s such a wonderful thing to have the answer right in my own mind. Sometimes it may take me a day to get there, but as soon as I am willing to open to the Light, the Light is there. It is What I am. There is great power in the Light. There is great peace, great comfort, great Love, great joy. This lesson encapsulates the process that heals my mind in every situation. It is so simple. I am glad I have the opportunity to practice it again today. And it is always there right in my mind as I am willing to go to that place in my mind and let my mind be healed.
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