I Am- A Course in Miracles

This holy instant would I give to You. Be You in charge. For I would follow You, Certain that Your direction gives me peace.

2009-07-27T07:05:00.001-07:00

Lesson 365

This holy instant would I give to You. Be You in charge. For I would follow You, Certain that Your direction gives me peace.

And if I need a word to help me, He will give it to me. If I need a thought, that will He also give. And if I need but stillness and a tranquil, open mind, these are the gifts I will receive of Him. He is in charge by my request. And He will hear and answer me, because He speaks for God my Father and His holy Son.

EPILOGUE

This course is a beginning, not an end. Your Friend goes with you. You are not alone. No one who calls on Him can call in vain. Whatever troubles you, be certain that He has the answer, and will gladly give it to you, if you simply turn to Him and ask it of Him. He will not withhold all answers that you need for anything that seems to trouble you. He knows the way to solve all problems, and resolve all doubts. His certainty is yours. You need but ask it of Him, and it will be given you.

You are as certain of arriving home as is the pathway of the sun laid down before it rises, after it has set, and in the half-lit hours in between. Indeed, your pathway is more certain still. For it can not be possible to change the course of those whom God has called to Him. Therefore obey your will, and follow Him Whom you accepted as your voice, to speak of what you really want and really need. His is the Voice for God and also yours. And thus He speaks of freedom and of truth.

No more specific lessons are assigned, for there is no more need of them. Henceforth, hear but the Voice for God and for your Self when you retire from the world, to seek reality instead. He will direct your efforts, telling you exactly what to do, how to direct your mind, and when to come to Him in silence, asking for His sure direction and His certain Word. His is the Word that God has given you. His is the Word you chose to be your own.

And now I place you in His hands, to be His faithful follower, with Him as Guide through every difficulty and all pain that you may think is real. Nor will He give you pleasures that will pass away, for He gives only the eternal and the good. Let Him prepare you further. He has earned your trust by speaking daily to you of your Father and your brother and your Self. He will continue. Now you walk with Him, as certain as is He of where you go; as sure as He of how you should proceed; as confident as He is of the goal, and of your safe arrival in the end.

The end is certain, and the means as well. To this we say "Amen." You will be told exactly what God wills for you each time there is a choice to make. And He will speak for God and for your Self, thus making sure that hell will claim you not, and that each choice you make brings Heaven nearer to your reach. And so we walk with Him from this time on, and turn to Him for guidance and for peace and sure direction. Joy attends our way. For we go homeward to an open door which God has held unclosed to welcome us.

We trust our ways to Him and say "Amen." In peace we will continue in His way, and trust all things to Him. In confidence we wait His answers, as we ask His Will in everything we do. He loves God's Son as we would love him. And He teaches us how to behold him through His eyes, and love him as He does. You do not walk alone. God's angels hover near and all about. His Love surrounds you, and of this be sure; that I will never leave you comfortless.

The Following is Forwarded from Pathwaysoflight.org

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Lesson 365
“This holy instant would I give to You.
Be You in charge. For I would follow You,
Certain that Your direction gives me peace.”

"Be You in charge." Those are the words I need to remember in every situation. Those are the words that will carry me Home. Trying to be in charge on my own is the problem. Letting the Holy Spirit be in charge is the answer. In the Epilogue it says, "Whatever troubles you, be certain that He has the answer, and will gladly give it to you, if you simply turn to Him and ask it of Him."

"Be You in charge." These four little words are not complicated to remember. If I have the willingness to remember these words, I will remember them. Letting myself be carried by the Holy Spirit is how I will return Home. It is how I will awaken to the truth. Opening my mind to the Holy Spirit's healing perspectives is how the insanity in my mind will be undone. The Holy Spirit brings the Light of God, the Light of Truth, to every dark corner in my mind, to every fear, to every judgment, to every false idea.

The rest of my life is dedicated to these four words, "Be You in charge." I may falter and falter again, but with my focus on these four words I will be carried past all the false illusions of the world. I will be carried through every fear, every nightmare dream. Letting the Holy Spirit be in charge is my most important prayer. My openness to the Holy Spirit allows Him to do His work. Healing my mind is His job, not mine.

"Be You in charge." These words open the gates to Love's healing Light. These healing words pave the way to my awakening to the truth. On this last day of the year, I need remember but these words, "Be You in charge," and I can be confident that healing will follow.

My heart is filled with gratitude for this year dedicated to receiving Holy Spirit's healing perspective for each lesson. This practice has strengthened my trust in His presence in my life. It has strengthened my confidence that He is ever present to guide me in all things, to teach me the way of healing and to be a Friend and Comforter.

The fact that I am not alone is more real to me now. I remember it more quickly when I get wrapped up in the events of my day, thinking I must solve my problems on my own. The experience has taught me that I have the means to resolve all problems, not on my own, but in union with the Holy Spirit in my mind. Thoughts of vulnerability and guilt still enter my mind. But I do not give them a dwelling place nearly as long as I used to. My home is Heaven. Separation and isolation cannot abide there and therefore cannot abide in me.

With an enthusiastic heart, I dedicate the coming year to the continued practice of going to the Holy Spirit to receive His healing perspectives every day and throughout the day. This practice has brought me great blessing, yet it is but a tiny taste of what is available to me as I develop the habit of letting Holy Spirit be in charge in every instant. This is my heart's desire.

This is what will bring me peace. This is what will help me see the Love in my brother that is my own. This is what will help me remember that God's strength is mine and I share His invulnerability. This is what will help me remember in every moment, "The sight of Christ is all there is to see. The song of Christ is all there is to hear. The hand of Christ is all there is to hold. There is no journey but to walk with Him." (T.24.V.7:7-10) It is a journey of joy and I give thanks.

©2003, Pathways of Light, Inc. http://pathwaysoflight.org You may freely share copies of this page with your friends, provided all copies include this notice.
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Lessons 361 to 365 This holy instant would I give to You. Be You in charge. For I would follow You, Certain that Your direction gives me peace.

2009-07-25T07:22:00.003-07:00

Lesson 361

FINAL LESSONS

Introduction

Our final lessons will be left as free of words as possible. We use them but at the beginning of our practicing, and only to remind us that we seek to go beyond them. Let us turn to Him Who leads the way and makes our footsteps sure. To Him we leave these lessons, as to Him we give our lives henceforth. For we would not return again to the belief in sin that made the world seem ugly and unsafe, attacking and destroying, dangerous in all its ways, and treacherous beyond the hope of trust and the escape from pain.

His is the only way to find the peace that God has given us. It is His way that everyone must travel in the end, because it is this ending God Himself appointed. In the dream of time it seems to be far off. And yet, in truth, it is already here; already serving us as gracious guidance in the way to go. Let us together follow in the way that truth points out to us. And let us be the leaders of our many brothers who are seeking for the way, but find it not.

And to this purpose let us dedicate our minds, directing all our thoughts to serve the function of salvation. Unto us the aim is given to forgive the world. It is the goal that God has given us. It is His ending to the dream we seek, and not our own. For all that we forgive we will not fail to recognize as part of God Himself. And thus His memory is given back, completely and complete.

It is our function to remember Him on earth, as it is given us to be His Own completion in reality. So let us not forget our goal is shared, for it is that remembrance which contains the memory of God, and points the way to Him and to the Heaven of His peace. And shall we not forgive our brother, who can offer this to us? He is the way, the truth and life that shows the way to us. In him resides salvation, offered us through our forgiveness, given unto him.

We will not end this year without the gift our Father promised to His holy Son. We are forgiven now. And we are saved from all the wrath we thought belonged to God, and found it was a dream. We are restored to sanity, in which we understand that anger is insane, attack is mad, and vengeance merely foolish fantasy. We have been saved from wrath because we learned we were mistaken. Nothing more than that. And is a father angry at his son because he failed to understand the truth?

We come in honesty to God and say we did not understand, and ask Him to help us to learn His lessons, through the Voice of His Own Teacher. Would He hurt His Son? Or would He rush to answer him, and say, "This is My Son, and all I have is his"? Be certain He will answer thus, for these are His Own words to you. And more than that can no one ever have, for in these words is all there is, and all that there will be throughout all time and in eternity.

Lessons 361 to 365

This holy instant would I give to You. Be You in charge. For I would follow You, Certain that Your direction gives me peace.

And if I need a word to help me, He will give it to me. If I need a thought, that will He also give. And if I need but stillness and a tranquil, open mind, these are the gifts I will receive of Him. He is in charge by my request. And He will hear and answer me, because He speaks for God my Father and His holy Son.

The Following is Forwarded from Pathwaysoflight.org

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Lesson 361
“This holy instant would I give to You.
Be You in charge. For I would follow You,
Certain that Your direction gives me peace.”

This lesson is the culmination of our year of practice. It is telling us what all the exercises and words were guiding us to. We are to have the habit of giving every instant to the Holy Spirit to receive His direction. It is this that makes the instant holy, for we have released the purpose we would give it in our allegiance to the ego and instead open to the direction the Holy Spirit would give. We are assured that by doing this we will have peace. All the exercises leading up to this point have been designed to clear the way and open our minds to be receptive to the Holy Spirit's direction.

The exercises of this year are now resources for us to use whenever we forget where our true Source of Help is. When we get wrapped up in the ego's illusions, we have the tools to find our way back to the clarity our inner Teacher offers us. This is a lifelong practice. For many it may be helpful to go through the workbook lessons again another year, perhaps many years, so that we can truly make the principles and exercises a part of our way of thinking and living. It is their practice that will bring us peace.

The Workbook does not stand on its own. It is based on the thought system set forth in the Text. The application of the lessons in the Workbook become more understandable and meaningful as the ideas in the Text are made part of our way of thinking. We have so long identified with the lies of the ego and thought them real that we do not recognize their falsity. Part of the defense of the ego is to cloak its lies in appealing images that seem to be beneficent. Yet beneath them remains the ego's dedication to death. The Text helps us learn to recognize the ego's deceptions. At the same time it helps us to see the radiant and glorious truth of What we are as God's Son.

With the foundation of understanding from the Text and the practice of giving every moment to the Holy Spirit developed in the Workbook lessons, our life becomes a demonstration of changed perception, of miracles bringing peace. As it says in the introduction to the Manual, "To teach is to demonstrate." We are always teaching by what we demonstrate in our lives. When we align ourselves with the ego, we demonstrate the ego's illusions and teach them to ourselves and the world. When we follow the Holy Spirit's direction, we demonstrate release of illusions (forgiveness) and teach that to the world. This is where the Manual for Teachers is a helpful guide as we go through the process of applying forgiveness more and more in our lives.

To be a teacher of God does not mean that we must all form groups to teach A Course in Miracles. Being a teacher of God means that we demonstrate forgiveness in our lives. It means that by having the practice of turning every instant over to the Holy Spirit for Him to be in charge, we become miracle workers. We teach forgiveness by demonstrating forgiveness. That is our part in God's plan for salvation, for the release of the world from the dream of separation.

If you feel there is more to gain from the Workbook lessons than you have taken in this year, we encourage you to go through the lessons again. You may find that you see things the next time through that you didn't see before. Because the Course is leading us to a complete thought reversal, sometimes our attachment to our old way of thinking does not allow us to see the message that is there in front of us. But trust that there has been much gained in this year. Your willingness has expanded dramatically and you will find many gifts as you go through the lessons again.

I was very pleased to read this day's lesson because I was experiencing a moment of confusion and wondering how I should view something that is going on in my life. I was also wondering what I should do about it, if anything. When I start doing this, sometimes I find myself going in circles, mentally.

As I read the lesson, I gave the whole thing to the Holy Spirit with the certainty that an answer would be forth coming and it was! The more I do this, the more quickly and clearly the answer comes. So, why not do it always and immediately? I think it can only be because I still want to keep some thoughts and some decisions for myself. The motivation for change? It is the discomfort. It feels so freeing and so joyful when I turn my life over to the Holy Spirit and by contrast, when I follow ego instead, life is painful and often depressing.

©2003, Pathways of Light, Inc. http://pathwaysoflight.org You may freely share copies of this page with your friends, provided all copies include this notice.

Lesson 362
“This holy instant would I give to You.
Be You in charge. For I would follow You,
Certain that Your direction gives me peace.”

This year of lessons has been preparing us to live what has been called the "mystic's" life. It is a life directed by the Holy Spirit instead of the ego's dictates. Because the Holy Spirit's direction is always towards peace, it is a life of increasing peace and happiness. The form of our doing in the world may not change, but the meaning we give it does. Less and less of our doing is motivated by a sense of needing to protect ourselves against some unknown or imagined pending danger. Rather our doing is motivated by the heartfelt desire to extend Love, to see the face of Christ in all our brothers, to bring the miracle of forgiveness to the world.

If we will let Him, the Holy Spirit will guide all our doing and it will bring us great joy. Our judgments diminish as we turn them over to Him. More and more each moment is recognized as a gift, an opportunity to extend forgiveness and Love. It may be someone we meet at the grocery store. It may be someone we talk to on the phone, a coworker, a supervisor, a friend or someone we have not even met who shares in the blessing of forgiveness. Our minds are joined and the forgiveness of one is the forgiveness of all.

Perhaps we may not feel ready yet to let the Holy Spirit guide us in all our ways. Perhaps there are some areas of our life that we still want to reserve as our own. We fear we may be asked to make changes we don't feel ready to make. It does not matter. The Holy Spirit forever offers His gifts. As we learn to accept them and experience their blessing, their healing, their peace and joy, we will naturally want more.

The appeal of peace becomes stronger than the appeal of specialness. Gradually we begin to see that those areas of our lives we reserve for ourselves no longer have the attraction they once had. Gradually we offer them also to the Holy Spirit and He gives us the gift of peace and eternal happiness in exchange. The Holy Spirit does not coerce or demand. He simply holds out His gifts to us and judges not. We take them when we are ready.

A Course in Miracles offers us a means to accelerate our willingness to receive the gift of God's peace and joy. We each use what's available to us for healing according to our willingness.

Holy Spirit, today I offer you my eyes my ears, my tongue, my hands, my feet to serve your Will, which I know to be my own in truth. I would not lead but only follow your sure direction to the Home of my Source and Creator. I give thanks for your Friendship and your comfort. I rest in your sure direction.

Even though we may be dreaming about something else, we cannot stop being the Light of God That we are. Behind the form, everyone and everything in this world is the Light of God -- the same Light of God. That is the lesson we are to ultimately learn.

That is why I must follow and not lead. The Holy Spirit teaches me to see as He does, to see the truth behind every form of separation. My job is to let the Holy Spirit in, to give the Holy Spirit the chance to do Its healing work in my mind.

I may rise and fall and rise and fall again, but one thing is certain. In reality dreams do not matter, for they are merely dreams. The truth remains that we are all still the Light of God. We cannot change that through dreaming. We cannot effect a change in What we are in any way. We are safe in the Mind of God because we cannot leave the Mind of God. Our dreams may appear very real to us, but in fact they mean nothing because they are nothing.

Letting the Holy Spirit into my mind is my job right now. Being open to Holy Spirit's healing perspectives is my job right now. "Be You in charge. For I would follow You, certain that Your direction gives me peace."

I had a lesson in following the Holy Spirit in a dream last night. I woke in the night thinking about an area of my life that I had given over to the Holy Spirit, but that I keep taking back or experiencing doubts about (mainly, I think, because it seems to be working so well and so quickly and I just can't believe it). I keep wondering if I am following Guidance, or if I am just kidding myself and doing what I want to do, not what I should. Pretty soon I've talked myself into circles and am feeling a lot of anxiety. So, what I did was put on a meditation tape from the 905 course that helps me to move from specialness to holiness. In this meditation, I am able to look at what I want to turn over to the Holy Spirit with Him and receive guidance. I felt pretty good about the meditation and fell immediately to sleep.

I woke later from a dream in which I found myself crossing a tall bridge in a car. I am riding along at an exhilarating speed in the passengers seat and decide to get more comfortable by reclining the seat somewhat. I can't get it to catch and it seems to be trying to lay flat. This makes me nervous and the mood is broken. I look at the drivers seat and realize I should be there because it seems no one is driving. Strange that the ride has been so good without me at the control. In a panic I climb into the drivers seat and see myself coming up on other vehicles and try to put on the brakes but it seems I have cloth or something tangling my feet and I can't find the brakes. Nevertheless, I make it (miraculously, it seems) to the other side of the bridge and to where I am going with no mishap.

When I woke up, the dream came back to me and I realized that it mirrored what I am doing in my "waking" life. I gave the controls over to the Holy Spirit and was moving toward our destination at a fast clip until I started feeling nervous about no longer being in control and tried to take over again.

Then felt anxiety as I tried to do something on my own that I have already proven myself incapable of completing successfully. Even as, in my anxiety I feel doomed to crash and burn, I realize that the Holy Spirit can guide me safely to where I need to be. As I reached this conclusion, I relaxed my need to control and gave it back to the Holy Spirit's capable hands.

I often give my dreams to the Holy Spirit to use to teach me. I am so glad I do that because this allowed the Holy Spirit to use a very dramatic event to get the point across in a way I couldn't miss. I understand something now that I was wrestling with in my "day life."

©2003, Pathways of Light, Inc. http://pathwaysoflight.org You may freely share copies of this page with your friends, provided all copies include this notice.

Lesson 363
“This holy instant would I give to You.
Be You in charge. For I would follow You,
Certain that Your direction gives me peace.”

The Holy Spirit is always certain, having but one purpose, one goal. Being able to see all effects of everything in this world, He knows what is truly helpful in every situation. I surely cannot say that of myself alone and I don't seem to share His certainty. Because the Holy Spirit is ever present in my mind, my uncertainty can only be because of my unwillingness to consistently follow His direction. His certainty is there for me to claim. It is my uncertainty about whether I really want His direction that leaves me in confusion and conflict.

The undoing of my resistance, of my unwillingness is a gradual process. The Holy Spirit is patient with me, knowing the inevitability of my returning Home. He understands that too sudden a shift in my values would bring terror rather than peace to my conflicted mind. And so He walks with me and works with me gently and compassionately, helping me to see where my values are misplaced. He helps me recognize illusions for what they are. He helps me see that they have no value and offer me nothing that can content me.

As I let go of these misplaced values, I become more and more willing to follow His direction. With this increasing willingness, my certainty grows. Confusion and conflict diminish, replaced by certainty and contentment. These gifts He offers me eternally. He offers me nothing that is temporary, for His would not deceive the Son of God, Who is worthy only of the eternal.

I give thanks today that I have the means to return to the certainty and unity of Love, my Source.

Today I give to having a quiet and open mind. I give today to the Holy Spirit that He would be my constant Companion and inner Friend. He knows how to decide for me. He knows how to straighten my mind. I have forgotten my Self in illusions. I need the help of my constant Companion and Guide.

Holy Spirit, I open my mind to You today to receive Your comforting touch. Your healing touch of Love and peace and joy heals my mind of false values and gently guides me Home, where I belong. I am eternally safe with You. There is no fear that is too big for You to handle. By making You my constant Companion, I learn of and remember eternity at last. "This holy instant would I give to you."

There are no words to express my gratitude for the Course and for the awareness that I have allowed myself to receive as a result of practicing what the Course teaches. It wasn't until I made a commitment to practice the lessons, though, that I began to open myself to receive awareness of truth. Before then, the Course didn't make a lot of sense to me.

I can't explain it, but, the more I think I know, the more I realize how much I don't know. And it's only because of these lessons and my commitment to finding the truth about myself and my purpose in life, that I am learning to train my mind to stop the vicious cycle of insanity.

I'm learning to request the guidance of my Holy Companion in all I do; any conversations that I have, any movies that I watch, any books that I read, and, of course, at the start of my day. Even though many times, as the day goes on, I forget the truth, but practicing these lessons has helped me stop and step back. And it is in this place of stepping back, I make no judgment, but instead ask the Holy Spirit to take charge.

I surrender to Him my thoughts and, like this lesson says, if I need a word or a thought to help me, He gives it to me. Sometimes I don't hear anything and that's fine too, because stillness is better than making judgment because when I make judgment, I lose my peace. He never fails to send me some kind of message, though, not when He's ready to send it to me, but whenever I'm ready to receive it.

I, personally, will start the lessons over again from the beginning because, as I grow spiritually, I see things from a different perspective and that's exciting to me. I believe the promises of the Course are becoming more real for me and I look forward to continuing my journey of awakening, remembering that we are all joined as one.

©2003, Pathways of Light, Inc. http://pathwaysoflight.org You may freely share copies of this page with your friends, provided all copies include this notice.

Lesson 364
“This holy instant would I give to You.
Be You in charge. For I would follow You,
Certain that Your direction gives me peace.”

Giving every moment to the Holy Spirit may seem like a tall order. It becomes easier when I just focus on doing it in this present moment. It's like they say in football, "Take it one game at a time." Just open to Holy Spirit -- now. Let the Holy Spirit be in charge -- now. This brings it down to a manageable, doable thing.

The Holy Spirit is there to help me right now. He is always doing His job. It is my openness to His being in charge that I need to take care of. If I take care of this one thing, just making sure that the Holy Spirit is in charge right now, the rest will take care of itself. If I do my part, the Holy Spirit's direction will bring me peace. I will know whatever I need to know whenever I need to know it. So this is my one goal -- to put Holy Spirit in charge now. That is all. There are no ifs, ands or buts. Just one focus. Right now I open to Holy Spirit's guidance. That is my part. The Holy Spirit knows how to do His part and will do it if I allow Him. And I focus on allowing Him -- now.

It says in the epilogue that the Holy Spirit will provide "all answers that you need for anything that seems to trouble you. He knows the way to solve all problems and resolve all doubts." In one of the earlier lessons we are told to affirm, "Let me recognize where the problem is so it can be solved." If I seem to be having a problem that is not being resolved, it is because I am not recognizing where the problem really is.

The ego is always happy to provide "solutions." But we need to remember that in all things the ego's motto is always seek and do not find. All the ego's solutions are really delaying tactics, decoys to keep us from searching where the solution really can be found. The solution is never at the level of form, although the Holy Spirit may use form to help us bridge toward the real solution.

At the core of every problem is the belief that we have separated from our Source and our brothers. If we did not hang on to this belief we would rest contented in the loving presence of our Creator and our brothers, knowing our unity with them. There would be nothing to fix. We have identified for so long with the ego thought system as reality that we do not recognize on our own where the problem lies.

So we need help and we need an open mind. It is why the beginning lessons start training us to remember we do not know what anything means. As long as we are convinced that the meaning we have given what we see is real and true, we are not open to be taught. As we conclude the lessons for the year, we have been shown in many ways that we do not know how to correctly perceive anything. We have also been taught that we are not the isolated, separate identity that we thought we were. We have been told in many ways that we are "God's Son, complete and healed and whole, shining in the reflection of His Love." (W.II.14.1:1)

We are learning to open to a new image of What we are. The recognition of this is accelerated as we give each instant to the Holy Spirit to be our Guide. He directs us with certainty and singleness of purpose to the one goal that brings us Home to the Heaven where we belong. It is a lesson worth learning. It is a lesson of freedom and of peace. Today I will follow, not lead, for it is my heart's desire to find my Self.

Sometimes I feel like my life is out of control. As I take a step back and look at this, I can see that it has most oftened happened when I said I wanted one thing and did another. An example would be that I would say I want to lose weight and I will do it by following a specific diet. Then I would not follow the diet and start gaining weight instead. I start feeling anxious all out of proportion with gaining a couple of pounds and I think this is because I feel helpless. I think I have no control over my life even though that doesn't really make sense.

What I have noticed as I have begun to turn my life over to the Holy Spirit is that in total surrender, I now feel as if I am in control of my life. Before, I sometimes felt like I was in a runaway car with no steering and no brakes. I was at the wheel, but the car wasn't going where I thought I wanted it.

I think that one reason I resisted turning everything over to the Holy Spirit was that I feared losing control. I guess that need to feel independent and in charge of my own life is part of the ego strategy to get me to value separateness. How odd and unexpected it is to discover that surrender to God does not diminish my power, but actually increases it.

Giving every moment to the Holy Spirit does, indeed, seem like a tall order, but that's because we're so used to trying to run our own lives (and many times the lives of others). I remember when I was first introduced to that idea, I would think, "How can I turn my life over to something I can't see or touch or hear?" But by that time, I was in so much pain, I figured I had nothing to lose by turning my life over to my concept of God. My life was in total chaos so I knew I was doing something wrong, but I couldn't figure out what it was. It seemed like the harder I tried, the worse things got. Today I understand what "being in that place of total surrender is where all your power is" means.

Letting Holy Spirit be in charge, reminds me of Albert's (Einstein) statement, "The significant problems we face, can never be solved at the level of thinking that created them." By going to Holy Spirit, we are automatically, instantaneously, at a level where no problem exists. By not going to Holy Spirit, we remain at the level of worldly illusion problems, with no hope for alleviating them.

Landor said that, "All you really need to be happy, is something to be enthusiastic about." Co-creating with Holy Spirit leads to a natural enthusiasm that is a great blessing. Perhaps the greatest?

©2003, Pathways of Light, Inc. http://pathwaysoflight.org You may freely share copies of this page with your friends, provided all copies include this notice.

Lesson 365
“This holy instant would I give to You.
Be You in charge. For I would follow You,
Certain that Your direction gives me peace.”

"Be You in charge." Those are the words I need to remember in every situation. Those are the words that will carry me Home. Trying to be in charge on my own is the problem. Letting the Holy Spirit be in charge is the answer. In the Epilogue it says, "Whatever troubles you, be certain that He has the answer, and will gladly give it to you, if you simply turn to Him and ask it of Him."

"Be You in charge." These four little words are not complicated to remember. If I have the willingness to remember these words, I will remember them. Letting myself be carried by the Holy Spirit is how I will return Home. It is how I will awaken to the truth. Opening my mind to the Holy Spirit's healing perspectives is how the insanity in my mind will be undone. The Holy Spirit brings the Light of God, the Light of Truth, to every dark corner in my mind, to every fear, to every judgment, to every false idea.

The rest of my life is dedicated to these four words, "Be You in charge." I may falter and falter again, but with my focus on these four words I will be carried past all the false illusions of the world. I will be carried through every fear, every nightmare dream. Letting the Holy Spirit be in charge is my most important prayer. My openness to the Holy Spirit allows Him to do His work. Healing my mind is His job, not mine.

"Be You in charge." These words open the gates to Love's healing Light. These healing words pave the way to my awakening to the truth. On this last day of the year, I need remember but these words, "Be You in charge," and I can be confident that healing will follow.

My heart is filled with gratitude for this year dedicated to receiving Holy Spirit's healing perspective for each lesson. This practice has strengthened my trust in His presence in my life. It has strengthened my confidence that He is ever present to guide me in all things, to teach me the way of healing and to be a Friend and Comforter.

The fact that I am not alone is more real to me now. I remember it more quickly when I get wrapped up in the events of my day, thinking I must solve my problems on my own. The experience has taught me that I have the means to resolve all problems, not on my own, but in union with the Holy Spirit in my mind. Thoughts of vulnerability and guilt still enter my mind. But I do not give them a dwelling place nearly as long as I used to. My home is Heaven. Separation and isolation cannot abide there and therefore cannot abide in me.

With an enthusiastic heart, I dedicate the coming year to the continued practice of going to the Holy Spirit to receive His healing perspectives every day and throughout the day. This practice has brought me great blessing, yet it is but a tiny taste of what is available to me as I develop the habit of letting Holy Spirit be in charge in every instant. This is my heart's desire.

This is what will bring me peace. This is what will help me see the Love in my brother that is my own. This is what will help me remember that God's strength is mine and I share His invulnerability. This is what will help me remember in every moment, "The sight of Christ is all there is to see. The song of Christ is all there is to hear. The hand of Christ is all there is to hold. There is no journey but to walk with Him." (T.24.V.7:7-10) It is a journey of joy and I give thanks.

©2003, Pathways of Light, Inc. http://pathwaysoflight.org You may freely share copies of this page with your friends, provided all copies include this notice.

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Lesson 360 Peace be to me, the holy Son of God. Peace to my brother, who is one with me. Let all the world be blessed with peace through us.

2009-07-24T07:36:00.000-07:00

Lesson 360

Peace be to me, the holy Son of God. Peace to my brother, who is one with me. Let all the world be blessed with peace through us.

Father, it is Your peace that I would give, receiving it of You. I am Your Son, forever just as You created me, for the Great Rays remain forever still and undisturbed within me. I would reach to them in silence and in certainty, for nowhere else can certainty be found. Peace be to me, and peace to all the world. In holiness were we created, and in holiness do we remain. Your Son is like to You in perfect sinlessness. And with this thought we gladly say "Amen."

The Following is Forwarded from Pathwaysoflight.org

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Lesson 360
“Peace be to me, the holy Son of God.
Peace to my brother, who is one with me.
Let all the world be blessed with peace through us.”

As I worked with this lesson today, I realized that I felt unsettled. I perceived a loved one experiencing flu symptoms and I was concerned. I wanted to pray for my friend, but I wanted my prayer to reflect the principles of the Course. I asked the Holy Spirit to guide my prayer.

I said to the Holy Spirit, "I do not know what this means or what it is for." (He already knew that, but I needed to remind myself.) "Help me to see the meaning I am giving it and learn what it really means."

Holy Spirit showed me that seeing my friend as vulnerable and weak was a reflection of my belief that I am vulnerable and weak. Everything I see is a projection from my mind. He reminded me that "I am God's Son, complete and healed and whole, shining in the reflection of God's Love." (W.II.14.1:1) And the same applies to my friend, who is one with me. I affirmed in my mind to my friend, "You are God's Son, complete and healed and whole, shining in the reflection of God's Love." I noticed that I was beginning to feel comforted and more peaceful.

I am not the weak and fearful image I have made of myself. "In me is love perfected, fear impossible, and joy established without opposite." (W.II.14.1:3) Of course, this is equally true for my friend and everyone in the world. As I thought about my friend and affirmed this in my mind, my feeling of peace grew stronger. I felt myself relax and a sense of safety washed over me. No longer did I see my friend as in danger. No longer was I using my perception to reinforce my sense of separation and weakness.

When I perceive anyone as vulnerable, fearful, angry or guilty, I am using that person to teach myself that this perception is true and justified. I am teaching myself that those same attributes apply to me. The Course is teaching me, "Don't believe it!" This is not the truth about me or anyone.

As I practice bringing all my thoughts to the Holy Spirit to receive his perception, I will learn a different lesson than the ego teaches. I will learn that I remain as God created me. I will learn that I am forever safe in His loving Arms, protected by my unity with Him. I can truly offer "peace to my brother, who is one with me," because I am not giving reality to the illusion of vulnerability. I am recognizing his holiness along with mine.

I, too, am learning from the Course that whenever I perceive something that robs me of my peace, I need to deal with that uneasy thought at it's source; my own mind. I have to remind myself, not only who or what my uneasy thought is, but more importantly, who I am. If there is no peace and love in my own mind, I won't project peace and Love out into my world. (I can't give what I don't accept). The Holy Spirit reminds me that I am a Son of God; forever changeless, forever just as He created me. And as such, my Self offers peace to myself and my brothers, who are One with me.

©2003, Pathways of Light, Inc. http://pathwaysoflight.org You may freely share copies of this page with your friends, provided all copies include this notice.
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Lesson 359 God's answer is some form of peace. All pain Is healed; all misery replaced with joy.

2009-07-23T08:51:00.001-07:00

Lesson 359

God's answer is some form of peace. All pain Is healed; all misery replaced with joy. All prison doors are opened. And all sin Is understood as merely a mistake.

Father, today we will forgive Your world, and let creation be Your Own. We have misunderstood all things. But we have not made sinners of the holy Sons of God. What You created sinless so abides forever and forever. Such are we. And we rejoice to learn that we have made mistakes which have no real effects on us. Sin is impossible, and on this fact forgiveness rests upon a certain base more solid than the shadow world we see. Help us forgive, for we would be redeemed. Help us forgive, for we would be at peace.

The Following is Forwarded from Pathwaysoflight.org

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Lesson 359
“God's answer is some form of peace. All pain
Is healed; all misery replaced with joy.
All prison doors are opened. And all sin
Is understood as merely a mistake.”

God's peace is what is real. Our reality as united Love is what is real. As we let go of trying to replace Heaven with illusions of separation, the peace we are and the Love we are returns to our awareness because it has never left us. From this perspective, forgiveness just means letting go of what could never happen, letting go of trying to make up an identity that is different and separate from Love, Which is united for eternity.

Making up dreams of individuality and conflict is very stressful. Trying to have a will that is separate from God's generates enormous fear. We create nightmares and become very frightened and then call out for help. As we open to receive the help, the help always comes in some form of peace.

As we learn our nightmares are not true, we open up our closed minds more and more. The separation that we thought had happened was just a mistake and had no real effect on us. We learn that we are still safe in Heaven. We are just dreaming of being on a distant shore. God is not far away. God is nearer than our beating heart. As we are willing to let the false ideas of separation fall away, we know again the peace and joy and Love that are eternally ours.

When I experience true forgiveness, I think of a phrase from an old Alka-Seltzer commercial, "Oh what a relief it is." A heavy burden of judgment, condemnation and guilt is lifted from my shoulders. The air is clear, like a sunny spring day after a rain. I walk with a smile of joy on my face and I am at peace. I have received God's answer to the pain I thought I was in. I have learned that what I thought happened that needed forgiveness did not really happen. I was not changed or harmed in any way. I remain as God created me. And so do all my brothers.

Forgiveness is such a great blessing. It is a wonder that it seems at times so hard to forgive. Sometimes it seems that pain and sorrow are more appealing than God's peace and joy. If you asked me which I prefer, I would say I prefer peace and joy. But as long as I align my mind with the ego thought system, I will prefer pain and loss over the peace and joy of God, though it doesn't seem that is what I am asking for.

The ego dresses specialness in fancy clothes and sparkling baubles to make it seem appealing. It does this to hide the death and decay that are the price of specialness. To have specialness I must perceive myself as separate and distinct from my Creator. Thus I perceive myself as cut off from Life, and death is inevitable. I try to claim the temporary pleasures of specialness, all the while believing in the inevitability of death.

"Eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow we die" is the ego's swan song. For many this is the best that "life" in this world has to offer. We don't realize that being in this world is not Life, but the denial of Life. We have one Life, and that Life we share with God. The good news is that this world is just a mistake and this mistake has had absolutely no real effect on us, the Sons of God. As we let the Holy Spirit help us forgive, our minds are healed. Pain fades away and we return to the joy and peace of God, our natural state.

Holy Spirit, I stand before You in humility, remembering that of myself I know nothing. I look to You for all meaning and trust with confidence that You will guide me Home to the Heaven where I remain in truth. And I give thanks.

Something I have noticed is that the more often I bring my dark thoughts to God for healing and receive that healing, the less tolerance I have for discomfort. Now, as soon as I feel anger or fear or guilt or whatever, I want to get rid of it. Even if it seems "small," the discomfort is acute.

I also have noticed that the results seem to come much closer to the surrender. I don't seem to work as hard on it as I did before. And I don't dread the bad feelings like I did before; in fact I usually feel grateful that this is being brought to my attention

Knowing all of this, it never ceases to amaze me that there are certain aspects of the illusion that I still cling to and find myself recycling through the whole process on a regular basis. I don't care, though. I have seen that, with the help of the Holy Spirit, it works to look at this stuff and then let it go so I try to be patient, but persistent with myself.

©2003, Pathways of Light, Inc. http://pathwaysoflight.org You may freely share copies of this page with your friends, provided all copies include this notice.
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Lesson 358 No call to God can be unheard nor left Unanswered. And of this I can be sure; His answer is the one I really want.

2009-07-22T08:38:00.001-07:00

Lesson 358

No call to God can be unheard nor left Unanswered. And of this I can be sure; His answer is the one I really want.

You Who remember what I really am alone remember what I really want. You speak for God, and so You speak for me. And what You give me comes from God Himself. Your Voice, my Father, then is mine as well, and all I want is what You offer me, in just the form You choose that it be mine. Let me remember all I do not know, and let my voice be still, remembering. But let me not forget Your Love and care, keeping Your promise to Your Son in my awareness always. Let me not forget myself is nothing, but my Self is all.

The Following is Forwarded from Pathwaysoflight.org

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Lesson 357 Truth answers every call we make to God, Responding first with miracles, and then Returning unto us to be itself.

2009-07-21T09:02:00.000-07:00

Lesson 357

Truth answers every call we make to God, Responding first with miracles, and then Returning unto us to be itself.

Forgiveness, truth's reflection, tells me how to offer miracles, and thus escape the prison house in which I think I live. Your holy Son is pointed out to me, first in my brother; then in me. Your Voice instructs me patiently to hear Your Word, and give as I receive. And as I look upon Your Son today, I hear Your Voice instructing me to find the way to You, as You appointed that the way shall be:

"Behold his sinlessness, and be you healed."

The Following is Forwarded from Pathwaysoflight.org

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Lesson 357
“Truth answers every all we make to God,
Responding first with miracles, and then
Returning unto us to be itself.”

If I truly want to see the truth, I will see the Light of God in every brother. If I want to see through the ego's eyes, I will see differences, weakness, lack and guilt. I will see death and sin, for that is what the ego is made to look for. And what the ego looks for it finds, even if it is just a project of its own thought system of separation. The power of choice is mine as long as I think I am living in this world.

This lesson is reminding me to behold the truth in my brother and as I do this, my mind will be healed. Beholding the truth in my brother comes with joining with the Holy Spirit in my mind. The Holy Spirit brings me miracles or a change of my perception. The Holy Spirit brings me an awareness of the truth in every brother when I am having trouble finding it on my own. The Holy Spirit purifies my thoughts of all false ideas.

As the false ideas are laid aside, the truth stands alone, unhindered by the ego's lies. The truth is always there. It always has been and always will be. The truth is true, and nothing else is true. The key to my healing is, how soon am I willing to return to the truth?

Joining with the ego only brings sickness, sorrow and pain. My tolerance for pain may be high, but it is not without limit. Today I am willing to join with the Holy Spirit and recognize only what is true. Only this brings me the happy dreams of the Holy Spirit. In the happy dreams of the Holy Spirit, the false ideas are seen for what they are and gently laid aside.

In truth everyone is saved, everyone is still God's shining Light, as pure as God created them. When I join with the Holy Spirit, I am able to see this. I continue my practice with Holy Spirit today, knowing that what I practice I strengthen. Today is another day of letting my mind be healed.

Forgiveness gives welcome to the truth. Truth is ever present, but this world was made to be the denial of truth. Since we have signed on to the belief system of the world and made it our own, we need a means to let go of the denial of truth so that it is once more welcome in our minds.

That is what forgiveness is for. It is why forgiveness is called "truth's reflection." Forgiveness is an illusion along with all the other illusions of this world, with one important difference. Unlike other illusions, forgiveness welcomes truth and thus undoes illusion. So forgiveness serves a mighty purpose in this world. Forgiveness undoes the world and prepares our minds to accept the knowledge of God; to accept the joy of God; to accept the Love of God.

Forgiveness reveals to me the truth in my brother and thus I am healed. My perception of brother is always a reflection of what I think I am. As I am able to perceive the truth in him, it shows me the truth in myself. This is healing. This is the return to the recognition of my Self as It was created by God.

Because truth is ever present, it always answers a call that welcomes it. When I lay aside the sharp edged toys of illusion, the kindness and gentleness of truth is there to fill my heart. I see a world of kindness and gentleness. I see a world free of danger. I see a world where everyone is my Friend, reflecting back to me the truth of What I am.

Today I will practice taking every thought of condemnation, of fear and guilt, of irritation, disappointment or frustration, to the Holy Spirit. I will accept His help in laying down these painful illusions and welcome His vision that shows me the innocence in my brother, the changelessness in my Self, and the wholeness that I retain in my Creator, my Source, my Love. Thus will I offer salvation to the world as I accept it in myself.

When I am willing to forgive, it just means that I no longer want to live in the illusion; I am willing to surrender my own judgement of myself and my brothers and am open to receiving something other than what I've taught myself, thus escaping the prison in which I think I live. So, today I AM willing not to be imprisoned and I, therefore, choose to step back, follow and not lead, see sinlessness, and I will be healed. Thank you, Holy Spirit.

©2003, Pathways of Light, Inc. http://pathwaysoflight.org You may freely share copies of this page with your friends, provided all copies include this notice.
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Lesson 356 Sickness is but another name for sin. Healing is but another name for God. The miracle is thus a call to Him.

2009-07-20T08:40:00.000-07:00

Lesson 356

Sickness is but another name for sin. Healing is but another name for God. The miracle is thus a call to Him.

Father, You promised You would never fail to answer any call Your Son might make to You. It does not matter where he is, what seems to be his problem, nor what he believes he has become. He is Your Son, and You will answer him. The miracle reflects Your Love, and thus it answers him. Your Name replaces every thought of sin, and who is sinless cannot suffer pain. Your Name gives answer to Your Son, because to call Your Name is but to call his own.

The Following is Forwarded from Pathwaysoflight.org

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Lesson 356
"Sickness is but another name for sin.
Healing is but another name for God.
The miracle is thus a call to Him."

Opening to a change of mind is how we return to Him. If we are in pain, we are believing in our guilt and the guilt of our brother. We have forgotten that this is but a false idea.

When we get tired on holding on to the pain, we will open to the idea that there is another way. We become willing to open our minds to a correction of our perception. Accepting this change of mind brings us the miracle that is the reflection of God's Love. The more we are willing to open our minds to a correction in our perception, the faster we are returned to the truth, the faster our minds are healed. The Holy Spirit needs our openness so that this healing can occur.

We are God's Son, but we have forgotten. By being open to be led by the Holy Spirit, we are led to healing. We are led to God. Today I would practice not thinking that I know what anything means on my own. I would practice being receptive to Holy Spirit's lead. Thus will I have a peaceful and happy day.

Remembering that God is Love, the miracle is a call to Love. It is a call in which the answer is desired. Everyone in this world is calling for Love. But while separation and specialness are valued more than the unified wholeness of Love, the miracle cannot happen because Love is not desired more than specialness. Love waits on welcome.

Love and specialness cannot coexist, for Love is given equally to all. Specialness is the idea that Love can be withheld and more given to one while less is given to another. This idea is inconceivable to Love, which sees no differences, for it looks only upon itself. Love is all there is. Only Love is real.

The miracle of the call to God occurs as specialness loses its value to us. It occurs as we begin to recognize the pain that specialness brings. Specialness can only seem to be in a thought system that believes separation, or sin, is real. But since only Love is real, specialness can only be an illusion.

When I look back honestly at every situation in which I felt hurt or offended, it is always because I believed that some aspect of my special and unique identity had been harmed. I believed that in some way I had suffered loss. I could only believe this if I believed I was separate from Love. In this world this belief is centered around the image of a body as my identity. Along with this I must also believe that other bodies are the identity of others, distinct and different from me. Thus conflict between these identities is possible and fear and guilt inevitable.

It is time to learn that a unique, special identity offers me nothing that I really want. The yearning for Love, which has kept me searching to fill the sense of emptiness that everyone in this world experiences, will lead me Home if I turn to the Guide Who knows the way. If I follow the ego's direction, I will only continue to wander in the wilderness, not realizing that what I seek is closer than my hand. If I think I know on my own what anything means, I am following the ego's lead, for the ego is the idea that I am on my own.

When I am willing to recognize that on my own I know nothing and turn to the Holy Spirit for His guidance, I have put my feet upon the pathway Home. I have made a wilderness for myself that seems dark and confusing with many pitfalls and false trails. The Holy Spirit remembers what is real for me. He will lead me out of the maze if I will but follow.

When I call upon the Holy Spirit, I call upon God's Name and my own. I desire to know my Self. I desire to know Love in its fullness, without limit. I have searched in the wilderness long enough. I desire to return to the Light of my Creator.

Once again today I dedicate to practicing interpreting nothing on my own. I dedicate this day to following the Holy Spirit's lead and I will experience the miracle of Love.

©2003, Pathways of Light, Inc. http://pathwaysoflight.org You may freely share copies of this page with your friends, provided all copies include this notice.
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Lesson 355 There is no end to all the peace and joy, And all the miracles that I will give, When I accept God's Word. Why not today?

2009-07-16T10:27:00.001-07:00

Lesson 355

There is no end to all the peace and joy, And all the miracles that I will give, When I accept God's Word. Why not today?

Why should I wait, my Father, for the joy You promised me? For You will keep Your Word You gave Your Son in exile. I am sure my treasure waits for me, and I need but reach out my hand to find it. Even now my fingers touch it. It is very close. I need not wait an instant more to be at peace forever. It is You I choose, and my Identity along with You. Your Son would be Himself, and know You as his Father and Creator, and his Love.

The Following is Forwarded from Pathwaysoflight.org

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Lesson 355
"There is no end to all the peace and joy,
And all the miracles that I will give,
When I accept God's Word. Why not today?"

Accepting God's Word is accepting the truth. I accept the truth by opening my mind to receive the Holy Spirit's healing perceptions. I accept the truth by opening to receive God's peace.

To receive God's peace I focus on God's peace. I focus on letting it in. I know that I have let peace in when I can feel it, for it softens every concern. God's peace brings a gentleness and a quiet certainty with it. There is also a feeling of well being and a knowing that everything is all right, no matter what may appear to be happening in the dream. If I am open to receive mind healing around any particular area of my life, I will receive it in a form that is best for me at that moment.

I receive God's word through my desire to receive it. When my desire is strong, I open easily and there is no efforting because it always has been there waiting for my acceptance.

There are but two thought systems for me to choose between. I must be willing to lay down the ego thought system in order to receive God's Word, in order to receive my true inheritance. I will remember my true Identity only as I am willing to let go of what is not mine. The ego thought system is not what I am nor will it ever be.

It is my choosing that brings me the ego or God's Word. In today's lesson, Jesus is asking me to join with him in choosing God's Word. He encourages me to accept the peace and joy that comes with returning to my true Self. Today, now, I choose to join with God's Word. I choose to let Love heal my mind of all its false ideas.

Everyone in this world is searching for peace, for this is a world of conflict and depression. Whether or not we find peace depends upon the guide we listen to. The ego directs us to look for some form that will make us happy and will bring us peace, because that is all it knows. So if we follow the ego's direction, we look for peace in the right job, the right partner, the right house, having the right stuff. Or we may look for it in a bottle, a chemical or physical pleasures or by trying to get rid of those we do not like, even to the point of war and murder. All these attempts are in keeping with the ego's model "seek and do not find."

No one has ever found lasting peace and happiness in any of these things. In fact, they only bring us more pain. Fortunately, "Tolerance for pain may be high, but it is not without limit. Eventually everyone begins to recognize, however dimly, that there must be a better way." (Text 2.III.3:5-6) At that point we open the door a crack to be receptive to God's Word. His Word comes to us through the Holy Spirit in our minds.

When we let the Holy Spirit guide us, we are led to recognize that there is no value in any form in this world. We are led gently and patiently to recognize the Love and peace that we seek is already in us. And we begin to see it in our brothers as well. We begin to see that all the conflict is over nothing. We begin to see that we are not alone, but are always in the presence of our loving Father and Creator. We begin to see that our brothers are part of us, not adversaries, but partners in the journey to remembering Love.

The Word of God tells me that I remain one with Love as I was created. As I accept that, I give the miracle of the vision of that unity to all that I see. Conflict fades away, for I recognize that there is no other in opposition to the Will of Love. I recognize that my will is the Will of Love and I see that all my brothers join me in that Will.

The fruitless searching is over. My attention now is focused with a singleness of purpose on a Prize that has always been mine. Each time I bring a painful thought to the Holy Spirit to receive His healing Light, I move a step closer to the Prize. I forgive and Light replaces darkness, peace replaces conflict and Love replaces fear. I forgive and I remember God's Word.

©2003, Pathways of Light, Inc. http://pathwaysoflight.org You may freely share copies of this page with your friends, provided all copies include this notice.
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Lesson 354 We stand together, Christ and I, in peace And certainty of purpose. And in Him Is His Creator, as He is in me.

2009-07-15T08:09:00.000-07:00

Lesson 354

We stand together, Christ and I, in peace And certainty of purpose. And in Him Is His Creator, as He is in me.

My oneness with the Christ establishes me as Your Son, beyond the reach of time, and wholly free of every law but Yours. I have no self except the Christ in me. I have no purpose but His Own. And He is like His Father. Thus must I be one with You as well as Him. For who is Christ except Your Son as You created Him? And what am I except the Christ in me?

The Following is Forwarded from Pathwaysoflight.org

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Lesson 354
“We stand together, Christ and I, in peace
And certainty of purpose. And in Him
Is His Creator, as He is in me.”

I have been playing a role of being in a body and making decisions on my own. I have gotten used to this role so that I have thought that this is what I am. I am now learning to step back from that role and see that this is not me. I have been merely acting in a play where separate bodies interact and each one makes decisions on its own.

My practice now is to recognize that the play is just a dream and is not true. None of the actors are the individual selves they portray. They are really the Christ, like me. In reality our true Identity lies in the one Christ Mind, where we are one. And the Christ is the extension of our Father. My practice today is to reinforce that there is no separation. There is only oneness in the Mind of Christ, which is in that Mind of God.

My peace lies in remembering this truth. My peace lies in accepting my true role as God created me. I can act another part, but that is not who I am. Today it is my practice to accept my Self as God created me.

Here the Christ is equated with God's Son as He created Him. Thus Christ represents the holy, innocent, sinless extension of Love. The Christ is also equated with our Self. It is the Self that shares Its purpose with Its Creator. In fact It shares All That Is with All. God is in the Christ. Christ is in me, and so God must be in me. That is the truth for all of us. No one is left out of Christ and no one is without Christ in him. Thus no one is without Love in him.

In this world it seems to be the opposite. Everyone experiences fear and guilt. Everywhere we look, fear is being acted out in one form or another. Guilt is being assigned to everyone in one way or another. The President proclaims that Saddam Hussein must pay the ultimate price for what he has done. What is this but an expression of fear and guilt? When we perceive ourselves and everyone as alone and acting on their own, fear is inevitable. We protect ourselves by judgment and condemnation.

When we refuse to talk to someone because of what we believe they have done to us, it is the same as calling for Saddam to pay the ultimate price. Both cases reflect the belief that we are separate and that harm is possible because separation is real. Love does not condemn. Love cannot isolate, for what is one with all cannot conceive of isolation. To know the Christ in us, we must let go of judgment. Christ, being Love, does not judge. It sees only Itself in everything It look upon. To know the Christ in us, we must do the same.

Thus we come back to the one means that will reveal the vision of Christ to us again. We must forgive. We cannot look to the world for the means to forgive, for the world was made to show us cause for condemnation. Instead we must turn to the Holy Spirit in our minds, Who gently and patiently guides our thoughts and leads us to recognize that forms are illusions and cannot change the truth. He guides us to see the truth of Love that unifies us all in One. He guides us to see that there is no value in specialness and uniqueness, only pain. He helps us to see that what we thought happened in this world of illusions never really occurred.

Thus we are able to forgive, for we recognize there really is nothing to forgive. The veil of judgment fades away and we see the Love in our brother that unites us with our Creator. Fear disappears and the joy of reunion with our Self sings through our being. And we give thanks.

©2003, Pathways of Light, Inc. http://pathwaysoflight.org You may freely share copies of this page with your friends, provided all copies include this notice.
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Lesson 353 My eyes, my tongue, my hands, my feet today Have but one purpose; to be given Christ To use to bless the world with miracles.

2009-07-14T11:00:00.000-07:00

Lesson 353

My eyes, my tongue, my hands, my feet today Have but one purpose; to be given Christ To use to bless the world with miracles.

Father, I give all that is mine today to Christ, to use in any way that best will serve the purpose that I share with Him. Nothing is mine alone, for He and I have joined in purpose. Thus has learning come almost to its appointed end. A while I work with Him to serve His purpose. Then I lose myself in my Identity, and recognize that Christ is but my Self.

The Following is Forwarded from Pathwaysoflight.org

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Lesson 353
"My eyes, my tongue, my hands, my feet today
Have but one purpose; to be given Christ
To use to bless the world with miracles."

In the late 50's there was a program called, "This Is Your Life." I feel that Jesus, in this lesson, is describing the true purpose of each of our lives. He is telling us in this lesson what our life is all about. He is describing our vocation and what will bring us true happiness. He is describing our ability to serve the oneness as we awaken to oneness.

In this lesson he is being very clear about what our role is in God's plan of awakening. He describes very specifically the purpose that we share and how to do our part. We have no identity other than our Identity in Christ. We have no role other than joining with Jesus to bless the world with miracles.

Our bodies become the vehicle to share the process of awakening that we have accepted for ourselves. We see how happy we are as we receive these daily blessings and we would extend that happiness to others. We do not go Home alone. We gladly join with every brother as we see the Christ in everyone. What life could be more fulfilling than this? I am grateful that this is so.

What a joyous dedication this lesson offers! I think of it as the dedication of a minister of God. And it is a dedication that blesses me because it offers blessing. Recently I saw a wonderful television movie called, "Secret Santa." The core message was that there is great joy and blessing in giving without expectation. Blessing is freely offered because giving is returned as a joyous gift.

As I dedicate my life to the service of the Holy Spirit, to seeing with Christ's vision and hearing the Voice for God all through the day, my life becomes increasingly peaceful and joyous. Judgment falls away. Fear falls away. Guilt falls away. What is revealed is what has always been there -- the Love of my Creator with Its gifts of happiness and peace.

No longer am I buffeted by the winds of changing circumstances and unexpected events, for I remember the Love that is my rock, my foundation, my Self. I remember that changing external circumstances have no effect on me in truth so I remain serene and confident in my Identity as God's Son. I see His Son reflected in everyone I look upon. There are no adversaries there. No one to defend against. All are my loving brothers, part of my Self. Conflict fades away and the quiet assurance of God's Love brings me comfort and rest.

My heart is filled with gratitude that overflows to all my brothers. My heart sings the song of oneness; there is room for no other song. For I would remember that I remain at Home in Heaven, including All That Is in my circle of Love. Today's dedication gives me great blessing as it leads me Home and I "recognize that Christ is but my Self."

I absolutely love that last sentence that says "I lose myself in my Identity." What a glorious place to be lost. No fear, no doubt, just love and joy and freedom. This, my brothers, is God's Will. It took my perception of a long time to realize that, but the rough journey has been worth it.

I've been lost in the world I created for a long time, but this was not what God wanted for me. He sent the Holy Spirit with me to guide me and to catch me when I would fall and, sure enough, I fell many, many times. But my true Identity, the Love of my Heavenly Father calling me back to Him, was more powerful that my illusions of the world and, today, I'm opening my mind to hear Him from the direction which He calls. And because I'm willing to listen, I feel better about myself, my brothers, and my world. I'm beginning to turn my dream into a happy one. I'm beginning to experience being lost in my Identity.

©2003, Pathways of Light, Inc. http://pathwaysoflight.org You may freely share copies of this page with your friends, provided all copies include this notice.
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Lesson 352 Judgment and love are opposites. From one Come all the sorrows of the world. But from The other comes the peace of God Himself.

2009-07-13T13:03:00.000-07:00

Lesson 352

Judgment and love are opposites. From one Come all the sorrows of the world. But from The other comes the peace of God Himself.

Forgiveness looks on sinlessness alone, and judges not. Through this I come to You. Judgment will bind my eyes and make me blind. Yet love, reflected in forgiveness here, reminds me You have given me a way to find Your peace again. I am redeemed when I elect to follow in this way. You have not left me comfortless. I have within me both the memory of You, and One Who leads me to it. Father, I would hear Your Voice and find Your peace today. For I would love my own Identity, and find in It the memory of You.

The Following is Forwarded from Pathwaysoflight.org

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Lesson 352
"Judgment and love are opposites. From one
Come all the sorrows of the world. But from
The other comes the peace of God Himself."

If I am not feeling peaceful, it is important for me to remember that I have made a judgment on my own. If I am not peaceful, I have not listened to the Holy Spirit. The way I return to peace is to once again open my mind to the healing perceptions of my inner Comforter, the One Who straightens my mind. My one vocation now becomes that of stepping back and following the lead of my inner Teacher, the One Who can return me to my true Identity.

I can tell right away when I have stepped away from the Holy Spirit's guidance. And the barometer that tells me this is my level of peace. Paying attention to my level of peace helps me recognize the signal that it is time to again step back and open my mind for a mental adjustment. I have forgotten once again that I need to allow the Holy Spirit to return my mind to peace. Judgment brings sorrow. Forgiveness brings peace.

Today it is my practice once again to pay attention to my level of peace. Today it is my practice to step back and let myself be guided by the Holy Spirit. Today is a day of mind healing.

Judgment is not my job. I have taught myself that judgment is an essential tool for survival. I need it to protect myself from the evils of the world, from other people's attacks, from the dangers of the environment, even from those who I believe love me. Judgment is the primary tool of the ego to hold separation in place in my mind. It is judgment that reinforces that I am different from everything and everyone else.

The ego does not want us to recognize the pain that judgment brings. In fact it tries to convince us that judgment is the way we protect ourselves from pain. It does not tell us that the "life" that judgment protects is not life at all, but really death. Judgment "protects" us from the Love of God, which the ego fears.

Here again we see the insanity of the ego. It seeks endlessly for Love, but fears It, and therefore does not really want It. No one finds what they do not want. And so the ego's mode of operation of seek and do not find is held in place.

Yet beneath that ego fear, the Love that we are calls to us. We feel Its attraction and we yearn to remember It. It is there to be found. We need only follow the Guide Who knows the way to It. The ego does not know the way, because it does not know what Love is, being itself the rejection of Love. But the Holy Spirit knows the way, being the messenger of Love in our minds.

All I need to do is practice listening for the Holy Spirit's guidance in my mind. He will judge all things for me on my behalf if I will let Him. Because His judgment is very simple, it sees only what is real and rejects the unreal. His judgment leads me out of the pain of the judgment I have tried to do on my own. The Holy Spirit knows how to judge truly. Thus listening to His Voice is the means by which I am freed from all sorrow and my mind is opened to the peace of God.

Today I will practice stepping back and following. I would not lead. I would follow in His footsteps as He leads me back to the memory of my Father, to the Self that God created to be Love and nothing else. Thus will I receive God's peace and share it with all my brothers.

I am having an issue with my supervisor right now and I sense that she's being distant and somewhat cold with me. I believe that part of that perception comes from my own paranoia, my own insecurities when I forget who I am. But most of it is from that judgment you speak of, that tool that I think I need to protect me from the evils of the world.

So then what happens is that I put on those gloves of defense and prepare to protect myself in case my supervisor says or does something that I perceive as hurtful. And if she senses that I'm wearing defense gloves, naturally, she's going to put gloves on to protect HERSELF, and the ego is standing back enjoying the victory.

The Course asks me to think of my brother as a mind in which illusions still persist. These lessons help me to remember, not only who I am, but also who my supervisor is. My supervisor's peace and mine are One. I now choose to step back, make no judgment on myself or my supervisor. I ask Holy Spirit to help me see this situation as He would have me see it, and I know, without a doubt, that by the end of my work day, I will have peace. Thank you, Holy Spirit.

©2003, Pathways of Light, Inc. http://pathwaysoflight.org You may freely share copies of this page with your friends, provided all copies include this notice.
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14. What Am I? Lesson 351 My sinless brother is my guide to peace. My sinful brother is my guide to pain. And which I choose to see I will behold.

2009-07-09T07:25:00.001-07:00

Lesson 351

Section 14. What Am I?

I am God's Son, complete and healed and whole, shining in the reflection of His Love. In me is His creation sanctified and guaranteed eternal life. In me is love perfected, fear impossible, and joy established without opposite. I am the holy home of God Himself. I am the Heaven where His Love resides. I am His holy Sinlessness Itself, for in my purity abides His Own.

Our use for words is almost over now. Yet in the final days of this one year we gave to God together, you and I, we found a single purpose that we shared. And thus you joined with me, so what I am are you as well. The truth of what we are is not for words to speak of nor describe. Yet we can realize our function here, and words can speak of this and teach it, too, if we exemplify the words in us.

We are the bringers of salvation. We accept our part as saviors of the world, which through our joint forgiveness is redeemed. And this, our gift, is therefore given us. We look on everyone as brother, and perceive all things as kindly and as good. We do not seek a function that is past the gate of Heaven. Knowledge will return when we have done our part. We are concerned only with giving welcome to the truth.

Ours are the eyes through which Christ's vision sees a world redeemed from every thought of sin. Ours are the ears that hear the Voice for God proclaim the world as sinless. Ours the minds that join together as we bless the world. And from the oneness that we have attained we call to all our brothers, asking them to share our peace and consummate our joy.

We are the holy messengers of God who speak for Him, and carrying His Word to everyone whom He has sent to us, we learn that it is written on our hearts. And thus our minds are changed about the aim for which we came, and which we seek to serve. We bring glad tidings to the Son of God, who thought he suffered. Now is he redeemed. And as he sees the gate of Heaven stand open before him, he will enter in and disappear into the Heart of God.

Lesson 351

My sinless brother is my guide to peace. My sinful brother is my guide to pain. And which I choose to see I will behold.

Who is my brother but Your holy Son? And if I see him sinful I proclaim myself a sinner, not a Son of God; alone and friendless in a fearful world. Yet this perception is a choice I make, and can relinquish. I can also see my brother sinless, as Your holy Son. And with this choice I see my sinlessness, my everlasting Comforter and Friend beside me, and my way secure and clear. Choose, then, for me, my Father, through Your Voice. For He alone gives judgment in Your Name.

The Following is Forwarded from Pathwaysoflight.org

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Lesson 351
"My sinless brother is my guide to peace.
My sinful brother is my guide to pain.
And which I choose to see I will behold."

This lesson is again bringing to our attention the power of decision. What we see or perceive is entirely our choice. It is not imposed upon us. As we accept this we reclaim our power to be in charge of our experience. As we reclaim that power, we are free to choose differently if what we are experiencing is not happy and peaceful.

What we experience is always the effect of our choice. Our choice is based on what we believe we are. If we believe we are the holy Son of God we will see our brothers as God's Holy Son. If we believe we are guilty, capable of attack, weak and needing to defend, we will see the same in our brothers. What we see is always a projection from our mind that reflects what we believe we are.

The first paragraph of the "What am I?" section that goes with this series of 10 lessons I like to call the declaration of our perfection. It is telling us what the entire Course is aimed at helping us to accept. If we can accept this picture of our Self as What we are, we will see our brother sinless.

Forgiveness clears the veil away for us to see the shining radiant Christ that is the truth in all our brothers. It does not matter whether it seems that we are forgiving a brother or that we are forgiving ourselves. What seems to be two is really one and cannot be separated. And so in some situations it may seem that I may need to forgive a brother and so I need to take my thought of judgment of him to the Holy Spirit in my mind and ask the Holy Spirit to help me see him through His eyes. Perhaps I need to wait with quiet patience to receive this corrected perception. If I am willing I will receive it. Guaranteed.

As the veil of a false image fades I will recognize that what I thought was my brother was not him at all. It was only a mistaken idea, which I gratefully release. In that release I feel a weight lifted from my shoulders and find that I receive the gift of forgiveness as I give it. My heart is lightened. A smile comes upon me and I am filled with gratitude.

In another situation I may become aware that I am judging myself. Once again I bring the thought of judgment to the Holy Spirit and I ask for His vision to replace what I have been perceiving. I wait with quiet patience to receive His vision. My willingness lets it come. As the truth dawns upon my mind, I see that what I judged was not me at all, but just a false idea of what I am. Recognizing it is not me, I freely lay it down. It no longer has value to me. It is not my identity.

The Holy Spirit shows me my Identity as Love, my Self, the holy Son of God. And again my heart is lightened. I smile and I am filled with gratitude again. Now I look upon a world of Light. My brother is my Friend and my Companion. And I learn that whether I forgive a brother or myself, I receive the selfsame gift, for we are one.

Thank You Father for my brother's sinlessness and my own. Thank You for the Guide You gave me to show me this. Today I would look only on sinlessness and know my Self.

There are only two thought systems to choose between. One thought system always sees separation. The other thought system always sees oneness. The thought system that chooses separation also chooses to see guilt outside itself. This guilt is an attempt to relieve itself from the guilt it believes is its own. But seeing guilt outside itself really only intensifies its experience of pain.

This thought system is insane. It makes up images of duality where in truth there is none. It seeks to find guilt only in illusions of separation. It tries to find joy within a painful thought system. Instead of life it only makes illusions of death.

It is very important that we see the ego for what it truly is. The ego offers a great adventure of individuality. It offers specialness and uniqueness and freedom to choose on our own. It values competition and seeing differences. It values seeing a world of separate bodies where nothing is the same. It loves to compare and evaluate as to which thing is most special and grand in the moment. It loves to make up hierarchies of specialness, of lower and higher, of good and bad, within its value system. Judging on its own becomes its life vocation, how it reinforces its individuality and specialness.

This thought system does not tell us that what it truly seeks for is guilt, pain and ultimately death. It hides these values beneath a gossamer veil of specialness. It entices its followers with trophies and wealth, special beauty and having more of something than another. It does not tell us that what it offers is merely illusions of specialness, merely illusions of separation.

The only way for us to find true joy and true peace is to see this thought system for what it is and let it go. The Holy Spirit has been present the whole time while we were seeking illusions of specialness, and is here in our mind now. The Holy Spirit is still in our mind, waiting for us to choose with Him. It is only by choosing with the Holy Spirit that the pain and sorrow found within the thought system of the ego is seen for what it is and gradually released. Choosing with the Holy Spirit lifts the veil of the ego's illusions and shows us the truth. It shows us that we never left Heaven and that we are still as God created us. The dreams of separation never happened.

Today I choose to join with Holy Spirit. As I see what Holy Spirit shows me, I am awakened to what is real. With Holy Spirit as my guide, I now choose peace instead of pain. "And which I choose to see I will behold."

©2003, Pathways of Light, Inc. http://pathwaysoflight.org You may freely share copies of this page with your friends, provided all copies include this notice.
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14. What Am I? Lesson 351 My sinless brother is my guide to peace. My sinful brother is my guide to pain. And which I choose to see I will behold.

2009-07-09T07:25:00.000-07:00

Lesson 350 Miracles mirror God's eternal Love. To offer them is to remember Him, An through His memory to save the world.

2009-07-07T08:54:00.000-07:00

Lesson 350

Miracles mirror God's eternal Love. To offer them is to remember Him, An through His memory to save the world.

What we forgive becomes a part of us, as we perceive ourselves. The Son of God incorporates all things within himself as You created him. Your memory depends on his forgiveness. What he is, is unaffected by his thoughts. But what he looks upon is their direct result. Therefore, my Father, I would turn to You. Only Your memory will set me free. And only my forgiveness teaches me to let Your memory return to me, and give it to the world in thankfulness.

And as we gather miracles from Him, we will indeed be grateful. For as we remember Him, His Son will be restored to us in the reality of Love.

The Following is Forwarded from Pathwaysoflight.org

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Lesson 350
"Miracles mirror God's eternal Love.
To offer them is to remember Him,
And through His memory to save the world."

The Son of God was created to be one with God and therefore one with all That Is. Thus, "The Son of God incorporates all things within himself." The truth is that we are the Son of God and the Son of God is not changed by our weird and wild imaginings.

But if we deny our identity as a Son of God and believe we are something else, then what we perceive will be a world where the Son of God is unrecognized, unknown and unseen. The world our body's eyes show us is such a world, for it was made to be a place where God could not enter. The world is a judgment against God, representing our rejection of Him as our Creator. That is why if we are to return to awareness of the Son of God as our Self and God as our Creator, we must forgive.

Judgment keeps us feeling separate. Forgiveness opens our minds to the recognition of our oneness with all. Judgment brings conflict. Forgiveness brings peace of mind. Judgment brings depression. Forgiveness welcomes the joy of God and makes it our own.

Father help me to recognize my unforgiving thoughts so that I may bring them to you for help in releasing them. It is through your strength in me that I am able to forgive. I would accept your strength today. Into your hands I commend my Spirit, for I would know once again the joy of my unity in you. Thank you Father for your holy Son, the Self that I would remember I am.

Focusing on the things of this world as if they were real is a way not to remember God, not to remember everyone's eternal reality as Love. Being willing to open my mind to receiving miracles lets that memory of changeless Love return.

As we receive the miracles the Holy Spirit brings, we see that nothing other than Love could be real. We see the falsity of the world's illusions. We see that we are still as God created us. We see God's Son as one. That is why this lesson says, "Miracles mirror God's eternal Love."

The world is a distraction from accepting the truth of God's oneness. Focusing on a world of separation will not bring me eternal happiness. It is not what I want. It is just a decoy, hiding what is really mine. Today I would not close off my mind to what receiving miracles would bring. Today I would practice opening my mind to the Thoughts of the Holy Spirit.

If I am to awaken to the truth, I need my thoughts purified of all my evaluations and judgments of what is real. I need to be reminded that separate bodies are not God's Will and therefore are not real. I do not know what anything means on my own. I need to remember that I am not on my own. I need Holy Spirit's gentle correction of all my perceptions.

Today I would quiet my mind of all the world's destractions and let my mind open to the truth. As I allow my mind to be changed, the world I see changes, because I now recognize the world I see is coming from my thoughts.

I am willing to give up my belief in what is constantly changing and accept what is eternal. I am willing to return to my true Self and see the true Self of everyone. I am willing to see that there is only one Light and that there is no distance between us.

©2003, Pathways of Light, Inc. http://pathwaysoflight.org You may freely share copies of this page with your friends, provided all copies include this notice.
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Lesson 349 Today I let Christ's vision look upon All things for me and judge them not, but give Each one a miracle of love instead.

2009-07-06T09:24:00.001-07:00

Lesson 349

Today I let Christ's vision look upon All things for me and judge them not, but give Each one a miracle of love instead.

So would I liberate all things I see, and give to them the freedom that I seek. For thus do I obey the law of love, and give what I would find and make my own. It will be given me, because I have chosen it as the gift I want to give. Father, Your gifts are mine. Each one that I accept gives me a miracle to give. And giving as I would receive, I learn Your healing miracles belong to me.

Our Father knows our needs. He gives us grace to meet them all. And so we trust in Him to send us miracles to bless the world, and heal our minds as we return to Him.

The Following is Forwarded from Pathwaysoflight.org

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Lesson 349
"Today I let Christ's vision look upon
All things for me and judge them not, but give
Each one a miracle of love instead."

If I am to awaken to the truth, I must be willing to see through the eyes of Christ. I must be willing to accept and not judge what Christ's vision shows me. God has given me the gift of Christ's vision. Today I must make it my highest priority to accept God's gift. It is Christ's vision that gives me the miracles that heal my mind. It is Christ's vision that shows me the truth.

In this world, everyone is busy with shopping for gifts for their friends and family. The biggest gift of all that we could ever receive is Christ's vision, which is the gift that comes from God.

Today let me be humble enough not to judge Christ's vision, but to accept it with gratitude. As I am willing to accept Christ's vision, I receive a steady flow of gifts of miracles of changed perception. Christ's vision shows me the face of Christ in every brother. Christ's vision shows me the truth. Today I would be willing to receive the truth and give the truth. It is the greatest gift I could ever receive or ever give. This gift heals all artificial values and returns me Home where I belong.

Christ's vision sees only innocence because it knows only innocence. Christ's vision is a holy perception that leads beyond perception. There is no need for vision in Heaven, for what is one has no "other" to see. But in this world where we believe there is something to perceive, we need a vision that will lead us to the recognition of our unity instead of maintaining the illusion of separation. This is the gift of Christ's vision.

Christ's vision disregards the forms we look upon and sees only the Love that unites us all. When we join with Christ's vision, we bring the gift of Love to all we look upon. Perhaps there is a brother who has lost awareness of the Light of Love he is. Christ's vision sees it for him and offers it to him as a gift of remembrance. If he believes himself unworthy of the gift, he may not accept it, but the gift is held for him to be received when he is willing.

It is not my job to judge whether or not a gift will be accepted and offer it only to those who will accept. It is my job to let Christ vision in me offer the gift of Love equally to all. It is not my job to decide the form in which the gift of Love is given. It is my job to follow the lead of the Holy Spirit, Who alone knows the form that will most effectively carry His healing message.

I open my heart to the gift of Love by opening my heart to everyone and everything with equanimity, recognizing what is the same in all. As I open my heart, I feel the joy of recognition, for I recognize the Love in me that is in all my brothers. The Light we share dances in celebration of our unity, for in the recognition of our oneness, we remember our Home.

Today I will give the gift of recognition that Christ's vision shows me. It is the miracle of Love. And I give thanks for the opportunity to give this gift and receive its blessing.

For a long time I didn't understand what it meant to have Christ vision. I thought it meant that I had to see my chosen image of Christ on my supervisor instead of her own face, or my mom's face had to be different, or the guy on the freeway. Then I would evaluate my spiritual progress when I couldn't see those images.

Today I realize that anything I see with my physical eyes is an illusion; it is these physical eyes that cause me to see my supervisor different, my mom different, etc. To have Christ vision is to liberate everything I see and make no judgment period, no matter how they different they look to me, no matter how I perceive the person or situation; that's an ego trick.

It's taken me many years to realize that I don't know what's best for me; I don't know what my needs are, but my Father does know and today I trust Him. I trust that all people and all situations in my life today are here to teach me a lesson and the lessons are those that I need to learn to be free of the judgments I have made. My Father has given me the gift of grace and trusts me to trust Him. Thank you, Father.

©2003, Pathways of Light, Inc. http://pathwaysoflight.org You may freely share copies of this page with your friends, provided all copies include this notice.
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Lesson 348 I have no cause for anger or for fear, For You surround me. And in every need That I perceive, Your grace suffices me.

2009-07-04T08:48:00.000-07:00

Lesson 348

I have no cause for anger or for fear, For You surround me. And in every need That I perceive, Your grace suffices me.

Father, let me remember You are here, and I am not alone. Surrounding me is everlasting Love. I have no cause for anything except the perfect peace and joy I share with You. What need have I for anger or for fear? Surrounding me is perfect safety. Can I be afraid, when Your eternal promise goes with me? Surrounding me is perfect sinlessness. What can I fear, when You created me in holiness as perfect as Your Own?

God's grace suffices us in everything that He would have us do. And only that we choose to be our will as well as His.

The Following is Forwarded from Pathwaysoflight.org

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Lesson 348
"I have no cause for anger or for fear,
For You surround me. And in every need
That I perceive, Your grace suffices me."

As I continue the process of returning Home to Love, I must remember the power of my mind. Jesus tells me, "You are much to tolerant of mind wandering." The dream appears very real to me because of this mind wandering. I am often frightened or angered by the stories I make up in my dream.

If I truly want to awaken, I will take a step back from the dream and I will be willing to observe the dream with Holy Spirit. I will give the Holy Spirit the opportunity to help me see that what made me fearful or what angered me is just a dream. It is just mind wandering. What I see or experience in this world is coming from my own mind. I have created this through mind wandering and I can let it go.

If ever I get frightened or angry, it is important that I practice stepping back and opening my mind to the Thought that heals. If I am willing to become quiet and listen, the Holy Spirit will purify my mind of all false ideas. In truth, I am still as God created me. I am a Thought in the Mind of God. There is nothing to fear. There is no world of separation. There is only perfect peace, perfect safety, perfect joy.

When I scare myself through mind wandering, the fear or anger I experience can become a signal to quiet my mind and return to the peace and safety of the Holy Spirit. It can remind me to let go of making a world of separation real. It can remind me to let go of my belief in what never happened.

The truth is I am surrounded by Love. I am surrounded by perfect safety. I am willing to practice returning to the truth today with my constant Companion. That is my purpose today and every day that I think that a world of separate bodies is real.

This lesson tells me that I am surrounded by God, my Creator. I am surrounded by everlasting Love, perfect safety and perfect sinlessness. Here we see a succinct description of God's attributes. When I allow myself to remember that God surrounds me and what this means, I am comforted.

As I was thinking about this lesson, my mind wandered to a situation in which I felt impatient and taken advantage of. These thoughts slipped into my mind without me even noticing at first. They were all too familiar. Then I remembered today's lesson. "I have no cause for anger or for fear. I am surrounded by everlasting Love and perfect safety."

Immediately I felt myself soften and relax. What seemed to be cause for resentment faded away. I have nothing to fear. I am surrounded by the safety of everlasting Love. Only in a world that is wholly alien to what I am in truth could there seem to be cause for fear or anger. Let me learn to recognize that these thoughts that seem so familiar are truly alien and what is truly natural to my mind is the safety of everlasting Love.

When I believe in a world of harm and loss, I have forgotten that I am surrounded by perfect sinlessness. In that forgetting it seems I must build defenses in every direction. Despite all my efforts, these defenses never seem to be enough. There is always some weakness, for belief in separation is the belief in weakness. It is the belief that I have separated from God's strength.

Yet this can only happen in a dream world. My dreams do not affect reality at all. In this dream world I believe I have a will in opposition to God. Recognizing God's strength, believing I am in opposition to Him is very frightening. But this is only a dream. The truth is my will is one with God's Will, exactly the same. I have no cause for anger or for fear. I only have cause for joy and for peace, for I am surrounded by everlasting Love, perfect safety and perfect sinlessness.

Thank You Father for Your grace, which would not let my wild imaginings change the truth. You have held it perfect and pure for me so that I may return to the perfect Home You hold for me. I need only recognize that I share my will with Yours. They are one and the same. Thank You for Your gift to me.

I am struck by this message and a place in the Text in Chapter 7. Simply put, grace is the natural state of every Son of God. When he is not in a state of grace, his is out of his natural environment and does not function well. It goes on to say, "A Son of God is happy only when he knows he is with God. This is the only environment in which he will not experience strain, because that is where he belongs. It is also the only environment that is worthy of him, because his own worth is beyond anything he can make."

This does point out to me that I am much to tolerant of mind wandering. I must be vigilant for the Kingdom of God and I must either choose Love or fear. I must either be on the bus or off the bus. My mind cannot serve two masters. So I have to forgive myself and others as I see our equality. and I must also forget what is not Love. The past is over. I am awakening to the Truth and it is this I want.

Too often I have wanted it both ways, a little worldly stuff to prove my worthiness, money, houses, land, jobs, and I see now why I was so strained and so conflicted. Today I ask Holy Spirit to correct all that is not the truth in my mind and ask Him not to make illusions real. May I see it a different way.

©2003, Pathways of Light, Inc. http://pathwaysoflight.org You may freely share copies of this page with your friends, provided all copies include this notice.
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Lesson 347 Anger must come from judgment. Judgment is The weapon I would use against myself, To keep the miracle away from me.

2009-07-03T10:16:00.000-07:00

Lesson 347

Anger must come from judgment. Judgment is The weapon I would use against myself, To keep the miracle away from me.

Father, I want what goes against my will, and do not want what is my will to have. Straighten my mind, my Father. It is sick. But You have offered freedom, and I choose to claim Your gift today. And so I give all judgment to the One You gave to me to judge for me. He sees what I behold, and yet He knows the truth. He looks on pain, and yet He understands it is not real, and in His understanding it is healed. He gives the miracles my dreams would hide from my awareness. Let Him judge today. I do not know my will, but He is sure it is Your Own. And He will speak for me, and call Your miracles to come to me.

Listen today. Be very still, and hear the gentle Voice for God assuring you that He has judged you as the Son He loves.

The Following is Forwarded from Pathwaysoflight.org

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Lesson 347
"Anger must come from judgment. Judgment is
The weapon I would use against myself,
To keep the miracle away from me."

In this lesson, Jesus gives us the basis of every problem and he also gives us the solution. He helps us understand that making judgments on our own is an attack on our Self. Judgment keeps miracles away.

In paragraph 2, Jesus gives us the one alternative that heals all problems. He tells us, "Listen today. Be very still and hear the gentle Voice for God assuring you that He has judged you as the Son He loves." (2:1) Here we have the answer to every perceived problem. We are asked to be still and listen. We are asked to have an open mind so that the healing Voice of the Holy Spirit can be heard. As we are truly willing to open our mind, we can't help but allow in the peace of God. When the ego's voice is stilled, peace is there. The Voice for God is there. As our willingness to accept God's peace grows, we are very gently led back from our sleeping state. We are very gently led to awaken to the truth.

As we awaken we see that our attack thoughts are just foolish ideas. We do not want to keep them. They do not protect us. They do not protect our brother. They take us in the opposite direction from where we want to go. We allow a lot of time now to be still and listen. Quieting our minds of the ego's judgment becomes a high priority. We see that it is the answer to every concern, every fear, every form of suffering. We become more willing to rest in God's healing Light, God's healing Love. I would practice accepting this miracle today.

In paragraph one, sentences 6-7 it says that the Holy Spirit sees what I see but knows the truth. He looks of pain but understands it is not real. And in His understanding, the pain is healed. When I was in my 20's, I had a spiritual mentor who saw in me what I was unable to see in myself. I made him into an authority figure in my mind so while I had great respect for him, I also feared him. It seemed that I couldn't have any secrets. But because he didn't see the limits on me that I saw, he frequently put me in positions that caused me to stretch and go beyond the box I placed on myself. I believe his compassionate direction helped me grow and establish a foundation upon which I am still building more than 30 years later.

This is a small and limited example of what the Holy Spirit in our mind is ready to do for us in every instant. He does not believe the limits we have placed on ourselves. He recognizes that we believe we suffer and have pain. We feel guilty and lack of Love, but He knows it is not true. In every moment He is ready to help us let these false ideas about ourselves go.

With loving compassion, He looks upon our ideas of limitation and to each one He gently says, "It is not so." To feel His healing blessing, we need only take each thought of pain and limitation to Him and let Him show us it is not so. That is His healing judgment on all the fearful and limiting images we perceive. Where we see darkness, He shows us the Light behind the false images. Where we perceive lack of Love and guilt, He shows us the Love that shines upon us beyond the imaginary barriers we have built.

The Holy Spirit is our loving Mentor in our mind, ready in every instant to guide us to a kinder and gentler view of the world and therefore of ourselves. Following His kind direction, we walk a path of Light that leads us ever on toward the Home He knows we never really left. Here we find peace. Here the thought of lack and attack is inconceivable. Here is the experience of Love beyond anything we have ever experienced in the dream of separation. Here we remember our unity with our Creator and we are at peace.

There are a couple of things that jump out at me in this lesson. Line 2 and 3 which say "Straighten my mind, my Father. It is sick." (1:2-3) I often use a similar prayer. I ask the Holy Spirit to heal my thoughts. It is such a simple prayer, but incredibly effective. I ask myself sometimes, if it could really be this simple. Sometimes I ask more than once as I wait on myself to choose peace, but I persist and with the Holy Spirit's gentle and patient correction, everything changes.

I also appreciate the reminder to be quiet today and to listen. I need the reminder as Christmas looms closer and time seems to speed up. As I venture into the frantic crowds today, I ask the Holy Spirit to work through me to bring peace to those I touch. Instead of adding to the chaos this season often brings, (or rather that we bring to the season) I want to be a blessing.

Beloved Indwelling Spirit, I am willing, this day, to be still and hear that Voice for God You speak of. I have strayed and wandered and gotten lost. And in that wandering, my mind has become sick from all my misperceptions. I am tired, Holy Spirit, therefore, I surrender to you this day, that you may straighten my mind. And even though I might not recognize truth today, as I heal I will trust My Father's will and know that He will use any situation I encounter as part of His plan to lead me back to Him. I am willing to listen today; please speak to me, sing to me Father, I choose to experience the gift of freedom You offer me. Amen.

©2003, Pathways of Light, Inc. http://pathwaysoflight.org You may freely share copies of this page with your friends, provided all copies include this notice.
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Lesson 346 Today the peace of God envelops me, And I forget all things except His Love.

2009-07-02T10:07:00.000-07:00

Lesson 346

Today the peace of God envelops me, And I forget all things except His Love.

Father, I wake today with miracles correcting my perception of all things. And so begins the day I share with You as I will share eternity, for time has stepped aside today. I do not seek the things of time, and so I will not look upon them. What I seek today transcends all laws of time and things perceived in time. I would forget all things except Your Love. I would abide in You, and know no laws except Your law of love. And I would find the peace which You created for Your Son, forgetting all the foolish toys I made as I behold Your glory and my own.

And when the evening comes today, we will remember nothing but the peace of God. For we will learn today what peace is ours, when we forget all things except God's Love.

The Following is Forwarded from Pathwaysoflight.org

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Lesson 346
"Today the peace of God envelops me,
And I forget all things except His Love."

Today I have the opportunity to focus on the reality of God's peace. I have the opportunity to accept God's peace as mine. I have the opportunity to extend peace to every brother I encounter or even think of. Today can be a day of being in peace, if I so choose. I would start right now, by going to the Holy Spirit in my mind and asking for the peace of God. I know that I always get what I desire in my heart of hearts.

Today I let peace go to the top of my priority list. Whatever I do today, I will practice doing it in peace. I will practice receiving the truth about myself and extending it to every part of my day.

Today I will watch my thoughts. Are these peace producing thoughts? If not, I will remember that these thoughts are of the ego and hand them over to the Holy Spirit to receive a change in perception.

Today I will practice making peace my top priority. Today I would remember the peace of God envelops me. Today I would practice accepting peace and let it guide my way. In this way I will have a happy day, a day of service to the awakening to God's peace.

When I look at all the things I think about during the day, almost all my thoughts are about things in time. Things to do, things to say, things other people say and do, things that seem to happen in the world, taking care of the body, sheltering it, feeding it, clothing it, maintaining it. The world was made to make time seem real.

This lesson is telling me that when I give my full attention to the peace of God, all this will fade away and what will remain is timeless Love. Only Love is real. There is nothing else. The peace of God is the peace of Love.

How do I forget all things but Love? By forgiving. Forgiving is letting go of all things in time. And ultimately it is letting go of the idea of time, which is just an ego means for making separation seem real.

To know the peace of God envelops me, I need do only one thing: Forgive. Like an earlier lesson says, to every apprehension, every care and every form of suffering, I need only remind myself to forgive and it will disappear. Only Love remains, for only Love is real. I cannot hang on to judgment, blame and guilt and know the peace of God that envelops me. Forgiveness clears away the veil for me to know once again the peace of God.

Holy Spirit, I come to You today, my best Friend, Who speaks only truth to me and does not judge; Who sees me as I really am, not as I think I am. Thank You Holy Spirit for not believing in my illusions. Thank You for being my Companion, sheltering me with Your peace, comforting me with Your Love and teaching me of the Self I share with all the world.

Thank You for Your trust in me, which inspires my trust in You. I know that I can bring all my thoughts to You and You will help me let go of what is unreal, of what hides the peace of God from my awareness. Thus do You teach me to forget all things but Love and I remember Who I am.

Most Holy Spirit, my Heavenly and Divine Guidance, I, too, thank You for the awareness of Your presence in me. Thank You for believing in me, for loving me when I could not love myself. It is because of Your Love and Patience that the light of my own true Self is beginning to shine. And so, together, we share this day in peace, in Oneness, and in Love. Today there is no past and no future; there is only Love and there is only God. Help me, Holy Spirit, to remember that any situation that I may encounter with a brother or in what I perceive as time, will be transformed by Him in Love. Amen.

©2003, Pathways of Light, Inc. http://pathwaysoflight.org You may freely share copies of this page with your friends, provided all copies include this notice.
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Lesson 345 I offer only miracles today, For I would have them be returned to me.

2009-07-01T08:14:00.000-07:00

Lesson 345

I offer only miracles today, For I would have them be returned to me.

Father, a miracle reflects Your gifts to me, Your Son. And every one I give returns to me, reminding me the law of love is universal. Even here, it takes a form which can be recognized and seen to work. The miracles I give are given back in just the form I need to help me with the problems I perceive. Father, in Heaven it is different, for there, there are no needs. But here on earth, the miracle is closer to Your gifts than any other gift that I can give. Then let me give this gift alone today, which, born of true forgiveness, lights the way that I must travel to remember You.

Peace to all seeking hearts today. The light has come to offer miracles to bless the tired world. It will find rest today, for we will offer what we have received.

The Following is Forwarded from Pathwaysoflight.org

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Lesson 345
"I offer only miracles today,
For I would have them be returned to me."

Holy Spirit, I open my mind to You today to receive a healing correction in my perception. My body's eyes deceive me. They show me the opposite of the truth. I need Your correction to my perception that I might have my thoughts transformed.

You give me the miracle of truth. You remind me that separation could never be real. You help me see beyond illusions to the eternal truth of Love. You help me rise above the battleground. You help me see the battle as merely a false story, a story that comes from belief in separation. You help me see past the story to the truth of our oneness in Love.

Holy Spirit, I would receive these miracles today. I would receive Your peace that I may extend Your peace. I would receive Your Love that I may extend Your Love. What I receive I would give.

Today my practice is to open to Your healing perceptions so that I may give the miracles I receive.

The miracle is the effect of true forgiveness. With true forgiveness, I no longer see my brother as separate and different from me. I see instead the Love that is the One Self we share. With true forgiveness I see the innocence, the face of Christ in my brother.

Since everything I see in this world is a projection from my mind, when I see innocence in my brother, I am recognizing it in myself. I receive the gift of Christ vision, reflected back to me.

Today I would not let little irritations and disturbances linger in my mind. I would take them quickly to my inner Teacher, Who will help me see past the meaningless form that I have misperceived and see instead the wholeness and holiness that is the extension of my Self.

I dedicate this day to being vigilant for peace and taking all interferences to the Holy Spirit to be shined away. I will open my mind to the Holy Spirit's Light and thus will I be able to offer miracles and have those miracles returned to me.

This lesson offers peace to all seeking hearts and today I accept that peace. I accept the Light that has come to lead me back to my Father. I ask Jesus and the Holy Spirit to show me which miracles to give today and I am open to experience the miracles in the form which I need, which is possibly in a form I least expect.

Holy Spirit, I offer You my willingness today to be guided by You, so that I might rest and in that rest I will experience my Father's gifts to me. Amen

©2003, Pathways of Light, Inc. http://pathwaysoflight.org You may freely share copies of this page with your friends, provided all copies include this notice.
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Lesson 344 Today I learn the law of love; that what I give my brother is my gift to me.

2009-06-29T10:52:00.000-07:00

Lesson 344

Today I learn the law of love; that what I give my brother is my gift to me.

This is Your law, my Father, not my own. I have not understood what giving means, and thought to save what I desired for myself alone. And as I looked upon the treasure that I thought I had, I found an empty place where nothing ever was or is or will be. Who can share a dream? And what can an illusion offer me? Yet he whom I forgive will give me gifts beyond the worth of anything on earth. Let my forgiven brothers fill my store with Heaven's treasures, which alone are real. Thus is the law of love fulfilled. And thus Your Son arises and returns to You.

How near we are to one another, as we go to God. How near is He to us. How close the ending of the dream of sin, and the redemption of the Son of God.

The Following is Forwarded from Pathwaysoflight.org

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Lesson 344
"Today I learn the law of love; that what
I give my brother is my gift to me."

The Course is very clear that the world we see is a projection from our own minds. Thus the "brother" that I see out in the world represents what I think of myself. Some brothers I seem to like. Others seem to anger me or make me afraid. They all represent aspects of what I think I am. There is one Son. But because I believe in separation, I see God's one Son in many images, projected from my mind, starting with the body I call me.

Because I have so completely bought into the thought system of separation, the Holy Spirit leads me from where I think I am to the gates of Heaven. Thus He starts with teaching me to forgive that 'other' brother, who seems not to be me. Each time I truly forgive a brother, I feel the blessing of release. I walk with a lighter step and so I experience the law of Love. I thought I gave my brother a gift of forgiveness, yet simultaneously I was blessed by the gift.

As I experience this more and more, I become more motivated to practice forgiveness because I want the blessing of peace and happiness that comes with it. Gradually it dawns upon me that what I give my brother is a gift to me.

Sometimes it looks like my brother's behavior changes and I may attribute the blessing I feel to his changed behavior. But once again I remember all that I see is a projection from my own mind. And so my brother's changed behavior is just another form, reflecting the change in my own mind. Perhaps his behavior doesn't seem to change. But with forgiveness in my heart, his behavior has no effect on me. The love in my heart continues to embrace him because it sees past behavior to the face of Christ.

With the Holy Spirit's help, I learn to see Christ's face more and more and that face of innocence teaches me of my own innocence. Gradually I learn to see every brother as my savior, offering me the opportunity to see my own innocence. With the Holy Spirit's help, I walk with my brother to the gates of Heaven. Here I recognize my brother as my Self. And in the recognition of that unity, form fades away and we are united once again in the Heaven that is our Home. And I give thanks.

The law of Love is the law of unity, the law of oneness. The law of oneness remains unchangeable. This is the ultimate lesson that we are here to learn. We can't turn what is one into many separate individuals. We can't do the impossible.

Forgiveness means letting go of trying to do the impossible. Forgiveness means letting illusions go. As we forgive our brother, we learn to see the face of Christ where once we saw a separate individual. As we learn to practice forgiveness with every brother, we learn to see the same face of Christ in every brother. Thus are illusions are undone.

Through forgiveness, we learn to overlook what never happened. We learn to see past illusions of separation to the one truth that can never change. The face of Christ that I see in my brother shows me that nothing has changed. My brother is only Love and remains eternally changeless for Love is eternal.

Seeing the face of Christ in my brother heals my mind. Seeing the face of Christ in my brother reminds me that the separation never happened. Love cannot change into something it is not. Each time I see the face of Christ in a brother, I take on more step towards healing my projections of separation. As I give I receive.

Today is another day of practice with opening my mind to what is forever true. The face of Christ is all there is to see. The hand of Christ is all there is to hold. There is no journey but to walk with Him. Today I will practice letting my mind be healed of all thoughts of separation.

The brother that I see out in the world, represents what I think of myself. If I'm totally honest with myself, I've noticed that the people I have the hardest time accepting have characteristics that I dislike in myself. I don't claim them or want to own them so I attempt to get rid of them by projecting them onto someone else. But no matter how much I try to avoid or run away from these people in my life, they still keep showing up in my face, they just show up in different form or they play a different role.

And as, I too, practice forgiveness because I'm tired of running, I begin to see the Christ in these people which surfaces the Christ in me. My brothers and I do have the same characteristics, but those are of innocence, of perfection, of guiltlessness; if I see anything other than this, it is my own distorted perception.

©2003, Pathways of Light, Inc. http://pathwaysoflight.org You may freely share copies of this page with your friends, provided all copies include this notice.
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Lesson 343 I am not asked to make a sacrifice To find the mercy and the peace of God.

2009-06-27T04:31:00.000-07:00

Lesson 343

I am not asked to make a sacrifice
To find the mercy and the peace of God.

The end of suffering can not be loss. The gift of everything can be but gain. You only give. You never take away. And You created me to be like You, so sacrifice becomes impossible for me as well as You. I, too, must give. And so all things are given unto me forever and forever. As I was created I remain. Your Son can make no sacrifice, for he must be complete, having the function of completing You. I am complete because I am Your Son. I cannot lose, for I can only give, and everything is mine eternally.

The mercy and the peace of God are free. Salvation has no cost. It is a gift that must be freely given and received. And it is this that we would learn today.

The Following is Forwarded from Pathwaysoflight.org

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Lesson 343
"I am not asked to make a sacrifice
To find the mercy and the peace of God."

This lesson is telling us that we must give to know the mercy and the peace of God. This is confusing to the ego, which cannot conceive of giving without sacrifice. The key is in sentences 3 and 4. "You only give. You never take away." In God, giving cannot mean loss. There can be no "taking away." Because He gives everything eternally, we as God's Son, have everything eternally. We cannot lose.

To know that I have everything, I must give everything freely. If I try to hold back, to reserve something for me alone, I have lost awareness that everything is given to all and thus will not know that everything is given to me. So it is not giving that brings experience of loss. It is holding back that makes us feel that loss is possible.

This experience of giving to know that we have everything cannot be found on the level of form. Because every form is finite, if it is given away, it is no longer part of the giver. That is the law of separation, which governs the world of form. But in our holy Mind there is no form, only the Thought of Love.

Love knows no limits. To extend Love is not sacrifice but only gain, for Love is magnified by Its extension. Love does not condemn, and so it is merciful. Love is one and so it has no conflict and brings complete peace. To know the mercy and the peace of God I must give the Love I have been given. Only thus will I know my Self as God created It. Love must be freely given and received.

Today I will continue my practice of bringing all my thoughts in this world to the Holy Spirit for His help in removing all blocks to the free giving and receiving of the mercy and the peace of God.

The sentences that stand out to me in this lesson are, "I, too, must give. And so all things are given unto me forever and forever. As I was created, I remain." (1:6-8) Love is abstract. Love is not specific. Love is all encompassing. It includes all that is. I was created as nonspecific, universal Love. That is what I received and that is what I must give.

Because Love is not specific, there is no judgment, no evaluation. As I return to my true Identity and learn to accept my true Identity, I open to the abstract, universal Love of God. I recognize that the specific is untrue. And so I learn to let go of specifics so that I may know the Love of God that I am. Love only gives so I, too, must give to be my Self. I was given all and I give all. As I was created, I remain.

Returning to this awareness is my opportunity today. When I get lost in specifics or thinking that specifics are real, I can hand it over and remember that Love is universal. Love is giving all to all. This I would practice accepting and giving today.

©2003, Pathways of Light, Inc. http://pathwaysoflight.org You may freely share copies of this page with your friends, provided all copies include this notice.
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Lesson 342 I let forgiveness rest upon all things, For thus forgiveness will be given me.

2009-06-26T08:13:00.001-07:00

Lesson 342

I let forgiveness rest upon all things, For thus forgiveness will be given me.

I thank You, Father, for Your plan to save me from the hell I made. It is not real. And You have given me the means to prove its unreality to me. The key is in my hand, and I have reached the door beyond which lies the end of dreams. I stand before the gate of Heaven, wondering if I should enter in and be at home. Let me not wait again today. Let me forgive all things, and let creation be as You would have it be and as it is. Let me remember that I am Your Son, and opening the door at last, forget illusions in the blazing light of truth, as memory of You returns to me.

Brother, forgive me now. I come to you to take you home with me. And as we go, the world goes with us on our way to God.

The Following is Forwarded from Pathwaysoflight.org

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Lesson 342
"I let forgiveness rest upon all things,
For thus forgiveness will be given me."

Forgiveness is letting illusions be recognized as the illusions they are. Forgiveness is the key I hold in my hand. If I want the world I made to still seem real to me, I will not forgive. I will hold on to the illusions. I will hold on to my grievances. I will hold on to the hell I made in order to deny my reality. But holding on to hell causes me great unhappiness and loss of peace. Holding on to hell by making it appear to be real in my mind is attacking myself.

I would not continue attacking myself today. I would let forgiveness do its healing work. I would let go of what I thought I made real. I would let the Holy Spirit show me its unreality. I would let go of my grievance against oneness. I would not wait again today to receive the gifts forgiveness offers.

Today I would let the Holy Spirit be my constant Companion. I would look at the world I made with the Holy Spirit. I would let the Holy Spirit show me its unreality. "I let forgiveness rest upon all things, for thus forgiveness will be given me."

Each time I truly forgive, I experience great relief. The world appears brighter. My heart is happy. I walk with lightened footsteps and a smile on my face. I want to extend the joy in my heart to the world. It's a wonderful high and it's a high that could last for eternity if I would but let that forgiveness cover all I perceive. It seems that it should be easy to be addicted to forgiveness, for nothing else brings the lasting joy it brings.

But to the contrary, it seems that I am more addicted to my grievances. It seems insane to make such a choice and in fact the Course is telling me it is insane. It all stems from the desire for specialness, to have a separate and unique identity I can call my own. Were I to let forgiveness be complete, I would recognize my oneness with all things. That unique, separate identity would no longer have value and thus would cease to seem to exist.

It would mean the end of the ego, which the ego perceives as death. When I identify with the ego, the fear of death makes forgiveness repulsive. The ego would rather be in pain and hang on to its grievances than lose its special identity. When the Course asks, "Would you rather be right than happy?" it is asking would I rather keep a separate identity I can call my own or would I prefer to know the joy of God?

Today I will continue bringing all my judgments to the Holy Spirit for His gentle and loving correction. It makes no difference whether I think it is a petty grievance or a major trauma, anything that seems to make me separate from my brother needs to be forgiven. Only thus will I know my own wholeness, my unity with Love, my innocence. I would walk with the Light of the Holy Spirit beside me and let Him shine away the darkness of false images made to make separation seem real. I would let His Love comfort me and bring me peace. Thus will "I let forgiveness rest upon all things, for thus forgiveness will be given me."

"Today I will continue bringing all my judgments to the Holy Spirit for His gentle and loving correction. It makes no difference whether I think it is a petty grievance or a major trauma, anything that seems to make me separate from my brother needs to be forgiven."

I cannot express how effective this practice has been for me. I think that the inclusive nature of it is very important. If I find myself being resistant to taking something to the Holy Spirit, I often catch myself thinking this is a little thing, I don't need to fool with this. I stop and do it anyway because the Course makes it clear that we need to not hold anything back from the Holy Spirit. Sometimes it turns out it was a much bigger deal than I was admitting.

What a beautiful prayer in this lesson. And I do thank you, Father, for Your plan to save me from the hell I've made. You have gone to great lengths to get these messages of hope to me and for that I am truly grateful. And in that gratitude I commit myself today, this moment, to realize that I hold the key to my happiness.

I ask Holy Spirit to guide me and help me remember this commitment I have made so that I may experience the love and peace You offer me, which has always been Your will. I ask Holy Spirit to help me to forgive, especially myself, for the illusions I have made. I humble myself to You, Holy Spirit, and allow You to lead me past the gate of Heaven. Amen.

©2003, Pathways of Light, Inc. http://pathwaysoflight.org You may freely share copies of this page with your friends, provided all copies include this notice.
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Section 13. What is a Miracle? Lesson 341 I can attack but my own sinlessness, And it is only that which keeps me safe.

2009-06-25T10:02:00.000-07:00

Section 13. What is a Miracle?

A miracle is a correction. It does not create, nor really change at all. It merely looks on devastation, and reminds the mind that what it sees is false. It undoes error, but does not attempt to go beyond perception, nor exceed the function of forgiveness. Thus it stays within time's limits. Yet it paves the way for the return of timelessness and love's awakening, for fear must slip away under the gentle remedy it brings.

A miracle contains the gift of grace, for it is given and received as one. And thus it illustrates the law of truth the world does not obey, because it fails entirely to understand its ways. A miracle inverts perception which was upside down before, and thus it ends the strange distortions that were manifest. Now is perception open to the truth. Now is forgiveness seen as justified.

Forgiveness is the home of miracles. The eyes of Christ deliver them to all they look upon in mercy and in love. Perception stands corrected in His sight, and what was meant to curse has come to bless. Each lily of forgiveness offers all the world the silent miracle of love. And each is laid before the Word of God, upon the universal altar to Creator and creation in the light of perfect purity and endless joy.

The miracle is taken first on faith, because to ask for it implies the mind has been made ready to conceive of what it cannot see and does not understand. Yet faith will bring its witnesses to show that what it rested on is really there. And thus the miracle will justify your faith in it, and show it rested on a world more real than what you saw before; a world redeemed from what you thought was there.

Miracles fall like drops of healing rain from Heaven on a dry and dusty world, where starved and thirsty creatures come to die. Now they have water. Now the world is green. And everywhere the signs of life spring up, to show that what is born can never die, for what has life has immortality.

Lesson 341

I can attack but my own sinlessness,
And it is only that which keeps me safe.

Father, Your Son is holy. I am he on whom You smile in love and tenderness so dear and deep and still the universe smiles back on You, and shares Your Holiness. How pure, how safe, how holy, then, are we, abiding in Your Smile, with all Your Love bestowed upon us, living one with You, in brotherhood and Fatherhood complete; in sinlessness so perfect that the Lord of Sinlessness conceives us as His Son, a universe of Thought completing Him.

Let us not, then, attack our sinlessness, for it contains the Word of God to us. And in its kind reflection we are saved.

The Following is Forwarded from Pathwaysoflight.org

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Lesson 341
"I can attack but my own sinlessness,
And it is only that which keeps me safe."

It is my sinlessness, my innocence, my holiness that keeps me safe, because that is what God created. What God created is changeless, remaining one with Him. The Self God created is forever safe.

The sense of vulnerability, the need to defend and attack, cannot come from the Self that knows Its changelessness in God. It can only come from a false image that does not remember the Love and strength it shares with God. So when I feel vulnerable, when I feel attacked or when I feel a need to attack to defend myself, it can only be because I believe I am something other than my Self.

This world is the out picturing of the belief that I am separate from God. Everywhere I look it shows me vulnerability, conflict, devastation and death. There is not one thing in this world that is not in some way decaying. Some things seem to last a tiny fraction of a second. Others seem to last billions of years. But all are constantly changing and headed toward disintegration. Impermanence is the lesson this world attempts to teach because it represents the opposite of God.

If I want to remember my innocence, if I want to remember the holiness God created me to be, it is useless to look to the world to find it, for the world was made to hide it. By the grace of God, I have within my mind a loving Teacher Who will gently guide me back to the remembrance of my Self as God created It. It is to this inner Teacher that I must turn if I would learn the lesson of my sinlessness. With His help, I will see my innocence reflected back to me from everyone and everything I look upon. I see this through the miracle of forgiveness.

Today I would continue my practice of turning all my judgments over to the Holy Spirit and let Him judge on my behalf. Thus will I learn to recognize the false image of a separate identity for what it is and awaken to my Self in God.

Remembering that I am still as God created me is the same as remembering that I am innocent. I may think that I changed my image from the Self That God created, but this cannot happen in truth. I may think that I am guilty and that I have lost my innocence, but this cannot happen in truth. This is what keeps me safe. Separation from God can happen only in a dream -- only in illusions.

Thank God this world could never be true. Thank God we could never be separate and alone. Thank God there is no death. Thank God dreams of insanity, dreams of separation, are simply dreams. Our eternal Reality is eternally safe. Light still remains Light, even if I choose to dream dreams of darkness. I am still Love, even though I may use the power of my mind to make up images that a world of fear is true.

I am so grateful that I cannot change the truth. I am so grateful that I can recognize and then let go of dreams of separation with Holy Spirit. I am so grateful that I am still in the Mind of God and never left.

Now is the time to let go of what could never be true. Now is the time to forgive God. Now is the time to step back and follow the lead of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit will lead me to what is eternally true as I practice quieting my mind to receive the truth today.

©2003, Pathways of Light, Inc. http://pathwaysoflight.org You may freely share copies of this page with your friends, provided all copies include this notice.
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Lesson 340 I can be free of suffering today.

2009-06-24T07:58:00.000-07:00

Lesson 340

I can be free of suffering today.

Father, I thank You for today, and for the freedom I am certain it will bring. This day is holy, for today Your Son will be redeemed. His suffering is done. For he will hear Your Voice directing him to find Christ's vision through forgiveness, and be free forever from all suffering. Thanks for today, my Father. I was born into this world but to achieve this day, and what it holds in joy and freedom for Your holy Son and for the world he made, which is released along with him today.

Be glad today! Be glad! There is no room for anything but joy and thanks today. Our Father has redeemed His Son this day. Not one of us but will be saved today. Not one who will remain in fear, and none the Father will not gather to Himself, awake in Heaven in the Heart of Love.

The Following is Forwarded from Pathwaysoflight.org

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Lesson 340
"I can be free of suffering today."

Today I can awaken in Heaven, at Home in my Creator. This brings up a lot of questions from the ego. "What's special about today? Why not yesterday? Why not five years ago? Why did I have to wait so long? What if it doesn't happen today?" These simply highlight the emphasis the ego places on the seeming reality of time. In truth, today is no different than any other day. In the eternal now I am free of all suffering. If I'm not experiencing this, then I am choosing against it today.

This lesson reminds me of the movie "Groundhog Day," in which the main character experiences the same day over and over until he learns its lesson. That is what we are all doing. Every day that we do not experience the serenity, joy and Love of God, we haven't learned the lesson the day has for us. "We were born for this day" means from the day we were born, the only meaningful goal for us is to let go of our attachment and belief in separation and accept God's Will for us that we be with Him in Heaven.

Each day we simply repeat the same mistake of believing that we have separated from God. Each day we have the opportunity to make another choice. In truth there only is now, the holy instant in which we remember our Source and our Self, which remains forever one with Its Creator. Today I can accept that every day offers me that same choice, that same opportunity. "I can be free of suffering today."

Suffering only comes with belief in the false ideas of the ego. Suffering only comes with belief that we are what we could never be in truth. Suffering comes with belief that we have separated from our one Identity in God, which is what the Course calls belief in sin. With belief in sin, or that we really separated, comes guilt and with guilt comes fear of God's reprisal. Release from suffering comes with release from these false ideas.

Forgiveness means seeing the dreams unreality and letting go of what never was. Forgiveness means letting go of illusions of separation. In Lesson 193, paragraph 13, Jesus tells us to repeat this often, " I will forgive and this will disappear. To every apprehension, every care, and every form of suffering, repeat these selfsame words. And then you hold the key that opens Heaven's gate, and brings the Love of God the Father down to earth at last, to raise it up to Heaven."

It is only holding on to the false ideas of separation that holds the suffering in place. As we are willing to open to the healing perceptions of the Holy Spirit, we are brought to the awareness that the illusions of separation found in this world are not true. An opposite to God could never be true. Time and space could never be true.

As we continue to practice forgiveness with every form of suffering that we find ourselves believing in, we eventually let go of all our false beliefs. We awaken to the truth. We see that all these dreams never really happened. All these dreams of separate individuals, different and alone, are just dreams found within the ego thought system.

As we forgive, we no longer are attracted to make these forms of separation real. We let them go. We awaken to the fact that we are still as God created us. We did not and could not change our reality as an extension of God's Love. We are still safe in God because we are an eternal Thought in the Mind of God and nothing else.

Letting go of illusions of separation is a lifetime process. Each day we have the opportunity to release ourselves from the bondage of belief in the ego thoughts of separation. Each day we have the opportunity to follow the lead of the Holy Spirit, Who leads us Home. The Holy Spirit shows us that we never left Heaven. We just dreamed a dream of separation and suffering.

Today is a day of practice of letting my mind be healed today.

©2003, Pathways of Light, Inc. http://pathwaysoflight.org You may freely share copies of this page with your friends, provided all copies include this notice.
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Lesson 339 I will receive whatever I request.

2009-06-22T09:51:00.000-07:00

Lesson 339

I will receive whatever I request.

No one desires pain. But he can think that pain is pleasure. No one would avoid his happiness. But he can think that joy is painful, threatening and dangerous. Everyone will receive what he requests. But he can be confused indeed about the things he wants; the state he would attain. What can he then request that he would want when he receives it? He has asked for what will frighten him, and bring him suffering. Let us resolve today to ask for what we really want, and only this, that we may spend this day in fearlessness, without confusing pain with joy, or fear with love.

Father, this is Your day. It is a day in which I would do nothing by myself, but hear Your Voice in everything I do; requesting only what You offer me, accepting only Thoughts You share with me.

The Following is Forwarded from Pathwaysoflight.org

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Lesson 339
"I will receive whatever I request."

God created us joyful, because He created us like Himself. So if we are not experiencing supreme joy, then in some way we are avoiding it or denying it. This seems ludicrous. Ask anyone if they want to be happy and they will answer, "Of course!." But do we really know what will make us happy? This whole world is the effect of a mistaken idea of what will make us happy.

The ego is the idea that specialness, having more than the Everything God gave us, will make us happy. What the ego does not tell us is that to have this specialness, we must deny our Source and cut ourselves off from it, therefore cutting ourselves off from the Source of real joy. In place of God's joy, the ego offers illusions of happiness. But because they are illusions, they are really nothing.

Beneath the surface of the world of special illusions lies intense guilt because we believe we hurt God by separating ourselves from Him. Because of this guilt we believe we are unworthy of unhappiness. Even in periods when we seem to be happy, we are sure it cannot last.

We think we want independence. We want to be "in charge of our destiny." But the price of this independence is the loss of awareness of our oneness with Love, our Source and our strength. So declaring our independence, we wander the world, feeling weak, alone and lacking Love. This is indeed being confused about the things we want and the state we would attain.

This is why it is so important for us to dedicate each day to do nothing by ourselves, but to hear His Voice in everything we do and accepting only the Thoughts of Love God shares with us. Thus will we spend the day in fearlessness, because we will receive what we really want.

In the Text, Jesus tells us that we always choose between two thought systems -- the ego's or the Holy Spirit's. He tells us that we will receive the effects of what we choose.

The ego is the choice for separation, limitation, guilt and pain. It is the choice to be something other than an extension of God's Love.

With choosing the Holy Spirit comes the undoing of the dream. When we choose the Holy Spirit, we are willing to let go of the false identity that we mistakenly made. With the Holy Spirit, forgiveness becomes our only function. As we learn to think with Holy Spirit, we are brought to see innocence instead of guilt. We are brought to see oneness instead of separation. We are brought to feel God's peace because we are letting go of the conflict that separation brings.

With the Holy Spirit, we no longer believe in bodies. We no longer believe in death. We recognize that there is only eternal life and that eternal life is changeless. With Holy Spirit, the body's only purpose now is for awakening from the dream. "I will receive whatever I request."

This lesson reminds me that I do have the power to change my thinking. It is up to me. Nothing is happening to me without my request. It is encouraging, and at the same time, an awesome responsibility to know that I have the power to change my life. The feeling of powerlessness, the repetition of powerlessness, that I had been taught, no longer holds true. And I don't choose alone!

Today I choose Holy Spirit's interpretation of my life choices and my life. I am as God created me and nothing can alter that! My choice is to be happy and peaceful and extend that to all I meet today!

When I look back on my life, I can see that my Heavenly Father has always given me what I want, or shall I say what I thought I wanted. Most of the these things have turned out to be dead ends and or not what I wanted after all.

As a result of this, I used to go through life feeling lost, wandering, looking for that "thing" that would fill the void in my heart. And today, rather than to see my past as wasted time, I see these dead ends as blessings. I see it as a kind of "process by elimination" because it is these dead ends that have lead me to God. They have lead me to the point where the only thing I value today is my peace of mind.

Today I resolve to ask for peace, for this is what I know I want; and I want only this. When I ask for peace, nothing outside of me changes, even if I encounter a situation that causes me conflict, I try to remember that it's just an opportunity for me to go within and change my mind, not the situation, and I get back to being at peace.

Sometimes I wonder if I know what the meaning of love is, but when I'm in a peaceful state of mind, I place myself in a position to be more open to receive what Love is in truth.

©2003, Pathways of Light, Inc. http://pathwaysoflight.org You may freely share copies of this page with your friends, provided all copies include this notice.
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Lesson 338 I am affected only by my thoughts.

2009-06-20T06:59:00.000-07:00

Lesson 338

I am affected only by my thoughts.

It needs but this to let salvation come to all the world. For in this single thought is everyone released at last from fear. Now has he learned that no one frightens him, and nothing can endanger him. He has no enemies, and he is safe from all external things. His thoughts can frighten him, but since these thoughts belong to him alone, he has the power to change them and exchange each fear thought for a happy thought of love. He crucified himself. Yet God has planned that His beloved Son will be redeemed.

Your plan is sure, my Father,—only Yours. All other plans will fail. And I will have thoughts that will frighten me, until I learn that You have given me the only Thought that leads me to salvation. Mine alone will fail, and lead me nowhere. But the Thought You gave me promises to lead me home, because it holds Your promise to Your Son.

The Following is Forwarded from Pathwaysoflight.org

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Lesson 338
"I am affected only by my thoughts."

Today's lesson is one of empowerment. It reclaims our power over all that we experience. With that power we are free to choose the peace and joy and Love of God instead of the darkness and emptiness of the ego.

The ego's very existence depends on our believing that we are not responsible for what we see or think, that we are at the mercy of outside forces to the point of death. The ego needs us to believe that we are powerless before all these forces. At best we can make meager defenses that can temporarily hold off their advance, but ultimately we will succumb in death, which the ego tells us is 'proof' that we have 'lived.' But this is not life. It's a cruel hoax, which substitutes for the tranquility and joy of the Life we share with God.

As I can accept that "I am affected only by my thoughts," the ego ceases to have control. I become free to choose the happy thoughts of Love I share with God instead of the frightening thoughts of guilt the ego offers. I have long believed the ego's lies without questioning them. And so I must practice day by day, hour by hour, minute by minute, bringing all my thoughts to the Holy Spirit. I must ask Him with an open mind, "What does this mean? I do not know."

This is how I will learn that I am truly affected only by my thoughts. This is how I will learn that I have a choice so that I can choose again. This is how I will learn that indeed I am God's beloved Son, along with all my brothers. It is our unity in Him that keeps me safe, invulnerable, tranquil, in quiet joy and perfect Love. It is this I seek to remember today.

If I ever feel sad, depressed, anxious or fearful, it is only because of my thoughts. If I feel happy, enthusiastic and full of joy, it is because of my thoughts. My thoughts are the cause of everything I experience. The thoughts I hold in my mind are what gives meaning to everything I see and experience.

With Holy Spirit, I am now in the process of retraining my mind to think differently . I am learning to watch my thoughts and ask myself often, "With the thoughts I am thinking now, am I joining with the ego or am I joining with the Holy Spirit?"

With ego thoughts, I am perceiving the world as real. I think I am separate and alone and think others are separate and distinct from me. The ego thinking always looks for distinguishing differences. It looks to put all the guilt I am holding inside onto something or someone outside of me. The ego is attracted to thoughts of conflict, blame and judgment.

The Holy Spirit's thoughts always lead me to peace and seeing the truth behind every separate form I see in this world. The Holy Spirit does not make this world real, but helps me see past this world of separation to the real world of unity. The Holy Spirit changes my perceptions to look past bodily behavior to the one Light that never changes. The Holy Spirit moves past time and space to what is eternally true. The Holy Spirit brings me to the holy instant, where all is one Mind.

As I go through my day, it is important that I remember the truth that "I am affected only by my thoughts." It is important for me to take whatever thoughts are in my mind to the Holy Spirit to be purified and cleansed of all false ideas. If I want to be truly happy, I will do this on an ongoing basis all through the day. I will choose the Holy Spirit as my constant Companion and remember not to decide what anything means on my own based on my past learning.

I know too much to go back to the old ways of thinking. On page 22 of the Text it says, "Tolerance for pain may be high, but it is not without limit." I am at the stage where I would rather be happy than right. When I open to the Holy Spirit's healing perceptions, I am led to forgive the thoughts that I thought were true. I am led to the experience of peace, joy and happiness. "I am affected only by my thoughts."

What a beautiful lesson. He tells me that I will have thoughts that will frighten me, and I do. But He is in that place of quiet, patiently waiting for me to go there, and I do, but unfortunately sometimes only after I become frightened, and He gently and lovingly reminds me that this is not the way it has to be.

He tells me that it is my own plans that frighten me in the first place and that His plan is sure. And my heart tells me this is true, because He has never failed me before. My mind was in conflict this morning and I asked Holy Spirit to talk to me and He just did, in this lesson.

©2003, Pathways of Light, Inc. http://pathwaysoflight.org You may freely share copies of this page with your friends, provided all copies include this notice.
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Lesson 337 My sinlessness protects me from all harm.

2009-06-19T08:38:00.000-07:00

Lesson 337

My sinlessness protects me from all harm.

My sinlessness ensures me perfect peace, eternal safety, everlasting love, freedom forever from all thought of loss; complete deliverance from suffering. And only happiness can be my state, for only happiness is given me. What must I do to know all this is mine? I must accept Atonement for myself, and nothing more. God has already done all things that need be done. And I must learn I need do nothing of myself, for I need but accept my Self, my sinlessness, created for me, now already mine, to feel God's Love protecting me from harm, to understand my Father loves His Son; to know I am the Son my Father loves.

You Who created me in sinlessness are not mistaken about what I am. I was mistaken when I thought I sinned, but I accept Atonement for myself. Father, my dream is ended now. Amen.

The Following is Forwarded from Pathwaysoflight.org

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Lesson 337
"My sinlessness protects me from all harm."

The Course defines Atonement as perfect Love. It also calls It the undoing. God created the Self we share as perfect Love. Thus when we accept Atonement, we accept our Self. If we weren't rejecting Love, there would be no need for Atonement, no need for undoing false perceptions. But to experience Atonement, to experience perfect Love, we need to undo our denial of It.

That is why forgiveness is central to the Course. Forgiveness is the undoing of the denial of Love, our Self. When I judge someone, that person represents my denial of Love. It is this I must take to the Holy Spirit and let Him help me see the Love behind the behavior and to answer the call for Love with Love.

When I disapprove of someone's behavior, I may tell myself, "I would never do that." This is one of the tricks of the ego. It encourages us to look at form (behavior) and disregard content.

As I learn to take these judgments to the Holy Spirit, I learn to see the common content. Always in some way the behavior represents a belief in separation and the lack and loss that seem to come with it. If I see someone as needy or demanding or manipulative or any of myriad labels I might apply, they all cover a basic sense of loss, which the behavior is trying to rectify. The behavior is trying to solve the problem on the level of form, where it cannot be solved. When I judge the behavior, I am thinking that changing the behavior will solve the problem, which is also trying to solve the problem at the level of form, where it cannot be solved.

As I learn to recognize the problem is a sense of lack that comes from believing in separation from Love, then I can take that problem to the Holy Spirit and ask for help to recognize that I am the Love that I seem to have lost. And in that seemingly "other" person, I can answer the behavior, the call for Love, with Love. Thus I teach myself that I am Love and that Love is always the answer.

The problem is the belief in separation from Love. The answer is the acceptance of my Self, perfect Love. That is Atonement. That is accepting my Self as the Son God loves. That is seeing that I am joined with all my brothers in that one Self that is the Son God Loves.

Today, Holy Spirit, help me not to be fooled by behavior. Help me to see my unity with all in the one Self that is God's beloved Son. Thus will I let my sinlessness protect me from all harm.

If I think I can be harmed in any way, I have forgotten my Self. I have forgotten my Identity as an extension of God's Love and am dreaming of being the opposite of what I truly am. Building defenses against harm is not the answer. Letting go of the false dream of separation is the answer.

Taking all thoughts of harm to the Holy Spirit to be undone is how I let go of these thoughts. I recognize they are unreal and harm is impossible. Dreams of being on a distant shore are not reality. Dreams of bodies are not reality.

Today I would practice accepting Atonement for myself. Today I would let the Holy Spirit show me the difference between what is real and what is unreal. I would let my mind be healed today.

The lesson says that I must accept Atonement for myself and nothing more. Because forgiveness is central to the course, acceptance of Atonement begins with me (or where I am spiritually at the moment).

I've shared before that I notice I can be much more forgiving (or let up)on others when I forgive (or let up) on myself first. That makes sense to me because when I perceive that someone says something mean to me or does something to hurt me, it's always when I'm not in a peaceful state of mind. It's always when my self-esteem is low or I'm feeling insecure about myself.

When I'm in a spiritual state of mind, I really do feel protected from all harm. It's kind of like an invisible shield protecting me, but not from the world or from bad things attacking me (form). In other words, it's not like bad things are coming in from the outside, it's like good things are going out from the inside. It's like my true Self is shining and I experience nothing but light around me. And it is in these moments that I can say "Father my dream is ended now." Amen

©2003, Pathways of Light, Inc. http://pathwaysoflight.org You may freely share copies of this page with your friends, provided all copies include this notice.
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Lesson 336 Forgiveness lets me know that minds are joined.

2009-06-18T08:04:00.001-07:00

Lesson 336

Forgiveness lets me know that minds are joined.

Forgiveness is the means appointed for perception's ending. Knowledge is restored after perception first is changed, and then gives way entirely to what remains forever past its highest reach. For sights and sounds, at best, can serve but to recall the memory that lies beyond them all. Forgiveness sweeps away distortions, and opens the hidden altar to the truth. Its lilies shine into the mind, and call it to return and look within, to find what it has vainly sought without. For here, and only here, is peace of mind restored, for this the dwelling place of God Himself.

In quiet may forgiveness wipe away my dreams of separation and of sin. Then let me, Father, look within, and find Your promise of my sinlessness is kept; Your Word remains unchanged within my mind, Your Love is still abiding in my heart.

The Following is Forwarded from Pathwaysoflight.org

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Lesson 336
"Forgiveness lets me know that minds are joined."

This lesson is making it explicitly clear that peace of mind can only be found by looking within. No amount of looking to external circumstances will bring me peace. The ego tells us that if we just have the right relationship or live in the right house or have the right job or if our coworkers behaved differently, then we could be at peace. This lesson is telling us not only that we won't find peace there, but to find peace we must forgive. That means we need to let go of our judgments about relationships, coworkers jobs and houses.

Perceptions can serve a helpful purpose in this world if we turn them over to the Holy Spirit for Him to use for His purpose. He will use perception to teach us to learn to look beyond it. He will help us learn to let go of judgment, for it is judgment that keeps us feeling separate and alone. This forgiveness is done in quiet because the Holy Spirit's vision is received in quiet.

Conflict is a symptom of judgment. When we experience tension, discomfort, frustration, resentment, even a minor irritation, it is a sign that we need to return to peace, return to the quiet place in our mind and receive the Holy Spirit's vision. He will show us what unifies us, the Love that lies beyond the seemingly separate forms. He will show us the innocence.

Today I will be mindful of my thoughts and feelings, being alert to any disturbance of my peace of mind. I commit to taking each disturbance to the Holy Spirit. He will take it willingly, for He has a grand gift to give me in return. He offers me the peace of God. I need but give Him my thoughts of judgment, my calls for Love, and He will answer by showing me the Love that God placed in my heart, my Self. "Forgiveness lets me know that minds are joined."

Everything I see with the body's eyes is a distortion of the truth. What I see through the body's eyes is separation -- individuality, differences, each thing separate and alone. What I see through the body's eyes is not the truth. Believing in these distortions comes with joining with the ego. I have joined with the ego and have thought that the distortions were real.

I am now in the process of awakening to the truth. I do this through joining with the Holy Spirit in my mind. It is the Holy Spirit That shows me that the distortions are unreal. It is with the Holy Spirit that I learn to see past bodies to recognize that we all come from the one Mind and we have not left that mind. It is the Holy Spirit That brings me to the altar of truth.

By remembering that I do not know what anything means on my own, I am then open to Holy Spirit's gentle correction. I am then open to the new perception. The Holy Spirit shows me where I have been thinking wrongly and returns my mind to oneness. The Holy Spirit reminds me that separate bodies with separate minds could never be real. The Holy Spirit reminds me that these images are just hallucinations coming from the ego thought system.

The Holy Spirit shows me how to unplug from the ego thought system. The Holy Spirit shows me how to not take it so seriously. The Holy Spirit shows me how to be truly helpful in every situation where I am led. The Holy Spirit is my constant Companion, helping me awaken to the truth when I lose my way. The Holy Spirit leads me to the peace of God.

©2003, Pathways of Light, Inc. http://pathwaysoflight.org You may freely share copies of this page with your friends, provided all copies include this notice.
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Lesson 335 I choose to see my brother's sinlessness.

2009-06-17T08:32:00.001-07:00

Lesson 335

I choose to see my brother's sinlessness.

Forgiveness is a choice. I never see my brother as he is, for that is far beyond perception. What I see in him is merely what I wish to see, because it stands for what I want to be the truth. It is to this alone that I respond, however much I seem to be impelled by outside happenings. I choose to see what I would look upon, and this I see, and only this. My brother's sinlessness shows me that I would look upon my own. And I will see it, having chosen to behold my brother in its holy light.

What could restore Your memory to me, except to see my brother's sinlessness? His holiness reminds me that he was created one with me, and like myself. In him I find my Self, and in Your Son I find the memory of You as well.

The Following is Forwarded from Pathwaysoflight.org

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Lesson 335
"I choose to see my brother's sinlessness."

Seeing my brother sinless is the same as seeing my brother without guilt and without blame. When I look at the world with the Holy Spirit, I see that every brother, no matter what insane dream he is dreaming, is still as God created him. He is still innocent, holy and eternally an extension of God's Love.

Dreams are just mistaken ideas. They may look very complex and very diverse, but in truth one dream is the same as any other dream -- they are all equally untrue. They never really happened. All dreams come from mistaken ideas that could never be true. Insanity is just insanity and is not a sin. And hate and vengeance are just reflections of insanity.

The whole world is just a reflection of insanity. Every single part of the dream of separation is equally untrue. That is why there is no order of difficulty in miracles. If it is Love, it is true. If it is anything else, it is untrue. The only thing to do is to let go of the untrue.

Love is one. Love is eternal. Love is sinless. Behind every story of separation lies the sinless Love that every brother truly is. Today, "I choose to see my brother's sinlessness." Today I choose to remember the truth. Today I choose to remember our oneness in God.

Perception is a choice. Everything I see is a perception. Therefore, everything I see is a choice. It doesn't seem that I choose to see pain, disease and death. But if I believe separation is real, that is exactly what I am choosing to see. Death is just one of many symbols of separation. Some of the ego's symbols of separation are quite obvious. Certainly when we perceive that when someone has died we feel separated from that person. We can no longer see them or touch them or hear their voice.

But clothes, for example, can be equally a symbol of separation. Clothes are often used to represent status. We talk about blue collar and white collar workers. Thus we use clothes as a symbol of separation, a way to distinguish one from another. The list of forms in this world used to represent separation is endless. In fact if it is form, it must be representing separation. Form can only be recognized by what makes it different from its surroundings.

In the old Star Trek series when somebody was being transported out of the space ship, you would see the form gradually become less and less distinct until the transporting was complete and that was left was light. As we can learn to let the perception of the body soften and look beyond it to the holy Light of God that is the Son of God, we will be less and less influenced by what bodies and forms seem to do. More and more we will know the peace that comes from recognizing the changeless, eternal Love that is all that is real.

Forgiveness works like the transporter. As we let the Holy Spirit teach us to distinguish the real from the unreal and to help us let go of the unreal, bodies and what they do will have less and less meaning to us. More and more we see past the form to the sinless Love that is all there really is to see. More and more we will see that innocence and recognize our oneness with it. Our peace will become undisturbed because what is one with us brings no conflict. Today I choose to see my brother's sinlessness so that I may remember the peace of God.

These types of lessons from the Course have always been the most challenging for me. It's usually easy and I don't have a problem seeing the sinlessness and innocence in the people whom I love, but I have a real hard time with people who I perceive have hurt me or who irritate me or aren't living the way I think they should be.

But today if I can, just for a split second, keep from making judgment on people in the multitude of symbols or forms I see them as... black or white, blue collar or white collar, educated or uneducated, etc., etc.; I believe that in that split second, I meet with the Holy Spirit at the altar, even though I may still not recognize my brother as he truly is.

The Altar, right now, is unfamiliar to me and sometimes even makes me uncomfortable because of the fact that I feel I'm on alien ground, but by practicing these lessons, my world is beginning to turn right side up and seeing my brother as different from me is beginning to make me uncomfortable.

Today I am willing to make no judgment on my brother; I am willing to accept the idea that these situations with the people I have that I perceive as difficult are opportunities for me to ask for guidance and meet the Holy Spirit at the Altar.

Thank you. You expressed, very well, a lot of the stuff that I'm going through as I try to learn to see differently. Like you, I am trying to turn my world right side up by looking past the forms and meeting my brothers without judgment. It seems like it is too much for me to do by myself. Thank you God, that I don't have to do it alone.

©2003, Pathways of Light, Inc. http://pathwaysoflight.org You may freely share copies of this page with your friends, provided all copies include this notice.
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Lesson 334 Today I claim the gifts forgiveness gives.

2009-06-16T06:52:00.001-07:00

Lesson 334

Today I claim the gifts forgiveness gives.

I will not wait another day to find the treasures that my Father offers me. Illusions are all vain, and dreams are gone even while they are woven out of thoughts that rest on false perceptions. Let me not accept such meager gifts again today. God's Voice is offering the peace of God to all who hear and choose to follow Him. This is my choice today. And so I go to find the treasures God has given me.

I seek but the eternal. For Your Son can be content with nothing less than this. What, then, can be his solace but what You are offering to his bewildered mind and frightened heart, to give him certainty and bring him peace? Today I would behold my brother sinless. This Your Will for me, for so will I behold my sinlessness.

The Following is Forwarded from Pathwaysoflight.org

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Lesson 334
"Today I claim the gifts forgiveness gives."

Today my practice is to frequently ask myself, "Am I looking through the ego's eyes or am I looking through the Holy Spirit's eyes?" The ego's eyes show me that separation is real. The ego's eyes show me that bodies and separate personalities are real. The ego focuses on what bodies do and looks for fault and blame.

The Holy Spirit, on the other hand, sees past bodies to the radiant Light that is truly there. The Holy Spirit looks at the eternal. The Holy Spirit sees that nothing has changed and that every brother is still totally sinless. The Holy Spirit blesses while the ego condemns.

Today my practice is to frequently check in to which hand I am holding, the ego's or the Holy Spirit's. The ego's "gifts" offer sorrow and pain, while the Holy Spirit offers peace and joy.

Today I would behold my brother as sinless. Today I would strengthen my forgiveness muscles by practicing forgiveness all through the day. I would practice seeing past bodies to the truth in every brother and accept the gifts of peace and happiness. This is my practice today. "Today I claim the gifts forgiveness gives."

It is helpful to remember that all the images I see in the world and their behavior, all events, are simply outward pictures representing my state of mind -- my beliefs and thoughts. If I would claim the gifts forgiveness gives then I must learn to recognize the truth about what the images in my world represent. To learn this I must turn to the only Teacher who knows the difference between illusion and reality. That Teacher is the Holy Spirit in my mind.

At first the Holy Spirit may need to use external teaching aids such as the Course or other people who walk a few steps ahead along the path I seek to follow. But with practice I can learn to listen to the Holy Spirit in my mind and receive His guidance all through the day. He is ever present, always offering His gifts of the peace and joy of God. I claim them through my willingness to listen and follow.

When I get caught up in the activities of the world and think I know on my own what they mean, this simply reflects my resistance to following the Holy Spirit. Gratefully the Holy Spirit does not judge me for my resistance. With compassionate gentleness, He continues to offer me the gifts forgiveness brings. The moment I am ready to claim them, they are mine.

Today I would not settle for anxiety, sadness or any disturbance of my peace of mind. I would practice taking every thought that does not reflect the peace and Love of God to the Holy Spirit for His kind and gentle correction. I would practice listening and following, for thus do "I claim the gifts forgiveness gives."

©2003, Pathways of Light, Inc. http://pathwaysoflight.org You may freely share copies of this page with your friends, provided all copies include this notice.
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Lesson 333 Forgiveness ends the dream of conflict here.

2009-06-13T06:24:00.001-07:00

Lesson 333

Forgiveness ends the dream of conflict here.

Conflict must be resolved. It cannot be evaded, set aside, denied, disguised, seen somewhere else, called by another name, or hidden by deceit of any kind, if it would be escaped. It must be seen exactly as it is, where it is thought to be, in the reality which has been given it, and with the purpose that the mind accorded it. For only then are its defenses lifted, and the truth can shine upon it as it disappears.

Father, forgiveness is the light You chose to shine away all conflict and all doubt, and light the way for our return to You. No light but this can end our evil dream. No light but this can save the world. For this alone will never fail in anything, being Your gift to Your beloved Son.

The Following is Forwarded from Pathwaysoflight.org

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Lesson 333
"Forgiveness ends the dream of conflict here."

Jesus makes it very clear in this lesson that this world is a dream of conflict. He also makes it very clear that this dream of conflict cannot be resolved except through forgiveness. Conflict's defenses hide the truth from our awareness. Conflict's defenses make it look like the ego's lies are the only truth.

Forgiveness paves the way by which the deceit of the ego's false perceptions are revealed. Forgiveness provides an opening through which the Holy Spirit can reveal the truth. There is only one truth and in that one truth there can be no conflict. In Heaven, where we really reside, there is no conflict. Our will and God's Will are one.

The ego is the opposite of God's Will. The ego is the choice for separation from oneness. From the choice for separation came a world of conflict. This conflict is resolved through letting go of the mad illusions of separation.

The Holy Spirit will lead us out of these mad delusions as we open our minds and are willing to receive a correction in our perception. This is what the Course calls forgiveness. "Forgiveness ends the dream of conflict here."

Sentence two in the lesson describes the many ways the ego attempts to deal with conflict. All of them are methods of avoidance rather than resolution. The ego does not really want to resolve conflict because it is the idea of conflict, being the wish for specialness. When conflict is undone, the ego is undone with it. So the ego will avoid the resolution of conflict at all costs out of self preservation. It is no wonder this world is a world of conflict, being the making of the ego.

The ego does not want us to recognize that inherent in specialness is conflict. And so it offers us many deceitful disguises, calling it by many names. In special relationships it is called love, or adoration or acceptance or respect. The ego gives hidden meaning to these terms. With the ego's meaning of love there is always a hidden agenda. It says, "I will know you love me if you ..." which is followed by a long list of behaviors and to do's, many unspoken but if unmet, bring out our wrath. Can this be love?

The Course tells us that Love makes no demands because Love is one and complete in itself. It has no needs, so making a demand is inconceivable to Love. Love gives freely because it is limitless and eternal, and Love's nature is to give of Itself. Because Love is one, Love gives only to Itself, for there is no "other."

But the ego's definition of love has endless conditions and demands. Conflict is inevitable, because special love's demands conflict with each other. In one circumstance a certain behavior is acceptable. In another it is not. And so in this world we wander about seeking for "love," not realizing that we are seeking conflict. What we seek under the guidance of the ego will never satisfy because the ego seeks where real Love cannot be found. The ego's substitute for Love never brings peace because, although it might appear appealing on the surface, conflict lies hidden below, waiting for its chance to raise its fearsome head.

The way out of this painful illusion is forgiveness. This forgiveness must come through recognition of the deceits the ego offers. Throughout the Course, again and again, the many forms the ego's deceits take are brought to our attention. It's not a pretty picture. But we have wandered in a world of illusion so long that we don't recognize the illusion for what it is, and so we must be taught. By the grace of God, we have a Teacher in our mind Who will help us see the illusions for what they are.

This is why it is so important for us to remember that on our own we do not know what anything means. As we practice bringing all our thoughts to the Holy Spirit and open our minds to His perception, we will learn to recognize all the hidden conflicts and let them go. We will let them go because the Holy Spirit will show us that they are really nothing. There will be no sense of loss or sacrifice because they will cease to have value to us. "Forgiveness ends the dream of conflict here."

There was a paragraph in your comments that really caught my attention. You said, "With the ego's meaning of love there is always a hidden agenda. It says, "I will know you love me if you ..." which is followed by a long list of behaviors and to do's, many unspoken but if unmet, bring out our wrath." Lately, when I am with my daughter and her partner, I have several times made "funny" remarks about being ignored by them. I guess that by keeping it light and humorous I was trying not to sound demanding.

I didn't even consciously realize I was doing it until I read what you said. I didn't realize I was feeling so left out of their lives, but I guess I am and that it matters to me. I have been making some rules for them to follow without coming right out with them. I wasn't telling my daughter and I wasn't even telling myself, but I was certainly expecting them to be followed. I'm grateful to see this. Now I can take it to the Holy Spirit for healing.

©2003, Pathways of Light, Inc. http://pathwaysoflight.org You may freely share copies of this page with your friends, provided all copies include this notice.
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Lesson 332 Fear binds the world. Forgiveness sets it free.

2009-06-12T09:29:00.000-07:00

Lesson 332

Fear binds the world. Forgiveness sets it free.

The ego makes illusions. Truth undoes its evil dreams by shining them away. Truth never makes attack. It merely is. And by its presence is the mind recalled from fantasies, awaking to the real. Forgiveness bids this presence enter in, and take its rightful place within the mind. Without forgiveness is the mind in chains, believing in its own futility. Yet with forgiveness does the light shine through the dream of darkness, offering it hope, and giving it the means to realize the freedom that is its inheritance.

We would not bind the world again today. Fear holds it prisoner. And yet Your Love has given us the means to set it free. Father, we would release it now. For as we offer freedom, it is given us. And we would not remain as prisoners, while You are holding freedom out to us.

The Following is Forwarded from Pathwaysoflight.org

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Lesson 332
"Fear binds the world. Forgiveness sets it free."

In this season, when gift giving is on everyone's mind, it is helpful to remember that there is no greater gift we can offer anyone, including ourselves, than the gift of forgiveness. It is a gift that keeps on giving, because it opens our minds to the eternal Love that we are. It replaces illusion with truth. It replaces bondage with freedom. It replaces conflict with peace. It replaces depression with happiness. All this forgiveness offers.

In the Course, forgiveness means letting go of illusions, letting go of the past and future. Forgiveness opens our minds to God's gift of the present, the eternal now. In truth there is no other time. Love is here. Love is now. To know the freedom that Love gave us in our creation, we must forgive. Any perception of conflict, any thought of fear, any lack of peace, any pain is a signal that forgiveness is needed.

Our job is to learn to recognize the signal and take each of these thoughts and feelings to the Holy Spirit. His Light of Love will show us the illusion on which the pain and fear is based and shine it away. We cannot hide the fear in a corner, shove the judgment under the carpet, and pretend it is not there. This only delays our awareness of the joy God holds out to us. It is only by taking these thoughts to the Holy Spirit and asking for His help with an open mind that we can find release and know the freedom that forgiveness brings.

Today I ask the Holy Spirit's help that together we may offer the gift of forgiveness to my brother and myself. For I would know the freedom forgiveness brings.

In this lesson, Jesus is telling us we have a choice. We can hang on to our limited perceptions of a world of separation and individuality. Or we can choose to open to the perceptions of the Holy Spirit, Which shines the false ideas of the ego thought system away.

When we join with the ego, we think that our illusions of uniqueness and individuality are so special. We have loved our differences and have guarded it carefully. We have thought we really did make something different from God's universal oneness, God's universal Love. We have thought that God's peace would be boring. We have looked for excitement in seeing something new and different and the competition specialness brings.

We are reminded in this lesson that the ego makes only illusions and that what we have really bought into is sin, guilt and fear. We have bought into the idea that we really did separate (sin). We secretly feel guilty for usurping God's authority and we project our own attack onto God. We are then fearful of God's retaliation.

The stories we make up in this world reflect how guilty we truly believe we are. In trying to get rid of the guilt, we project that guilt onto those we see as outside of us. It becomes a very fearful scenario, full of defend and attack. We try to atone for our 'sin' of choosing separation by making up stories of sickness, deprivation and death.

Jesus wants us to understand that this need not be. We can let go of our belief in separation and we can let our minds be returned to the truth. We do this through forgiveness. We do this through opening our minds to the perception of the Holy Spirit. "Fear binds the world. Forgiveness sets it free."

This lesson is a good one for me today. I had decorated a wicker pumpkin for the Thanksgiving holiday and brought it to work and used it as a decoration at the front desk of my place of employment, with the intention of taking it back home when the holiday was over. With all the flowers and other stuff I put into it, not to mention my time and effort, it turned out to be costly.

When I came into work this morning, I saw the pumpkin was missing. Someone apparently stole it. Initially, I was angry and hurt that someone would do that. I've got a lot of spirit when it comes to holidays and I had thought of bringing in Christmas things to decorate, but, right away, I began to think, "I won't ever bring in anything else again. How can some people can be so thoughtless and inconsiderate. I don't know why I bother, etc., etc."

This is the sort of situation that I can dwell on over and over in my mind. These resentments can control me and rule the type of day I will have. But with the practice of these lessons, I've learned to turn my anger, my fear, my judgments over to the Holy Spirit and ask Him to help me to see things differently.

I don't know who took my decoration, but somehow, it doesn't matter to me anymore. I'm learning to value my peace and serenity. My priorities are changing and today I choose to experience God's peace instead of dwelling of my fears that show up in anger, distrust and resentment. Fear truly does bind the world and I can experience how forgiveness sets it free because today, right now, I am at peace. Thank you Holy Spirit.

©2003, Pathways of Light, Inc. http://pathwaysoflight.org You may freely share copies of this page with your friends, provided all copies include this notice.
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Section 12. What is the Ego? Lesson 331 There is no conflict, for my will is Yours.

2009-06-10T08:50:00.001-07:00

Lesson 331

Section 12. What is the Ego?

The ego is idolatry; the sign of limited and separated self, born in a body, doomed to suffer and to end its life in death. It is the "will" that sees the Will of God as enemy, and takes a form in which it is denied. The ego is the "proof" that strength is weak and love is fearful, life is really death, and what opposes God alone is true.

The ego is insane. In fear it stands beyond the Everywhere, apart from All, in separation from the Infinite. In its insanity it thinks it has become a victor over God Himself. And in its terrible autonomy it "sees" the Will of God has been destroyed. It dreams of punishment, and trembles at the figures in its dreams; its enemies, who seek to murder it before it can ensure its safety by attacking them.

The Son of God is egoless. What can he know of madness and the death of God, when he abides in Him? What can he know of sorrow and of suffering, when he lives in eternal joy? What can he know of fear and punishment, of sin and guilt, of hatred and attack, when all there is surrounding him is everlasting peace, forever conflict-free and undisturbed, in deepest silence and tranquility?

To know reality is not to see the ego and its thoughts, its works, its acts, its laws and its beliefs, its dreams, its hopes, its plans for its salvation, and the cost belief in it entails. In suffering, the price for faith in it is so immense that crucifixion of the Son of God is offered daily at its darkened shrine, and blood must flow before the altar where its sickly followers prepare to die.

Yet will one lily of forgiveness change the darkness into light; the altar to illusions to the shrine of Life Itself. And peace will be restored forever to the holy minds which God created as His Son, His dwelling place, His joy, His love, completely His, completely one with Him.

Lesson 331

There is no conflict, for my will is Yours.

How foolish, Father, to believe Your Son could cause himself to suffer! Could he make a plan for his damnation, and be left without a certain way to his release? You love me, Father. You could never leave me desolate, to die within a world of pain and cruelty. How could I think that Love has left Itself? There is no will except the Will of Love. Fear is a dream, and has no will that can conflict with Yours. Conflict is sleep, and peace awakening. Death is illusion; life, eternal truth. 0 There is no opposition to Your Will. There is no conflict, for my will is Yours.

Forgiveness shows us that God's Will is One, and that we share it. Let us look upon the holy sights forgiveness shows today, that we may find the peace of God. Amen.

The Following is Forwarded from Pathwaysoflight.org

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Lesson 331
"There is no conflict, for my will is Yours."

This lesson highlights the stark difference between what the Course teaches us about God and what most of us learned about God from our cultures and religions. As I read the first paragraph, I felt a sense of comfort from having a Father Who loves me and Who's will for me is that I be safe and that no matter what "trouble" I seem to get myself into, He provides the means for me to find my way out. His Love does not judge, but sees me always as part of Him sharing all that He is and all that He has. How blessed am I to have a Father Who loves me without judgment, without limit, Who loves me as Himself.

The ego paints a very different picture. Because the ego is the idea of judgment and guilt, it projects this on its image of God and teaches us that God is judgmental and would condemn us to pain, suffering and death for the guilt He sees in us. If you want to know what the ego believes about itself, look at the judgmental image of God it portrays. This image is not real and could never be real. Yet in our feverish dreams of insanity, pain, suffering and death seem very real.

But our loving, compassionate Father provided a way out of these terrorizing hallucinations. It is the Holy Spirit in our minds. No matter how deeply we believe we are in darkness, the Holy Spirit is always with us, ready to shine His Light on the way Home. The only reason we do not see His Light is because we deny it. We don't see what we don't want to see. But that doesn't mean the help is not available to us.

We need only ask. It is not the Holy Spirit That needs us to ask. It is we who need the asking because in our asking we acknowledge our willingness and openness to another way of seeing. The Holy Spirit does not impose. He merely offers His Light. We must accept it. Love waits only on welcome. There is no other condition, for Love makes no demands. What is already whole and complete is in need of nothing.

Today I am willing to give up wandering in a world of darkness, where separation seems to be real and I believe I am vulnerable to myriad forces intent upon my destruction. Today I am willing to take my thoughts to the Holy Spirit in my mind to let His Light show me what is unreal so that I can let it go. And I will let His light show me the Love that is real so that I may join with It and know It as my own.

Thus will I cease to be in conflict with the world. I will learn to see the Love in all things and I will learn to answer calls for Love with Love. Such is the Holy Spirit's teaching. His teaching reminds me that only Love is real and that the Will of Love is that I remain one with It. And so I must be. My true Self rests in calm serenity, remembering that there is no conflict, for my will is Love's Will.

Today's lesson reflects the proper use of denial. Conflict could never be real because it is not God's Will. Separation could never be real because it is not God's Will. There is no will accept the Will of God. Illusions of separation do not make reality.

Today's lesson truly reflects our real Will, which is changeless and eternal. Our real Will knows its oneness with God. Our real Will does not try to make illusions of separation real. Our real Will sees that conflict is just mistaken ideas that mean nothing and are nothing.

Today I would practice returning to my real Will. This is forgiveness -- seeing illusions for the false ideas that they are. Today I would practice accepting that the truth of oneness is true and nothing else is true. Love is. God is. And then I cease to speak. "There is no conflict, for my will is Yours."

©2003, Pathways of Light, Inc. http://pathwaysoflight.org You may freely share copies of this page with your friends, provided all copies include this notice.
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Lesson 330 I will not hurt myself again today.

2009-06-09T09:02:00.001-07:00

Lesson 330

I will not hurt myself again today.

Let us this day accept forgiveness as our only function. Why should we attack our minds, and give them images of pain? Why should we teach them they are powerless, when God holds out His power and His Love, and bids them take what is already theirs? The mind that is made willing to accept God's gifts has been restored to spirit, and extends its freedom and its joy, as is the Will of God united with its own. The Self which God created cannot sin, and therefore cannot suffer. Let us choose today that He be our Identity, and thus escape forever from all things the dream of fear appears to offer us.

Father, Your Son can not be hurt. And if we think we suffer, we but fail to know our one Identity we share with You. We would return to It today, to be made free forever from all our mistakes, and to be saved from what we thought we were.

The Following is Forwarded from Pathwaysoflight.org

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Lesson 330
"I will not hurt myself again today."

I attack myself when I refuse to accept my true Identity. I attack myself when I refuse to accept that God's Will for me is my will. When I cut myself off from my Source in order to have the impression that I am separate and alone, I am attacking myself. I would not hurt myself again today.

Today I would take one more step toward letting go of the false ideas of limitation and lack. Refusing to accept my own Identity is painful. It creates anxiety and the feeling of lack and loss. Forgiveness is my function here. Today I would practice choosing forgiveness, or letting go of false perceptions, every time I am tempted to teach myself the ego's lessons in limitation and lack.

Holy Spirit, today I would practice opening my mind to You all through the day. Today I would practice following Your lead. I have followed the wrong teacher and have been sorely mistaken. I have lost the awareness of my true Identity and I now know that You will help me return to the truth that I have never left. Today I am willing to practice accepting God's gifts. Today I am willing to practice opening my mind to Your healing perceptions. "I will not hurt myself again today."

My natural state, the only real state, is oneness with Love, my Creator. To not experience that unity and all the gifts that come with it, I must actively choose against it. I would only choose against it if I believed that this choice would give me something of greater value.

The ego is the idea that it is possible to have something of greater value than all of God's Love, all of His peace and all of His joy, eternally. Only insanity would believe this and thus this world is an insane world. Insanity means being unaware of reality. To believe in this world we must be unaware of reality. The ego offers us specialness, telling us that specialness -- uniqueness and independence -- is worth more than all of God's Love.

Every time we choose specialness over God's Love we are hurting ourselves. We are choosing to be cut off from our source of strength and power and peace and joy. It is not our Creator that cuts us off. It is our own denial of our Source and our Self that gives us the experience of being separate and alone. The ego teaches us that this is a good thing. It teaches us that this gives us autonomy, independence and control. It does not tell us that this control is control of nothing and that to be independent we must give up our strength, our safety and our peace.

Gratefully because we cannot change Reality, we have the freedom in every moment to stop choosing against Reality and accept our Self as Love created It. The decision to choose insanity is not irreversible. The moment we made that choice, God placed in our minds His Answer to lead us back to our Home in Him. God (Love) knows us as Its own, changeless and unchangeable. He has left the light on for us to welcome us Home. And even more: He has given us a Guide to show us the way back to the Light.

Today I will practice remembering that I remain as God created me. I am not a body. I am free to Love without limit and accept Love without limit. Thus will I open my heart and my mind to the experience of my wholeness in Love. "I will not hurt myself again today."

I hurt myself when I forget who I am. If I perceive myself as suffering, I have made a choice to do so. It is within me to choose again, to draw from His power and His love and remember that He shares that power and love with me and therefore cannot suffer. I also have to be patient with myself and remember that this is a process. This is very important because, too often, I get frustrated and it is only in fear that I begin to question the process. But today I can let the process flow and step back, ask for guidance, and say to myself over and over, "I will not hurt myself again today." Thank you, Father, thank you Holy Spirit.

©2003, Pathways of Light, Inc. http://pathwaysoflight.org You may freely share copies of this page with your friends, provided all copies include this notice.
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Lesson 329 I have already chosen what You will.

2009-06-06T09:51:00.000-07:00

Lesson 329

I have already chosen what You will.

Father, I thought I wandered from Your Will, defied it, broke its laws, and interposed a second will more powerful than Yours. Yet what I am in truth is but Your Will, extended and extending. This am I, and this will never change. As You are One, so am I one with You. And this I chose in my creation, where my will became forever one with Yours. That choice was made for all eternity. It cannot change, and be in opposition to itself. Father, my will is Yours. And I am safe, untroubled and serene, in endless joy, because it is Your Will that it be so.

Today we will accept our union with each other and our Source. We have no will apart from His, and all of us are one because His Will is shared by all of us. Through it we recognize that we are one. Through it we find our way at last to God.

The Following is Forwarded from Pathwaysoflight.org

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Lesson 329
"I have already chosen what You will."

The ego would have me believe that to "yield" to God's Will is a sacrifice. Is it a sacrifice to be safe, untroubled and serene and filled with endless joy? That's what the ego would have me believe. The ego wants me to believe that what it offers is worth more than this. How could this be? In truth it cannot. But if I am willing to accept illusions in place of truth, then I am giving illusions greater value.
The "best" that the ego can offer is specialness, which it calls love. It directs us to look for specialness in myriad ways. We look for it in relationships. We look for it in having the right clothes or car, house or job. We look for it in money or in having a piece of paper that honors our accomplishment or a trophy that says we are better than anyone else at something.
Yet all these things are always temporary. All things in this world begin to decay the moment they are made. A relationship with another body is always at risk because that other body can walk away, misbehave or die. Can this be worth more than eternal joy, safety and peace? We have thought that it was, blindly following the ego's direction.
The Course is teaching us to recognize that we have been mistaken. It is showing us that the baubles and shiny trinkets of this world have no value. Our value lies in our unity with our Creator. Our value lies in the Love that we already are. We do not need to strive for value, for it is already ours. We need only recognize it. Believing that the thought system of the ego is our home, we need help from outside the thought system to recognize its falsity. By the grace of God, we have that Help -- the Holy Spirit in our minds.
It seems that we need to choose the Will of God, but in reality we need only accept what already is ours. It is not our will to wander endlessly, searching for value, searching for love. It is our will to be the Love we were created to be. In accepting that we accept the safety, the serenity and the eternal joy that are characteristics of Love.
Since I have believed the illusions of this world were real, I need help with recognizing them for what they are. Thus I need to maintain the practice of taking all my thoughts to the Holy Spirit for His interpretation. With this practice and willingness I will gradually recognize what is valuable and what is valueless.
Today I will practice again taking my thoughts to the Holy Spirit with an open mind so that I can receive the blessing of His interpretation. He will show me the Love beyond the veils of illusion and He will respond with Love to my calls for Love and teach me to do the same for my brothers. Thus will I learn that Love is always the answer in every situation. And I give thanks.

Trying to be what I am not will never work. Trying to make up something other than What I am is just a hopeless dream. It is time to let go of the dream. It is time to realize that I never could change my Identity, for I am God's Will. It is time to wake up to the truth that nothing has happened but God's Will. Dreams of individuality and competition are not God's Will and therefore are not my will. God's Will cannot change, therefore I cannot change.
Today it is my opportunity to recognize this truth as I go through my day. Today it is my opportunity to recognize the truth and lay illusions down. Today it is my opportunity to see wholeness where I once saw separation. Today it is my opportunity to recognize the illusions of separation for what they are. This false will could never be true, could never be real. Today it is my opportunity to recognize that only the truth is true and nothing else is true. It is time that I wake up to reality.

Thanks for talking about specialness. Since I started doing the Pathways course 905: Special Relationships vs. Holy Relationships, I am understanding specialness more, but my whole world is built on the idea of specialness and I appreciate the clear description you gave above. Specialness is so pervasive in my life (and sometimes so in very subtle ways) that I find it helpful to look at it from different directions. I mostly find it helpful to look at frequently. I think awareness is my best tactic here.

©2003, Pathways of Light, Inc. http://pathwaysoflight.org You may freely share copies of this page with your friends, provided all copies include this notice.
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Lesson 328 I choose the second place to gain the first.

2009-06-05T08:19:00.001-07:00

Lesson 328

I choose the second place to gain the first.

What seems to be the second place is first, for all things we perceive are upside down until we listen to the Voice for God. It seems that we will gain autonomy but by our striving to be separate, and that our independence from the rest of God's creation is the way in which salvation is obtained. Yet all we find is sickness, suffering and loss and death. This is not what our Father wills for us, nor is there any second to His Will. To join with His is but to find our own. And since our will is His, it is to Him that we must go to recognize our will.

There is no will but Yours. And I am glad that nothing I imagine contradicts what You would have me be. It is Your Will that I be wholly safe, eternally at peace. And happily I share that Will which You, my Father, gave as part of me.

The Following is Forwarded from Pathwaysoflight.org

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Lesson 328
"I choose the second place to gain the first."

Sometimes I feel on the verge of experiencing unity with Holy Spirit. There is a sense of inner joy mixed with anticipation, like the feeling of getting close to home after along trip away. Sometimes I experience deep peace and a feeling of Love and compassion for everything I think about. Sometimes I feel like I am just on the surface of this experience and other times I'm able to go deeper into it. Yet I know that I have yet to plumb its depths.

My attachment to the world of form that I have thought was home is still too strong for me to let it go completely, which I must do to fully experience unity with the Holy Spirit and my Creator. It seems that when I get too close to this experience, something will distract me. A sound will get my attention and I will start thinking about what it is or what it means. Or I might think of something on my "to do" list. Or I might think of a conversation I had or even expect to have. These are a few of the ways my ego mind will distract me so that I don't fully experience my unity with all.

This distraction is essential to the ego's existence. The ego is the idea of separation and disappears in the experience of unity. That is why to the ego, salvation is autonomy and complete independence from God and all His Creations, extensions of Love. It is helpful to remember that this mind wandering is just the ego's defense against Love. It is its attempt to make it appear that it has succeeded in making a will of its own and therefore has usurped God and become "number one."

I can choose differently. By choosing to put this 'will' second and accepting that God's Will is really mine, I open the door to the memory of my Self, which is still one with Love, Its Creator. This is why I must "choose the second place to gain the first."

These tastes or hints of the experience of unity with the Holy Spirit motivate me to keep practicing. I know there is much more to experience -- greater joy, greater peace and greater love -- than I have yet to experience. And so today I practice again putting the Holy Spirit's Will in the lead and choosing to follow so that I may once again experience my Home in Heaven.

This world is a distraction from knowing God's Will. This world is the effect of choosing independence from God's Will. The distraction of the body could take up all my time if I let it. This distraction will continue until I change my mind about the purpose of the world. My experience of this false world will continue until I am willing to follow the Holy Spirit's lead.

The Holy Spirit will lead me in a thought reversal. The Holy Spirit will lead me into peace. But I must let go of thinking that I know what anything means on my own. I must have an open mind. Following Holy Spirit's lead, I will gradually wake up from the dream completely. I will let go of the idea of having an independent reality. I will learn to see past the ego's image making and become aware of God's Thoughts. To do this I must be willing to follow and not lead. "I choose the second place to gain the first."

I appreciate knowing that I am not the only one who has that problem -- distractions when I meditate. I get very discouraged sometimes because even when I seem to be doing well, I will suddenly realize that my mind has gone off on a tangent that has nothing to do with my meditation. Now I understand what is going on. Thanks for that. Also, I think that this is the first time I have really understood the phrase "I choose the second place to gain the first."

This distraction is essential to the ego's existence. Thank you. That helps me, because that is a big problem for me at times. With this, I will work to go beyond, rather than giving up, which is what ego demands.

©2003, Pathways of Light, Inc. http://pathwaysoflight.org You may freely share copies of this page with your friends, provided all copies include this notice.
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Lesson 327 I need but call and You will answer me.

2009-06-03T08:04:00.000-07:00

Lesson 327

I need but call and You will answer me.

I am not asked to take salvation on the basis of an unsupported faith. For God has promised He will hear my call, and answer me Himself. Let me but learn from my experience that this is true, and faith in Him must surely come to me. This is the faith that will endure, and take me farther and still farther on the road that leads to Him. For thus I will be sure that He has not abandoned me and loves me still, awaiting but my call to give me all the help I need to come to Him.

Father, I thank You that Your promises will never fail in my experience, if I but test them out. Let me attempt therefore to try them, and to judge them not. Your Word is one with You. You give the means whereby conviction comes, and surety of Your abiding Love is gained at last.

The Following is Forwarded from Pathwaysoflight.org

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Lesson 327
"I need but call and You will answer me."

With this lesson, it helps me to remember that God is Love and nothing else. So the title can be read, "I need but call and Love will answer me." In this world, God seems to be distant. This is because the world was made to keep God out. This world is the effect of the denial of God. Because the denial of God is the denial of Love, the ego had to make a substitute that would seem at least to temporarily satisfy so that we would not go searching to try to find the Love we seem to have lost. This substitute is specialness.

Because this world is the effect of the denial of Love, there is an underlying emptiness that we feel. It is because we are denying our Self. And so we spend our lives searching for Love. But when we follow the ego's direction, it can only direct us to its substitute for love -- specialness.

The ego does not know how to find Love, because separation cannot conceive of the unity of Love. And so as long as we follow the ego's dictates, we search endlessly for substitutes that never satisfy. This fits the ego's credo of seek and do not find. This lesson is telling us that this need not be.

Instead of looking to the ego and its substitutes for Love, if we call upon Love, Love will answer. To do this we must learn to disregard the ego's thought system. How do we call upon Love? We call upon the Holy Spirit in our minds, which is the link between Love, and the identity we think we are in this dream. We bring all our judgments, which stand as a barrier against Love, to the Holy Spirit. This is how we forgive and this is how we open our minds to Love's Answer.

Today I will call upon Love by continuing to practice bringing my thoughts of fear, guilt and separation to the Holy Spirit. I will practice returning to the peace of God within me so that I may listen with an open mind to Love's Answer. Thus will I experience the truth of God's promise. Each time I have a moment of peace, a moment of release from guilt, my conviction of the reality of Love's promise grows stronger. My heart is filled with gratitude to Love's Answer in my mind that assures me of Its eternal presence and unity with me. I am learning the truth that, "I need but call and You will answer me."

Conviction comes with practice. Conviction comes with being willing to quiet my mind and open up to receiving God's peace. With God's peace, comes understanding, for with one comes the other.

The Holy Spirit knows how to heal my mind of all its false ideas. The Holy Spirit has every answer that I need, for the Holy Spirit is the Answer. The Holy Spirit will bridge me from where I think I am to the awareness of my true Identity as Love. I need but follow. I need but be receptive with an open mind. The Holy Spirit answers in a form which will be most helpful in the moment.

The more I practice opening to the Holy Spirit's answer, the more my conviction grows that this really works. As my conviction grows it leads to certainty.

How often I accept Holy Spirit's help is determined by my willingness. And each time I accept Holy Spirit's help, it paves the way to even greater understanding. It paves the way to building an even stronger habit of generalizing it to every part of my life where I do not yet feel peaceful. As I practice, I will learn the truth of the statement, "To every apprehension, every care and every form of suffering: I will forgive and this will disappear." (W-pI.193.13:3-4)

As I continue this practice of opening to the Holy Spirit with every concern, my faith in the Holy Spirit strengthens, day by day. My willingness to be consistent grows with continued practice. I see that the Holy Spirit is right there, willing to tell me how I can be truly helpful with every situation. I need but call and the Holy Spirit will answer me.

©2003, Pathways of Light, Inc. http://pathwaysoflight.org You may freely share copies of this page with your friends, provided all copies include this notice.
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Lesson 326 I am forever an Effect of God.

2009-06-02T09:15:00.001-07:00

Lesson 326

I am forever an Effect of God.

Father, I was created in Your Mind, a holy Thought that never left its home. I am forever Your Effect, and You forever and forever are my Cause. As You created me I have remained. Where You established me I still abide. And all Your attributes abide in me, because it is Your Will to have a Son so like his Cause that Cause and Its Effect are indistinguishable. Let me know that I am an Effect of God, and so I have the power to create like You. And as it is in Heaven, so on earth. Your plan I follow here, and at the end I know that You will gather Your effects into the tranquil Heaven of Your Love, where earth will vanish, and all separate thoughts unite in glory as the Son of God.

Let us today behold earth disappear, at first transformed, and then, forgiven, fade entirely into God's holy Will.

The Following is Forwarded from Pathwaysoflight.org

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Lesson 326
"I am forever an Effect of God."

As I go through my day, let me remember that "I am forever an Effect of God." This thought reminds me that I am still as God created me. Nothing has changed. Illusions of individuality cannot change the Truth of what we all are.

I open my mind to the Holy Spirit today and ask that the Light of Truth shine away all the false ideas I have been holding on to. I am willing to follow God's plan of awakening. I am willing to let my mind be healed today. Let me apply this remembering to every circumstance I encounter in the dream today. I choose to let today be a day of mind healing. I choose to remember that "I am forever an Effect of God." I choose to be happy instead of right.

The world is transformed when forgiveness is complete, when all illusions have been let go. This transformed world is seen for an instant and then disappears as we awaken in the Heaven that is our Home. Once again we see that forgiveness is the key to release from insane dreams of separation, suffering, pain, loss and death.

The Holy Spirit eagerly awaits our gifts of fear and guilt, judgment and grievances. To Him they are gifts, because when we turn them over to Him, He can exchange them with the gift of Christ's vision, of peace and happiness and Love. This is His purpose. Our gifts of judgment, guilt and fear He recognizes as illusions and thus to Him their only purpose is that they are an opportunity for the Holy Spirit to give us His blessing in return. He is a Friend indeed. He takes our gifts of pain and transforms them with His Love to gifts of blessing.

Today I dedicate to practicing giving all my thoughts to Him so that I may receive His blessings, which shine on me and show me my Self. His blessings reveal the truth in me and all my brothers. And so I gladly give my gifts of illusions and receive the truth. Thus I will remember, "I am forever an Effect of God."

©2003, Pathways of Light, Inc. http://pathwaysoflight.org You may freely share copies of this page with your friends, provided all copies include this notice.
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Lesson 325 All things I think I see reflect ideas.

2009-06-01T08:16:00.000-07:00

Lesson 325

All things I think I see reflect ideas.

This is salvation's keynote: What I see reflects a process in my mind, which starts with my idea of what I want. From there, the mind makes up an image of the thing the mind desires, judges valuable, and therefore seeks to find. These images are then projected outward, looked upon, esteemed as real and guarded as one's own. From insane wishes comes an insane world. From judgment comes a world condemned. And from forgiving thoughts a gentle world comes forth, with mercy for the holy Son of God, to offer him a kindly home where he can rest a while before he journeys on, and help his brothers walk ahead with him, and find the way to Heaven and to God.

Our Father, Your ideas reflect the truth, and mine apart from Yours but make up dreams. Let me behold what only Yours reflect, for Yours and Yours alone establish truth.

The Following is Forwarded from Pathwaysoflight.org

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Lesson 325
"All things I think I see reflect ideas."

The first paragraph in this lesson gives a concise description of the process of projection. Particularly, it points out that everything we experience is the effect of our decision of what we wish for. This is salvation's keynote, because it places the control of what we experience directly in our own minds. We have full power over all that we experience. We are not a victim at the mercy of forces outside of us and beyond our control.

We have the power of decision. We can hold on to our insane wishes to be separate, unique and special and we will experience the effects of those wishes. But we can wish for something different. We can wish to let those go and seek instead to see with the Holy Spirit's eyes. This is forgiveness. With this wish we see a kind and gentle world, a world of peace and happiness.

Is the world I see peaceful and joyful? Then I am wanting what the Holy Spirit wants. I am recognizing that my will and God's are the same. I am wanting to see innocence and the unity I share with all my brothers in the one Self that is Love's Extension.

Do I see conflict, loss and lack? Then I am holding on to insane wishes for separation and specialness. I think my will is in opposition to God's Will as well as in opposition to the "wills" of all my brothers. In either case, it is I who have made the choice of what I want to see. By the grace of God, choosing insanity is not irrevocable. In every moment I can choose to let insanity go.

As I go through my day, I can be mindful of my thoughts. When I become aware of thoughts of judgment, which are thoughts of separation, I can bring these thoughts to the Holy Spirit and, with His help, let them go. Thus I forgive and once again see a peaceful, kind and gentle world. This is my dedication today as I remember "All things I think I see reflect ideas."

In Chapter 15, Section VI., paragraphs 4-5 and 7 of the Text, (pgs. 315-316) Jesus tells us that like God, we are an idea. "What you find difficult to accept is the fact that, like your Father, you are an idea. And like Him, you can give yourself completely, wholly without loss and only with gain." (4:5) "In the holy instant you recognize the idea of Love in you, and unite this idea with the Mind that thought it, and could not relinquish it." (5:3) In returning to God, we are returning to the idea of Love in us. We stop trying to change our true Identity as Love. We are willing to realize that any ideas that are different from the idea of Love in us are just made up dreams.

Today I open to the all encompassing idea of Love in my mind. Today I choose to join with the idea of Love and let go of wanting to project insane ideas that reflect separation and individuality. I would follow. I would not lead. Only the Idea of Love reflects the truth. Let me behold the truth today. I choose to return to Reality.

It always helps me to know why things happen the way they do and this lesson does, indeed, describe the process of projection. There is a great sense of power knowing that I can stop insanity at the level in which it begins; in this case, my mind.

I really do have control over my world. I am the dreamer of my dream, the writer of my script and I have the power to change the script and eliminate the parts that make me uncomfortable or unhappy. It's a process and these lessons guide me and speed up that process when I allow myself to make that choice.

Today, I too, open myself to the idea of love, all encompassing, in all I do, all I experience. I know, without a doubt, that if I stay focused on this idea, my world will be at peace today and I know this because this is my Father's will for me.

©2003, Pathways of Light, Inc. http://pathwaysoflight.org You may freely share copies of this page with your friends, provided all copies include this notice.
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Lesson 324 I merely follow, for I would not lead.

2009-05-29T07:50:00.001-07:00

Lesson 324

I merely follow, for I would not lead.

Father, You are the One Who gave the plan for my salvation to me. You have set the way I am to go, the role to take, and every step in my appointed path. I cannot lose the way. I can but choose to wander off a while, and then return. Your loving Voice will always call me back, and guide my feet aright. My brothers all can follow in the way I lead them. Yet I merely follow in the way to You, as You direct me and would have me go.

So let us follow One Who knows the way. We need not tarry, and we cannot stray except an instant from His loving Hand. We walk together, for we follow Him. And it is He Who makes the ending sure, and guarantees a safe returning home.

The Following is Forwarded from Pathwaysoflight.org

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Lesson 324
"I merely follow, for I would not lead."

Looking out through the body's eyes is like having blinders on because what we see through the body's eyes is the opposite of the truth. Because we are blind to the truth, we need a Guide Who is not deceived by what the body's eyes show us. We need the Holy Spirit's guidance to show us the difference between truth and illusion.

Because we have been so totally lost in the forest of our belief in separation, we cannot find our way out without help. The way to do this is to refrain from deciding what anything means on our own, and recognize that we have been blinded by our false beliefs.

Our thoughts of separation, which is what this world is based on, seem so real to us that we don't realize that we need to question these thoughts. These thoughts are false ideas and so the premise on which this world is based is totally false.

In truth, there never could be a world of separate bodies. The world is not real. Bodies are not real. Minds are not separate. We have been very mistaken in the story we have been telling ourselves. We have gotten so caught up in the story that we have learned to believe that it is true. And most of our thinking is based on the premise that it is true.

As we continue following this false premise, we just keep going deeper and deeper into the ego's mire of false perception, which only causes more guilt and fear. The only way out is to avoid making any decisions on our own.

We need to be willing to go to that place in our mind that has not joined with separation. We need to follow the lead of the Holy Spirit, hour by hour, day by day. In truth we are not a separate individual with a unique separate mind encased within a separate body. This is not true. There is only one true Mind and that is the Mind of Love. We have never changed from that Love. We remain as Love created us. We are an Idea in the Mind of Love.

As we open to the truth, we are gently led back to the totality of Love which has never changed. We are led back as we are willing to follow and not make decisions on our own. "I merely follow, for I would not lead."

You may have heard someone referred to as a "control freak" or as having control issues. The truth is that everyone in this world has control issues. This world is the effect of rejecting God's Will and wanting to be in control. It's like we are all teenagers trying to establish our independence from our Parent. The Course refers to this syndrome often. It is what it refers to when it talks about our attempt to self-create and when it talks about the "authority problem." The wish to be in control is the rejection of God's Will that we are one Mind, which is undivided and the same.

The cost of "being in control" is the perceived loss of our unity with our Creator. That loss of unity means that we have lost awareness of the strength and Love that is ours because of our unity with our Creator. The result is that though we seem to have established control, what we have control of is only an illusion. There is no substance to it.

We are in control of the images we make up in our mind. We can have those images act out our beliefs. They can seem to be in conflict or they can seem to be special partners, allies with which we feel safe in a dangerous world of images. Yet all these images we control have no substance, no meaning in truth, no reality. So we go through "life" playing with images, thinking that they are real, yet feeling empty, alone and lacking Love.

To remember the Love that we are and that is ours, there is only one thing to do. We must give up our attempt to control and accept that, in truth, God's Will is our will. We must be willing to follow the inner Guide in our minds Who remains our Link with our Source.

By relinquishing control and following that Guide, we awaken to the Love, strength, peace and joy of the Self That remains united with Its Source. We give up control of nothing and gain everything, all that is real. We return to Love. This is why it is important for me to remember, " I merely follow, for I would not lead."

©2003, Pathways of Light, Inc. http://pathwaysoflight.org You may freely share copies of this page with your friends, provided all copies include this notice.
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Lesson 323 I gladly make the "sacrifice" of fear.

2009-05-28T11:26:00.000-07:00

Lesson 323

I gladly make the "sacrifice" of fear.

Here is the only "sacrifice" You ask of Your beloved Son; You ask him to give up all suffering, all sense of loss and sadness, all anxiety and doubt, and freely let Your Love come streaming in to his awareness, healing him of pain, and giving him Your Own eternal joy. Such is the "sacrifice" You ask of me, and one I gladly make; the only "cost" of restoration of Your memory to me, for the salvation of the world.

And as we pay the debt we owe to truth,–a debt that merely is the letting go of self-deceptions and of images we worshipped falsely–truth returns to us in wholeness and in joy. We are deceived no longer. Love has now returned to our awareness. And we are at peace again, for fear has gone and only love remains.

The Following is Forwarded from Pathwaysoflight.org

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Lesson 323
"I gladly make the "sacrifice" of fear."

It is becoming more and more clear to me that all suffering is self-inflicted. The moment I judge anything, I have given up my peace. Lack of peace is suffering. It seems sometimes that I have an inner gauge against which I measure the happiness I allow myself. Somewhere in the back of my mind I have decided how much happiness I am worthy of.

When I exceed that self-determined limit, I will do something to disrupt the happiness. It could be as simple as letting my wandering mind think of a conversation in which I felt criticized. The other person's words did not cause discomfort or loss of peace. It was my interpretation or the words or the body language or the tone of voice that caused me to decide I was being criticized. The moment the memory of that experience reentered my mind, my level of happiness diminished. The only purpose of reviewing such events in my mind, to revisit old judgments, is to disrupt my peace, to reinforce my fear or guilt.

To experience the peace and joy of God I simply need to give up bringing these thoughts of the past to the present. By "sacrificing" these painful memories of nothing, of dreamed events that never truly happened, I open my mind to the memory of Love, my Self. That is all that is asked of me. Forgive the past. Let it go. In return for this "sacrifice," the fullness of God's gift of Love and joy and peace returns to me.

Today I ask Holy Spirit's help to be vigilant with me to see these painful thoughts. I give them all to Him, knowing that He knows what to do with them. And I open my mind to the Thoughts of Love He gives me in return. O happy day! Thus will I receive the kind of day God intended for me. Thus will I prepare my mind to return to full awareness of Heaven, where I still reside in truth.

Letting go of the ego thought system is the cost of remembering God. The pain and suffering that comes with the ego thought system is not worth the cost. The belief in individuality, the belief in being separated from God, the belief in death, limitation and lack, is not worth the cost. The belief in specialness, in uniqueness, the belief in differences, is not worth the cost. The belief in time -- the belief that there is a past or a future -- closes off awareness of the holy instant in the eternal present. The belief in time is not worth the cost.

Looked at with clarity, the ego thought system is simply insanity. All these beliefs create images and experiences that have no substance in reality. They have not been true and never will be true. Belief in loss brings the experience of loss. This need not be.

Our job now is to let go of the ego thought system, not to sacrifice because letting it go will only bring us peace and joy, and a return of Love. Letting go of the ego thought system brings us to the awareness of Heaven.

We are God's Creation. We are still Thought in the Mind of God. Laying down the ego thought system is the only really important thing we have to do while we still think we are here. As we let go of the ego thought system, we will see that we never really left God. The eternal present in God is all there is.

Today, "I gladly make the 'sacrifice' of fear." I am willing to look at the ego thoughts that come into my mind today and hand them over to the Holy Spirit to be undone. I no longer choose to experience the painful effects that come with the belief in the ego thought system. I no longer choose to believe that I am separated from the oneness of God's Love.

Thank you for reminding me that I set up my own agenda for happiness and that I have the power to make the necessary changes in my thinking which will allow me, along with Holy Spirit, to dwell in happiness and joy forever! It so obvious now how I have sabotaged my happiness.

We do, so many times, allow ourselves just a certain amount of happiness. We're so familiar with the insanity and unfamiliar with peace, that we actually feel uncomfortable when our lives are running smoothly.

How many times have you heard someone say "Everything is going so well, I'm just waiting for the other shoe to fall." We feel like something's wrong if everything is going right.

Because the Course is teaching me the definition of "right," there is a freedom in the realization that all suffering is self-inflicted; it's only at that very level that I can change that fact. The more I am willing to allow the Holy Spirit to guide me, the more I realize the only thing I am "sacrificing" is fear and that's a miracle. Thank you, my Heavenly Divine Guidance, for walking through this awakening with me.

©2003, Pathways of Light, Inc. http://pathwaysoflight.org You may freely share copies of this page with your friends, provided all copies include this notice.
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Lesson 322 I can give up but what was never real.

2009-05-27T10:30:00.000-07:00

Lesson 322

I can give up but what was never real.

I sacrifice illusions; nothing more. And as illusions go I find the gifts illusions tried to hide, awaiting me in shining welcome, and in readiness to give God's ancient messages to me. His memory abides in every gift that I receive of Him. And every dream serves only to conceal the Self which is God's only Son, the likeness of Himself, the Holy One Who still abides in Him forever, as He still abides in me.

Father, to You all sacrifice remains forever inconceivable. And so I cannot sacrifice except in dreams. As You created me, I can give up nothing You gave me. What You did not give has no reality. What loss can I anticipate except the loss of fear, and the return of love into my mind?

The Following is Forwarded from Pathwaysoflight.org

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Lesson 322
"I can give up but what was never real."

Central to the ego thought system of separation is the idea of loss and sacrifice. If separation is real, loss must be real. To gain something, what is gained must have been taken from something other than itself. The sacrifice of one is demanded for another's gain.

Allegiance with the ego thought system demands that we sacrifice awareness of Love. Because the ego demands sacrifice, it uses its standard defense mechanism of projection and tells us that God demands sacrifice of us. This is the way it tries to get rid of its guilt.

In this scenario it is projecting its guilt on God, making God appear to be the devil in disguise. As long as we follow the ego thought system, we will be afraid of God's Will, believing that He demands sacrifice. All this is just the ego's lies used to protect it and keep it in place as the "ruler" of our mind. The ego does not tell us that it is the one demanding sacrifice. The ego does not tell us that by giving up allegiance to the ego, the thought of sacrifice is undone and God's eternal Love is returned to our awareness.

Love makes no demands. It only gives of Itself. By letting go of identification with a separate identity and returning to the recognition that I am the Self God created, the holy Son of God, I give up nothing and become aware that I have everything that is real. All of God's Love is mine, for I share His Love with Him and with all Creation.

Holy Spirit, help me today to recognize the false ideas of loss for what they are. I turn my thoughts of fear and guilt over to you Holy Spirit with an open mind. I know that you will teach me what is real and what is not real and I will learn to recognize that I am Love and nothing else along with all my brothers. I can give up but what was never real.

Do I really want to wake up to the awareness that I have never really left Heaven? If so, I will be willing to look at all my replacements for Heaven. To do this I ask myself: What am I using to occupy my mind that is really a barrier to the awareness of God's Love? What am I using to replace God?

I can watch my mind all day and see the barriers to Love for what they are. Everything in the world of form is really nothing and was never real. It is my desire to see specialness and individuality that brings me the images I see in this world.

As I hand my mind over to the Holy Spirit, I am learning that all these images were never real. As I recognize them as unreal, giving them up is no sacrifice. Opening to the truth is no sacrifice. It only brings me infinite peace, infinite joy and the awareness of changeless Love That is there forever.

Today my practice is to look at all my barriers to Love and hand them over to the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit will show me that every illusion of separate forms is unreal. The Holy Spirit helps me change my mind. The Holy Spirit helps me recognize that all that I valued before is really worth nothing and can be let go of easily without feeling that I am sacrificing something.

Holding on to something that was really nothing is just a burden. What a relief to lift these burdens and find the freedom the Holy Spirit offers me every day. "I can give up but what was never real."

The thing that strengthens my faith in these lessons is that when I get in one of my "poor me" moods, wondering what life is about and why I have to do without the things I think I need or the things that I'M SURE would make me happy, I remember that at one time I got tired of being afraid, tired of being frustrated, tired of wondering what life was about.

Today, when I get into this kind of fear, it's like God asks me, "Remember you asked me to help you? Remember you got tired of living the way you were?" The practice of these lessons have taught me to turn my thoughts and especially my attitude over to the Holy Spirit, to the One Who knows truth. When I am willing to surrender my old beliefs and the thoughts of sacrifice, He opens other worlds for me and in those worlds there is peace, there is love, there is the memory of my Heavenly Father. Thank you Holy Spirit.

I love the question you asked, "What am I using to occupy my mind that is really a barrier to the awareness of God's Love?" I wrote it in my day timer so I would see it every time I open it tomorrow. I want to really think about this because I know I do this a lot. Sometimes I will catch myself dwelling in some pretty dark places in my mind and take them to Holy Spirit. Then before the process is over, I find myself thinking about something I need to do later in the day. That is a pretty obvious barrier that I use often and I bet there are lots more not so obvious. Thanks for the suggestion. I look forward to seeing where it takes me.

©2003, Pathways of Light, Inc. http://pathwaysoflight.org You may freely share copies of this page with your friends, provided all copies include this notice.
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Lesson 321 What is Creation? - Father, my freedom is in You alone.

2009-05-13T08:03:00.001-07:00

Lesson 321

Section 11. What is Creation?

Creation is the sum of all God's Thoughts, in number infinite, and everywhere without all limit. Only love creates, and only like itself. There was no time when all that it created was not there. Nor will there be a time when anything that it created suffers any loss. Forever and forever are God's Thoughts exactly as they were and as they are, unchanged through time and after time is done.

God's Thoughts are given all the power that their own Creator has. For He would add to love by its extension. Thus His Son shares in creation, and must therefore share in power to create. What God has willed to be forever One will still be One when time is over; and will not be changed throughout the course of time, remaining as it was before the thought of time began.

Creation is the opposite of all illusions, for creation is the truth. Creation is the holy Son of God, for in creation is His Will complete in every aspect, making every part container of the whole. Its oneness is forever guaranteed inviolate; forever held within His holy Will, beyond all possibility of harm, of separation, imperfection and of any spot upon its sinlessness.

We are creation; we the Sons of God. We seem to be discrete, and unaware of our eternal unity with Him. Yet back of all our doubts, past all our fears, there still is certainty. For love remains with all its Thoughts, its sureness being theirs. God's memory is in our holy minds, which know their oneness and their unity with their Creator. Let our function be only to let this memory return, only to let God's Will be done on earth, only to be restored to sanity, and to be but as God created us.

Our Father calls to us. We hear His Voice, and we forgive creation in the Name of its Creator, Holiness Itself, Whose Holiness His Own creation shares; Whose Holiness is still a part of us.

Lesson 321

Father, my freedom is in You alone.

I did not understand what made me free, nor what my freedom is, nor where to look to find it. Father, I have searched in vain until I heard Your Voice directing me. Now I would guide myself no more. For I have neither made nor understood the way to find my freedom. But I trust in You. You Who endowed me with my freedom as Your holy Son will not be lost to me. Your Voice directs me, and the way to You is opening and clear to me at last. Father, my freedom is in You alone. Father, it is my will that I return.

Today we answer for the world, which will be freed along with us. How glad are we to find our freedom through the certain way our Father has established. And how sure is all the world's salvation, when we learn our freedom can be found in God alone.

The Following is Forwarded from Pathwaysoflight.org

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Lesson 321
"Father, my freedom is in You alone."

The ego thinks freedom is independence from God. The ego thinks it means being in control and not under the influence of any body else's wishes or demands. The ego thinks it means being separate and distinct. Like Garfield, the cartoon character, the ego says, "I need my space."

The ego treasures this independence and maintains it by doing everything it can to make separation appear real. Yet to have this independence, limitation must be accepted. If we identify with the ego, we are no longer free to extend Love without limit. We are no longer free to experience the joy of unity with All That Is. We are no longer free to know the certainty of timelessness and eternal Love. Can this limitation really be freedom?

When we accept our unity with God, when we accept our Self as God created It, we are free to experience all Love everywhere, eternally. We are free of all limitation. We can only experience this freedom when we accept our total dependence on God, Who defines What we are by creating us exactly as Himself.

The recognition of our dependence on God is the acceptance of our freedom to Love without limit, to experience His limitless joy, and to know His peace without interruption. This is our freedom. All our strength comes from God's Love. There is no other strength. To know our dependence on God and accept it is to accept all power, all Love, all joy, all peace as our own. This is freedom. I thank you Father for your gifts to me.

The sentences that stand out to me in this lesson are: "Father, I have searched in vain until I heard Your Voice directing me. Now I would guide myself no more." (1:2-3) My freedom comes from not guiding myself. My freedom does not come from the mindless judgments of the ego. That only imprisons me.

Today it is my job to be vigilant as to whose voice I am listening to. Whose mind am I joining with, the limiting thoughts of the ego or the freeing thoughts of the Holy Spirit? Today I would be vigilant to practice joining with the Holy Spirit.

Today I would practice stepping back and watching the thoughts that are in my mind. Are these thoughts coming from Love? I can tell because Love knows that only Love is real. Love sees past the illusions to the truth. Love does not compare, because Love sees no differences. Love is at peace, because there is no fear in Love.

Today I would practice following Love's guidance. I know that my freedom lies in returning to Love, my Home and my Source.

©2003, Pathways of Light, Inc. http://pathwaysoflight.org You may freely share copies of this page with your friends, provided all copies include this notice.
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Lesson 320 My Father gives all power unto me.

2009-05-12T09:25:00.001-07:00

Lesson 320

My Father gives all power unto me.

The Son of God is limitless. There are no limits on his strength, his peace, his joy, nor any attributes his Father gave in his creation. What he wills with his Creator and Redeemer must be done. His holy will can never be denied, because his Father shines upon his mind, and lays before it all the strength and love in earth and Heaven. I am he to whom all this is given. I am he in whom the power of my Father's Will abides.

Your Will can do all things in me, and then extend to all the world as well through me. There is no limit on Your Will. And so all power has been given to Your Son.

The Following is Forwarded from Pathwaysoflight.org

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Lesson 320
"My Father gives all power unto me."

God is Love and within Love is all power. Love extends Itself, or all power, to all that is. All that is is Love. Love's extension is called Creation. Love's extension is called the Sonship. The Sonship is one; it is not many in reality. So all real power lies in Love's oneness.

As we are willing to open to the truth, we open to all real power. As we are willing to open to the truth, we receive a correction for all our false ideas of what could never be in reality. Letting go of a false sense of power through individuality is our salvation.

Individuality is really weakness. When we think we are separate individuals, we feel vulnerable and experience guilt, fear and loss. Returning to the truth returns the awareness of all real power into our minds. As we open to the truth, we get a taste of God's infinite peace, infinite joy and infinite strength. Love's power lies in Love's oneness. We are part of Love's oneness. "My Father gives all power unto me."

Each day my practice is to open to this power and not deny it. Each day my practice is to accept God's Will for me. Each day my practice is to go one step further in accepting the truth.

"God's Son is limitless." This echo's the same statement made in the "What is the Last Judgment" section that goes with this lesson. As God's Son, we cannot be limited by a body. As we fully accept and recognize our Father as our Source and the Self He created as our Identity, the body ceases to have meaning and it simply fades away.

For most of us the body seems very real. We believe the body's senses give us information about what is really happening. Yet the body is a false image and can only give false information. All that we have perceived through the body's eyes is false. That is why forgiveness is not only possible but inevitable.

God placed in our minds the Source of true perception that is not limited by the body's senses. It is this true perception that will set us free. It is this true perception that shows us that the Son of God is limitless. It teaches us that the Son of God is our Identity.

God's Final Judgment is that all our false images, all our false ideas, could never be real and could have no effect on His Son, the extension of Himself. This is His grace. The terror we seem to have inflicted on ourselves could never happen. As we are willing to bring each false idea to the Holy Spirit and open our minds to His correction, we move toward the full acceptance of God's Will for us. We open to the full acceptance of His limitless peace and limitless joy.

Let me today accept God's gifts by bringing all my thoughts to the Holy Spirit for Him to show me what is real and what is unreal, what is true and what is false. Thus will I recognize that all God's power is given unto me.

©2003, Pathways of Light, Inc. http://pathwaysoflight.org You may freely share copies of this page with your friends, provided all copies include this notice.
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Lesson 319 I came for the salvation of the world.

2009-05-09T08:06:00.001-07:00

Lesson 319

I came for the salvation of the world.

Here is a thought from which all arrogance has been removed, and only truth remains. For arrogance opposes truth. But when there is no arrogance the truth will come immediately, and fill up the space the ego left unoccupied by lies. Only the ego can be limited, and therefore it must seek for aims which are curtailed and limiting. The ego thinks that what one gains, totality must lose. And yet it is the Will of God I learn that what one gains is given unto all.

Father, Your Will is total. And the goal which stems from it shares its totality. What aim but the salvation of the world could You have given me? And what but this could be the Will my Self has shared with You?

The Following is Forwarded from Pathwaysoflight.org

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Lesson 319
"I came for the salvation of the world."

"I came for the salvation of the world" means to me that I came to see everyone's innocence, including my own. Guilt is the ticket into this dream. It comes from believing separation is real. And this world is an image projected from the belief in separation. The ego's purpose for the world is to make separation seem real and keep it in place. Because it is impossible for separation to be real, this is a meaningless purpose.

The only meaningful purpose could be to let go of this illusion and let my mind be returned to full awareness of the Heaven that is my Home. It is God's Will that I be in Heaven and so it is His Will that I return to full awareness of Where I am and that I never left in truth. My true Self shares this Will. Thus my only meaningful goal is to let go of the illusion of separation, which will show me the truth about everyone's innate innocence.

It is arrogant to insist that this world of separation that my body's eyes show me is real because it is the denial of God's Will. Eternal Love, which is all of totality, cannot conceive of loss, lack and death. It is my purpose now to let these false images go and to let go of belief that separation is real. As I awaken to the full recognition that I remain Love as God created me, I become the salvation of the world. That is what I came for in truth. That is how I return Home.

Salvation's message is that I am dreaming a dream and that its content is not true. As I am willing to let go of the arrogance of the ego, the truth is there for me to know and understand.

Behind the ego's false lies is the eternal, changeless Love of God. It is my purpose to return to this awareness. It is my purpose to accept the truth. As I let go of false values, I see that only the truth is real. I want only the truth because it is my true Identity. I came for the salvation of the world. I came to let go of arrogance and receive and give the truth.

©2003, Pathways of Light, Inc. http://pathwaysoflight.org You may freely share copies of this page with your friends, provided all copies include this notice.
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Lesson 318 In me salvation's means and end are one.

2009-05-08T08:06:00.000-07:00

Lesson 318

In me salvation's means and end are one.

In me, God's holy Son, are reconciled all parts of Heaven's plan to save the world. What could conflict, when all the parts have but one purpose and one aim? How could there be a single part that stands alone, or one of more or less importance than the rest? I am the means by which God's Son is saved, because salvation's purpose is to find the sinlessness that God has placed in me. I was created as the thing I seek. I am the goal the world is searching for. I am God's Son, His one eternal Love. I am salvation's means and end as well.

Let me today, my Father, take the role You offer me in Your request that I accept Atonement for myself. For thus does what is thereby reconciled in me become as surely reconciled to You.

The Following is Forwarded from Pathwaysoflight.org

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Lesson 318
"In me salvation's means and end are one."

What stands out to me in today's lesson is, "salvation's purpose is to find the sinlessness that God has placed in me." (1:4) To find sinlessness, I must forgive. That is why forgiveness is the central teaching of this Course. Whether it looks like I am forgiving myself or something seemingly outside me, it all comes down to letting go of the idea that separation could be real. The means for salvation is within me. That means is forgiveness. The end goal is within me. That goal is my Self, which remains as God created me.

Fortunately forgiveness does not depend on the identity I believe is me. It only depends on the identity I think of as me being willing to turn over all my thoughts to the Holy Spirit. It is His strength and clear vision that makes forgiveness possible. But without my willingness, His strength and vision are not available to me, for I am denying them. I am never alone. It is the idea that I could be alone that needs to be undone.

Each time I practice turning over my thoughts of fear and guilt to the Holy Spirit, each time I release these thoughts and receive His kind and gentle replacement, my confidence in the power and freedom of forgiveness grows. I recognize forgiveness for the gift it is to me and all my brothers. The truth that forgiveness is a gift I give myself dawns upon my mind. When I release a long held grievance, I might say to myself, "I could have had forgiveness instead of all that pain." But I also learn what a blessing the gift of forgiveness is and I can forgive myself for hanging on to the grievance and receive the gift again.

Today I practice forgiveness again in deep gratitude that I have the means to recognize the sinlessness that was never blemished. I feel the Holy Spirit's warm embrace as He offers me His strength and His Love. With Him complete release is possible. I have the means within me right now, this instant.

Holy Spirit, I give You all my thoughts today. I open my mind to Your vision, for I would walk with You today and see the world forgiven.

God's Son is one. Love is one. If I am not remembering that, then I am holding on to false ideas. And holding on to false ideas instead of the truth only brings the experience of loss and lack. Forgiveness means letting go of false ideas. Forgiveness and the Atonement are one. I am learning to remember that I have a Source of truth within my mind and that Source of truth will correct all the false ideas I have accepted as true. My part is being willing to open to and accept the correction.

I am coming to realize more and more that my experience of this world is totally coming from my mind. It is an experience of individual personalities and separate things. This separation is held together by a belief in time and space, belief in a past and future and a belief that there is distance between unique things. So my experience of this world is coming from ideas, ideas that are false because now I know that separation could never be real. Salvation comes as I let go of these false stories, these false images that come from false ideas.

Thank goodness the Holy Spirit is always with me. The Holy Spirit will correct all my false ideas as I hand them over for correction. This is the process of forgiveness. Through forgiveness, my belief in the world is undone. My belief in separation is undone. This is a gradual process which I work on every day. "Let me today, my Father, take the role You offer me in Your request that I accept Atonement for myself." (2:1)

I welcome the reminder that I can forgive through Holy Spirit and that forgiveness is what I want. I also welcome the reminder that all I need offer is my willingness.

I was starting to feel discouraged because I am having trouble releasing a grievance. As I read the above perspective, my heart lightened and I saw that it is the past I am clinging to and that is what is keeping me from forgiving. I don't want the past to determine my future. I am willing to forgive the past and so release myself now. Boy, that feels good!

©2003, Pathways of Light, Inc. http://pathwaysoflight.org You may freely share copies of this page with your friends, provided all copies include this notice.
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Lesson 317 I follow in the way appointed me.

2009-05-07T06:02:00.000-07:00

Lesson 317

I follow in the way appointed me.

I have a special place to fill; a role for me alone. Salvation waits until I take this part as what I choose to do. Until I make this choice, I am the slave of time and human destiny. But when I willingly and gladly go the way my Father's plan appointed me to go, then will I recognize salvation is already here, already given all my brothers and already mine as well.

Father, Your way is what I choose today. Where it would lead me do I choose to go; what it would have me do I choose to do. Your way is certain, and the end secure. The memory of You awaits me there. And all my sorrows end in Your embrace, which You have promised to Your Son, who thought mistakenly that he had wandered from the sure protection of Your loving Arms.

The Following is Forwarded from Pathwaysoflight.org

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Lesson 317
"I follow in the way appointed me.”

Do I want lasting happiness that does not come and go? Do I really want peace of mind? Then I will be willing to let go of my false ideas. I will remember that on my own I do not know what anything means. I will be willing to step back and open to the Source within That knows the difference between what is real and what is not real.

I have been blinded by choosing illusions of separation. I need the help of the Holy Spirit to return my mind to peace. I need to be quiet and listen. What I receive from my constant Companion will be perfect. It will come in a form that bridges me from where I think I am to an awakening to my true Identity. Then I will realize that I never left Heaven. Dreaming dreams of separation on a distant shore does not make reality. Everyone in this dream world of separation is still as God created them. They are still one in perfect Love. And this can never change.

The belief in separation and the guilt that came with it made images that put terror in the heart of the dreamer. Now is the time to open to the reality that these dreams never happened, even though they appear very real. Now as we look through the body's eyes, we recognize that what we are seeing comes from the thought of separation projected outward and separation could never be true.

Gradually we stop being fooled by these false images of separation. With Holy Spirit's help we gradually learn to see with Christ's vision instead of believing what the body's eyes show us. With Christ's vision, we see beyond the body. We see the formless Spirit of Love That has never changed behind the illusions of separate bodies. Gradually we learn to focus on the truth instead of the ego's lies of separation.

Stepping back and listening to Holy Spirit's correction of my perception is how I find the way that is appointed me. It is how I am able to remember the truth. It is how I will be led to an awareness of the one Christ Mind. I would follow. I would not lead. I trust that the Holy Spirit knows the way for me and will guide me Home as I let Him.

When the Course says, "This is a required Course," it is saying that we all must forgive the illusion of separation, let it go. That is the way appointed us if we would return to full awareness of the Heaven we never left in truth.

Forgiveness is our vocation. As we learn to dedicate every moment to taking every thought to the Holy Spirit for His clarification, we will join with His thought system more and more. The idea of individuality and independence becomes less and less appealing. The ego treasures independence and tries to make it look like it is independence that gives us worth. It does not tell us that to have independence we must deny the Source of all strength, all value and all Love.

The Holy Spirit shows us that our happiness and our strength comes from our unity with each other in God's Love. And so the way appointed to me today is to bring my thoughts to the Holy Spirit and let Him teach me of my unity with Love. Let Him teach me of the innocence and loveliness of my brother, who is one with me. Let Him teach me what is valuable and what is valueless. Thus will I follow in the way appointed me.

Individuality is becoming less and less appealing to me and the fact that I realize this is truly a miracle. Today, I look for miracles in my life and when I choose to follow the guidance of the Holy Spirit, I am able to see them. Today I realize they were always there, but I was so into myself alone, that I never allowed myself to experience them. Today I choose to follow the way of my Father; it's the only way to go.

©2003, Pathways of Light, Inc. http://pathwaysoflight.org You may freely share copies of this page with your friends, provided all copies include this notice.
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Lesson 316 All gifts I give my brothers are my own.

2009-05-05T07:55:00.000-07:00

Lesson 316

All gifts I give my brothers are my own.

As every gift my brothers give is mine, so every gift I give belongs to me. Each one allows a past mistake to go, and leave no shadow on the holy mind my Father loves. His grace is given me in every gift a brother has received throughout all time, and past all time as well. My treasure house is full, and angels watch its open doors that not one gift is lost, and only more are added. Let me come to where my treasures are, and enter in where I am truly welcome and at home, among the gifts that God has given me.

Father, I would accept Your gifts today. I do not recognize them. Yet I trust that You Who gave them will provide the means by which I can behold them, see their worth, and cherish only them as what I want.

The Following is Forwarded from Pathwaysoflight.org

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Lesson 316
"All gifts I give my brothers are my own."

There is only one gift to give and that is the gift of the truth. As I am willing to see my brother as he truly is, I receive a blessing. As I open my mind to receive the gift of the truth, I effortlessly and naturally extend it to my brother. This gift I receive and give helps the whole Sonship. The Sonship is one. As I help my own awakening by opening to the truth, I help the whole. We are one.

We have one Father and that one Father will help us return to the awareness of Love's presence if we allow it. As each one allows it, the whole Sonship benefits. We are simply returning to the awareness that we never really left Heaven. We never really left God's one Mind of Love. We are still as God created us. "All gifts I give my brothers are my own."

There is only one gift of value and meaning in this world. It is the gift of forgiveness, which is Love's reflection in the world. In Heaven the only gift is Love, for Love is all there Is. In this world, we believe we are without Love. Thus we need forgiveness, which removes the barriers to the awareness of Love's eternal presence.

To know the gifts my brother gives and to experience that the gifts I give remain my own, I must let go of cherishing anything other than God's Love, Which dwells in my brother and in me. If I cherish individuality, I cannot experience the gifts my brother gives. I cannot experience that the gifts I give remain my own. If I want individuality or specialness, then I am denying the oneness of Love. This denial is simply a mistake to be let go.

That is what forgiveness does. It lets go of mistaken beliefs and perceptions and makes way for the truth to shine through. Forgiveness clears the way for the awareness of Love's presence. In every moment I make the choice between the isolation of specialness and the oneness of Love. I choose either loneliness and lack or completion and unity with my brothers in God's Love. There are only these two alternatives.

Today I would let past mistakes go and accept the gifts my brothers give in the name of our Father. Today I would forgive and receive Love. Thus do I remember that all gifts I give my brothers are my own.

I spent a lot of years trying to convince myself to forgive. I tried scaring myself with threats of eternal punishment. When I stopped believing in that, I tried using logic on myself. I tried everything to talk myself into letting go of grievances against others, and to give up guilt for what I saw as my own sins.

Now I see that the only thing that works is giving it over to Holy Spirit for healing. Doing that and seeing it work, motivates me to do it again. For the first time in my life I can see that it is possible to forgive and it is not even really hard. As with everything else I give the ego to do, it failed and convinced me that it was just too hard or too complicated. With Spirit I see that it isn't hard at all, nor is it in any way complicated.

These lessons are slowly but surely coming together for me. I've been asking the Holy Spirit to help me see the Oneness in myself and my brothers, to see beyond the body. I also ask Him to help me recognize His gifts; I know in my heart they're there, I just don't open myself to see them.

This morning, as I was driving to work, I was watching people in other cars or walking on the street and I tried to see them only as manifestations of the Oneness of Love and in seeing them that way, I was amazed at the various forms and personalities they take. And maybe I haven't quite gotten to the point where I can completely forgive, but I'm beginning to see them in another light and, for me, this is a miracle.

I believe this is one of the many gifts my Heavenly Father offers me because when I'm not judging my brothers, I am at peace, which is a gift to me and them. Thank you, Holy Spirit.

©2003, Pathways of Light, Inc. http://pathwaysoflight.org You may freely share copies of this page with your friends, provided all copies include this notice.
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Lesson 315 All gifts my brothers give belong to me.

2009-05-02T10:00:00.001-07:00

Lesson 315

All gifts my brothers give belong to me.

Each day a thousand treasures come to me with every passing moment. I am blessed with gifts throughout the day, in value far beyond all things of which I can conceive. A brother smiles upon another, and my heart is gladdened. Someone speaks a word of gratitude or mercy, and my mind receives this gift and takes it as its own. And everyone who finds the way to God becomes my savior, pointing out the way to me, and giving me his certainty that what he learned is surely mine as well.

I thank You, Father, for the many gifts that come to me today and every day from every Son of God. My brothers are unlimited in all their gifts to me. Now may I offer them my thankfulness, that gratitude to them may lead me on to my Creator and His memory.

The Following is Forwarded from Pathwaysoflight.org

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Lesson 315
"All gifts my brothers give belong to me."

It is gratifying to know that we are constantly being blessed by every thought of Love anyone offers to anyone. Love is one and Love unites us all. In that unity Love's gifts are given equally to all. Love can make no exceptions and be Itself. Love is forever extending, because that is what Love does and is. Every forgiving thought opens the door to Love's extension and Its blessing is received by all.

I give today to the Holy Spirit to guide my thoughts. With His strength I will let go of the past and in this forgiveness, clear the way for Love's extension to bless my brothers and myself. The gift of forgiveness brings me joy. My heart is filled with gratitude, for through forgiveness I recognize my Self in all my brothers. Thus I recognize all gifts my brothers give belong to me.

Love, to be Love, is all inclusive. Love extends to all of Itself in the eternal now. Everyone's true nature is Love and that true nature is always extending all of Itself to all Love. Therefore we are always receiving Love's gifts. It is always occurring, whether we are aware of it or not.

Today I open my mind to become aware of Love's ongoing gifts. Today I accept the truth of Love, which is present now and eternally. I let the Holy Spirit help me recognize my barriers to Love. I then allow the Holy Spirit to shine those barriers away. I would recognize the truth today. I would recognize that the truth of Love is true and nothing else is true.

I am grateful for the constant gift of Love that comes to me today and every day from every Son of God. I am also grateful for the constant gift of Love that extends from me today to every Son of God. For Love to be Love, It must extend to all always, in the eternal now. I practice accepting Love's eternal presence today.

I was saying in my ACIM discussion group just last Sunday that we are all one mind and so when one of us is healed that healing is for all of us. But I don't think that I really felt what that means.

I'm thinking that, as I sit here this morning, I am receiving a constant stream of spiritual gifts. How extraordinarily wonderful this is! I am awe struck just to think of it. When you realize this is true, it suddenly becomes possible (no, certain) that the Sons of God will return to who they are.

I am grateful for this encouraging thought because, surely, I have sometimes doubted it could be done as I looked around at what the ego has appeared to have made. Every time I look at a brother, today, I am going to be reminded he is my savior and feel gratitude for what he is doing for me.

©2003, Pathways of Light, Inc. http://pathwaysoflight.org You may freely share copies of this page with your friends, provided all copies include this notice.
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Lesson 314 I seek a future different from the past.

2009-05-01T07:23:00.001-07:00

Lesson 314

I seek a future different from the past.

From new perception of the world there comes a future very different from the past. The future now is recognized as but extension of the present. Past mistakes can cast no shadows on it, so that fear has lost its idols and its images, and being formless, it has no effects. Death will not claim the future now, for life is now its goal, and all the needed means are happily provided. Who can grieve or suffer when the present has been freed, extending its security and peace into a quiet future filled with joy?

Father, we were mistaken in the past, and choose to use the present to be free. Now do we leave the future in Your Hands, leaving behind our past mistakes, and sure that You will keep Your present promises, and guide the future in their holy light.

The Following is Forwarded from Pathwaysoflight.org

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Lesson 314
"I seek a future different from the past."

The past and the future are one in the fact that they are really nothing. The truth is there is no time. There is only the eternal present in Love. As I open more and more to the Holy Spirit's healing perception, I am brought to the awareness that only Love is real. This Love is eternal and so the past and future are really not there.

I have been so ingrained in thinking in terms of a past and future that it takes vigilance to let go of this belief. It is a false belief and my job now is to open my mind to let my belief in time be undone by the Holy Spirit.

In the eternal present there is peace, there is quiet, there is Love, joy and happiness. Today my practice is to continue to open my mind to the Holy Spirit so that I may become more aware of the eternal present. In the Light of the truth, the false ideas about time and space gently fall away. There is only the eternal now. Love is. God is. And then we cease to speak.

The fearful ranting of the ego becomes just silly ideas that could never be true when seen through the eyes of the Holy Spirit. If I do not believe in these ideas, they cannot take hold. The prison doors open. Each day now is a journey without distance as I gradually accept the truth of the eternal present and allow sin, guilt and fear to fall by the wayside.

We all are in Heaven now. All that is real is in the Mind of God, now and forever. Everyone is saved. God is real and nothing else exists. That is true now and for eternity.

Today I practice stepping back from the false ideas of the ego and letting my mind be cleared of all belief in guilt. As the Holy Spirit shines away each mistaken thought, a pathway is built leading to Heaven, where I never left.

We all wake up together realizing the truth is true and nothing else is true. We are a Thought in the Mind of God. We are still as God created us. We can relax now. We remain an extension of Love for eternity. In quiet we return to where we never left.

The ego sees the future as a projection of the past. It overlooks the present entirely. The Holy Spirit sees the future as an extension of the present. Thus to the Holy Spirit the future is now. The way we allow ourselves to experience a future different from the past is by letting the past go. Once again we come back to the Course's central theme of forgiveness.

As we learn to let the Holy Spirit guide our perceptions, the world we see serves a different purpose. Instead of the ego's purpose of holding guilt in place, the world now becomes a mirror, showing us where forgiveness is still needed and giving us another opportunity to free ourselves.

As I remember that everything in my world symbolizes what is in my mind, I can take each symbol to the Holy Spirit and open my mind to His perception. As I release my perception into His hands, I let go of the past and I am one step closer to letting the future be like the present.

My guilt is undone because the Holy Spirit teaches me that in truth I have done nothing to change God or His holy Son. I remain as God created me. This is my future and my present. No image in my mind can replace the Son of God. No image is worthy of the Son and is therefore not worthy of me. As I release attachment to all images, I free myself to see that I am still as God created me. Today I continue my practice of bringing all my perceptions to the Holy Spirit and opening my mind to His kind and gentle correction. Thus will I let the future be an extension of the eternal present.

©2003, Pathways of Light, Inc. http://pathwaysoflight.org You may freely share copies of this page with your friends, provided all copies include this notice.
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Lesson 313 Now let a new perception come to me.

2009-04-30T05:45:00.001-07:00

Lesson 313

Now let a new perception come to me.

Father, there is a vision which beholds all things as sinless, so that fear has gone, and where it was is love invited in. And love will come wherever it is asked. This vision is Your gift. The eyes of Christ look on a world forgiven. In His sight are all its sins forgiven, for He sees no sin in anything He looks upon. Now let His true perception come to me, that I may waken from the dream of sin and look within upon my sinlessness, which You have kept completely undefiled upon the altar to Your holy Son, the Self with which I would identify.

Let us today behold each other in the sight of Christ. How beautiful we are! How holy and how loving! Brother, come and join with me today. We save the world when we have joined. For in our vision it becomes as holy as the light in us.

The Following is Forwarded from Pathwaysoflight.org

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Lesson 313
"Now let a new perception come to me."

True perception is completely free of the past. It sees only what is in the present. Because Love is eternal and is therefore ever present, true perception sees only Love. There is nothing else to see. Where Love is recognized, there can be no fear. True perception shows me a world without fear, a world of complete forgiveness. Here peace remains undisturbed and Love is extended equally to all.

Holy Spirit, today I open my mind to You. I would share Your vision and see only the kind and beneficent. I would see only the innocent and loving, for that is what is real and true. I give my judgments to You and ask for Your strength to let them go so that I may receive Your gift of vision. Thus will I learn to recognize my Self and see It everywhere. "Now let a new perception come to me."

All that is real is the limitless Thought of Love in the Mind of Love. This Love is changeless and eternal. It is whole and complete. It is one and cannot be divided or changed or separated in any way. This is our Source. This is our eternal Beingness. This is Reality. Returning to this truth is what our function is. It is our one goal.

As we are willing to open to this truth and receive this truth, we help the whole Sonship because minds are connected. How do I help my brother? I let the Holy Spirit's change of perception come to my awareness. I let my mind return to the truth. This is how I truly help. Joining with my brother in making illusions real is never truly helpful. Joining with the one Mind of Truth is truly helpful.

I do not have to repeat the past and play the old separation game from the past. I do not need to follow the ego's rules. As I let a new perception come to me, I am guided by a completely different thought system. The Holy Spirit's values are totally the opposite of the ego's values. With the Holy Spirit I can let the ego's values go because they are meaningless.

Today I choose to let a new perception come to me. I quiet my mind and ask for the truth. I choose to awaken from the dream and this is how I can be truly helpful.

I love the paragraph where you talked about how I can help my brother. That is a good emphasis, that I can help my brother through my change of perception because our minds are connected. What I do for myself, I do for my brother. I love that. I also appreciate the reminder that it is never helpful to join in making illusions real. That is a bad habit I have not completely overcome and I will work harder on it now that I think about it.

©2003, Pathways of Light, Inc. http://pathwaysoflight.org You may freely share copies of this page with your friends, provided all copies include this notice.
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Lesson 312 I see all things as I would have them be.

2009-04-29T08:58:00.000-07:00

Lesson 312

I see all things as I would have them be.

Perception follows judgment. Having judged, we therefore see what we would look upon. For sight can merely serve to offer us what we would have. It is impossible to overlook what we would see, and fail to see what we have chosen to behold. How surely, therefore, must the real world come to greet the holy sight of anyone who takes the Holy Spirit's purpose as his goal for seeing. And he cannot fail to look upon what Christ would have him see, and share Christ's Love for what he looks upon.

I have no purpose for today except to look upon a liberated world, set free from all the judgments I have made. Father, this is Your Will for me today, and therefore it must be my goal as well.

The Following is Forwarded from Pathwaysoflight.org

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Lesson 312
"I see all things as I would have them be."

Last night I watched a TV drama in which there was a character that irritated me. I perceived her as manipulative and controlling. Afterwards I remembered that everything I see is a projection of my own mind. My judgment of the character symbolized my judgment of myself. I perceived her as guilty as a means of denying and putting outside of me the guilt I believed was in me.

This is a good example to me that, "I see all things as I would have them be." Were I holding the Holy Spirit's hand, I would see the character as a holy Child of God. The behavior would be recognized as meaningless. Irritation would be impossible, for Love only blesses and a Child of God is Love and nothing else.

As I brought this perception of the character to the Holy Spirit with the recognition that it was a symbol of my own perceived guilt, I remembered that at one time there was a person in my life that I perceived as controlling and manipulative. It took me several years of bringing my perception of that person to Spirit and asking for help with forgiveness before my thoughts of that person were healed.

The healing came when I recognized that the behavior I perceived in this other person reflected a deeply hidden belief in guilt in my own mind. Spirit led me to forgive myself for what I thought I did but never really happened. Only then was I able to think about this person and remain at peace. Now I see that there is another layer to this forgiveness, another layer of guilt to be undone.

And so I ask the Holy Spirit to take these thoughts of judgment and guilt. I ask for His strength and know that it is given me. Through His strength and vision I can learn once again that harm is impossible and thus guilt is never justified. I can learn what I thought I did, perhaps lifetimes ago, never really happened. I remain Love as God created me.

Today I would welcome Holy Spirit's Love and strength. Today I would welcome His vision and see the world free along with me. Thus will I see a world forgiven and know the peace of God.

It is helpful for me to remember that perception follows judgment. It is helpful for me to remember that what I am seeing is what I am choosing to see. It is helpful for me to remember that I am making the decision to hold the ego's hand or the Holy Spirit's Hand every moment. It is helpful for me to remember that what when I see guilt anywhere in the "outside" world, I am holding ego's hand. It is then time for me to take what I am perceiving to the Holy Spirit to receive a shift in perception. It is time to open to recognizing the innocence and unity behind the scenes of guilt and separation I am seeing. It is time to recognize that it is only the ego that tries to make guilt real.

This is an ongoing daily process. As I take each perception that is not reflecting innocence and unity to the Holy Spirit to be undone, I am gradually opening the prison doors I have made for myself. I can ask the Holy Spirit to be my constant Companion. I can quiet my mind and give the Holy Spirit all the time He needs to clean out the cobwebs in my mind.

I have bought into dreams of separation. This has generated guilt and fear. All this needs to be undone and in the illusion, it takes time. On my own I can do nothing to heal my mind. But as I open up and am willing to join with the Holy Spirit, I find that each perception of guilt, each perception of lack, each fearful thought is quietly undone as I continue the daily practice of taking every thought that is not Love to the Holy Spirit for a changed perception.

If I am not at peace, there is still work to be done. There is still more unrecognized belief in separation and guilt to be healed. The good news is the Holy Spirit is always there right in my mind, waiting to change my perception as I am willing to open up to Him. Today is another day of mind healing and I have everything I need right in my mind to continue with the ongoing practice of forgiveness. I see all things as I would have them be.

Knowing that I can see, so easily, exactly where I am spiritually by simply noting my reactions is very helpful. Today should be interesting as I practice awareness and see how often I am holding ego's hand. It will be very healing as I let go of ego's hand and choose again.

I used to get impatient and discouraged because I would make a new choice and then had to turn around and do it again five minutes later. I'm practicing loving patience with myself now and it is working really well. Now I see that the impatience was just another ego strategy to keep me where I was.

©2003, Pathways of Light, Inc. http://pathwaysoflight.org You may freely share copies of this page with your friends, provided all copies include this notice.
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Section 10. What is the Last Judgment? Lesson 311 I judge all things as I would have them be.

2009-04-27T05:26:00.001-07:00

Lesson 311

Section 10. What is the Last Judgment?

Christ's Second Coming gives the Son of God this gift: to hear the Voice for God proclaim that what is false is false, and what is true has never changed. And this the judgment is in which perception ends. At first you see a world that has accepted this as true, projected from a now corrected mind. And with this holy sight, perception gives a silent blessing and then disappears, its goal accomplished and its mission done.

The final judgment on the world contains no condemnation. For it sees the world as totally forgiven, without sin and wholly purposeless. Without a cause, and now without a function in Christ's sight, it merely slips away to nothingness. There it was born, and there it ends as well. And all the figures in the dream in which the world began go with it. Bodies now are useless, and will therefore fade away, because the Son of God is limitless.

You who believed that God's Last Judgment would condemn the world to hell along with you, accept this holy truth: God's Judgment is the gift of the Correction He bestowed on all your errors, freeing you from them, and all effects they ever seemed to have. To fear God's saving grace is but to fear complete release from suffering, return to peace, security and happiness, and union with your own Identity.

God's Final Judgment is as merciful as every step in His appointed plan to bless His Son, and call him to return to the eternal peace He shares with him. Be not afraid of love. For it alone can heal all sorrow, wipe away all tears, and gently waken from his dream of pain the Son whom God acknowledges as His. Be not afraid of this. Salvation asks you give it welcome. And the world awaits your glad acceptance, which will set it free.

This is God's Final Judgment: "You are still My holy Son, forever innocent, forever loving and forever loved, as limitless as your Creator, and completely changeless and forever pure. Therefore awaken and return to Me. I am your Father and you are My Son."

Lesson 311

I judge all things as I would have them be.

Judgment was made to be a weapon used against the truth. It separates what it is being used against, and sets it off as if it were a thing apart. And then it makes of it what you would have it be. It judges what it cannot understand, because it cannot see totality and therefore judges falsely. Let us not use it today, but make a gift of it to Him Who has a different use for it. He will relieve us of the agony of all the judgments we have made against ourselves, and re-establish peace of mind by giving us God's Judgment of His Son.

Father, we wait with open mind today, to hear Your Judgment of the Son You love. We do not know him, and we cannot judge. And so we let Your Love decide what he whom You created as Your Son must be.

The Following is Forwarded from Pathwaysoflight.org

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Lesson 311
"I judge all things as I would have them be."

Before the ego -- the thought of separation -- there was no judgment. There was no sense of an 'other' to judge or evaluate. But with the idea of separation, there needed to be a mechanism to hold separation in place so it would seem to be real. For this purpose the ego made judgment. "Judgment was made to be a weapon used against the truth. It separates what it is being used against, and sets it off as if it were a thing apart." (1:1-2)

God, in His grace, provided an antidote for this poisonous thought system. Because we had already embraced the "reality" of judgment, He needed to use that mechanism for a different purpose that would be to the point where judgment is recognized as no longer needed. This antidote is the Holy Spirit. While the ego judges from a limited perspective that cannot see the whole, the Holy Spirit judges from the point of seeing totality. Thus His judgment is very simple. He recognizes all things as either real or unreal. What is real is Love and nothing else. What is unreal is nothing and is disregarded as meaningless and without effect.

As we learn to practice giving all our judgments to the Holy Spirit, our burden is lightened and we walk with an easy step. Our judgments with the ego always carry guilt and weigh us down with the fear of punishment for that guilt. As we release our judgments to the Holy Spirit, He undoes the guilt, for He knows that nothing could ever change the holy Son of God, our Self. This process of turning over every judgment to the Holy Spirit to let Him judge on our behalf is the way out of hell and the return to our Home in God.

We do not need to know how the Holy Spirit undoes the guilt. We need only relieve ourselves of the burden of judgment by giving it all to Him. He returns to us the gift of freedom and God's eternal peace. We give Him nothing and He gives us everything. It is the exchange of illusion for reality.In deep gratitude I give thanks to God for His Answer to the insane idea of separation and judgment. Thank You God. I love You God.

Freedom comes as I let the Holy Spirit judge all things for me. The ego has judged all things as separate and alone. The ego's judgment tries to place its guilt outside itself. That is why it needs an 'outside.' On the other hand, the Holy Spirit sees all as one. The Holy Spirit shows me there is no outside. There is no guilt. When I hold hands with the Holy Spirit, all I see is innocence.

There is only one Christ Mind that is real. The Holy Spirit reminds me of the unreality of separation. The Holy Spirit shows me the meaninglessness of a world or separation. It is only when I am willing to go to the Holy Spirit that I will receive the Holy Spirit's judgment. The Holy Spirit shows me the difference between the real and the unreal, and through this I find freedom from the bondage of the ego thought system of separation.

Today is a day of letting the Holy Spirit judge for me. Today I would practice refraining from judging on my own. Today I would practice holding Holy Spirit's hand and receiving Christ's vision. Today I would take one more step towards accepting the freedom that is mine.

All last week I ate a lot of stuff that is not normally on my diet and was afraid I had gained some weight. When I got on the scale, I saw that I had and felt bad about it. I told myself that it was no big deal and I would just lose it.

When I read today's lesson I realized that I was just kidding myself about it being no big deal. It was really weighing heavily on my mind and I quickly saw it for what it was. I was judging myself as being weak willed and foolish. I was using this judgment to convince myself that I am a body and powerless.

And, of course, I am seeing myself as separate. After all, not everyone has a problem controlling their weight. In fact my weight problems are worse that everyone else's... or so I tell myself and thus I guarantee the illusion of being special and thus separate.

I visualized setting down my heavy sack of "special feelings." I took each one out and showed it to Holy Spirit. One by one, we looked at them together. We looked at my dread of being powerless, at my belief that my problems were worse than everyone else's, at my embarrassment at once again having "failed." We looked at each sense of specialness until the bag was empty. Then Holy Spirit took both my hands and we smiled at the insubstantial pile of illusions as they began to fade away into the nothingness they are without the support of my belief in them.

This stuff is a big deal only if I refuse to look at it. Then it gets heavy and dark and weighs down my steps as I go through the day. Looking at it with Holy Spirit shows it for the nothingness it is. I thank staff for pointing the way to this healing and I am so grateful that God provided me with a way out of my illusion.

I love the way these lessons explain to us how our minds think and how we use them; they tell us the problem and then give us the solution. I, too, so many times, have issues with a certain person(s) or a situation and I dread facing it, to the point where the thought of it ruins my day. So rather than to look at it, I tell myself it's not a big deal and attempt to ignore it, I guess hoping it will go away. I also see myself as separate and judge the person, the situation, and myself, which makes me separate even more.

So today I ask the Holy Spirit to judge my brother/myself for me and I also recognize that this is one more step towards my freedom.

©2003, Pathways of Light, Inc. http://pathwaysoflight.org You may freely share copies of this page with your friends, provided all copies include this notice.
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Lesson 310 In fearlessness and love I spend today.

2009-04-23T06:18:00.001-07:00

Lesson 310

In fearlessness and love I spend today.

This day, my Father, would I spend with You, as You have chosen all my days should be. And what I will experience is not of time at all. The joy that comes to me is not of days nor hours, for it comes from Heaven to Your Son. This day will be Your sweet reminder to remember You, Your gracious calling to Your holy Son, the sign Your grace has come to me, and that it is Your Will I be set free today.

We spend this day together, you and I. And all the world joins with us in our song of thankfulness and joy to Him Who gave salvation to us, and Who set us free. We are restored to peace and holiness. There is no room in us for fear today, for we have welcomed love into our hearts.

The Following is Forwarded from Pathwaysoflight.org

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Lesson 310
"In fearlessness and love I spend today."

Love and fear cannot coexist. When I accept Love into my heart, fear is gone. The Love of God has no conditions or limits. It is given equally to all. There are no reservations. There is no Love held back in reserve in case some extra may be needed sometime, because Love is limitless.

The ego thinks in terms of limitation. It cannot conceive of giving everything away, because to the ego, this means loss. But to Love, giving all of Itself away brings joy, because Love gives only to Love, for only Love is real.

In Love, giving and receiving are the same. In the ego, giving is loss and receiving is gain. But they are never the same. Receiving Love into my heart makes me fearless. I am fearless because I have recognized that within me is the Source of all strength, which unites me with everything that is. With nothing outside me, there is nothing to fear. This fearlessness does not come from having mightier weapons or great physical strength. It does not come with believing I have power to overcome all my enemies. This fearlessness comes from recognizing I have no enemies, for everything that is, is one with me in Love.

Today I ask the Holy Spirit to help me see the Love in all my brothers that unites me with them and them with me. I ask for help in seeing past form to the heart of Love that lies in all things. I see this through forgiveness, through letting go of the past, through letting go of false images that make it look as though I am separate. With Holy Spirit's help I will look upon a forgiven world and welcome Love into my heart.

The two sentences that stand out to me today in this lesson are, "We spend this day together, you and I," (2:1) and "There is no room in us for fear today, for we have welcomed love into our hearts." (2:4) Jesus is asking me to join with him in giving Love welcome. So my job today is to join with Jesus in remembering Love. When I open my mind to Jesus, he reminds me that only Love is real and that anything else is illusion. When I am willing to remember that only Love is real, fear is impossible. There is no need for defense, no need for attack, no need to look for differences, no need to be afraid.

Love is sharing all with all. Love is sharing one Identity. Today I welcome seeing one Identity. Today I practice welcoming Love as it really is. There is no specialness in Love and there is no specialness in me or any form found in this world. Today I would let myself be carried by Love and remember that Love is all that is true and real. In fearlessness and Love I spend today.

Most Holy Spirit, my Heavenly Divine Guidance, please help me remember that today I would spend with my Father and in so doing, I will not be afraid to love or be loved. And if I should stray, Holy Spirit, help me remember that it is just an opportunity for me to heal and be set free, which is my Father's will for me. Amen

©2003, Pathways of Light, Inc. http://pathwaysoflight.org You may freely share copies of this page with your friends, provided all copies include this notice.
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Lesson 309 I will not fear to look within today.

2009-04-22T10:33:00.001-07:00

Lesson 309

I will not fear to look within today.

Within me is eternal innocence, because it is God's Will that it be there forever and forever. I, His Son, whose will is limitless as is His Own, can will no change in this. For to deny my Father's Will is to deny my own. To look within is but to find my will as God created it, and as it is. I fear to look within because I think I made another will that is not true, and made it real. Yet it has no effects. Within me is the Holiness of God. Within me is the memory of Him.

The step I take today, my Father, is my sure release from idle dreams of sin. Your altar stands serene and undefiled. It is the holy altar to my Self, and there I find my true Identity.

The Following is Forwarded from Pathwaysoflight.org

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Lesson 309
"I will not fear to look within today."

The burden of guilt that everyone in this world carries is far greater than we recognize. The guilt we are aware of is like the tip of an iceberg. Beneath the surface, hidden in our unconscious mind, is intolerable guilt that seems to lurk, waiting to be discovered. Yet it is feared, for if it were recognized, it would be so dark and horrible that we would no longer want to live.

To protect ourselves from what we believe is there, we push it into unconsciousness and project it onto a world we believe is guilty. We do not see that the guilt we perceive in the world is the guilt we perceive in ourselves, reflected back to us. This is the ego's belief system. It is founded on the belief that we actually separated from our Source and have made a will different from His.

Today's lesson brings us freedom from this insane story. It tells us that contrary to what we believe, within us is Eternal Innocence. It tells us that we have not succeeded in making a will in opposition to God's. The perception of an opposing will is an illusion that could never be real. This is our release from guilt.

The section on the Second Coming that goes with this lesson tells us that the Second Coming is the return of sanity. It is the moment in time when forgiveness rests equally on all things. Forgiveness opens our mind to the recognition that the rift we thought occurred between us and God never happened. We remain united with God. We share His Will and His Will for us is perfect happiness.

The way we reach full recognition of the eternal innocence within is to step by step bring every thought of guilt and fear to the Holy Spirit. As we give them to Him with an open mind and heart, we receive His gift of recognition that nothing has ever occurred to alter the Holy Son of God in any way. The Son is our Self, our Identity, forever pure, forever innocent and forever Love.

Today I would accept Holy Spirit's gift of innocence and share it with the world. For I would not fear to look within today.

This is not an easy concept to grasp. When I first started reading the Course, it discussed this guilt thing immediately. Well, I thought this does not apply to me. My reasoning was I rarely ever do anything to my fellow travelers that would warrant guilt. Besides, if I accidentally offended someone, I would go and "clean" that up and take care of it. This works well for me.

However, the Course discusses guilt at a deeper level, just like the 10 commandments have a deeper meaning to them. I admit that I probably still don't have the "guilt" concept down 100%, but at least now it makes sense to me. I now stay vigilant to where I may be projecting guilt on to others. However, I don't find this to be easy to fulfill.

©2003, Pathways of Light, Inc. http://pathwaysoflight.org You may freely share copies of this page with your friends, provided all copies include this notice.
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Lesson 308 This instant is the only time there is.

2009-04-21T07:14:00.000-07:00

Lesson 308

This instant is the only time there is.

I have conceived of time in such a way that I defeat my aim. If I elect to reach past time to timelessness, I must change my perception of what time is for. Time's purpose cannot be to keep the past and future one. The only interval in which I can be saved from time is now. For in this instant has forgiveness come to set me free. The birth of Christ is now, without a past or future. He has come to give His present blessing to the world, restoring it to timelessness and love. And love is ever-present, here and now.

Thanks for this instant, Father. It is now I am redeemed. This instant is the time You have appointed for Your Son's release, and for salvation of the world in him.

The Following is Forwarded from Pathwaysoflight.org

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Lesson 308
" This instant is the only time there is."

The ego uses time to keep us unaware of the present. We think we are aware of the present, but we perceive it only in terms of the past. An early lesson tells us that we see nothing as it is now.

Many years ago I lived in an area of Africa where the people lived in thatched roofed houses and cooked on open fires on the floor. They sat on little stools a few inches high because it was more convenient for them to sit that way as they tended the fire and did their cooking. One day I was visiting in one of these homes and I saw a straight backed wooden chair against the wall. It was piled high with things. While I would have been more comfortable sitting in that chair, they didn't see it as a chair. They saw it as a shelf for storage. They gave it a different meaning.

That experience is a great demonstration to me that we give everything all the meaning that it has for us. Because of my past experience, I gave that assembly of pieces of wood the meaning of a chair to sit on. I was perceiving the present in terms of the past.

This lesson is asking us to let go of the past. It does not serve the goal of remembering our Self as we were created by God. The Self we are can only be known in the present without meanings dragged with us in our minds that cover up the present. When I look at someone while I hold on to the past, I interpret what I see based on the past I bring with me. A certain expression their face I measure against my past experiences and decide that they are happy or sad, friendly or angry. When I do this I do not see them as they are now.

To know the joy of Love that is ever present, I must let go of the past. Then I am free to see the Love that is all there really is now. Forms have no meaning of their own. Without the past I am free with an open mind to let the Holy Spirit show me His meaning in everything I see.

Holy Spirit, I bring You all my thoughts of the past. I offer them to You in gratitude that You will take them and wash them clean of fear and guilt so that I may see the joyful Love that is present here now. In gratitude I heal.

The truth of our one Identity is changeless. The truth of our one Identity is eternal. It is always the same in the eternal present. In the eternal present there is no time. There is no past and no future. The eternal present is always here right now. It is always there, behind all the beliefs in time and space, waiting to be recognized and known again.

Right now it is our job to open our minds to the Holy Spirit, Who will help us see the barriers we have erected to hide the eternal presence of Love. Once we have looked at these barriers with the Holy Spirit, we will see them for their nothingness and be willing to let them go. The idea of time itself is a barrier. The ideas of a past or future are just false ideas that are trying to hide the eternal now of God's Love.

Today I would practice opening my mind to the Holy Spirit again and again. I would practice letting my mind be healed of all the false ideas that pass through. I am willing to practice being taught the difference between what is real and what is not real. I am willing to move from belief in time to timelessness. I am willing to practice recognizing that the holy instant is the only time there is. I am willing to open to God's eternal peace, happiness and joy.

©2003, Pathways of Light, Inc. http://pathwaysoflight.org You may freely share copies of this page with your friends, provided all copies include this notice.

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Lesson 307 Conflicting wishes cannot be my will.

2009-04-20T06:12:00.000-07:00

Lesson 307

Conflicting wishes cannot be my will.

Father, Your Will is mine, and only that. There is no other will for me to have. Let me not try to make another will, for it is senseless and will cause me pain. Your Will alone can bring me happiness, and only Yours exists. If I would have what only You can give, I must accept Your Will for me, and enter into peace where conflict is impossible, Your Son is one with You in being and in will, and nothing contradicts the holy truth that I remain as You created me.

And with this prayer we enter silently into a state where conflict cannot come, because we join our holy will with God's, in recognition that they are the same.

The Following is Forwarded from Pathwaysoflight.org

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Lesson 307
"Conflicting wishes cannot be my will."

In an earlier lesson it says, "God is but Love and therefore so am I." We are learning that we are the same Love that God is and that there are no differences of any kind. There is only seamless, undifferentiated, universal Love. This one universal Love has one Will. Therefore conflicting wishes cannot be my will.

A false will, with a wish for individuality, only brings illusions of pain and lack. I would let this false will be undone by taking every thought of differences, individuality, and separate bodies, to the Holy Spirit to be undone. Love is. God is. There is nothing else. We all remain as God created us. I would open my mind to remember this today.

This world is the effect of a mistaken idea of what will bring us happiness. The ego is the idea that it is possible to have more than another, to have more than all of God's Love. This idea is inherently an idea of conflict. It is impossible for one to have more than another without there being conflict. Differences are defined by conflict. Thus the wish to have individuality and differences is the wish for conflict.

It is impossible to know peace while believing separation is real. Thus I must learn the Holy Spirit's lesson of forgiveness if I am to know the peace of God. Each time I learn from the Holy Spirit to forgive a circumstance, event or the behavior of another, I come closer to recognizing that there are in truth no differences. I share the Light and Love of God equally with all that lives. God is Life. Love is Life. Existence in this world of illusions is not Life. To experience the Life God has given me, I must let go of the belief in the reality of form and separation.

When I forgive and realize that there was in truth no harm, for Love is changeless and Love is what I am, I am opening up to the recognition that my will and God's are the same. I am moving toward acceptance that God's Will for me is happiness. God is one and there is no conflict in Him. To know my Self, I must accept my oneness with God. Then I will know freedom from conflict. I will know the peace of God.

Today I will practice taking each thought of conflict, each thought of loss and sacrifice, each thought of fear or guilt to the Holy Spirit to receive His vision. Thus will I learn to recognize in God and in my Self there is no conflict, for it is not my will. God's Will and mine are one.

Belonging to a 12 step program, many people would quite often use the phrase "God's will and not mine." That sounded to me like there were two separate wills and I remember really resenting that because I felt that it was God's will that I be sitting there at those meetings, day after day, deprived of the things I thought could make me happy. I mean, hadn't I given up enough? hadn't I lost enough? And I still had to do God's will and not mine?

I felt like a helpless puppet that was trapped in this world of pain. It took me a long time to realize, after I'd hit many dead ends in my life, that my only will was to be happy, was to be at peace.

Today I know that God's Will is my will. It was in trying to run my own life that I was hitting all those dead ends; it was in thinking I had conflicting wishes that I felt separated from my Source and my brothers. Today I allow the Holy Spirit to guide me and lead me to peace, which is mine and my Heavenly Father's will.

©2003, Pathways of Light, Inc. http://pathwaysoflight.org You may freely share copies of this page with your friends, provided all copies include this notice.
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Lesson 306 The gift of Christ is all I seek today.

2009-04-18T06:25:00.001-07:00

Lesson 306

The gift of Christ is all I seek today.

What but Christ's vision would I use today, when it can offer me a day in which I see a world so like to Heaven that an ancient memory returns to me? Today I can forget the world I made. Today I can go past all fear, and be restored to love and holiness and peace. Today I am redeemed, and born anew into a world of mercy and of care; of loving kindness and the peace of God.

And so, our Father, we return to You, remembering we never went away; remembering Your holy gifts to us. In gratitude and thankfulness we come, with empty hands and open hearts and minds, asking but what You give. We cannot make an offering sufficient for Your Son. But in Your Love the gift of Christ is his.

The Following is Forwarded from Pathwaysoflight.org

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Lesson 306
"The gift of Christ is all I seek today."

Let me become aware of the truth, my Father. The truth is you created us all as one. We are all part of the one Christ Mind. Christ's vision is Your gift. I would come with empty hands and an open heart and mind to accept the truth that we all are one and that we have never left the Mind of God.

Today let me accept the truth that illusions are nothing and Love is all there is. Let my mind be healed today of all false imaginings, of all belief in separation. Let me cease trying to make a will of my own which does nothing and goes nowhere. Let me practice accepting the truth today. The gift of Christ is all I seek today.

This world was made out of allegiance to the idea of separation. Its purpose is to make separation appear real. It has a strange appeal because it seems to offer something I think I want. It seems to offer me independence and the "freedom" to make decisions on my own. But what it does not show and seeks to hide is the fact that to have this world I must deny my Creator, my Home and my Self. I must deny the strength and Love of God.

Nothing I make in this world can satisfy the Son of God, which is my Self. All seeking in this world for satisfaction and completion will always lead to failure, for my completion is found in my Creator, in Love, and can be found nowhere else.

It is time to end playing with childish, empty and meaningless toys. Each time I seek for pleasure or happiness in these toys I soon discover that they offer nothing that satisfies. But if I seek again within this world, I may find things that bring moments of seeming happiness but they never satisfy. Nothing in this world is worthy of the Son of God, and so it cannot satisfy.

Today I seek in a new direction. I seek the gift of Christ, Which is my Self. Today I set aside childish toys and open my mind to the blessing given me in my creation. I accept my Self as It was created by God. Here I will find true satisfaction and true freedom, for the gift of Christ is limitless. It is the gift of Love that extends forever and forever. And I give thanks.

©2003, Pathways of Light, Inc. http://pathwaysoflight.org You may freely share copies of this page with your friends, provided all copies include this notice.
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Lesson 305 There is a peace that Christ bestows on us.

2009-04-17T06:23:00.000-07:00

Lesson 305

There is a peace that Christ bestows on us.

Who uses but Christ's vision finds a peace so deep and quiet, undisturbable and wholly changeless, that the world contains no counterpart. Comparisons are still before this peace. And all the world departs in silence as this peace envelops it, and gently carries it to truth, no more to be the home of fear. For love has come, and healed the world by giving it Christ's peace.

Father, the peace of Christ is given us, because it is Your Will that we be saved. Help us today but to accept Your gift, and judge it not. For it has come to us to save us from our judgment on ourselves.

The Following is Forwarded from Pathwaysoflight.org

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Lesson 305
"There is a peace that Christ bestows on us."

This lesson is designed to motivate us to do our forgiveness work. Christ's vision is seen through forgiving eyes. So through forgiveness we will find "a peace so deep and quiet, undisturbable and wholly changeless, that the world contains no counterpart." (1:1) Doesn't that call to your heart? This is God's promise to us, because it is His gift, already ours.

This gift is only obscured by our judgment. Forgiveness clears away the fog, opening our minds to Christ's vision so that we can welcome what God has given us without limit. Every time I judge what seems to be an outside circumstance, a person's behavior, an event, every time I see death and destruction and believe it is real, I am judging against God and denying His gift. This is why forgiveness is required. Like it says in an earlier lesson, "To every apprehension, every care and every form of suffering: I will forgive and this will disappear."

Holy Spirit, hold my hand today. I need Your strength. I need Your Love. And I need Your vision so that I may recognize the face of Christ in all I look upon. I offer You my judgments, Holy Spirit and I ask for Your interpretation to replace my own. Thus will I learn to forgive, for You will show me that nothing has occurred to disturb the peace of God's Son. In gratitude I accept Your strength and Your vision and I would offer it to all I look upon or think about today. Thus will I know the peace that Christ bestows on me.

The sentence that stands out to me in today's lesson is, "Help us today but to accept Your gift, and judge it not." (2:2) God's gift is peace and peace has come to save us from our judgment on ourselves. If I am not experiencing peace at any time during the day, it is not because of outer circumstances. It is because I have chosen not to accept God's peace.

When I accept God's peace, I feel God's peace. I join with peace and become one with it. It fills my mind and changes my perceptions. The ego's thought system falls away. There is a quietness and a sense of well being that cannot be disturbed. There is a sense of safety and quiet joy the pervades everything I see and everything I do. There is an all encompassing sense of well being and knowing that everything is all right. There is a remembering that what I see through the body's eyes is just a dream.

I always get what I desire in my heart of hearts. If I want to see separation, that is what I will see. If I want to see conflict, individuality, specialness and lack, that is what I will see. If I want to make decisions on my own, I will join with the ego thought system and the ego will show me a world where I make decisions on my own.

But if I change my mind and choose instead to follow the guidance of the Holy Spirit, I will be brought to a new kind of seeing. I will be brought to a new experience. When I follow Holy Spirit's lead, I will accept and feel God's peace. I will become aware of the oneness of God's Love that lies behind the forms of bodies. I will be guided to see the Love behind the fear. I will be guided to let peace lead the way. I will be guided every step along the way in what to say to my brother, and how to see that his true Identity is Love and nothing else.

With my willingness to open to Holy Spirit's perspective, my mind will be returned to where it belongs. I will receive God's gifts of peace, Love and joy. I will forgive or let go of all the empty thoughts of the ego. I will do my part in the Atonement, following Holy Spirit's lead. The peace of Christ will lead me Home as I am willing to accept God's gifts.

What a timely lesson for me. Today I woke up and immediately gave up my peace. Just trying to figure out how I would get everything done and hoping I didn't leave anything out was enough to start the anxiety pumping unwelcome adrenaline through my body.

Another thing I have noticed is that thoughts of a like kind follow one another. If I start thinking about something that I am afraid of, it is like their friends come to join the party. Pretty soon I am feeling overwhelmed.

So, today I am going to call cancel, cancel and start my day over. I am going to put all that important stuff on hold while I get my thoughts going in the direction I want my day to take.

Thank you for the helpful suggestions you made to get me off on the right foot. Forgiveness is a great idea. I still tend to think of forgiveness as person to person, but I can forgive a thought as easily, especially when I remember that forgiveness recognizes the illusion.

I have started a journal of sorts to record my spiritual progress on a daily basis and I will start today's entry by talking to myself about what I want to forgive and then watch it disappear!

©2003, Pathways of Light, Inc. http://pathwaysoflight.org You may freely share copies of this page with your friends, provided all copies include this notice.
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Lesson 304 Let not my world obscure the sight of Christ.

2009-04-15T07:08:00.001-07:00

Lesson 304

Let not my world obscure the sight of Christ.

I can obscure my holy sight, if I intrude my world upon it. Nor can I behold the holy sights Christ looks upon, unless it is His vision that I use. Perception is a mirror, not a fact. And what I look on is my state of mind, reflected outward. I would bless the world by looking on it through the eyes of Christ. And I will look upon the certain signs that all my sins have been forgiven me.

You lead me from the darkness to the light; from sin to holiness. Let me forgive, and thus receive salvation for the world. It is Your gift, my Father, given me to offer to Your holy Son, that he may find again the memory of You, and of Your Son as You created him.

The Following is Forwarded from Pathwaysoflight.org

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Lesson 304
"Let not my world obscure the sight of Christ."

Since my perception is a mirror that reflects my state of mind, if my state of mind changes, my perception will change. I am in charge of my state of mind. Like it says in an earlier lesson, "I have a kingdom I must rule." This kingdom is my mind.

In every moment I am choosing between the ego thought system and the Holy Spirit's. Because the ego is the idea of separation, when I choose the ego, I will always perceive separation and all the guilt and fear that comes with it. Because the Holy Spirit teaches unity, I will always see wholeness and innocence when I align myself with the Holy Spirit. Christ's vision will always show me that my brother is part of me in Love.

The world I see will always show me which thought system I have aligned with. If I want happiness, if I want the joy and peace of God, I need only align with the Holy Spirit. With my willingness to join with Him comes the vision that sees the innocent face of Christ in all my brothers. And from this sight I remember my own innocence.

Today I dedicate once again to practicing letting the Holy Spirit guide my thoughts and actions. I would not lead but only follow and thus learn to see with forgiving eyes and recognize the Christ in all.

Thank you Holy Spirit for your patience and your Love, and for your gentle hand that guides me Home.

Holy Spirit, I do not know what anything is for. I have wandered far from Home and have become lost in illusions of being separate from my brother and my Source. The images I have made up have frightened me. I have projected unconscious guilt onto the images I have seen in the world. I recognize that this is a mistake.

Under Your careful and gentle guidance, I will return to my true natural state. I would follow; I would not lead. You are always there in my mind as I am willing to quiet my mind and open to Your voice. Your peace is waiting to fill me up with the Love, joy and peace of God.

I turn to You now with an open mind. I accept Your presence and Your gifts. I bring every concern or fear to You and open my mind to Your healing Light. I am grateful to know that the truth is true and nothing else is true. I am grateful to remember that only Love is real. I am grateful to be shown what is real in every circumstance. I am grateful to let my mind be healed. I am grateful to be open to the sight of Christ that I may see the Christ mirrored in the world. On my own I know nothing. With You all that is real is recognized and felt. "Let not my world obscure the sight of Christ."

The two lines that caught and held my attention were: "Perception is a mirror, not a fact. And what I look on is my state of mind, reflected outward." (1:3-4)

I look around me this morning (both physically and mentally) and feel both good and dissatisfied. Some of what I see directly reflects the spiritual changes I have experienced in my life recently and bring me great joy. Some of what I see reflects those thoughts that have not been healed.

I am comforted to know that perception is a mirror and not a fact. I am not stuck with these unhealed areas in my life. I can give them to Holy Spirit for healing. I feel very encouraged in this because I have seen the result of doing so.

I am grateful for the reminders to step back and not to lead. When I see that something needs to be done, my mind immediately rolls up it's sleeves to get to work. Then I remembered what I had just read about stepping back and I thought about how it was my ego that made the unhappy image I am seeing. I don't want the ego in charge of changing it! As I step back I take each thought I want healed, one at a time, to Holy Spirit and ask for healing. I feel such gratitude that I can so easily do this. I feel determination to repeat the process as often as I need to.

Thank God that perception is a mirror and not a fact. This thought gives me strength because today I know that my perception is distorted so the world I see is not true. Today I ask the Holy Spirit to guide me and lead me from darkness to light, to truth. When I do this, little specks of light start to come together and strengthen my trust in Him and I believe that in this Light is the memory of my Heavenly Father and of my true Self.
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Lesson 303 The holy Christ is born in me today.

2009-04-14T07:13:00.001-07:00

Lesson 303

The holy Christ is born in me today.

Watch with me, angels, watch with me today. Let all God's holy Thoughts surround me, and be still with me while Heaven's Son is born. Let earthly sounds be quiet, and the sights to which I am accustomed disappear. Let Christ be welcomed where He is at home. And let Him hear the sounds He understands, and see but sights that show His Father's Love. Let Him no longer be a stranger here, for He is born again in me today.

Your Son is welcome, Father. He has come to save me from the evil self I made. He is the Self that You have given me. He is but what I really am in truth. He is the Son You love above all things. He is my Self as You created me. It is not Christ that can be crucified. Safe in Your Arms let me receive Your Son.

The Following is Forwarded from Pathwaysoflight.org

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Lesson 303
"The holy Christ is born in me today."

Let me welcome my true Identity today. Let me open my mind to God's gifts of peace, joy and Love. Let me recognize the truth today. Let me give my true Identity a chance. Let me open to the Light of Truth, Who will shine away all the belief in separation still residing in my mind. Let my mind be transformed today.

Let God's Thoughts fill my mind. Let me extend God's Love and see God's Love behind every barrier to Love. Let me rest in God's Sanity. Let me remember the truth that there is only one Self behind every form of separation I see today. Let me practice waking up to the truth today. Let the holy Christ be born in me today.

As I identify with my Self, the Son as God created Him, the holy Christ is born in me. The birth of Christ in me is simply the recognition of my Self as God created me, along with all my brothers. The more I accept this, the more peace I experience. There is less conflict because I recognize more and more that we all share the same interest.

We all want to extend Love, for that is our nature. There is no conflict in that. Everyone, without exception, wants the peace of God, no matter what their behavior. This is because we all want to remember our Self and be What we were created to be. To do this, we must let go of the barriers that hide our Self from us. It is we who hold those barriers in place and it is we who must let them go. That is why forgiveness is central to the Course's teaching. Forgiveness removes the barriers to Love's presence. Forgiveness allows the holy Christ to be born in me today.

©2003, Pathways of Light, Inc. http://pathwaysoflight.org You may freely share copies of this page with your friends, provided all copies include this notice.
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Lesson 302 Where darkness was I look upon the light.

2009-04-13T07:10:00.001-07:00

Lesson 302

Where darkness was I look upon the light.

Father, our eyes are opening at last. Your holy world awaits us, as our sight is finally restored and we can see. We thought we suffered. But we had forgot the Son whom You created. Now we see that darkness is our own imagining, and light is there for us to look upon. Christ's vision changes darkness into light, for fear must disappear when love has come. Let me forgive Your holy world today, that I may look upon its holiness and understand it but reflects my own.

Our Love awaits us as we go to Him, and walks beside us showing us the way. He fails in nothing. He the End we seek, and He the Means by which we go to Him.

The Following is Forwarded from Pathwaysoflight.org

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Lesson 302
"Where darkness was I look upon the light."

As it says elsewhere in the Course, God is Love and nothing else. So the second paragraph could be read as "Love awaits us as we go to Love. Love walks beside us, showing us the way. Love is the end we seek and Love is the means by which we go to Love."

In this world we cannot experience the Love of God fully. Love is one and cannot be experienced while belief in separation is maintained. But there is a reflection of Love in this world that is the means by which we can return to the full experience of the unity of God's Love. This reflection of Love is forgiveness. Forgiveness clears away the darkness so the Light of Love can shine upon our vision and show us the truth of our unity with All That Is.

Because of the countless forms of this world it seems that forgiveness must be applied again and again. Circumstances that call for forgiveness seem to be different. But the need for forgiveness in every circumstance comes from one core mistaken idea. That idea is the demand that God give us special favor, that He give His Love unequally.

Gradually as we practice forgiveness, we begin to see that all circumstances in which conflict and guilt seem to occur are the same. The Light of Love shows us that where we believed there was division, there is only unity and wholeness. Where we saw guilt, there is only innocence. Where we thought there was harm, there was harmlessness. Love walks beside us and shows us the way to the full recognition of our Self, of Love. Forgiveness lets go of the barriers to that recognition. As we let go of the veils, the clarity of our Love that we share with God comes fully into our awareness and we recognize God's world. We recognize Heaven, the eternal, joyous giving and receiving of Love.

As I learn to attend the Love that walks beside me, I will look only upon the Light.

The sentence that stands out to me in this lesson is, "Now we see that darkness is our own imagining, and light is there for us to look upon." (1:5) I see that I awaken as I recognize that the darkness I see 'out in the world' is my own imagining. I awaken as I recognize that the Light is there for me to look upon. I see that this is my daily opportunity.

The world of separate bodies is a dream. A world of differences is a dream. This world is a projection that does not leave my mind. If I see darkness out in the world, it is a reflection of a belief in darkness that still resides in my mind.

I have a choice. I can continue repeating projection from the past or I can make the choice to recognize the Light that is there for me to look upon. The choice I make depends on what I want to reinforce within myself. I am either holding the ego's hand or the Holy Spirit's Hand with every thought.

I would use this day as a practice to open my mind to the Light that is eternally there to see, if I am willing to see it. Today I can reinforce the dream or practice letting it go, seeing it for the nothingness that it is.

The truth is, God is. Love is. There is no 'other.' Am I willing to recognize Love today or will I try to make the darkness real? Today I am willing to practice opening to the truth that only Love is real. "Where darkness was I look upon the light."

©2003, Pathways of Light, Inc. http://pathwaysoflight.org You may freely share copies of this page with your friends, provided all copies include this notice.
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Section 9. What is the Second Coming? Lesson 301 And God Himself shall wipe away all tears.

2009-04-09T09:41:00.000-07:00

Lesson 301

Section 9. What is the Second Coming?

Christ's Second Coming, which is sure as God, is merely the correction of mistakes, and the return of sanity. It is a part of the condition that restores the never lost, and re-establishes what is forever and forever true. It is the invitation to God's Word to take illusion's place; the willingness to let forgiveness rest upon all things without exception and without reserve.

It is the all-inclusive nature of Christ's Second Coming that permits it to embrace the world and hold you safe within its gentle advent, which encompasses all living things with you. There is no end to the release the Second Coming brings, as God's creation must be limitless. Forgiveness lights the Second Coming's way, because it shines on everything as one. And thus is oneness recognized at last.

The Second Coming ends the lessons that the Holy Spirit teaches, making way for the Last Judgment, in which learning ends in one last summary that will extend beyond itself, and reaches up to God. The Second Coming is the time in which all minds are given to the hands of Christ, to be returned to spirit in the name of true creation and the Will of God.

The Second Coming is the one event in time which time itself can not affect. For every one who ever came to die, or yet will come or who is present now, is equally released from what he made. In this equality is Christ restored as one Identity, in which the Sons of God acknowledge that they all are one. And God the Father smiles upon His Son, His one creation and His only joy.

Pray that the Second Coming will be soon, but do not rest with that. It needs your eyes and ears and hands and feet. It needs your voice. And most of all it needs your willingness. Let us rejoice that we can do God's Will, and join together in its holy light. Behold, the Son of God is one in us, and we can reach our Father's Love through Him.

Lesson 301

And God Himself shall wipe away all tears.

Father, unless I judge I cannot weep. Nor can I suffer pain, or feel I am abandoned or unneeded in the world. This is my home because I judge it not, and therefore is it only what You will. Let me today behold it uncondemned, through happy eyes forgiveness has released from all distortion. Let me see Your world instead of mine. And all the tears I shed will be forgotten, for their source is gone. Father, I will not judge Your world today.

God's world is happy. Those who look on it can only add their joy to it, and bless it as a cause of further joy in them. We wept because we did not understand. But we have learned the world we saw was false, and we will look upon God's world today.

The Following is Forwarded from Pathwaysoflight.org

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Lesson 301
"And God Himself shall wipe away all tears."

As we learn to open to and receive Holy Spirit's correction in perception, we are led to see that a perception of individual bodies with separate minds is false. The sight of separation comes from belief in separation. With belief in separation comes guilt and fear. Guilt and fear bring tears or the experience of lack and loss.

As we learn to undo this belief in separation with the help of our true Self, the tears are wiped away because we see that the separation we believed in is false and never happened. We see that these images of separation just came from false ideas. We quietly lay them down and no longer desire them or want to see them.

As we continue the process of laying down all our false beliefs that stem from the false idea of separation, our tears are wiped away many times. We learn to generalize the correction in our perception to every false idea we have been hanging on to.

As these false ideas gradually recede from our sight, a new world appears. God's world is the opposite of the world of separation. God's world is all inclusive. There is a total joining rather than division or separate factions. Differences fall away.

This is where we are now -- letting the false ideas fall away with Holy Spirit leading the way. As we continue to be led to God's world, we dream a new dream, one that leads to the end of all dreams.

Today I would practice being mindful of whose hand I am holding, the ego's or the Holy Spirit's. Am I seeing through the eyes of separation or seeing through the eyes of the Holy Spirit, Who always brings me to perceiving oneness? If I am holding the ego's hand, I will focus on differences, conflict and lack. If I am holding Holy Spirit's hand I will feel the peace and joy of recognizing the Spirit of God behind all forms, the abundance and joy of God behind this physical world.

Today I will practice joining with Holy Spirit in laying down the dream of separation and recognizing God's world.

It is important not to confuse God's world with the world we are used to seeing with the body's eyes. Because God Himself is formless, being Love and nothing else, there can be no forms in His world. God's world is Heaven, where all is joined in one eternal Love.

As long as we judge, we cannot know this world, for judgment requires division and separation. We experience the world of form because we have rejected or judged against God's oneness. Having rejected our Source, which means we have rejected Love, sadness and depression are inevitable. It is impossible to be happy when we believe we are cut off from Love. It is not God Who has cut us off. It is we who have denied His Love.

The judgment against God's Love has led to the perception of a world of judgment. All things are separated by some distinction. It is only through differences that we are able to distinguish one form from another. In this world we believe that judgment is essential for survival. We spend many years in training ourselves how to judge correctly so that we will be safe and be able to survive. We learn about history so that we can be more effective judges in the present.

While we believe we are in this world of forms, judgment is necessary, But it is important for us to learn a new way of judging that is not of this world if we are to escape the fearful dream of separation. We learn this new way of judging from the Holy Spirit. His judgment is simple. He knows that everything is either real or unreal, and what is unreal can have no effect.

As we learn to follow His lead and let Him judge on our behalf, He leads us to the edge of judgment. Here we stand and make our final judgment, in which we recognize that we are innocent, along with all that lives. When this is fully recognized without exception, we are free to take God's Hand as He lifts us gently into His world, where judgment never existed. There are no tears here, for there is no loss. In God's world there is only the eternal extension of Love and the joy that comes from giving and receiving with All That Is.

Today I would take the Holy Spirit's hand and let Him guide all my thoughts. I would let Him judge all things on my behalf so that I may learn to see the innocence He sees. Thus will I forgive the world and relinquish all judgment, for I desire with all my heart to know God's world.

©2003, Pathways of Light, Inc. http://pathwaysoflight.org You may freely share copies of this page with your friends, provided all copies include this notice.
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Lesson 300 Only an instant does this world endure.

2009-04-08T06:13:00.001-07:00

Lesson 300

Only an instant does this world endure.

This is a thought which can be used to say that death and sorrow are the certain lot of all who come here, for their joys are gone before they are possessed, or even grasped. Yet this is also the idea that lets no false perception keep us in its hold, nor represent more than a passing cloud upon a sky eternally serene. And it is this serenity we seek, unclouded, obvious and sure, today.

We seek Your holy world today. For we, Your loving Sons, have lost our way a while. But we have listened to Your Voice, and learned exactly what to do to be restored to Heaven and our true Identity. And we give thanks today the world endures but for an instant. We would go beyond that tiny instant to eternity.

The Following is Forwarded from Pathwaysoflight.org

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Lesson 300
"Only an instant does this world endure."

In this lesson we are being gently guided to let go of our insane stories of separation and individuality. We have wandered from the truth of our real Identity. As we quiet our minds and let go of these insane stories about a world of time and space, we go beyond them to the eternal Presence of peace, love and joy. We cease wanting to see separation. We become willing to acknowledge God as our only Source. We become willing to acknowledge that we are Love, just as God is and that nothing else is real. We become willing to return Home.

Today I would practice letting false perceptions go. I would practice seeing each perception as a passing cloud that softly disappears. I would practice quieting my mind and asking for the truth.

I can let this world of pain, suffering and death go in an instant. I do this through forgiveness. Holding on to the images of this world and insisting on their reality is just an unwillingness to accept my Self as God created me. Thus ultimately forgiveness is forgiving God for not giving individuality and specialness.

It may appear that some other person criticized or somehow offended my image of myself. It may appear that some microorganism attacked my body, which is part of my image of myself. It may appear that some terrorist attacked our nation. Yet all these appearances are but the acting out of my wish to have a separate identity I can call my own.

It is impossible to have a separate identity without having to defend its form, protect it against intrusion and change. So complete forgiveness means that I let go of the demand for a separate identity and welcome God's Love, given equally to all.

His Love is always offered. It waits only on welcome. In that moment of welcome, fear is undone and peace returns to my awareness. I remember that I am God's extension of His Love. All this returns to me with the one decision to accept my Self as God created me.

©2003, Pathways of Light, Inc. http://pathwaysoflight.org You may freely share copies of this page with your friends, provided all copies include this notice.
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Lesson 299 Eternal holiness abides in me.

2009-04-07T06:44:00.000-07:00

Lesson 299

Eternal holiness abides in me.

My holiness is far beyond my own ability to understand or know. Yet God, my Father, Who created it, acknowledges my holiness as His. Our Will, together, understands it. And Our Will, together, knows that it is so.

Father, my holiness is not of me. It is not mine to be destroyed by sin. It is not mine to suffer from attack. Illusions can obscure it, but can not put out its radiance, nor dim its light. It stands forever perfect and untouched. In it are all things healed, for they remain as You created them. And I can know my holiness. For Holiness Itself created me, and I can know my Source because it is Your Will that You be known.

The Following is Forwarded from Pathwaysoflight.org

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Lesson 299
"Eternal holiness abides in me."

Because eternal holiness abides in me, it abides in everything and everyone, because all is one. By believing that the idea of separation is real, I have taught myself the opposite. I have taught myself that I am guilty and that everything that I look on is guilty or will in some way punish me for my guilt. This belief obscures my awareness of my holiness. But by the grace of God, it cannot change it nor alter it in any way.

To recognize my holiness, I need only choose a different Teacher. In making the choice to listen to the Holy Spirit instead of the ego, I make the choice to become aware of my eternal holiness. He will teach me to recognize illusion as illusion. He will teach me that separation has never occurred and could never occur in reality. The success of His teaching is guaranteed, because He is teaching what I already know in truth. He only needs to help me undo the false ideas I have taught myself to reveal the truth that still remains untouched by all the mistaken ideas.

His teaching is kind and gentle and loving. There is never condemnation but only compassionate understanding. He sees the illusions I see, but He does not believe them. As I learn to walk with Him, I too will learn to recognize illusions and not believe them. That is my healing and my release. The joy that lies within me is revealed and I cannot help but offer it to all, for joy is the motivation to share.

I thank You Father for holding my holiness perfect for me. Though I walk in the wilderness of imagined guilt and fear, You hold my holiness in perfection for me. You know me as I am, not as I imagine I am. I am grateful for the gift of my Teacher in my mind, who reminds me of Your Love and Your peace and Your joy, which You will to be mine and so they are. As I practice thinking with the Holy Spirit, I remember eternal holiness abides in me.

In much of the world, Jesus is the symbol of eternal holiness. What we are coming to learn and understand is that the holiness of Jesus is within everyone. The holiness that Jesus represents is the what we all are. This holiness is our true Self, Which is one.

As we are willing to open up to the eternal presence of Jesus in our minds, we all are led home to our Source. We all will remember that we never left the Mind of God. We all will wake up from the dream and remember that the dream never happened. Meanwhile, our work now is to open our minds to the loving presence of Jesus. Our job now is to refrain from making any decisions on our own. Our job now is to allow Jesus to hold our hand and lead us back to remembering the truth.

We cannot hold the ego's hand and Jesus' hand at the same time because they are going in opposite directions. We are the decision maker. As we choose, so will we experience. Jesus leads toward peace of mind and the ego leads toward a conflicted mind.

Jesus, today I consciously choose to walk with you all through the day. I consciously choose to step back and listen to your healing perspective. I consciously choose peace instead of conflict. I consciously choose unity rather than separation. I give this day to you. Amen.

©2003, Pathways of Light, Inc. http://pathwaysoflight.org You may freely share copies of this page with your friends, provided all copies include this notice.
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Lesson 298 I love You, Father, and I love Your Son.

2009-04-06T11:09:00.001-07:00

Lesson 298

I love You, Father, and I love Your Son.

My gratitude permits my love to be accepted without fear. And thus am I restored to my reality at last. All that intruded on my holy sight forgiveness takes away. And I draw near the end of senseless journeys, mad careers and artificial values. I accept instead what God establishes as mine, sure that in that alone I will be saved; sure that I go through fear to meet my Love.

Father, I come to You today, because I would not follow any way but Yours. You are beside me. Certain is Your way. And I am grateful for Your holy gifts of certain sanctuary, and escape from everything that would obscure my love for God my Father and His holy Son.

The Following is Forwarded from Pathwaysoflight.org

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Lesson 298
"I love You, Father, and I love Your Son."

In the popular television series, Survivor, each episode involves some challenge in which the participants must overcome their fears to gain a reward. They are willing to go through their fears because of the value they place on the reward. In some cases, more value is given to the fear and so they are not willing to walk through it to get the reward. This is a game of challenging illusions which seem fearful to gain a reward that is but another illusion which seems to have greater value.

In this lesson we are told that we can be sure that we can go through fear to meet our Love. In this case we walk through the illusion of fear to gain a reward that is real and eternal. We have help in going through the fear in the form of the Holy Spirit in our minds. And because the reward is actually the reality of What we already are, it's achievement is inevitable, guaranteed by God.

If we were willing to apply the same determination that the survivor participants demonstrate in their efforts to achieve their goal to walking through their fear to the Love of God, our world would be transformed. We would see a forgiven world, for we would walk past all fear.

There is no greater reward than the eternal, infinite Love of God. The means to reach it is in our minds. We need only bring all our thoughts to the Holy Spirit for His clarification and cleansing. He will bring them to the Light of Love. Fear will disappear, for we will recognize only Love is real.

Today I would practice once again bringing all my thoughts to the Holy Spirit to receive His interpretation. I would decide nothing on my own, for on my own I do not know what anything means. I would let Him guide my thoughts, my words and my actions so that I may be His messenger in this world and teach only Love.

My job now is to accept only what God establishes as mine. My job now is to let go of senseless journeys, mad careers and artificial values. My job now is to recognize that I am not a separate individual with a separate mind. In truth I am joined with my brother in the one Mind of God and differences hold no place in God's Mind.

Loving my Father is accepting my Father as He truly is without trying to change Him. Loving my brother means seeing past the images of separation to the extension of Love my brother truly is. My purpose now is to welcome the complete thought reversal that the Holy Spirit brings to my mistaken mind. The Holy Spirit shows me that the images of separation I see through the body's eyes could never be true and that Love, which is the only truth, could never change.

It is only when I try to change God's reality that I experience fear. Separation is a fearful thought indeed. With the help of the Holy Spirit, I walk through the fear to see that the false images of separation seen through the body's eyes have been nothing all along. They were only false ideas that could never be real. Once these images are seen for the nothingness that they are, fear falls away.

Today I practice recognizing the eternal truth in the title of this lesson, "I love You Father, and I love Your Son."

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