My mind holds only what I think with God.
(137) When I am healed I am not healed alone.
(138) Heaven is the decision I must Make.
LESSON 150
My mind holds only what I think with God.
(139) I will accept Atonement for myself.
(140) Only salvation can be said to cure.
The Following is Forwarded from Pathwaysoflight.org
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Lesson 149
Review: "My mind holds only what I think with God." and
"When I am healed I am not healed alone.
Heaven is the decision I must make."
I experience this whole world because I still think the ego thought system offers me something I want. It doesn't seem that this world is of my own making. Certainly I didn't sit down consciously and dream up the tree-lined lake that my body's eyes see as I look out the window. The world tells me it was there thousands of years before this body existed.
To me it's the illusion of time that seems to make this world so real. If I could really fully recognize that time is an illusion I have made up as well, I believe it would be easier to recognize that all the images of the world are projections from my mind. Time makes those images appear not to come from me. But if all those images occur only now, because there is no time, then I can't claim that some seed that sprouted a hundred years ago is the cause of the tree I am looking at. My mind is so ingrained with the belief in the reality of time and space that it is still hard for me to fathom that the physical world I perceive is not real.
Yet as I practice remembering statements like, "Heaven is the decision I must make," the importance I place on the images I see through the body's eyes diminishes. This is a valuable step toward recognizing fully that the world I see is an illusion. I have observed as I work with the thought system of the Course, that I make less and less big deals. It's the importance I give things that is the basis for my big deals.
If I drop a sock on the floor as I'm gathering clean laundry from the dryer, I simply gather it in and continue on my way with hardly a thought about it. But if I think my worth is based on my tidiness and coordination, I might get upset, call myself a klutz and a slob and make a big deal out of the simple event of dropping a sock on the floor. The same event is given different meanings based on the belief system I hold dear.
As I accept more and more that the sock and all other images in this world are illusions, they become less and less the source of my value and happiness. As I turn away from seeking happiness and value in the world, I become more and more open to making the decision for Heaven and accepting God's gift of joy.
Affirming that my mind holds only what I think with God focuses my attention on the part of my mind that already knows its worth, its joy, its very life is in God, the one Source of all that is real. The frustration, disappointment and depression that come from seeking for value where it cannot be found diminishes and the experience of God's peace and joy and the safety of His Love grows stronger.
Today I will practice with gratitude and happy anticipation, remembering that when I am healed, I am not healed alone. My healing comes from making the decision for Heaven and remembering, "My mind holds only what I think with God."
I recently read a section of the Text that reminded me that I do not and cannot make decisions on my own. With every decision, we are either joining with the ego thought system or with the Holy Spirit. We are always joining with one or the other. When I join with the ego thought system, I see forms of separation. I see differences within a world of time and space. I see unique bodies. Everything is in a state of change and flux. This world appears to be outside of me. This appearance of separation is the name of the ego's game.
When I join with the Holy Spirit, I receive a different perception. I am returned to thoughts of unity. I am reminded that all is one. I am reminded to extend Love instead of judgment, to see innocence instead of guilt. These thoughts gently undo my belief in separation. I am reminded that everyone is still as God created them and that we are all extensions of one God, one Love. I am reminded that the images within a world of time a space that constantly change are not worth choosing to see. I am reminded that God is eternal, changeless and Love, and so am I and so is all that is. I am reminded that these images that are in a constant state of change are not real. I am reminded that Heaven is the decision I must make. I must want to be aware of Heaven because my experience comes through my desire. I always get what I really want in my heart of hearts.
Today as I practice joining with the Holy Spirit, I open my mind to healing. I open my mind to the bridge of return to Heaven. I open my mind to remembering that my mind holds only what I think with God. God is all there is. There is nothing else. Truth is true and nothing else is true. Image making in a world of time and space are meaningless imaginings and are not real. Heaven is the decision I must make.
©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 150
Review: "My mind holds only what I think with God." and
"I will accept Atonement for myself.
Only salvation can be said to cure."
Only returning to God will cure all sorrow and all pain, all lack and loss. We all came from God and have never left God in truth. We experience something other than our true Self, our Source, when we join with the ego thought system. We join with the ego thought system by identifying with its beliefs, its thoughts, its false ideas.
All the false ideas found within the ego thought system are founded on the belief that we are separate from our true Self, that we are separate from God's Love. When we believe we are separate from God's Love, we can't help but experience sorrow and pain, lack and feelings of loss. Belief in the ego thought system is belief in the death of our one Self.
The only cure or antidote for the pain and loss we feel is accepting Atonement for ourselves. Accepting Atonement means accepting a change of mind, accepting a return to the truth, accepting God's Love, returning to our right mind, remembering that our mind holds only what we think with God. Only this return to the truth is a true and lasting cure for all the ills of the world. Our real salvation comes as we return to our one true identity which alone is real. We delay this return when we get so wrapped up in the world's activities that there is no "time" left to devote to God.
God is my salvation. God is the cure to every ill, every sense of lack and return to God is the only answer, return to Love is the only answer. Today I will practice letting my mind open to receive the truth about myself and my brothers. It is only the truth of our oneness in Love that provides the real answer I seek.
It is helpful to remember that the Course defines Atonement as perfect Love. It also says it is the undoing of what never happened. It is not pain for or doing penance to expiate sin. Atonement does not make sin real, but in fact recognizes its unreality.
This is a reversal of most Christian teaching and is an example of the many ways the Course redefines many religious terms as part of the complete thought reversal it is leading us toward. In the Manual for Teachers, Atonement, salvation, forgiveness and healing are all equated as one.
There is no sacrifice in Atonement or salvation, only healing and forgiveness. Through forgiveness I learn to see innocence everywhere. As I see innocence, I see harmlessness and I return to the awareness of God's perfect safety and His Love. I no longer need to defend against the truth but rather see it as my Source of happiness, peace and freedom.
The recognition that this world is all illusion means that all the interactions between bodies and forms have no effect whatsoever on Reality. What is unreal cannot affect Reality at all. I begin to see, as truth replaces illusion in my awareness, that nothing has ever really happened to change me in any way. Thus forgiveness is natural, for it is recognized that in truth, there is nothing to forgive. This recognition opens my mind to the awareness that it holds nothing but the thoughts of Love I think with God. Step by step, these lessons are guiding me to the full acceptance of my Self, as I was created.
A passage that means a lot to me is, "The Holy Spirit is not delayed in His teaching by your mistakes. He can be held back only by your unwillingness to let them go." I have posted this where I will see it frequently. It is important to me that I remind myself that my errors have no real effects. There is no reason for me to feel guilty or afraid because of them. Experiencing fear and guilt is just my way of clinging to my errors. I choose, instead, to release them. This is a way that I accept atonement for 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.
